Wrangler's Challenge, page 26
He caught her hand, kissing her fingers. “Yeah, that’s totally understandable. But I see it in your eyes, in the way you respond to me when we love one another. The signs were there, and that’s why I wanted to talk with you about it. I wanted to make sure we were on the same page together.”
She sighed. “Thanks for bringing it up. It’s so funny, Noah. I’ve been in combat and life-and-death situations, and never flinched or pulled back from a mission. But for the last month? I’ve been feeling this warm, wonderful feeling in my heart, and I so badly wanted to share it with you, but I was afraid.”
“What were you afraid of ?”
“That . . . I don’t know . . . maybe you weren’t feeling the same thing that I was. That I could screw things up and cause us to break up if I mentioned it?” She saw his eyes grow somber, and he squeezed her hand, as if to reassure her.
“That would never happen, Dair. I’m not about to get rid of you. I want you to stay with me, be an important part of my life, share my laughter and my sad moments.”
“I feel the same,” she admitted, her voice low and rife with feelings. “I should have brought it up.”
Shaking his head, Noah rasped, “Not this time, but in the future? Do bring up to me how you’re feeling, Dair. That’s what a healthy relationship is all about: talking, sharing, and sorting things out. I often saw my parents sit down and hash things out between them. They never got angry, but they talked. Each side had their issues, and I learned early on that compromise was important for both of them. Sometimes my dad gave in to my mom’s needs or concerns. And sometimes, my mom gave in to my dad’s. It wasn’t about being a winner or loser. They weren’t keeping score, either. It was about them trying to navigate through life as a team.”
“I’m seeing that with us,” she murmured, leaning over, kissing him, and drinking in his strong mouth grazing her own. Dair could feel him controlling himself for her sake. As she parted from his mouth, she drowned in the turbulent gray of his eyes, seeing love in them for her alone. It made her feel incredibly confident and strong. All her feelings were genuine. Even better, Noah shared them with her. “I’m so glad you brought this up.”
“From now on,” he said, cupping her jaw, kissing her lips lightly, “you have a place at our table, Dair. You can bring up any and everything that’s bothering you, that’s making you happy, or anything else. I want to always know what you’re thinking and feeling.”
“Okay,” she said, easing away from him. “It’s just so different than how I grew up.”
“I understand. It’s that toxic pattern Libby was telling us about at that Friday night meeting.”
“She’s so good at reducing stuff like this to something simple that I can understand and grasp. That’s what triggered me to seriously look at my feelings for you and how different they were from my parents’ way of treating one another.”
“We’ll have struggles and challenges, Dair, but we can tackle them together as a team. That gives us more strength. and we can lean on one another during times like that. We don’t have to fight life alone anymore. And having someone who has your back? It gives us strength and purpose.”
Dair let his low, deep words flow through her. “Well, the only thing bad in our life is Ray Crawford.”
Releasing her hand, Noah sat up and then helped her up. “He’s our collective wound, as Libby calls it.”
Snorting softly, Dair watched him rise to his feet. He held out his hand to her and she took it, slowly and carefully getting to her feet. Only when she was steady did he release her hand. It didn’t bother Dair that he was always circumspect about her prosthesis. He never made her feel like an amputee; rather, it was his sensitivity toward her particular situation that overlaid how he worked and played around her. “That trial isn’t until next March, Noah. I wish it could be tomorrow,” she said, leaning down and picking up the small blanket after he’d put the other items into his saddlebags. She shook it out and then rolled it up. Noah took it and walked over to Ghost. She followed, unwrapping the halter lead from around the saddle horn on Lulu, bringing her head up so she could bridle the Appaloosa. She felt like shouting out her joy. She’d never been as happy as she was right now.
