The Bridal Path: Sara (9 page)

Judging from the rumors about the trail of broken hearts Jake had left behind, it was more than likely the latter.

She went back to the original question. What the devil had possessed her to fling herself at him? She tested a few more theories, hoping she’d like them better.

Maybe she had just wanted to discover whether their marriage would be more than compatible in one respect. That was a good one. Logical even. Not even Jake could argue with it. In fact, he’d already embraced that very concept when he kissed her the first time.

Or maybe all those years of pent up longings had finally gotten to be too much to resist. She wasn’t as crazy about that one, but unfortunately it made a lot of sense. All that taunting talk of marriage had finally encouraged her to take matters into her own hands.

Or maybe she really was naive and foolish enough to figure she could seduce Three-Stars away from him. Stupid, stupid, stupid! There was no getting around it. That was a game she couldn’t possibly win.

Whichever motive it was, she had clearly wandered onto dangerous turf. While it was true enough that she might hold some power over Jake when it came to sex, she’d also discovered that his hold on her was just as powerful. She didn’t need a map to know that big-time trouble lay at the end of that particular path.

Since he hadn’t moved in some time, she dared a peek at him. The sight of raw masculinity that greeted her gaze took her breath away. She’d always known he possessed a magnificent body. She’d even seen the rippling muscles in his shoulders and arms before as he worked around the ranch bare chested in the summer heat. But the combined effect of tapered waist, lean hips, muscular legs and stirring arousal slammed through her like a freight train.

Humiliation and embarrassment be damned! She wanted him again, wanted him with a hunger that stunned her. When had she turned into such a shameless hussy? If she wasn’t careful, she was going to allow this consuming need for Jake Dawson’s body to cloud her thinking. She needed all her wits about her if she was going to hang on to the ranch. That was her number one priority and she couldn’t lose sight of it.

With careful deliberation, she shimmied out from under him, alert for any sign that he was awake and not just having one heck of a hot dream.

She was almost free, when his arm snagged her waist and pinned her in place.

“Going somewhere?” he inquired in a lazy, sexy tone that rippled over her.

“It’s dawn,” she improvised, feigning a carefree cheerfulness she was far from feeling. “We’ve got work to do.”

“It can wait,” he insisted, his hand possessively cupping her breast. He skimmed the nipple with his thumb, sending shock waves all the way to her toes.

“Oh, no,” she insisted breathlessly. “We have to stay on schedule.”

He regarded her curiously. “Why the sudden worry about deadlines?”

“I have an appointment with Zeke later today, remember?”

“How could I forget?” He grinned impudently. “Don’t worry. I can make sure this won’t take long. We’ll get you back in plenty of time.”

Sara scowled at him. “How romantic of you.”

His expression turned serious. “Romance has nothing to do with anything happening between us,” he assured her. “We’re talking about steamy, mutually satisfying sex.”

Sara figured she deserved that. She was the one who’d practically pleaded with him to make love the night before. It was hardly any wonder that he’d gotten the idea that she would go along with a hot, no-strings affair. Still, it hurt hearing him say that it had meant nothing more to him. That was yet another warning that what had happened couldn’t be repeated.

She forced a nonchalant shrug. “Last night was a mistake. There’s no need to repeat it.”

Surprisingly, Jake stilled. “A mistake?” he asked, his tone lethal.

His demeanor radiated a warning, but Sara was too intent on escaping with at least a shred of pride intact to pay any attention to it.

“Everyone’s entitled to one, right? I’m sorry if you got the wrong idea.” She leapt up and grabbed her clothes. “I’ll be ready to get to work whenever you are.”

She dashed through the underbrush to the nearby creek and splashed herself thoroughly with very cold water. It chilled her skin, but did nothing at all to cool her temper or her desire.

Still, by the time she returned to the campfire, she managed to appear outwardly calm. Jake’s grim expression suggested he was in as much turmoil as she was. He gestured toward the pot of coffee.

“It’s hot, if you want some.”

Sara nodded, took her cup out of her saddle pack and poured some of the rich coffee into it. She had a feeling, though, that mixing caffeine and her already jittery nerves was a very bad idea. When Jake held out one of Annie’s blueberry muffins, she accepted it, careful to avoid so much as grazing his fingers.

