Unfinished Dreams (19 page)

He shrugged. “We might get bored up there all alone in the woods. With nothing but each other to stare at.” His voice dropped to a slow drawl that made her skin tingle with anticipation. The luggage hit the floor with a resounding thud and the ornery gleam in his eyes signaled to Tess to change the subject quickly if they had hopes to leave on time.

“It’s the part about the worms that’s always bothered me, probably the high school biology lab thing.” She made a face to indicate her displeasure of the task. “Gabe? What are you doing?”

He stood so close she had no choice but to step back.

“It’s possible we could get up there and tire of each other.”  He backed her to the stairwell, placing his hands either side of the wall, near her head.

The expression in his eyes caused her to feel feverish.

He leaned forward placing a chaste kiss on her forehead, but as his gaze met hers, she knew the moment was far from over. He kissed her cheek, trailing slow kisses down her neck.
Bored? Not likely.

“What would we do say, if I got bored seeing your perfect body, glistening with passion, moving against mine, or hear that little gasping sound you make when I—”

“I don’t make any gasping sounds—” She let out a small gasp as his hand traveled up her side, his thumb brushing across her breast.

“Uh huh.” He nuzzled her neck, “Yeah, it’s possible I might get bored seeing that soft blush in your cheeks or the look in your eye just as you’re—”

“You know you throw my successful organizational skills right into a quandary.”

He chuckled softly. “Yeah, but just think what other skills you’re perfecting.” His mouth captured hers and she breathed in, lost in the heady scent of soap and his skin.

Tess wrapped her arms around him, following blindly as he deepened the kiss. “We’re not going to make it before dark, are we?” She spoke as she came up for air.

“Depends on your definition of the term.” He whispered against her neck.

She sighed as he unzipped the polar fleece vest she wore over a turtleneck.

His hands slipped beneath her shirt.

“Just trying to show you what we’re in danger of tiring of.”

“Lord, Gabe.” Her breathing grew labored as he gently cupped her. Her knees weakened. “I could never get bored of this.”

A knock sounded at the door, and together they heaved a mutual sigh, then straightened automatically.

“If that’s Roy—” He didn’t finish the sentence, but she knew he referred to a similar interruption. “Can you hold
that
thought for one hundred twenty miles?” He trailed his finger down the front of her shirt between her breasts, then grasped the zipper of her vest and slowly pulled it up, kissing her soundly as he finished. Maybe they could find some remote observation points along the way.

He turned taking a long stride toward the door and opened it wide. A strange man in a perfectly tailored gray suit stood on the other side of the screen door.

“Good day, Mr. Russell?”  He peered around Gabe, “Mrs. Russell? I understand congratulations are in order?”

“Thank you, uh, Mr.—?”  Tess stepped beside Gabe waiting for the man to fill in his name.

“Hewitt. Grant Hewitt?”  Tess glanced at Gabe who shrugged.

“Mr. Powell had contacted us through an ad in the Monthly Farm Journal, perhaps you’re familiar with the small newspaper?”  Gabe nodded, ushering the man inside.

“My folks took it for years, I’m afraid I haven’t had the time to—” He paused, studying the man as though he’d just heard him clearly. “Mr. Powell?”  Gabe reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. Removing a business card, he handed it to Tess.

“Ah, I see he gave you our card. Seemed to think you might be interested in a pilot program we’re staring up in this area.”  The man glanced toward the bags. “I can see you heading out, let me just give you two something to think on.”  He pulled out a folder tucked under his arm and handed it to Gabe. “This explains our program for becoming a test farm for our seed company. Course, we purchase the land from you then give you the provisions for helping plant, cultivate and harvest.”

Tess stared at Gabe waiting for his reaction.

“Inside you’ll find a sample contract of our program. Oddly, Mr. Powell indicated that it was something your father once considered. We never pursued this until Mr. Powell plugged us into the fact that you were thinking of farming again.”  He continued on, “You two take your time and read through this, call me when you get back.”

The man shifted from one foot to another, tipping his head as he studied Gabe. “I understand you have a degree in agricultural business?”

Gabe nodded, then gave Tess a smile.

“I think we could benefit having an expert out this way to help out area farmers, offer open house weekends to foreign agricultural delegates interested in American farming. Think you’d be interested in something along those lines?”

Gabe nodded, hesitant at first, then responded with a vigorous handshake. “We’ll talk about all this and get back to you.”

Tess suppressed the joy bubbling inside her.

“You kids have a great honeymoon.”  He turned and glanced at the fishing poles propped on the luggage where they’d been dropped in the throes of passion. “Thinking of doing a little fishing?”

Tess felt her cheeks warm.

Gabe slung an arm leisurely over her shoulder.

“In the event we get bored.”

“That’s not the consensus from the folks at the diner down the way, what is it? Vicky’s?”

“Velda’s. “Tess and Gabe answered in unison, then turned to the man.

“What are they saying?”  Tess wasn’t sure she wanted to know.

The man stepped off the porch step and called over his shoulder. “Well, they got a bit of a pool going on down there, guessing when you two will announce the good news.”  They heard his laughter as he climbed inside the car and drove away.

Tess laid her forehead to Gabe’s arm and laughed out loud.

“Get used to living in a small town, darlin,” he picked up their luggage,” come on, we’ve got to get started on our research.”  He paused, holding the screen door open for her.

“You mean that information from that guy with the bureau?”  She climbed in the cab of the truck and watched him sling the bags into the all weather box in the back.

He crawled in the cab and grinned, putting the keys in the ignition. “Nope, talking about that pool down at Velda’s.”  He pulled her close and gave her a kiss that sent shock waves through her.

