Sizzling Summer Nights Read online

  “They can’t all be like this,” she said.

  He shook his head. “They aren’t. There are just enough people like them, though, to make it hard. I honestly thought it would have all blown over by now. Guess I should have stayed away awhile longer.”

  “I doubt your family would agree.”

  He slowed them down to a stop. “You’re right. I’m not going to let some gossips ruin our day. You ready to go see the world famous Whispering Pines ranch?”

  She managed a smile, but it slipped the moment she remembered... “How long does it take for gossip to get out to the ranches?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Unless my mom was shopping or something, this nonsense won’t make it out to the ranch for a long time.”

  15

  “ANYTHING IN PARTICULAR you want to see first?” Seth asked, as he parked the truck under a shady tree near the barn.

  “The place looks deserted,” Hannah said, still feeling a bit nervous about the gossip, his family, her big mouth, pretty much everything. The persistent knot in her tummy hadn’t loosened all that much. Probably guilt. “Is it because you’re not here cracking the whip?”

  “Oh, that’s good. We’ll ask Clint. He’ll like that.”

  “Gee, thanks. Give him a great first impression of me.”

  “Hell, everyone’s already heard all about you from Murray.”

  “Even your parents?” She gazed toward the house, knowing his mom had taken a casserole to a sick neighbor and was visiting with the woman for a while.

  Taking her hand, Seth’s eyes narrowed. “Your hand is ice cold,” he said, sandwiching it between his warm palms. “We didn’t have to come. In fact, we can turn around right now.”

  “No, of course not. I want to see everything.”

  “That could take a few days.”

  “Well, then I just might have to extend my vacation.”

  Seth looked startled. “Can you do that?” he asked, hope sparking in his eyes. “Would your boss be okay with it?”

  “This is only my second vacation in six years—he’d better not complain.” Once again, she’d shot her mouth off without thinking. If, by chance, the deal went through, she’d need the extra days to take care of some business on this end. But now, she’d given Seth the wrong impression, letting him think she’d be staying for him. Which she wanted very much to do if he wasn’t too angry with her.

  She should’ve already told him. Each new incident with Jasper, or anything to do with the permits, pushed her into a tighter, darker corner.

  She cleared her throat and smiled. “Where do you suggest we start?”

  He didn’t answer. Just looked at her, his eyes dark and probing, as if he could see all the little lies and omissions she kept rationalizing.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything until I figured out if I could afford the time off.”

  “What’s wrong, Hannah?”

  “It’s not really about my boss. My clients have certain expectations—”

  “That’s not what I’m talking about,” he said. “But you know that.”

  She swallowed hard. “It’s been a rough morning. More for you, I know, but—but can we try to salvage the day and not...” She shrugged, wishing the whole matter could drop that simply.

  “I thought that’s what I was doing.”

  “Yes, you’re right.”

  He studied her for an ungodly long moment. “Okay,” he said finally. “We can get around by horse or ATV, your choice.”

  “What about the truck?” She saw the confusion in his face, so obviously that was a dumb question. “Or do you mean we’d take one ATV and double up? Because I’ve never driven one before.”

  “We could do that, or go on horseback. You’d miss out on a lot if we took the truck.”

  She sighed. “I love horses. I really do, but I’m not—”

  “Hannah, I’m sorry. You told me that first night and I forgot.”

  “I did go for a short ride with Rachel and some other guests and I didn’t embarrass myself, so...” She shrugged. “There’s that...”

  “Tell me what would make you the most comfortable and that’s what we’ll do.”

  “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “ATV with me riding in back of you.”

  “You got it. And, hey, I won’t even have to saddle it.”

  “Make sure there’s gas, though.”

  Seth laughed. “I’ll try to remember,” he said, leading her into the barn. “Grab a couple bottles of water out of the fridge, would you? Do you have a color preference?”

  After spotting the ancient refrigerator at the back, she looked over at him. “What do you mean? The ATV?”

  “Yep, which one?”

  “Are you making fun of me?”

  “No,” he said, unable to hold back a laugh.

  Hannah took a quick look around. She didn’t see anyone but... “Consider yourself flipped off.”

  Seth really howled at that, and for a few glorious minutes she forgot all about town gossips, Jasper and her dad.

  Then her cellphone rang. The call was from home. Had to be her mom—aka The Intermediary. Hannah’s dad had never called her once in her entire life. She stared at her cell, not wanting to answer. If only she hadn’t jumped the gun and told them about her grand plan to save the day. She’d drop the matter right now. Forget she’d even heard about grazing permits. But if she bowed out now, her dad would see it as another one of her failures and that’s why he’d needed a son.

  Yeah, because gender made up for everything. Too bad her mom hadn’t given him a son who’d grown up like Jasper.

  “Hey, I don’t mind giving you some privacy.” Seth’s voice made her jerk.

  She’d forgotten he was there. And the fact that her father could make her forget a good man like Seth for even ten seconds was a damn crime.

  Smiling her thanks, Hannah shook her head. Depending on how the conversation went she’d just wander outside if she had to. “Hey, Mom.”

