Rough Road Home (The Circle D series) (22 page)

Maybe it was the storm, or maybe she was thinking of him. A smug self-satisfaction wrapped around him. Maybe she couldn’t shake the tingling from her lips any more than he could.

Yesterday afternoon had surprised him in more ways than he’d ever imagined. Walking through his house for the first time since he’d left for the rodeo circuit hadn’t been as earth shattering as he’d feared. The house stood still and empty, an impersonal wood and stone structure rather than the home he’d embellished in his mind. It had been a convenient storage unit for things that never mattered much in the first place.

Rachel’s presence had thrown a chink in the chain mail of his preconceived notions. He’d been prepared to hear voices chastising him and accusations written in the dust that covered the tables and cushions. Instead, he’d been so fixated on Rachel’s reaction to his skewed vision of a perfect life, he’d forgotten the weight of his own personal moment. He saw the house through her eyes and all his conjured scenarios blew away like a gust of cold mountain air sweeping through and cleansing all the dark places of his heart.

But that wasn’t the best part.

Their first kiss remained emblazoned on his brain and each kiss afterward only drew him in deeper.

He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Well, she was up and so was he. No point in each of them mulling over thoughts alone in the silent house. Standing, Nick crossed the room in his socks, the hardwood floor offering no friction for his feet. In a few steps, he was out the door and standing in front of hers, his knuckles giving a quick rap on the door. “Rachel? Are you up?”

Shuffled sounds moved closer to the door. Silence filled the air for a few moments before the door inched open. “Nick? Are you okay? Does your head hurt?”

“Nope, just getting an early start on the morning.” He nodded toward the window in her bedroom. “Looks like the snow isn’t going to let up. Thought I’d help Zac feed the cattle.” He took in her flannel shirt and jeans, her bare foot propped on top of the other as she braced against the door. “Are you ready for a cup of coffee?”

Running her hand through her auburn hair, she let the strands stream between her fingers and then fall back to her shoulders. “Coffee sounds great. Give me a minute.” She closed the door and shuffling noises drifted through the door again.

Nick grinned as he leaned against the door jamb. He’d spent the last five days with her and this was the first time he’d managed to get dressed before her. The tousled, early-morning look suited her, but her alert eyes shadowed by dark circles told him she’d been awake for a while, if not all night. When the door opened and she stepped out, Nick frowned at the reappearance of her wooden smile.

He kept his back on the door jamb. “What’s up?”

“Nothing.” Her smile wavered as she turned to shut the door behind her. “Just ready to start the day.”

“Hmmm.” He wasn’t going to push it. Having traveled shotgun with her, he knew she’d spill when she was ready. He took her hand as they followed the hallway to the living room. Her palm warmed his skin as she gripped her fingers tightly between his. “I thought I’d start pulling my weight around here. I picked a lousy time to become responsible.” He nodded toward the window across the room. “Look at it snow.”

“Yeah, I know.” She rubbed her thumb across his. “I was supposed to leave today.”

Muscles tensed along his shoulders. “Are you?”

She thumped her head against his shoulder and blew out a frustrated sigh. “No.”

He added his own sigh. “Thank, God.”

“I doubt God is keeping me snowed in.”

She rubbed her cheek against his arm sending warmth all through his tightened muscles. “You never know.”

Angling her chin, her green eyes sparkled in the dim, early morning filtering into the room. “To quote a semi-wise man - hmmm.”

A grin pulled at his mouth as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and drew her tight. “Hmmm.”

Her lips looks so soft, he couldn’t help himself. He captured her mouth, his lips testing their welcome. She tensed for all of a second before melting against him, her fingers slipping into his belt loop and holding him close. Her warm, feminine scent drifted around him as Nick deepened the kiss, his palm cupping her head to hold her close.

He’d kissed her yesterday and today, and knew he wanted many more tomorrows.

“Cozy.”

Zac’s gravelly voice broke into Nick’s haze. Rachel pulled away as he turned to face his brother. “I was looking for you.”

“Yeah. Right. I can tell.” Humor colored his words as Zac saluted with a mug of coffee. “Mornin’, Rachel.”

