A Cowboy's Heart (Hitting Rocks Cowboys) (16 page)

With those words he transformed her world. “There’s nothing I want more,” she whispered against his lips after devouring him. “Do you have any idea how much fun it is to do what I want to you?”

“Yup. Just keep it up.”

Breathless and eager to accommodate him, she kept it up until the fire was blazing hot. “I—I’d better leave you alone,” she stammered, realizing she wasn’t being careful enough.

“Don’t you dare move! Until we get married, and maybe for several months after, will you live with me in my trailer?”

“I’m so glad you said that,” she cried into his neck. “It felt like home to me the minute we left my parents’ house. I’ve never known the kind of happiness I’ve had with you, Connor.”

In his hunger, he leaned over to kiss her again, forgetting about his handicap. “Ouch—this arm.” He had to lie back.

She chuckled in spite of the desire raging through her body. “That arm won you five gold buckles. Just be patient, and in six weeks all your body parts will be working again in perfect harmony.”

“I have news for you, sweetheart. They’re all working right now.”

“I know. I’ve got the same problem, so I think it will be better if I just hold you for what’s left of the rest of this night.”

“Promise you won’t leave me?”

“What do you think?”

“I think I’m the luckiest man alive.”

* * *

A
T
NINE
-
THIRTY
THE
next night Liz pulled up in front of the Bannock ranch house. For once, they were putting Ralph before the horses they needed to put into their barns. They wanted to surprise him. The others wouldn’t be home until tomorrow.

When she looked over at Connor, she saw such a different man than the one she’d left with two and a half weeks ago, she hardly recognized him.

The lines and shadows of self-doubt, guilt and recrimination were gone. If you could ascribe such an expression to a man, his striking face beamed with excitement. “Let’s go break the news to him, sweetheart.”

“I’ll grab one each of our gold buckles to give him for a souvenir.”

His brown eyes glowed as he looked at her. “Trust you to know what will touch his heart more than anything.”

“Your coming home safe and sound will be the answer to his prayers. These trinkets are just the icing on the proverbial cake.” She leaned across to kiss him long and hard before alighting from the cab.

Montana had been visited with more snow, creating another fairyland. After she’d gone into the trailer for the boxes, Connor wrapped his good arm around her waist and they walked up to the porch. He kissed her again. “Remember being here?”

“As if I could forget.”

“It seemed so right that you and I were going off together to do what we loved.”

“I thought the same thing.”

“It was meant to be.”

“Yes, darling.”

He unlocked the door and they went inside. They crept down the hall to the den, but it was dark. “He’s gone to bed.”

“Maybe we should come back in the morning.”

Connor shook his head. “No...this news can’t wait.” As he grasped her hand, the housekeeper approached.

“You’re home! I’m so sorry about your arm. You would have won the whole thing, Connor. Congratulations to both of you!”

“Thank you,” they said before he kissed her cheek.

“He’s going to be so thrilled, you can’t imagine!”

“We’re the ones who are thrilled.” He grasped Liz’s hand and led her all the way back to Ralph’s bedroom. They found him lying propped up in bed. He was reading a book by the light of the bedside table.

“Grandpa?”

Ralph looked up. The book fell out of his hand. “It’s you. You’re home!”

“I am. I brought someone with me.”

He pulled Liz into the room with him. While Ralph stared at the two of them, they walked over to the side of his bed.

“We have some gifts for you.” Liz handed him the two boxes, which he opened. “Those are yours to keep. You always had faith in us.”

Tears spilled down his cheeks. “I heard your speech at the hotel. I’ve been crying ever since.”

“We’ve got something else to tell you that’ll make you cry even harder. Show him, sweetheart.” She tugged on the sleeve of her pullover so Ralph could see the charm bracelet. “I’ve asked Liz to marry me.”

His grandfather gasped.

“We made it official last night with this bracelet you gave us. It brought us luck and love. The kind you had with Grandma. It’s the kind of love I’ve wanted with every fiber of my being. I know I’ve found it with Liz.”

Ralph’s eyes shone. “I know you have, too. My little princess. I always wanted you for my Connor. My dream has finally come true.”

