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The Rancher's Surrender
Jill Shalvis


In the first book of New York Times best-selling author Jill Shalvis's classic series, The Heirs to the Triple M, three women practically raised as sisters discover one of them has inherited a ranch. But which one?Zoe Martin vowed not to let the Triple M ranch slip into Ty Jackson's hands. Although his smooth charm brought most women to their knees, Zoe didn't trust him. After all, he'd wanted the ranch for himself, and Zoe wasn't about to let him take what could be her only chance for a true home.It's obvious to Ty that Zoe needs help—the woman is a complete greenhorn. But working side by side with Zoe is dangerous. She makes him feel strong and wild and crazy. Crazy enough, maybe, to offer her the home she craves…







In the first book of New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis’s classic series, The Heirs to the Triple M, three women practically raised as sisters discover one of them has inherited a ranch. But which one?

Zoe Martin vowed not to let the Triple M ranch slip into Ty Jackson’s hands. Although his smooth charm brought most women to their knees, Zoe didn’t trust him. After all, he’d wanted the ranch for himself, and Zoe wasn’t about to let him take what could be her only chance for a true home.

It’s obvious to Ty that Zoe needs help—the woman is a complete greenhorn. But working side by side with Zoe is dangerous. She makes him feel strong and wild and crazy. Crazy enough, maybe, to offer her the home she craves….


The Heirs to the Triple M:

Three foster sisters vow to make their

inherited ranch a home.


“Why don’t you save us both a bunch of trouble and admit how you feel about me, Zoe?” Ty asked.

She managed a laugh. “It’s not flattering.”



That infuriatingly sexy smile of his stayed put. “You’re crazy about me.”



“Crazy, definitely.” Zoe flipped her precarious ponytail back, using annoyance to cover her fear. Had she given herself away? He couldn’t have guessed her deepest, darkest, most secret fantasy, could he?



Her secret little hope that someday he would be the crazy one. Crazy for her. Not for the land, but her.


Dear Reader (#u3e727589-cdde-50a2-897b-206f9b582109),



It’s summertime. The mercury’s rising, and so is the excitement level here at Silhouette Intimate Moments. Whatever you’re looking for—a family story, suspense and intrigue, or love with a ranchin’ man—we’ve got it for you in our lineup this month.



Beverly Barton starts things off with another installment in her fabulous miniseries THE PROTECTORS. Keeping Annie Safe will not cool you off, I’m afraid! Merline Lovelace is back with A Man of His Word, part of her MEN OF THE BAR H miniseries, while award winner Ingrid Weaver checks in with What the Baby Knew. If it’s edge-of-your-seat suspense you’re looking for, pick up the latest from Sally Tyler Hayes, Spies, Lies and Lovers. The Rancher’s Surrender is the latest from fresh new talent Jill Shalvis, while Shelley Cooper makes her second appearance with Guardian Groom.



You won’t want to miss a single one of these fabulous novels, or any of the books we’ll be bringing you in months to come. For guaranteed great reading, come to Silhouette Intimate Moments, where passion and excitement go hand in hand.



Enjoy!



Yours,






Leslie J. Wainger

Executive Senior Editor


The Rancher’s Surrender

Jill Shalvis




www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)


JILL SHALVIS When pressed for an answer on why she writes romance, Jill Shalvis just smiles and says she didn’t realize there was anything else. She’s written over a dozen novels so far and doesn’t plan on stopping. She lives in California, in a house filled with young children, too many animals and her hero/husband. Readers can write to Jill c/o Silhouette Books, 300 East 42nd Street, 6th floor, New York, NY 10017.


To Kelsey—

you may be my oldest,

but you’ll still always be my baby.


Table of Contents

Cover (#u4e62076e-2c69-56ca-b174-2fd09617db28)Back Cover Text (#u54a76494-c81d-5273-a001-ca418c904b68) Letter to Reader Title Page (#u0413be88-af66-5ffb-b5db-d5e5fe3aa779)About the Author (#u027dbe96-f8dd-5ccd-bb2f-dcb8893afde3)Dedication (#uaebbf7e0-61ac-59f0-928c-ff8c9312c759) Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Epilogue Extract (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)


Prologue (#u3e727589-cdde-50a2-897b-206f9b582109)

Zoe Martin squeezed her foster sisters’ hands tightly, but only because she thought Delia or Maddie might be scared of the dark.

She wasn’t scared, she was scared of nothing. Nothing at all.

A cricket burst into melody, and she nearly leaped out of her skin.

Delia and Maddie scooted closer, until they were practically in one another’s laps, reminding Zoe she wasn’t alone. They were all the same age: the quiet, withdrawn Maddie, the bossy Delia, and herself. And they were all very different. But the three of them had pledged to be sisters forever, and that was all that mattered now.

Cranking her neck back, Zoe stared at the city sky littered with fog and pollution, and forgot her six-year-old bravado. Forgot that her eyes burned from lack of sleep due to bad dreams, her cheek burned from where she’d been smacked by an older child in their group home, one of the bullies.

She forgot everything but what she and Delia and Maddie had crept out here for—their dream.

As they huddled on the damp grass, holding on to one another, she stared at the faint stars and offered up her one and only wish—that they would be kept together, forever.

* * *

One thousand miles away in Idaho, Constance Freeman hung up the phone and sighed deeply with painful regret. If her heart felt as though it were cracking open, she knew it was no one’s fault but her own.

She’d let her son get away, though that wasn’t what tore at her now, for he’d been mean, dishonest and selfish. A bad seed.

What she regretted with all her heart was that he’d gone without telling her the one thing she so desperately needed to know.

Where her young granddaughter had been taken.

For six years, since the birth of the child, Constance had been begging her son for information. Cruelly, he’d withheld it, saying only that his ex-girlfriend, the child’s mother, had vanished. And so had the child. Tracing her was difficult, for her son hadn’t married the girl’s mother, and Constance had no idea what the mother’s name was. Heaven only knew what name was on the birth certificate.

But Constance would find her, she vowed with renewed determination. She’d search everywhere if she had to, spend every last penny she had. It would be worth it.

She’d find that child and shower her with all the love and attention Constance was so certain she wasn’t getting now.

* * *

She’d leave that child her legacy, though she knew others might not see it as a legacy so much as a burden. Certainly her own son had felt that way.

But Constance’s ranch, Triple M, was her one true love, and she wouldn’t be happy until she knew she’d taken care of both its future, and her granddaughter’s.


Chapter 1 (#ulink_d8dda650-4cd9-5194-8290-98805f828e46)

Twenty years later

In the dark night the mountains rose like giants. Three giants. And excitement ripped through Zoe so that she could barely contain herself as she parked.

“We’re here!” she cried, leaping out of the car first. Not because she was the oldest; she wasn’t. They were all close enough to the same age that it didn’t matter.

