Authors: Cheyenne McCray
She photographed everything, enjoying the coolness of the barn, the soft whicker of horses, and occasional sounds made by the animals in the stalls. She didn’t want to spook any of the animals, so she’d wait to photograph them when Zane was around.
A loud
thump
sounded over her head and she looked up. Overhead was a hayloft. Was someone up there?
With a mental shrug, she continued deeper into the barn. It was an extensive barn that stretched a good distance. When she reached the end, there was a set of closed doors along On one side was a place for tack, supplies, barrels of grain, a sink and a small shower. On the opposite side was a workshop.
After she took some photos, she headed back toward the front of the barn. Zane had never left her mind even as she’d busied herself with her job.
Now that he’d broken it off with Phoebe, she really didn’t need to show him the pictures of Phoebe and the other man. Although it might make him even more sure of his decision when he saw just how close he’d come to that bullet that he’d managed to dodge.
She shook her head. No, it might hurt him and that wasn’t something she wanted to see. There was no point.
As she was passing from beneath the loft, Zane walked through the barn doors. The next thing she knew he was rushing toward her and then her breath whooshed from her lungs as she hit the ground hard with Zane on top of her. Her camera dug into her chest and she felt pain slam into her from him having landed on it, pinning it between them.
At the same time she heard a loud sound that didn’t quite register.
“Shit.” He said the curse word with emphasis.
She looked up and saw his face away from her as he held her to the barn’s hay-strewn dirt floor.
“What—?” she started.
He cut his gaze to her. “Are you all right?”
“I can’t breathe,” she said and he eased off of her.
“Sorry, honey.” He helped her to a sitting position, his expression grim.
She grimaced and held her hand to her chest. She was going to be sore and she didn’t know what kind of damage her camera might have sustained. “Why did you just flatten me?”
He looked away from her and she followed his gaze. Where she’d been standing, just moments before, was a large bale of hay.
Chills rolled over her. “I could have been killed.”
“Yes.” He brushed dust and straw from her hair, all the while searching her with his gaze to see if she was hurt in any way. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” She brought her hand to her camera but didn’t look at it. Right now it didn’t matter if it was damaged. She could have died. “Thanks to you.”
“Are you all right, ma’am?” A young man’s face appeared over the edge of the loft. He looked horrified.
“What in the hell happened, Chad?” Zane all but growled the words.
“I’m sorry, boss.” Chad’s throat worked as he swallowed. “That bale was too close to the edge and I was about to grab it to pull it back.”
Zane studied Chad for a moment. “Get back to work and you’d better be a hell of a lot more careful.”
“Yes, sir.” Chad’s face was still bright red. “Sorry, ma’am,” he said before he disappeared back into the recesses of the loft.
“He’s young but he’s always been competent.” Zane glanced at the hay bale. “It’s not like him to leave anything in a position where someone could get injured.” He looked at her again. “Let’s head back to the house.”
“Your camera,” he said as they walked together. “It’s damaged.”
“I always carry a backup.” She pushed her hair out of her face. “Better the camera getting squashed.” She looked at him. “What about you? Are you all right?”
“Fine.” They reached the porch and he opened the door. She imagined he was probably sore, too, as hard as that camera must have dug into his chest as they went down.
When they were in the cool house, he maneuvered her into the kitchen. “I’ll get the water,” he said.
As he went to the fridge and poured two glasses, she raised her camera and looked at it. It didn’t look too bad, considering. It might need attention, though. She’d be better off using her other camera and taking this one into the shop when she got back to Tucson.
When Zane returned with a glass of water, he watched Jessie as she swallowed and took a long drink.
She set the glass down and met his gaze. “Thank you.”
“That scared the hell out of me…” He searched her gaze as he tried to sort out how much the accident had affected him and why. “I—
damn.
” He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
“Are you up for lunch?” she asked. He had the feeling she was trying to get their minds on something else. “I’ll put something together.”
“I can do it.” He released her hand and gestured to the kitchen table. “You sit.”
