Riding the Storm (9 page)

The quiet of the kitchen proved little barrier against the growing fury of the storm outside and Jolene’s nerves were stretched beyond taut. The wind whipped branches against the siding and hummed through the eaves overhead. Rain pelted the roof and the temperature was steadily dropping. The carpet of goose bumps that prickled her arms had become as constant a companion as the baby she carried inside her.

Right on cue, little Joaquin tumbled over inside her, as if sensing his mother’s concern. Jolene cupped her
belly and rubbed gentling circles through the now stiff denim overalls. “Hang in there, sweetie,” she soothed. “Mama’s going to keep you safe. I’m just worried about Grandpa.”

And the Double J. And the storm. And Amber Browning’s future. And that damn Californian who’d disrupted her life in the first place.

She’d nearly disconnected after the eighth ring.

“Jolene?”

Of course, he’d read her number on his phone. Her breath rushed out in a sigh of hope and relief. “Dad?”

“Are you okay?” they asked in unison.

She listened to Mitch Kannon’s deep, calming breath. Felt it calm her as well. “I’m fine, hon.”

“Me, too.”

“Please tell me you’re somewhere safe.”

She could hear noises in the background now, and wondered if her father was working an accident scene or if the evac center was being overrun. “We’re still at the Rock-a-Bye ranch. Deacon and the newlyweds are set for now, though Deacon will need an X ray. The Brownings are fine, but Rocky’s still on the loose.”

“That’s gonna cost them if they lose him. I hope no one winds up with a runaway bull in their backyard. I don’t suppose the weather’s helping his temperament any.”

She hadn’t thought of the danger the bull could pose to anyone else. One more thing to worry about on a growing list. “I’m glad I could reach you on my cell. The static’s so bad we can’t get the radio to work, and now the phone lines are down.”

“That’s pretty much the status here. We’re getting reports of power outages around the county. Flooding.
Bridges out. Wind damage. Cars off the road. Hell, I’ve even got a missing Scout troop—over there.” Mitch addressed someone at the other end of the line. Jolene could overhear him directing the placement of cots at the fire station. By the time he was back on the line, she knew he had his hands full and didn’t need to be shouldering any of her burden as well. “I’m damn glad the California volunteers showed up,” Mitch said. “There’s no way we could handle all the calls we’re getting by ourselves.”

Jolene looked up at the ceiling, envisioning Nate’s skilled hands. “I hate to admit it, but I’m glad Kellison was with me. The baby was breech and I couldn’t get her turned around.”

“Her?” She could hear the smile in her father’s voice. “Did Lily finally get her little girl?”

Jolene discovered she could smile now, too, and was glad she could offer her father some happy news. “Amber Renee. Twenty inches long, seven pounds, three ounces, and as mouthy as her mother. You should see how crazy the boys are about her already.”

“Yeah, baby girls have a way of getting to the men in their lives.”

The personal message in his wistful tone comforted her and reminded her of the special bond they shared. “Have you had a chance to sit down and catch your breath, Dad? Did you eat lunch?”

“I’ll catch my breath once this hurricane blows over and I know my people are safe. And yes, Ruth made sure I ate a sandwich and had some coffee.”

“Good for her.” If the dispatcher was a tough enough cookie to raise three teenage sons on her own, then she
could keep Mitch Kannon in line. Jolene breathed a little easier, knowing someone closer to home was looking after her father. “Well, I won’t keep you. I just wanted to report in. Is there anything you need me to do?”

“You couldn’t if you wanted to. Sheriff Boone said the main highway’s flooded out near the river, and you told me the backroads were already impassable.” She recognized the deep breath that preceded a fatherly warning. “So you stay put at the Rock-a-Bye. Don’t try to come into town until this thing blows itself out. You think this storm front is bad, just wait until the real thing hits us tonight.”

Stay put?

Her feet were already dancing with the antsy need to help, to take action. She needed to do
something.
“We won’t head for town,” she promised, knowing she could never lie to her father outright.

