Sizzling Summer Nights Page 7

  Hannah remembered what he’d said earlier, but she had a serious weakness for homemade cornbread. “Did you make the cornbread from scratch?”

  Murray looked insulted. “It’s my own special recipe.”

  “I’d love to try some.” She glanced at Seth. “Do you mind?”

  He studied her as if she were nuts; after all, he had warned her about Murray’s fondness for peppers. Then shaking his head, Seth gestured toward the bunkhouse. “Go right ahead.”

  It wouldn’t surprise her if Murray had thrown in jalapeños. Adding different ingredients like peppers and cheese had been a trend in Texas for some time. And while she generally preferred it plain, she’d sampled some very tasty jalapeño cornbread.

  She followed Murray to the bunkhouse, ignoring the flicker of amusement on Seth’s face as he walked alongside her. “We won’t be long,” she whispered low enough that Murray couldn’t hear. She didn’t mean to be rude, but Seth was probably hungry.

  The bunkhouse kitchen was bigger and airier than she’d expected. “Wow, this is nice,” she said, eyeing the cast iron Dutch oven sitting on the stove and copper pots hanging over a wood chopping block. “Bigger and better equipped than my kitchen, that’s for sure.”

  “How about trying some of my chili with that cornbread?” Murray asked as he bustled about, pulling a foil-covered pan out of the oven, setting out a small crock of butter and utensils.

  “No, thanks. I think we’re going someplace for dinner.” She glanced at Seth. He didn’t say a word, just looked on with that same amused look on his face.

  Murray brought down plates from the upper cabinets and then peeled back the foil. The cornbread was a yummy golden brown, and yep, Hannah saw small chunks of jalapeño and something else—tiny bits of something red. Paprika? Weird for cornbread. Cayenne maybe? Whatever it was, Murray hadn’t been heavy-handed at all.

  Ha. These Northerners didn’t know what hot was.

  A small corner piece was gone, and Murray proceeded to cut the rest of the pan into hefty-sized squares.

  “Just give her a small piece,” Seth told him.

  Hannah rolled her eyes, but she noticed the older man’s mischievous little grin. “Where are you from, Murray?”

  “Born and bred right here in northern Montana.” He cut a square the size of a brownie and handed it to her on a plate. “Go on, have a seat. Napkins are on the table.”

  Without a word, Seth poured a glass of water and set it on the Formica counter next to her. Then he folded his arms across his chest and watched her as if she was a TV special or something.

  Hannah stayed right where she was and took a bite. It was pretty good, but definitely not what she’d call hot. Wusses. She glanced around searching for the crock of butter. It had been moved to the old oak table.

  “What do you think?” Murray asked.

  “It’s delicious. Honestly, it’s so moist I wouldn’t put any butter on it but I’m assuming you churned it yourself?”

  “You’re darn tootin’ I did. Ain’t no other way to eat it.”

  Hannah grinned and took another bite as she walked over to the table. The first sting of heat hit her way at the back of her mouth. She swallowed and the burn followed the trail down her throat. Okay, that hadn’t been expected. But it wasn’t bad.

  Aware Murray was keeping tabs on her, she bit off another piece and chewed.

  Fire exploded in her mouth. So sudden, so violently, it seared her tongue, singed the insides of her cheeks and roared up into her nasal cavity.

  “Holy shit!” Tears filled her eyes so quickly they nearly blinded her. “Shit. Shit. Shit.” The countertop was a blur. Where the hell was the water? No. Milk. She needed...

  A large hand grasped her wrist. She felt a cold glass being pressed against her palm. “Have you got it?” Seth asked. “This milk should help.”

  “Yes,” she squeaked.

  She gulped down as much as she could without choking. Tears slipped down her face. Just as she was about to rub her eyes, Seth stopped her. “Don’t do that,” he said. “Wash your hands first.”

  “Is she okay?” Murray asked, sounding concerned.

  Hannah was too busy trying to cheat death to yell at him. Although, it wasn’t his fault. She’d been warned. But had she listened?

  “Come on,” Seth said, taking her by her shoulders and steering her to the sink.

  Alternately coughing and sniffling, she washed her hands and then dried them on a towel he gave her. “May I have a napkin, please?”

  Murray brought over a whole stack. “Sorry, miss. Truly I am. I didn’t think it was that hot.”

  Hannah managed a small laugh before snatching a napkin and turning away to blow her nose. God, even that burned.

  “Want more milk?” Murray asked.

  She shook her head.

  “Time to hit the road.” Seth grabbed two bottles of water off the shelf of an open pantry, then took her hand and held it all the way to the truck.

  He opened her door, waited until she was nestled in the bucket seat, then passed her both waters and closed the door. By the time he walked around and slid behind the wheel, she’d downed half a bottle.

  Her face felt hot and flushed, and as for her tongue, while it wasn’t one big fireball, the embers were still smoldering. Even the back of her neck was clammy. And she didn’t dare look at herself in the visor mirror. All her tinted moisturizer must’ve rubbed off by now, exposing every single detested freckle. “I was such an arrogant jerk.”

