Healing a Cowboy's Heart (Cowboy Dreamin' 2) (6 page)

He
slumped against the wall of the shower as he tried to catch his breath. It’d
been a long damned time since he’d exploded like a sixteen-year-old kid with
his first fuck. After he shook his head to clear his thoughts, he stood back
under the water to wash
the cum
from his body.
Wow. That was pretty intense.

Once
he finished his shower, he shut the water off and grabbed a towel from the
rack. He dried off before he wrapped the towel around his hips so he could head
into his bedroom. Warm night breezes blew through the open window, sending
goose bumps along his arms. Sleeping with the window open at night was one of
his favorite things to do, along with hearing a women’s sigh of completion. He
rolled his eyes and shook his head. A woman was the last damned thing he
needed.

Chapter
Three

Sunlight
filtered in through the window over Terri’s head, bringing her out of her
dreams gradually even though she didn’t want to wake up. The gorgeous hunk of a
man slowly licking her from head to toe had her desire at a peak. The moment
she slowly came awake though, he disappeared like a wisp on the wind. She
didn’t even know who he was. His face had been shadowed in the dream. His dark
black hair the only feature she’d been privy to see with any clarity.

Her
whole body hummed with sexual tension.
God,
I need to come.
It had been way too long since she’d had sexual
gratification with anything other than her vibrator, but without a man in sight,
she’d have to do this herself…again or do without…again. The clang of the
breakfast bell echoed in the distance as she rolled over and looked at the
clock.
Damn it! I over slept.

She
rushed to get dressed and pull her hair back out of her eyes with a ponytail
holder. She didn’t have time for makeup or anything else.
Not like I’m going to meet Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome at the breakfast
table.
After she quickly slid her feet into her flip flops, she rushed out
the door and ran smack into a broad chest.

Oomph.

“I’m
sorry. I didn’t see you.”

“My
fault, ma’am.”

She
glanced up into gorgeous blue eyes. “Joshua?”

“Jason,
ma’am.
Josh, Joel, and I are triplets.”

“Ah.
I can see the similarity, although I don’t think I’ve met Joel.”

“No,
ma’am.
He’s off on his honeymoon with his new wife, Mesa.”

“How
great.
I love weddings.”

“Are
you headed to breakfast?”

“Yes.”

“May
I escort you?” he asked, holding out his elbow. “I wouldn’t want you to run
into anyone else this morning on your way to get food.”

“Well,
thank you, kind sir.”

“You’re
more than welcome, ma’am.”

“Call
me, Terri.”

“Nice
to meet you, Terri.”
They walked along the path headed
for the main lodge. “I guess you’re stayin’ in one of the cabins?”

“Yes,
for a couple of weeks. I’m doing some research.”

“Research
for what may I ask?”

“Rocks,
brush, trees, animals of your native area for
a
uh…paper I’m doing.”

“
Interestin
’.
If you need some help,
please feel free to find me.
I’m usually around doin’ one
thing or another.
Maybe I could take you
ridin
’
so you can check out stuff.”

“Good
idea! Thank you. I’ll see if I can find you after breakfast.”

They
started through the doors only to be almost run over by a racing three-year-old.
“Whoa there, little man.”

“I’m
hungry, Uncle Jason.”

“You
shouldn’t be
runnin
’. You know what Gran and your dad
say. Besides, you about ran over one of our guests.”

“Sorry.”
Ben dropped his head so she couldn’t see his face. All she could see was the
bent head with his little cowboy hat on.

Damn,
if he wasn’t the cutest little thing in his hat, jeans and boots. “It’s okay.”

“No.
I’m not supposed to run in the house. I’m sorry.”

“You’re
forgiven.”

“Thanks.”
The kid spun around and rushed off toward the huge table at the end of the room
where several more family members seemed to have gathered.

“Would
you like to sit with the family?”

“Uh.”
She withdrew her hand from his arm. “No thank you. I don’t want to intrude.”

“No
intrusion. We have special guests sit with us all the time.”

She
backed up a couple of steps. “No.
Really.
I see a
couple of ladies I know. I’ll sit with them.”

“All
right, then. Find me later and I’ll hook you up with a horse.”

“Thank
you, Jason.”

“You’re
welcome, Terri.” He tipped his hat before he walked away.

Air
rushed from between her lips in a heavy sigh.
Damn, these folks sure made a bunch of handsome cowboys.

“He
sure is a pretty one,” one of the ladies from the day before said as they came
up behind her in line.
“What a nice smile too.”

“Yeah,
he really is.” Terri couldn’t help but agree.

“He’s
one of the triplets,” the other lady added. “Can you imagine?”

“No,”
Terri replied. “I think one of those would be enough for me on even a fantastic
day.”

“I’d
sure like to give it a whirl,” the first woman replied. “I’m
Marg
, by the way. We didn’t introduce ourselves to you
yesterday at dinner. We’re staying in the Annie Oakley room.” She waved toward
her friend. “This is Liz.”

“Nice
to meet you ladies.
I’m Terri.”

“Are
you here for relaxation, Terri, or just to get away?”

“I’m
actually doing some research on the area. I thought this would be the best way
to get it.”

“Great
idea,” Liz said. “I hope you get to spend some time out with one of those boys
getting your research done.”

The
two women giggled as Terri frowned. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she’d just
been set up by the two older women who now seemed to be playing matchmaker with
her. Yes, the men on the ranch were gorgeous from what she could tell. Each one
had their own look about them, even the triplets. They were identical, but
there were subtle differences between the two she’d seen. It made her wonder
about the third,
who
wasn’t there at the moment.

