Dream Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #1) (5 page)

"Perhaps
it was a game to you, but I saw it as demeaning and cruel."

Sage
bit down on his back teeth. The woman was impossible. What did she want him to
do, grovel on the floor? Inhaling to keep himself from saying something that
would only antagonize the situation, he said, "What's done is done. Will
you accept my apology, or at least call a truce so you can enjoy your stay
here?"

She
sipped her coffee again, looked down into the cup as if seeking an answer
there, and then back at him. "Okay, I'll call a truce and think about
accepting your apology."

Sage
just about lost it. Holding his temper at bay, he inclined his head and sipped
his own coffee, staring at her over the edge of the cup.

* * *

The
blue fire in Sage's eyes had Sarah's heart thumping double time. She'd made him
mad with her refusal to out-and-out accept his apology and she could see his
jaw clench. Unable to hold his gaze any longer because of the blush suffusing
her face, she looked away first. To cover her embarrassment, she straightened the
throw pillow and lay back down, positioning her foot on the other pillow again.
She closed her eyes and willed her erratic response to Sage Tanner to go away.
She heard movement and opened her eyes again. He was lifting her tray.

"Would
you like me to put a movie on? We don't get good television reception and I'm
not interested in cable. Julie and I buy movies we like. We have a pretty good
library."

"No,
I think I'll skip the movies for now. I'll just rest."

He
shrugged. "If that's what you want. I have to leave now." He pointed
to a table with a landline telephone. "If you need anything, just dial
'five' and press send. It'll speed dial Curley in the dorm kitchen. He can
track me down. I'll be back at lunchtime. I'll see if I can get him to go
easier on the food."

Sarah
smiled in spite of herself and then watched Sage leave the room. She heard a
door shut at the back of the house. After fifteen minutes of trying to relax,
she only felt increasingly restless and wished she'd let him put a movie on.
Sitting up, she reached for her crutches and slowly hobbled to the bedroom.
Grabbing her laptop sitting atop the vanity, she clumsily hauled it and herself
back to the couch. Reclining again with more pillows behind her back, she
positioned her laptop on one raised knee and turned it on. Calling up the file
for
Dream Kisses,
she wondered if she would feel inspired to write. As
soon as her fingers hit the keyboard, the words flowed and she lost herself in
her romance.

Jacob
only half listened to the rancher guy describe the day's events.
Surreptitiously he glanced at the twins. Which was Mindy and which was Mandy?
Except for one of them wearing a skin-tight pink tank top and the other a
purple one, they looked exactly alike.

He
looked back at his empty breakfast plate. He hadn't intended to eat much. He
was rebelling against being forced to come on this stupid vacation, but the
pancakes had been so fluffy they'd melted in his mouth. There'd even been real
syrup, not the fake stuff. The cook, a bald-headed old fart named Curley,
cooked better than his Mom. The twin sitting across from him caught his eye and
winked, then looked back at the owner of the ranch. She kinda leaned forward,
which made her boobs spill out even more over the low cut tank. Jacob
reconsidered the vacation, maybe watching the twins would distract him for the
two weeks he was stuck in Cowshit, U.S.A. He glanced at his father's glower
expression. He doubted even a nice set of boobs could distract his father from
business obligations.

The
owner spoke. "Okay, now that everyone's finished breakfast, Newt's takin'
ya'll on a tour of the ranch. Remember, safety first. After visiting the
outbuildings and corrals, we'll introduce you to the horses and begin riding
lessons. Later today, my daughter, Julie, will demonstrate trick riding for
you."

Jacob
watched his mother touch his dad's sleeve and smile. His dad gave her one of
his sour looks before sending another one in Jacob's direction. The man could
be a real asshole—like last night when he'd found out there was no cell phone
reception. Jacob secretly hid a smile—his dad without a cell phone. He might
have to pay attention to his wife and son.
Yeah, right.

* * *

Sarah
grinned at her laptop. She'd moved it to the TV table for ease of writing.
She'd written over three thousand words and they just kept coming. She'd even
done a search and replace and changed the name of her hero. She reread her love
scene.

Gage's
heart exploded in a blast of passion. Unable to extinguish his desire, he
jerked Tarah against his naked chest. Her soft breasts, crushed against his
wildly beating heart, only made it roar like a runaway train. When her lips
parted in shock, he covered them with his. She moaned into his mouth and pushed
against his chest half-heartedly. In a gesture of defeat, she lightly touched
her tongue to his. He reached for her…"

"From
the smile on your face, that must be some damn good reading."

Sarah
jerked her head up. Sage stood directly in front of her holding a tray of food.
She slammed her laptop shut.

"Are
you working on your new book,
Dream Kisses?
Is that the book you're
doing research on? It's a western, right?"

Sarah
felt her face burn. Sage's questions embarrassed her but she wasn't about to
let him know that. "Uh, yes. It's a contemporary western."

He
motioned toward the TV table and her blush deepened when she realized he was
waiting for her to remove the laptop. Quickly she lifted the computer and set
it next to her. Sage placed her tray on the table. "How's the ankle feeling?"

She
had been so into her story it wasn't until he asked that she felt the dull
ache. "The sharp pain has lessened."

"Good.
I'm glad to hear that." He pulled the other TV table in front of his
chair. Sarah lifted the plastic plate cover and her eyes rounded. Sage
chuckled. "That's for both of us. There's an extra bowl under yours."

"This
is more food than I can eat in a week." She handed her bowl of stew to
him. "I'll just eat the salad and put some in the extra bowl for
you."

He
shook his head, "The stew's fine for me. But are you sure you don't want
some? Curley's gonna want to know if you liked it and the cornbread."

Sarah
eyed the food. It smelled delicious. "Well, how about you give me a small
portion. I don't want to offend...er…Curley."

