Sizzling Summer Nights Read online

  Hannah would’ve loved to spend some time with Rachel, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to do it on horseback, especially with a bunch of other women along for the ride. But Rachel had warned her when she’d booked the trip that the dude ranch was especially busy in the spring and summer.

  “Damn, I wish I could get Jamie to take this group out,” Rachel said. “But she really can’t.”

  “I don’t want to screw up your schedule,” Hannah assured her. “I just figured I’d check if you had some time to spare. We have the rest of the week to catch up.”

  Rachel grinned. “Come with us on the ride. It won’t be as nice as being by ourselves, but it could still be fun.”

  “You know I don’t ride that well,” Hannah muttered in a subdued voice, then realized her friend probably didn’t know that at all.

  “Really? Do you not like horses?”

  “I adore them. I just can’t ride very well.”

  Rachel studied her for a moment. “Your dad, right?”

  “Yep.” Hannah rocked back on her heels, feeling awkward suddenly. She didn’t talk much about her dad. But back in college, there were times she’d confided in Rachel—typically after a visit home when her dad had been a bigger ass than usual. Just as he had been when she’d spoken with him earlier. The call had lasted all of two minutes and he’d still managed to piss her off. Prideful, condescending bastard. “Anyway, I’d probably hold you guys up.”

  “No, you wouldn’t. Half these women had their first riding lesson yesterday. That’s why I won’t take them too far. It’s kind of a beginners group.”

  Hannah sighed, trying to decide. Before the week was out she expected Seth might ask her to go for a ride with him. Maybe she should use this as a practice run.

  “Look, no pressure, okay?” Rachel said. “Completely up to you, though you should probably decide in the next ten minutes so we can choose a horse for you. Now, tell me about Seth.”

  “I wondered how long it would take you to get around to him. You’re off your game, girl.”

  “I know, right?”

  Hannah laughed at her friend’s troubled expression. “I don’t think it’s fatal.”

  “You don’t understand...” Rachel paused long enough to nod at a man leading a horse from the back. “People around here depend on me for up-to-the-minute news.”

  Hannah studied her for several long seconds. “You know what’s scary? I think you might be serious.”

  Grinning, Rachel didn’t confirm or deny. “To be honest, I was surprised to see you this morning.” She’d lowered her voice. “I figured you would’ve stayed out last night.”

  “That was the plan. Until Seth got a call.” She gave a brief summary of yesterday’s events, leaving out as much information as she provided. Though not because she didn’t trust Rachel. They weren’t kids anymore, and Hannah realized she didn’t want to talk about herself and Seth like that.

  On the other hand, she was incredibly tempted to ask Rachel what she’d meant about Seth having issues.

  “Too bad your day was ruined. Seth’s a good guy, isn’t he?”

  Hannah nodded. “It wasn’t ruined. Not really. Hey, do you know Jasper Parsons?”

  “Everyone in the tristate area knows that bigmouth. And now, with the BLM offering more grazing permits in the area, he’s gone loco. Right along with his sidekick, Avery Phelps, who doesn’t even raise cattle anymore. He just drinks.”

  “Rach, need another horse saddled?” The cute cowboy with the brown curly hair smiled at Hannah. She thought that was Kyle.

  “Well, kiddo.” Rachel was looking at her. “It’s do or die time. What do you think?”

  “Oh, shit,” Hannah muttered. “We’re probably looking at both. But what the hell?”

  “Good for you.” Rachel gave her a pretty damn hard slap on the back. “You should do a little riding every day until you leave. We’ll just show your father.”

  “I’m not trying to prove anything to him. I’m done.”

  Rachel just smiled. Probably because she’d heard that before.

  10

  “SETH. SETH LANDERS.”

  He and Hannah were on their way to the steak house and had just climbed out of the truck when Seth heard his name. He glanced back and saw Sadie hurrying down the sidewalk toward them. Couldn’t imagine what she wanted with him.

