Tears pricked at the backs of her lashes. She turned from him quickly and resumed her run, the pace becoming faster and faster until she left him far behind. He was just out of her eyesight as she turned the corner at the pasture fence and slowed at the back steps. She did not stop to stretch again but blasted through the screen door, heading for her room and a shower. The door slammed behind her.
****
“What’s wrong with Lou?” Sadie asked, rising from her chair when Brody walked into the kitchen
“Who knows, Sadie? I guess I offended her,” Brody replied, shaking his head. “All I did was ask her some questions. About why she’s here.”
Jeb rose from his chair and crossed the room to stand before Brody. “What do you mean, boy?” he asked, his brow drawn together.
“I already told you, Jeb, I left the boy back on the farm twelve years ago.” Brody couldn’t help but bristle.
“Then I suggest you act like the man you claim to be and tell me why Lou just flew through here like a cat with her tail on fire, and about as mad, too. What did you do?”
“It’s not about what I did, Jeb. It’s about what she has done. She’s not what she seems. I can tell it. There’s something I don’t trust about her.”
Jeb took a deep breath and looked Brody in the eye. “Say again?”
“She must have y’all snowed, Jeb. Those calf eyes and the ponytail make her seem so innocent.”
“Boy,” Jeb began. Brody clenched his jaw at the comment, yet the man continued his speech. “You don’t deserve to know but I’m going to tell you anyway just to set my own mind at ease. She came here when she was almost nineteen years old. She had a two-month-old baby and no home. I found her lying in the middle of the road and brought her here. We have all been happy with her being here ever since. She didn’t know much about life and she knew even less about mothering. But she learned. Your mother saw some potential in her and made sure she had an education and a roof over her head. She had a built-in family with Sadie and me and John and your ma. She pays us back for it every single day, although we have never asked her to. We get the pleasure of her company and we get to see the benefits of her hard work.
Jeb took a deep breath as he continued. “That girl puts in more work on the ranch than any five hands we have out at the barn. She gets up with the chickens to save Sadie from having to haul food for the hands, and that’s not even part of her job. She’ll be here again at lunchtime, no doubt, for just the same reason. Her job here is to take care of the finances for the stables and the crew. She makes sure they all get paid well and on time but she’s worth more than that. Both she and her daughter are a part of Western Skies. That’s more than I can say for you.” Jeb placed his hat on his head and walked out the backdoor. Brody winced as the screen door slammed.
He turned to Sadie. She shook her head in disappointment. “I thought better of you, son.”
“Sadie, I didn’t know,” Brody said.
“Now you do,” she said and walked out the door.
****
Lou stormed through the door of her room and flopped on the edge of the bed. Her shoes hit the floor with a bang and her socks followed.
“The nerve of some people,” she hissed before she stepped into the bathroom. Her breath still rushed in anger as she flung clothes off with abandon. “I’ve lived and worked here for years, and he comes home for a day and judges me.” She turned on the shower spray and placed her closed fist beneath the spray, testing for warmth. Her anger pulsed against the warm water until she stepped beneath it. The warmth hit her face and she placed both elbows against the wall, resting her weight against them. Only then did she start to relax.
She allowed the water to pour over her face and shoulders. The water served to wash away the sweat from the run as well as the tension in her body. She let his hateful words and antagonism wash down the drain. Taking deep breaths, she soaped her hair and washed her face, then applied scented shower gel to her legs and arms.
She stepped from the shower feeling much calmer and wrung her wet hair like a rope, removing most of the water. She then bent forward and wrapped a towel around the brown mass of hair. Lou wrapped her body in another towel and tucked it between her breasts. She then moved to the wardrobe to choose her clothing. She bent to open the bottom drawer and heard a rap on the door.
She heard her name called just as she saw the door handle jiggle. She turned, her bottom still in the air and was about to call out for whomever was on the other side to wait a moment when the door opened, and a blond head with a square jaw popped through. Flint-colored eyes met her own.
****
She gasped and reached to cover her breasts, even though they were well shielded from his gaze by the fluffy towel.
She shrieked. “Get out!”
“Oh, God.” He closed his eyes but his head did not retreat. Her image was already burned on the inside of his eyelids. “I just came to apologize. I’m sorry. I’ll come back later.” He pulled his head back and something hit the door. Did she throw a shoe at him? On purpose?
Brody stood outside the door and could hear her curses from inside the room. His blood ran hot at the thought of her little bottom bent over in front of the wardrobe. He could see the curve of her rear in his mind’s eye. When she stood up, he could see the cleft between her breasts, clenched tightly by the towel so they created small swells above the material. He shook his head to get rid of the image, but then his thoughts just jumped to her long, golden legs. In his head, he imagined them bare, and they seemed to be a mile long with no pants to mar the lines. He shook his head again.
