Her Rugged Rancher (7 page)

The rushing noise in her ears grew so loud she couldn't hear the wind or the birds or even the moans in her own throat. Then, just as her knees were about to buckle, he lifted his head, allowing her to suck in a reviving breath of oxygen. Yet before she could gather herself completely, he stepped back, removing the anchoring support of his shoulders.

Forced to grab on to the fender of Casper's saddle to keep from falling, she stared in shocked wonder at him.

“Noah, I—”

“Don't say anything else, Bella,” he said in a husky growl. “Just go home. Before I say to hell with everything and carry you inside the cabin.”

Shaking almost violently now, she followed his order and quickly swung herself onto Casper's back. The horse instantly sensed her turmoil and began to dance and shake his head against the bit. Without sparing a glance at Noah, she urged the animal into a gallop and didn't ease the pace until she was long gone from the cowboy's view.

Chapter Four

T
hree days later on a late Wednesday evening, Noah was in the barn, taking an inventory of the ranch's saddles and tack when a footstep behind him had him glancing over his shoulder.

The instant he spotted Jett striding toward him, he inwardly winced. This was the first time this week that he'd seen his boss. Any information they'd needed to share about ranch work had been done over the phone and Noah had been hoping by the time he faced Jett again, he would've forgotten all about his afternoon with Bella.

But so far Noah had found it impossible to get Bella, or the kisses they'd shared, out of his mind. From the moment she'd galloped Casper away from the cabin, his thoughts had been obsessed with the woman. Now he didn't know what to do to shake the misery he was carrying around inside him.

“Hey, Noah. I saw your truck and wondered what you were still doing here. It's getting late.”

The tall, dark-haired man dressed in worn jeans, cowboy boots and a gray battered hat looked nothing like a lawyer, but Jett Sundell was a damned good one and an equally good rancher. Along with those attributes, he was a devoted husband and father and one of the best friends Noah had.

“Hello, Jett.” He gestured toward a group of saddles the men used on a daily basis. “I was just going over our saddles. I'm afraid Reggie broke the tree in his today. He roped a bull and it jerked him and his horse over. The horn was literally buried in the ground. Now the whole damned thing is wiggling.”

A look of concern crossed Jett's face. “Don't worry about replacing the saddle. I want to know about Reggie and the horse.”

“They were lucky. I don't know how, but both came out of the spill unscathed. Reg got a lot of ribbing from the men, but he took it all with a laugh. I called Denver over at the Silver Horn to see if they had any used saddles for sale. He tells me they have a few. Most are pretty worn, but at least it would be a hell of a lot better than spending a couple of thousand for a new one.”

Jett nodded. “I'll be working the Horn tomorrow. While I'm there I'll have a look at them. Rafe has all the using saddles for his men handmade, so whatever they have for sale will be good ones.” He walked over and took a seat on an overturned feed bucket. “Sassy's been trying to locate some hay. I realize it's only the first part of May and we should have grass for a while, but what with the drought, she's concerned that by the time winter rolls around hay will be as scarce as hen's teeth. The alfalfa crops over in Churchill County are already sold and they're not even ready to cut yet.”

“She's probably right. I figure the sooner we fill the barns, the better,” Noah agreed.

Bending forward, Jett rested his forearms against his knees and looked over at Noah. “She found some timothy for sale, but the stuff is way up in Idaho and baled from last year's crop. I told her to keep searching. I don't want the cost of shipping that far. Especially when it's not fresh-cut.”

“Don't worry,” Noah told him. “It's early yet. Has she talked to Finn? The last I heard, her brother had his hay meadows producing. If he has surplus, he might sell what he doesn't need.”

“You're right. I'll talk to Sassy about it tonight.” Chuckling, he added, “That is, we'll talk after bath time, story reading and rocking Mason to sleep.”

Of Jett and Sassy's three children, Mason was the baby of the bunch, born just before Thanksgiving last year. Noah was very fond of all three kids, but he couldn't deny he was particularly attached to little Mason. The dark-haired baby rarely uttered a cry and whenever he saw Noah, he always reached for him.

Mason would probably be the closest thing he ever had to having a son. The hollow thought had Noah moving restlessly over to a wall where a slew of bridles neatly hung on rows of nails. Automatically, he picked up a shiny pair of bits and worked the moving parts back and forth.

