Dream Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #1) (3 page)

"My
name is Sarah."

"I
like the name Mims. Put your arms around my neck. We need to get ice on that
ankle as soon as possible."

Gingerly,
as if he were a swamp creature, she placed her arms around his neck. When he
lifted, regrettably, a grunt escaped his throat. She wasn't skinny like the
models he posed with.

When
he glanced at her, she'd turned scarlet and was glaring daggers at him.
"Put your good ankle in the stirrup."

She
fumbled, and he grunted again. Finally, she had her foot in the stirrup.
"Grab the pommel and pull."

"Grab
the what?"

"Grab
the big hump thing on the saddle and pull yourself up." She pulled and he
hoisted her onto the back of Jackel.

She
gave a tiny shriek and held the pommel for dear life. He mounted the horse
behind her, placing his arms around her body and flicking the reins. His
stallion started forward. She gave another shriek and hooked her arms around
his.

"Mims,
you really are a greenhorn, aren't you. What I'm wondering is why you want to
spend six weeks at a dude ranch? Could it be because you missed me?"

"Don't
flatter yourself."

Sage
had a sudden flash of insight. "You're doing research for a book, aren't
you?"

Still
clutching his arms, she said, "Well done, Sherlock. However, my research
won't be here, that's for sure."

"You
hurt my feelings. What's wrong with my ranch?"

"It's
not your ranch. It's you."

Sage
thought back to the photo shoot. Mims had been cute and nice; even a little
flustered. Then he thought about the incident at the coffee shop when the
waitress had gotten her come-uppins from the scary publisher, Sissy. He'd play
acted her game by pretending he and Mims were an item. What the hell was wrong
with that?

"God,
Mims, I didn't mean to piss you off in New York. I didn't think playing the
game was such a bad thing. I'm sorry."

"My
name is Sarah. And you're right about one thing. You didn't think. That makes
it even worse."

The
ranch house and outbuildings came into view and she shifted in the saddle,
trying to lean as far forward as possible. She'd released her grip on his forearms
and now gripped the pommel. However, no matter how much she tried to distance
herself, the sway of the horse kept pushing her back against him. Her prudish
attitude was starting to irritate him. He hadn't met a woman yet that didn’t
want his attention. He pulled the circle of his arms tighter and heard her
gasp.

He
led Jackel to the front porch and because she'd pissed him off, he leaned in, put
his mouth against her ear, and said low and sexy, "We're home." She
bristled and he grinned.

Dismounting,
he reached to circle his hands around her waist. She gave him a venomous look
but cooperated. When she was off the horse, he kept his hands on her waist when
she swayed and yelped after trying to take a step forward. Reaching an arm
under her legs, he lifted and carried her up the stairs of the wide porch. "Mims,
you're gonna have to open the screen and front door."

She
obeyed without argument, probably because she was in so much pain. He set her
on the couch and went to the kitchen, grabbing the ice pack he always kept in
the freezer. By the time he got back, she had pulled off her loafer and stocking
to reveal an excessively swollen ankle. He knelt in front of her and when he
saw the pain in her eyes, he didn't feel pissed anymore.

"Honey,
I'm gonna roll your pant leg up and put this ice pack on your ankle. I want you
to lie back." He grabbed some throw pillows for her head. She twisted and
lay back and he gently lifted her leg onto the couch. Placing a pillow under
her ankle, he folded back her pant leg and placed the ice pack on the swelling.
She jumped when he did so. "This will help bring the swelling down."

Leaving
the room, he returned to the kitchen and lifted the receiver from the wall
phone to call Doc Jones.

Lying
on the couch with her forearm over her eyes, Sarah kept wishing she would wake
from this nightmare. Of the hundreds of dude ranches in the United States, fate
had conspired to send her to Sage Tanner's. Now all she wanted was to get her
damn car running and escape Dodge.

"Here's
a wet cloth so you can wipe your face," said Sage.

