Summer's Desire (15 page)

“What?”
Holden asked.

“It doesn’t
come out of a can. I always thought it came out of a can. Didn’t you think that
too, John?” Luke looked at his younger brother.

John glanced
up away from the pots on the stove. “Yeah, we’ve only had the can stuff. This
smells much better.”

The side of Holden’s
mouth quirked up. “Yes it does. Now what’s this bachelor stuff?” He hoped that
his lightened voice would break the tension.

Luke and John
exchanged glances and smiled. Luke spoke. “Well the way to a man’s heart is his
stomach. That’s what we thought.”

“We were so
wrong,” John added, shaking his head.

Holden’s
eyebrows rose. “Oh?”

Summer looked
up at him, he could see the humor in her eyes. She made his heart jump.

John walked
over to him. “You see, women like a man who knows how to cook and stuff. Did
you know that there is no such thing as woman’s work? I could have sworn you
told us that cooking was really women’s work.”

His face
heated a bit. “I guess I did say that but I was wrong
and
i
t appears that I’ve been wrong about a lot of things lately.” He
was rewarded with a brief nod from Summer.

John ran back
next to Summer. “I didn’t miss anything did I?”

Luke touched
her arm and got her attention. “You’re not leaving are you?”

Summer graced
Luke with a smile. “No
,
I’ll be here.” Her voice was quiet but they all heard it.

Relief washed
over him and he silently thanked God. His phone rang. He was needed out at Stone’s
place
, so h
e grabbed his bag and his Stetson
,
turn
ing
to say goodbye to Summer
S
he had turned her
back to him. He hesitated.

“I’ll save
you some.” She still hadn’t turned, but at least she acknowledged him.

*
*
*
*

There was
little left to save. Jonas came by to
visit
.
His wanting to get to know his neighbors act didn’t fool her.
Summer knew that Holden had sent him over
, but s
he played along anyway. Jonas was a shy
man and she was sure he didn’t relish spending his evening drinking coffee with
her in the kitchen.

Every time
she saw him, his size surprised her. His shoulders were broad enough to fill a
doorway and he was very tall. His amber eyes were kind, but she could sense
pain in them. His brown hair was very short, almost military style. He wasn’t
one for making conversation and to her dismay
,
she kept blathering on about stuff. After a
while she didn’t even know what they were talking about. Finally, she just
stopped talking and they sat in a companionable silence, listening to the boys
play video games and vying for turns.

“You know
they do make
one with
four controllers.”

Summer almost
jumped. “Oh I didn’t know. That would solve a lot of problems.”

“Yep.” Jonas
nodded.

Silence again.
“You don’t have to stay and babysit, Jonas.”

He appeared
surprised. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Tempted to
laugh she looked at the floor
,
pretending to find it fascinating until the urge passed. “Are you
planning on visiting until Holden gets back?”

Finally
,
he smiled. “Yep.”

“Okay then.
Usually I go and take a shower before bed. The bathroom is so crowded in the
mornings. This house is wonderful and updated except for the bathrooms. Is it
rude if I go and take a shower and try to get some sleep?”

Jonas smiled
again. “You go right ahead, Summer. Relax anyway you can. You can rest assured
that I will be here.”

“That’s what
I figured. It is nice to visit with you, Jonas. We must do this more often.”
Summer stood, put her mug in the sink and touched Jonas’ shoulder. “Thank you.”

Jonas
swallowed hard apparently uncomfortable with her touch. “Goodnight.”

Summer took
her shower and as she headed toward her room she could hear Jonas’ voice along
with the others wanting turns at the game. He had a good heart. She wished that
she could get to know him better. She prayed that one day he’d find someone to
take his pain away.

Sliding into
bed, she hoped for sleep but she tossed and turned reliving the day’s events.
Mostly
,
she relived the passion they had found in Holden’s truck. He was an amazing
lover and he’d brought her to heights she never dreamed of. Her body throbbed remembering
how he filled her. She pictured herself astride him, his mouth on her breast
while she threaded her fingers through his hair. Her head, heart and body all
warred against each other.
When
the
sun started to rise
,
she still hadn’t slept. Summer slipped out of
bed and looked in the mirror. Her blue eyes were bloodshot and her honey blonde
hair had seen better days. It looked as though she had wrestled with a tiger
all night. She quickly brushed it and pulled it back into a ponytail. Throwing
on a pair of jean shorts and a purple t-shirt, she padded barefoot down the
stairs
,
c
o
m
ing
to a halt
at the
smell the fresh coffee. She wasn’t sure
she was up to seeing Holden so early in the morning. Determined to make things
work for his brothers’ sakes
,
she plodded ahead.

He’d been
leaning over the kitchen sink, staring out the window. He turned when she
entered the kitchen. It didn’t appear that he’
d
gotten any sleep either. His eyes had circles
under them and his black hair stuck up all over. If it had been any other day
she would have teased him about it.

“Looks like
it’s going to be a nice day,” she commented as she poured herself a cup of
coffee.

“It sure
does.” He gave her a sad smile. “Listen
,
Summer—”

She held her
hand up, her palm facing him. “No, I don’t want to hear it. Let’s just try to make
the best of it for the boys’ sake. That’s what really matters.”

His stare was
so intent she felt as though he was looking into her soul.

