Her Dakota Man (Book 1 - Dakota Hearts) (10 page)

She pulled off her helmet and let her auburn hair fall to her shoulders.

“I see you found my toys,” he said.

Her smile was wide and full of expression and excitement. It took his breath away.

“Toy. There was only one! What gives?”

Logan shrugged. “I take Keith on it with me sometimes. He loves it. But I haven’t done anything like you just did in the back pasture.”

She laughed. “Yeah, I was eating dirt back there. I can’t believe you haven’t gotten Keith his own four-wheeler yet.”

Logan sputtered. “He’s four.”

“Almost five. I’d say we need to put this on the top of his birthday wish list.”

Logan shrugged, thinking about how much fun it would be to go riding with Keith. “He’s all McKinnon. I have a feeling he’d tear up that pasture worse than you just did.”

She smiled sweetly. “Sorry about that. I figured it was already muddy. I couldn’t hurt it any more than the flood did.”

“No problem. I’ll be plowing it under soon anyway.”

She took in a deep breath and looked around. “When I saw your truck and couldn’t find you in the barn, I figured you must have come back here. I had a hard time getting this thing started though. You don’t use it much?”

“There was always so much work to be done around here. Never had the time.”

She eyed him speculatively. “Uh, huh. That’s Kelly talking. She never did like this sort of thing.”

A week ago that remark would have had him vehemently defending Kelly. But Poppy knew Kelly’s quiet personality so well, and there was no malice in what she said, that Logan couldn’t argue with the truth.

He recovered quickly, and if Poppy noticed, she didn’t let on. “Not exactly something you'd do in Manhattan.”

She laughed. “No. Wish I could. It definitely beats breathing in the exhaust in the city. I’d forgotten how much fun this was. Is Keith going to be gone all day?”

“Until tomorrow. Keith is staying over Skylar’s.”

“I’ll bet you didn’t have to ask him twice.”

He shook his head. “No.”

Her smile widened. “Well, I guess that leaves just you and me. Hop on board.”

He hesitated, which earned him a quick tilt of Poppy’s eyebrow in challenge. “You are
not
going to tell me you have too much work to do, Logan McKinnon. The sun is shining. There is always going to be work to do around here, flood or no flood, so just give yourself the afternoon off to play.”

He offered a half grin. “Is that an order?”

“Damn straight it is. If we do enough runs across the field you might not even have to plow! Come on. We’ll do double duty tomorrow. Unless you’re too chicken to ride on the back of an ATV with a pro dare-devil.”

He sputtered. “What makes you such a pro?”

“I’ve mastered riding in a New York City cab. If that doesn’t make me a pro dare-devil, nothing will.”

He laughed. “That bad?”

“Let’s say I walk and take the subway more than I should. Get on.” She handed Logan the extra helmet.

Logan eased himself onto the back of the ATV and wrapped his arms around Poppy’s slender waist. It was amazingly intimate to feel that close to her body and incredibly distracting, so he grabbed the handles on the sides of the seat instead.

Poppy glanced over her shoulder before putting on her helmet and said, “Chicken.” Then she laughed and revved up the engine, taking off full speed ahead toward the connecting trails that made their way through the grounds around the creek and the farms, slowing only when she saw debris on the trail or a low-lying branch.

He didn’t know when it had happened during the ride, but he found himself laughing. The pleasure of the day seeped deep into his soul as they rode around the farm, passed the horses grazing in the drier pasture on high ground, to the lower fields where he’d plant his spring crops as soon as the earth dried. For now, it was their playground. Poppy remained fearless no matter how fast she was going. Logan finally had to wrap his arms around her waist to keep himself firmly in the seat.

Snug up against her body, feeling her auburn hair whip around him and breathing in her sweet scent with the fresh air was pure heaven. Hearing Poppy’s musical laugh as she drove through the fields, spitting up mud all around them, it was hard to feel anything but happiness. It suddenly dawned on Logan what Hawk had been trying to say to him earlier. He’d been numb inside for a long time, long before Kelly had gotten sick.

All of the best things eventually have to come to an end and Logan was disappointed as the ATV started sputtering. The four-wheeler died in the middle of the muddy field.

“I think we’re out of gas,” Poppy said. “We’re going to have to walk through all this mud to get to the barn. Do you have any gas left in the gas can?”

“No, I used it for the generator.” He climbed off the ATV and extended a hand to Poppy as she stumbled climbing off. “It’ll be fine here. I’ll get some gas in town later.”

She looked at him for a long time, the corners of her moist lips tilted up to a slight smile, her eyes sparkling in the sunshine. Beautiful didn’t even cover it in his mind. Then her expression turned devilish, catching him off guard. But not before he noticed the pile of mud in her hand.

“Don’t you dare,” he warned.

“What difference is it going to make? You’re already a mess,” she said as she hurled the mud at him.

He ducked to get out of the way, but still got hit on the arm. He laughed as he looked at the mess it made.

“Don’t go pouting on me,” she said, backing up quickly. “You’re already covered with mud from head to toe.”

It was true. Mud was in Poppy’s hair, on her face, and her clothes. The only part of her face that was still clean was the part where the helmet shielded her from spraying mud. Her boots sank into the mud on the ground as she moved away from him, laughing as she did.

Bending over he scooped up a handful of mud and quickly threw it at her. She screamed with laughter as she clumsily ran toward the house. He followed quickly, but trying to run on slippery ground thwarted his efforts. Still he kept right on her heels until they both spilled through the kitchen door, laughing hard and looking a mess.

They stood there staring at each other, and with each breath Logan took, he knew something had shifted. Things had changed.