Brody turned to walk down the hallway and couldn’t suppress the grin that stole across his face. He also couldn’t suppress the urge to adjust the fit of his pants.
****
Lou, freshly showered and dressed, applied a light bit of makeup and dried and brushed her hair until it shone. She left her room and took the stairs down to the library where her desk and files were located. Late mornings and early afternoons were reserved for office work. She often took a small break to help Sadie put lunch on the table but rarely stopped to eat more than a bite herself.
She turned to enter her office and was stunned to find her chair was turned backward and someone with broad shoulders was sitting at her desk. The figure in her chair turned and Lou groaned inwardly when she realized who it was. Broden Wester, III was reclining in her chair, talking on the phone. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and tapped her foot lightly as she waited for him to surrender her work area.
“I’ll just be a minute,” he said, covering the mouthpiece and stretching his long legs so he could put his feet on her desk. Of all the nerve!
Lou decided it wasn’t worth the argument and walked beside the desk to retrieve a file so she could take it to the kitchen and work. She knocked his feet off the top of her desk with a gentle shove and opened the file drawer to the right of the chair in which he sat. The drawer bumped his knees so he turned slightly to the front to avoid a second blow. Her elbow brushed his thigh as he turned. He instantly reacted and flexed his thigh muscle in response.
She heard his indrawn breath and wondered if he was agitated because of her interruption, or if he had felt the same heat she did when their skin touched. She bet it was the former.
“Dr. Jones, can I call you back later today? Yes. I have some notes I need to review and then I’ll get back with you. Thanks for understanding. Yes. This is a very trying time. I appreciate your help.” He hung up the phone and his steely eyes met hers.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi,” she clipped out.
“I think we got off on the wrong foot. Can we start over?”
“Does starting over include you berating me for being a freeloader again?” He at least had the good grace to flush.
“I’m sorry,” he said, rising from the chair. “Let me introduce myself. My name is Dr. Brody Wester. And you are?”
“I am annoyed.” He didn’t
deserve more from her than that, did he?
“I deserved that,” he said beneath his breath. “ Am I keeping you from work?”
“Actually, you are, so, if you don’t mind…” She nodded toward the door. She could be civil if she had to, couldn’t she?
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Lou.” He extended his hand to shake hers. Her hand rose hesitantly but clasped his firmly. She wouldn’t let him see any weakness in her. None at all.
“I’ll let you get to work,” he said, walking toward the door. “Will I see you at lunch?” he asked.
She mumbled, “Not if I see you first.”
A mischievous grin lit his face as he met her eyes, and then he waved quickly and left the room.
After taking a few moments to collect her thoughts, Lou worked in the library, poring over figures and facts until her eyes crossed and she could no longer read the pages. She checked her watch and realized it was almost one in the afternoon. She went to the kitchen and helped Sadie carry two heaping trays of sandwiches and fruit, typical lunch fare, outside to the picnic tables under the shade trees. Jeb had already arrived and had iced down sodas, tea, and bottled water for the lunch crowd. Sadie also uncovered a plate of fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.
After the hands were all settled for lunch, Lou grabbed a cookie, a bottle of water, two apples, and a sandwich for herself and headed for the barn. She stopped at the saddle rack and tucked her lunch into a clean saddle bag. Clucking softly to Sunny, a bay gelding of sixteen hands, she chose a leather bridle from a hook on the wall and approached a stall.
Sunny bumped his head against her shirt, demanding her attention.
“Oh, all right…here,” she said, removing a peppermint from her pocket, unwrapping it and popping it into his mouth. He crunched heartily and snorted at her. She giggled and snorted back. Draping the bridle over his ears and fitting the snaffle bit between his teeth was the easy part. As was covering him with a blanket and saddle. She lowered the saddle to cover the blanket, tightened the cinch, and counted to sixty. She mumbled, “If you would just let out that last breath, we could get moving.” She tightened the cinch again. Lou led Sunny from the stall and out into the bright sunshine beside the barn.
“Going for a ride?” a deep voice asked as she swung up into the saddle.
“Yeah. There’s a wild horse out by the south pasture. John bought her at an auction, not realizing how wild she was. She’s due to foal soon. I’m going to see if she’s still hanging out in the same spot. She bred with Wester’s Folly, one of our best sires, before she flew the coop.”
“How far away is she?”
“About a half hour’s ride north of here.”
“Care if I join you?” Brody asked, his hands shoved deep in the pockets of his Levis as he scuffed up dirt with his heels.
“Not at all. I’ll go and get you a horse.” She started to dismount.