“I’ve loved him forever.” Her words came out sounding like a croak.

“Come here and let me give both of you a hug.”

After he let them go, he said, “Who else knows?”

Connor’s eyes danced. “No one. You’re the first. We’ll tell everyone tomorrow when they’re back.”

“What are your plans?”

“We want to be married at Liz’s church, but that’s as far as we’ve gotten. We want it to be soon.”

“Where will you live?”

“Here on the ranch. Until we build our own home, we’ll live in my trailer.”

A big smile broke out on his face. “You’ve brought me such wonderful news, I might expire from too much joy.”

“Oh, please don’t do that,” Liz cried. “We’re planning on you living a long time.

“We want our children to enjoy their great-grandfather for as long as possible. But now we’re going to say good-night. We have to take care of our other children.”

Ralph chuckled. “Your horses did themselves proud.”

Connor nodded. “Especially Polly. She pulled through like a champion.”

“I told her she had to do it for Connor, who couldn’t compete for himself. I’m positive she understood me.”

Ralph winked at her. “You’ve always had special powers in that department.”

Liz watched Connor give his grandfather another kiss. “We’ll come in the morning and have breakfast with you.”

“Can’t wait. We’ll watch all the recordings and you can tell me everything that was going on behind the scenes. Especially the moment when that hooky honker pulled that stunt on you, son.”

“He was a rank one, all right. Sleep well,” Connor said, before ushering Liz out of the bedroom.

“What do you say we stall both horses in our barn for tonight? We’ll put Sunflower next to Firebrand so they’ll be happy.”

“I was just going to suggest it. Who knows? Maybe they’re engaged, too.”

He threw back his head and laughed that deep, rich male laughter she loved almost as much as she loved him.

Once the horses were safely housed in the barn, Connor told her where to park his rig for the night. He helped her clean out the trailer stalls the best he could until they were able to go to bed themselves.

After showering, she cuddled up to Connor’s solid, hard body. Talk about heaven. He only put on the bottom half of his sweats. It was too hard to deal with the top. “Darling? I’ve never seen Ralph so happy.”

“Our news did it, all right. Can you imagine how happy everyone else is going to be when they hear?”

“My parents will be overjoyed.”

“So will the rest of my family. Now they won’t have to worry about me anymore.”

“Mine won’t, either. When I told Mom I was driving with you, she almost had a heart attack for fear I’d be hurt. That was because she knew Sadie and I had always been pining for love of the Bannock brothers.”

“Unfortunately, the Bannock brothers had been warned off your land. I hope lightning won’t strike me if I say Daniel Corkin’s passing was a good thing. He put me and my brother through hell.”

“Speaking of Jarod, do you want hear something kind of spooky?”

He plundered her mouth for a little while before he said, “I’m all ears.”

“The first night I called Sadie from Las Vegas, she told me I was going to win because Jarod had seen a vision. When I asked if he’d had one about you winning, he said no.”

“He’s a lot like his uncle Charlo. I’m glad you didn’t tell me, sweetheart.”

She shivered. “I wonder why he told Sadie.”

“They share everything. He probably told her not to tell you. But she did anyway, because she loves you and wanted to instill you with extra confidence.”

“I’m afraid it did the opposite. For the rest of the time, all I did was worry about you. When Derrick told me you’d had an accident, it was like a nightmare come true. How specific are Jarod’s visions?”

“Let’s ask him tomorrow.”

“Maybe we’d better not, or we might get Sadie into trouble.”

“Don’t worry about it. He loves her too much. I’m more inclined to believe he knew she’d tell you. Jarod wanted you to believe in yourself.”

She cupped his face in her hands, kissing every feature. “With everyone believing in me, especially you, how could I lose? I fall more in love with you every minute. I wish—”

“So do I.” His voice had grown husky. “Do me a favor and help me to love you any way we can until I can get rid of this sling.”

“Well, as long as I’ve got your permission...”

“You’ve got it, Mrs. Bannock to be. In spades.”

* * * * *

Watch for the next story in Rebecca Winters’
HITTING ROCKS COWBOYS
miniseries,
THE NEW COWBOY,

coming soon from Harlequin American Romance!

