Hard Drivin Man (8 page)

The sound of hooves pounding the dry earth had her turning to the vision of Trey on a black stallion.

God. How you make me want and weep to have you, Trey.

He rode right up to her, his black Stetson greying out his features until he pulled up beside her. Jeans, starched white shirt, huge silver belt buckle, all attire for a devilish hunk of man. But he looked like he’d been up all night. His eyes haggard, his jaw lax. He touched his hat brim like any polite Texas gentleman. “How are you, Jess?”

“As awful as you, I think,” she told him the truth.

He flinched and looked away as the last sliver of the red sun sank behind the far ridge, blanketing them in grey light. “What’s it gonna be, Jess?”

She put a hand to his thigh. “Please, Trey. Climb down and let me talk to you.”

“I don’t need talk. A simple yes or no will do.”

“Trey, I have an answer for you, but I need to tell you how I came to that conclusion.”

He examined her features.

“If we can’t talk about this, how will we ever live with ourselves?” she persuaded him.

He slid down, looping his reins around a tree limb to secure his huge beast of a stallion next to her mare.

“Daisy likes your man,” Jess smiled at the way the two horses nodded to acknowledge each other.

Trey had his hands on his hips as he swung to face her. “I’m ready. Talk, Jess.”

“Despite the fact that you know I like jelly beans and oysters and a few other things, too, you don’t know everything about me, Trey.”

“I know enough to love you, Jess.”

“Yes,” she affirmed. “I see that.”

“You gave me twenty-four hours and frankly, you freaked me out.”

“All I’ve got, baby!” He raised his arms and let them fall to his sides.

“Thinking about this wasn’t easy.”

He snorted. “Tell me something I don’t know.”

Frustrated with her own lack of speed and with his despair, she ran a hand over her brow, dislodging her own hat. Catching it, she dropped it to the ground. “After Clint died, I told myself I would live my life alone. I’d never marry again. Never find anyone I could love.

There were no men around here who attracted me. None, especially since you weren’t here. I ached for someone to love, to share with, to talk with and help me with decisions about the ranch. My dad had never done too well as a rancher. Clint was not much better. Then, of course, he drank himself blind. And I blamed myself for choosing him.”

Trey frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“He wanted me to sign the deed of the ranch over to him.”

“He had no right to ask for that, Jess.”

She smiled then, broadly, and Trey was even more confused by her reaction. He scowled. “I know he didn’t, Trey. I told him so. That land has been in my family for generations and even though I was the only heir and a woman, the land was mine. Plus, of course, he was drinking and he was terrible with money. Drank it up when he could. I had to go to the bank to take him off the accounts. He would have bankrupted us.”

“Dad told me. I am so sorry, honey.” He came a few steps nearer.

She looked up and could have reached out a hand to caress him, but she didn’t dare.

“He accused me of not being a good wife. Not sharing. He resented what I had and said he had married me because I was the best looking girl in the county.” She inhaled. “And the one with the most land. Aside from being great in bed.”

“Jess—”

She put a hand out to stop him from coming closer. “Hear me out.”

He stepped back, palms up. “Go ahead, honey.”

“I got married at the ripe old age of eighteen, thinking I had married a man I could love forever. A man I could enjoy day after day. Instead, I had the other kind. A man who was secretive, sad, sequestering himself from others. From me. After Clint died, I told myself I’d never settle for anything less in a second husband than all the qualities that had been so lacking in Clint. And I never found anyone I wanted anyway, never found anyone who attracted me except you, so I never felt challenged.” She took a step towards him. “If the irony was that I had found all those qualities I wanted in a husband in my young brother-in-law, then my worse problem became that three days ago, that man seemed to want me for a bed partner.”

He winced. “Jesus, Jess. It was not that way at all!”

“I know, Trey. I know. But being an occasional lay is not my style. I am a true blue, dyed in the wool woman of ordinary living. With a ranch I inherited and land I love. With an expertise I’ve developed to a sustainable business. In a community of people I’ve grown up with and enjoyed. And a desire that throbs in my bones, even if I deny it, for a loving husband and plenty of children, anniversaries and birthday parties and graduations. Just like any other woman I know.”

Trey stepped forward then and would have grabbed her if she hadn’t warned him off again with a hand up.

“So if you had it in your mind that I was to be your secretive lover, that wouldn’t have happened. I told myself that as I lay in bed with you in Big Bend. Even though, God knows, I enjoyed every little moment with you.”

“What the hell are you telling me, Jess?” He took his hat off and raked his hair back.

“I love you.”

Dropping his hat, he did grab her now, his long fingers digging into her arms.

She pressed against him. “I love you, Trey Hardwick.”

He shook her a little. “And?”

“I saw after your dad died, after you held me and we mourned together, that you were a good man, the better man I could love. You were the man I had loved all along. Since you and I were kids and we came here on Saturday mornings. I knew I loved you for a thousand HARD DRIVIN’ MAN

different reasons—a thousand better reasons than I had ever loved before. But I couldn’t call it love. Didn’t dare name it.”

He seemed to hold his breath.

She wound her arms around him. “Tell me you’ll sign a paper declaring my ranch will never become a part of the Rocking H.”

He narrowed his gaze at her. Started to speak, stopped, then said, “Hell, yes. Give me any damn paper. I don’t want your land. I want you, sweetheart.”

She relaxed into his embrace. “That’s what I hoped. I’ll have my lawyer bring it over tomorrow.”

His eyes filled with tears. “Is that your only request?”

“That you love me until we die.”

He squeezed the stuffing out of her. “Done. And?”

“That you’ll give me laughter and jelly beans and oysters, and babies.”

“Damn, honey. You won’t know what it’s like to be out of bed for a minute.”

She giggled. “Great! And that you’ll take me dancing on Friday nights. I want to see Betsy Morgan jealous.”

He hugged her close and laughed deep in his belly. “I need to the see the men cry that I’ve landed you.”

“And that you’ll marry me a week Saturday.”

“I can manage that, ma’am.” He lifted her face to his and crooned, “Can I kiss the bride now?”

“You ‘d better hurry.”

He kissed her then, a hot, luscious claim that had them both gasping for air.

“Why do I need to hurry?” he asked as he rocked her in his arms.

“Because I have a few things in my saddlebag I need to give you before they get old and dried out.”

He looked pained when he drew away. “I’m game. What?”

“Peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches. Plus,” she said and dug down into her jeans pocket and brought forth three bright red packets. “Lots of watermelon.”

He sank his head down on her shoulder and shook with laughter. But in a rush, he caught her up and twirled her around. “You better have brought a blanket roll to go with that watermelon, baby.”

“I did. But did you bring your zucchini?”

About the Author

Cerise DeLand believes great romances combine feisty heroines with men who adore them and cannot live without them. With a background in Chinese and European history, Cerise brings her knowledge of Chinese, German and a bit of Spanish, then blends it with her years living in Japan, Italy, Washington, D.C.—and Texas. She uses all her talents and experiences to write romances she loves. Published in e-format by Ellora’s Cave, Resplendence Publishing and Wild Rose Press, she is thrilled to bring her stories to Total-E-Bound, too! Cerise has won awards for her 18 print romances and mysteries (under another name), many of which have become selections of The Doubleday Book Club, Rhapsody Book Club and The Mystery Guild. (See more at

www.cerisedeland.com
)

Email: [email protected]

Cerise DeLand loves to hear from readers. You can find her contact information, website and author biography at
http://www.total-e-bound.com
.

Also by Cerise DeLand

Swords of Passion: At Her Service

Swords of Passion: For Her Honour

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