She
lifted her forearm to see him squatting beside her. She wanted to squeeze her
eyes shut and wipe his gorgeous baby blues from her memory. She took the cloth.
"Thank you," she said stiffly.

He
stood and looked down at her. "I called my doctor friend and he said I
need to bring you to his office for an x-ray. My ranch hand will be here soon.
Then I'll drive you to Doc's."

"No…no,
just get my car running or call the rental company to send another one. I'll be
on my way…"
And away from you.

"Mims,
that's not gonna happen. Looks like you're gonna be laid up for awhile."

"Mr.
Tanner, I do not intend to be laid up for any length of time, and especially
not here."

"Lady…Sarah…"
There was a knock on the front door. Sage walked to open it. Sarah listened to
a woman's high pitched voice.

"OMG,
you're Sage Tanner! We're Mindy and Mandy. We're at the dude ranch for
three
weeks." There was a pause and then a very seductive, "What would you
like us to do?" spoken by another woman.

Sarah
groaned and covered her face with the wet cloth.

Sage
said, "Welcome ladies. One of the ranch hands should be here soon to check
you in. Do you see that building on the other side of the corral?"

"Yes,
Sage," they voiced in unison.

"That's
the dorm. Your room has a sticker with your names on it. Make yourselves
comfortable and feel free to explore the facility. Just don't go into the barn
with the horses, okay?"

"Okay,
Sage," they said in unison again. The one who had first spoken said, "We
can't wait to get to
know
you."

"Uh,
nice to meet you, uh, Mindy and Mandy." He closed the door.

Sarah
pulled the cloth down over one eye and watched Sage press his forehead against
the door.

"Looks
like you've got some groupies," she said, and then winced when a sharp
pain traveled up her leg.

"God,
why me?" he mumbled.

"Oh,
the perils of being a gorgeous model," she retorted.

She
watched him straighten. He turned and looked at her with narrowed eyes and
opened his mouth to make what looked to be a nasty reply, but instead, smiled
slow and devastatingly. "So, you think I'm gorgeous?"

Sarah
sputtered and pulled the cloth back over her eye. "M and M obviously think
so, but sorry, you don't do it for me. I like more than a pretty package."

There
was another knock on the door. "Shit!" Sage exclaimed and opened the
door.

"Hey
boss, I just saw two bimbos drive toward the dorm."

Sarah
pulled the cloth down again and watched Sage usher a weathered old cowboy into
the room. The cowboy saw her and turned scarlet beneath his leathery skin. He
removed his hat and held it against his stomach. "Ah, sorry, ma'am, I
didn't know there was a lady in the room."

Sage
said, "Newt, this is Mims…er Sarah Carter. Her vehicle stalled on the way
in. She twisted her ankle walking to the ranch and Doc wants to see her. I've
got to take her to his office–"

Sarah
interrupted, "No, you don't have to take me anywhere. You just have to get
my car running or call the rental company to deliver another one so I can leave
and–"

Sage
interrupted, "Newt, pull the truck as close to the front door as you can
so we can get Miss Carter into the cab–"

"What
part of, 'I'm not going to see
Doc',
don't you understand, Mr.
Tanner?"

Silently,
Newt glanced between Sage and Sarah, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Pull
the truck up, Newt," Sage said, staring her down.

"Yes,
boss." Newt rushed out the door.

"Mr.
Tanner…" Sarah began in her iciest voice.

"I
don’t give a shit what you say. I'm taking you to a doctor." He stalked
out the door after Newt.

Sarah
pulled herself into a seated position and threw the wet cloth across the room.
Who
the hell does he think he is?
Gingerly, she put weight on her foot and
stifled a scream.

The
screen door opened again and Sage stepped back inside. "You are one
stubborn woman, Mims." He walked to the couch and unexpectedly lifted and
carried her to his truck. The sharp pain in Sarah's ankle almost made her
faint. It took all of her concentration not to cry.

