Harland County Christmas (Harland County Series) Read online

  “Yep. Here comes Lenny now, and he brought Brock to help.”

  Which, of course, she couldn’t see, not with her arms loaded with boxes. Jen tried to peer around the corner, but only saw a sea of jeans. Then a pair of cowboy boots came into view. Her heart rocked in her chest. Hard. She recognized those boots. The wear pattern had formed a visible X she was not likely to forget.

  Holy shitake.

  “Here, let me get that for you,” a familiar voice said as the weight of the boxes disappeared from her arms and her eyes confirmed what she’d already deduced.

  Her one-night-stand was the new ranch hand.

  His one-night-stand was his new boss.

  Sapphire?

  Brock Kinkaid’s heart kicked the shit out of his ribs when he caught a glimpse of the woman behind the boxes.

  “Hi, Jen,” Lenny Holcomb, the ranch manager, said, pulling the girl Brock slept with last weekend into a hug. “Sherry is looking forward to supper tonight. She’s made some sweet tea and said to head over when you get the chance.”

  “I can already taste your wife’s tea. I’ll be there as soon as I unpack the stuff I brought back.”

  The memory of the hot woman with incredible, unforgettable sapphire eyes haunted Brock’s dreams every night. So much so, he’d considered returning to the bar at the gulf resort this weekend to look for her, but now that he’d found her…he wished he hadn’t.

  Why did she have to be a Dalton?

  Ranch owners were off limits. No matter how hot her body was, or soft her sighs had sounded against his skin, or how sexy her moans had been during climax.

  Damn. Now his zipper was biting into him.

  “Sorry, where’s my manners?” Kevin said, turning to face him. “Jen, this is one of our new ranch hands, Brock Kincaid. Brock, this is my sister, Jen. Jennifer Dalton.”

  Ah hell, he hoped she didn’t freak out. He really liked this job. Needed this job. What he didn’t need was the sister of his boss freaking out.

  Jen slowly met his gaze, and although he saw recognition in the beautiful blue depths, her voice and expression remained neutral. “Nice to meet you, Brock.” She nodded.

  No sign of hysterics.

  Apparently, she wanted to pretend they didn’t know each other. That worked for him. He relaxed and nodded back. “Nice to meet you, too, Jen.”

  “Hope my brother hasn’t pranked you too much.”

  Kevin reeled back. “Of course I haven’t.” The fake disdain in the ranch owner’s voice cancelled out any merit found in his shocked expression.

  While Lenny laughed, Jen transferred her gaze back to him.

  He shrugged a shoulder and lied, “Nah.”

  Her brother had made his practical joker side known the instant Brock had stepped into ranch hand quarters…and straight into a Saran wrapped doorway.

  “You two are such liars, but it’s too hot out here to argue.” She smiled as she turned to grab another box from the truck. “The sooner we get unloaded, the sooner I can unpack what I shouldn’t have packed in the first place, and enjoy some of Sherry’s sweet tea.”

  Just like that, the hot ranch owner dismissed him and disappeared into the main house. Well, hell. He hadn’t wanted her to cause a scene, but neither did he think his performance on the weekend was unforgettable. Or lacking.

  It had been good. Damn good.

  Hadn’t it?

  For five minutes, he followed Lenny in and out of the house, pride stinging as he unloaded several boxes and a duffle bag. Three orgasms. He’d given the woman three orgasms in seven hours. The last one had her moaning long and low and loud. And it hadn’t been faked either. Hell no. He’d felt her clamping around his…

  Damn.

  The zipper was biting again.

  “Brock’s got the last of it, hun,” Lenny said, moving aside to let him pass.

  Good thing the duffle bag he carried concealed his condition.

  “Thanks. Just place it on the bed,” Jen said, not looking at him as she loaded her closet with clothes from a box.

  Was her lack of interest in him out of embarrassment, or was it more of that dismissive shit again?

  “Sure thing, miss,” he replied, voice a little clipped, even to his ears.

