Dream Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #1) (8 page)

On
the porch, he stood her upright and leaned her against the wall next to the
door. She swayed and he reached to catch her.

"Whoops,"
she giggled, and tightened her grip on his vest, pulling him close.

"Mims,
I'm trying to open the door. You're going to have to let go." She let go
and started to topple again. He grabbed her shoulders and pressed her against
the wall. "Now what are we going to do. I can't open the door if I'm
holding you up."

"I
guess you're in a pickle," she slurred.

Sage
laughed low and glanced down at her breasts straining over the top of her
blouse. She'd already made him hard, but now he became painfully so. "I've
got to get you to bed."
Bad choice of words.
"I need a little
help here," he whispered in her ear.
Another bad choice of words.

Mims
moved her head until her lips hovered above his. "Okay, gorgeous model
man."

Sage
couldn't catch his breath. Her lips, barely grazing his, shifted the clutch in
his heart and knocked it into high gear. Slowly, she put more pressure against
his mouth. He didn't move. For a long time, they just stood lips to lips.
Finally, she opened her palms against his chest and rubbed from his pecs to his
abs and back again, sending his body into arousal heaven. He touched his tongue
to her lips. She moaned and opened her mouth. Reaching and pulling her arms
around his neck, he kissed and licked his way from her mouth to the tops of her
straining breasts.

"Oh
God," she whispered, pressing against him and entwining her fingers in his
hair. He lifted his head and captured her mouth again, holding nothing back.
When he broke away, she said, "You smell like sunshine." Her
unexpected remark jostled him and he lifted away from her, guilt flooding him.
He'd taken advantage of her imbibed state. He groaned and looked into her
up-tilted face.

"Princess,
I think we just crossed the bounds of ranch owner and ranch guest…not something
I'm proud of. Let's get you inside."

Sarah
jammed the pillow over her head, but she could still hear noise. Her cotton
brain finally recognized the sound as knocking. "Go away," she
mumbled. The knocking stopped and she sighed with relief. She heard the door
squeak and squinted to look at it. Julie peeked around the edge.

"Are
you feeling okay, Sarah?" the girl timidly asked.

Sarah's
mind tried to get a grasp on reality. "What day is it?"

"Sunday."

"What
time?"

"Almost
noon."

Sarah
jolted upright. She
never
slept late. The movement sent her head
whipping like a roller coaster. "Ouch." She pressed her palms to her
temples and fell back against her pillow. "Am I sick," she asked.

Julie
laughed, "Not unless you consider a hangover sick."

A
hangover!
Suddenly, the previous night tumbled into remembrance—steak dinner, bucking
bull, sawdust covered dance floor, live country band,
beer…
She groaned
and turned her face into her pillow again. What kind of example was she setting
for this impressionable girl? Another memory surfaced and her eyes popped wide
open.
Please, God, let it be a dream.
In her mind's eye, she envisioned
passionate kisses on the porch, hands and mouths in erotic zones, and Sage's
face. She covered her face with her hands.

"My
dad said you'd probably be a little upset when you woke up. He didn't tell me
why. Can I get you anything?"

Sarah
shook her head, not lifting her hands from her face. "I'm fine,
Julie," she lied and mumbled behind her palms.

"Dad
said I should give you some orange juice."

Sarah
peeked through her fingers and noticed the glass in Julie's hand. She croaked,
"Please, set it on the nightstand. Thank you. I need some time…to get
dressed." She'd been about to say "alone," but didn't want to
hurt Julie's feelings.

Julie
seemed to understand. "Okay. I'll check on you later."

Sarah
heard the door close and blinked rapidly to cap a gush of tears threatening to
erupt like a geyser.
I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry.
A
loner slipped through her resolve and she swiped at it. Sniffing, she gingerly
moved her legs over the side of the bed and grasped her spinning head.
I
will never drink beer again.
Holding onto furniture, she grappled her way
to the bathroom and sat on the side of the tub, removing the wrapping from her
foot. Thank God she was still wearing last night's outfit—minus her vest and
boot, however. The hot shower seemed to help her massive headache.