“Okay,” she said, “I’ll get my laptop out and look at some of these shots. The memory card is inside the camera and wouldn’t have been damaged.”
He took out the leftover spaghetti and meatballs that she’d fixed last night and began to warm it up. He put a large plate of the spaghetti in the microwave then came up behind her and rubbed her shoulders while looking at her pictures as she went through them.
“I love these,” he said. “They belong in a magazine.”
“Why thank you.” She smiled up at him. “It helps when you have such amazing subject matter.”
“There’s Phoebe’s place.” He pointed to the screen. “That’s a great shot.”
Jessie suddenly shut the laptop.
“What are you doing?” he asked, wondering at the odd look on her face as well as her actions. “I want to see the rest of them.”
“That’s ok,” Jessie said. “Why don’t we eat?”
“It’s not ready yet,” he said. “Let’s look.”
Jessie bit the inside of her lip.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She looked concerned. “I wasn’t going to show you these but I guess you have the right to know.”
He frowned, wondering what it was that made Jessie so hesitant. “Show me.”
She opened the laptop and the screen came back up with the photograph of Phoebe’s place. He was quiet as she went through the pictures until she came to one with Phoebe kissing another man.
Zane went rigid as he studied the picture.
“This was taken the day I arrived.” Jessie glanced over her shoulder at Zane. “Before you broke it off with her.”
“Is there more?” His throat was tight as he asked the question.
She nodded and brought up each picture on the screen that she had of Phoebe and the man. “It doesn’t look innocent.”
“It sure as hell doesn’t,” Zane said, then was surprised that he no longer cared.
“Who is that man?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Zane said, “and I don’t really give a damn.”
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Don’t be.” He stared at the screen. “Just emphasizes what I already knew… Phoebe was a mistake. I am done thinking about her.”
He brought his gaze to hers and he saw something in her eyes that concerned him. “There’s something else. Tell me what it is.”
Jessie cleared her throat. “I saw Phoebe at the general store in Sonoita this morning.”
He narrowed his gaze.
“She said it’s my fault you broke it off with her,” Jessie said. “And she threatened me. She said she was going to make me pay.”
Anger burned through Zane. “What else did she say?”
“That was it. She left after she threatened me.”
“I suppose you could say that Phoebe really showed her true colors. What she said to you was out of line and obnoxious.” He forced his anger back down. “Don’t worry about her empty threats. She may be an angry woman but she’s harmless.”
“That’s what I thought.” Jessie attempted a smile. “Let’s talk about something a little more interesting.”
When they finished eating and put the dishes into the dishwasher, he took her by the shoulders and kissed her.
Her lips were soft and warm and she tasted of iced tea. He breathed in her scent. It filled him, traveling through his system like some kind of aphrodisiac.
She slid her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. Her kiss was sweet and heady and it made him want her even more.
He drew away and studied her gaze before giving her another hard kiss and then he released her. He picked up his hat and gave her one last look before turning and heading out of the kitchen and to the front door.
As he walked away, Zane thought about how badly it had shaken him that Jessie had been so close to getting hurt in the barn. It had shaken him right down to his boots.
Chapter 10
Fully dressed, Zane eased onto the bed so that he was lying alongside Jessie. Muted sunlight teased the red in her messy hair and he brushed it out of her face. She looked beautiful in his bed.
“Hungry?” he murmured.
“Oh, yes.” She snuggled closer, her eyes still closed, and pressed her thigh against his cock.
His cock hardened but he gave a low laugh. “That wasn’t exactly what I’d meant but if you want to go another round, I’m game.”
She opened one eye “You smell like fresh air. Already get the morning chores done?”
He ran his finger down the bridge of her nose and she opened her other eye. “While you lay here, sleeping beauty.”
A yawn had her covering her mouth with her hand. “What time is it?”
“Seven-thirty.” He eased back up and sat on the edge of the bed “Time for breakfast.”
