Capturing the Cowboy's Heart (29 page)

She looked up at him in confusion.

“
I
don’t want you to
go
.”

She stared
up
at him in confusion. 
“But I thought
-
”

“
You might as well s
top thinking, Dalton
,” he said, cutting her off.  “Lord
knows I haven’t been able to since you arrived.” 
Smiling, he reached out to thread his fingers through hers
.  “I want you to stay.”

Tears she’d been fighting filled her eyes.  “I’m not so sure
that’s a
good idea.  You made
your feelings for me very clear
this morning
.
” 

“You scare the hell out of me, Dalton.  And that’s not an easy admission for a man like me to make.
”

“
I do?”

He nodded, caressing her hand with his thumb. 
“
You make me feel, something I haven’t done for years.  This morning with you...  Hell, Dalton, I panicked.”

Her heart was pounding.  “What do you want me to say?”

“That you forgive me.  That you’re willing to stick around and give me another chance.”   

She looked down at their twined hands and then back up into Cade’s pleading eyes.  She loved him.  How could she not try?  Smiling, she said, “Looks like this is your lucky day, cowboy.”

“You won’t regret it, Dalton.  I promise.”  Releasing her hand, he pulled her to him and l
owered his mouth to hers
in a slow, tender kiss
.

Just then,
Domino shot around the house and up onto the porch, yelping excitedly.

Cade sat back with a chuckle as the rambunctious dog greeted her with several wet kisses.  “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s happy you’re staying.”

La
cy fell back laughing, her world suddenly looking a whole lot brighter.

Cade smiled.  He loved
the sound of Lacy’s laughter.  There was something about it that made the ranch seem more like a home again. 
And to think he’d almost pushed her away for good.  Never again.  She was worth risking his heart again for.

Lacy turned her head away with a giggle, her arms still wrapped around Domino’s neck. 
“You are quite the kisser.”

“He’s nothing compared to me,” he teased as he shooed the dog away and drew her back into his arms for another kiss
.

When the kiss ended, he
ran a hand along her cheek.
  “Been thinking about you all day
.”

“I
n a good way I hope,
” she
said
, toying
anxiously
with that damnably kissable lower lip of hers.

“Let’s just say I never expected to wake up with you in my arms. 
Had fantasized about
it, yeah.  Expected it, no.”

“
I don’t make a habit of going to bed with
men
I’m working with...ever.”  Her gaze dropped to
the button on his shirt she was toying with nervously
.  “Truth is I’ve only ever been with one other man.
  And we both decided a few months into the relationship that it wasn’t working and went our separate ways.
”

“There hasn’t been another woman for me since
my wife died
,” he admitted.  If Lacy could open
to him about her past
, he
could do the same
. 
“
I thought that doing so would tarnish the memory of what we had together.”

She lowered her gaze.  “I’m sorry.  I never meant to make you feel like you were betraying what you and you wife had shared.”

H
e cupped her chin and brought her face back around to his.  “
Making love with you felt right. 
I loved Karen, but she’s gone.  It’s time
for me to
move on and stop living in the past.”  He caressed her cheeks with tender strokes.  “It took you
coming into my life to make me realize
that.”

“Me?”  Her voice was no more than a whisper.

He
smiled. “Yes
, Dalton, y
ou.”  He brushed another kiss over her lips.  “I’ve done a lot of soul searching lately
and Burk was
right.  I’ve been running from my feelings
where you’re concerned. 
What happened between us
this morning
didn’t just happen.  I wanted it to.”

Those beautiful amber eyes
glistened with unshed tears as sh
e looked up at him.  “
Thank you for saying that.”

“
I mean it. 
Hell, Dalton, you make me feel
alive again
.”
  He paused before adding, “
I know I don’t have much to offer you right now
, but I intend to work on that.
”

“
W
hat are you saying?” she asked in
a near whisper.

He
smiled. 
“Lacy Dalton, will you go steady with me?”

It took a moment for his words to sink in. 
The crazy, adorable man.  She laughed softly.  “Yes, Cade, I’ll go
steady with you
.
”  She couldn’t help but smile.  They sounded like a couple of
lovesick
teenagers.

He reached for her hand
again
.  “I want to do
it all with you, everything I missed riding the circuit all those years.  Like taking
you dancing
so I can
hold you in my arms all night long. 
And teaching
you to ride just to
watch
the wind whipping that sun-kissed hair of yours around your beautiful face.”  He reached out to run his fingers through the silken strands. 

This was almost
too good to be true.  Lacy
felt a moment of panic.  “What about my job?”

“I’ll deal with it.”

“I’ll give up the story.”  For him.

He shook his head.  “Not a chance.  You and I are gonna see it through – together.”