Keep reading for an excerpt from A COWBOY MEETS HIS MATCH by Roxann Delaney

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Chapter One

Stretching out her legs in the tall grass, with her eyes closed and her back against the rough bark of a tree, Erin Walker smiled at the sound of a fish breaking the surface of the water. Content, she pulled in a breath of warm, June afternoon air and started to toe off her boots. But the sound of a second, a third and then a fourth splash followed, all louder and each sounding closer than the one before.

That was no fish.

She sat up straight, her heart rate increasing as she looked out onto Lake Walker, the large pond on the ranch near Desperation, Oklahoma, where she’d grown up. That was when she spotted the naked man, standing not twenty yards away in the pond.

Erin felt an eerie flash of déjà vu but blamed it on the shock of the moment. Surely he hadn’t seen her. If he had, he would have left immediately. Instead, he stood hip deep in the water, his back to her, his arms stretched above his head, flexing muscles that would have caused a half-blind ninety-year-old spinster to suffer a case of the vapors.

If only he’d turn around.

Just as she finished the thought, he started to do exactly that. She quickly but carefully scooted down to lie on the ground, while praying he was too busy enjoying his skinny-dip to notice her. From her prone position, all she could see was the very top of his head—and that was only if she stretched her neck uncomfortably. She was also aware that if she moved, he might notice her. With a silent sigh, she lowered her head, settling in to wait him out.

Closing her eyes so she could concentrate on any sounds, she yawned, her previous late night catching up with her early morning. After a few minutes, she heard the sound of movement in the water. He was leaving. Or maybe coming closer. She couldn’t be certain, but the sound seemed to be getting farther and farther away, until it stopped. Straining to listen for confirmation, she thought she heard the soft whinny of a horse, but she couldn’t be certain.

More time passed, as she waited for some kind of indication that he was no longer in the area. When she heard nothing else, she finally felt relatively safe.

“Did you enjoy the view?”

She froze. She knew that voice, would never forget it and was trapped by the person it belonged to. She suspected he was waiting for an answer, but she needed time to settle the slamming of her heart and attend to her need to breathe. The first was impossible; the second was achieved by forcing air into her lungs.

She refused to open her eyes, her heart pounding in her ears as she struggled to gain control. When she finally opened them, there was no one there. No person, no horse, no evidence that what she’d heard had been real. For all she knew, she’d fallen asleep and dreamed it. If so, it had been her worst nightmare.

In spite of being fairly certain she’d imagined the whole thing, she remained cautious as she got to her feet. The first thing she did was check to make sure no one was lurking behind her in the bushes, but there was nobody there.

“No, it didn’t happen,” she muttered.

She used the walk back to her childhood home—now her brother’s house—to clear her head. She’d been dreaming. That had to be it. But why? It had been years since—

Unwilling to think about what had happened long ago, she forced her thoughts to something else. When she first decided to visit Lake Walker, she’d thought she would do some riding, but the idea of saddling and mounting the horse that had replaced Firewind only made her miss him that much more. Erin prided herself on not being particularly emotional, and she didn’t want to give herself any reason to get that way, so she’d chosen to walk instead. She welcomed the exercise. She hadn’t been sleeping well for weeks, and she’d been so tired lately—it made sense that she’d imagined someone had spoken to her, although the man in the pond had definitely been real.

Back at the house, she stepped inside the screened porch, then opened the door that led into the kitchen, where she found both of her brothers seated at the table. “I see you took—”

“It’s about time you got back here,” Luke, the youngest, announced.

She looked first at him and then at Dylan, who scowled at her. “What?” she asked. “I’m not allowed to get some exercise?”

Dylan leaned back in his chair, his scowl deepening. “We have somewhere to go.
We
meaning you, too.”

“Did you forget?” Luke asked.

She
had
forgotten, but they didn’t need to know that, now that they’d reminded her. “Of course not. We’re meeting up with the others at Lou’s Place.”

“Right.” Dylan crossed his arms on his chest. “And we’re expected to be there in thirty minutes.”