* * *
Noah moved his hand across Dair’s damp back, leaning over her after making love with her earlier. He eased her thick, dark hair aside, kissing her nape, hearing the happy sounds in her throat as he lightly lavished that erotic spot. Drawing her long, firm body against his, he rested his head on her right shoulder, holding her close, his heart ballooning with a fierce love for her. Dair was exhausted from three orgasms, her arms beneath the pillow, her face partially covered with black strands of her mussed hair. Lunar rays flooded around the open drapes. Dair loved the moon’s milky radiance that flowed silently across the bed where they lay.
Kissing the damp, warm flesh along her shoulder, he rasped, “I love you, Dair.” He heard a soft sound escape her lips and smiled a little, knowing she was exhausted. So was he, but his heart was wild with joy because today’s talk at lunch had been crucial to both of them. Noah realized it more than Dair, but that was all right. There would be times in the future when she’d be far ahead of him regarding something going on in their lives. He inhaled her sweet scent, her hair cool and silky against his cheek. Ranging his hand slowly down her rib cage to her flared hip and curved, strong thigh, he absorbed every particle of her into himself.
Noah had not entertained falling in love anytime soon. It just hadn’t been a part of his life focus. Shay had given him a chance to earn his keep, gave him a roof over his head, three square meals a day, and let him know he was important to her, to the ranch and to the world. As he smoothed his hand over Dair’s butt and hip, he smiled to himself. From the moment he’d seen her, he realized later that he’d fallen hard and completely for her. It was as if he’d finally met his lifelong mate. And he hadn’t realized just how lonely he was until Dair walked into his life.
Easing from across her, he sat up and pulled open a drawer on the bed stand. He felt Dair stir and sit up.
“What are you doing?” she asked, pushing her hair away from her shoulder.
Chuckling, he said, “There’s that curious cougar coming out in you.” He shut the drawer and sat up, resting against the headboard. Dair was sitting there looking like a sated cat after a big dinner. “Come here?” He held out his hand to her.
Scooting next to him, his arm going around her shoulders, Dair sighed and rested her cheek against his shoulder. “What do you have in your hand, Mabry?”
A rumble moved through his chest. “Hold out your palm.”
Dair did.
“This is something I’ve been planning on giving to you when the time was right,” he rasped, kissing her brow. “Open it.”
Dair took the small white satin box. It wasn’t a ring box, so it had her mystified as she eased it open. Inside was a dainty heart with small, pink, faceted stones around it, suspended on a unique, link-like necklace. “This is beautiful,” she breathed, easing it out of the box, holding it up between them. Even in the moonlight, Dair could see the pink stones sparkling as the heart slowly moved between her fingers.
Noah took the necklace and patiently unclasped it. “Well, I wanted something to tell you that I love you. And seeing that we’re wranglers and we’re working with thousand-pound horses or doing all kinds of hard, physical work, I didn’t want to buy you a ring.” He slid a look toward Dair, watching her lustrous eyes widening. “I wanted to give this to you as a token of my love, Dair. You can wear it around your neck and it will remain beneath your shirt. The necklace is white gold and the links are super strong without being heavy to wear.” He ran his fingers along the delicate chain. “That way, it won’t get broken as you do your normal, everyday athletic work.” He smiled a little, watching her expression turn tender, seeing the love shining in her eyes for him. “Do you like it?”
“It’s beautiful, Noah . . .” She choked up, staring at it. “What are the gemstones in it?”
“I talked with Maud about it. She knows a lot about gems in general. She said I should get something that had a good hardness to it. But pink diamonds were a little out of my price range. She suggested faceted pink tourmaline, instead. They come from a mine in Brazil. Do you like them?”
“Oh,” she breathed, smiling at him, “I love them!” And she threw her arms around him, hugging him fiercely, choking out, “And I love you, too! Thank you . . .”
Noah laughed out of relief at her sudden, unexpected spontaneity. More and more, the past two months, Dair was allowing herself to be more vulnerable, and Noah loved her for becoming that way around him, allowing her innocent side to finally express itself. “I guess you do like it,” he said, and turned, meeting and molding her soft, warm lips beneath his mouth. Her kiss was that of an eager, overwhelmed puppy, and they broke the kiss, both of them laughing, brows resting against one another.