“Good morning, Zac.” She cleared her throat. “Coffee? Sure smells good.”

“There’s a pot in the kitchen.”

Her fingers gave his belt loop a slight tug. Nick caught her bright gaze as a shy smile played on her lips. “Great. I’ll go find it.”

Warmth spread along his arm where her palm slid along his sleeve. His heart pounded as she darted away. He’d asked her to join him for coffee, yet coffee was the last thing on his mind. Too many emotions rushed through him as if parts of him were awakening after a long sleep.

“Looking for me?” Zac followed Nick’s gaze toward the kitchen. “I’d say you’re looking for someone else.”

“What? Oh.” A rumble rose in his chest. “We both like coffee.”

“Coffee.” Zac chuckled. “Is that what you call it these days?”

“Yeah.” Nick shook his head and returned his brother’s knowing grin. “I thought I’d help you feed cattle.”

The grin on Zac’s face froze. “Seriously? Have you looked outside?”

“Cattle get hungry.” Clusters of thick snowflakes whirled around the windows. This wasn’t going to be a quick chore. “Are you saying you don’t need help?”

“Just making sure you know I’m throwing hay across the Circle D and Trails’ End.”

Nick glanced across the living room and into the kitchen where Rachel stood at the counter pouring mugs of coffee. She looked so relaxed and natural standing there. His eyes widened as he realized where his thoughts were headed. She had plans and dreams, and she was going back to them tomorrow.

Dreams that didn’t include a banged up, old cowboy.

He nodded at Zac. “Time I started pulling my weight around here. Let’s go.”

* * *

Dusk darkened the white landscape outside the window as Rachel stood at the kitchen counter and peeled potatoes. A pot roast as big as a basketball roasted in the oven, the savory aroma filling the whole house. Grace gripped the mixing bowl as yams whipped together with butter and pecan syrup. Jennifer had finished baking pies earlier in the afternoon and now sat on the floor with Jason building a tower out of cards.

Rachel smiled as she tossed her shavings and chunked the potato pieces, bits of garlic and slices of onion into boiling salt water. She’d been assigned mashed potatoes for the evening’s feast. She had a special recipe guaranteed to leave no leftovers.

“I’ve got twenty minutes before the potatoes are ready to whip, Grace. Can I help you?” Rachel wiped her hands on the checkered dish towel before draping it over a doweled rack. “Table’s set and water glasses filled. I’d offer to unload the dishwasher, but I don’t know where anything goes.”

“Oh, you’ll learn in time.” Grace poured her yam-batter into a baking dish. “How about handing me the canister of walnuts?”

Rachel removed the lid and handed Grace the chopped nuts. As Grace shook out handfuls of nuts on the dish, Rachel looked around the seriously abused kitchen and tried to find the right place to start cleaning. “This looks more like a Thanksgiving feast than a Sunday night dinner.”

“Well, it’s not every day my whole family is home for dinner.” A smile lit the older woman’s face. “Thank you.”

Heat fused up the back of Rachel’s neck. “It was nothing.”

“Hardly
nothing
.” Grace slid the dish into the oven beside the roast and closed the door. “Nick’s been gone for four year and never once called home. Thank God, Mitch called to give us updates. We couldn’t get Nick to talk to us.” She grabbed the bowls and stacked them into the sink. “I never gave up hope of seeing him, but honestly, the longer he stayed away, the less I thought he’d come home in one piece.”

Rachel ran her finger along the granite counter top, uncomfortable with the praise. “My dad always said to do what needed to be done.”

“Amen.” Grace squirted a shot of dish soap into the sink and turned on the hot water. “You’re an angel, Rachel Hill.”

“Gram Grace,” Jason called as he rounded the kitchen table. “Gramps wants a soda.”

“Now? Before dinner?”

Jason nodded. “He said he’d share with me.”

