Romancing the Ranger (5 page)

He shrugged. “You just looked so sad when you told me you don’t write anymore. It seems to me if you love something that much and it makes you happy, then who cares what other people think, you find a way to do it. Why are you letting other people get in the way of your dreams?”

He had a point. Wasn’t that the whole reason she’d broken up with Brock, to take control of her life? To do what she wanted and not spend all of her time trying to please everyone else. “You’re right. Writing does make me happy. And I have this great idea for a book that’s been bouncing around in my head for years.”

“Well, there you go. Just remember me when you’re rich and famous.”

Yeah, like she was about to forget the hunky guy who landed her in jail and saw her naked in the same day. Except she’d been unconscious when she’d been naked so she didn’t even get to enjoy it.

She grinned. “Now that we’ve solved all of my problems, let’s work on yours. What can I do to help you with your troubles, Mr. Ranger?”

His eyes darkened, and a scowl crossed his face. “My troubles started with someone telling me a story, and they’re not something you’d be able to fix, or even understand.” He packed the rest of the trash into the cooler. “We better get back to work.”

He tossed the cooler back in the truck, leaving her to wonder what she’d said wrong. They’d been laughing and joking around and then suddenly his mood shifted, as if he’d flipped a switch. Something about her set him off. And not in a good way.

Which made her even more resolved to figure out what was going on. One minute he looked at her as if he wanted to kiss her senseless, the next his gaze held contempt. And she was determined to find out why.

…

He couldn’t take it anymore. After forty minutes of watching her clumsily lay out boards, thumb through her pages of instructions, and fail miserably at hammering a nail, he couldn’t stand by and watch for one more minute.

Not that he hadn’t enjoyed the view of her bending and stretching as she moved boards around and tried to lay out the frame. The woman had amazing legs, and all the right things jiggled when she swung the hammer. The tool belt he’d given her rode low on her hips and swayed as she walked past him.

A few times he’d thought she’d almost been adding a little extra sway when she’d sauntered past, bending to pick up a tool from the box, and he wondered if she were purposely putting on a show for his benefit. But why?

What purpose would she serve by getting a poor country boy all riled up when he was sure she could have rich men in the city bending to her every beck and call?

What did it matter? She was only here for a few weeks, then she’d be gone. Might as well enjoy the performance while he could. And he had a front row seat.

The scent of Reese’s perfume wafted to him on the warm summer air, and that was it. “All right. I’ll help you.”

Her head snapped up, and he thought he saw a shimmer of relief in her eyes. Then she shook her head. “It’s okay. I think I’ve almost got it figured out.”

“You don’t even have the measurements figured out yet.” He grabbed his toolbox from the truck and instructed her to stand at one end of the concrete slab. Handing her the end of a tape measure, he measured and recorded the figures they would need to build the frame.

Patting the seat next to him at the picnic table, he drew up a quick sketch of the frame and added the measurements in. “We need to start from the ground up and build the frame. I don’t know what you were doing over there, but you haven’t even measured one thing.”

She glanced at the disheveled pile of lumber on the slab. “I was eye-balling it.”

He laughed. “Well, you might need a new pair of glasses, ’cause your eyeballs are sorely out of whack.”

“All right, Mr. Handy Man, then show me how it’s done.”

He narrowed his eyes at her, wondering if she really meant the double entendre. He could show her how a lot of things are done, and he was quite
handy
.

In fact, he’d like to get his hands on her right now.

Geez, get it under control, man.
If he kept thinking like that, he’d be adding extra wood to the already extensive pile they had. “Why don’t you grab one of those two-by-fours? We can set it on the end of the table here, and I’ll get it cut.”

Using a hand saw, he cut the boards to the correct lengths, and they laid them out in a square on the concrete slab.

A grin covered her face as she pushed the boards together. “Hey look, a perfect fit.”

“My grandpa taught me to measure twice, cut once.” He’d had to measure three times on that board because Reese had leaned toward him to hold it in place, giving him a perfect view down the neck of her T-shirt. Her lush breasts spilled over the top of her white lace bra, and he completely forgot the numbers he’d just written down.

What was wrong with him? He was acting like a high school kid with his first crush. He was around women all the time. Why was he letting this one blonde get to him?