But she could check her own ranch. She could try to recover Rocky for Gabe and Lily.

“Jolene?” Mitch Kannon was no fool. “Remember, you’re responsible for two people now.”

She hugged her belly. “I know. I promise, nothing will happen to your grandson.”

“Jolene? Put Kellison on the line.” He knew her thoughts were already jumping ahead to her next rescue mission. “Don’t you go off on some—”

“Mitch?” Ruth’s voice interrupted the call. Papers rattled, furniture crashed and someone cussed in the background. Apparently Turning Point had another emergency that required her father’s attention.

Jolene knew the town was in good hands. “I love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too.” He didn’t want to ring off, but he had to. “Call when you can.”

“I will.”

As a flurry of activity filled the fire station, Jolene hung up and stuffed the phone into her pocket. Reassured as she was by her father’s voice, she knew her work wasn’t finished. There was still work to be done before Hurricane Damon struck. And more once he had passed. She might not be able to get to town to help her father, but she could make a difference here.

Lily was worried about Rocky. Deacon couldn’t work with his arm. Wes was no cowboy, and the boys needed Cindy.

The Rock-a-Bye needed its bull to survive.

And there was nothing Jolene could do here but wait.

Sit on her hands and wait for Hurricane Damon to hit and pass.

She swallowed hard, missing her father, missing Joaquin, missing the life that would never be hers, a life like Lily’s.

She couldn’t just sit and wait and worry.

She felt cocooned inside the rambling house, trapped by feelings she didn’t want to have.

Stuffing the last of the sandwich into her mouth, Jolene grabbed the poncho Wes had worn and slipped out the back door.

“C
RAZY
T
EXAS WOMAN
.”

Nate grumbled a curse between his teeth and shifted the white bassinet onto his hip as he glared out the bedroom window. With Wes’s help, he was moving Lily and Amber and all the necessary supplies down to the more
secure main floor to ride out the storm with the menagerie of survivors they’d collected throughout the day.

But apparently Mitch Kannon’s darling daughter didn’t intend to join them.

Jolene looked more like demon than angel as she dashed from the back of the house, past the empty horse paddock and into the barn.
Fast
seemed to be the only speed she functioned in. Maybe she’d run track in school. Maybe she hated to get wet. Or maybe she was just used to having to stay a step or two ahead of trouble. Even five months pregnant, she covered the distance like a gazelle.

An urgency clenched his muscles, sharpened his senses. The rapid pulse, the hyper-awareness—the challenge staring him in the face—all reminded him of the adrenaline rush he used to get each time he climbed down into the gate on the back of a bull and braced himself to ride out into the rodeo ring.

Nate shook his head at the notion. He’d thought those days were over. He was a sober, mature adult now. Caretaker to his family. Guardian of their heritage. Protector and healer for the citizens of Courage Bay, California.

But then, he’d never met a woman like Jolene before.

And while the younger, freer part of him enjoyed that rush of feeling again, the sager, more practical man he’d become knew that his blood pressure probably couldn’t take much more of the
challenge
Jolene presented.

The barn door slammed shut behind her and Nate let the curtains close. He breathed deeply to assuage the grip of fear and frustration and utter destiny that strangled his heart.

Time to go rescue his charge again.

N
ATE BLINKED THE RAIN
from his lashes and swiped the water from his face, ignoring the wind catching the barn door and slapping it shut behind him. His palm rested on the scratch of his beard as his eyes adjusted to the dim light of the barn’s interior. The scents of hay, leather and horses soothed him and sparked familiar memories.

But no way was he relaxing.

The stamp of hooves and creak of leather tack directed his steps.

He sighed heavily as he caught a glimpse of a limp blond ponytail and bright red poncho moving beside a sorrel horse.

This just got better and better.

“You
do
know there’s a hurricane on its way, right?”

“Dad said it shouldn’t hit us until later tonight.”

So, of course, she had saddled a horse.

