and out early, but she’d been
waiting for him at lunchtime.
Today, though she was completely
dressed, she looked tousled and sexy, and
all he could think about as soon as he laid
eyes on her was figuring out a way to get
her back upstairs and into his bed. He saw
her, and he remembered the sweet, hot feel
of her body beneath his when she’d pulled
him into the swimming hole, when he’d
taken her into his arms on Auntie Dee’s
porch three nights ago. Hell, just hearing
one of his brothers or the housekeeper
mention her name had heat blasting through
him.
Out of sheer desperation, he’d suggested
she ride out with him in the pickup that
afternoon to check on a watering trough.
Surely that had to be about as unsexy as
ranch work went.
Still, he was proud of his herd, and the
animals needed their water. He had the
best fucking beef cattle in the state. Select
—that was the only way to make any
money at it—and even then, it was a break-
even proposition at best.
“We get to the trough, you follow the
rules,” he cautioned. She might have him
hotter than hell, but he knew what she was
like. When she looked at him, all sweet
innocence, he added, “I mean it, Rose. No
games.”
“Sure.” Her hand darted out and flicked
the radio on.
He covered her fingers with his. “Tell
me I’m not going to regret this.”
“I can follow the rules.” When he shook
his head and smiled, she repeated, “I can.”
“You never met a rule you didn’t want
to break, Rose.”
“I was a kid,” she protested.
“You were eighteen. Old enough to
know better. Remember that time you took
the truck out into the foothills and camped
out in the truck bed for two days? You had
a bonfire going when I showed up, and the
only food you had were marshmallows and
beer. And what about the time you toilet
papered my barn? You toilet papered my
orchard,” he continued. “If I posted a no
trespassing sign, you’d be sitting just
beyond it in a lawn chair, Rose.”
“Just once,” she muttered, her fingers
twitching in his hold.
“You cemented my saddle to the tack
room wall and I woke up one morning and
you were all sleeping in the cattle chute,”
he continued ruthlessly. “Tell me how that
is following the rules.”
“Those were pranks,” she protested.
“I discovered you in the cattle chute
when I pulled up with a load of bulls,” he
continued. “What do you think would have
happened if I’d unloaded directly into the
chute, Rose?”
“You didn’t.” She pulled against his
hold and, this time, he let her go. “We all
knew you wouldn’t run cattle in that chute
without double-checking first. You were
always careful.”
“I closed gates. You opened them,” he
continued, shaking his head. “You drove
that car of yours twenty miles an hour over
dirt and we all knew you were coming
when we saw the road dust. I said: Be
home by nine, and you’d drop my brothers
off at nine. The next morning.”
“A simple misunderstanding?” She
grinned over at him. “Next time, you knew
better. You clarified.”
“I’m just saying, no games today, Rose.
Be careful and listen, okay?”
“Sure,” she repeated and gave him
another smile.
As they jolted down the dirt road, Rose
hummed along to a country hit playing on
his appropriated radio dial. The song was
all heartsick love and loneliness, suiting
the sky ahead of them, which was filling up
with dark clouds. The air around them was
pure tension that came from more than the
exchange they’d just had. He’d have a
storm on his hands soon enough.
When he pulled up at the trough, the
galvanized tank that should have held
almost a hundred gallons was as dry as a
bone. The pipeline from the source well
ran almost a mile to this particular trough.
If that well was running dry, too, Mother
Nature had just raised the stakes on him.
Grabbing his tool belt from the back of
the truck, he waded through
waiting for him at lunchtime.
Today, though she was completely
dressed, she looked tousled and sexy, and
all he could think about as soon as he laid
eyes on her was figuring out a way to get
her back upstairs and into his bed. He saw
her, and he remembered the sweet, hot feel
of her body beneath his when she’d pulled
him into the swimming hole, when he’d
taken her into his arms on Auntie Dee’s
porch three nights ago. Hell, just hearing
one of his brothers or the housekeeper
mention her name had heat blasting through
him.
Out of sheer desperation, he’d suggested
she ride out with him in the pickup that
afternoon to check on a watering trough.
Surely that had to be about as unsexy as
ranch work went.
Still, he was proud of his herd, and the
animals needed their water. He had the
best fucking beef cattle in the state. Select
—that was the only way to make any
money at it—and even then, it was a break-
even proposition at best.
“We get to the trough, you follow the
rules,” he cautioned. She might have him
hotter than hell, but he knew what she was
like. When she looked at him, all sweet
innocence, he added, “I mean it, Rose. No
games.”
“Sure.” Her hand darted out and flicked
the radio on.
He covered her fingers with his. “Tell
me I’m not going to regret this.”
“I can follow the rules.” When he shook
his head and smiled, she repeated, “I can.”
“You never met a rule you didn’t want
to break, Rose.”
“I was a kid,” she protested.
“You were eighteen. Old enough to
know better. Remember that time you took
the truck out into the foothills and camped
out in the truck bed for two days? You had
a bonfire going when I showed up, and the
only food you had were marshmallows and
beer. And what about the time you toilet
papered my barn? You toilet papered my
orchard,” he continued. “If I posted a no
trespassing sign, you’d be sitting just
beyond it in a lawn chair, Rose.”
“Just once,” she muttered, her fingers
twitching in his hold.
“You cemented my saddle to the tack
room wall and I woke up one morning and
you were all sleeping in the cattle chute,”
he continued ruthlessly. “Tell me how that
is following the rules.”
“Those were pranks,” she protested.
“I discovered you in the cattle chute
when I pulled up with a load of bulls,” he
continued. “What do you think would have
happened if I’d unloaded directly into the
chute, Rose?”
“You didn’t.” She pulled against his
hold and, this time, he let her go. “We all
knew you wouldn’t run cattle in that chute
without double-checking first. You were
always careful.”
“I closed gates. You opened them,” he
continued, shaking his head. “You drove
that car of yours twenty miles an hour over
dirt and we all knew you were coming
when we saw the road dust. I said: Be
home by nine, and you’d drop my brothers
off at nine. The next morning.”
“A simple misunderstanding?” She
grinned over at him. “Next time, you knew
better. You clarified.”
“I’m just saying, no games today, Rose.
Be careful and listen, okay?”
“Sure,” she repeated and gave him
another smile.
As they jolted down the dirt road, Rose
hummed along to a country hit playing on
his appropriated radio dial. The song was
all heartsick love and loneliness, suiting
the sky ahead of them, which was filling up
with dark clouds. The air around them was
pure tension that came from more than the
exchange they’d just had. He’d have a
storm on his hands soon enough.
When he pulled up at the trough, the
galvanized tank that should have held
almost a hundred gallons was as dry as a
bone. The pipeline from the source well
ran almost a mile to this particular trough.
If that well was running dry, too, Mother
Nature had just raised the stakes on him.
Grabbing his tool belt from the back of
the truck, he waded through
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