EPILOGUE

Late spring

If the weather was any indication of things to come, it was promising to be an early summer. A gentle nudge of concern tapped Gabe’s brain as he drove the tractor next to the barn, and pulled back on the brake lever. That could mean a dry summer—then again, the almanac was predicting a decent forecast for precipitation in the Midwest.

He hopped off the tractor removing his shirt, wiping away some of the sweat produced by the sun high overhead.

“Hey, you ready for some lunch?”

Gabe grinned following the sound of her voice. It was a sound he ventured he would never tire of hearing.

He took off his hat, and brushed his hand through his hair, then swiped his t-shirt over the back of his neck.

Tess sat on the front porch swing, her sundress swirled around her bare legs. The tiny round protrusion of her belly was barely discernible, but he knew her every curve. The thought pleased him in a way he’d never planned and he was glad that her parents couldn’t wait to see their grandchildren. They planned to give them a few to spoil. He only wished his own folks could share their joy.

“Yeah,” he held out his arms, tugging her from the chair, pressing her swollen body against him. “I’m ravenous.”

Her hand slid across his chest and came to rest on his shoulders. She raised a brow, studying his face as she traced his ever-widening grin. “You sure we’re still talking about food, darlin’.”  She spoke the last word in a slow drawl that shot an arrow of desire to his system.

He hooked his arm under her knees and cradled her in his arms. “I know what I want for the main course.”  He carried her inside, carefully setting her to the floor.

“Have I told you how sexy you look today?”  Holding her face in his hands his body warmed seeing the faint blush in her cheeks.

“Not since breakfast.”  She grinned. He fervently hoped their child did not get her mother’s quirky crinkle to her tiny nose. He’d be a goner for sure.

“Hey, indulge me a minute,” he whispered as he stepped around her and walked into the living room. Stooping down, he rolled up the end of giant braided rug covering the living room floor. He turned on the stereo and worked the dial until he found a slow romantic country western song. He reached out to her, much the same as he remembered his dad doing to his mom on those Sunday afternoons a million miles ago.

She grinned as he twirled her once into his arms.

He began to sway to the music and she tilted back smiling at him. His mind raced back to watching his folks, how many happy memories he had growing up here in this house. Now he was living out his father’s dream and with a family of his own, he planned to make every moment as special as they’d done for him.

“You have that faraway look in your eye.”  Tess smiled, laying her cheek near his heart. “Are you daydreaming again?”

“Nope, everything I ever dreamed of is right here.” He leaned down brushing a kiss to her lips. Somewhere from up above he felt his folks were smiling down on him.

THE END

If you enjoyed Unfinished Dreams, you might also enjoy my contemporary western romance The Kinnison Legacy series!

Meet Wyatt, Rein, and Dalton ~ the formidable men of the Kinnison Legacy.

When tragedy strikes the lives of three young boys, they are placed under the care of wealthy cattle baron, Jed Kinnison. He raises the three as his own, leaving everything to them, including a special dream he had for the ranch

~*~

RUGGED HEARTS, Book I

“Raw Charm...one to read."  ~Publisher's Weekly

Rugged, quiet, hardworking, Wyatt takes being oldest of the Kinnison family seriously. Scarred early on by the women he’d once trusted his heart to, His sole responsibility now is the welfare of his brothers and the ranch entrusted to them by his stepdad. Forget about things as foolish as love. But that was before he met Aimee and realized a man should never say never to a determined second grade teacher.

Losing her twin sister in a tragic car accident prompts vivacious, resilient Aimee Worth to live out her sister’s dream of teaching in a tiny community in End of the Line, Montana. But she never suspected she’d find her Mr. Right. He just doesn’t know it yet. Determined, her spirit shatters perceptions that have kept him isolated from life, proving that when it comes to love, the greatest risk is not taking one.

~*~

RUSTLER’S HEART, Book II

Haunted by a tragic past Rein pours himself into creating his Uncle’s altruistic goal of making the Last Hope Ranch a haven for the hurt and lost. But a beautiful stranger in the form of a half-sister to the men he calls his brothers arrives and turns his world upside down, bringing with her unseen dangers, not only to his heart, but to the ranch and his family!

Liberty’s presence is a surprise to the family she’s never met and while she yearns to belong, she knows her presence is a reminder of their painful past. Fearless, she dives in, losing her heart to the ranch, to the community and to an unexpected summer fling that turns to love, only to find that her dangerous past is about to catch up to her and threaten everyone and everything she has come to love.

~*~

RENEGADE HEARTS, Book III

Dalton Kinnison. Rebel. Renegade. Good-timin’ man. It’s never bothered him until recently. Life as he’s known it changed in a heartbeat. Now both his brothers are married and suddenly, he’s an uncle! It’s enough to turn this dyed-in-the-wool bachelor on his heel and run as far from the ranch as possible. Until his past returns, looking more beautiful and wanting even less to do with him than before—except in bed. Dalton finds himself fighting for more. He’s always been the one to make excuses, now he’s fighting to convince the woman he loves that he’s worth the risk. But will the secret she’s hidden from everyone, including him threaten the future that Dalton never knew he wanted?

Angelique Juarez spent her childhood caring for an alcoholic mother; her young adult life in an abusive relationship that nearly cost her everything she loved. Fate offers her a second chance with a plea bargain and a divorce to begin life anew. Once recovered from her injuries–physical and mental–she returns to End of the Line with no one the wiser of her previous life. But her school age crush on bad boy Dalton Kinnison is rekindled when their paths cross again and this time, the man who never noticed her, is out to prove that he’s grown to be a real good man! But as things heat up between them, Angelique fears that the secrets she’d hoped to keep  hidden in her past all these years are about to catch up to her.