Damn crazy…

Stalking toward the row of stalls with as much purpose as his throbbing knee allowed, Nate saw a sweet little curve of denim-clad rump, and a long line of leg as Jolene slipped her foot into the stirrup and swung up onto the horse.

“I don’t think so.”

He tugged on her arm, palmed a handful of her hip and pulled her down.

“Hey! What—?”

“Not this time, lady.” With the baby to protect and the unreliability of his leg, he pulled her bottom straight into his chest and let her slide down the length of him.

“Put me—!”

The friction of wet denim and firm bodies was pure, sweet torture. Nate’s groin leaped to embarrassing life, demanding some sort of satisfaction for the paces she was putting him through.

But as soon as Jolene’s boots touched the ground, she twisted in his grasp.

“Oh, no, you don’t.” Nate backed her against the horse so she couldn’t squirm away. “I promised your father I’d keep you safe.”

Her cheeks flushed with a tantalizing heat. “I—”

“You’re pregnant. You need your rest.”

“I feel fine.”

She felt warm and soft and female and tempting wedged against his chest and thighs. “I intend to keep that promise with or without your help. You are not getting on that horse.”

Her eyes blazed blue as a clear, coastal dawn. But the moment she started to argue, his gaze dropped to her pink, pretty mouth. It was talking. Again. “I know what I’m doing. I grew up in Texas. I’ve ridden horses forever. You have no right to boss—”

Nate palmed the back of her neck, tipped her face up to his and kissed her, silencing the words intended to push them apart.

Startled, Jolene gasped, seeming to draw the breath
right from his chest. That soft little sound primed him, sparked something wild and reckless deep inside him. He felt her hands at his shoulders, bracing herself, digging in, holding on when she should be pulling away.

The years fell away from his tortured old soul and his ears pounded with the flare of pent-up needs and desires.

Jolene was on her toes and Nate was holding her close.

Cold, wet clothes and hot, instant passion beaded the tips of her breasts against his aching chest. The fertile swell of her belly and the life growing inside thrust against his stomach, humbling him. Her luscious body roused, yet at the same time soothed every basic male instinct he possessed.

There was little finesse on either of their parts—noses bumped, feet tangled, water dripped from poncho and cap. But her open mouth was warm, her tongue a delicious rasp, her lips giving and demanding beneath his. The tension that had yin and yanged between them all day long seemed to gather itself and focus its heat into this one time-stopping kiss.

The storm outside melted away. There was no hurricane, no emergency, no lives waiting to be saved.

There was only the two of them.

In all his life, Nate had never shared a kiss like this. He felt sure he could live a dozen lifetimes and never know a kiss like this one. With this woman.

Joaquin Angel’s woman.

Whoa.

Nate jerked at the unsettling thought. Jolene tensed, pushed against his chest. Her horse shifted, knocking her into Nate. Knocking a chink in the raw need that
consumed him, giving his much-touted common sense a chance to flood into his brain.

With a wrenching sigh, Nate lifted his mouth and released her, ending the kiss as abruptly as it had begun. He held his hands out to either side, signalling the end to that crazy, wild ride.

“That…shouldn’t have happened,” were the best words of apology he could summon at the moment.

He was still pinned by the drowsy passion in those deep blue eyes, still caught by the spell of those sassy lips, made rosy and swollen by the brand of his mouth. He was still drowning in the scents of home and heat that clung to her hair and radiated from her damp skin.

“You kissed me.” Jolene’s chest rose and fell with the same deep, uneven gasps that marked his own breathing.

Guilty as charged. “Yeah. I did. And, uh, you kissed me back.”

“Men don’t…” Her voice trailed off. She lowered her gaze to a spot near his chin.

Nate noted the sudden pallor in her cheeks. He frowned at the uncharacteristic confusion in her tone. “Men don’t what?”

“Not even Joaquin. We never…” She licked her tongue along the rim of her lips as if finding something unfamiliar there. Nate had to look away. There was something completely innocent and totally seductive in the way she tasted herself.