It had been hard to see the woman he’d been so taken by in his youth, the friend that had been everything to him until life had put a wedge between them. Now he no longer remembered the details of what happened. Or maybe he just didn’t give a damn anymore. Life had changed them all. And right now he was standing in front of a woman who was covered in mud, who took his breath away because her smile lit up his heart.

“Are you hungry?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“I am. But to be honest, I’m not really interested in food.”

Neither was he.

She touched her cheek and looked at the mud on her fingers. “I feel like Kristy Dorning must have felt when Tommy Gillis released those homing pigeons during home coming dance and Kristy got christened with bird poop.”

He laughed with the memory. “Kristy’s face was priceless. All things considered, I prefer mud to poop.”

She laughed and suddenly he was lightheaded just listening to the sound of her. He’d missed it.

Tendrils of hair stuck to her cheek, along with the spray of mud, and made her look irresistible. Without consciously thinking about it, Logan reached up and wiped the smudge off her face.

He chuckled softly. “I made it worse.” And still he didn’t move his hand from her cheek as she gazed up into his eyes. Every bit of his body came alive with that one touch. He wanted to kiss her, take her in his arms and melt with her, as much as he wanted and needed his next breath.

Her sweet lips parted and turned into a slight grin. “I think the only hope for us is to clean off in the shower.”

Poppy turned on her heels and pulled off her jacket as she made her way through the kitchen, leaving him cold and frazzled in the seconds that passed. She draped the mud-splattered jacket over the back of the kitchen chair and turned back, looking at him over her shoulder.

“I’m going to leave the bathroom door unlocked, Logan.” She gave him a half grin and then left him alone in the kitchen. He heard the creak of the stair tread as she made her way up to the bathroom. A few seconds later he heard the water running and he realized he was still standing in the kitchen like a lovesick teen, hard and aching with need for a woman that left him dying. Except Logan couldn’t ever imagine ever wanting Poppy Ericksen like he did right at that moment.

It was ridiculous. He was a man. Poppy was a beautiful woman. And facts were facts no matter how much they hurt. He was no longer married. And he wanted Poppy. More than he ever had. The thought of her naked body slipping into the tub, getting soapy and wet, was driving him crazy. His groin hardened just thinking about it. And he’d be damned if he was going to stand there and just think.

* * *

Poppy’s heart pounded as she climbed the steps to the bathroom. If Logan didn’t get her meaning, then the man was an idiot. And one thing she knew was Logan was no idiot!

It had been years since her heart felt as full and happy as it did today. Racing around the grounds on the ATV with Logan pressed up against her back, laughing and having fun, brought back such wonderful memories that she had to swallow the lump in her throat.

Pausing at the door, she listened…and heard nothing. Logan wasn’t behind her. Disappointment wrapped around her and left her cold. When would they jump that hurdle? Finding Kelly’s letters undisturbed on top of the hatbox that morning had her convinced Kelly had been wrong. It was as simple as that. There was no reason to stay and prolong the misery she knew would eventually come.

She’d been prepared to tell Logan she would leave in the morning when she’d watched him get out of his truck after dropping Keith off for a play date. Instead of coming inside, he’d walked through the field. She knew he was going to the pond on the far end of the property; the one where they’d skinny-dipped and were interrupted by Kelly when she’d discovered them there. She was sure she and Logan would have made love that day…if not for Kelly showing up when she did.

Instead of hiding from her, Logan had spent a glorious afternoon laughing and playing with her. It was exactly what she’d needed to give it one more try, and much more than she’d hoped for when the day had started.

Maybe those secrets didn’t have to be told. Maybe all the lies of their past could just stay there…in the past. They could start brand new today.

She wouldn’t bring up the letters again. Her and Logan had taken a giant leap today and Poppy was determined to keep moving forward.

With renewed hope, she quickly stripped herself of her muddy clothes and left them in a heap on the floor. She turned the shower faucet on and waited a few seconds to feel the temperature of the water with her hand before she stepped in the tub and closed the curtain.

Just as she put her head under the spray, she heard, “Is there’s room in there for me?”

She closed her eyes and felt the tears behind her eyes. Tears of joy that she hadn’t dared to feel in many years.
Logan was here with her.
Truly with her.

Taking in a slow breath, she pushed the shower curtain aside and revealed herself to him, body and soul, just as she had the day they’d gone skinny-dipping in the back pond. The look on his face told her that he was back there, as if all these years in between had never happened.

Poppy waited for Logan to peel off each layer of his clothes until he, too, was standing their splendidly naked. She stepped aside to make room for him. With one touch, her whole body burned for him as he wrapped his arms around her, gazing into her eyes as if waiting for her to stop him.

“This may be a bad idea,” he said.

“You know what a bad idea really is?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“Glorious fun.” She smiled and waited for the uncertainty in Logan’s expression to melt away before pressing herself against his hot, naked skin. Then she kissed him, forgetting about the past and just relishing in the here and now.

Logan’s hand made a hot, slow trail from her shoulder, down her back and to her buttocks. He pulled her ever closer to him and groaned as they connected flesh to flesh, creating an immediate burst of fire inside her. Still, he didn’t kiss her. He just watched her face and seemed to revel in her changing expression with each move of his hand across her body.

The spraying water over her face and head made it difficult to see. She strained to open her eyes so she could play this game. She ran her fingers lightly over his shoulders and down his back with one hand as she reached up on her toes to kiss his mouth. He pulled back just a little, a smile playing on the corner of his lips telling her he enjoyed not letting her have her way. With both hands she cradled his face and pulled him toward her, giving her what she wanted. She breathed in his breath, his soul and all the love that he’d held back for so long. And she gave it right back to him in a kiss so powerful she thought she’d melt right there in his arms.