True Love at Silver Creek Ranch

Chapter Thirteen

Once they’d dropped off Whitney at her B&B, Adam drove his grandma slowly through the town streets. Snow had begun to fall softly, muffling the occasional car and emphasizing the beauty of the Christmas decorations. Now that Thanksgiving was over, people seemed to have spent the weekend decorating Main Street when they weren’t shopping, stringing lights from tree to tree like in the movie It’s a Wonderful Life. Each old-fashioned lamppost had a large outline of a poinsettia jutting out toward the street, all lined with red lights for the petals and green for the leaves.

When Grandma didn’t say anything, he eyed her with concern. “Are you feeling okay? Was this too much excitement for you?”

“I’m fine, Adam,” she said briskly. “I am simply so furious with Sylvester Galimi.” She hesitated. “And with myself. I never thought things would . . . blow up like that. I was so convinced we’d tweak his nose a bit maybe, but . . . oh dear. I’ve made things so much worse for Whitney.”

“Sylvester already planned to do that, Grandma. Tonight, he just got a head start.”

“But . . . he was so ugly about it. I never imagined he could insult a young lady like that, when he knew nothin’ about her.”

“Maybe he’s got some reason he’s so upset about lingerie, like he caught his dad wearing it.”

Grandma gasped, then they both laughed. He was glad to ease her unhappiness, even if only for a while.

As they approached the end of town just before the bridge over Silver Creek, Grandma suddenly pointed. “There’s one of the houses being renovated for veterans. Oh my, the new sidin’ looks lovely.”

“I’m surprised you never brought this subject up,” Adam said. “I heard about it from Mrs. Thalberg. It makes me suspicious that you’re up to something.” More than one thing, truth be told, but he was a patient guy. He hadn’t missed how she’d forgotten to use her cane a few times at the diner. He loved her crazy ideas—he loved her. He realized he wasn’t going to leave her again.

“Your suspicions are plain wrong, Adam Desantis. You don’t want to discuss your military life with me, and I thought mentionin’ the veterans’ housin’ plans might upset you.”

“I’m not a fragile doll, Grandma,” he said. “If your committee has an interesting project, you can tell me.”

Even if he didn’t do anything about it.

When there was a soft knock at the cabin door late that night, Ranger put his head up, ears alert. Adam could have vaulted the couch to get to the door.

Brooke stood on the porch, smiling. Innocently, she said, “I’m just dropping something off . . .”

He pulled her inside, closed the door, and put her up against it so he could give her a proper kiss. Her lips were chilly, her coat bulky between them, but she still felt incredibly good, especially when she sank her hands into his hair and held him to her.

Behind him, Ranger gave a woof.

When they came up for air, she looked around Adam. “So you’ve got other company.”

“Ranger decided I shouldn’t be alone at night since you’ve deserted me.”

“It’s been two days,” she said, laughing as she put her hands on his chest and pushed.

“Two long days where I get to see you and not touch.” He backed up a step as she took off her coat and hung it on one of the hooks beside the door.

Her smile faded as she regarded him. “Is our undercover secret not working for you?”

“I didn’t say that. I’m just all hot and bothered from those sketches, and I almost threw snowballs at your window.”

Brooke moved toward the fire, petting Ranger, then holding out her hands to the warmth. “I don’t know why you’re hot and bothered—they’re not pornography.” She sent him a smile.

“I don’t need pornography. You’d turn me on wearing cowboy boots and hat and nothing else.”

She held out a hand to him and he joined her in front of the fire. He shooed Ranger away and sat down on the rug, back against the couch, and pulled Brooke down to sit between his legs. She leaned against him with a sigh of contentment.

“I did feel bad for Whitney,” she said quietly. “That was an ugly thing Sylvester said.”

“He was just spouting for an audience. He’s got to recruit for the town-council meeting after all.”

“How did she act afterward?”

He pulled the band off the end of her braid, then ran his fingers down through her dark brown hair until the wavy curls spread freely down her back. “You saw her. She’s not giving up. And it was only a couple blocks to her B&B. She didn’t say much in the car.”

“Your grandma must have been steamed.”

“Partly. And then she blamed herself. She never meant any of that to happen.”

“I’m sure you reassured her,” Brooke said, tipping her head back and snuggling beneath his chin. “I saw you and Chris talking. You know he’d be happy to reintroduce you to people.”

“We’ll see. I also heard about another teammate today. We used to call him Deer.”

She laughed. “I haven’t thought of that nickname for Howie Junior in I don’t know how long.”

“If I remember correctly, he dated you in high school.” He nipped the side of her neck with his mouth.

“Oh, yes, you should be jealous. I’m always attracted to men who tell everyone our private business.”

“So he ran at the mouth about as fast as he ran with a football?”