“No problem,” she replied. “It won’t take me long to get cleaned up and—”

“Dean is expecting to meet you there.”

She stared at Luke, hoping her confusion appeared believable. “Dean? Dean who?”

“You know damn well who,” Dylan said. Pushing away from the table, he stood and walked over to her, his six-foot-plus body towering over her. “Dean Franklin. You remember him. We introduced you to him at the fall festival last October.”

“I have no idea who you’re talking about.” No way would she let herself be set up with another man her brothers had chosen for her. And if they insisted, she would pack up her motor home and leave. She had plenty of friends on the rodeo circuit who would be happy to give her a place to park until she found somewhere permanent to live. For that to happen, she needed money, and she refused to ask her brothers for it.

“You agreed to meet him,” Luke said.

Erin shook her head. “No. You—both of you—set it up and told him I’d be there. I never had a say in it or in the other men you’ve tried to marry me off to since the leaves started falling from the trees last October. Give it up, boys. I’ve had enough of your game. You act like I can’t get a man on my own. No, let me rephrase that. You act like I can’t even attract a man. Let me assure you right now, that isn’t the case.”

“Did I say it was?” Dylan asked.

“You didn’t have to. It’s as plain as the noses on your faces that you’re trying to fix me up with somebody. With anybody.”

“You’ve got this all wrong.”

“Do I? I think it’s you two who have it all wrong, and you need to butt out of my life.”

This time it was Luke who spoke. “We’re only trying to help, Erin.”

“Well, don’t,” she said. “If I decide I need a man—which I don’t—I can find one on my own. Understand?”

“We’re concerned. We want to make sure you have someone to take care of you.”

Her mouth opened and words came tumbling out. “Take care of me? You both seem to forget that I’ve been on my own for almost fourteen years. I’ve traveled the rodeo circuit across this whole country and even into Canada...
by myself
. Nobody was holding my hand. Nobody was keeping me company or taking care of me.”

Dylan nodded. “Which is all well and good. But you’re older now. Don’t you want a family?”

She felt the twinge of regret that always hit her when she thought of what she’d done, nearly seventeen years before. But they didn’t know, and she wasn’t about to tell them. Ever. She’d had her reasons for staying away from the ranch and for remaining single. And at the age of thirty-four, she wasn’t about to get tied down now.

“I
have
a family,” she replied. “I have you two. But if you don’t stop insisting that I marry the first yahoo that comes along, you’ll give me no choice but to leave. Do you understand that?”

Luke looked at Dylan, who shrugged. “You always were stubborn.”

“Bullheaded,” Luke added.

“No more than the two of you. Shall we talk about your lives before I stepped in to fix them? If it hadn’t been for me finding you the perfect women to marry, there’s no telling what would have happened to you.” She looked pointedly at Dylan, who had come close to losing his share of the ranch, barely a year earlier, until she’d devised a plan to set him up with a former classmate, which had ended in an engagement and an upcoming wedding.

He looked down at her, his green eyes full of a gratefulness she wished he would move beyond. “All right. You’ve made your point, Erin.” He looked at Luke, who nodded, then back at her. “We’ll leave you alone, if that’s what you want.”

She wasn’t sure if she should feel relieved. She knew better than to trust them, but they both appeared sincere. “Thank you.”

She turned to leave, hoping they wouldn’t have to revisit this topic again. The men her brothers had introduced her to had been good men, but she’d never met a man who didn’t try to run her life. She suspected she never would.

She didn’t mind her solitary life. It was what she’d chosen, and the idea of getting married or anything close to it was out of the question. She liked being single and had no reason to change.

“Fifteen minutes, Erin,” Dylan called to her as she started for the door. “No more.”

She swallowed her sigh. They weren’t going to let her off the hook.

The mere thought of the word
hook
caused her to nearly trip on the threshold. That word reminded her of fishing and ponds and a naked man. A shower was exactly what she needed.

* * *

W
ITHOUT
LOOKING
, J
AKE
C
ANFIELD
knew Erin had walked into Lou’s Place, Desperation’s local tavern. All he’d needed was to hear her voice.