“You didn't see Bella around this afternoon, did you?” Jett asked.

Just hearing her name was like a punch in the gut and for a moment he gripped the bit so hard he very nearly bent the silver shank. “No. Why?”

“Just wondering,” Jett replied. “She wrapped up her work early this afternoon and said she was coming home. I was hoping you might have seen her out riding. She hasn't been herself at all this week. I've been a bit worried about her.”

Noah stared unseeingly at the wall of bridles as the last few minutes of Bella's visit to the cabin played over in his mind. Try as he might, he still didn't know what had prompted him to kiss her. Then like a crazy man, he'd pulled her off Casper and once his mouth had landed on hers, he'd lost all control. But then so had she. The memory of her soft, eager lips moving against his, the way her body had practically wrapped itself around his, still had the power to make his groin ache with need.

“—riding the canyon. Noah? Hello? Are you with me?”

Jett's voice finally penetrated his deep thoughts and with a mental curse at himself, he looked over at his friend.

“Sorry, Jett. I was thinking about something. What were you saying?”

Frowning at him, Jett rose from the makeshift seat. “There must be something in the air that's causing late spring fever or some sort of mild dementia. Bella's been going around the office in a fog. Now I can't even keep your attention. Are you all right?”

No. There was nothing right about him, Noah wanted to say. But he couldn't. How could he explain to Jett that he was overwhelmed with the need to make love to his sister? That every moment of the day, she was on his mind like a wide-awake dream? Not only that, his encounter with Bella was the very thing he'd desperately tried to avoid all these years he'd been on the J Bar S. It was crazy. And he had to put a stop to it before his job, his whole life here on the ranch, came to an end.

“Hell, yes, I'm all right. Why wouldn't I be?” he asked gruffly.

Jett shrugged as he passed a keen gaze over Noah's face. “You tell me. You're not acting like your usual self. Have any of the guys been slacking or giving you a problem?”

“No. They're all working hard and no tempers have flared. I'm just tired, that's all. In fact, if there's nothing else we need to talk over, I'm going to head home.”

“Go ahead. I figure Sassy's probably waiting dinner for me anyway.” He moved closer and gave Noah an affectionate slap on the shoulder. “Don't pay any mind to me, Noah. It's just that I worry about you.”

Noah was momentarily taken aback. It was true that Jett considered him more of a close friend than an employee, but he'd never expressed this kind of concern before. “Worry? Why would you do that?”

A wry expression crossed Jett's face. “Because I want you to be happy. And it's obvious that you aren't.”

Ignoring the hollow pain in the pit of his stomach, Noah let out a mocking snort. “Since when did you become a psychiatrist?”

“I don't need a doctor's degree to figure out that much.”

Noah hung the leather headstall back on its hook. “I guess the next thing you're going to do is tell me I need to get out more. Find myself a woman and have a passel of kids.”

“Well, it wouldn't be the first time I've told you that.”

“I wish to hell it would be your last.”

“A family would change your life—for the better,” Jett argued.

“Over my dead body,” Noah muttered, then giving his hat an unnecessary tug onto his forehead, he started toward the door. “I'm going home.”

“Noah, wait a minute.”

Reluctantly, Noah paused and turned to face the other man. “Jett, I really don't want to get into this.”

Jett shook his head. “I'm not about to give you a lecture, Noah, or anything like that. I just wanted to say that we've been good friends for years now. And I've never tried to stick my nose in your private life. Past or present. But it's always been clear to me that you're running and hiding from something. I just hope that one of these days you'll turn and face whatever it is that's haunting you. Because until then you'll just be going through the motions of living.”

His jaw tight, Noah muttered, “If that isn't one of your lectures, I'd sure hate to hear one.”

Grinning now, Jett made a backhanded wave at the door. “Go on. That's all I have to say about the matter. I'll call you from the Horn tomorrow and let you know about the saddles.”

The sudden change of subject had Noah heaving out a breath of relief. “Fine. I'll see you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Have a good night, buddy.”

Outside, Noah crossed the ranch yard to where his truck was parked near the saddling pen. By now darkness was fast approaching, shrouding the barns and connecting corrals with deep shadows. The rest of the ranch hands had left more than an hour ago and, other than a handful of goats eating from a trough, the work area was quiet.