“Never what?” Despite the interest swelling behind his zipper, he reminded himself this was apology time, not round two of kissing his frustrations into submission. “I didn’t hurt you, did I? I’m sorry if I overstepped any boundaries. I imagine you’re still grieving—”

She snapped her attention back to him, perplexed and alert. “Why did you kiss me?”

Huh? Nate studied the disbelief in her expression. He didn’t think this was about intruding on grief or over-stepping boundaries. She hadn’t recognized his lusty response to her. Wasn’t aware that she’d given it back in spades. Had it been that long since he’d kissed a woman?

“California?” Her fingers pinched the hair on his chest as she clutched a fistful of his shirt, urging him to answer.

“Ow.” He gently plucked her hand away, hating the nickname but resigning himself to the distance it forced between them. He splayed her fingers apart and slipped his in between, binding them in a more comforting, less painful position against his chest. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. It’s been a long couple of days for me. I acted without thinking and just did what felt right.”

“So you’d do it again?” Her fingertips curled around his. Was that hope in her eyes? Or trepidation?

Nate honestly didn’t know how to answer. He hadn’t come to Texas looking for anything beyond the chance to do his job. But he’d found a sexy, confounding angel who pushed buttons in him he never realized he had. Yeah, he’d kiss her. He stroked his thumb across the backs of her fingers. Even the skin there was smooth like velvet. He’d touch her again. Hold her. Do whatever it took to see her beautiful smile and keep her safe.

Safe.
Hell. Nate’s out-of-control libido came to a grinding halt. He shouldn’t be having this conversation. He was here to make sure she got back to her father in one piece, not to piece together a relationship with her. She was so young and full of energy, she probably
wouldn’t even be interested in a relationship with a gimpy old soul like him, anyway.

Steeling himself, Nate gave Jolene the only answer he could under the circumstances. “No. That won’t happen again.”

Her audible gasp cut deep into his conscience. She was either insulted or relieved. “I…well…” Jolene snatched her hand away as if the appendage had betrayed her. She rubbed her belly and tilted her chin. Nate braced himself. The fire was back and she picked up the argument right where they’d left off. “Well, good. I have things to do, anyway. You’d better keep it in check next time, Kellison.”

He bit down on the impulse to defend himself. She was right. He couldn’t lose control like that again. One of them had to be responsible. As usual, he volunteered for the job.

Before she could make good on whatever foolhardy idea she’d hatched, Nate reached around her shoulder, picked up the reins of the sorrel gelding and retied him to the stall gate.

“What were you doing with Sonny, anyway?” he asked, reading the name-plate beside the stall. “Please don’t tell me you were going after that bull in this weather.”

Oddly enough, the abrupt change in topic didn’t seem to phase her a bit. But then, he was quickly learning to expect the unexpected from this woman. “I want to get back to the Double J and make sure I’ve battened down all the right hatches.”

“Is that so?” Removing the heavy bags she’d draped behind the saddle, Nate peeked inside to find a variety
of tools and supplies that could mean only one thing. Her heart might be in the right place, but she had no sense of survival. “And if you happen to run into Rocky along the way, you’ll just herd him back here before checking the old homestead?”

When he reached for the lariat she’d draped over the saddle horn, Jolene tried to snatch it from his grasp. “Look. I don’t know how they do things out in California, but down here in Texas, neighbors help each other. Lily’s a good friend. If there’s something I can do to help—”

“I know.” He’d heard this argument before and still didn’t like it. “
You’re
going to do it. Isn’t it enough that you helped deliver her baby? You made sure her children were taken care of and that Deacon had a chance to play grandpa. You’ve done more than most already. In California, we appreciate that kind of dedication and compassion, too. But you don’t have to personally handle every problem on the planet. Now let go of the rope and go back to the house.”

“But Lily still needs—”

“Go back to the house.”

“What about my ranch?”

“Jolene.”