But Maddie-the-Worrywart had pretended to fall asleep in the back seat on the long ride from the airport, and Delia-the-Know-It-All still couldn’t believe what they’d done.

And Zoe was so thrilled to be at Triple M Ranch, she couldn’t stand it. Her dreams were about to come true, after a lifetime of uncertainty and nowhere to belong, she was home.

Everyone that mattered to her was in the car. And she wanted them to be as happy. “Come on, you two,” she whispered in the absolute darkness, her feet crunching in the dirt beneath her as she turned and peered back into the open rental car. “Let’s go.”

“It’s...black out there” came Maddie’s hushed reply. Her pale, sleepy face popped up from the back seat. Rumpled and tired as she was, her creamy skin glowed and her sable hair curled around her face, giving her the look of a precious china doll.

“Yes, night is usually pretty black,” Zoe agreed with a little laugh. “Come on.”

“Darker than Los Angeles,” Delia decided, speaking from the front passenger seat and peering out into the night. She flipped back a blond tress. “I can’t believe we’ve done this. I bet there’s not a Thai takeout within three hundred miles.”

“Well, it’s not every day we just inherit a ranch,” Zoe pointed out. “We couldn’t not come.”

“We could have waited for daylight.” The face that usually inspired grown men to beg for attention now creased in stubbornness, a look that Zoe knew all too well. Delia wasn’t budging for anything less than a shopping spree.

“Oh, and I suppose you have money for a hotel room.” Suddenly willing to stall, Zoe clung to the side of the car, because after all, her sisters were right...it was pretty dark.

And the fact that they were here at all, in the middle of the Idaho wilderness, one thousand miles away from their comforting city of Los Angeles, was mostly her fault

“We’ll be fine,” Maddie said, her voice quiet. “We’re together, that’s all that matters.”

“We could have stayed together at the airport hotel until morning,” Delia pointed out calmly. “Might have been a whole lot smarter than rushing out to the middle of the boondocks without even the moon for company. And I bet the hotel had a hot tub.”

If there was something Zoe had a hard time with, it was taking the blame, especially when she was in the wrong. Because their ranch supposedly came with two trucks, they had sold her car and Delia’s. Maddie hadn’t owned one. They’d flown into Boise from L.A., and then rented a car to take them to the ranch one hundred and fifty miles away, excited and hopeful about their future.

Zoe had always wanted a truck, but there hadn’t been much reason for one in L.A., not to mention cost. Because of that, her secret fantasy of driving a truck and owning a horse had never materialized.

Until now.

“You know we’re on a tight budget,” she said with more defense than was necessary, but she was out on a limb and couldn’t afford to fail. “And anyway, I don’t see the difference between arriving at our new property now or in the morning.”

“In the morning it would have been light.”

An owl hooted, or at least it sounded like an owl. Zoe hugged the car door to her side, glancing warily over her shoulder. Man, the night was noisy here. Water rushed nearby, which she knew to be the Salmon River. Crickets blared. She could hear the sound of trees rustling in the wind.

Something howled.

“What was that?” Maddie whispered in terror, their bickering forgotten as they reached for one another through the open window.

“A coyote?” Zoe guessed.

“Let’s hope coyotes don’t eat city women for dessert,” Delia said in her usual calm voice, but she squeezed Zoe’s hand so hard the bones cracked.

The goose bumps that rose on her flesh had nothing to do with the late spring cool air.

“Sounds different from Los Angeles,” Maddie whispered.

“Yeah,” Delia whispered back. She wasn’t a worrywart, but she wasn’t too tough to admit to a good, healthy fear. “Never thought I’d miss all the sirens.”

“At least the land is ours,” Zoe said. “Ours.”

“Supposedly ours.”

Zoe couldn’t blame Delia for the doubt. After all, the whole inheritance thing was a bit spooky, considering the twist of fate that had left them unsure as to which of the three of them had actually inherited. Which in turn was due to the fact that since all three of them had been born out of wedlock, with birth certificates void of a father’s name, not one of them knew any more about themselves except their mother’s maiden names.

But a woman, Constance Freeman, had located them just before her death last month. Through her private investigator, Cade McKnight, who had matched the dates of their arrival at the group home to the approximate date of Constance’s granddaughter’s disappearance, Constance had been convinced that either Zoe, Maddie or Delia had been her long-lost granddaughter. The one she’d been looking for over the past twenty years. It was enough to boggle Zoe’s mind. “We’ve come this far, right?”

“Right,” Maddie agreed. Both she and Zoe looked at Delia.

“Right,” Delia admitted warily.

“And we all agreed we wanted a new life together, no matter which of us is heir, right?” Zoe asked.

“Right”

“So stop whining.” That said, Zoe straightened and glared into the dark toward the house. “Let’s just do this. The faster we get inside, the faster we’ll be able to flip on every light in the place.”

“Good plan.” Delia hopped out, looking city chic in her black pantsuit. She held the seat back for Maddie, whose long floral dress caught on the door.

Zoe rolled her eyes heavenward. Her foster sisters were day and night, yet after hours and hours of traveling, they still looked incredibly beautiful. No one would ever guess that they were only one step ahead of the poverty line. That Delia designed and hand-sewed their clothes because that’s all they could afford. That they depended tightly on one another for security, and had for twenty-odd years.

Zoe glanced down at herself, even though she knew what she would see—secondhand jeans and a T-shirt. Her shoulder-length auburn hair, full of natural curls that were the bane of her existence, had rioted. Compared to her lovely sisters, she was a disheveled mess, but that was nothing new. She’d been the ugly duckling for longer than she cared to remember, though she rarely obsessed over it since it was her own fault. Makeup and hairstyles had never been as important to her as survival.

Delia moaned theatrically. “Oh Lord, have you ever seen such a black night? Where’s the flashing neon billboards? The floodlights? The—”

“Get over it, Delia. You’re not in Kansas anymore.”

“No kidding.”

Zoe flipped on her flashlight. Turning, she aimed it down the road they’d just come from. Road being relative, of course. From the airport in Boise they’d driven north for hours, to Riggins. There they’d gone west, down narrow curvy roads that had eventually turned to dirt. Zoe considered it a miracle they’d even made it. Her meager light disappeared a few feet into the inky darkness. She shivered, wondering how they’d managed to find their way, but Cade had left excellent step-by-step directions.

Still, Zoe hadn’t expected it to take so long, or to be so far from civilization. They were really isolated out here, and the thought brought an even mix of surging excitement and grim reality.

A whole new beginning.

“Triple M Ranch,” she whispered reverently. Their home.

Maddie nodded, her eyes glued to the night and the shadows of the mountains so far above. “Fitting, isn’t it? Three distinct mountains...three sisters.”

Turning, Zoe lifted the light, accenting a long, circular drive. Three peaks for three sisters. She liked the sound of it.

