Roping Your Heart (5 page)

“I’m going to fix dinner now.” He stood and the bedsprings creaked again. “How do tacos sound?”

Even though he knew tacos were her favorite meal, she shrugged.

“I’ll let you know when dinner’s ready,” he said before walking out of her bedroom and closing the door behind him.

Chapter 4

Thunder rolled across the valley and rattled the barn and Cat scooted closer to Blake on the alfalfa hay bale they were both sitting on. Rain pattered against the wood as the storm went on but the barn was well built and no water leaked through any cracks.

It was Cat’s eighteenth birthday and they’d spent the day together, going to a movie followed by eating at the local pizza place where all of the seniors hung out. What a perfect way to end the day, alone with Blake, feeling like they were shut away from the world.

She leaned her head against him and he put his arm around her shoulders and held her close.

“You’re not afraid of thunderstorms,” he said in a teasing voice.

She tilted her face to look up at him. “No, but it’s a good excuse to snuggle next to you.”

He gave her a sexy little grin. “You don’t need an excuse to cuddle with me.” He lowered his head slowly and brought his mouth to hers.

Blake could kiss like no other guy she’d ever been with. Not that there had been a lot of guys, but he seemed like he had a world’s worth of experience, despite the fact that he was the same age as she was, now that she was eighteen, too.

His kiss was slow and gentle but deepened with the kind of passion she’d been feeling for a long time with him. Unfulfilled passion.

He raised his head and his voice was husky when he spoke. “I want to give your birthday present to you now.”

She felt a little shiver run through her at the way he was looking at her. “You’ve shown me a fantastic birthday,” she said. “You don’t need to give me anything.”

He stood, grasped her hand, and pulled her to her feet. “Come on. I want somewhere private to give it to you where we won’t be disturbed if one of my brothers decides to come out here.”

She smiled and he continued to hold her hand as he led her to the ladder that went up to the hayloft. He let her go first and she could sense him watching her butt as she climbed up. She wiggled it a little just to give him a bit of a show. He was definitely an ass man.

“Did I ever tell you what great ass-ets you have?” he said from below.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Many times.”

He gave a low laugh. “It doesn’t hurt to say it again.”

When she reached the top, she flung herself onto a pile of hay, laughing as the yellow straw fell onto her face. It poked through her blouse and chafed her belly where her blouse had hiked up. Her short jean skirt had also moved up to the top of her thighs, and she tugged it down. Just a little.

She looked up when she heard Blake’s bootsteps and then he was looking down at her and smiling. She scooted up and he eased down beside her and he brushed straw from her hair before they both leaned back against the hay.

Thunder boomed, the sound loud to her ears. The barn lights flickered.

“The power might go out,” she murmured against his lips.

“Now, that would be a shame.” He kissed her then drew back before he shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out a thin gold foil box with a gold bow wrapped around it.

Her eyes widened and she looked up at him. “You’d better not have spent too much money on me, Blake McBride.”

He grinned. “Just open it, little Cat.”

She bit her lower lip as she took the box from him. She felt the swirled pattern on the foil against her fingertips as she held it and then she pulled at the gold bow wrapped around the box. The bow fell into her lap. She hesitated as she put her hand on the box’s lid. Her eyes met his and she saw a world of emotions in his gaze.

The lid opened easily and she caught her breath. Nestled in a bed of white satin was a fine gold bracelet. The bracelet was made with two slender bangles connected by a heart at the top, and by a gold chain at the bottom.

“I love it, Blake.” Warmth flowed through her heart as she looked up at him. “It’s beautiful.”

“Read the inscription.” He took the bracelet out of the box and held it in his palm. His hand was so big and the bracelet looked small and delicate against it.

Her breathing was fast as she looked at the beautiful gift he had given her. Inside, the inscription read,
“You’ll always be my little KitCat. Love, Blake.”

She smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

He clasped it on her wrist. “That’s so you’ll never forget that I love you.”

“You know how much I love you, too.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. It was a kiss filled with everything she felt for Blake. It was more than love. It was more than caring. It was a deep friendship between two people who loved each other so much that it could never be taken away.

The box and ribbon scattered on the floor of the loft as she rolled onto her back in the hay and he rolled on top of her. His weight felt comfortable, like he belonged there, his narrow hips between her thighs.

They had never made love even though it was clear that they’d wanted each other for a long time. Maybe they were just waiting for the right moment. Or maybe he had been waiting until she was eighteen.

Regardless, none of it mattered. He was all hers and she wanted him in every way possible.

Lightning crashed and heavy rain pounded the barn roof as Blake kissed her and touched her gently in all the right places. He caused her to sigh and moan and cry out. He drove her crazy with the want and need that had been building inside her for so very long.

A frenzy of need took hold of her and she arched up to him as he slid between her thighs—

Cat sat up in bed, her heart pounding and aching all at once. She felt unfulfilled and her belly clenched with longing.

She hadn’t had that dream in so long… When she’d left Blake, the dream and her mistake had haunted her for years. Over time, the dream had faded. She should have known it would come back once she saw him again. She’d thought her heart was healed, but this just proved that nineteen years hadn’t been anywhere near enough time away from him.

She pushed the covers aside, slid out of bed, and went to her antique wood jewelry box. She was surprised to realize that her hands were shaking a little as she reached into the hidden pocket at the back. Her fingers touched cool metal and she drew out the gold bracelet that Blake had given her for her eighteenth birthday… The stormy night she’d lost her virginity to the man she loved.

