Raleigh And The Rancher (Wranglers & Lace #3) Read online

  She’d dreamed of Daniel McClintock.

  The dream had been hot, erotic. Very erotic. Perspiration dampened her forehead, and she found her covers wadded in a knot at the foot of the bed. Her body felt like melted ice cream. Clearing her throat, she pressed a hand to her temples.

  Last night, after she’d made her decision to go to work for Dan, she’d called Fay and told her she was resigning. As always, her old friend was supportive, urging her to do whatever she thought was right. That served only to make Raleigh feel guilty. She’d spent the better part of the night flopping restlessly in bed trying to second-guess herself.

  When she finally did fall asleep, Daniel McClintock had had the audacity to invade her subconscious. It wasn’t fair, she mused. Definitely dirty pool. How was she supposed to resist a dream? Somehow, with one long, searing glance, Dan had penetrated right to the heart of her sexuality—a sexuality she’d thought long-since dead. She couldn’t deny her attraction to the man, yet how could she afford to admit it?

  Raleigh considered herself a strong person, but Dan had robbed her willpower, rendering her a wishy-washy mess. Closing her eyes, she could see him—thick black hair, quizzical dark eyes, hard, muscular body, imposing height. She swallowed hard. Her stomach jumped like popcorn in the microwave, pin-pinging with a sultry inner heat.

  Blowing out her breath through puffed cheeks, she slid from the bed and flicked on the light. Her bare toes curled against the coolness of the hardwood floor.

  She rifled through her closet, located her blue jeans and shimmied into them. Donning a T-shirt, she then pulled on socks and boots and braided her hair. Quietly, so as not to awaken Caleb, she tiptoed into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee.

  Except for a sprinkling of stars overhead, it was dark outside. Early-morning dew clung to her boots as she crossed the lawn. Night noises lingered—the distant call of a meadowlark, the constant cacophony of crickets. The air smelled fresh, clean, hopeful. All normal, comfortable smells and sounds at a time when she felt neither normal nor comfortable.

  What would McClintock say when she arrived on his doorstep ready to go to work? What if he’d changed his mind about hiring her? She’d be up the proverbial creek, because she wasn’t about to inconvenience Fay again.

  Balancing her steaming cup of coffee in one hand, she opened the pickup door with the other and carefully climbed inside. The contrary vehicle spat and sputtered before agreeing to come to life. Raleigh sat hunched over the steering wheel, sipping her coffee and waiting for the ancient engine to warm.

  While driving down the darkened road to Dan’s ranch, her thoughts were irresistibly drawn back to her disturbing dream. She couldn’t remember ever having a dream so stark, so sensual. What did it mean?

  “It means nothing, Travers, absolutely nothing,” she growled to herself.

  She had to stop thinking about him like this. Period. So he was good-looking. Big deal. She knew the risks involved in caring about a man and she’d chosen to never gamble on those risks again. Whatever she might be fantasizing about in her dreams, she could not allow herself to act on it. She had to maintain a professional detachment or this arrangement would never work.

  By the time she reached the ranch she’d almost convinced herself to turn around and hightail it back home. But she couldn’t. She had Caleb to think about. They had to have a place to live, and she wasn’t dumb enough to expect another offer like this one to come along again.

  “A woman’s gotta do what a woman’s gotta do,” she muttered.

  The ranch lay in a low spot between two hills. A fine white mist covered the ground. The old pickup rambled across the pasture and into the driveway. In the quiet of the predawn, trucks, trailers and ranching equipment loomed out of the fog like motionless prehistoric creatures, creating a spooky effect.

  Raleigh shivered. Although the temperature was comfortable now, she knew that by noon the thermometer would soar to the one-hundred-degree mark.

  For a moment she sat in the truck staring at the ranch and gathering her courage. Her next act might be irrevocable.

  “It’s now or never,” she declared, resting her empty coffee cup on the dashboard.

  Her bootheels made sharp crunching sounds as she trod over the graveled driveway and up the stone steps to the house. Taking a deep breath to assuage her nervousness, she rapped loudly on the front door.

  She hesitated a minute, then knocked once more.