They couldn’t see it clearly now, but according to Cade, Constance’s will had left them a large piece of property nestled between the base of the mountains and the Salmon River. Zoe knew the Salmon River was reputed to be as wild as the greatest imagination. Around them were the eighteen million, even wilder acres of Idaho. On their property sat a ranch house, two barns and a series of cottages, even a dock.

Zoe imagined the truck, the horses of her childhood dreams, maybe even a boat...and gave a hearty laugh.

Which died in her throat when she got her first look at the house.

“Damn,” Delia said eloquently.

Maddie, in between the two of them, hugged their arms closer to her. She remained silent, though Zoe had no trouble detecting the anxiety running through her.

She understood the feeling as she flickered her light over the ranch house. It was old and falling apart at the seams.

“Not good,” Delia said in a huge understatement. “Not good at all. Let’s go back.”

Zoe knew that was the city girl talking. But the truth was, they had nothing to go back to. They’d packed up their meager belongings, which would be delivered in the next few days, and given up their apartment and jobs.

And this...decrepit old place, for all it was worth, was theirs. All theirs. At the thought, a burst of territorial pride overcame Zoe. She hadn’t had much in her life to feel territorial about, so she enjoyed the feeling. Nothing was going to get in the way of that, not even if the house blew over on the next wind. “We’ll be okay.” She’d make sure of it. “Come on.”

Together they walked toward the house, which was nothing more than a large shadow looming over them. The wooden porch creaked warningly, making Zoe wonder just how safe it was. The front door, crooked on its hinges, looked as though a light kick could knock it in. She fumbled through her pockets for the keys she’d been given.

Her flashlight wavered and went out.

Maddie’s breath caught, the only audible sound in the ensuing blackness.

Before Zoe could so much as form the swearwords coming to her brain, two headlights gleamed, wavering up and down in the rough road as they came closer and closer. A moment later she could hear the sound of a truck, and her heart lodged in her throat.

They were three women out in the middle of nowhere, sitting ducks, and here she stood, frozen in the oncoming headlights like a deer.

The truck stopped directly next to their rental car, and blinded by the glaring twin lights, Zoe threw a hand up in front of her face.

The driver left the headlights on—to torment them? Zoe wondered frantically—as he stepped out.

The crunching of the stranger’s booted feet on the gravel of the driveway propelled Zoe into action. “Down,” she whispered, pulling her sisters out of the path of the bright lights. They ducked low, tumbling into one another as they shifted to the side of the patio, only to find themselves cornered by the wooden railing.

“Hey,” a deep male voice called out. “Who’s there?”

“Don’t move,” Zoe instructed, holding on to her sisters’ hands tightly. “Don’t even breathe. Maybe he’ll leave.”

“He saw us,” Maddie whispered frantically, her voice wavering, making Zoe hug her closer. “I know he did.”

“Maybe it’s just a neighbor?” Delia suggested hopefully.

Maybe, but Zoe didn’t plan on taking any chances. Not with her sisters. She weighted the meaty flashlight in one hand, considering it a weapon now.

“Can’t believe you didn’t check your batteries,” Delia hissed. “You always check them. You’re anal-retentive about that stuff.”

Zoe considered testing her weapon on her sister’s pretty head, but changed her mind when the stranger called out again, much closer this time.

“Hello?”

For some reason, the husky, grainy voice tickled Zoe’s tummy, and she clutched Maddie and Delia in a vise grip.

“I know you’re here, I saw your headlights from my house.”

When no one answered, the man’s wide shoulders rose and fell sharply with a sigh, as if he were annoyed. “Cade sent me out to check on your arrival. I’m your neighbor, Ty Jackson.”

Delia shot Zoe a triumphant glare, pulled her hands free, adjusted her still-perfect hair and stood, only to fall back down to the patio when Zoe yanked hard on her arm.

“Are you crazy?” Zoe demanded in a harsh whisper. “You can’t just blindly trust him.”

“But he knows Cade—”

“Honest to God, Delia, I have not a clue as to how you managed to survive in Los Angeles.” Furious, Zoe clenched both sisters now with fisted hands. Fear did that to her, kicked up her temper.

Fear and regret, for if anything happened to either Delia or Maddie, it would be her fault because it had been she who had insisted they go on this crazy adventure. Crazy, stupid adventure.

The man stepped up onto the patio, looking larger than life with the yellow lights of his truck highlighting him from behind. He stood on the rickety old porch, his easy, loose-limbed stance revealing a tall, rangy body with legs and arms that seemed to stretch forever.

None of the women budged, or even breathed, but he turned unerringly toward them, allowing the light to fall over him.

“See?” He lifted his hands, apparently to show he meant no harm, but his irritation was unmistakable. In one of his hands was a heavy-duty flashlight, which he left off. “Just your friendly neighbor, not the boogeyman.”

Zoe recognized his name, knew that he was the caretaker of this property, and due to the terms of Constance’s will, he was to remain manager for one year. Still...her fingers dug into her sisters’ arms, silently daring them to move.

When they didn’t come forward, the man crouched low on the protesting wood planks, as if he instinctively understood how overwhelmingly male he seemed. His unbuttoned plaid shirt spread wide over a white T-shirt that revealed an expanse of well-muscled chest and shoulders. His faded jeans encased powerful legs that strained taut in his hunkered position. The light fell over his face, casting his dark, chiseled features in bold relief.

“Come on,” he said. “It’s late. Let’s do this.” He blinked into the darkness, his glittering eyes somehow landing directly on Zoe. “Maddie and Delia, right? And... Zophina?”

Delia snorted, and Zoe, masked in the dark patio, pinched her.

“Look, would I know your names if I wasn’t telling the truth?” he asked, exasperation clear.

Good point, Zoe supposed, but she didn’t move.

His head dropped between his shoulders for a moment, his frustration tangible. Then he tried again. “You know that I’ve been working part of this land with mine, leasing it from Constance for years. And you know who Constance was...your grandmother, or one of yours, anyway.”

In the dark, the women looked at one another. Certainly he had to be who he said, for what stranger could know all this?

“Quite the mystery, isn’t it?” He shook his head, then glanced over at them as if to make sure he had their attention.

He’d never had anything but.

At their lack of motion, he looked around him at the land. “Constance tried like crazy to find her granddaughter over the years. It’s hard to believe she didn’t live long enough to see it through.”

Would a bad guy really show such insight? Zoe didn’t know and refused to take a chance. But his voice mesmerized her as he continued to speak into the dark night.

“She didn’t even know her granddaughter’s name, only the month and year of birth and approximate last sighting of her son’s girlfriend.”

Los Angeles.

Emotions tumbled through Zoe, and she knew it was no less for her sisters, for each of them wanted to know more about Constance, more about where they had possibly come from. Delia nudged her, and even in the darkness, Zoe had no trouble deciphering Delia’s glare.