At any other time Noah would have lingered to relish the peacefulness, but not tonight. He wanted to get away from Jett and the sight of his happy home lit with warm lights. In a few minutes, when Jett walked through the door, the kids would fling themselves at him and Sassy would no doubt greet him with a kiss.

Noah didn't know what that might feel like. To have a family shower him with such love. And he'd probably never know. Because he wasn't ever going to put his trust, or his well-being, in the hands of a woman. No matter how sweet her kisses were.

The drive to Noah's cabin took fifteen minutes, not because there were several miles between the two places, but rather the road was rough, making it slow traveling. As Noah maneuvered the truck over the rubboard surface, he tried once again to clear his mind of Bella, but she remained stubbornly fixed in his thoughts.

Jett had said he was worried about his sister and Noah couldn't help but wonder if her behavior had anything to do with last Sunday and her visit to the cabin. Or was he putting too much importance on those hot kisses they'd shared?

Damn it, he'd not wanted to insult her or hurt her. God help him, she was the only woman he'd ever felt the need to cherish and protect. That's why he'd said those cutting things to her, because she deserved much better than him. He'd thought his bluntness would show her he wasn't a man who was worthy of her. She needed to understand that he was only a cowboy with nothing to offer her. Nothing at all. And yet, these past few days, he'd been overwhelmed with the longing to see her face again, to hear her voice and feel her soft lips yielding to his.

As he neared the turnoff to Bella's place, he told himself he wasn't even going to look in her direction. But that all changed when he spotted a light flickering through the pines and realized it was coming from Bella's barn.

If she was having trouble with one of the horses and needed help, she could call Jett. But he had a feeling she wouldn't want to disturb her brother's evening, unless it was absolutely necessary. No, she'd try to deal with the problem herself before she asked for help.

With a groan of self-disgust, he wrenched the wheel at the last moment and steered the truck onto her driveway.

* * *

Bella was walking up the alleyway of the barn when she spotted the headlights sweeping in front of the open doorway. At this time of evening Jett was usually having dinner with his family and none of her friends in town had mentioned they might drive out for a visit. She couldn't imagine who the unexpected caller might be.

She quickened her stride, while dusting bits of alfalfa hay from the front of her shirt and jeans. By the time she reached the front entrance, she spotted a man walking toward her. His hat was sitting low on his forehead, making it impossible to see his face, but there was no mistaking the tall, muscled body or that long easy walk.

Noah!

Without even realizing it, her heels dug into the soft earth, bringing her to an abrupt halt just inside the doorway.

He quickly closed the last few steps between them and all at once a familiar trembling began to consume her entire body.

“What are you doing here?” she asked bluntly. “Has something happened to Jett or his family?”

“Nothing is wrong. I saw your light in the barn and thought something might be wrong with one of the horses.”

If she had any backbone at all, she would tell him to get lost. That she would rather crawl on her belly before she asked for his help. But she'd never been a vindictive person. Besides, how could she send him away when everything inside of her was jumping with crazy joy at the sight of him?

“You have a cell phone,” she said flatly. “Why didn't you call Jett and ask him to check on me?”

His lips thinned to a straight line and as Bella studied his rigid features, she wondered why his kiss had tasted so incredibly good. And why, after days of fighting with herself, she couldn't get it or him out of her mind.

“He doesn't need the bother.”

Her boots planted in a wide stance, she folded her arms over her breasts. “You think I'm just a bother, period. Don't you?”

His nostrils flared. “Do you need any help?”

She relaxed her stance. “I'm not having any sort of problem. I was simply down here visiting.”

The annoyance on his face turned to one of confusion and he glanced over her shoulder, toward the back of the barn. “Visiting? Is someone else down here with you?”

She laughed. “No. Just the horses. I was grooming them and giving them a few treats. They're very good listeners. Did you know that?”

“I try to listen to mine. Not the other way around.”

She smiled faintly. “No. I don't expect you ever need to talk to anyone. Not even your horse.”

“You don't know what I need,” he muttered.

Even though the overhead lighting in the barn was dim, she could see his brooding gaze traveling over her and Bella wondered if he still had the urge to kiss her. Or had he gotten that weakness out of his system?