Beth Cornelison - Rancher's High-Stakes Rescue

Dawn didn’t try to hide her smug grin as she muttered in a quiet singsong, “Told you...”

Josh had changed into clean jeans and a light blue polo-style shirt that set off his straight-outta-heaven eyes and hugged his muscled torso. His raven hair was still damp from his shower and combed back behind his ears, where it then curled slightly at his nape. And he smelled divine. Something woodsy and fresh, without the cloying and pretentious scents of the colognes the men in her Dallas office wore.

“Did you ladies get settled in okay?” He slid his fingers in the front pockets of his jeans and divided a look between them.

“Yeah. Just fine,” Kate said and clutched the thin straps of her purse so that she didn’t fidget. Good grief. She felt like some junior high girl with a crush on the school’s quarterback. “I love the way you’ve decorated the guest rooms.” Doh! Could you sound more banal?

“Thanks, but I had nothing to do with that. My mom and sister were the bosses of that part of the renovation.” His smile dimpled his cheek, and she felt her stomach swoop and her knees soften.

“Well, they have good taste. They split the difference between masculine and feminine decor perfectly.” She sensed more than saw Dawn easing backward, leaving her alone with Josh. She snuck a hand out and grabbed her friend’s arm before she could duck completely away.

“We have time before dinner is served if you’d like to go see the new calf now.” He waved his thumb toward the stables.

Kate couldn’t help but smile. She may have some bad memories of her parents’ farm, but she missed the animals. “I’d love that.”

Dawn lifted a foot to him, waggling her high-heeled sandal at him. “I’m not sure I’m in the right footwear. You two go ahead, and I’ll see the baby tomorrow.”

Kate tightened her grip on her coworker’s arm, sending her a look that said, Stop playing matchmaker!

“Are you sure? We have boots you can borrow down by the stable,” Josh said.

“Yes, Dawn,” Kate said through her teeth, “you can borrow boots. Come with us.”

Dawn pried Kate’s fingers from her forearm and gave her a disgruntled look. “No thank you, Kate. You two go on. I’ll just go get a drink and wait for you up here.” With a wiggle of her fingers to wave goodbye, her traitorous friend backed away, wearing a victorious grin.

“All right then. Guess it’s just us.” Josh put a warm palm on her back to direct her toward the stable.

Her pulse jumped at his touch, and a tremor of acute awareness shimmied through her. She walked beside him, silently cursing Dawn and mentally fumbling for conversation that didn’t sound as lame and juvenile as she felt. She was awestruck and tongue-tied like some smitten kitten, and she hated the sense of vulnerability and hesitation that held her. Why did he make her so nervous? While he didn’t look a thing like Jason, her most recent mistake, her attraction to Josh was similar. Maybe that was why she was battling this odd mix of lust and wariness. Internal warning lights were flashing and sirens blaring. Don’t go down that path again! Danger ahead!

“...are you from? Besides the Dallas firm, I mean,” Josh was saying.

“Oh, um, I grew up in Missouri. On a farm. And then I went to school in Georgia and got my job in Dallas a couple years ago. How about you?” She kicked herself as soon as the question left her mouth. Idiot!

He chuckled. “Born and raised right here at the Double M.”

“Of course. Stupid question.”

“Naw, there are no stupid questions,” he said with another of his lopsided, dimple-producing grins. She almost stumbled when she saw that dimple reappear.

“Maybe not. But mine comes close. Just...habit. You know, throw the same question or compliment back at someone to keep a conversation going. I...didn’t think. I...”

Shut up. Shut up! You’re babbling now.

She was going to kill Dawn. She wanted no part of a vacation tryst or her friend’s misguided matchmaking, no matter how heartbreakingly handsome Josh was. Heartbreaking being the key word. She’d had her fill of short-term, lack-of-commitment, heart-wounding relationships.

“Well, truth be told, I actually spent the first three weeks of my life at the hospital in Denver. Zane, Piper and I were all less than four pounds when we were born.”

She nodded. “You wouldn’t know it by looking at you now,” she said, then grimaced. “Not that you’re fat... I, ugh!”

He laughed and patted his flat belly. “Well, thank you. I’ve been eating my meat and vegetables for years to get this size.”

She waved a hand, feeling her flush creep back up her neck and into her cheeks. “I’m rambling like a moron. Ignore me.”

As they reached the entrance to the stable, he reached over and brushed a wisp of her hair back from her cheek. The scrape of his knuckle on her face sent delicious shivers through her and backed up her breath in her lungs. When her gaze darted up to his, she met the smile that shone from his eyes as brightly as from his lips. The piercing look he gave her made her feel desirable and feminine all the way to her core. “You’re kinda hard to ignore. And I wouldn’t want to try.”

Oh, lordy . Her toes curled inside her slip-on shoes, and she wiped her palms on the skirt of her buttery-yellow sundress.

After a few seconds, staring back at him with her heart pounding in her ears, she managed to stutter, “Y-you said you had...boots I could borrow?”

“Absolutely.” He stepped away and fetched a pair of rubber work boots. “You can probably just wear these over your other shoes if you want.”

She nodded and slipped her feet into the man-size boots. She clumped along behind him as she followed him inside the stable. The oversize boots made her feel awkward and silly, yet a tingle still lingered on her cheek where he’d touched her.

“Back here.” He led her to a stall at the back, away from the bulk of the bustle and activity, and opened the gate. “Come on in. It’s okay.” He stood aside and motioned her into the stall, where a brown-and-white cow stood over a small brown calf.

Warmth filled her chest, along with nostalgia. She’d seen numerous newborn animals through the years on her parents’ farm, but the preciousness of new life never got old. “Oh, my goodness! She’s precious!”

“He. It’s a bull calf.”

“Oh, he, then. He’s adorable!” She cast a side glance to Josh, who was beaming with pride as if the baby were his.

“You can pat him if you want.”

She gave the mama cow a dubious look. “Really? It won’t upset mom?”

Josh grasped the straps of the mother’s halter and tugged, urging the bovine to step away. Then, stooping, he lifted the calf and brought it closer to Kate.

She lifted a hand to the curling fur on the cow’s head and melted inside. “Aren’t you the cutest thing?”

“Yeah, I am,” Josh said with an impish grin, “and the calf’s kinda cute, too.”

Kate snorted a chuckle. Then, when he laughed at her indelicate snort, she joined him in full-bellied gales. Even as she shared the moment of levity with him, she studied his handsome face, the spark of life in his startlingly blue eyes, and her heart flipped. She didn’t need a crystal ball to know the combination of his charm, good looks and ability to put her at ease were a lethal combination versus her ability to resist him. Today was only her first day in Colorado, and she was already in deep trouble.

Chapter 2

When Josh and Kate returned to the welcome dinner, Dawn was seated at a long table with several people, including Josh’s twin.

Zane smiled as they approached. “There you two are. We were about to send a search party. People here are hungry and ready to eat.”