He’d been surprised—no, make that shocked—when he’d spied her lying in the grass near the pond. If he’d known she’d come home, he never would have gone there. Two things had drawn him back. He’d inherited his uncle’s ranch, and he’d thought Erin was still on the rodeo circuit. At least he knew now that she wasn’t riding. And he was curious to know why. Becoming a barrel racer had always been her dream, much like his own dream of being a rancher. Hers had come true early, and from what he’d heard, she’d done well. Very well. He’d had to wait a while for his, but it had been worth it.

He shouldn’t have been surprised to see her at Lou’s. After all, she was a grown woman now, not the girl he’d known since he was eight and who’d stolen his heart when he was fifteen.

Had she known it was him at the pond? He hadn’t gotten a reply to his question, so he couldn’t be sure. He would solve that, though, soon enough.

Turning around, he saw her with her brothers and another man, who at that moment had her hand in his. A pang of jealousy shot through him, and he immediately shook it off. He had no claim on her. All they shared was their childhoods and a night he’d never forgotten. It still hurt to think about it.

He knew the minute she spotted him. Her eyes grew wide, and she took a small, stuttering step back, then quickly regained her composure and nodded in his direction. In reply, he touched the brim of his Stetson. She eased away from her brothers and the man with them, and walked toward him.

She stopped in front of him, and he couldn’t hide his smile when she had to tip back her head to look up at him. “I suppose I should have known,” she said.

“Good to see you again, too, Erin,” he replied. Her hello wasn’t as bad as he’d expected.

“Erin?” a woman said from the table behind him.

Erin raised her hand in a wave, but didn’t break the gaze that held her to him. “Apparently you’ve forgotten that Lake Walker is private property.
Walker
property.”

“So you did know it was me.”

“Not until a minute ago—”

“And you didn’t answer my question.”

She hesitated for a split second. “What question is that?”

“Did you enjoy the view?”

Her chest rose with a deep breath before she answered, “What
little
I saw wasn’t bad.”

He had to grit his teeth to keep from laughing. Same old Erin. “I wouldn’t use that word, if I were you.”

Her eyes narrowed, but the twinkle in them made a lie of it. “What word?
Little?
”

“That would be it. Have you even grown an inch since the last time I saw you?”

She opened her mouth, only to close it. Looking past him, she jerked her thumb in his direction. “You all may have met Jake Canfield, ne’er-do-well, years ago but completely forgot him. It happens a lot.”

She’d made her point, and he wished he hadn’t mentioned the past. She obviously didn’t want to revisit it. Had he hurt her that much?

She flashed him a triumphant smile, and he thought he saw a wink as she walked past him. With a shake of his head and a chuckle, he turned around to see a table where several women were sitting and instantly recognized them from his summers in Desperation.

“That name sounds familiar,” one of them said with a grin, as she offered Jake her hand. “I’m Kate—”

“
Mrs.
Dusty McPherson,” Erin finished for her, and looked pointedly at Jake. “You might remember Dusty.”

He responded with a smile and took Kate’s hand in his. He would play along, if that’s what Erin wanted. “I do remember your husband,
Mrs.
McPherson. Quite a bull rider, not long ago. I was sorry to hear he’d retired.”

“It’s Kate,” the woman said, frowning at Erin.

One of the other women from the table leaned in front of Erin, a confused look on her face. “I’m Trish, Kate’s sister. Trish Rule.”

He released Kate’s hand to take Trish’s outstretched one. “Sisters, huh?”

“Better behave, Jake. Her husband is the sheriff,” Erin announced.

“Is that so? He didn’t mention that he had such a pretty wife when I stopped in at his office the other day.”

Erin closed her eyes and shook her head, then moved away. Score one for him. They’d battled on a daily basis, all summer long, every summer he spent at his uncle’s ranch. Verbal sparring, he’d called it, and she’d been an expert at it. He learned from her and had gotten pretty good at him himself—until he’d realized she wasn’t a little girl anymore and lost his heart to her.

He felt a hand on his back and heard, “Good to see you again, Jake.”

Jake turned his head to see Erin’s youngest brother. “Luke, it’s been a long time. Thanks for returning my dog the other day.”