The Rancher's Bride (9 page)

One corner of his lips cocked upward. “Have you ever thought I might simply
want
to hold onto you, Rose?”

“No! Harlan, this is…” she glanced desperately over her shoulder, then back at him. “We’re in the bathroom, for heaven’s sake!”

Before she could guess his intention, he reached behind her and pushed the door shut, cocooning them together in the room.

“Don’t tell me you’ve never stood in the bathroom with a man,” he said, his soft voice full of amusement.

Her mouth popped open. “I’m a single woman!”

She said it as though that automatically excluded her from having any sort of connection with a man. Her primness in this day and age both amazed him and endeared her to him.

“What does that mean?”

She gasped. “It means I’m not promiscuous!”

He chuckled softly as his hand slid up from her wrist all the way up to her bare shoulder. “Rose, honey, this is hardly making you a fast woman.”

Her nostrils flared as color swept into her cheeks. “You like making fun of me.”

His dark brows lifted. “I’m not making fun of you. I’m enjoying you.” His hand crept upward until the tips of his fingers were playing with her hair. “You look very beautiful tonight, Rose.”

Her knees were beginning to feel like jelly, and she was sure the two of them had breathed in every last bit of oxygen from the bathroom. “Washing off a little dirt hasn’t changed my looks.”

Smiling, he moved his fingers to the soft curve of her cheek. “You’re right. You looked beautiful with the dirt, too.”

Groaning, she stepped back. He instantly followed and circled his arms around her waist. Rose felt herself swaying and was forced to grab hold of his bare shoulders.

“Harlan, you…promised to be my friend,” she whispered in protest.

He tugged her closer until she was pressed against his naked chest and long, denim-clad legs. “That’s true. But I didn’t promise not to touch you again. Why should I make a promise I know I can’t keep?”

Her heart was pounding so hard she was certain he must
feel it shaking against him. “Because you know I don’t want this. I…”

Her words ceased as his lips covered hers. In the back of her mind. Rose knew she should lever herself away from him. And fast! But she couldn’t. Just like he said, she wanted this. Wanted him. It was shocking how much!

His hands framed her face, his thumbs locked beneath her chin. Rose’s fingers dug into his shoulder and her lips parted. The tip of his tongue slipped between her teeth and delved deeper into the warmth of her mouth.

Rose shivered and clung as the erotic taste of him filled her senses and heated her body. She wasn’t afraid of his strong arms and hands. She wasn’t repulsed by the taste of his lips or the intimate invasion of his tongue. And the realization was both thrilling and terrifying.

“I think,” he said, lifting his head and drawing in a long breath, “that you’d better get out of here and let me finish before they all begin to wonder where we are.”

How did he expect her to simply walk out and face everyone now? Her legs were so. wobbly she doubted she could make it down the hall. And she knew without looking in a mirror that her face was red, her lips swollen.

“You weren’t worried about that a minute ago,” she observed in a voice that sounded oddly hoarse, even to her own ears.

Smiling, he reached for a towel and hurriedly began to dry himself off. “I’m not really worried about it now.”

With one hand gripping the edge of the vanity, she watched him slip his arms into the shirt, then shrug it over his shoulders.

“Was this your father’s?”

“Yes. I thought it would fit you.”

“It does.”

For a man with big hands and fingers, he made fast, graceful work of the buttons. When he reached the bottom
one, he undid the waistband of his jeans and lowered the zipper. Rose jerked her gaze off him and studied the pink and white tiles on the floor.

“There. I’m ready. Let’s go eat.”

She looked up to see he’d stuffed the shirttail into his jeans and was safely dressed again. She opened the door and stepped into the hallway with Harlan right behind her.

“Oh—uh, there you two are. Kitty sent me after you. Supper is getting cold.”

Rose whirled around to see Chloe coming from the bedroom end of the house. Dear Lord, her sister hadn’t been thinking she’d taken Harlan to her bedroom, had she? It was bad enough that she’d caught them like this.

“We were just—” Rose began.

“Rose was just showing me the bathroom fixtures.”

Chloe looked suspiciously from her sister’s red face to Harlan’s sheepish smile.

“Really? You don’t have a bathroom in your house, Mr. Hamilton?”