Newt
had the passenger door open and Sage gently sat her on the seat. She bit her
cheek, but a moan escaped anyway.

When
Sage shut the door, she glanced out the window to see the M and M girls
watching from a short distance away. One girl bent to the other and whispered
in her ear. Her identical twin slowly shook her head back and forth.

Sarah
wanted to yell out the window, "Don't worry girls, he's all yours."
She rubbed behind her neck.
As if they're worried. Jeez, look at them and
then look at you.
Sarah laid her head against the door frame and squeezed her
eyes tight against the Twilight Zone playing out in her life.

* * *

Doc
Jones said, "Nothin's broke. But you got a doosey of a sprain. You're
gonna have to be on crutches for at least ten days."

Sarah
looked at him in disbelief. Even though her mind screamed,
No,
her mouth
wouldn't move. The shot Doc had given her relieved the pain, but it rendered
her woozy and sleepy. Finally, she croaked, "I don't wanna stay with
Gorgeous George," and closed her eyes.

As
if in an alternate world, Sarah felt herself being wheeled outside and then
lifted back into the rusty old truck. She just wanted to sleep. She snuggled
against someone speaking in her ear. She heard words from far away,
"Sarah, let go of my neck so I can close the door and take you home."

"Home?
Yes, I want to go home." Thank God, her ankle didn't hurt anymore.

* * *

Sarah
stretched and her eyes flickered open. A dim illumination lit the room. Slowly,
she glanced around and then groaned. She was back in the male model's living
room lying on his couch. She tried to sit up and her head went fuzzy at the
same time her stomach roiled. Grabbing her mouth, she swallowed to keep from
throwing up.

A
young girl's voice said, "Are you okay? Should I get a trash bag so you
can puke?"

Sarah
gained control of her stomach and shook her head. Finally, after several deep
breaths, she looked for the owner of the voice. Now standing above her, a
teenage girl of around fourteen or fifteen looked concerned

"You've
been sleeping ever since my dad brought you home about two hours ago. Right
now, he's with the newbie dudes, getting them situated. He said I should keep
an eye on you. When he gets back, we're gonna move you to the guest bedroom.
It's next to my room. My dad said you've got a bad sprain and Doc's orders are
for you to stay off it for awhile."

Sarah
glanced at her ankle, wrapped and propped on a pillow. She groaned.

"Are
you hurting? Doc sent pain pills. Should I get you one?"

"No,"
she croaked. She looked back at the girl and asked, "Who's your dad?"

The
girl looked confused. "Sage Tanner."

Jeez,
the guy's got a wife and daughter? Never would have crossed my mind. I wonder
where the wife is. Actually, she's probably the ex-wife.

"What's
your name?" Sarah asked.

"Julie."

"Thanks
for your help, Julie."

"No
problem, ma'am."

The
front door opened and Sage entered. Backlit by the porch light, his sun
streaked mahogany hair and incredible bone structure made Sarah blink twice. He
looked like an erotic angel.

"Hey,
Dad, she's awake," said Julie.

"Good,
turn a light on, sweetie."

Julie
went to a lamp and switched it on.

"Did
you get the guest room ready?"

"Sure
did. Fresh sheets and dusted."

Sage
patted his daughter on the head and then walked to gaze down at Sarah.
"Looks like you're our guest for awhile. Newt's bringing crutches from the
barn. Doc says the only time you can get up is to go to the bathroom. He wants
you off the foot completely for at least three days, and then using crutches
after that."

From
her current prone position, Sarah looked up into Sage's azure eyes and wanted
to curse the universe for putting her there.

"Doc
said to ice your foot every two hours for at least fifteen minutes. Julie's
gonna help with that." He squatted beside her and his ocean eyes
threatened to drown her. "Are you hungry? I think you should eat. Whatever
Doc shot you with for pain sure knocked you out. He sent some pain pills. If
you need one, it's probably best not to take it on an empty stomach."