Sage
spooned some stew into the extra bowl and slid one of the butter-dripping
cornbreads on top of it. Inwardly, she groaned and calculated calories. She
waited until he'd settled into his chair before taking her first bite—heaven in
a spoon. He watched her and smiled. "Curley's a great cook."

"How
long has he worked for you?" she asked with her mouth full.

"Over
five years. The cook before him burned just about everything and lasted two
weeks. Before that was Maude. My father hired her and she worked here for twenty
years." A smiled curved his lips and Sarah's heart tripped.

"What
happened to her?"

His
smile turned into an out-and-out grin. "She robbed the cradle." At
Sarah's questioning look, he said, "She married a cowboy twenty years
younger and they headed to Alaska to pan gold."

At
Sarah's expression, Sage laughed heartily; a deep laugh that gave her goose
bumps.

"I'm
not kidding. Occasionally, we get a letter or postcard from her. She's pushing
eighty now and still head-over-heels for her cowboy. They struck a vein and got
rich, but live in a tiny cabin in the wilds."

Sarah
looked impressed. "That's a great story."

Sage
winked. "You have my permission to use it in one of your books; just
change her name."

She
felt her face burn again. The wink Sage had given her turned her to mush.
Enough!
This guy is being nice because you're a paying guest. Remember he's a jerk!

 Sage
nodded toward her laptop. "So, you wanna read what you were grinning about
when I walked in?"

Sarah
choked on the iced tea she'd just swallowed.

"You
okay?"

She
grabbed her napkin. "Yes, yes. Swallowed down the wrong pipe."

"It's
that good, huh. I'd like to hear it."

Sarah
regained her composure. "It's in rough draft and I don't allow anyone to
read what I've written until it goes through my editor." She lied and
hoped he believed her.

He
looked disappointed. "Okay, guess I'll have to wait to see what I'm up to
until the book comes out."

She
looked at him questioningly.

"Since
I'm the guy on the cover, I figure it's me doing the stuff in the book,"
he joked.

Mortified,
Sarah speared a lettuce leaf and popped it in her mouth. Searching for anything
to get her mind off Gage being Sage, she asked, "What time does Julie get
home from school?"

"Changing
the subject, huh?" Sage questioned low. When she didn't respond he went
with the flow. "Tooty's mom drops her off about two-thirty since this is
summer school. At four, she'll be demonstrating trick riding for the guests.
She's really good. Her horse, Precious Pudding,
is a real show off and
they've won quite a few rodeo ribbons."

In
spite of herself, Sarah laughed. "How did the horse get the name Precious
Pudding?"

Sage
grinned. "When Julie was four, she asked me what the word 'precious' meant
and I explained that it was something you loved and enjoyed. That night, her
mother served pudding for desert and Julie looked at me and said, 'precious pudding'.
We thought it was so cute we named our new foal after it. Julie and the foal
bonded, so we gave the horse to her."

"You
certainly have great stories, Sage." Sarah wanted to kick herself for
calling him by his first name.

He
looked at her for a long moment and then smiled and stood. "Guess I better
get back to ranching. Just so you know, supper's around six." He gathered
her tray and his dishes and left the room. Sarah groaned. She wouldn't make
that mistake again. He was
Mr. Tanner,
to her. Placing her laptop back
on the TV table, she sighed and wished he'd elaborated more on Julie's mother.

Sage
strode toward the corral where Newt was demonstrating the art of roping. He'd
stayed longer with Sarah than he'd intended. He quirked a half smile
remembering her blushes. Whatever she'd written, she sure didn't want him to
know. It had to be all that romance stuff chick-lit novels were famous for—give
him an action suspense or traditional western any day. When he remembered her delight
over Precious Pudding's story, his smile turned into a big grin. She'd called
him by his first name and then tried to cover her mistake. Since meeting Sarah,
he'd been wondering if he'd lost his touch with women. All his life he'd had an
easy way with them, and most times had to fight them off. Sarah had been the
exception.

Sage
rounded the corner of the barn and almost bumped into the twins. He did a quick
sidestep. "Uh, excuse me ladies."

They
giggled in unison and the one in the pink-T pouted, "We were wondering
where you were. Are you going to watch the man swing the rope?"

"That
I am. Have you had your turns?"

The
pink-T twin looked him up and down. "Now what
turn
might that be,
Sage." The purple-T sister stepped close enough for her boobs to graze his
chest.

Shit.
He'd stepped right into
that innuendo.

Quickly
sidestepping again, he pretended stupidity. "Newt's waiting for me. He's
the best roper in the county and he won't rest until everyone's had a turn
ropin'." Puffing air, he hurried away from the bimbos.

At
the corral he rested his boot on the lowest crossbar and leaned against the
railing. As expected, Newt's skill impressed the greenhorns. The old cowboy twirled
the rope in a circle above his head and then lassoed the fence post next to
Sage. Sage read his expression.
Where the hell have you been?
He
responded with an innocent grin.

While
Newt continued with another rope trick, the twins flanked him on either side.
Now he was the center of their sandwich. Their shoulders rested against his. He
glanced across the corral at the teenage kid and recognized the boy's
look—envy. Sage sighed. Mindy and Mandy had no effect on him. He must be
getting old.

Stepping
away from the girls, he hopped over the fence and into the corral. While he
walked toward Newt, the old curmudgeon whipped the rope in the air and
perfectly captured him. All the dudes laughed, even sour-faced Mr. Hackstetter.

Sage
stepped out of the rope. "How about we let our guests try their hands at
lassoing? Jacob, would you like to be first?" The kid didn't think twice
and vaulted over the railing. He shot his father a look that conveyed their
love-hate relationship. Obviously, the kid was starving for his father's
attention. "Mr. Hackstetter, why don't you join us?"