Nate squared off and held on until she conceded this tug-of-war that was more about stubborn wills than physical strength. Lightning charged the air outside and flashed through the cracks around the barn’s doors and windows. An answering smack of thunder rattled the clapboard walls and Sonny danced between the two of them.

On the rumbling drumbeat that followed, Jolene released her grip on the rope. She could damn him with
those big blue eyes all she wanted. He’d already surrendered to the inevitable.

Jolene Kannon-Angel had that effect on him—made him do crazy things. Made him want things he shouldn’t.

When she turned away to unsaddle Sonny, he went to work. Searching the next few stalls, Nate found Deacon’s horse, Buck. He passed another sorrel, then paused to scratch the inquisitive nose of a tall, muscular bay named Checker. He stroked the dark, red-brown hair along the quarter horse’s neck and flicked his fingers through the black mane. The big gelding would suit his purpose just fine.

“You’ll do,” he whispered. “Won’t be easy, though.” The horse bobbed his head, as if agreeing to the un-spoken challenge.

“I really should check the Double J.” He heard Jolene moving behind him. “Joaquin left it to me so his son would always have a home. It’s my responsibility to take care of it.”

Nate found a blanket and saddle for the bay and let her talk while he worked. He’d lasso her and haul her into the house over his shoulder if she wouldn’t listen to reason. “There’s still that pesky hurricane, remember? Would your husband want you to risk your life or your son’s?”

“Then I have to get there before the hurricane does.”

“No, you don’t.” Nate slipped the reins between his fingers and swung up into the saddle. He tested the limited flexibility of his knee, but already felt some relief just taking his weight off the joint. With a click of his tongue and a gentle nudge, he turned the bay toward the doors and tipped the bill of his cap to Jolene. “
I’ll
go.”

That tempting mouth dropped open and she eyed him as if he’d just sprouted wings. “
You
know how to ride a horse?”

“Looks that way. If I’m not back here before Damon hits, don’t come looking for me until it blows over. Understand?”

“But, how…?”

Nate almost grinned at her incredulity. She’d thought he was a fish out of water.
She
was the only thing he didn’t know how to handle here. “I grew up on a ranch. Competed in the rodeo until a bull busted up my knee in the ring. By the way, for your information, I know a helluva lot more about riding than I do about surfing.” When he reached the door, he leaned down and pushed it open. Horizontal rain instantly pelted him like hundreds of cold slaps in the face. “Hell.”

Checker shied beneath him, but Nate tightened his grip and reminded the horse who was boss. The next chapter in this crazy adventure was about to begin. “You’re northeast of here a couple of miles, right?”

“More like three.” Too late, he realized Jolene had been repacking her gear instead of putting Sonny back in his stall. Once she remounted, she spurred her horse and bolted past him into the storm. “We’re a team today, right?”

“Damn it, Jolene!” Nate called out to her. “The whole idea is for you to stay put, stay safe and stay out of trouble.” But the wind swept away his words.

Or so he thought.

Jolene had already circled beyond the paddock. She glanced over her shoulder and taunted him as she became little more than a blur of red and gold amidst the
camouflaging gusts of wind and rain. “You can’t make me if you can’t catch me!”

“Oh, I’ll catch you,” Nate muttered beneath his breath.

He’d made a promise to her father. And to himself.

He paused just long enough to latch the barn behind him before digging his heels into the bay’s sides. Adrenaline screamed in his veins, matching the force of the elements beating down around him—matching the lead-with-her-heart will of one crazy, stubborn, remarkably kissable Texas woman.

The chase was on.

“T
HAT’S
R
OCKY
?” Nate asked, reining his horse in beside Jolene to study the arroyo turned river that cut across their path.

“That’s Rocky.”

The runaway bull bellowed and threw himself against the bank of the flooded gulley, desperately trying to pull his massive weight out of the chest-deep water that raced past him. But the red, weeping wounds on his rust-colored hide told of the twisted barbed wire that had tangled in his legs and trapped him as the water rose around him.