Rose frowned at her sister, but Harlan laughed with genuine amusement. “Call me Harlan, Miss Chloe. And yes, I uh—do have a bathroom. But I’ve been thinking about making some changes. With the fixtures, that is.”

Chloe smiled at him and Rose knew she didn’t believe a word of his story. “Well, I hope you were pleased with what Rose showed you.”

The smile on his face turned into a ridiculous grin and Rose wanted to sink into the floor.

“Oh, believe me, she helped me make up my mind. I know exactly what I want now.”

The slashing of the fence and the hunt for the bull was the major topic of conversation at the supper table. Rose managed to tell her part of the story and comment in all the right places. She even succeeded in eating a healthy
portion of steak and potatoes, but beneath her outward calm, she was a wreck.

Harlan was attracted to her physically. That in itself was hard to imagine. Most of the men she’d tried to date after Peter had found Rose too cool and prim for their liking. And that hadn’t really upset Rose all that much. She’d hated their sexual innuendos and clumsy attempts to tempt her into making love with them. So why was Harlan any different? What did he see in her that other men hadn’t? And why did she melt like a pat of soft butter if he so much as looked at her?

In honor of their guests, Kitty served coffee and dessert out on the patio in the courtyard. The high desert air had finally cooled somewhat, making the night breeze pleasant.

While everyone ate and talked, Rose sat quietly in a cushioned lounge chair and tried to make her mind go blank. So much had happened in the past weeks and months she felt as if she were on a freight train that had lost its brakes and was on the verge of jumping the track. Her whole life seemed out of control and she didn’t have a clue how to right it again.

“Rose, I’d like to talk to you. Can we go somewhere more private?”

Rose looked around to see that everyone had gone back into the house except for her and Harlan. And she hadn’t even noticed!

“More private?” she asked, her voice close to squeaking. “We’re alone out here.”

“Yes, but…I don’t want Emily, or anyone else, coming out and interrupting what I have to say.”

She stood and wiped her suddenly damp palms down the folds of her skirt. “Are you sure you only want to talk?” she asked skeptically.

Her question put a crooked grin on his face. “Yes. Just talk.”

She wasn’t sure she believed him. The glint in his brown eyes gave her the impression he had everything but talking on his mind. Still, Rose wasn’t about to run from him like a frightened little girl.

“There’s a bench out front beneath the pines. We could go there,” she suggested.

He stood. “Fine. Lead the way.”

They walked slowly to the courtyard gate, then down the drive and away from the house. The night was clear and the moon high enough to shed plenty of light for them to walk without fear of stepping on a sidewinder. Harlan remained close by her side, his hand lightly touching the small of her back.

“You have a very nice family, Rose. I can see why it’s so important for you to keep this ranch going.”

“I’d do anything for my family,” she said, then glanced up at his shadowed face. Now that the heat of the sun was just a memory, he’d left his felt hat back in the house. His dark hair curled rakishly across his forehead and down on the collar of the white shirt.
Looks to die for.
Chloe had certainly described Harlan to a T.

“Funny that you should say that.”

“Why?”

He glanced down at her. “Because I…” He shook his head and motioned his hand toward the bench a few feet away. “Let’s sit down first.”

Her heart thudding heavily, she joined him on the slatted wooden bench. As soon as she grew still, he reached for her hand. Rose gave it to him and resisted the urge to close her eyes as the warmth of his fingers enveloped hers.

“I think you realize how fond Emily has grown of you,” he began and Rose got the impression he wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to say next.

“Yes, I’m fond of Emily, too. But you didn’t need privacy to tell me that.”

“Give me time, Rose. I’m trying to go into this gently.”

Gently? The word put her on sudden alert. If he had some sort of unpleasant news to break to her, she didn’t want him to beat around the bush about it. “Just spit it out, Harlan. Dear Lord, after all I’ve been through here lately, I don’t need to be handled with kid gloves.”

“This isn’t something I want to blurt out.”

A pent-up breath rushed out of her. “Have you changed your mind about the money Daddy borrowed from you?” Her brows shot up. “You think we should sell the place and pay you off. That’s what you’re trying to tell me, isn’t it?”