“I never expected this,” Dair confessed as she sat up, facing him a bit more. “Will you put it on me, Noah?” She lifted her hair and leaned forward so he could do it.
There was such pleasure in doing exactly that. The heart hung below her collarbones and above her breasts. Maud had counseled him to go with a longer length because that way it would be more protected. He fiddled with the clasp, which was strong and large, so that it could be easily opened and closed. “There,” he murmured, satisfied as she released that black hair of hers. “It looks beautiful on you, Dair.” He saw how happy she was, picking up the heart in her fingers, turning it, watching the moonlight dance through the facets. There was no question she liked it. And he loved her.
“This had to be expensive, Noah,” she said, frowning, holding his gaze.
“I saved for it,” he murmured. Money was always tight, and Dair knew it. Not wanting her to worry, he said, “The jeweler in Wind River gave me a good deal, so wipe that frown off your brow, okay? He knows Maud and Steve Whitcomb, and I’d told him they’d sent me to him. It was nice of him to give me a price I could afford, because I had no idea the cost involved when I drove over to see him.”
“Well,” Dair whispered, smiling into his eyes, “I will cherish this forever, Noah. This means everything to me.”
He moved his hand down her arm. “And I cherish you, Dair.” His voice lowered with feeling. “I can’t conceive of my life without you in it. You’re a part of me. You own my heart.”
She pressed his hand against her chest, tears springing to her eyes. “You spoil me rotten, Noah.” Sniffing, she said, “And I’ve never felt before like I do about you. I wake up happy and I go to bed happy. I don’t think it gets any better than that.”
“No, it doesn’t.” He smoothed some strands across her shoulder, seeing how golden her eyes had become. Over time, he discovered that when she was happy, a lot of the brown color receded. When she was worried or upset, the gold receded. He was glad to make that discovery about Dair, because it served him well to know when to ask her if something was bothering her. They had a long way to go with one another, because Dair still struggled so often trying to be open with him.
Over time, Noah knew she would break that unhealthy pattern from childhood. She was learning how to honestly live in a relationship with a man for the first time in her life. It was a challenge, but it was one he more than felt up to surmounting with Dair. And because they truly did love one another, Noah knew she would eventually break that imprisoning pattern and they could soar together. He quietly dreamed of the day when he would ask Dair to marry him. That was in the future, but he was a long-range planner by nature. Even in his dreams, he saw them married, with three beautiful children. Dair had never had a loving family, but she would have one with him.
And her name: Dair, was a variation of the word “dare.” It was a good name for her because, through all the challenges that life had thrown her, she had dared to meet and overcome them. Noah saw a future filled with happiness for both of them. He would keep all of this to himself, but some day, when the time was right, he’d share it with Dair. And she would dare to take the next step with him: marriage. He knew she had that kind of quiet courage to do just that, because she’d overcome and triumphed over so much already.
Please turn the page for an exciting sneak peek at
LONE RIDER
by Lindsay McKenna
Coming to your favorite bookstores and e-tailers in April 2018!
Lone Rider is a Harper’s romance.
Get to know all the wonderful people of
Wind River Valley!
April 2
Tara Dalton wiped her hands down the sides of her jeans before pushing the doors open to Charlie Becker’s Hay and Feed. She stomped her feet on a well-used bristly mat in front of the doors to knock off the slush from the last snow storm. The wind was sharp, the temperature below freezing, the sky turgid with spots of blue here and there. Her blond hair lifted from her shoulders, flying around her face. Making a frustrated sound, she pulled the hair away with her gloved hands.
Would Charlie have a possible job for her? Something she loved to do that would keep her in Wind River, her hometown in Wyoming? Her heart felt like it was contracting in her chest, anxiety threading through her as she pushed open the wooden doors.
She saw Charlie sitting behind his long, L-shaped counter, slowly counting his receipts at the end of the day. He closed at five p.m. Tara didn’t want people from Wind River to see her coming into the store. Everyone knew her. And she didn’t want what she had to ask of Charlie overheard by anyone else, if possible. The cold wind pushed her into the warm, empty feed store.