  She glanced at him them, slight frown wrinkling her brow, as she cocked her head. Pieces of hair had escaped her braid and stuck to her temple and neck. She looked good. Real good. He had to fight the urge to haul her close and kiss a path from one strand to the next, lingering on her favorite spot. The one he’d discovered made her squirm and clutch his back as they…

  Really? Again? His mind was going there again? What the hell was his problem?

  He never had issues with women. The few he allowed himself to succumb to always left his thoughts not long after he left their bed. He was selective. Up front. Never made a promise he couldn’t keep. The only promise he’d made last weekend was to take the beautiful woman’s mind off her worry for her cousin.

  He’d delivered. They walked away. End of story.

  So why the hell was it bothering him that she was pretending nothing happened? Wasn’t that what he wanted?

  Yes, it was. He was acting like an idiot.

  He exhaled and glanced around at the mayhem of tossed clothes and half unpacked boxes. “Is there anything you need moved in here before I leave?”

  A thousand watt smile reached her eyes, stole his breath, and nearly knocked him on his ass. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

  He blinked, trying to form a thought when Lenny cleared his throat from behind.

  “Then we’ll get out of your hair,” the ranch manager told her, stepping closer. “But before we go, Kevin wanted me to ask you a favor.”

  When her beautiful blue gaze transferred to the other man, Brock found he was able to breathe. And his fuzzy mind cleared.

  “Oh? Did he leave for his lunch date already?” Now she frowned at Lenny. “What does he need?”

  “Your brother left to have lunch over at Mrs. Avery’s and to fix her back door, but before he headed out, he told me to ask you to show Brock the set up in the humane stables.” The older man sighed as he rubbed his jaw. “I would, but I fear it’s going to take me the whole afternoon to teach Tim, the other new ranch hand, the proper way to clean the tack room.”

  A smile tugged Brock’s lips. Yeah, the new kid was as green as they came. But, you had to start somewhere, and Tim was lucky to have someone like Lenny to teach him. The older manager had the patience of a saint.

  “Okay. Sure,” she said, sounding anything but. “I’ll probably need a good hour to finish with this mess and start the laundry. Between moving into the dorm apartment and returning from vacation…I need another vacation.”

  She did laundry? He would’ve thought a family as rich as the Daltons would have servants for such things. Come to think of it, he hadn’t seen one as he’d carried in her belongings, and the furnishings inside the main house were more comfortable and warm than elegant and cold like some of the ranches he’d worked on.

  The Daltons might be rich, but they didn’t flaunt it.

  He studied the woman whose face was turning pink under his gaze. Maybe she really was as unspoiled as he’d originally thought when he’d spotted her sitting at the gulf bar, more interested in world news than drinking and partying.

  “Okay,” Lenny answered for him. “He’ll be in the main corral helping out with the horse training when you’re ready.”

  With a nod, the man ushered him out before he had a chance to do more than nod to his new boss. It wasn’t until he was outside that Brock inhaled his first decent breath since his introduction to Jennifer Dalton.

  He sucked in a few more for good measure while walking before he finally acknowledged the silent man glancing at him every three seconds. “What?”

  “I’m not sure how, but it’s obvious you two know each other.”

  Brock stumbled, but managed to keep the curse inside his head. How the hell had he figured that o
ut?

  Lenny laughed and shook his head. “Son, I may be in my mid-sixites, but I’m not stupid. I saw the way the two of you were staring at each other like cats with cream.”

  Damn. Had her brother?

  The manager slapped him on the back. “Relax. No one else picked up on it,” he replied as if reading Brock’s mind. “I just think you need to tread carefully.”

  He lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes. “Why? Because she’s part owner of the ranch?”

  And too good for me?

  Lenny reeled back and shook his head. “No, because she’s been burned by ranch hands before.”

  Well, hell. That wasn’t what he’d expected to hear.

  “Look, I may only have known you a short time,” the man said, clamping a weathered hand on his shoulder. “But I am a good judge of character, and I know you wouldn’t intentionally hurt or mislead Jen.”

  Damn straight. Brock blew out a breath and nodded.