Trust him.

She wasn’t ready yet.

“You still there?” He craned his neck as he shifted, trying to see into the shadows where they huddled ridiculously together. “Well, what else can I tell you... Okay, from what I understand, you were all left in a group home at approximately the same time and age. Took poor Constance more than twenty years to get that much information, but she never gave up.”

The silence seemed to drown out the night noise, except for the ever-present rush of water. The crickets stopped. Even the owl went quiet. And there on the porch, surrounded by the only two people in the world who had ever cared about her, Zoe squeezed their hands tight and closed her eyes.

Each of them had been a deserted three-year-old. The remembering hurt, when that hurt should have long ago been healed. But now they knew that one of them had had someone searching for her, desperately.

That hurt, too, for Zoe could only imagine how different life would have been for the girl who might have been found by a loving, frantic grandmother.

They had no idea which of them it was—Maddie, Zoe or Delia—but it didn’t matter now. They were sisters of the heart and soul, and they’d stick together until the end.

The ranch belonged to all of them, and together they’d learn more about their grandmother.

“I’m guessing you’re hoping I’ll talk myself out and disappear.” Slowly, Ty Jackson shook his head. “No can do, ladies. Cade told me your plane had been delayed, and he was worried about you getting up here at night, which by the way was a stupid thing to do, drive up here in the dark.”

Delia and Maddie shot a look at Zoe, who bristled. It was one thing to be stupid, but it was entirely another thing to have it pointed out to her by a stranger. She had her sisters to do that.

“Cade wanted me to call him back.” He shifted impatiently. “Can we get on with it now? It’s late, and frankly, ladies, I’m tired of listening to myself talk.”

Zoe could feel her sisters’ resistance melt away, but she held on to hers with all her might. Despite his obvious caring for Constance, he was big, he was a man, and he was barely managing to control his irritation at being bothered so late at night.

Trust was a big issue for Zoe, it had been for as long as she could remember. Alone in this world except for Maddie and Delia, she had managed to eke out a calm, quiet existence. And if her life was a little, well...empty, if she’d never learned to really have faith in another human being since the day her mother had dumped her at age three, failing to come back for her as promised, she could live with that.

Bottom line—Zoe rarely believed in another, especially a far-too-good-looking cowboy with a voice that could melt the Arctic.

In the beam of light, he quirked a dark, challenging brow and continued to speak in that rough-timbered voice, the one Zoe imagined could convince a less-hardened woman to give him the moon.

“You plan on sleeping there on the porch, that’s just fine with me,” he said with a shrug of those impressive shoulders. “But I wouldn’t be neighborly if I didn’t try to warn you...that wood there’s littered with rats. Big, fat, hungry ones.”

With a muffled shriek, Delia launched herself toward the light, brushing and swiping at her legs, for if there was one thing that could shatter Delia’s calm, it was a rodent.

Maddie’s mouth opened in a silent scream as she followed Delia in such a rush she nearly fell headlong into their “neighbor,” who easily caught and uprighted her.

Both women continued to shiver and squeak, placing themselves behind the man, who slowly rose to his feet, a grin firmly in place.

Amid feet stomping and panting, huffy screams, Delia twirled in a circle, mindless, until the man reached out and touched her arm.

“Safe,” he claimed, not bothering to hide his amusement. “Don’t worry, I think you two managed to scare them all away.”

Delia stopped screaming, and Maddie just gaped in surprise. Zoe knew why, for though it took Delia forever to get riled, it took just as long to calm her back down. No one, and most certainly not a man, had ever been so effective in quieting her.

In the startling silence, the man who caused it winked at Maddie, who brought a hand up to her mouth.

Still hidden by the darkness, Zoe stood quickly, for she knew Maddie’s unease around strangers, especially men, but she stiffened in shock when she realized Maddie was holding back a smile.

In less than ten seconds, the man had completely tamed her sisters. Unbelievable.

“You okay now?” Ty Jackson asked.

Delia smoothed down her clothes and shot him an apologetic smile. “Yes, sorry, but rats just get to me.”

“Understandable.”

“Now, if you tell me you have batteries in that truck of yours,” Delia said, her smile warming, “you’ll really be my hero, Mr. Jackson.”

“Ty.” Any irritation at having been disturbed so late had apparently vanished, replaced by the pleasant surprise of a man who suddenly finds himself in the company of two beautiful women. He held out his hand. “And you are...?”

Delia offered him a perfectly manicured hand in return, the one she’d spent an annoying amount of time this morning doing herself, nearly making them late for the airport. “Delia Scanlon. And this is my sister, Maddie O’Brien.”

He took each of their hands in turn as though they were at a tea party, not standing hundreds of miles away from nowhere on a battered, neglected ranch. From her perch in the corner, Zoe rolled her eyes.

“It’s a pleasure,” Ty said to Delia. “And I always carry spare batteries.” He looked pleased with himself, as though he’d invented the dam things himself.

Zoe remained in place, thoroughly disgusted now. How could her sisters just cave like this? What had happened to their natural reserve of anyone and everyone?

They’d stuck together through thick and thin, mostly thin, but in all that time, Zoe had never, not once, seen either of them let down their natural distrust so fast.

Of course, none of them had ever been charmed by such a master, either.

Fine. If she was the only one with a thought left in her head, so be it. She’d keep them safe.

“I thought there were three of you,” Ty said, squinting a bit as he searched through the darkness, easily focusing to meet Zoe’s gaze again. “What happened to Zophina?”

“Zoe,” Zoe snapped, stepping into the light, having no idea why she was letting him get under her skin like this. He was just a stranger. “The name is Zoe.”

“Well, hello there. Zoe.” That damn grin flashed again, the one that made her somehow want to smack him and melt at the same time. He tucked his thumbs into his front pockets in a stance of confidence...not to mention how his hands pretty much outlined the vee of his jeans in a way that showed off his...big build. “Can we go inside now?”

“I’m sure we’ll be just fine alone,” she replied coolly.

“I’m sure you will.” He didn’t so much as blink, but Zoe could have sworn he was laughing at her. “Maybe you’d like me to check it out first.”

“For more rats?” she inquired sweetly.

He didn’t look in the least bit ashamed of himself. “You never know.”

Before Zoe could suggest that there was a two-legged rat standing right in front of her, Delia firmly stepped between the two, her flattering, social smile in place. “You’ll have to excuse Zoe, Ty. She’s tired, and a tired Zoe is a grumpy one.”

Zoe turned away, piqued for no particular reason. It was her own fault, she reminded herself. They’d come here at her insistence, at her excitement at completely starting over.

