The Rancher Read online

  She swallowed the sudden lump forming in her throat and pulled at the high collar of her dress. The sun was unbearably hot today for early fall. Much too hot.

  Turning her head to avoid looking at him, she watched Alexandra run to the house, her boy trousers and chambray shirt causing a sigh to escape her. "She looks nothing like a girl."

  "No, and she prefers it that way."

  Realizing she'd spoken out loud, Laurel's face heated. "I meant no offense. It's just… well, I've never seen a girl act so boyish in all my life."

  He laughed and leaned against the fence rail, the whiteness of those boards making the tanned hue of his skin even darker. His arm, propped on the top rail, was well muscled and Laurel's stomach clenched tight at the sight of it. She'd held on to those arms, felt them around her body and a tremor rushed through her limbs at the remembrance.

  Laurel blinked and tried to remember why she'd made the trip out to his home. She had to clear her throat and swallow twice just to moisten her mouth enough to speak. "She's started three fights this week." Her voice cracked but she found it easier to talk keeping her focus on his chin instead of his eyes. "She also spits, has nothing to do with the other girls in class and her attire is inappropriate for her gender." She paused, bitterness closing her throat as her next words ate at her conscience. "I can't believe your wife would allow her daughter to grow up to be so… boyish."

  He smiled again. "You're going to act as if we don't know each other, aren't you?"

  Her heart skipped another beat. "I think, under the circumstances, that would be wise."

  "Why?"

  She laughed and looked up to meet his gaze. "Because I'm the new school teacher here, that's why. I have a certain reputation to uphold and if the town council knew…"

  "That you frequented saloon's and invited strange men into your bed, they'd put you on the first stagecoach out of town?"

  Her face blazed hot. "Don't you dare judge me."

  "I'm not." His gaze lowered to her breasts for a second before lifting again. "I just don't expect you to treat me as if we're strangers."

  "As far as the people who live in this town are concerned, Mr. Avery, we are strangers."

  He laughed that wonderful laugh again and Laurel had to look away. She gazed into the pasture, noticed a few horses grazing beyond the fence and tried to will her pulse to calm. Why did this have to happen? Why now?

  "I've been thinking about you."

  "Don't." She looked back at him and for the first time since meeting him, wished she never had. "I don't want to be reminded of it."

  He lifted an eyebrow at her. "I was under the impression you enjoyed it as much as I did."

  She bit her tongue to keep from blurting out she had. That she couldn’t stop thinking about him, too, and as much as she'd enjoyed their one night together, it was a mistake. She glanced back at the house, saw Alexandra on the porch steps and tried to steer the conversation back to the girl. "Where is your wife?"

  "She died after giving birth to Alex."

  Remorse washed through her system, a knot of sorrow filling her stomach. "I'm sorry."

  He nodded his head at her. "It was a long time ago." He sighed and lifted his hat, running his fingers through his hair before resettling it again. "We've not had a woman's influence at home until two years ago and honestly, I don't know a thing about girls." His gaze lowered from her face, sweeping down across her breasts and lower. "Well, I know nothing about little girls."

  Her face heated again. The sun was indeed unbearable. Laurel pulled at her high collar and tried to convince herself it wasn't him causing her blood to heat and her skin to blaze as if she was cooking under the Montana sun.

  A simple glance at his face caused her thoughts to run rampant. How she ended up in the town he lived in the most prevalent. She knew nothing about him other than he had a daughter and his wife had passed. Before today, she hadn't even known that much and she preferred it that way. Seeing him now though, his skin glistening with moisture, her fingers itched to touch him one last time. Her lips tingled with remembrance of his kisses and a tiny voice in the back of her head whispered she could have it all again.

  She blinked, tried to quiet her body's demands and remembered why she was here. "Be that as it may, your daughter is a hellion. I'd think a man would want his daughter to be taught manners. She'll not catch a husband acting the way she does."

  He laughed. "She's ten. I think I have a while until I have to worry about marrying her off."

  "Maybe so, but if you continue to let her behave the way she does, you'll have a young lady who prefers to spit, curse and wear men's trousers. How hard do you think it will be to get her to change her ways then?"

  The look on his face turned thoughtful, small lines bracketing his mouth. When he turned to look at the house, Laurel breathed a sigh of relief. It was much easier to talk to him when she didn't have to look at him. "Baby steps is what I suggest. One small change followed by another until she at least resembles a girl in looks and nature."

  He turned back to face her, the lines still framing his wonderful mouth, and Laurel focused on his eyes so she wouldn't become distracted.

  "I'll have a talk with her. She'll not cause you anymore trouble."