  “It’s Dad.”

  Her stomach dropped to her knees. “Dad?”

  “That’s what I said.”

  She cleared her throat, then was hit with another shot of adrenaline. “Is everything okay?”

  “We’re suffering a goddamn drought. What kind of stupid question is that?”

  “I meant with Mom,” she mumbled softly. How could she continue to let him make her feel like a cowering ten-year-old?

  “She’s not home. She’s out shopping. That’s one of the reasons I’m calling. I don’t want you worrying her with ranch business. Your mom doesn’t have a head for that kind of stuff. All she does is get nervous and ask stupid questions.”

  Hannah bit her lip, briefly closed her eyes. She had the fleeting thought she should defend her mother, who certainly was not too stupid to understand that his stubbornness just might force them into bankruptcy. God, he was such an ignorant bully. Well, bullshit on that. “And the other reason?”

  At first he responded with silence. Probably hadn’t expected her brisk tone. “That thing you talked to her about the other day. You remember?”

  Her mouth completely dry, she headed for the fridge. “Of course.”

  Part of her wanted him to tell her what a stupid idea it was and he didn’t want to hear anything more about it. That would certainly solve her problem here. In fact, she should just swallow her pride, beat him to it. Tell him it wasn’t feasible after all, and stop trying to wring a drop of emotion out of him.

  “Can you explain more about that?” he asked, his usual gruffness toned down half a notch.

  Hannah nearly dropped the phone. She glanced at Seth, or at least at the spot where he’d been standing moments ago. Turning around she saw him stop just outside the barn,
far enough that he couldn’t overhear her conversation.

  Her heart nearly snapped in two. If she caused him any more pain it would kill her.

  “This is what I know so far...” The other part of her had begun speaking before she knew it, the part of her that was a foolish little girl who still yearned for her dad’s approval.

  And as she continued, Hannah turned her back to Seth. Because she couldn’t bear to look at him, knowing everything she’d been hiding.

  * * *

  TWO HOURS LATER, Seth still couldn’t shake the image of Hannah talking to her father, her shoulders slumped, her eyes dull and lowered. She’d looked so...fragile. It was the damnedest thing; even her voice had changed. The spunkiness was gone.

  He’d given her a baseball cap to keep the sun off her face as they rode together on the ATV. The way she hung on to him, her arms wrapped snugly around his waist the way a passenger would ride a motorcycle, made him smile. He wondered if she knew she didn’t have to hold on so tight, or even hold on at all. He liked it, though, especially when her breath and lips tickled his ear, so he didn’t say anything.

  “What are they doing?” she asked, letting go briefly to point at Heath chucking blocks of salt out the back of the old pickup Joe was driving.

  Seth slowed the ATV so it wouldn’t be so noisy. Across the large pasture, Heath looked over and waved a hand.

  “They’re putting out salt licks. Cows need salt and minerals, just like we do.”

  “Those blocks look heavy.”

  “Fifty pounds each.” Seth watched the men as they returned to work. They were spreading them too far apart. The licks would kill the grass. “Hey, you mind if we—”

  “Of course not. Whatever you need to do.”

  He let the engine idle and turned his head to look at her, see if the cap and sunblock were protecting her skin. Her nose was still pink, but that was from before.

  “What?” Slapping a hand on the slightly oversized cap, she tipped her head back so she could see him from under the brim. “You better not be counting my freckles.”

  “I already did the other day. You have eleven of them, right here across the bridge of your nose,” he said, tracing the pad of his thumb over the faint dots, and then smiling at her indignant expression. “By the way, the land we’re on now? This is part of the acreage that we bought four months ago. It’s greened up nicely. We’ll be moving some of the herd over.”

  She swept a gaze across the pasture to the tree line where some spots were bare. “Hasn’t it been green for a while?”

  “Not too long. As counterintuitive as it sounds, overgrazed grass always greens up before anything else. That surprises people who don’t know better. The old man who owned it quit raising cattle a few years before he died, so all this land remained untouched.”

  “Who sold it to you? His kids?”

  “Yep. They live out of state and only wanted to keep their father’s cabin and three acres. They let us have it for a good price.”

  “I bet that happens a lot, huh? The kids move to cities or bigger towns, then sell off the ranch after their parents die.”

  “It’s fairly common. Around here it’s a little different. It doesn’t happen as often as you might think.”

  She nodded absently and got that faraway look in her eyes again. That was twice now, ever since she’d spoken with her dad.

  Noticing that Joe was headed toward the creek, Seth decided he’d head them off before they hit the dirt road and started spinning up dust.

  He turned the ATV and drove slowly, keeping pace with the ancient pickup.

  Hannah automatically slid her arms around him again, bringing back his smile. “Did the purchase have anything to do with you moving back?” she asked. “Did you have to swear a blood oath that you’d stay forever?”

  Seth laughed. “Oh, yeah, I had to sign a contract and promise to give up my firstborn child if I reneged.”

  She went perfectly still, then lightly bit his right shoulder. “I didn’t fall for that for a second. Just so you know.”