  Grinning, Seth started the engine. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “I’m sure Murray will be laughing for a month.”

  “No, he feels badly. He knew I’d warned you, and I guess he figured you liked spicy food.”

  “You mean he took me for a kindred spirit instead of a moron.”

  “Your words, not mine,” he said, with a little smile as he reversed.

  Hannah laughed. “Okay, I deserved that too.” She glanced back at the house and stable as they drove down the driveway. But she hid her disappointment over not getting to see everything.

  “Look, you can come over again before you leave. What day is that, next Sunday?”

  She nodded. “Murray said something about you never taking a day off.”

  “That’s not—” He sighed. “It’s summer, so you know how it is on a ranch. And Clint’s been busy making himself scarce, what with all the wedding plans.”

  Hannah grinned. “Don’t you mean he’s busy with the plans?”

  “No, I meant he’s been hiding out. Even going to auctions he doesn’t need to just to dodge the firing squad as he calls it. If you ever meet my mom, that’s not something you want to share with her.”

  “Got it.” She took another big gulp, wishing her damn mouth would stop burning. “Actually I would like to come back,” she said. “You know, if it works out.”

  “We’ll make it work. Though there won’t be all that much of interest, with you having grown up on a ranch.”

  “I shouldn’t have told you that. It’s pretty embarrassing how little I know about what goes on day-to-day.”

  “Do you want to know?”

  She considered the question for a moment. “Yeah, actually, I do.”

  They came to the end of the driveway where it met the gravel road. He stopped the truck and put the gearshift in Neutral. Resting an arm on the top of the seat behind her shoulders, he shifted so that he partially faced her.

  “All right then, before you leave Montana, we’re going to make sure you have a solid understanding of Ranching 101.” Smile lines fanned out from the corners of his eyes. Today they were the color of warm caramel.

  They held her captive as he leaned toward her. Her heart thumped wildly. She moved a few inches closer. They were just about
to kiss when she remembered...

  “Wait. My mouth is still...” She slumped back. “I taste like chili peppers.”

  Blithely he slid his hand behind her neck. “I like a little heat now and then,” he said, bringing her closer again.

  Their lips touched. He angled his head and molded his mouth to hers, his hand tangling in her hair. He drew the tip of his tongue across her lower lip and a different kind of warmth bloomed inside her chest and spread south. She let out a soft gasp and he took advantage of her parted lips. His tongue swept inside and caressed hers.

  He froze. Pulled back abruptly.

  “Son of a bitch.” He grabbed the unopened bottle of water, twisted off the cap and guzzled half of it. A few drops clung to his chin. He wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist. “Shit.”

  Hannah blinked at him. “I’ll try not to take that personally.”

  “Murray’s insane.” A flush crawled up Seth’s throat into his face. “What the hell kind of peppers did he use?”

  “I think those tiny red specks were the culprits.” She took a sip of her water. “Did you see him eat any cornbread? I mean he practically had a whole pan left.”

  Seth shook his head and laughed. “That sneaky bastard. I wouldn’t put it past him.”

  “Well, this completely sucks.”

  “Nope.” He shifted out of Neutral. “I know just the thing to cool us off.”

  7

  FIVE MINUTES LATER Seth almost missed the turnoff. He hadn’t been to Pine Creek since the week before he’d left for college. He and a few buddies had brought a case of beer and a bottle of tequila. Ashlyn and Courtney had showed up with homemade cookies and bags of chips, and turned the night into a sendoff party. Seth had been the only one in their small circle to continue his education. The rest of the gang had made it through high school by the skin of their teeth.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  Seth figured he knew what was coming. His only surprise was that it had taken Hannah this long. “Why did Jasper want you to speak for everyone?”

  Again, she’d done the unexpected. “First of all, the majority of the ranches around here are small, they run maybe a hundred head, just enough to feed themselves and bring in a little extra money. Like your parents’ ranch, so you get the picture.” Seth squinted at the dirt road up ahead. A fallen tree had been moved to the side but the encroaching underbrush was heavy.

  “Something wrong?” Hannah asked, following his gaze.

  “Nope. Anyway, those ranchers don’t care about BLM land. At least not enough to kick up a fuss. And if some of their cattle do wander over to public land, the government has turned a blind eye. If those ranchers show up to the meeting, it’s only out of nosiness or because they were bullied.”

  “What about Jasper? Does he fall in that category?”

  “He has a larger ranch, though nowhere near as big as the Sundance or the Whispering Pines. But guys like Jasper are worried because they’ve used public land for years. Some of them who don’t have enough land of their own actually depend on it.”

  “So now they’ll have to buy grazing permits?”

  Seth nodded. “Or trim their herds.”

  “Are the permits expensive?”

  “I have no idea what they cost. I’m staying out of that entire mess.” He saw the huge aspen with its thick trunk and the spruce on the opposite side that marked which fork to take. “We’re almost there,” he murmured as he drove closer to the trees. The damn spruce had grown like crazy.

  “Um, I don’t see any restaurants around here.”

  “I told you we need to cool off first.”

  “It is pretty here,” Hannah said. “I see a few orange wildflowers.”