  "I hope you're right." Laurel knew their conversation about Alexandra was over but stood like a deaf mute while staring at him. Something about this man was just too mesmerizing. His eyes were so perfectly blue, his teeth white and straight. The hard lines of muscle bisecting his abdomen, the definition of his chest…

  She blinked and took a deep breath. "Well then, I'll just be on my way." She forced herself to turn and all but ran back to the wagon. Lifting her skirts to climb up, he grabbed her arm and she shrieked, jumped back and could only stare as he stood there grinning at her.

  "This conversation isn't over."

  "It is." Laurel inhaled several deep breaths, willing her heart to stop pounding. "I didn't want to know anything about you for a reason. I didn't want any attachments, then, now or ever. What we had is all there will ever be so there's no use discussing it. Now, if you'll excuse me, Mr. Avery, I have three more family's to visit this evening."

  He offered her his hand again. Common sense told her to ignore him but something inside of her caused butterflies to dance in erratic patterns every time she looked at him. That part of her screamed to accept. To touch him one last time. She lifted her hand and placed it in his while that same voice screamed what a fool she was.

  The smile he gave her when his fingers closed around her hand all but took her breath. It hitched in her throat when he lifted her hand, placed a small kiss on her palm, desire shining bright in his eyes. "Since you refused to hear it in Missoula, my name is Holden and I'll definitely be seeing you again, Laurel."

  She ignored him best she could, climbed into the wagon seat with his help and settled her skirts, grabbed the reins in hands much too sweaty for a proper lady to admit and flicked a glance back at him. "Seeing as you live here and avoiding you will be impossible, I would appreciate it if you would keep our future meetings on a professional level. I'm your daughter's teacher. Nothing more."

  "That's not going to happen," he said. "I cursed myself for a fool the morning I left Missoula and was halfway home before I turned around and went back. You'd already checked out of the hotel." He tipped his hat to her, took two steps back and gave her a look that sent tingles racing down her spine. "I'll remind you every chance I get of what we shared, Laurel, and you can count on that."

  Laurel clenched her teeth and flicked the reins, willed the horses to run, and was headed back to the road before her heart stopped racing. She was tempted to look over her shoulder but refused to do so.

  Spending the night in Missoula instead of traveling on was a mistake. She knew that now but at the time, she'd wanted one last night. One night to just be herself. To walk into the saloon and not care what people thought. To order a drink, let all her troubles wash away with strong whiskey and no
t have a care in the world come morning.

  That hadn't happened though. Not exactly. She'd met him, Holden Avery, moments after walking inside the saloon and that little voice in the back of her mind had whispered seductively to her that it was her last chance. The last chance to throw her inhibitions to the wind and just grab onto life one more time. And she had. She'd invited Holden to her room and spent hours having the most life altering sex of her life. She'd never had a man so attentive in her bed. Her body had burned, her lungs ached with need of air as he took her to heights she never knew existed again and again until she lay exhausted in his arms, his fingers and lips playing over her skin until she'd fallen asleep.

  Her body still tingled in remembrance of his touch and that little voice in her head was whispering she could have it again. That her desire for him could be sated night after night. She refused to listen. She couldn’t get involved with him. Ever. Regardless of how much she wanted to.

  She rode under the curved arch leaving Avery Ranch and she couldn’t stop from turning her head, peering over her shoulder to where she'd left Holden standing.

  He was still watching her.

  * * * *

  Laurel was clean out of sight before Holden turned toward the house. He could see Alex sitting on the steps, her elbows propped on her knees and knew, regardless of what he said, she would fight him until she was blue in the face.

  He walked back to the fence, grabbed his shirt and slipped it on, smiling to himself as he buttoned it. After four weeks of wondering, in one afternoon he'd not only found the temptress he couldn't seem to forget but he also learned her name was Laurel and where she lived. Right here in Willow Creek of all places. His heart gave a powerful thump with the newfound knowledge.

  Many a night he'd lain awake thinking of her. Wondering if he'd ever see her again. Wishing he'd done things a bit different all those weeks ago. He would have taken his time, for one, forgoing sleep entirely to spend one more hour looking at her. Touching her. Tasting her kisses and savoring those little noises she made as they lay skin to skin. He hadn't even minded she didn't want to know his name and refused to tell him hers. At the time, he'd been without a woman for so long, he hadn't cared. Not until later, when he was halfway home and couldn't stop thinking about her. It's why he'd turned around and went back. He hadn't wanted to let her go. He'd wanted her to the point his body ached with it. A shiver raced up his spine again as he remembered their night together.

  He started for the house, his gaze locked on Alex and wondered what she'd done at school. He knew she was rowdy but he'd never had any of her previous teachers tell him she was unruly and the fact Laurel did, left him feeling uncomfortable.