She was eager to learn, but her efforts were clumsy as she tried to carry out the tasks he taught her. He showed her how to hold a hammer and set the nail, her body resting snug back against his as he laid his hand on top of hers to demonstrate the swing of the tool.

She squirmed against him, and he almost came undone. “Why don’t we take a break? Let’s walk up to the waterfall. Stretch our legs a little.”

They pulled the dog in the little cart up the path, and she pointed at the wildflowers growing along the trail. “I love these purple flowers, and those pink ones are gorgeous.”

“The purple ones are tansy asters, and the others are called Indian paintbrush.”

She looked up at him with a rapt expression. “Impressive. Do you know the names of all of them?”

He shrugged, acting like it was no big deal, but a small burst of pride swelled in his chest. Tawnya had always been embarrassed by his profession. “I better know what they are. I
am
a park ranger, you know. Part of my job is leading guided hikes and environmental education so I teach people about wildflowers and birds and survival skills.”

Her face lit with excitement. “Oh, would you teach me some of them, please?”

They hiked up the path, her asking the names of every flower and him pointing out interesting nature facts and teaching her the names of the different plants.

Finally making it to the overlook, they stood at the railing in front of the soaring waterfall. Droplets of spray hit their faces, and Reese tipped her head back and closed her eyes. “I love this place.”

“Me, too.” He tore his eyes from the pale skin of her neck and focused on the rushing water. He leaned on the railing overlooking the falls. “So what were you so intent on destroying yesterday that you almost burned my park down?”

A faint blush crept up her neck. “Some stupid mementos from my ex-boyfriend.”

“When did you break up?”

She consulted her watch. “About twenty-four hours ago.”

“Ah. You seemed more angry than broken-hearted. Did he choose someone else?”

“Yeah, himself.” She let out a sigh. “Brock cared more about himself than he did me. His needs always came first, and then he told me what I needed. It took me a long time to see that I have my own wants. My own needs. And he wasn’t one of them. Neither he nor my father are very happy about my decision.”

Wade’s gut twisted as she spoke the words
wants
and
needs
. He’d known her such a short time, but he knew he wanted her already.

But needing her was a different story. He definitely did
not
need the complication of a woman on the rebound. A woman who lived a lifestyle that he couldn’t even comprehend.

A spray of water shot from the falls, and Reese laughed and stepped back into him. His arms came up to steady her and then she was twisting, tipping her head up, her emerald-colored eyes shining with an invitation to take her.

And it was too much.

He pulled her to him, crushing her lips and filling his hands with her sweet, lush body.

She pressed against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and matching his desire with hers. She tasted like mint and smelled like summer.

And she felt so damn good.

Desire engulfed him, and he yearned to lay her in the grass and get her beneath him. To explore and touch her exquisite body. He ran his hands down her back, pulling her closer as he feasted on her mouth, giving way to the brazen thoughts that had consumed him all day.

He slid one hand up the back of her shirt. She moaned against his mouth, arching her back and pressing her breasts up. Her skin was soft, and he wanted to rip her shirt from her body and feel her bare flesh against his.

The scuffs of hiking boots in the dirt interrupted his thoughts, and he broke away from Reese as a couple of middle-aged women rounded the corner to the overlook.

Breathing hard, he nodded at the hikers, then turned toward the falls to hide his obvious arousal.

The women passed, and one gave him a knowing smile. She leaned into her companion as they walked by. “That’s the kind of ranger I’d like to teach me about some birds and some bees.”

Wade eyed Reese.

Her cheeks were flushed, and she wore an embarrassed grin. What had come over him? If those hikers hadn’t walked up, he might have taken her in the grass.

He held up his hands. “I shouldn’t have done that. I was out of line. I’m sorry.”

“I’m not.” She offered him a naughty grin. “That was much more fun than holding the tape measure. Although I did notice that your measurement changed while you kissed me.”

He laughed before he could stop himself.
Beautiful and funny
.

And if he were honest with himself, he wasn’t really sorry, either. Sorry that he had to stop, maybe. And sorry that he’d started something that he wasn’t going to be able to finish. Because this was a bad idea all around. “We’d better get back. I think we’ve done enough for today. I’ll help you pack up, and we can start again tomorrow.”

…

Reese could not figure this man out. He seemed attracted to her.