“Oh, hi, Tara,” Charlie greeted, smiling. “I heard through the grapevine that you’d come home. How are you doing?”
Forcing a weak smile, Tara said, “Hi, Charlie. Yes, I got home a week ago.”
She loved the smell of fresh new leather, row upon row of saddles sitting in one part of the large farming and ranching store. The wooden floor squeaked and creaked beneath her hiking boots as she moved toward Charlie. The redbrick building was a hundred years old and had been owned by generations of Beckers.
Charlie was tall, almost six foot, skinny as a proverbial rail, with thick, silver hair. Face lined with sixty-five years of living, he had always been a kind person to everyone. He was one of the fixtures of this small town. Tara had always loved coming here with her father to get hay and grain for her horse when she was in her teens. That was a while ago, and happy times for the most part. Charlie always had colorful candy suckers in a bowl beneath the counter near the cash register. Every kid, from four to ninety, was offered one when they left the store. Plus, Pixie, his wife, a baker of great repute, was always dropping something off to the rear of the store where the coffee table was set up. Lots of people wandered in to have a cupcake or a cookie.
“Finished with the Marine Corps and done being a combat camerawoman?” he teased, setting aside his stack of receipts, giving her an intense, scrutinizing look.
“Yes, I’m done. I didn’t re-up,” she admitted.
“Have a seat. Coffee? I’d like to catch up with you, Tara. Usually, when your dad came in here, he’d tell me you were in Afghanistan, but since you worked in black ops, he didn’t have much he could share.”
Tara pulled out one of the two wooden stools that sat in front of the counter. “I’d love some coffee, Charlie. Thanks.” She pulled her gloves off and removed her bright blue knit cap from her hair. Quickly, she smoothed the flyaway strands with her fingers and opened up her blue nylon down jacket. “I need some help,” she admitted, watching him pour coffee from the coffee station.
“Figured as much.” He handed her a cup. “Cream? Sugar?”
“No, black. Thanks.” Taking a sip, Tara watched him sit down.
“So? How can I help you?”
“Well,” Tara said in a low tone, “I need a job, Charlie.”
His gray brows rose. “But, I thought you’d work at your parents’ hardware store in town?”
Mouth flexing, Tara avoided his sharpened and concerned gaze. “No, that’s not going to happen.” She saw the sudden sadness come to his eyes. “I mean . . . I’ve got PTSD from my years in combat, Charlie. When I came home, all I did was keep my mom and dad up at night, waking them with my flashbacks and nightmares. They want to help me, but right now? I need to try and get my act together alone.”
“But you’re still seeing them? Keeping in touch?”
“Oh, for sure, Charlie. We love one another. There’s no issues there. They know I’m looking for another job. Something, I hope, that will get me outside, give me a lot of physical work. I-I have a lot of constant anxiety. I’m super restless and the only thing that helps tone it down is a lot of exercise, moving around and staying active. Then, I feel better.” She gave him a pleading look. “I don’t want this getting around to anyone here in Wind River.”
He reached forward, patting her hand near her cup. “No, I’m not the town gossip, Tara. Our conversations are strictly between us. So? You’re looking for an outdoor kind of job?”
“Well,” she said, “I was hoping you would have an opening?” She held her breath, praying that Charlie did need help.
“No, I’m sorry. I have two men I employ and they’ve been here for years, Tara. And I don’t need another employee.” He brightened. “But, I may have a lead on a ranch that is looking for a wrangler. And I know you grew up with horses at your ranch. Even though your dad started out as an attorney here in the county, and then became a judge, your family always had a small ranch to run. You’re used to mending fences, changing out bad posts, riding and doing all the things that a wrangler does.”
Nodding, Tara tried to not look devastated by the news. Her heart was set on working with Charlie. “That’s all true. My dad has two wranglers who run the ranch while he works as a judge.”