“Maybe we’d better talk about what happened here last night,” Jake said eventually.

“I thought we had discussed it,” Sara retorted stiffly. “What more is there to say?”

“You could tell me why you threw yourself at me in the first place.”

She shot him an icy look. “Excuse me?”

“You know that’s what happened.”

“If that’s what your monumental ego needs to believe, go ahead,” she snapped as fresh humiliation rushed through her.

“It’s the gospel truth. I’m just wondering what was behind it.” He regarded her intently. “Or don’t you know?”

Sara finally dared to look directly into his eyes. Rather than the smug amusement she’d expected, she found only genuine bemusement, maybe even genuine concern. She sighed. Perhaps honesty was the answer.

“I have no idea,” she admitted eventually. “One minute I was half asleep, the next minute I heard that wolf and all I could think about was having your arms around me. It didn’t make a lick of sense to me then and it doesn’t now. Then one thing led to another so fast, my head was spinning.”

Jake did grin at that. “There are some things in life that defy explanation,” he conceded. “I suppose we could chalk this up as one of them.”

Sara drew in a deep breath. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

Something that looked very much like disappointment shadowed his eyes. “Too bad,” he murmured. “I can’t help thinking something that spectacular shouldn’t be wasted.”

Hearing Jake voice the very regret that had been ricocheting through her head all morning startled her. But she wasn’t the kind of woman who made love willy-nilly just because it felt good. Last night had been an aberration, not the start of a very bad habit. Or so she hoped.

“I think we’d better forget all about last night,” she insisted.

“Easier said than done, sweetheart.”

Sara prayed that Jake was wrong about that. If she couldn’t forget how close she’d come to finding heaven in his arms, how would she ever say no to him again?

* * *

Sara’s lesson with Zeke was a disaster from the moment she first climbed into the saddle that evening. Her concentration was shot and her muscles felt like limp noodles. She’d never been more grateful that Jake had insisted on riding broncos, rather than bulls. A bull would probably have bounced her from here to Montana by now.

The third time she slammed into the ground, her bones rattled so hard she was astonished they didn’t shatter. Zeke’s expression was thoroughly disgusted as he hauled her to her feet again.

“Enough,” he said. “We’re just wasting time and risking that pretty neck of yours today.”

“We can’t stop,” she pleaded. “I told Jake I’d be ready by the Saturday after Memorial Day.”

Zeke’s muttered curse blistered her ears. “Why’d you go and do a damned fool thing like that?” he demanded.

“He was getting impatient. He won’t wait around forever.”

“He’ll wait until I say it’s okay,” Zeke said grimly. “So will you. Now git on into the house and tell Mary Lou I said to give you a cup of tea and some of her special liniment.”

Sara started to protest, but Zeke had already turned his back and headed for the barn. He didn’t appear inclined to listen to any arguments.

Groaning as she dusted herself off, she resigned herself to following instructions. All of this docile obedience was beginning to grate on her nerves. Unfortunately, she needed Zeke’s help too badly to tell him off.

Limping, she crossed the yard to the back door. It swung open the minute she set foot on the porch. The cheerful, round-faced woman with soft brown curls who greeted her was a surprise. She’d expected Zeke’s wife to be as pinch-faced and ill-tempered as he was.

“Oh, you poor little thing,” Mary Lou soothed. “Come on in here this minute. I’ve already got the tea brewing. How about a nice slice of coconut cake to go with it? Or maybe you’d prefer some hot biscuits with fresh-churned butter and homemade strawberry jam? You need to put a little meat on those bones if you’re going to be tossed on your backside half a dozen times a day.”

She urged Sara toward a seat at the big round oak kitchen table. Fortunately, the chair was padded with bright yellow cushions. Sara wasn’t sure she could have handled a hard wooden seat just then.

Since she’d never responded to the various food choices Mary Lou had offered, Sara was startled when a plate filled with biscuits and a huge slice of cake was plunked in front of her, along with a pretty glass dish of jam.

“Eat what you can,” Mary Lou said, bustling around with the kind of spry energy that accomplished a lot in very little time. “Don’t worry about anything going to waste. This place is crawling with birds and animals just waiting for scraps. Zeke says they’re the real reason I cook so much food.”