And what a kiss!

Her pulse quickened just thinking about it. Ranger Wade could have dragged her into the grass and shown her some wildlife, and she wouldn’t have stopped him.

So what was going on with him? What made him go from cold to hot and back again?

He’d helped her load the building supplies into the back of his truck then told her he would meet her back there at nine in the morning before driving away. He was a no-show at dinner so she shared a quiet meal with Miss Abigail.

She thought she’d seen the end of Wade for the night but swore she could smell his aftershave when she walked into her suite after dinner.

The room was empty, but on her bed lay a leather-bound notebook and a pink pair of work gloves. A note was scrawled on a torn sheet of paper, and her breath caught in her chest as she read the words. “Once upon a time…what are you waiting for?”

What
was
she waiting for?

Chapter Five

The next morning, Reese was prepared. She’d thought she could impress Wade with her hardware store purchase yesterday, but that hadn’t done it.

Today she was trying a new tact. Donuts. And coffee.

Seriously, who didn’t like donuts and coffee?

She was convinced this would start them off on the right foot today. And she wanted to thank him for his gift.

She’d stayed up half the night scribbling out the first few chapters of the book that had been rattling around in her brain for the past year.

Who knew if it was any good? Who cared? It felt so good to be writing again. Like meeting up with an old friend. The kind of friend that you can go years without seeing and within minutes you’re chatting and giggling like no time had passed at all.

Wade’s truck pulled into the parking lot, and her heartbeat quickened in anticipation of seeing him. Even her palms were sweating.

Geez, why was she suddenly so nervous?

Oh yeah. Because the last time she’d seen him, he’d kissed her senseless. Kissed her with a fervor that had her ready to rip his clothes off and jump him in the woods. Just seeing his dirty blond hair through the windshield had her tingling with eagerness to be near him again.

He slammed the door to the pickup and ambled toward her, a slow grin forming on his face. And a box of donuts in his hands. He tipped the box at her. “I guess great minds think alike.”

So much for plying him with baked goods.

But the funny things his grin was doing to her belly made the duplicate donut debacle totally worth it. “I thought I’d appeal to your sweet tooth. I brought powdered sugar, jelly-filled, and chocolate-covered. What’d you bring?”

He laughed, and she thrilled at the sound of his soft chuckle. At least he was smiling and in a happy mood today. So far, so good. “I brought glazed and maple-iced.”

She patted the picnic table beside her. “Sounds like we’ve got the makings of a feast.”

What she really wanted to feast on was him. To lick and taste and devour.

But she would settle for a glazed donut. For now.

She waved the pink work gloves at him. “I wanted to thank you for the gloves and the journal. That was really thoughtful.”

He straddled the seat bench of the picnic table and picked up a donut. “Did you write anything in it last night?”

“Oh, yes.” Her words came out in a rush as she told him about the story she had started and how excited she was to be writing again. She worked her way through a chocolate-covered donut and the rest of her coffee as she told him the basic plot lines and described her characters.

She stopped and took a breath. “Sorry, that was rude. I’ve been talking non-stop for the last ten minutes.”

He grinned. “It’s okay. I like it. I think it’s great you’re so excited about it.”

“I am. My hands can’t keep up with how fast my brain is thinking of ideas. And it feels different this time. Like this is a really good story.”

“Good for you. Must be the mountain air.” He reached up and brushed the side of her lip with his thumb. His touch sent a shock wave of thrills through her spine. “You’ve got a little chocolate there.”

“Thanks.” She watched as he licked the chocolate from the side of his thumb and felt her insides go as gooey as the sweet frosting he’d just swept from her lip.

Holy chocolate-covered hotness. She wanted this man.

He slapped the table, making her jump. “Well, we better get to work.”

Yep. Work. That’s just what she’d been thinking.

At least they’d made it through a full half hour without Wade’s scowl returning. Now she knew donuts and writing were safe subjects.

They worked through the morning, keeping conversation light and easy. Wade explained the next step of what they were building, and she tried her best to keep up and follow his instructions.

So far, she’d hit her thumb with a hammer twice and accidentally stapled the hem of her shorts to a board. But they were making progress and the frame of the building was going up.