  He hadn't told her he had a daughter, she hadn't wanted to know anything about him, and now that she knew, he wondered what she thought about it.

  His mind drifted further and further toward Laurel as he approached the house and he mentally berated himself for not taking the time to meet the towns new teacher when she arrived. Four wasted weeks had gone by with Laurel in town and by the time he made it into the yard he knew, half the men in the surrounding area had probably seen Laurel. He'd have to fight them off with a stick to keep them from trying to court her.

  She was the finest looking woman he'd seen in ages and with women being a scarce thing in this area, she'd have suitors lined up the length of town asking for her hand in marriage. The whole idea left a bad taste in his mouth. He couldn't imagine her with someone else. He wouldn't. As far as he was concerned, Laurel Montgomery was his. He'd make her want him like he wanted her, even if he had to tame his hellion of a daughter to do so.

  Alex glared at him when he stopped at the steps. The frown on her face said it all. She wasn't going to be cowed by him or anyone. He sighed and readjusted his hat. "Have you been giving the new school teacher a hard time?"

  She rolled her eyes. "She's too uppity, pa. Makes us say please and thank you for everything."

  "That's just good manners, Alex, not being uppity."

  "Same difference." She stood up, stared him in the eye, and braced her hands on her hips. "She said we can't spit, we can't say anything mean to anyone or tease them and we have to act like perfect ladies and gentlemen at all times."

  "There's nothing wrong with that."

  Her eyes widen. "I'm ten. Why I got to act like a lady?"

  Holden laughed and walked up the steps to where she was and sat, pulling her down beside of him and looked out toward the road Laurel had left on. "Thing is, Alex, as much as I'd like to keep you with me until I'm old and gray, there will be a time when you have to make a life for yourself. You'll want a family of your own."

  She gasped. "I ain't gettin' married!"

  "So you say." Holden grinned and ignored her outrage. "You'll find a man who will love you, even with you spitting and cussing and beating him up once a week, but finding him will be easier if you look and act like a lady."

  Alex sighed. "You're gonna make me dress like a girl, ain't ya?"

  Holden wrapped his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her to him. "You knew it would happen someday, Alex." He placed a kiss to the top of her head. "With Miss Montgomery new to town, I have to do what I can to make sure she doesn't run off like the last teacher did. They're too hard to come by way out here." Not that he'd ever let Laurel leave now that he'd found her again. He intended to keep her whether she liked the idea or not. He smiled at the thought. "Besides," he said, "she seemed pretty nice to me. I think if you start behaving, you'll see she isn't as bad as you think she is. You might even like her given enough time."

  His daughter turned her head and looked up at him, her eyes narrowed a fraction. "What I got to like her for?"

  "I didn't say you had to." Holden raised a hand and scratched his jaw. Alex was still staring up at him and he smiled before giving her a wink. "Just don't dislike her because she makes you do things you don't want to do."

  "Did you like her?"

  Holden's face heated and he hoped it didn't show. "Well, she can be a bit rude and comes off brash but I think she was just being that way because she was working. I figure she's quite nice when she don't have her teachers hat on."

  Alex squinted at him, her mouth forming a straight, hard line. "Don't you go getting sweet on her, pa. I can tell by the look in your eyes you liked her."

  The heat on his face increased, traveled to his neck and landed around his heart. "What if she was sweet on me, instead?"

  A horrified expression covered her face, her eyes widening. "Having her for my teacher is bad enough. I don't ever want to see her at my house again. Don't you dare get any ideas of courtin' her, pa. I won't have it."

  Ideas of doing that very thing flitted through his mind but he didn't say as much. He left Alex there on the porch after giving her extra chores for misbehaving at school and walked back to the pasture, his thoughts on Laurel and what the other men in town would do once they got a look at her. He saw them lining up at her door, flowers in hand and slobbery smiles on their faces. His heart thumped harder the more the scene materialized in his mind's eye. One would have to be a complete fool to pass up a chance to court her and every man in town would be fighting for her hand once they got a good look at her.

  Stopping by the fence he was repairing, he turned to look toward the road. Laurel was a sight for sore eyes and heaven knew he hadn't seen anything so pleasing since his brothers all showed up with their new wives on their arms. It was his turn. He wasn't the superstitious sort but having Laurel show up in Willow Creek couldn't be anything but fate. He was meant to have her and he would. He'd waited too damn long as it was and Alex might be against the idea but he couldn’t stop thinking about it. One way or another, Laurel Montgomery would be his wife and he didn't have time to waste making it happen. He'd have to act fast and wondered how long he should wait before letting his intentions to court her be known.