  Seth nodded, more concerned with the width of the spruce that had narrowed the road. The branches would scratch his paint.

  “I can’t tell if you did it on purpose or not, but you didn’t actually answer my question.”

  He had to think for a moment. “Right. You were wondering why Jasper wants me at the meeting,” he said. “I guess because I have master’s degrees in range science and agricultural economics.”

  Her brows went up and her eyes widened.

  “Told you I was a geek,” he said, grinning. “We might have to walk from here. It’s not far.”

  “Wait. Wait. You can’t just—” She glanced at his hand on the door handle. “Okay, let’s walk.”

  They both got out of the truck. She didn’t go any farther, but stared down at her feet. “Am I going to kill myself trying to walk in these sandals?”

  “I hope not.”

  “Yeah, me, too,” she said so seriously he almost laughed.

  “Didn’t you pack walking shoes?”

  “Oh, that’s right. Give me a sec.”

  She bent over into the backseat to rifle through her bag. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he could stop himself from staring at her shapely rear end. The hem of her shorts rode up, showing more leg. The white material stretched thin over her backside, and it was a sure bet she was wearing a thong.

  His cock twitched.

  “Okay.” She straightened suddenly. “Almost there,” she said, sitting at the edge of the seat as she exchanged her sandals for Nikes.

  In less than a minute they were on the trail.

  “I hope you didn’t take offense to my reaction. In my job I fill a lot of different kinds of positions in a variety of industries, but I don’t even know what range science means.”

  “Anything from rangeland ecology and ecosystem science to natural resource management. Agricultural economics has more to do with property rights and Federal rangeland policies.”

  “Okay, stop. You’re making my head hurt. Jesus, should I be calling you Dr. Landers?”

  “Hell, no,” he said, snorting. “I didn’t mind school, but I’d had enough of classrooms. And frankly, I got everything out of the program I need. A PhD wasn’t going to help me.”

  “But you’re not really using the degrees, are you?”

  “Better watch where you’re stepping.” Slipping an arm around her waist, he steered her away from a ground squirrel burrow. He liked the way she fit against him and kept her right where she was against his side.

  “Scratch that last question. I can’t believe I asked. I’m constantly working with people who find themselves in the wrong career or are disillusioned about what they thought they wanted to do.”

  “My reason is simple. I like being a know-it-all,” Seth said. “Just ask my brothers.”

  “Hmm. I just might. Are they as good-looking as you?”

  “Of course not.”

  Hannah laughed, and he liked the open, carefree sound of it. It filled him with a lightness that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He also liked her adventurous spirit. She hadn’t nagged him to tell her where they were going. Just like last night. He’d said it was a surprise and she was content to leave it at that.

  “I have more questions,” she said, smiling up at him as they continued to walk.

  “I’m sure you do.” He could see the freckles across the bridge of her nose more clearly now, and he found himself counting them. Maybe a dozen or so, not many. He wasn’t sure why he liked them so much.

  “Last night you said something about being in the air force. Was that after college?”

  “Yep. Six months after graduation. After I got out I went back to school for my masters.”

  “Were you an officer? I bet they went after you with both barrels.”

  Lowering his arm, he stopped. “Do I seem like officer material to you?”

  “Honestly, I think so.”

  That stunned him. “I’m highly insulted.”

  “Hey, wait,” she said, catching his arm when he started to c
ontinue on. “You can’t hold that against me. I don’t know you well enough.”

  “That’s true.” Even if he were pissed, looking into those pretty brown eyes, he would’ve forgiven her. “How’s your mouth?”

  “Not too bad. Yours?”

  He bent to brush his lips across hers.

  Hannah let out a soft sigh and placed a hand on his chest. “I hate to say it, but we’d better wait a bit longer before we dive into anything.”

  “Better to be safe, huh?”

  “That’s my motto.”

  He took her hand. “Come on.”

  “Wait. I’d like to defend myself.”

  “Against what?”

  “What I said about you being officer material. You showed restraint with Jasper. You were rational, calm but assertive. And you could’ve easily justified kicking his ass. Instead, you even asked me not to say anything.”

  “You forgot a key factor. The ability to take orders.”

  “Did you have a problem with that? Because I don’t—”

  “No,” he said, interrupting. The conversation wasn’t going anywhere. “It’s just that not all directives make sense. In the military you do things without questioning.”

  Hannah nodded, and they continued to walk. “I wasn’t saying you should rethink a military career. Honestly, not my intention at all. In case I really did insult you, I wanted to explain.”

  “No worries.”

  “Why did you join the air force in the first place?”

  “I was young and stupid. And needed to get away for a while.”

  “Were you tired of ranch life?”

  “No.” He exhaled the breath he’d been holding. “I got into a little trouble my junior year of college. My family didn’t react all that well. Not that I blame them. Now, at least. Back then...” He shook his head.

  They walked in silence for a while. He could hear the babbling water as it flowed through Landers land into the creek.

  They were getting close.

  “Was that when you got into trouble with Jasper?”

  Seth smiled. “That was smooth,” he said. She’d slid right into the question he’d expected from the very beginning. “Are you sure you’re not a reporter?”