At
issue now was how to leave the ranch without facing Sage. She didn't want to
hurt Julie by abruptly flying the coop, but her desire to avoid Sage outweighed
even that resolve. Her stay at Lazy M Dude Ranch had forever cured her of
hands-on research. From now on, research would take her only as far as her
laptop and the internet.

She
returned to the bedroom and tentatively sipped her orange juice. It stayed
down. Feeling strong enough to get dressed, she pulled on a pair of turquoise
slacks and matching shell. While she was sitting on the bed attempting to
rewrap her foot, she heard another knock. Thinking it was Julie, she called,
"Come in."

Sage
opened the door. Sarah glanced up from fastening the hook on the wrap and
almost fell on the floor. He started toward her and she jerked a staying hand
at him. He stopped.

Her
mouth moved, but no words came out.

He
said, "How are you feeling?"

She
still couldn't find her voice.

He
glanced at the glass of orange juice she'd set back on the nightstand.
"The juice will help."

Sarah
knew he was saying anything to fill the awkwardness. "I'm leaving,"
she finally voiced.

Sage
leaned against the door frame. "You mean running, don't you?"

She
gaped at him and then resorted to a teenage response, "Whatever."

"You
know, Sarah, nothing happened. It was only a little kiss."

She
remembered the expertise of his mouth.
Yeah, right.

He
continued, "Look, I'll make a deal with you because I'd hate for you to
miss the wagon train next week and all that great research…I'll move you to the
dorm today. That way you won't have to be around me as much." Again, he
paused. "Sarah, I'm really sorry. I never get involved with my guests. I
take full responsibility. You were a little…imbibed…and appealing. I lost my
head."

Sarah
honed in on one word—
appealing.
He thought she was
appealing.
What a crock. Now she was even more determined to leave and her face must have
mirrored her resolve.

Sage
stepped into the room, angry. "You don't believe me, do you? You think I'm
full of horseshit…just flattering you so you'll stay and not ask for a refund.
Lady, you are a piece of work. I've bent over backwards to make up for my screw
up in New York, and now I'm doing the same thing for my screw up last night.
You know, I think you just don't like men. Sure, you write your novels about
dashing heroes, but real-life men have no place in your world. You need to see
a shrink, Mims."

Sarah
couldn't move. She either wanted to lash a retort or run from the room, but
neither her legs, nor her mouth worked, so she just stared wide-eyed at him. He
didn't budge. Finally, the only body part that worked, were her tear ducts. Big
fat drops welled and rolled down her cheeks.

"Aw
shit. I can't do anything right." He strode across the room and knelt in
front of her. Placing his hands over hers, he said gently, "Look, I don't
want you to leave. I want you to finish your research. At least stay for the
wagon train. It'll be fun and you'll learn a lot about the Old West. I promise
I'll behave and try not to have foot-in-mouth disease again. If you leave now,
we'll both feel like shit." He reached a hand toward her face, but it only
hovered a second before he dropped it. Standing, he walked to the bathroom and
grabbed a wad of Kleenex. Pressing the tissues into her palm, he said low,
"Will you give me another chance, please Sarah?"

Sarah
inhaled a shuddering breath. He may be a jerk, but he was a nice one, and he
was right about one thing, she'd feel like shit. She knew he was exaggerating
about himself, but for her, it was not an exaggeration. She needed to leave
this ranch on good terms. If she didn’t, it would haunt her. Slowly she nodded.

He
whooshed, "That's my girl."

Sarah
wanted to glare at him for the endearment, but she didn't have the courage.

"Do
you think you'll be ready to move to the dorm by late afternoon?"

She
nodded again.

* * *

Julie
helped Sarah pack the last of her belongings. Closing the small carry case
she'd placed toiletries in, she carried it from the bathroom to the bedroom.
"Hey, Sarah, looks like you almost don't need crutches anymore."

Sarah
glanced up from fastening a large suitcase on her bed. "Uh, what did you
say?"