  No answer.

  Pounding on the door a third time, she paced the porch, her arms folded across her chest. This was not a good idea. She should leave while she still had the chance.

  “Coming, coming, keep your pants on,” she heard Dan holler.

  A moment later he flung open the door and glared at her.

  His hair was in wild disarray. A tuft of dark hair on the side of his head stood straight up. He wore pajama bottoms and nothing else. Raleigh caught her breath at the tousled sight of him.

  “Good grief,” he exploded. “What time is it?”

  “Quarter to five.”

  “What are you doing here this early?” he asked, his voice softening. He raked a hand through his hair, and Raleigh had a sudden vision of him lying naked in bed. Her stomach tightened at the image. “Want to come in? I’ll go put on a pot of coffee.”

  “Okay.” She stepped inside, her emotions warring with common sense.

  He closed the door and she followed him inside, her gaze darting around the living room. He’d tastefully decorated the place in a Southwestern decor of mint green, peach and sand. A rock fireplace occupied one corner.

  In the middle of the large room sat two tan leather sofas, ottomans and love seat sets. A painted cow skull adorned the west wall, along with several Remington paintings. No wonder he couldn’t afford to hire a farrier, he’d blown his dough on ritzy furnishings.

  “Have a seat,” he invited, waving his hand.

  “You’ve decorated this room rather expensively for a man on a budget,” she commented.

  Dan shrugged. “I dream big. Sometimes my vision exceeds my bank account. When the dude ranch opens, I intend on drawing clients who are accustomed to the very best. This is the only room we’ve completed. You should see the rest of the house. It’s a total disaster.”

  Easing herself down on the edge of the sofa, she clasped her hands together.

  “Sorry I snapped at you when I answered the door,” he said. “I’m not human until I have my coffee and I had trouble falling asleep last night.” As if to illustrate, Dan yawned and scratched his bare chest.

  “Oh.” Raleigh averted her eyes from the sight of his stupendous pecs. Was she as responsible for his sleeplessness as he had been for hers?

  “Excuse me a second,” he said, and disappeared into where she supposed the kitchen must be.

  Nervously, she crossed her legs, then uncrossed them again. She shouldn’t have come so early, she chastised herself. Because Dan owned stables, she assumed he would be up and about at this hour tending his stock. The sight of him bare chested and in his pajama bottoms, so recently pulled from his bed, caused her blood pressure to climb a notch or two.

  “You take anything in your coffee?” he called out a few minutes later.

  “Black, thanks.”

  “Me, too,” he said. “We’ve got something in common.” He reappeared, carrying two steaming mugs. Handing her one, he sat down next to her and blew across his coffee to cool it.

  “You know,” he said, “I must say you were the last person I expected to find on my front porch.”

  “To tell the truth, I’m surprised to find myself sitting here.”

  “And why is that?” He leaned closer and smiled wickedly.

  She stared into her cup, carefully avoiding the challenge reflected in his eyes. “I came to see if that job offer still stands.”

  “Yes, it does.”

  “I want to start work right away. We need to move into the cabin as soon as possible. I lose my house in three days.”<
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  He nodded.

  From beneath her lowered lashes she cast him a sidelong glance. He sat with his knees wide apart, forearms resting on his thighs in a casual masculine posture. Raleigh watched as his large thumbs rhythmically caressed the smooth ceramic mug cradled in both of his hands.

  She was acutely aware of his strong, powerful body. Helplessly her gaze strayed to his bare, muscled abdomen, her eyes drinking in the dark trail of curly black hair that disappeared into the waistband of his pajamas.

  Unbidden images rose in her mind. Visions sharp and graphic—his callused palms skimming lightly over her bare skin, his hungry lips suckling her breasts, their writhing bodies pressed tightly together against crisp white sheets.

  No way. Sharply she jerked her head to dispel such torturous thoughts.

  “Welcome to McClintock’s Dude Ranch, Raleigh. I’m glad to have you aboard.” Dan set his mug on the coffee table and thrust out his hand. Raleigh slipped her palm into his and let the handshake linger too long, enjoying the feel of his skin on hers.