“Maybe faster. Guess that’s why I like you.”

She twisted her head as if to glance at him, but he could only see her profile.

“You seem pretty good with secrets,” she continued.

He wasn’t stupid—she was talking about more than their sex life. But he wasn’t going to burden her with his problems. “Deer never said much to me about you. What did he have to say to other guys? If he got to first base or not?”

“That about covers it. We didn’t last long, so that was all the baseball we played. But he’s a nice guy, even if he’s no longer able to run quite so fast.”

“Hmmm, first base,” he said, nuzzling behind her ear. “I got there the moment you walked in the door.” Then he slid his hands up and over her breasts, cupping their fullness. “Second base.”

She gave a soft gasp that was nearly his undoing, arching her head back to his shoulder. He kissed his way from her earlobe down to the collar of her shirt, while he gently rubbed her nipples through her clothes.

“A thin bra,” he said.

“Not quite as impressive as the ones in the sketches.”

“Let me be the judge of that.” He slid one hand down and cupped the warmth between her thighs. “Third base.”

“Oh, please,” she said breathlessly. “You call that third base?”

“Is that a challenge?” In an instant, he had her on her back on the rug, her hair spread all around, her face glowing with the firelight and her good, sweet nature.

Sweet? Brooke? He would never have thought that before. She was clearly addling his brain. But then he was taking off her clothes, and his brain shut down altogether. Her Western shirt unsnapped in front, and so did her polka-dotted bra. He spent endless minutes worshipping her breasts, kissing and licking, aroused by every helpless gasp and moan she emitted. She couldn’t lie still, pulling at his clothes until at last he yanked off his t-shirt. But he wasn’t in a hurry, not this time. He wanted to explore.

Unbuckling her jeans, he tugged them very slowly down her hips, revealing her sexy curves and the indentation of her belly button. Her long thighs were next, and at last he had her completely naked but for her thong, so lacy and delicate he wanted to stare at it a while longer.

And then he started at her feet and kissed his way up along her smooth, feminine muscles. He parted her thighs and mouthed her through the silk, and she cried out. Just a few strokes of his tongue, and he made her come, shuddering.

“Inside me,” she whispered, tugging at his belt buckle.

He stood up, said, “Be right back,” and went for a condom. When he returned, she was completely naked, reaching for him. Then he covered her body with his own, there in front of the heat of the fire, and entered her so slowly it drove them both crazy. He took his time, luxuriating in long kisses, rounding his back to lick her breasts, bringing her ever higher, until, when his thrusts increased, and she came again, he let go of his restraint and joined her.

When he could function, he eased to the side, propping his head on one hand and caressing whatever he wanted with the other.

At last she murmured, “I guess I should go. We’re taking the sleigh out to cut down a Christmas tree. Family tradition.” And then she winced, as if she regretted her words, and rushed on. “Nate suggested we take photos and use it for publicity for the sleigh rides.”

“You don’t have to explain,” he insisted. “I spent my life hearing about other people’s families. I’m used to it. And don’t even think about inviting me. It would make certain people suspicious.”

“You could get your own tree, you know.”

“I’ll think about it.”

When he closed the door behind her after a long kiss good-bye, the place seemed lonely without her. He didn’t think a Christmas tree would help.

The following Tuesday afternoon, Brooke stood inside the barn, waiting for Steph to arrive for her lesson. The wind blew like breath across ice, and snow, although light, was falling at an angle. She was tempted to call the girl and cancel, but then she could see the pickup and horse trailer come slowly down the winding road toward the ranch.

By the time Steph had her mount ready, the snow had only increased.

“Brooke, can we please ride?” Steph pleaded. “I thought about it all day.”

“Was your holiday that stressful?” Brooke teased.

When Steph only smiled halfheartedly, Brooke hesitated to press her.

“Okay, let’s give it a try. We haven’t had that much snow accumulation today.”

They began to ride toward the corral near the burned barn. They were both wearing caps and scarfs to bundle up their heads, and Brooke felt relatively warm. She glanced at Steph, whose face was lifted as if to take in the serenity of the Elk Mountains. Their bodies moved gently with the gait of the horses.

“So what happened at Thanksgiving?” Brooke asked, then added, “If you don’t mind the question.” She knew Emily and Nate had been there for lunch before joining the Thalbergs for dinner. She felt a little ache for her friend, who so desperately wanted her happily-ever-after.

Steph shrugged. “It was okay. I know you’re asking about Emily, and she was fine.”

“Please tell me she told you about bridesmaid gown colors, because curiosity is driving me crazy! You may not know it to look at me, but I love pretty dresses.”

That got a smile out of the girl. “Naw, we didn’t really talk about the wedding, and that was part of the problem.”