Grace turned to the cabinet for a glass and Rachel took the opportunity to slip around Jason, check on her boiling pot, and then slip out of the kitchen. She wasn’t an angel. If Grace knew of half the fights she’s had with her oldest son, she’d probably toss Rachel out on her rear. The only reason she’d brought Nick home was to save him from himself. Her conscience wouldn’t let her leave him in Casper, so where else to take him? Her plan had been to dump and run. She hadn’t a clue the winter storm she’d tried to beat had a twin sister blowing in hot on her heels.

The recap of a reality show blared on the television as she stopped in front of the bay window and watched the flakes float to the ground. The wind had subsided a couple of hours earlier easing her worries over Nick and Zac out in the storm. They’d been gone all day. How much hay were they throwing?

“They’ll be back soon.” Jennifer stepped up and stared out the window. “Every year we get a dump or two like this. It’s a pain, but nothing the boys can’t handle.”

A burst of laughter from Martin and giggles from Jason indicated they approved of the television program’s choice of a finalist. Grace puttered at the sink. And Rachel felt more relaxed amongst these strangers than she had in years.

“They’ve been gone all day.” Nick and Zac had left after a mug of coffee that morning. Nick had stolen a kiss and told her to behave before following his brother out the door. Her lips tingled at the memory; her pulse quickened. She shook her head to scatter the silly fragments of emotion. “How far did they have to go?”

“The cattle winter in the middle fields along the ridge so they have some protection. That gives the guys a straight shot from here to the Circle D property line.” Jennifer leaned against the edge of the wall and grinned. “That’s where the Trails’ End begins. Zac doesn’t have our cattle grouped as neatly as Gabe does, so I’m certain they had to scout around to find them all.”

“So, you live next door?”

Jennifer nodded, her blonde hair curling around her shoulders. “The Trails’ End used to belong to the Davidsons generations ago, their great, great,-” she waved her hand “-great grandfather lost that part of the ranch in a poker game. From the time Zac heard the story, he’d vowed to reclaim the family land.” A soft laugh escaped her. “He had to fight me for it since I had planned to run a therapy camp on it. We battled over it until the very end. He won, but I can’t say I lost. I married the love of my life and share the ranch of my dreams. Life doesn’t get any better than that.”

“Funny how people meet and fall in love.”

Jennifer shook her head. “I’ve known Zac and his family most of my life. My dad is a surgeon at the medical center in town. When my mother died, Grace and Martin practically raised my brother and me with their boys.” She smiled as she wrinkled her nose in a girlish fashion. “I had the most terrible crush on Zac. We ended up dating in high school, but life happened and we broke up.” Her smile faded as she shrugged. “He went to school to learn the business end of ranching, and I went to school across the state for my nursing degree.”

Curious over the family dynamic that plagued Nick, Rachel pressed on. “Zac runs the ranch?”

Jennifer shook her head. “Gabe runs the ranch. Zac oversees the financial and administrative end of things. He’s great with numbers and recognizes a good deal. Davidson Enterprises has holdings all over. Zac makes sure everything meshes together.”

“I understand that.” Thoughts of her clients flashed through her mind. She knew Jim had things well in hand. Still she couldn’t wait to review the growing portfolios she’d shaped with care. “I keep an eye on my clients’ accounts and make certain they’re getting the best return on their investments.”

“Huh.” Jennifer stared at Rachel. “You understand the whole numbers game?”

Funny way to put it.
“Not like an accountant, but I understand how the market affects corporate decisions.”

“Do you enjoy it?”

“Completely. There’s nothing better than seeing the investments I recommend to my clients earn dividends.” Rachel grinned. “I love happy people.”

“Zac likes what he does, but he loves ranching more.” Jennifer glanced down and fingered her wedding ring before turning back to Rachel. “He doesn’t mind throwing hay in snowstorms or plowing fields into the night or remodeling the old ranch house at the Trails’ End whenever I get a wild hair to start a project. He loves our ranch.”

Rachel caught the dreamy look in Jennifer’s eyes and knew without a doubt, she’d found her happily ever after. Cinderella stories happened few and far between. Rachel wanted to sigh with her. Her lips began to tingle again, and this time, she reached up and stroked her bottom lip to keep the sensation from fading.