Not that Delia and Maddie hadn’t wanted to come, they had, but they just hadn’t been quite as sold on the idea as she. Yet they’d given up their lives, anyway, for her. A pressure built in Zoe’s chest, a familiar one. The pressure of their love, which she was eternally grateful for. But deep down, somewhere in a place she didn’t like to go too often, were the same old doubts.

She didn’t deserve all they gave to her, not when she didn‘t—couldn’t—give it back. She had long ago locked up her heart from hurt.

As if she sensed her unease, Maddie slipped an arm around Zoe’s waist, giving her a quick squeeze. She reached for Delia’s hand, uniting them without a word. As always, at the caring, kind, accepting touch, Zoe immediately softened; she couldn’t help It.

“Ready, ladies?” When they nodded, Ty took the keys from Zoe, and before she could analyze why the slight brushing of his work-roughened fingers against hers made her stomach tighten, he’d unlocked the front door. “This will have to be fixed,” he said, easily maneuvering open the rickety screen.

Standing just behind him as she was, with her level of vision at his shoulders and his own truck headlights highlighting his every movement, Zoe had no choice but to stare at the way the muscles in his back flexed and bunched beneath his shirt. No choice at all. Nor could she help but smell him, all fresh and delicious male. That he smelled so good made her annoyed all over again.

Ty flipped on his flashlight and beamed it inside. “The door will have to be replaced, too.”

“That’s not all,” Zoe said as she caught sight of the interior.

Ty hit a light switch on the wall and let out a low, heartfelt oath. The light illuminated what had been their hopes and dreams, and Zoe’s stomach sank as they all crowded in. They hadn’t gotten a good look at the outside in the dark, but she had gotten an image of a two-story sprawling ranch house in desperate need of repair.

The inside was worse, far worse.

The paint on the walls was peeling off in long strips. The wood floors were thick with dust. The light above them flickered warningly, but at the last second, somehow managed to hang in there. Standing in the midst of it, Zoe saw past the gloom and straight to the heart of the matter—this place was theirs. Theirs.

The thrill of that would never wear off, no matter what happened.

“But...how can this be?” Delia asked in a confused voice that didn’t sound at all like her usual take-charge attitude. “I thought Constance lived here.”

“She did, up until two years ago, when she had to move to a retirement home.” Regret and sadness filled Ty’s voice. “Had no idea it was this bad.”

Silence fell at that, and sadness welled through Zoe, overcoming her strange protectiveness of the house. If only Constance had found them sooner, she thought, then nearly laughed because that wouldn’t have changed much. They couldn’t have helped her financially.

But they could have gotten to know Constance, and at the knowledge they’d just missed that opportunity, her throat tightened. For years she’d yearned for more information about her past. Since she’d been so young when she’d arrived at the foster home, she remembered next to nothing. Yes, there was every possibility Constance hadn’t been her grandmother, that she’d been Maddie’s or Delia’s, but it didn’t change Zoe’s need.

All her life she’d been an outsider, without a background, always a burden, always dependent on the kindness of others. It had left scars.

She needed to know more about herself, needed to really belong somewhere. To someone.

She needed, with every fiber of her being, for this place to be hers. And she hated herself for the selfishness, because her sisters deserved it every bit as much as she did.

“She couldn’t swing all the work by herself and she couldn’t afford help.” Ty’s face was tight, and surprisingly full of compassion. “I did what I could, but I have a ranch, too, and between my land and hers, there aren’t enough hours in the day. Constance wouldn’t consider my offer... not until she’d located her granddaughter. And that, unfortunately, came too little, too late for her to enjoy.”

“Offer?” Zoe narrowed her eyes as his words sunk in. “Wait a minute. Are you telling us...you wanted this place?”

His eyes, dark and full of a whole host of things she was sure she didn’t want to know, met hers straight on. “Yes.”

“No wonder you’re being so neighborly,” she said without thinking, a bad habit she had yet to learn to curb.

“What are you talking about?” Delia asked, coming closer.

Zoe’s gaze didn’t leave Ty’s as everything fit into place. “He wants to buy the ranch.”

Ty looked at her, his eyes cool and assessing.

“Don’t you?” she pressed.

“Yes,” he said, without a hint of apology.

“But...” Maddie looked at the mess in confusion. “why?”

“Good question,” Zoe said quietly, even as her possessive, protective feelings for the land continued to swamp her. This place was theirs now. “Why?”


Chapter 2 (#ulink_d8dda650-4cd9-5194-8290-98805f828e46)

Ty hesitated, absorbing three women’s gazes. He had to be careful, because not all those gazes were friendly.

Dammit, he did want this land. Badly. And he’d almost had it. “It’s a little early—or late—to be discussing business, don’t you think?” he asked.

Zoe’s eyes, fascinating as all hell in their shade of mystic forest green, sharpened. “No,” she said. “But I do think we can handle everything from here.” She opened the door, inviting him to leave.

He spared a thought for the condition of the bedrooms upstairs. “But—”

“No buts.” Her voice had chilled twenty degrees, if that was possible. She was the tough one, and he doubted anyone ever got anything past her. “Good night,” she said.

Dismissed! The woman had a major attitude problem. Too bad he enjoyed baiting such a problem. Ignoring her, he crossed the room, reaching up to fiddle with the flickering light above them.

Immediately, it came back to life full force, illuminating the shabbiness of the room.

Delia shot a sharp look to Zoe, but spoke in a voice full of sweet honey. “We appreciate your help, Ty. Please...just ignore Zoe. She’s—”

“Grumpy?” he interjected, giving in and letting his grin spread across his face. “I hadn’t noticed. Can I help you with your things from the car?”

She smiled. “Oh, yes, please.”

Zoe shook her head. “Didn’t you hear him, Delia?” she demanded, hands on hips as she glared at her sister. “He wants to buy this place.”

“Well, since we’re not selling, this shouldn’t be a problem for you, hon.” Back in control after her initial shock, Delia took over, and Ty watched, enthralled at the silent hierarchy of these foster sisters. Clearly Delia thought herself in charge at all times. Just as clearly, Zoe believed she ran the roost. And sweet, quiet, shy Maddie just let them both go, acting as intermediary when required. With just a light touch or small smile, she could melt anyone.

He remembered the sight of them huddled pathetically in a small corner of the dirty, dark patio. Remembered the way his heart had stuttered at the realization it had been him who had inadvertently terrified them.

He’d be the first to admit he wanted them gone, but not by his own hand. And he certainly hadn’t meant to scare them.

They’d been holding on to each other like...they belonged together, that was obvious. The tall, serene, sexy, in-control Delia. The smaller, hauntingly beautiful Maddie. And the rough-and-tough Zoe. She was every bit a looker as the other two, but he doubted she’d appreciate the compliment. She was different, far more unrefined. Her auburn hair was wild, not carefully groomed. She wore little to no makeup, and her clothes...well, she looked as if she’d fit into the hard ranch living just fine. Her jeans were faded and oh-so-snug in all the right places, showcasing a slim yet curvy body that for some reason he couldn’t keep his eyes off of.