  The pickup stopped. Heath stood in the back and motioned to Seth, who’d gotten distracted by Hannah’s question and had done a piss-poor job of keeping pace. It looked as though Heath was asking if they should wait, so Seth nodded and picked up some speed.

  Seth snorted to himself. Those two jokers wouldn’t have bothered stopping to see what he wanted if Hannah hadn’t been with him. Undoubtedly they’d heard about her and wanted a look for themselves.

  He kept the introductions short, told them where to put the blocks, and after Hannah sipped some of her water, he got the two of them headed toward the calving shed. They hadn’t seen Clint yet, and Seth figured he ought to touch base with him. Bad enough Seth was feeling a bit guilty knowing Clint was working his ass off.

  But, damn it, Hannah wouldn’t be around much longer. Seth was already dreading the day they had to say goodbye. His thoughts returned to her question. He wondered if she was putting out feelers. Trying to figure out how tied he was to the Whispering Pines, to living in Montana. To his family.

  Much as it would pain him to tell her, assuming the question ever came up, Dallas—or anywhere else that wasn’t right here on Landers land—wasn’t in his future.

  “Do I hear water?” Hannah asked. “Are we close to the creek? Because I’m not going skinny-dipping today.”

  Seth grinned. “Are you sure you don’t want to? Just to cool off?”

  Hannah laughed, and damned if he knew what that meant. Could go either way with her. She hugged him tighter and lifted her chin to the wind hitting their faces. And there went the hat.

  He’d been waiting for that to happen.

  “Oh, shit. Seth. Wait.” She shook his shoulder. “Seth, stop.”

  He stopped. Before she fell off and hurt herself.

  “Just hold on,” he said. “I know about the cap. I’m turning around.”

  She contorted her upper body trying to track the stupid cap. “But it’s getting away...”

  It didn’t matter, but there was no telling her that. “Hannah, just put your arms—oh, Jesus.”

  She’d jumped off and was running in the wind and tall grass.

  Seth cut the engine. He went after her like a shot, and tackled her twenty seconds later.

  16

  THE DENSE GRASS cushioned them, though he made sure his body broke her fall. And the wind carried off her peals of laughter. Her face was red, and so was her neck and throat. Her skin was warm and soft beneath his palm.

  “I—I can’t believe you—” Out of breath, still laughing, she struggled to speak. “You—you tackled me.”

  “I did.”

  Sprawled across him, she tried to push herself up, her own laughter her biggest obstacle. She finally gave up. “You’re squashing me.”

  “You’re on top.”

  “Oh,” she said, and laughed harder.

  He rolled over, taking her with him and pinning her to the grass. “Now I’m squashing you.”

  Hannah laughed until she hiccupped.

  And hiccupped.

  Her knee almost put him out of commission for the day.

  Seth made sure her legs were secure, then braced himself on his elbows, lazily brushing the hair off her flushed cheeks as if he had all the time in the world.

  With his head shading her face, she looked up at him, the sunlight turning her eyes the color of cinnamon.

  “Hey, I need water,” she said, between hiccups and a stray giggle. “Seriously. I drink it while I hold my breath and count to ten.”

  Her lips were a deep rose and slightly damp. Her pale skin even looked soft. He lowered his head and kissed her mouth. She gasped and gave him a light shove, before locking her arms around his neck.

  They kep
t kissing. He’d pull back and she’d lift her head to keep their lips pressed together. And when she needed air and broke it off, he’d give her a few seconds and then they would go at it again.

  He had no idea how long they’d been lying there. He hadn’t even wondered about it until the sun disappeared. Turned out a cloud was blocking it. They had a while before the sun dropped behind the Rockies.

  Hannah sighed. “I wish this afternoon would never end.”

  “I’d be okay with that,” Seth murmured, and inhaled the pleasant minty scent of her hair.

  “I think the cap’s a goner, though.”

  He smiled. “I don’t know...with this wind it could be waiting for us in the barn.”

  “Wouldn’t that be hysterical?” She laughed, then her eyes went wide. “Hey, my hiccups are gone. You cured them.”

  “Some guys’ kisses can awaken a sleeping princess. I cure hiccups.”

  “Don’t underestimate yourself. Take it from a girl who knows more than she’d like to about hiccups. This is major. Next time I...” She trailed off, blinking, and looking away. “We should go.”

  “Yeah, we should.” He got to his feet and extended his hand. She clasped it and he pulled her up. “I want you to meet Clint and Lila before they go off to work on the new house.”

  “Do me a favor?”

  “Name it.”

  “Please don’t tell anyone I grew up on a ranch.”

  He studied her a moment. “No problem. I won’t mention it.”

  “It just makes me look stupid,” she said, as they walked to the ATV.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Because I don’t know things that a person who grew up on a ranch should. I wanted to kick myself for telling you that first night.”

  “For what it’s worth, I didn’t think much of it.” Seth plucked a blade of grass clinging to her hair. “You sounded surprised that your dad called,” he said, after promising himself he wouldn’t bring it up.

  “Surprised? I was shocked. He’s never called me before. Ever. I was afraid something had happened to my mom.”