As if to prove the point, a low-slung hound dog inched out from under the table to take up a hopeful position at Sara’s feet.

“Ignore him,” Mary Lou advised. “He’s an unrepentant beggar who’ll take your whole meal if you let him.”

Either she was hungrier than she’d realized or she was rising to the challenge of competing with that sad-faced hound dog for the food on her plate. The next thing Sara knew she’d eaten every crumb and finished her third cup of tea.

Mary Lou beamed at her. “There’s more if you want it.”

“No, please. That was plenty. I can’t thank you enough. I feel almost human again.”

“No need to thank me.” She regarded Sara slyly. “Of course, you could tell me about this bet between you and Jake. Zeke won’t say a word and Jake just grumbles when I ask him. I’m dying of curiosity.”

Maybe the food had made her mellow. Or perhaps she’d just been longing for a friendly ear. At any rate, the next thing she knew, Sara was spilling out the whole story of her desperate bid to keep the ranch she loved.

“Oh, my,” Mary Lou clucked more than once as Sara talked.

“The bottom line,” she concluded, “is that I have less than a month to get ready for this contest. If today is any indication, I might as well forget all about it now.”

“Oh, piddle,” Mary Lou said. “It’s way too soon to give up. Exactly what does Zeke have you doing?”

As Sara described the step-by-step attempts to improve her skills, Mary Lou plagued her with detailed, surprisingly astute questions.

“You sound as if you know this business as well as your husband,” Sara said finally.

“Oh, I suppose I even know a thing or two he doesn’t,” Mary Lou said with an enigmatic little smile. “But don’t tell him I said that.” She shook her head. “I just can’t help thinking, though, that it might have been wiser to choose a different challenge. Jake never lost a rodeo competition.”

“Don’t remind me,” Sara said with a sigh. “But it was all I could come up with in a hurry. I figured he was too much of a gambler to turn me down and I was right.”

Mary Lou looked thoughtful. “Of course, he did send you to Zeke. Clearly he wanted to give you a fighting chance. I wonder why.”

“Probably so he wouldn’t have to feel guilty if I killed myself.”

“I don’t think so.” She surveyed Sara intently. “Is there something you haven’t told me about this bet?”

Sara thought of Jake’s insistence that she become part of the prize if he won. She hadn’t mentioned that to Mary Lou. “Actually, there is one thing,” she said slowly. “If he wins, he gets to keep the ranch…and me.”

Mary Lou’s eyes widened. “Oh, my.” Then she started to chuckle. “Well, if that don’t beat all.”

“What?”

“Jake’s made it plain ever since I’ve known him that he has no intention of marrying. I wonder why he’d make that part of this particular bet?”

“I think it was an impulsive decision on his part. He was hoping to scare me off,” Sara admitted for the first time.

“But you didn’t run scared, did you?” Mary Lou observed. “Surely he knows you well enough to have guessed you wouldn’t. Jake must be downright terrified about now. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place. If he loses the bet, it’ll cost him the one thing he’s always wanted, that ranch of your daddy’s. If he wins, he’ll have to do the one thing he’s always sworn he’d never do.”

Mary Lou grinned approvingly. “Sounds to me as if you have that man exactly where you want him.”

It sounded more to Sara as if that crevice between the rock and a hard place was getting crowded. From her perspective, it appeared there were two of them in there.

* * *

The only things on Sara’s mind when she finally got back to Three-Stars were a hot bath, a rubdown with some of that liniment Mary Lou had given her and a long night’s sleep. Naturally since she was feeling very much frayed around the edges, her father had other plans for her. He intercepted her as she was trying to slip quietly up the back stairs.

“Where the dickens have you been, girl?” he demanded with a disapproving scowl. “We have company coming for dinner in twenty minutes.”

Sara practically groaned aloud. “Not tonight, daddy. I’m beat.”

“That’s not my problem. If you’d been home where you belonged, you’d be rested. If you hurry, you can manage a quick shower. It’ll fix you right up.”

“These are your guests,” she protested. “You can entertain them. You don’t need me.”

Her father’s jaw set stubbornly. “They’re our guests,” he corrected. “I invited the Pattersons just so you and Harold could get better acquainted.”