Brooke waited, when she wanted to say with exasperation, Isn’t that what you wanted?

“I felt like . . . it was my fault people don’t discuss it, and I don’t want to be the cause of all that tension. My mom said I wasn’t, but she’s my mom.”

Faith Sweet was smart about people and surely knew what her daughter needed to hear. Maybe Steph needed to figure things out on her own.

“Then if your mom said that, why don’t you just trust her and not worry about it? I saw Emily and Nate for dinner, and they were just fine.”

“Good,” Steph said absently. She slid her gloved hands along the reins over and over, never tugging, but like a nervous habit.

“So tell me about the Chess Club,” Brooke said. “Any new members?”

Steph glanced at her, and a slow grin made her shake her head. “You just want to know if I asked Tyler Brissette to join.”

“Guess I’m not very subtle.”

The girl gave an exaggerated sigh. “All right, yes, I told him about the club. At first he was all, ‘That’s for nerds,’ but I told him it wasn’t like we really played chess or anything.”

“Hey, I like chess,” Brooke protested. “Not that I play regularly, but I have. My nerdy habit is reading.”

Steph rolled her eyes, but admitted, “Yeah, I read Harry Potter when I was a kid. And I like The Hunger Games.”

“I’ve read both those series. They’re very good.”

“Anyway, I didn’t think Tyler would come. And I’d asked him the day before Thanksgiving, and who knew if he’d even remember. Then yesterday, after school, he and a couple guys came to the community center. I was shocked!”

Steph’s blue eyes shone, and Brooke found herself wondering if this was more than an attempt to help a troubled classmate.

“Well, how did they do?” Brooke demanded.

“Some of his friends called it the Chest Club, like they thought they were so funny. Anyway, we didn’t have a big trip or anything planned, but we all hung out and played pool and Ping-Pong and Wii. He just watched for a while, but he’s pretty good at pool. I didn’t really talk to him much or anything,” she added quickly. “But he was cool about the whole thing.”

“Much as pool and Wii sound fun in the winter, do you have any outdoor events planned?” Although right now, when the wind picked up, she was wishing she had worn her coveralls. She wasn’t so sure anyone should be outside, including the horses, whose ears twitched with each gust.

“We try to go snowboarding together at least once during the season.”

“And is everyone able to afford that?”

Steph frowned. “I never thought about it before. But Tyler and his friends . . . I’m not so sure.” She glanced at Brooke as if embarrassed. “I don’t want to make anyone feel bad.”

“Then can I make a suggestion? What about if you come here to ride? I can give lessons to those who don’t know how, and we can do a trail ride or even a sleigh ride.”

Steph grinned. “That sounds awesome!”

Brooke was surprised to find herself equally excited. She’d enjoyed giving the occasional lesson to barrel racers like Steph, and the chance to help improve the skills of other teenagers sounded like a good challenge.

The corral fence suddenly loomed in front of them in the snow, and she realized that the weather had grown too bad. “I think we’re going to have to cancel, Steph. I’m not sure you can even see the barrels.”

The teenager released a big sigh. “Guess you’re right.”

They guided their horses in a circle and headed back the way they’d come. Brooke trusted the horses to find their way if things got worse.

Back in the barn, after rubbing down and oating the horses, then putting away the tack, Brooke insisted Steph couldn’t drive in that weather, so the girl came inside for dinner and some Trivial Pursuit before the weather had cleared enough for her to drive home. It was an old game, but Brooke had grown up playing it.

After Steph was gone, Sandy sat at the dining-room table and studied her. “You were really good with her.”

Brooke blinked in surprise and pleasure as she picked up a bowl now empty of chips. “What do you mean? She’s a nice kid—what was difficult about it?”

“I don’t know, but some people can be impatient—including Steph herself—but when she got frustrated about not knowing a lot of the answers in the game, you were able to head off any problems. You’d have been a good teacher.”

“Why . . . thanks,” Brooke said. “Dealing with teenagers one-on-one isn’t so bad. I can’t imagine controlling a whole class of kids.”

Sandy grinned. “Guess you’ll find out if the Chess Club takes you up on your offer.”

“Didn’t I tell you you’re in charge that day?” Brooke teased.

Sandy waved a finger at her. “Not this time, sweetie. You’re on your own.”

The next afternoon, Adam was getting a lesson from Josh on repairing leather tack when Nate came into the workshop looking for him.

“You could have called my cell,” Adam said, smiling as he rose to his feet. “What can I . . .” His voice trailed off as two other men crowded behind Nate, trying to see in.

“You’ve got guests,” Nate said, wearing a wry grin.

“Hey, Adam!” one of them called over Nate’s shoulder.

Adam thought he recognized them, but the light from the workshop didn’t quite reach, and he didn’t want them crowding Josh and asking questions.