She didn’t want to cause him any more pain.  Drudging up old memories for her story would do that. 

“
I see that mind of yours working overtime again, Dalton. 
You might as well
stop your worrying.  We’re gonna make this work.  How can I not?  I love you.
”

Her breath caught.  “Love?”

He laughed
softly
.  “Don’t know when it happened.  Don’t even know how it happened.  All I know is that you’re all I think about every second of the day...and night.”

Hot tears filled her eyes, blurring her vision. 
He
loved her!
 
Emotion
welled up
in her throat.  So much so, she couldn’t speak. 

“
You’re probably thinking that I’m crazy.  That this is all happening way too fast-”

She pressed a finger to his lips.  “Then I’m crazy, too, because I feel the same way.”

He kissed the tip of her finger. 
“How can I ask you to give up an exciting life in the big city for a
n ex-
rodeo rider
with a run-
down ranch?”

“Ask me,” she said softly.

“What?”  He searched her gaze.

“Ask me, Cade, and I’ll tell you that I hate the fast pace of big cities.  Ask and I’ll tell you that I love big ugly dogs and
boy
cows with horns, and big stubborn cowboys in tight...”

Her words were lost as Cade’s mouth covered hers in a thoroughly possessive kiss.

“Well, well,” Burk hollered from the direction of the barn.  “Looks to me like Lacy has finally succeeded in thawing that frosty heart of yours.”

Cade didn’t release her, merely turned his head Burk’s direction.  “You’d be
st
find something else worth doing before you get yourself fired
again
.”

“Promises...promises,”
his friend
called out before sauntering off toward the corral.

Lacy collapsed
against Cade in
a fit of laughter.  “He has the most incredible timing.”

“Yeah, I noticed.” 
He
curled his arm around her, drawing her up against him
.  “Now, let
’s
see.  Where were we?”

“I think you were just about to kiss me senseless.”

“
That being the case, I suggest we do it inside and out of his view,” he said with a nod toward the corral.  “If he pats himself
on the back
any harder, he’s likely to break an arm
.”

“He is eating this up, isn’t he?”  Laughing, she allowed Cade to help her to her feet, wincing as he took her hand. 

Concerned creased his brow. 
“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing.”

He turned her hand over to inspect it and winced himself.  “What the hell happened?”

“The work gloves Burk gave me to use this morning were too big.  They kept falling off.”

He reached for her other hand, one less tender, but blistered all the same. 
“Damn it, Dalton, I’m so sorry.  I never should have—”

She gave him a reassuring smile.  “
It’s part of the job.”

“
A job you didn’t need to be doing. 
I was trying to make you leave,” he confessed.  “Not that I really wanted you to.”

Lacy nodded. “I figured that’s what you were up to.”

“I honestly thought you’d refuse to muck them out.”

“I gave my word, Cade.”

“And you kept it
,” he said with a heavy sigh
. 
“
I
t seems there are some good reporters out there.
”

“Thank you for saying that.” 
She touched his face.  “
And y
ou’re forgiven.”

“Come on,
Dalton,
let’s go
tend to your hands
.”
  Hand around her waist, he walked her into the house.

“You know it’s going to be rough living with Burk now that he
’s on to us
,” she said
with a grin
. 

“
Reckon so, but
if
he
hadn’t of tricked you into coming here, I’d have never met you.  And for that
alone I can put up with any amount of ribbing he wants to throw my way.
”

“If you were serious about going through with the story, I have it for you to approve.”

“It’s done.”

“As much as it’s ever going to be.  All the important facts are in there.  I just have to get it faxed in to Mac.”

“Then let’s get it faxed.  I’m ready to have your undivided attention.”

“I’ll pull it up on my laptop so you can read it first.”

He shook his head.  “No need.  I trust you.”

His trust meant the world to her. 
“You wouldn’t happen to have a fax machine here would you?”

“Sorry
, can’t help you there.  You can fax it from town when we go to pick up your
truck.
  But first, we’re gonna see to those
hands.”
  He set her things aside and led her over to the s
ink where he pulled a first-aid kit out from under the counter.
  “While we’re being honest,” he said with a grin, “I have to tell you that
truck you
bought
is one of the ugliest damned trucks I’ve ever seen.” 

She winced as he poured hydrogen peroxide over her tender flesh.

He muttered a curse, her discomfort bothering him more than it was her. 

She gave him a reassuring smile. 
“It has all the necessities, windows, doors and an engine
that runs
.”

He managed a grin
.  “I think you talked them into throwing those in for free.
  Not that it matters. 
We’re gonna see about getting your car back
while we’re in town
.”

“Not
a chance
, cowboy.  I’ve discovered that I’m more of a truck kind of woman.
  Besides, the paint color can always be changed.
”