Three women; so different and yet obviously they lived together, loved and laughed together. They were a unit.

A small place inside him ached, a place he didn’t visit often, because it only brought great pain. Once upon a time he’d belonged, too. But that had been ten years ago, before his brother Ben had died.

That part of his life was over.

No amount of standing around and staring at these women was going to change that. Nor was it going to change the unrelenting truth—he did want their land with a singular purpose. A purpose so personal and painful he had no intention of sharing it. He’d been only twenty-two when he’d promised Ben a huge ranch someday, and even though Ben was no longer on this earth to enjoy it, Ty never broke a promise. Never.

These three women had ruined Ben’s dream sure as they were standing there staring back at him. Constance had cared for Ty deeply, deeply enough to want to leave her land to him if her granddaughter hadn’t been found.

But Constance had indeed found an heir. Three of them.

No doubt, they were three of the loveliest heiresses he’d ever laid his eyes on, but “lovely” didn’t count for much when he remembered what Cade had told him—this place was all these women had in the entire world, which made Ty’s gut tighten just thinking about it.

He was busting out of his britches at his own place. He raised and trained quarter horses for ranches throughout the entire state, but his place was small and insufficient for his needs. He’d bought it long ago when money had been incredibly tight, just after Ben’s death. It was a beautiful strip of land on the narrow end of the small valley between the river and the mountains. It was lush, green, fertile, and though Ty loved it with all his heart, it was far too small. There was only one way to expand—toward Constance’s property.

Ty had a ten-year promise to fulfill; a painful, unrelenting promise, and to do it he needed more room. He wanted, indeed what he’d wanted since he’d been a little boy starving and struggling on the rough streets of Chicago with Ben, to raise horses. Train them. Sell them. Then do it some more.

He was amazingly successful, but he’d maxed out at his own place, and Ben’s dream was just out of reach.

More land was crucial. Crucial to his promise to Ben, crucial to making sure he couldn’t ever feel claustrophobic again.

Yet how was he supposed to wrangle his dream land away from these women who also needed it? It was all they had, and was he really cruel and selfish enough to get it away from them?

He stood there, wrestling with his deeply woven morals and innate courtesy, as they both reared up and bit him. Across the room, his gaze met Zoe’s, and that strange electric current shot through him, the same one that he’d experienced when he’d accidentally touched her at the door. Looking at her only intensified the feeling.

Seemed he’d also been bitten by the lust bug, sharp and relentlessly. But why for the wildcat Zoe and not one of her infinitely more appealing and nicer sisters?

Delia swept across the room as if she’d lived there all her life instead of ten minutes. “Zoe, why don’t you do me a favor and check out the bedrooms? Figure out the arrangements, will you?” She turned to Maddie. “Sweetie, maybe we should make sure the kitchen is functioning.”

Maddie nodded.

When she was gone, Delia smiled at Ty. “The kitchen, any kitchen, is her favorite place in the world.”

“Do you think he cares, Delia?”

Delia lifted a shoulder and sent Zoe a long look. “Hon, you’re going to get some sleep and then feel bad about how you’re acting.”

“And then you’ll owe me an apology,” Ty added helpfully.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Zoe muttered, making him laugh, which earned him a glare.

“I’ll direct the luggage shuffle with Ty,” Delia said, wisely intervening. “Most of our things are coming by professional movers in a couple of days.”

Ty turned to follow her outside. At the door he stopped and flicked a glance over his shoulder at Zoe.

She was still standing there watching him, and if looks were any measure, she hadn’t taken to him much.

It wasn’t often he managed to tick off such a beautiful woman so quickly. His mischievous streak reared and he winked at her.

Her glower deepened, and he laughed for some reason. Things looked bad, they had his land. But Ty just shook his head and went out into the night, looking forward to challenging Zoe.

* * *

“Move out of the way, Slim, it’s pouring buckets.”

Zoe stood firm in the doorway of the ranch house as though butterflies hadn’t instantly ravaged her stomach at the sound of Ty’s unexpected low, husky voice. “Why should I?”

Ty groaned and lifted his drenched head, shoving back his dark hair. His eyes, the color of the storm wreaking havoc behind him, pierced her. “Because if you don’t,” he said with silky promise, “I’m going to drag you out here so you can see for yourself how icy it is.”

Though she didn’t know the man well, she already knew better than to challenge one of his dares, for it appeared he never spoke idly. He would do as he threatened without qualm. “Fine.”

With resentment, and a good amount of something she didn’t want to analyze, something that made her insides tingle and her head light, she moved back to let him in.

His big body brushed hers purposely, a body she knew from sneaking glances to be hard and toned and powerfully built And wet. He dripped on her clean sweater, the one she’d just changed into after scrubbing the inside of the house all day.

Actually, she’d been scrubbing for three days, and was exhausted, though in truth, most of that exhaustion came from worry. What would they do? For in the light of day, Triple M, deserted and financially stuck, was no more a ranch than their apartment had been. She’d been reading ranching books until late at night, but all the knowledge in the world wouldn’t help without money.

“Wipe your feet,” she said, even as he did it on his own. “And dry off, would ya?”

“Nice to see you, too.” As he slipped out of his soaked jacket, his hard mouth softened and he shot her a grin she knew most would consider irresistible.

Zoe didn’t consider anything about Ty Jackson irresistible. She would have said...cocky. Trouble-causing. Wild.

Which didn’t explain why his crooked smile wormed its way directly to the part of her that was barely controlling her temper, and shattered it. That she was so mad at him had nothing at all to do with how she’d caught him flirting outrageously with one of his ranch hands, who just happened to be a woman. A tall, leggy blond woman named Shirley who looked like a Barbie doll.

“So...did you miss me?” He straightened and sniffed hopefully. “Wait. Is that...God, is that pizza?”

“Yes, and don’t even think about it.” Slamming the door to shut out the late spring storm, she crossed her arms firmly and once again blocked his way. “We returned the rental car today and brought back supplies. Maddie’s whipped up homemade pizza. Her idea of roughing it,”

“You should have told me you needed to go into town. I would have taken you on my jet boat down the river. It takes less than half the time.”

She gritted her teeth and pretended she had loved that long, bumpy, hot ride because otherwise she might have been tempted to slug him. Triple M had a dock, too, which was an easy walk from the house down a beautiful green hill...but, not surprising, it didn’t have a jet boat. “Goodbye, Ty.”

His gaze took a leisurely trip down her petite frame, and though those sharp gray eyes heated in a way that made her breath catch in her throat, his smile remained cool and m control. “You think you can stop me from coming in? No one gets between me and pizza.”