“There’s no need. I can just ride with you.” Before she could protest, he slid her foot out of the left stirrup and replaced it with his own. He swung up in the saddle behind her, his legs and calves touching her own as his lap pushed her to the front of the saddle. Her zipper nearly touched the saddle horn. His zipper touched her bottom. Her breath caught in her throat at the intimacy of the contact. She turned slightly so she could look him in the eye.
“This saddle is too small for both of us,” she started.
He grinned at her and said, “If I’m not mistaken, this is the same old saddle Jeb used to ride double with all his nieces and nephews. So, it’s made a little wider and just fine for both of us to share.”
“Jeb’s skinnier than you are.” She tried one last complaint.
“You saying I’m fat?”
She sighed. “It would really be better if we got you your own horse, don’t you think?”
“It’s been twelve years since I’ve ridden, so I’m afraid I might be a little rusty. Do you mind?”
“I would rather…”
He cut her off with, “Aw, come on. Please...” His attempts to sound like a five-year-old failed miserably, especially since he was one hundred percent man sitting behind her in the saddle.
“Are you really scared to ride by yourself?”
“Yep. Terrified.” He gave a mock shiver. “Let’s go.” Without waiting for her to agree, he wrapped his arms around her and took the reins from her hands. He clucked gently to Sunny and nudged the horse with his knees. “You don’t mind if I drive, do you?”
“Actually, I do.” She took the reins from his hands and sat straight up in the saddle, avoiding his length behind her as well as she could.
His breath bushed across her cheek when he spoke. “I want to apologize again for what I said earlier. I'm sorry. I had no reason to distrust you or to speak to you the way I did.” His voice rumbled over her shoulder and across her neck. She fought a shiver.
“Apology accepted. If someone bothers my family, I am a little territorial, too.”
“Where is your family? Nearby?” he asked casually.
“Sarah is my only family. I have adopted Jeb, Sadie, your mother, and John. Or they adopted me. I don’t know which happened first.” A grin tugged at her lips.
“They seem like they think the world of you.”
“The feeling is mutual.”
The silence was comfortable for a few moments as they were lulled by the gentle motion of the horse.
Lou shifted in the saddle, hoping for a more comfortable position.
“Would you be still?” he asked gruffly in her ear.
“Sorry.” Her hand touched his thigh as she lifted her bottom and then settled back into the saddle. Her new position put her in closer contact with his maleness, and she could suddenly feel the hardness of him pressing against her bottom.
Lou looked over her shoulder in alarm and caught his steely gray eyes as they darkened slightly. His eyes met hers and he said, “Perfectly normal male reaction to being so close to a woman. Especially one that’s acting like she has ants in her pants.”
“Can’t you…”
“Can’t I what? Make it go away? Sure I can. I just need to put you about two feet away from me for the rest of the ride. How do you suggest we accomplish that?” he asked sarcastically, a small growl in his voice. “This wasn’t my best idea ever,” he admitted.
“But…”
“Just be still for a minute and it’ll go away. I promise. Do you want me to explain the medical side of this kind of physical reaction? I could tell you why it happens from a non-emotional standpoint. Would that ease your mind?”
“Would it help to ease anything for you?” she asked.
“Probably not,” he grunted.
“Then we can skip it. Thanks.”
“Any time.”
“Would it help to talk about something else?”
“Anything else, yes. You pick the subject,” he urged.
She could barely think with him pressed against her. “Do you like your work?”
“I love my work. I get to be a hero and save lives every day. Those I can’t save at least get a fair shot.”
“Sounds like a noble profession.”
“It is. It’s what I wanted to be ever since I was a little boy playing doctor with the girl who lived on the next farm over.”
“You never wanted to be a rancher?” she asked.
“Nope. Still don’t. When I was eighteen years old, my father told me I could either be a rancher and continue to be his son, or I could be a doctor and do it on my own. I graduated from high school, left here, and never looked back. I left with $1000 in my pocket, a car that had been given to me for my sixteenth birthday, and a trash bag full of clothes. I don’t know if I left because of the ultimatum or because I hated the ranch. It was probably the ultimatum that did it. I put myself through college using student loans and part-time jobs. I am in debt up to my eyeballs now, but it was all worth it.” He finished his speech with bland smile in her direction.
She shifted in th
e saddle again and he groaned. “Here we go again…”
“Sorry. You’re pressed against me like white on rice, Brody. My skin can’t even breathe.” She slowed the horse and tapped his knee with her palm, whispering, “There she is. See her standing by the rocks? She usually comes to me to get a treat, but I am not sure if she’ll come with you here.” She tapped his knee again. “Get off.”
“Don’t I wish,” he mumbled under his breath.