Stopping for lunch, Wade again brought out a spread of sandwiches Miss Abigail had prepared. His hand brushed hers as he passed her a sandwich and it sent a little tingle shooting through to her happy place.

In fact, every time he’d bumped her this morning or come in contact with her body, she’d felt a similar tingle.

She’d been waiting for him to bring up the kiss from the day before, but so far, he’d acted like nothing had happened.

And maybe nothing had. For him. Maybe he kissed women like that all the time.

Only one way to find out.

“So, Wade, what’s your story? Why hasn’t a handsome bachelor like you been snapped up and married yet?”

He cocked his head at her, as if considering her question. “So, you’re saying you think I’m handsome?”

She kicked out a foot at him. “Quit evading the question. Why haven’t you married yet? Or are you divorced?”

“Nope. Not divorced. Just never quite made it down the aisle. Came really close once, even had a toothbrush and my own drawer at her place. But it didn’t work out.”

“Why not?”

“I couldn’t give her the lifestyle she wanted.” He waved a hand at the trees around them. “She was not impressed with the salary prospects of a lowly park ranger.”

This woman sounded crazy. If she had Wade’s toothbrush in her bathroom and his body in her bed, who cared what was in his bank account. “What difference does it make how much money you make?”

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Asks the woman driving a new Lexus?”

Touché
.

“My dad bought me that car. I was happy driving my old Subaru, but he insisted.”

“Yeah, and you wouldn’t want to turn down the gift of a new car.”

“It’s not like that. You know my mom died when I was young. So my dad is just very overprotective. He kind of freaks out sometimes about something happening to me. It means something to him to have me driving a really safe car so it was easier to just take the car than hurt his feelings or cause him to worry about me.”

“Have you talked to him yet? Told him about the sentence?”

“I left him another message.” She’d purposely called when she knew he was scheduled to be in morning meetings. “I told him I was okay and just needed some time to think. You know, after the breakup and all.”

“What’s the big deal? Why don’t you want to talk to him? You’re a big girl. You can do whatever you want, right?”

Right? That’s how it should be. And that’s how it would be. Breaking up with Brock was the first step, and breaking free of her father the next.

She sighed. “It’s not that easy. Besides, he adores Brock, my ex. He hired him last year, and Brock’s one of the top financial advisors in the company.”

“So, what’s wrong with the guy? Your dad likes him, he makes a lot of money, seems like a good match. So the guy’s a little stuck on himself, you sure you can’t work it out?”

A
little
stuck on himself? That was an understatement.

“Look, I don’t care how much money he makes. The guy tried to control my every move. What I ate, how I dressed. Everything in our lives had to be his way. And I did it, most of the time. It didn’t matter to me if I wore red dresses instead of blue, and I’m not that picky of an eater, so I didn’t care that he always chose the restaurant. But a few days ago, he crossed the line, and I’d had enough.”

An angry glower crossed Wade’s face. “Did he hurt you?”

“No.” She liked the way he suddenly got protective of her.

“Are you scared of this guy?”

“No, of course not.” Although she had flinched a time or two, not used to the angry words that Brock sometimes used to express himself, and not quite sure what he’d do if she defied his wishes. “He tried to give my dog away.”

“What?” He looked down at the chubby little dog sleeping in the wagon he’d made. “This little guy?”

“Yep, that’s the one.” The anger she’d felt flowed through her again as she remembered walking into Brock’s office and not quite believing what she was seeing. “He wanted me to move into his place, but he didn’t like Bagel. He hated getting dog hair on his clothes, and heaven forbid if he got a drop of drool on him. He’d gone to my apartment and picked up Bagel after arranging for another employee to take him. He was shocked that I was upset because he’d arranged such a nice woman to take the dog off our hands. He was literally handing my dog over to a stranger when I walked into his office.”

She took solace in the shocked look on Wade’s face. “That’s why I had Bagel with me the other day. I broke up with Brock right then, right in front of Margaret from accounting. Who, by the way, is a very nice woman and was quite disappointed to not get my dog. I brought Bagel back to my office and started throwing everything that reminded me of Brock into a box, then I just had to get out of there. I couldn’t breathe. I put the dog in the car and drove up here. It’s my favorite spot. The one place that always makes me happy.”

The sound of a car pulling into the parking lot drew her attention. No way.

She couldn’t believe her eyes. It couldn’t be.