“You care
about them.”

“I love them,
Holden. Each one of them. I’m concerned for their safety but I’m also concerned
how they would feel if I left again. I don’t want to be the reason they
distrust women.”

Holden
nodded. “I understand and you’re right. They need constancy in their lives.
They’ve just been uprooted from Texas.”

The hitch in
his throat when he said Texas caught her attention. They never did say why they
had to move.
 
A mystery best saved for
later
. S
he
had enough on her plate.

“So, besides
having Jonas come and protect me, what is the game plan?”

“I’m hiring
extra hands to help with the cattle and other chores. I want my brothers closer
to the house. I’ll have them work with the horses. I’d lock you in your room
but I have a feeling you wouldn’t stay
,
so I hired a couple men to act as bodyguards.”

Her eyes widened.
“All of that? Holden you can’t put out that kind of cash. In ranching you have
to save for the bad years.”

“Don’t worry
about it.”

“I do worry.
What are you being paid as a vet? I heard Mrs.
Grandy
paid you in chickens a few days ago.”

Holden graced
her with a smile. “She did. Seeing as I have no use for chickens I give them to
Mrs. Ruth. Then when Mrs. Ruth needs my services she pays me the same chickens
and I give them back to Mrs.
Grandy
.”

Summer
couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that erupted. “You’re kidding me.”

“I wish I
were. They are both cute little ladies. I think they are just lonely. Mrs. Gra
n
dy’s
horse, Jasper, is old but fine. She calls me out there at least
once a week
a
nd
Mrs. Ruth’s
dog Penny is fine too.”

She gazed at
the handsome planes of his face. He really was a good man. “I don’t want to
bankrupt you. It’s my problem.”

“Just humor
me, Summer. Can you do that? Please?”

She took a
sip of her cooling coffee, watching him. Finally
,
she nodded. “Yes, I can do that.”

The warm
smile she received was worth agreeing with him. She almost smiled back, but she
remembered that he didn’t fully believe her. Holden set his mug down. “I need
to go to the clinic for a few hours. I’ll call before sending anyone new out
here. Can I get you to agree to stay close to the house today?”

“Sure.” She
watched him walk away. He stopped at the couch and chatted with Matt. Holden
was doing most of the talking. Matt was nodding. Probably instructions to keep
the boys close by.

Breakfast
needed to be made.

*
*
*
*

Later that day,
Summer surveyed the motley crew
of hands Holden had sent out. He did call before each arrival. There were five
of them each looked tough and well-seasoned. She wondered where he found these
men. She hadn’t seen them before. Maybe he broke them out of jail. They didn’t
look like cow hands and they only went by first names.

The oldest
one was
Jaz
. He looked to be fifty years old. He
was
a bit on the
short side and bald. His blue eyes had a
“
don’t mess with me
”
look in them. Next
Gabe arrived. He was taller than most and wider than anyone she’d known
, even
Jonas
,
and just as beefy.
He’d probably be good at arm wrestling. He had the whole tall, dark, almost handsome
thing going for him, but there were no smiles in that man’s heart.

Ben was very polite
but he refused to make eye contact. He seemed shifty to her. He too was tall
and truck like.

Denver
appeared non-threatening until she saw all the tattoos around his neck. There
was something not right about that man.

Sly had the
look of the devil about him. He had small dark eyes, dark hair and was a bit on
the thin side. He made eye contact with her and she got the chills. Yes
,
definitely the devil.
She wondered if they even rode horses. She didn’t know what to do with them
except feed them. She made them sandwiches and coffee. They might have made her
uncomfortable but they weren’t disrespectful. The sound of a truck coming up
the drive made her anxious
and s
he hoped it was Holden.

She went to
the front window and there were several trucks coming her way. The men all got
up from the table, and headed outside. Ben stopped to thank her for lunch
before he reached the door.

“Matt
,
do you know what the
heck is going on?”

“Holden
bought six new ATVs to make it easier to get around the ranch.”

“Are those
men really ranch hands?”

Matt shrugged
his shoulders. “I guess so. They do look like a hardened lot.”

“Here
,
let me help you
outside so we can see what’s going on.” Summer helped Matt up and handed him
his crutches. She held the door open as he hobbled his way to the porch. They
both sat in the wooded chairs. Summer didn’t want to call attention to herself
but she did want to know what the plan was.

Holden
directed the men and answered questions, outlining their jobs. Being a leader
came naturally to him. His confidence was downright sexy and Summer found
herself feeling bereft, certain that they would never find their way back to
each other. At least not the way they were. “Are you all right?” Matt asked.

Summer pulled
her gaze away from Holden. “Yes, why do you ask?”

“There’s sadness
about you when you look at my brother. I thought, well I guess I don’t know
what I thought.” His perusal of her was intense and it made her face heat.

“I don’t know
what is going on. I thought what you thought, but things didn’t work out
b
ut
it’s fine, really.

Matt gave her a
searching look before he turned his head and watched the ATVs being unloaded. She
closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She needed to learn to hide her
feelings
better
. F
rom
now on she was going to portray the happy
,
easy going housekeeper.
She’d do her job and watch out for the boys. There was no way she could keep
from loving them and she didn’t plan to pull back from them. She found she
needed them as much as they needed her. It felt nice to have
an
anchor.