He groaned with frustration. “Rose, you’re jumping to conclusions. And I told you this morning that the money isn’t an issue right now. I’m trying to tell you that I’ve been thinking and—” His fingers lifted from hers and began to make smooth little circles on the back of her hand. “I think there’s a way you and I can help each other.”

She studied her sandaled feet and tried to get her shaky nerves back under control. “Oh.”

He didn’t go on and Rose finally lifted her head and their eyes met in the silvery moonlight.

“How can we help each other?”

He took a deep breath. “We can get married.”

Rose’s heart ceased to beat as everything inside her went utterly still. “You…can’t be serious!”

“I’m very serious.”

Her mouth fell open, but she didn’t care. He’d completely stunned her. There was no way she could hide it. “But you—you don’t care anything about me. You barely know me!”

Harlan grimaced. “Love isn’t the only reason people get married, Rose.”

Humiliation poured through every inch of her, until her face burned with it.

“I didn’t say anything about love,” she said, her voice low and gritty. “But when two people get married they need to at least know each other and care about the other’s welfare.”

“We know each other,” he countered.

An incredulous laugh slipped past her lips. “No—no, you don’t know me at all, Harlan. If you did, you wouldn’t dream of asking me to marry you.”

He took her face between his hands. “I know all I need to know. Emily is crazy about you. She’d love for you to be her mother. I’d love for you to be her mother.”

And that was supposed to be enough? Rose wondered wildly.

“Is that what this is all about, Harlan? That you simply want a mother for Emily? You told me the first night I came to talk to you that there wasn’t a woman on this earth you’d ever want to marry. Now you’re inviting me to be your wife. I’m sorry, but that sounds pretty flaky to me.”

“Forget I ever said that.”

“Why should I?”

He growled with frustration. “Because things are different now.”

“How so?”

A scowl wrinkled his forehead. “I should have known you’d be cool and practical about this.”

Rose was feeling anything but cool and practical. Her heart was beating at such a frantic pace, she was lightheaded. Or was the idea of becoming Mrs. Harlan Hamilton doing that to her?

“That’s me. Cool, sensible, boring Rose. I told you. You don’t know me.”

He made an impatient sound in his throat. “Rose, I admit that we haven’t known each other very long. But I think we know enough. And…” He took hold of both her shoulders. “I know we would be good for each other.”

How could she be good for him? She wasn’t a whole woman. She could never make any man happy. Especially one like Harlan. “What…makes you think so?” she asked huskily.

“I need a mother for Emily and you need a man to help you keep this ranch going. It’s as simple as that.”

Her heart was suddenly breaking and she wasn’t sure why. It shouldn’t pain her to hear Harlan say he wanted to marry her for convenience. But in truth, it did more than pain her. What little feminine pride Peter had left her was now squashed by Harlan’s calculated proposal. She was a woman who would never be truly loved by any man. He couldn’t have made it plainer.

“I see,” she said very slowly. She moistened her parched lips with the tip of her tongue. “So a mother for Emily is what you’re really after.”

In the past few moments her face had turned to stone and Harlan knew that he’d hurt her in some way, but he wasn’t sure how.

“Rose,” he said gently, his palms sliding up and down her upper arms. “Please don’t think I’m being a heartless ass. But I…I’m not going to insult you by pretending to have fallen suddenly and madly in love with you. We both know that would be as ridiculous as if you told me you’d fallen in love with me at first sight.”

Maybe she had, Rose thought. Maybe that’s why she was feeling so raw and broken. Dear God, don’t let it be so, she silently prayed. She couldn’t bear to be hurt by another man. Not now. Not after everything else that had gone on in her life.

“I guess I should thank you for being so…up front with me.

She didn’t look any too happy with him and Harlan knew if he was ever going to get her to agree to this marriage,
he was going to have to appeal to the sensible side of her. She was that sort of woman.

“I realize this isn’t how you…uh, expected a marriage proposal to be. I know women are generally romantic and—”

She stopped his words with eyes like granite. “Contrary to what you think, Harlan, I’ve been proposed to before. And in the conventional way.”

His jaw dropped. The fact that some man had asked her to marry him didn’t surprise Harlan. But the obvious bitterness on her face did.