Brock’s black Cadillac Escalade drove up and parked in the spot in front of their picnic table. It was as if saying his name had somehow conjured him.

Bagel let out a low growl as the door of the SUV opened and Brock stepped out.

She rose to her feet and shook her head, shocked and speechless that he could be here.

He walked toward them, a grin on his gorgeous face. He wore a black suit with a turquoise shirt and striped turquoise tie, and looked as if he’d just stepped off the pages of
GQ
magazine.

Everything about this man was perfect, from his thick black hair, to his dazzling white teeth, to his perfectly chiseled chin. His skin glowed with a healthy tan from playing tennis at the club, and he walked with the confidence of a man who had money and power.

He was panty-dropping gorgeous and could have had any woman, two at a time if he’d wanted.

Reese knew women threw themselves at Brock all the time, and she often wondered what drew him to her. She felt so ordinary compared to the other women in their lives.

Was it the appeal of her father’s company or her willingness to consistently comply with his wishes that attracted him to her?

He appeared to take in the scene and an ugly sneer crossed his face. “Well, what have we here? Looks like a nice little picnic out in the woods.” He regarded Wade with a condescending glance. “You decide to go slumming with the locals, Reese?”

She could feel Wade’s back bristle as he rose from the table. He stood an inch or two taller but that didn’t seem to affect Brock.

Reese stepped in between the two men. “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

He looked down at her as if she were a disobedient child. “It wasn’t that difficult. Your dad told me you’d come up here. Why? Were you trying not to be found?”

“As a matter of fact, yes. The point of getting away for a week or two is to actually get away.”

Brock offered another disapproving look at Wade then took Reese by the arm. “You’ve been gone for three days. That’s time enough for you to have had your little fun or whatever it is you needed to do up here. But now it’s time to come home.”

“I’ll decide when it’s time for me to come home, and I’m not ready to leave.” She pulled at her arm, but Brock had a firm grasp.

Bagel let out another low growl, and Wade took a step forward. “I think you heard the lady.”

Brock let loose a scornful laugh. “Who are you? And what could you possibly have to say about the matter?” He squinted at Wade’s name tag on his uniform shirt. “Ranger Baker. Why don’t you go ahead and take a hike, Mr. Ranger.”

Wade moved a step closer. “Reese can make up her own mind if she wants to go with you, and I believe she said she wanted to stay. Now let her go.” His voice held more than a hint of steel, and she glanced at him, mouth open.

Brock squeezed her arm tighter, not used to people questioning his authority. “Oh, listen to the tough guy. What are you going to do about it if I don’t?”

Oh brother.
She could choke on the testosterone flying through the air. “Brock, just let me go. You’re being ridiculous.”

Uh-oh. That was the wrong thing to say.

Anger flashed in Brock’s eyes, and they narrowed as he looked down his nose at her. “
I’m
being ridiculous? What’s ridiculous is the way you’ve lowered your standards. You want to stay up here with the common folks and spend your time with this redneck, be my guest.” He let go of her arm and shoved her toward Wade.

Wade pushed her protectively behind him. “It’s time for you to leave.”

“Who’s gonna make me?”

Oh for heaven’s sake.
Was this really turning into a schoolyard brawl?

Within seconds, the situation spiraled out of control.

She didn’t see who touched who first, but suddenly the two men were shoving each other, and Bagel barked and tried to jump out of the cart.

This had to stop. She wanted to be in control of her own decisions, yet she couldn’t even control this conversation.

She scanned the table for something to get their attention. Grabbing the pastry box, she threw the remaining donuts at them.

A maple-iced grazed Wade’s forehead, leaving behind a smear of icing, and a shower of powdered sugar rained down on Brock and left a flurry of white dotting his suit.

Wade dropped his arms and stared openmouthed at her, while Brock could only stare at his suit in horror.

“Well, I guess we’re all being ridiculous. I’m leaving.” She lifted Bagel from the cart and stomped to her car.
What idiots.

This was the first time she’d ever had two men fight over her, and she’d have thought it would feel great. But they weren’t even fighting about her. It was just a pissing match to see who was more macho.

It didn’t make her feel good, it just made her mad.

She peeled out of the parking lot, spraying gravel and leaving the two men covered in dirt and donut dust.