Julie
repeated herself. All day Sarah had seemed preoccupied. Maybe she didn't want
to leave the house. Whatever was wrong, it had put a sad expression on her
face. She looked like she'd been crying.

Sarah
finally responded, "Oh yeah, another day or so and–"

There
was a knock on the door halting their stilted conversation. Julie saw Sarah get
an almost panicked look.
What the heck is going on?
When Sarah didn't
say anything, Julie asked, "Do you want me to get the door? It's probably
Dad or someone to help carry your things."

"Umm…yes,
please." Sarah turned her back to the door and fiddled with the suitcase latch
again.

Julie
opened the door to her dad and Newt. She saw her dad glance quickly at Sarah's
back. Even he looked weird. He looked at Julie. "Are you ready?" he
asked cheerfully.

Julie
knew it was forced cheerfulness. She scratched her head. "Yep, looks like
everything's packed."

"Great.
Newt, why don't you grab that suitcase?" He pointed to the one on the
floor. "Julie, carry what you've got, and I'll grab the other one."
He looked at the one Sarah was fiddling with.

When
he walked toward the bed, Sarah stepped aside, seemingly entranced with the
carpet. Julie glanced at Newt. He only gave a slight shrug, reading the
question in her eyes.
What's going on?
She waited for the room to clear
and then followed behind Sarah who was carrying her crutches and not using
them. A sudden thought popped into her head.
Do my dad and Sarah have a
thing for each other?
Her dad opened the front door and she studied his
expression. She saw him cast a quick glance at Sarah.
Dang, he does have a
thing for her! I can't believe it. Wow, cool! By the way she's acting, she must
like him too. Cool…cool…cool!

After
the suitcases were loaded in the back of the pickup, it was decided Newt would
drive the truck and Sarah would ride in the cab. Sage and Julie would sit on
the tailgate for the short drive.

"Julie,
help Sarah into the truck," Sage ordered.

If
Julie had any doubts about how her dad felt, they evaporated with those words.
If he didn't have feelings for Sarah, he wouldn't think twice about helping
her. Julie hid her grin. "Sure, Dad."

At
the dorm, she helped Sarah out of the cab and then grabbed the carry case while
her dad and Newt transported her suitcases. Jacob rushed to help, but there was
nothing left to carry. He shifted the small case from Julie's hand.

"You
know, I think I can manage carrying that," said Julie.

"I
know," Jacob replied, and smiled at her.

Julie's
heart tripped.
He's super cute.

Jacob
held the door for everyone. Inside, Mindy and Mandy, wearing leggings and sports
bras that seemed a size too small, were following high energy instructions
blaring from an aerobics dance video. "Pump it up!" the instructor
yelled as a song kicked into high gear. Not missing a beat, the twins said in
unison, "Hi, Sage."

"Hello,
Mindy and Mandy."

Julie
knew he was just being polite. She looked at Jacob and rolled her eyes. He
coughed and covered his mouth, but she could see he was grinning.

Mr.
and Mrs. Hackstetter walked in from the hallway and Mr. and Mrs. Tully entered
from the kitchen. Sage cleared his throat. "Can I have everyone's
attention for a sec?"

"Anything
you want," said one of the M girls. The other one turned the volume down
on the video.

"I
know ya'll met Sarah Carter last night. In a day or so, she won't need crutches,
so she's decided to experience dude life by hanging out with ya'll."

"Welcome,
Sarah, it's good to see you again. You let us know if you need anything,"
said kind Mrs. Tully.

While
Sarah got reacquainted with her fellow greenhorns, Julie watched her dad, Jacob,
and Newt deliver Sarah's suitcases to the largest bedroom at the end of the
hall. When they returned, Newt mumbled something about checking on the horses
and Jacob walked back to her. Mindy and Mandy cornered her dad and Julie heard
Jacob snicker. He quickly did another "cough" act and turned around.
She had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing herself. She
could see from the grinding of her dad's jaw that he was
really
irritated with the twins. She watched him force a smile and then politely
extricate himself from their clutches. Before he left the room, he said,
"Julie, when Sarah's ready, show her to her room and help her
unpack."