“We can finish up later,” Josh said. “You go have fun with the boys.”

Nate and Josh seemed to know something he didn’t. But he wiped his hands on a rag and went out into the open area of the barn between stalls.

“Remember these guys?” Nate asked in a dry tone of voice.

“It’s Derek and Chad,” said one man, reaching out to shake Adam’s hand.

“Derek and Chad,” Adam repeated, shaking the other man’s hand, too. They weren’t from his football-playing days but from before, when he’d been joyriding in cars and getting in trouble. He’d avoided them junior and senior year, when the two of them had been tag-teaming each other in detention and even the occasional suspension. Who was he to assume they hadn’t straightened out in the past ten years?

Nate excused himself with a touch to the brim of his Stetson, buttoned up his coat, and left the barn, closing the door behind him.

Adam turned to the two men. “What can I do for you guys?”

“Nothing,” Derek said. “We just heard you were in town and thought we’d be neighborly.” He had dark hair that crossed a line into a mullet, curling out from beneath the back of his baseball cap.

Chad constantly smoothed the patch of sparse brown hair on his chin and gave a nervous twitch of his shoulders. “So you’re out of the Marines?”

“Yep.”

“Had enough killing?” Derek asked.

Adam frowned. “I’m not sure what you’re trying to say.”

“Oh, we know you were ‘serving your country’ and all that,” Chad added. “But it’s gotta be tough.”

“It was. What have you two been doing with yourselves?”

“We both tried getting married,” Derek began.

“To each other?” Adam asked innocently.

“Naw!” Chad looked offended. “We’re not gay. We got divorced from women. Derek’s even a dad.”

Poor kid, Adam thought.

“We work for Sweet Brothers Construction,” Derek continued. “Good jobs and lots of building going on from Glenwood Springs to Aspen.”

“Good for you.”

“We didn’t know you were a cowboy,” Chad said, a bit too slyly, as if it had been rehearsed. He braced a hand on the door of a stall, then pulled away when Brooke’s horse, Sugar, tried to nip him.

“I wasn’t. But the Thalbergs offered me a job as a ranch hand while I’m in town. I’m learning a lot.”

“Is Brooke teaching you?” Chad asked, then sent a significant glance at Derek.

Adam didn’t know how he was supposed to miss that, but if they thought they were hiding something, then whatever. “Sometimes. Why?”

“Chad had a dance with her the other night,” Derek said. “They looked pretty good together.”

Adam arched a brow in surprise and just waited.

Chad rocked back and forth on his heels, wearing what he probably thought was a woman-magnet grin. “Think you can call Brooke here so we can say hi?”

Their bravado should be laughable—but Adam wasn’t laughing. “So basically, you’re using me to get to Brooke?”

Derek’s brow wrinkled. “Don’t see how anyone’s using anyone. We came to see you and Brooke.”

“But I’m supposed to somehow . . . smooth your way?”

Chad and Derek exchanged grins. “That’s mighty nice of you,” Chad said.

“Not today, boys. I have to get back to work.”

They looked confused but eventually left after Adam had to refuse them a second time. Hands on his hips, he watched them go, then turned and went back into the barn.

Josh was coming out of his workshop. “They left? You could have gone with them, you know.”

Adam grimaced. “They stopped maturing in high school.”

Josh cocked his head. “I heard them mention Brooke. Why didn’t you call her?”

“Because she wouldn’t want to see them.”

“Really? Good luck with that.” Josh grinned and returned to his workshop.

Adam went to search for Brooke and found her in the truck shed, starting and restarting the engine of the ATV that the teenager had stolen. “Is something wrong with it?” he asked, hoping he wouldn’t have to mention the kid.

“No, I thought it hesitated when it started, but it seems fine now.”

Adam was relieved. “Just wanted to let you know that Derek and Chad from the old days stopped by.”

She grinned, climbing off the ATV and grabbing a rag to wipe her hands. “So they tracked you down. I thought they might.”

“It was only a ruse to see you. I sent them on their way.”

Her eyes widened briefly. “You did? Why?”

“I knew you wouldn’t care to see them. They’re losers.”

“I know that—and I can take care of myself. Besides, maybe I’m interested in one of them.” She met his gaze, and suddenly a rueful grin appeared. “Well, okay, maybe not. But regardless, it’s up to me to choose, so please don’t act in my place.” She touched his arm as she moved past him toward the tool bench.

Adam went outside and took a deep breath of the cold. He’d acted as her protector without even thinking about it. Protecting people had been his job for ten years, but still . . .

He was already acting like Brooke was his, as if they had some kind of a relationship. Would that be so bad? he wondered, thinking of his promise to move forward in life rather than linger in pain and regret.