  “Well.” He dropped her hand and Raleigh felt a distinct sense of loss. His dark-eyed gaze kept her pinned to the spot. “Guess I better get dressed.”

  “Should I go work with the horses?” Raleigh pointed her thumb at the door.

  “Absolutely. See you in a few.”

  She leapt off the sofa, almost stumbling in her haste. Relief washed over her. She had a job she could enjoy and a place to stay. Only one problem remained. If Daniel McClintock decided to turn on the charm, could she resist him? Watching the man climb the stairs, Raleigh realized she could possibly be in deep trouble.

  * * *

  Dan backed the rented van into the driveway and stopped in front of the log cabin. Raleigh stood on the porch, a mop in her hand and a green bandanna tied around her forehead.

  She’d scrubbed the place from top to bottom until it shone. Narrowing her eyes, she watched Dan open the back of the moving van. While he worked unloading her meager belongings, Raleigh’s gaze traversed the lean muscles bulging beneath his bare shoulder blades.

  Biting her bottom lip, Raleigh wished he’d put his shirt back on. The sight of his naked torso drew her undivided attention and sent her core body temperature soaring.

  “You’ll have to tell me where to put everything,” he said.

  Prying her gaze from his distracting figure, she shaded her eyes with her hand and propped the mop against the side of the house. “I’m not quite sure yet.”

  The log cabin contained only a living room, kitchen, bath and two bedrooms. It was smaller than the duplex, but in much better shape, and exuded a cozy rustic environment that smelled deliciously of cedar. The perfect dwelling for her and Caleb.

  Bracing his knees in a firm stance, Dan wrestled her sofa to the edge of the truck. Grunting, he stopped and rested his hands at the small of his back.

  “Here,” she said, moving to stand beside him. “Let me help.”

  “No way.” Dan puffed. “This thing is heavy.”

  “It’s a sleeper sofa,” she explained. “Remember, I shoe horses for a living. I’m perfectly capable of assisting you.”

  “Raleigh, don’t be ridiculous. Let’s wait for Pete. He and Caleb will be here any minute. Why don’t you carry one of those lightweight boxes instead?”

  “McClintock.” She glared and rested her hands on her hips. “We have got to get one thing straight.”

  “Oh?” He turned to face her, his cowboy hat pushed back on his head, fine beads of perspiration gleaming on his bronzed chest. Unable to stop herself, she wondered helplessly what it would taste like to run her tongue along that very chest.

  “I can handle physical work. I’m not some china doll to be protected. If you don’t allow me to do anything laborious, I’ll be pretty useless around here, and that makes me question your motives in hiring me.”

  “I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

  “I won’t. I know how to lift and I’m not any more likely to get injured than you are.” She raised her chin, defying him to contradict her.

  Reaching up, Dan casually brushed a lock of errant hair from her cheek. Raleigh stiffened and stepped back at his touch. Liquid fingers of heat spread through her like warm candle wax.

  “Okay,” he said. “You win. Let’s move the damn sofa.”

  Shooting him a triumphant grin, she helped him heave the sofa off the back of the van. They struggled together and finally dragged it into the small living room. Raleigh had trouble handling her end, but she would never have admitted it to Dan.

  “Let’s put it in front of the fireplace,” she suggested. “It’ll be nice to burrow beneath a quilt in front of a roaring fire during a winter storm.”

  “Hmm,” Dan said. “Now that does create an image. I can almost smell a pot of beef stew bubbling on the stove.”

  “And the sound of wind blowing against the cold windowpanes.” Raleigh grinned, her mind easily conjuring up the cozy domestic scene in spite of the hot, slick sweat clinging to her neck.

  “Country-and-western music playing on the radio.” Dan brushed a damp lock of hair off his forehead.

  “Playing cards.” She twisted the end of her braid around one hand.

  “Popping popcorn.”

  “Drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows.”

  “Making love.”

  “Huh?” Raleigh’s face blistered at his words. No doubt her complexion turned three shades of red. “What did you say?”

  Dan rested one knee on the arm of the sofa and looped a thumb through his belt. The action tilted his hips at an appealing angle. He stared into her eyes, binding her to him with an invisible string.