That night they hadn’t been kids anymore. They’d been a man and a woman in love.

The fight had come six months later, and then she’d gone and thrown it all away.

She hadn’t looked at the bracelet for nineteen years. It was a wonder she even remembered she had it. She turned the bracelet so that it caught the light and she could see the inscription on the back.

You’ll always be my little KitCat. Love, Blake.

A tear almost made its way to her eye but she managed to hold it back.
Damn. Damn, damn, damn.
She was thirty seven years old now, too old to be sick over lost young love.

She slipped the gold bracelet back into its secret pocket and closed the jewelry box. Even though a part of her wanted to cry for that lost love, the other part of her knew that it was useless. It had been a long time ago. Whatever love had been there was long gone, and there was nothing to cry over any more.

She pushed her fingers through her hair and wandered into the living room and went up to Sam’s cage.

“Been up all night?” Cat bent and peeked into the extravagant habitat to see Sam curled up in his nest.

At least he was in the habitat and not running around the house. If she could only figure out how he got out and then managed to get back in. He’d explore the house at night, wandering around and searching for treasures to pack into his cheeks. When he’d return she’d discover things in his nest like missing earrings, beads, and other things that he’d found.

Sam peeked one eye open. When he saw her, he got up and put his paws and nose up against the clear plastic that separated them.

“You want a treat, huh?” Cat tapped the wall and the hamster’s nose wriggled as he followed her finger. “I’ll get you a piece of apple.”

She headed to the kitchen. Hamsters were so much simpler than men.

* * * * *

Cat checked out the numbers on her desktop computer as she worked through a client’s mess of a file. Mrs. Karchner needed a new bookkeeper in her office who knew what she was doing.

With a shake of her head she got up from her desk, and walked out of her office to the file cabinet beside Janie’s desk. The receptionist was away from the office. Cat opened the third drawer down and searched the K’s for Karchner.

Early morning spring air swirled into the office as someone opened the entrance into the accounting firm’s office. Cat glanced over her shoulder and her lips parted. Her heart beat a little faster.

It was Blake, and he’d never looked so good. He wore a black Stetson that he took off as he closed the door behind him and his hair was short and dark. A light blue shirt stretched across his broad chest, his sleeves rolled up and showing his large biceps. His Wranglers molded his muscular thighs and he wore a wide brown leather belt with a silver and gold buckle. The light stubble on his jaws gave him even more of a rugged look.

Seeing him brought back the dream of the first time they’d made love and her body tingled at the memory.

He swept his gaze across the room and his green eyes rested on her. A flicker of surprise registered across his expression.

“Hi, Blake.” Marsha Solara, the other accountant, stood in the doorway to her office. She stirred her coffee. “What brings you here?”

Blake looked from Cat to Marsha. “Jim Hartford said he had a new accountant taking over my account now that he’s retired.” He raised an envelope. “Got a notice from the IRS that I need to discuss.”

Marsha gave a nod toward Cat. “Blake, meet Cat Hayden, your new accountant. Cat, meet Blake McBride, your new client.”

Cat’s eyes widened. Blake was one of her new accounts?

Blake’s gaze met hers again and neither one of them said anything.

Marsha cocked her head to the side. “You two already know each other?”

Cat nodded and Blake glanced back at Marsha. “We’re acquainted,” Blake said.

“Well, good.” Marsha gave a thoughtful smile. “Cat, if you need anything, let me know.”

“I will.” Cat managed a smile and gestured to her office. “Come on in, Blake. I’ll pull your file and be right there.”

He gave a nod and walked into her office as she moved to the drawer with the M’s. Her mind went blank for a moment and she wondered what she was doing there. All she could think about was Blake. Then she realized she was supposed to pull his file. She went through the M’s and grabbed the file with “McBride, Blake” on the tab.

Clutching the file tightly to her chest, she walked to her office door where Blake was standing, waiting for her. Heart pounding, she moved past him, around her desk, and sat in the leather chair. Blake lowered himself into one of the armed chairs in front of the desk. He loosely held his western hat in one hand.

“Hi, Blake,” she said and rested his file on the desk in front of her, near her keyboard. Again, she wanted to touch her scar and hide it from him—as if that was possible.

“You always were good with numbers,” Blake said. “But I never expected you to become an accountant. I thought you’d go into some field that would involve working with animals.”

She gave a slight shrug. “In college I found I had an aptitude for accounting, so that’s the path I decided to take.” After the accident, things had changed and she’d shied away from working with animals. The extensive therapy she’d gone through and her nervousness around horses for a few years after the accident, had kept her from going down that path. Sometimes she regretted that she hadn’t pursued another career. With a hesitant smile, she said, “May I see the letter?”

He leaned forward and handed an envelope to her. Their fingers touched and the dream came rushing back to her. An electrical charge went through her, as if he knew exactly what she’d dreamed last night. For a wild moment she thought that maybe he’d dreamed it, too. She swallowed and took the envelope before sliding the papers out and unfolding them.

She scanned the page with her gaze. “So, you’re being audited.” She set the papers on her desk and shook her head. “For the past two years. That’s certainly no fun.”

The corner of his mouth quirked into a smile. “That just might be the understatement of the year.”