When
she’d literally ran into Jason this morning, at first she’d thought he was
Josh, but when she looked closer, she could definitely tell the difference.
Joshua wasn’t quite as broad across the shoulders as Jason. All the yummy
hardness of both men made it difficult to decide which one was the cutest.
She’d only observed the others from a distance except Jeff. The thought of that
man made her frown as she glanced over the shoulder of the person in front of
her to see him talking with Nina. His dark hair glinted in the lighting of the
dining room, a blue-black color. Thick and straight to barely above his collar,
she wanted to run her fingers through those silky looking strands.

Seconds
later, he lifted his head and made immediate eye contact with her. A frown
marred his features as his eyes narrowed.

Oh shit.

She
dropped her gaze, moving behind the front person hoping he wouldn’t confront
her here in front of the other guests.

Cowboy
boots appeared in her line of vision.
Damn
it!

“What
the hell are you doin’ here?”

“Excuse
me?” she asked, lifting her head to stare into the stormy gray eyes of Jeff
Young.

“You
heard me. What are you doin’ here on my family’s ranch?”

Nina
appeared at his side. “Jeff this is one of our guests. What’s the problem?”

“She
needs to leave.”

“I’m
not leaving. I’m a paid guest.”

“Guest
my ass. She’s a damned spy,” he snarled, his lips curling back in a ferocious
look. He kind of reminded her of a pit bull with a bone protecting it from
intruders.

Nina
stepped between them and got in her son’s face.
“Enough,
Jeff.
Terri is a guest on our property no matter her reason for being
here.”

“I’m
sure she’ll report back to the developers on everything we do so they can
undermine us or somethin’.”

“Jeffery.
I’ll have no more talk like this. Go back to your seat.”

“But,
Ma…”

“But
nothin’.
Go on. We’ll talk about this later.”

His
gaze snapped fire at her as he glared again before turning on his boots heels
to head back to the table.

“I’m
sorry, Terri.”

“
It’s
fine, Nina.
Nothing to be sorry for.
He doesn’t like me at all.”

“He
sure does react to you rather oddly.” Nina stared for a moment. “I’m sorry. Get
your breakfast and I’ll handle my eldest son at least until the meal is over.
After that, I’m not sure what he’ll do. He does have a temper.”

“I
can handle him.”

Nina
cocked her head. “You know. I think you can.” She patted Terri on the shoulder
before she returned to the family table.

“Wow.
Interesting,” Liz said, as they finally got to the serving table and grabbed
their plates.

Terri
smiled. She really didn’t need the two older ladies getting in her business or
being in the middle of what might become a knock down drag out with the eldest
son of Thunder Ridge Guest Ranch.

* * * *

Jeff
got his breakfast, all the while keeping a keen eye on the intruder.
The spy.
He knew she had to be up to no good if she decided
to become a guest on his ranch. Something was up. He just knew it. He’d have to
keep a close eye on her to make sure she didn’t get information she could use
against them with the land developers.
Damn
it! I certainly don’t need her snooping around right now.

He
returned to his place at the table with his and Ben’s plate. “Here you go,
buddy.”

“What
was that all about, Jeff?” Jeremiah asked, taking his chair.

“Nothin’.”

“It
didn’t look like nothin’ to me. You were all up in the woman’s face.”

“I
said, it’s nothin’.”

“Fine,
but as the financial planner of this ranch, if there somethin’ goin’ on that
affects the financial stability, I need to know about it.”

“You
keep your nose in the books and leave the
ranchin
’ to
me.”

“Kiss
my ass, brother. Remember who controls the paychecks around here.”

“Fuck
you.”

“What’s
with you lately?” Jackson asked, lifting the fork to his mouth. “You need a
woman or somethin’?”

“The
last fuckin’ thing I need is a woman.”

“Watch
your mouth,” Nina snapped. “We have guests present.”

“Sorry,
Ma.”

“You
shouldn’t be
cussin
’ around Ben anyway. He hears
enough from you when you’re out with the cattle, I’m sure.”

“I
think he needs to get laid,” Jackson added with a grin. “It usually helps my
mood.”

“Your
answer to everything is being between a woman’s thighs.”

“Why
the heck not?”
Jackson winked. “Sounds like a perfect
place to me.”

“Why
were you in her face, Jeff?” Jason jumped in the middle of the conversation.

“What
the hell do you care, Jason?”

Jason
took a drink of his coffee. “I walked her to breakfast. She seems like a nice
girl to me.
Kinda
pretty too.”

“Just
say away from her. She’s trouble.”

“What
kinda
trouble?” James asked, as Jeff finished his
breakfast.

“Ma
won’t let me discuss it here. Let’s just say, she needs to be off our property
immediately.”

“She’s
a paid guest, Jeff. I won’t have you
kickin
’ guests
off the ranch. We need them to keep this place
runnin
’.
She’s paid up for two weeks.”

“Two
weeks?” Jeff growled. “What is she gonna do here for two weeks?”

“I
didn’t ask her when she paid up. What doesn’t it matter anyway?”

“Just
keep her away from me.”

“You’re
the foreman on this ranch, Jeff,” James said. “Your job is to keep everything
runnin
’ smoothly. You’ll be bound to run into her
sometimes. We can’t keep you two completely apart.”