  “Sadie’s the mayor of Blackfoot Falls,” he told Hannah, as they started walking to meet Sadie partway.

  “She gets to wear jeans to work,” Hannah said. “I’m so jealous.”

  They ended up convening in front of the Salina Gazette office.

  “I can’t believe I caught you here,” Sadie said, slightly out of breath. She had to be in her fifties by now and slimmer than the last time he’d seen her. Mostly he’d known her as the owner of the Watering Hole. Her new city duties were probably keeping her active. “You hardly ever come to town.”

  “What can I do for you, mayor?”

  “First, don’t call me mayor.” Sadie nodded at Hannah.

  The women introduced themselves to each other before he could.

  “Tomorrow night’s meeting,” Sadie said. “You’re planning on coming, I hope.”

  Seth snorted a laugh. “That’s the last place I’ll be.”

  “I was afraid you’d say that.”

  “No offense, Sadie, but I don’t even live in this county.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not a Blackfoot Falls or a Salina County issue. Hell, I don’t even have anything to do with the Feds. Or what they do with BLM land.”

  “So, why get involved? It’s going to get sticky.”

  “That much I know. And that’s why I’m asking all the big ranches to have a presence at the meeting so the smaller guys don’t get bullied. I sure don’t need to name names. We both know the pair of troublemakers I’m talking about.”

  “I thought the government rep was only coming to answer questions,” Hannah said.

  “That’s the plan.” Sadie sighed. “Assuming he can get a word in edgewise.”

  “What if you ask people for questions beforehand? That way you can prepare a list to be addressed and not open the floor until the very end.”

  Sadie laughed.

  Seth couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t expected Hannah to stay quiet. And in fact, her suggestion wasn’t all that bad. For any other town where guys like Jasper and Avery didn’t live.

  “Oh, honey, please don’t think I’m making fun of you. It’s just that we’ve got some rowdy, stubborn characters around here that can’t see reason even if it were to bite them in their behinds.”

  “She knows,” Seth said, looking at Hannah. “She’s already had a dose of Jasper Parsons.”

  “Oh, good Lord.” Sadie shook her head. “I hope you know we aren’t all batshit crazy.”

  “I’m an old friend of Rachel Gunderson, so, too late.”

  Sadie chuckled, then got serious. “Hey, that’s an idea. I hadn’t thought about Rachel. That girl won’t take guff from anyone. I need to get her there tomorrow night. She’d help even things out.”

  “I’ll come,” Hannah said.

  Seth stared at her.

  “I mean, I think I might be useful even though I don’t live here.” She met Seth’s eyes. “After all, I did get Mr. Parsons to shut up and leave the Whispering Pines.”

  “Well that’s—”

  “No.” Seth cut Sadie off. “You don’t want to get mixed up in that argument.”

  Hannah raised her brows at him. “I’m not planning to.”

  Ah, Christ.

  He regretted his tone, his word choice, even before he’d seen that Hannah had very clearly taken offense. And she had every right to. “Look,” he said, taking her hand. “I didn�
�t mean to sound heavy-handed, I just—”

  “Good.” Hannah smiled.

  Sadie tried hiding her amusement. She glanced over her shoulder and waved to a woman coming out of Abe’s Variety Store.

  “I just want to point out that you don’t have a lot of time left here and is that really how you want to spend tomorrow evening?”

  Hannah blinked.

  Before she could answer, Sadie jumped in. “For what it’s worth, I got Cole McAllister’s assurance he’ll be there. And Nathan, too.”

  “My brother?” Seth asked, shocked.

  “Yep. Promised he and Woody would both come. I haven’t heard back from the Circle K or Ben Wolf yet. Ben’s not really a cattleman. He mostly trains horses for those Hollywood folks, but a lot of the men here don’t want to piss him off. If they’ve got a special animal the movie people are looking for, Ben throws the business their way.”