  “Making love,” he repeated, pursing his lips and cocking an eyebrow. “Isn’t that one of the things people do in front of a warm fire on a frosty winter night?”

  “I wouldn’t know about that,” Raleigh said in a brittle tone.

  “Oh, no? Why’s that?”

  “There’s more work to do,” she said, pivoting abruptly on her heel.

  Dan turned and, moving quickly, headed her off at the door. Determined, Raleigh pushed past him, her head down. She crashed into his side, heard his sharp intake of breath.

  “Raleigh?”

  They were all alone here, she thought, stepping out onto the porch.

  Dan put out a hand and his fingers wrapped around her soft, pliant flesh. He pulled her to his chest. Their intimate contact affected him viscerally. Peering into her fog gray eyes, he felt his whole body harden.

  How she fascinated him, with her fiercely independent spirit and her bullheaded stubborn streak. She rebuffed assistance, wanting desperately to survive on her own. How he understood that desire! And how he wanted her—beneath him, above him, in his arms, in his bed.

  He held her tight, not wanting to let go. As he looked down into her startled, heart-shaped face, he realized her spunky attitude masked some heavy emotional burdens. At that moment Dan knew he longed to be the man to erase those difficulties, to show her life didn’t have to be hard and painful if you had someone to lean on.

  He lowered his head. She offered no resistance. How beautiful she was with the blazing afternoon sun dappling patterns of light across the freckles dusting her small, pert nose.

  In his arms she felt so tiny, so vulnerable. It amazed him that she could readily control large horses with only the tone of her voice and firm discipline.

  His body responded to those sensual thoughts. Firecrackers of awareness ignited inside him, causing his jeans to tighten in response.

  He could so easily envision them locked together in the throes of lovemaking, her head thrown back, her glorious red hair fanned long and free over his bare skin. Her sweet feminine scent assailing his trembling nostrils, invading his very being. Her generous squeals of pleasure filling his eager ears.

  Her lips quivered. Dan moaned softly and bodily lifted her off her feet.

  “Oh,” Raleigh whispered, and then Dan was kissing he
r like she’d never been kissed before. He pressed his lips to hers, wild yet tame, strong yet tender. Only her sleeveless cotton tank top separated his bare flesh from hers.

  She gulped, her mind whirling. A white hotness boiled within her until her whole body simmered with vibrating need.

  Dan deepened the kiss. His mouth searched, growing more insistent, more demanding, destroying her will, eroding her control.

  Her hands seemed to have a mind of their own as she found herself kneading his rock-hard biceps.

  His tongue feathered along her lips. He crushed her in his embrace.

  She inhaled his unique smell—the heady combination of horse, spice, sand and man.

  A driving force connected them. A force as natural and primal as stormy weather. Urgently she drank in the taste of him.

  He twisted her braid around one hand and gently pulled her head back as his tongue thrust deeper.

  An unexpected sound startled Raleigh.

  She jumped. Could it be Pete and Caleb? From her peripheral vision she saw Chester lope up on the porch beside them.

  Shame burst inside her with the power of an implosion. What on earth was she doing? She’d sworn nothing like this would ever happen and here she’d succumbed to Dan’s masterful touch on her very first day at the cabin.

  “Let me go,” she cried, twisting away from him.

  Automatically, Dan released her. She slid to the floor, her bootheels skidding on the worn wooden porch. Furiously, she raked a hand across her ravaged mouth.

  “How dare you,” she accused, reluctant to admit her own appalling behavior.

  “Raleigh...I—I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for that to happen.” His eyes pleaded with her, but she turned from him at the same time Pete and Caleb pulled into the driveway.

  “What’s up?” Pete asked, slamming the pickup door and glancing from Raleigh to Dan and back again. Raleigh knew her hair was mussed, her face flushed.

  “Did we miss something?” Caleb quizzed.

  “Nothing,” she and Dan chorused in unison.

  “Hey, don’t bite our heads off.” Pete shrugged.

  Raleigh caught Caleb eyeing her thoughtfully. Oh, gosh, what kind of example was she setting for her kid brother? This could not continue.