“I could go for some coffee.” She scooted up so that her back was to the headboard and she stretched her arms. “I need a whole lot of caffeine to get me going.”
“You’ve got it.” He kissed her on the forehead and she was smiling as he drew away.
She gave him a seductive look. “Unless I can entice you back into bed…?”
“If I wasn’t expecting the cattle inspector, I would do just that.” He swatted her on her ass, through the bedclothes. “Time to get your butt out of bed.”
“Ow.” With a laugh she rubbed her ass. “Okay, okay. As long as I get that coffee.”
“You’ve got it.” He gave her another swat then stood. He looked at her again and then walked out of the room, feeling lighter and better than he’d felt in a very long time.
• • •
Zane’s coffee was strong and good, and after her third cup her head felt a little clearer. She’d almost finished photographing the ranch. Next she’d like to spend some time taking pictures of the valley. There was far more too it than just grasslands like it appeared on the surface.
After making her a breakfast of eggs over-easy, sausage, and toast, he’d headed out of the house to get to work, but not before giving her a kiss that rocked her to her toes. It didn’t matter how many times he kissed her, each time was incredible.
She checked the area with her gaze to see if he was around, but didn’t spot him. She’d mentioned to him at breakfast that she intended to drive around the valley during the morning and shoot some photos.
It wasn’t long before she was on the road, singing another Eagles song to herself.
The scenery in the valley was incredible, from the rolling oak and juniper covered hills to the flat grasslands, and the surprising areas like the one Zane had taken to her yesterday that was like a little hidden world. She also got a few shots of some wildlife including a couple of coyotes and birds. She saw a small herd of seven javelinas but kept her distance as she photographed them. They were from the peccary family and looked like smaller versions of wild boar.
When she finished, the sun was low in the sky and she packed up her equipment and loaded it in the car. She was walking around the car when she heard two shots and dirt kicked up around her feet.
Her heart pounded and her skin went cold as she ducked behind her car and landed on the dirt on her hands and knees. She crouched behind the driver’s side front tire and held her hand to her chest. The shots seemed to be coming from the opposite side of the Mustang.
The next shot hit her car, the ping of the bullet piercing metal loud to her ears.
Her breathing came hard and fast. Dear God, someone was shooting at her, or shooting in her direction. Hunters?
She kept crouched down as she eased down to the door handle. When she reached it she opened the door. With everything that she had, she threw herself into the drivers seat.
Thank God she’d left the keys in the ignition. She stayed low and started the car. Another ping as the next bullet hit metal.
Saying a prayer, she put the car in drive and stomped on the gas pedal. The car fishtailed on the dirt road and she barely kept control as the powerful engine shot her down the road. She raised her head in time to jerk the wheel to keep from running off the road then raced the car back toward the Bar C.
The pounding of her heart felt like it was out of control. She’d been shot at. Or was she confused and hunters were shooting antelope and she’d just been in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Whatever the case, relief poured through her when she passed through the ranch gates, pulled up to Zane’s home, and parked.
For a long moment she gripped the steering wheel, unable to move her hands. Her fingers ached from clenching it so hard.
“Jessie?” The driver’s side door opened and she realized Zane was there. “What’s wrong, honey? Did something happen?”
She managed to nod and she looked up at him. “Someone shot at me. Or toward me.”
Surprise then anger crossed his features. He crouched down so that his gaze was level with hers. His jaw was clenched and his expression dark. “Are you certain?”
“Yes.” She glanced toward the passenger side. “Bullets hit that side.” She looked back at him. “A couple of bullets almost hit me when I was outside of the car.”
He took her by her shoulders and swept his gaze over her. “Were you hit?”
“I’m okay.” She shook her head. “It just scared the hell out of me.”
“Stay right there.” He was up and to the passenger side in moments. “Shit,” he said when he got a look at the car.
She looked through the passenger side windows and saw another man had joined Zane but couldn’t see the man’s face.
“What’s got you looking so serious?” Wyatt’s voice had an edge of concern to it.