  “Her dad died when she was young, so I’ve taken it upon myself to watch out for her when Kade isn’t around. All I’m asking, son, is if you aren’t willing to go the distance, don’t start the race.”

  Truth was, he didn’t want to start anything. Jen was a Dalton; therefore, she was one of his three bosses. Kevin, Jen, and Kade. But even if she didn’t care about his “status,” he still wouldn’t start anything. There was only room for one woman in his life right now, and that was his grandmother. Gram had sacrificed everything for him and his younger brother, even remortgaging her house in order to help pay some of Cody’s medical bills and take care of him, right up until the day he’d died.

  Gram was his main concern. Her well-being and paying off that damn mortgage. There was no room in his life for a woman, or a relationship. He was more than happy to carry out his duties on the Daltons’ ranch without giving Sapphire another thought.

  Right after he confronted her about last weekend.

  Chapter Two

  Jen stepped off the porch and contemplated her next move. Confront Brock, or visit Sherry for tea. As much as an ice cold glass of tea would hit the spot after unpacking, she was too anal. Had to have her ducks in a row. Liked things orderly.

  Yeah, an MA in Accounting was inevitable.

  Smiling, she headed to the corrals where the cowboys were currently training quarter horses for ranch work before they went up for sale at auction. She wanted to enjoy her tea with Sherry without this confrontation hanging over her head. Better to get it out of the way, so she could move on.

  Because that’s exactly what they’d be doing—moving on. Regardless of Brock’s plans, she had her future mapped out.

  Graduation. Houston. Corporate accounting. Date a businessman.

  Yep. There was no room in those plans for a broad-shouldered cowboy with emerald green eyes and devilish grin.

  Feeling better, stronger, she rounded the stables and stopped dead. Training was in full swing. Cowboys worked with horses in the corral. Not a thing was out of place, except her pulse.

  Dammit.

  She’d watched many cowboys train before—her dad, Kade, Lenny, Kevin, Connor, Cole, even one of her old boyfriends, but none had ever captured her attention like Brock. He’d removed his plaid shirt, traded his cowboy hat for a baseball cap, and wore a gray T-shirt like a second skin, emphasizing the rippling muscles across his back and shoulders.

  Sweet baby Jesus, the man interfered with her pulse.

  He looked yummy, but that wasn’t what had captured her attention. It was the way he handled his horse. Kevin had been right. Brock had a lot of Kade’s tendencies.

  Without realizing it, she’d moved close enough to touch the metal fence of the corral, but didn’t, not with the sun so direct. It was too hot. Any contact with the metal would leave a mark.

  Kind of like Brock.

  Silently, she watched the man work his magic. He led, and allowed the horse to take the lead, was gentle yet firm, encouraged with whispers and strokes, using big, talented, work-roughened hands she knew felt like heaven gliding over her skin…

  A tremor shook her from head to toe. Great. Now she was wet. Stumbling back, she talked her knees out of buckling. No man had ever affected her like this. Was it because they’d had sex, great sex, and she knew exactly what he was capable of?

  Giving her three orgasms in seven hours.

  Like really? Who did that?

  Heat pooled low in her belly, and her body begged, please, can we have him again?

  “No.”

  She hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud until Brock twisted around and stared at her.

  “I’ll be with you in five minutes,” he said, voice not as clipped as it had been in her room.

  No doubt so as not to spook the horse.

  “Okay,” she replied, happy to note her voice hadn’t wavered.

  She wasn’t stupid. Brock Kincaid was just as unhappy with their situation as she, but he needn’t be, and she would tell him when they were alone in the other barn, away from spying eyes.

  “I’m just going to hose her down.”

  Her insides fluttered and nipples beaded, begging to be next. Pathetic. Knowing her voice would definitely waver, she just smiled and nodded instead. His steps slowed and gaze dropped to her mouth before he shook his head and led the horse into the barn.

  Jen stayed outside. Sucked in several lungfuls of air. Recited the alphabet backward. Dusted off her boots. Refused to think about Brock and a hose. A wet Brock, whose muscles were a veritable lickfest.