  Seth was still trying to figure out why Nathan would bother showing up. And bring his foreman, too? Woody likely wanted to come out of sheer nosiness. He and Murray were good friends. Go figure.

  “Look, Seth, I won’t pressure you. I understand if you want to stay clear.” Sadie took a step back. “But I can say this, just like I told Cole and Nathan, I don’t expect any of you to speak if you don’t want to. Just showing your faces might give the bullies second thoughts. Should make the smaller ranchers feel more at ease. Think about it, that’s all I ask.” Sadie nodded at Hannah. “Nice meeting you. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  “Maybe,” Hannah said, and he hoped like hell she was just saying that to be polite.

  But damned if he was going to say anything and stick his foot in it again.

  * * *

  TWO HOURS LATER the evening hadn’t improved by much. He should have turned his damn cell phone off. No, that was downright crazy. Proof he wasn’t thinking all that straight. Not getting the call could’ve led to things far worse than putting a damper on their dinner out. Like him getting caught with his pants down, literally, by his parents.

  Seth shuddered at the thought.

  Goddamn it. He’d had plans for tonight. Plans that included Hannah and him and his king-sized bed. Hell, he’d even changed the sheets three days ahead of schedule.

  “But they’re okay, right?” Hannah got into the truck with a little help from him, but when he got behind the wheel, instead of starting the engine, he stared at her.

  “What?” She stared back. “They’re just coming home a day early.”

  “Just?” Didn’t she understand what that meant? Or did she not care? Still tired from staying up with Matilda most of last night, he was probably being overly touchy.

  She blinked. “Wait. A day early? That means...”

  “Tonight.” He looked at his wristwatch. “They’ll be home in two hours.”

  “Nooo.” Hannah’s shoulders slumped. “They can’t do that.”

  “It’s their house. They can do whatever they want,” he said with a short laugh. Her whining actually made him feel better.

  She sighed. “Why did I have that piece of pie? I was perfectly content after polishing off the chef’s salad, and then somehow I was led down an evil road and succumbed to my one weakness.”

  Seth frowned, struggling to make a connection. “Okay. I have no idea what that has to do with our predicament,” he said. “Wait a minute. I hope you’re not thinking about running over for a quickie. We did that yesterday.” He gently stroked her cheek. “I want to do it right this time.”

  “Me, too. Though, honestly, sex didn’t even cross my mind.” She gave him a soft look. “I was wondering how I’m going to get more peach cobbler.”

  He noticed a slight quiver at the corner of her mouth and lowered his hand. “Glad you can joke at a time like this.”

  “Only because you’re so adorable,” she said, cutting loose the grin. The next second it was gone. “I’m disappointed, too. Absolutely I am.” She leaned over, took hold of his jaw and held him steady while she looked into his eyes. “But you’re also dead tired.”

  Seth stared back at her. “Pie is your one weakness?”

  She laughed. “Okay. You caught me.” She released him. “I admit I also get a little weak-kneed when it comes to a certain Montana cowboy.”

  He stopped her before she settled back in her seat. And kissed her, hoping to get a hint of huckleberry from her lips. He wasn’t disappointed. “You came at the right time of year.”

  “So I understand. I’m thinking your state fruit is huckleberry, from the way everyone from the waitress to the nosy couple at the next booth went on.”

  “Well, they were right, weren’t they?”

  She grinned. “Yes, okay. I’m going to do my best to have a slice every day that I’m here.”

  “I’ll do everything I can to help you reach your goal. But now, I’m afraid I have to take you back to the Sundance.”

  Hannah sighed. “Okay. I understand.”

  Seth had been ready to turn the key. Instead, he leaned back, trying to think of an alternative. But she was right, he was pretty damn tired. Nothing registered. Except for the motel and he still wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Especially since Hannah hadn’t brought it up, either.

  “I know what we can do,” she said, straightening, a streetlamp catching the sparkle in her eyes. “You could sneak me into your bedroom now, before they get home. I won’t make a peep. They won’t even know I’m there.”