“Watch it, pal. I know how to block.”

Darn his all-too-gorgeous hide, he looked amused. “Why don’t you play the nice little hostess for once and pretend you’re happy to see me?”

Pretend. She didn’t have to pretend, if the way her heart raced was any indication. But since that just irked her all the more, she ground her teeth. “You’re not staying.”

He crossed his wet arms over his chest, the look on his face reminding her he enjoyed a challenge. “Bet I can convince Maddie and Delia different,” he said.

No use arguing the truth. The man standing in front of her could convince a nun he was innocent, something he’d certainly never been. After a mere three days, he’d have to do nothing more than hug each of her sisters, and then he’d be sitting on the floor, joking and laughing with them as he polished off an entire pizza by himself.

No denying how much Delia and Maddie had both taken to him. Actually they’d done more than be taken. In the past nights that he’d come by, ostensibly to check on them, they’d practically adopted him.

No doubt, Ty Jackson was one of a kind. He marched to his own beat, and never did less than exactly as he wanted. And though it made no sense, Zoe resented his sexy hide for all she was worth. Resented the genuine, affectionate way he had of treating her sisters, resented how his smile could turn her inside out, resented everything.

Especially how he wanted their land. Delia and Maddie might have been able to forget that little detail, but she hadn’t.

For the first tune in her life, she had a home; shabby, yes, but it was a home. And she’d guard it with everything she had.

Ty hung up his jacket, clearly certain he’d be staying. The sleek muscles of his back stretched under his shirt, and for the first time, Zoe realized he must have come straight from work. His boots were dusty. His long, powerful legs were covered in frayed, worn jeans that had seen better days but fit him like a worn, soft glove. While she watched, he shoved up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing deeply tanned forearms, strong, firm, callused hands.

“See anything interesting?”

Her gaze jerked up to his laughing one, and she was thankful the room was dim enough to hide her blush. “Don’t count on it. But you’re holding up okay for an old man of...” She considered him with a frown, feigning indifference. “Forty.”

“Thirty-four,” he corrected her. He leaned forward, smelling of rain, wood and one hundred percent delicious masculinity as he tugged a loose lock of her hair. “But I’ll be sure to tell that to the geriatric warden tonight when I check in, thanks.”

Muttering to herself, she whirled away.

One of his hands caught her and held firm as steel. “Wait up.”

His eyes weren’t kind and sweet, the way they were when he looked at Delia and Maddie. They were...hot. “I’m busy,” she managed to say.

“I want to talk to you.”

“About the land?”

He didn’t answer.

“Talk to Maddie and Delia, though their answer will be the same as mine. No, this place isn’t for sale.” Even if she had no idea what they were going to do for cash. “No, no, no.”

His mouth twitched at her adamant tone. “You keep sweet-talking me like this, and I’m going to get ideas.”

“Go get ideas about Shirley.” She fairly choked on the name of his enthusiastic blond ranch hand and reminded herself she didn’t care about him. Not one little bit.

He let out a huge grin. “And jealous, too. That’s so sweet.” His voice lowered, deepened to a rich honey. “Ready to admit it, Zoe? You’re hot for me.”

“Ha!” She lifted her chin. “I’m too hot for you. Now, go home. You smell like a cowboy.”

“I am a cowboy.” His eyes glittered knowingly, as if he could see right through her facade to the secret part of her she liked to keep hidden. “And I want to talk to all three of you,” he said.

And what Ty wanted, he got. No use trying to fight it, he’d probably just toss her over his shoulder and cart her into the kitchen, where even now she could hear her sisters’ voices.

It was pointless to fight with him. So she shrugged in acquiescence and sashayed away.

Ty watched, a slow, appreciative smile crossing his face now that she had her back to him. God, she was so easy to bait, and he loved to see her flash all that fire she struggled to contain.

She was something; that compact, hot little body of hers spitting all that attitude, her wild hair falling around her shoulders. A strand slipped in her face, which she tugged at with a low sound of annoyance.

Oh yeah, she was riled up good now.

And while there were other things he might love to do to her as well as tease, Zoe Martin was off-limits. They’d both set those limits three days ago. He’d done so because, despite her innocence in the whole thing, he resented like crazy that she was holding Ben’s dream. He was far less certain why she held back from their obvious, unfortunate attraction, though he got a feeling it was because she’d been hurt and betrayed far too much in her short life. It did disturb him to watch her hide her natural sensuality and passion, especially when he knew that sensuality and passion were directed at him.

She concealed them behind a wall of indifference that exasperated him. Which was why he so enjoyed the bickering; it pulled her out of her shell and revealed the true Zoe.

But she was a weakness, one he didn’t have time for.

He’d come to a decision. One that would solve this problem once and for all. He was going to do exactly as Constance had asked. He would manage this place for them. It meant getting the ranch running from nothing. It would take money, hard work and grit, none of which he was even sure they had.

Truth was, he was banking on them not having it. As soon as they saw how much was involved, he figured the city girls would be happy to sell—to him—and head back to Los Angeles.

Nobody would get hurt; they’d go home and he would fulfill his promise to his brother. Perfect. Hoping it worked, Ty followed the tantalizing scent of food, and the equally tantalizing scent of Zoe Martin.

* * *

“Go ahead, Ty, you take that last piece.” Maddie held out the pan and smiled at him. He smiled back because it had taken her these entire three days just to feel comfortable enough to speak easily to him, and he felt relieved she’d decided to trust him.

Relieved and guilty, because he didn’t deserve their trust when he wanted them to leave so badly.

The mouth-watering aroma of melted cheese and sausage continued to call to him. But he’d had four pieces already, and he hadn’t come to eat them out of house and home.

“You know you want it,” Delia teased him.

They’d had an instant connection, he and Delia. A brother-sister connection that had them immediately bonded. And now he’d bonded with Maddie as well, their relationship was softer, more gentle than the teasing one he and Delia shared.

He wanted to resent these women, and did. But some of that resentment was fading, no matter how he struggled to hold on to it.

God, he missed Ben. He supposed that would never change. But how to keep his dream alive without hurting these women?

Maddie was a haunting beauty, with huge wide eyes that just made a man want to drown in them and offer to slay dragons. Those eyes held secrets, painful ones, and he wondered at them. Delia was tall and slender, a glamour girl. Intelligent, too, with a wicked sense of humor he got a kick out of. And in her eyes was a need to belong. Well, she belonged now, to the ranch he wanted for himself.

Then there was Zoe. She was different from her sisters, far different. He wasn’t satisfied by anything so simple as friendship, and he didn’t understand it.

“Eat,” Maddie said to him again, gesturing with the box. “You’ve lost weight.”

Zoe snorted.

He ignored Zoe and winked at Maddie. She held the pan patiently.

His stomach growled.

