Hell on the Heart (36 page)
Authors: Nancy Brophy
A dual-cab black truck slowed. Muddy Waters Ranch emblazoned in gold on the door. The driver and a passenger, both ranchers wearing Stetsons and sheepskin jackets stared at her.
She didn’t need or want company, but she gave a friendly wave so they’d know nothing was wrong. No car trouble. No need for them to stop.
What was she thinking? This was Montana where nothing ever worked the way she wanted.
The truck pulled to side of the road and parked. The doors swung open and the two men leaped lightly to the ground and headed up the gentle slope toward her.
“Lizzie?” The leaner of the two men asked as soon as they were within close enough range that their words weren’t carried off by the wind.
No one had called her Lizzie for years. Heather was her professional name. But hearing the name said aloud was the one thing that convinced her she was truly home.
“Are you okay?” The man asked.
Heather peered at the face in the shadows of his hat. “Ty? Ty Roberts?” The same cocky grin she remembered from high school cemented any doubts she had. They’d had one date and unbelievably he recognized her after ten years, zipping by on a highway.
“You’re back.”
There was nothing to say. Those two words said it all.
# # #
Cole Roberts slowed the truck at the sight of a woman standing alone. Car trouble? With a shape like hers he wouldn’t be the only one to offer help. Long and lean with legs encased in form-fitting jeans that stopped just below her neck, her tangled dark hair whirled around her face making him imagine tossed sheets and sweaty nights.
Disappointed when she waved them on, the truck picked up speed. Then his younger brother said, “hey, I know her, pull over.”
Without any further encouragement, Cole had. A grin tugged at his lips. He should have known a woman like her would be a friend of Ty’s. Was there a woman who existed within a hundred-mile radius that his brother didn’t know - and know well? Cole relaxed. This wasn’t his rendezvous.
Women adored Ty and he responded in kind. The scheduling effort that the man had to invest to keep his social calendar up to date made Cole tired just thinking about it - not to mention the importance of remembering names, dates and who did what to whom how many times.
And then there was the wear and tear on body parts. Well, Cole could handle a little action in that arena. It’d been a while since he’d indulged. And for some reason his body chose this minute to remind him of that oversight.
He adjusted his jeans as he leaped out of the truck to allow for an unexpected action in his pants and mentally ran through a short list of women he could call. When no one appealed, he shrugged it off, knowing another cold shower wouldn’t kill him.
But his body refused to take no for an answer. One glance at the woman enticed in a way that seldom happened. Her jeans and the white tank top weren’t nearly warm enough for the weather. The light denim jacket may have been fashionable, but her pebbled nipples screamed her lack-of-preparedness for the fifteen inches of snow that had fallen three days ago.
Cole held back, allowing Ty to reach her first. The two recognized each other. He heard her saying his name. Not once, twice. What a laugh. Like a woman forgot his brother. In every city, in every township in the state of Montana, at least one woman existed who dreamed fondly of Ty Roberts.
“My oldest brother, Cole,” Ty said.
Cole stepped forward to gaze into a pair of troubled blue eyes locked in a very pretty heart shaped face. Plumb lips like ripe cherries completed his fantasy of a gorgeous woman. A hard spike of lust speared his body. And his dick which had been insistent a minute before now escalated into making its demands known and met.
If Ty hadn’t been present, Cole could well imagine easing her into the back seat of the little gray car and peeling back her clothes to see what was underneath.
Her keys landed on the road with a loud clunk and her mouth opened then closed. Ty bent to retrieve her keys as a crimson blush covered her cheeks. She mumbled ‘nice to meet you’ followed by ‘I’ve gotta….’
Then she snatched the keys and whirled around only to stumble over her own feet and sprawl headfirst over the engine of the car. Her ass stretched taut over the headlight. Oh, yeah. He’d be dreaming about that tonight. Who the hell was this woman?
“Are you okay?” Ty took her arm and lifted her off the hood.
“I’m such a klutz.” Her eyes were closed as his brother slid an arm around her waist and tucked her into the side of his body.
“You’re fine. Cole can frighten any woman.” Amusement edged his tone. Cole narrowed a thunderous look in his direction.
“I’m sorry.” The woman turned toward Cole but as soon as her gaze met his, her hands fluttered. “You didn’t…uh…really I’m…really…I…ah.” Her keys slid to the ground again. “Oh…”
“Ignore him,” Ty positioned her so that her back was to Cole. “I’m not sure you’re in any shape to drive. Are you headed home? It’s on our way. I’ll drive you there. Cole can follow.”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. I don’t know what got into me.” She paused while searching for an excuse, “low blood sugar,” settling on the lamest of the lame. Cole coughed to cover the laugh he couldn’t hide.
The sound had her pivoting her head, but Ty clasped his hands on either side of her face. “How long are you home for, Lizzie?”
“My dad’s sick.”
Ty nodded. “We were at Bill’s yesterday, heard Dick wasn’t feeling well.”
Dick? Dick Lanier? This was his daughter? The one Bill raved about? The artist who drew a bull so breathtakingly lifelike Cole swore if touched the skin he would feel prickly hair. Without thinking, he asked. “You’re Heather Lanier, the artist?”
Ty’s head popped up. His eyebrows furrowed together. “No,” he said at the same time she hung her head and mumbled, “yes.”
His brother looked confused. The woman squared her shoulders and forced herself to face Cole. “You know my work?”
Yeah, but just barely. Yesterday, was the first time he’d heard of her. “I’ve seen your book. You’re really good.”
She nodded in acceptance of his words. Obviously she’d heard them before and had come to accept the truth of this statement. “Thanks. I only stopped here-“ She indicated the lone place on the highway.
He knew exactly while she’d stopped here. He’d done the same thing when he returned. Before she could finish her thought, he spoke. “Because this was the last view you had as you left.”
Her gaze met his and she blushed slightly. “Yes.” Her blue eyes reminded him of a Montana sky on a summer morning. “I really do have to get home.” She disengaged herself from Ty who held out her keys for a second time.
“We’ll be seeing you around,” Ty spoke to her retreating back as she hurried toward the driver’s door.
She turned and shook her head to ward them off. “I doubt it. I’m not here for long and I’ll be busy.”
Cole allowed the feral smile of a hunter to curl his lips. “I think you should count on it, darling.”
The brothers headed for the truck. “How do you know her?” he asked when they were seated inside. The gray sedan raced around them and was now driving a breakneck speed to get away. Too bad running wasn’t going to help her.
“Took her to the prom.” Ty fastened his seatbelt, his gaze on the gray speck in the distance and amused smile on his lips.
Cole shifted the truck into drive. “So you dated her for a while?”
He leaned back in the seat and stretched his long legs. “Nope. One date.”
One date? With that woman? “How come?”
“She left town two days later and as far as I know hasn’t been back since.”
Damn. Was Ty still interested? Cole would have to back off if he was. Family was worth more than a casual woman. But his brother must have been reading his thoughts. “You ought to call her.”
“Me? What about you?” He heard the feeble tone and knew his brother did as well.
Ty chucked. “I wasn’t the one that had her stumbling all over herself, but it sure as hell was cute to watch.”