  He lifted a brow at her. “Is this about the cobbler?”

  Conspicuously crossing her fingers, she shook her head.

  “Yeah, don’t worry about my ego,” he said. “Anyway, you make a hell of a lot more noise than a peep.”

  Her slow grin made him want to break the speed limit all the way back to the Whispering Pines.

  “Seriously, let’s think about this. You have to get up at what, six?”

  It was his turn to sigh. “Five.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to help Clint move the calf house from the south field.”

  She nodded as if she understood. “And how long will it take?”

  “Till around ten or eleven. Unless we encounter a problem.”

  “Huh.”

  “You wouldn’t have your car, either, and trust me on this, you wouldn’t enjoy following me around that early in the morning.”

  “Yeah, we should probably just take me home.”

  With considerable reluctance he finally got them moving, and by the time they arrived at the Sundance, he’d gone through a couple more scenarios of how they could still spend the night together. But it was no use. Both situations would end with them dead tired.

  It finally occurred to him that he hadn’t told her about the surprise he’d been saving. If his folks’ call hadn’t thrown him for a loop, he would’ve told her by now.

  “You know,” Hannah said, “you could come up to my room, spend the night, then go back to the Whispering Pines in the morning. When I get up at a human hour, I’ll drive the rental over and join you. What about that?”

  After making sure they’d parked off to the side so they wouldn’t be bothered by anyone, he unbuckled his seat belt and turned to Hannah. “That could work. Fair warning, though, I’ll have to leave by four fifteen.”

  “Goody,” she said, leaning over to kiss him, but she paused midway. “Not that you have to get up early.” She sank back. “Oh, my God, that’s like really insane.”

  He smiled at her in the dim light, remembering in torturous detail exactly what she’d looked like walking out of the creek, water glistening as it skimmed over her pale, naked breasts.

  “Now, come here.” Pulling her as close as he could, he made the most of those pouty lips.

  Jesus, she woke up the fire inside him like a mat
ch to month-old hay. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this attracted to a woman.

  It helped that she seemed to be as eager as he was to touch everything within reach. It got even better when he slid a hand under her top and felt her silky skin.

  She moaned, and that made his jeans too snug. And when she took charge of the gentle kisses and turned the heat up to scorching, he moved his hand to cup her breast.

  It felt like only minutes, but it had to have been longer when they finally parted just enough to breathe. “Why is it that we keep forgetting there’s a room available?” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Where are you staying? Is there a separate guest quarters?”

  “Yep.” Hannah wrinkled her nose. “But I’m staying on the same floor as the McAllisters.”

  Well, shit.

  Hell, he shouldn’t care if anyone saw him.

  “But we’re not going to do this.” She put a silencing finger on his lips. “I’d love for you to spend the night with me. But not after you had so little sleep last night, plus having to get up with the chickens tomorrow...”

  “Hey, I used do that in college all the time.”

  She nodded. “Mrs. McAllister’s bedroom is next to mine.”

  Seth tried not to groan. Or look like a guilty teenager.

  Hannah smiled. “Look, I can see how tired you are, and it’s not even safe for you to be driving let alone handling ranch equipment. You’ll just make me worry.” She put a hand on his chest. “Let’s make plans to see each other after you’re finished with work tomorrow. Okay?”

  He muttered a curse, not used to having to worry about this kind of shit. Until moving back last December, and with the exception of his stint in the air force, he’d lived on his own. “Well, can we at least make out for a while?”

  Hannah laughed. “Yes, if you stop being a grump.”

  “What do you expect? The damn universe is conspiring against us,” he said, as he reclaimed the territory under her top and reached around to the back of her bra. Her laughter made it harder for him to undo the clasp, but he managed. “I have a lot of catching up to do. A lot more places to explore.” He bit gently on her lobe, then whispered into her ear, “I don’t even know what you taste like.”