  Correction, lickfeast. She should know. She lickfeasted last weekend.

  Twice.

  Two minutes later, he ambled out, wiping his hands on his jeans, not giving her nearly enough time to recover. Her pulse was still stuttering, stomach was fluttering, and according to the heat warming her cheeks, her face was still flushed.

  What happened to the five minutes he’d promised? She needed those extra three minutes, dammit.

  “Ready?”

  No. “Yep,” she lied, but didn’t care. There were more pressing issues to worry about, like the fact she was walking across the ranch with the man who’d seen her naked and panting…and begging.

  She swallowed an unladylike word and motored on, trying to find the words to start a conversation. Any conversation. It didn’t have to be about last weekend. In fact, it was better if wasn’t about last weekend. Not here. Not out in the open, in the field between the two stables. Better to wait until they were inside the empty barn before they opened that topic.

  She switched gears. “Okay, so, this stable, as Lenny probably told you, is strictly for abuse cases. Kade built a corral on the other side where it’s private and closed off from the everyday ruckus of the ranch.”

  “Seriously?” Brock glanced sideways at her and a deep frown grooved his forehead under the brim of his cap.

  “Yes, he felt it was—”

  “I’m not talking about the barn. I’m talking about you,” he said, cutting her off, stopping outside the building.

  Jen glanced up at him. “W-what about me?”

  “We’re alone and you’re still pretending you don’t know me?” Confusion and anger mixed to turn his gorgeous eyes a green as vibrant as the leaves on the nearby oak. He stepped closer and loomed over her. “But you do, you know me very well, just as I know the little sounds you make wh—”

  “Shh…” She grabbed his arm and yanked him inside the barn hard enough to shut him up. A quick glance up and down the deserted walkway confirmed they were alone. She turned back to the quiet man and released him. “Of course I know you. I was only pretending not to because I thought you’d rather the others didn’t know. Was I wrong?”

  His chin lifted slightly. “No.”

  “Okay.”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s not. Last weekend was a—”

  She slapped a hand over his mouth and glared up at him. “Don’t you dare say it was a mistake, because it wasn’t. It wasn’t planned, it was a new experienc
e, one I won’t repeat, but it was incredible.”

  He relaxed, and she could feel his lips curve into a smile behind her hand before he grabbed her wrist and gently removed her touch. “It was?”

  “Yes, of course. Why?” She blinked as her heart dropped to her stomach. “Wasn’t it for you?”

  “Hell yeah, honey, but the way you seemed to forget it made me think I hadn’t taken good enough care of you.”

  She reeled back and snickered. “Oh, trust me, cowboy, you took care of me real good.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “So good, I worried less about Kade, and was relaxed enough to enjoy the rest of my vacation. So, thanks for that.”

  A wide smile crossed his lips, creasing his face and lighting his eyes. “My pleasure.”

  Her pulse hiccupped. “Mine, too.”

  How long they stood there smiling at each other, his fingers still circling her wrist, Jen had no idea. But, there were things that needed to be asked and said…once she found her voice. Apparently, he was of the same accord because he released her and stepped back.

  No longer in close proximity to the man, her pulse returned to a dull roar along with her ability to speak. “So, how long are you here for?” She leaned against the front of an empty stall, hoping like hell she was pulling off a nonchalant pose.

  He settled his back against the one across from her and shrugged. “Three months.”

  Just as she thought. “You already have another job lined up?”

  “Yes.” He nodded. “Up in Amarillo at the end of November.”

  Typical cowboy. They never stuck.

  “I’m in my last year of college,” she said, and decided it was a good time to set things straight. “Next May, I’ll graduate with a Masters in accounting, then I’m moving to Houston. There are lots of corporate accounting jobs there.”

  And business men who stick.

  “Doesn’t your brother work for a corporation there?”

  “Yes. McCall Enterprises,” she replied. Kevin worked in his best friend’s company, but he’d earned the position. He may be a joker, but she knew it was a façade to cover his brilliance. “They do have a big accounting department, but I don’t want to work there. I want to find my own job. On my own merit.”