Oh, what the hell. He took the piece, studying the third sister, the one who didn’t easily fit into any simple category.

Did she feel the same way about him? Hard to tell since she hid everything going on inside that head behind a screen of grumpy indifference.

She wiggled uncomfortably under his scrutiny, then finally swallowed a bit of pizza before demanding, “What are you looking at?”

“You.”

She flushed, fidgeted some more, giving herself away. “why?”

He simply grinned and continued eating, undisturbed, relaxing now that he knew the truth...she was secretly crazy about him.

A comfortable silence filled the room as they ate. They were all sitting on the freshly cleaned living room floor, before a warm, crackling fire, eating picnic-style.

That they didn’t have four chairs in the kitchen wasn’t the point. The sisters just loved being together, and they were willing to share that with him—and he wanted their one and only possession for himself.

“I didn’t come to eat,” he said quietly, putting down his pizza.

“Really,” Zoe said dryly, brushing off her hands. “I never would have guessed.” Her eyes sharpened on him. “You being here wouldn’t by any chance have anything to do with you wanting this land, would it?”


Chapter 3 (#ulink_d8dda650-4cd9-5194-8290-98805f828e46)

“Zoe, be nice,” Maddie said lightly. She swiveled her head, her short, dark hair flying around her face, her dark, deep eyes warm with affection as she spoke to Ty. “She’s a bully today because that jerk at the bank in Lewiston didn’t hire her.” She looked at Zoe again and reached for her sister’s hand. “He just didn’t recognize a treasure when he found one, that’s all.”

Zoe swallowed, closed her eyes for a long heartbeat, clearly touched, and just as clearly uncomfortable with Maddie’s easy love.

Ty’s curiosity upped a notch, so did a strange sense of protectiveness. The drive to Lewiston was long and never easy in the best of times. “Why did you want a job there? It’s too far for you to drive it every day.”

Zoe recovered from Maddie’s affection in the blink of an eye and looked at him as if he were something she’d scraped off the bottom of her shoe. “It’s funny how expensive this habit of eating is.”

“I wish you wouldn’t, Zoe,” Delia said quietly. “We’ll find a way. We’ll sell something, or get a loan.”

“Delia’s right,” Maddie insisted. “We’ll make it work together or not at all.”

Ty watched the three of them, felt their closeness as a tangible thing.

And it was, he reminded himself. These women were family. They were closer than family, for they’d chosen to be related. He’d chosen to be unrelated to the family he had left. It’d been for a good reason, that reason being survival basically, but the fact remained. He had no one.

God, he missed Ben.

Drawing in a deep breath, he realized the truth he’d only guessed at before. These women couldn’t afford to get the ranch going, but they were too stubborn to give up. They might never leave and sell him the land. There was only one thing to do.

“I came here tonight to talk to all of you,” he said. Zoe frowned, Maddie’s brow wrinkled in worry. Delia sat calmly, waiting. Typical, he thought. The pessimist, the worrier, the cool one. Already, they were worming their way into his affections. He couldn’t stand the thought of any of them being hurt.

That it was him trying to hurt them was unbearable. “I’d like to be your partner,” he said.

That was met with stunned silence.

“You’re already manager,” Zoe said suspiciously.

And how she hated that. “This would be different. I’d be an equal partner. I’d share the losses.”

“And the profits,” she pointed out.

“Well, yes.”

They all stared at him, three pairs of wide eyes, as if he’d lost his marbles.

“Hey, this is a good thing, ladies,” he said, smiling into their pensive silence. “You want a ranch. You don’t have the needed capital. I do. It would give you money to survive on until you got your stock built up through purchases and breeding.”

“Wait a minute. Did you say breeding?” Delia carefully set down her drink. “Here?”

She said breeding as if it were a four-letter word, and it made Ty laugh. Delia was a city girl, born and bred. Los Angeles was her playground. Hell, she probably did think breeding was a bad word.

Once upon a time he had felt stifled in a city, claustrophobic. Chicago was a place where one couldn’t even turn around without bumping elbows with a neighbor, and he had resented that. Ben had, too, and for as long as he could remember, Ty had wanted out.

He needed open space. Fresh air. His own land, lots of it.

What he needed was their land.

“And you have enough money just lying around that you could lend it to us,” Zoe said, with serious doubt.

“Yes.” He hadn’t gotten it by inheritance, that much was certain. His mother had been a whore, his father a career criminal. He didn’t have any relatives who would leave him a time bomb, much less something of value. He’d simply been very successful at raising and training horses, investing his profits wisely, making the most of what he’d earned.

“And how much is this going to cost us?” Zoe asked. “In say...land?”

Trust her to speak so bluntly. “I’m not going to cheat you out of anything, Zoe. Ever.”

Her eyes, the color of drenched moss in the dim light, stared at him warily, unwilling to believe, which hurt in a way he hadn’t expected.

“Well, I for one know you’d never hurt us,” Delia said gently as she scooted around the pizza to put her arm on his shoulders. She squeezed him. “We just don’t want to take your money, that’s all.”

“It wouldn’t be right,” Maddie said, smiling sweetly and patting his knee. “You keep it for yourself, Ty.”

He couldn’t believe it, but his throat actually tightened at their easy affection and trust. He hugged Delia back, and touched Maddie’s lovely face. Something about the heat warring with fear in Zoe’s eyes kept his hands off her, for she wasn’t as simple to show easy affection to as her sisters.

But he wanted to touch her; the need shocked him. “I can help,” he said instead. “You expected this place to be up and running.”

“But, Ty, we hadn’t decided that we were definitely going to...breed,” Delia pointed out.

Ty had spent every summer since he was ten on a series of ranches in “the country,” really just a suburb of Chicago. At first he’d been sent there by the city officials because no one had wanted the trouble-causing boy he’d been. He’d been worked hard, and he had grown to love every minute of it, while still pretending to hate it.

Then later he’d gone willingly, taking Ben, feeling more at home in the great outdoors than anywhere else. He loved horses, loved all animals, and had begged, borrowed and practically stolen to make Ben’s fantasy of ranching come true.

It had to be in one’s blood to make this hard living work. And if it wasn’t in these women’s blood, they’d go away and he would buy the land. Then they’d all win.

“Let me get this straight.” Zoe studied him carefully. “You want to be involved as a partner, not just to manage, but to own a part of it.”

“Yep.”

“You want to control it.”

Her mistrust was palpable, and he couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to her to make her this way. “I wouldn’t even attempt to control you, Zoe,” he said softly, everything else fading away but this woman with the bcautiful and so-unsure eyes. “If that’s what you’re thinking.”

“You couldn’t, anyway,” she said, lifting her chin.

“It snows here in the wintertime,” Delia said shakily.

“Quite a bit,” Ty told her.

“If we had a bunch of animals here, we wouldn’t be able to head south for warmer weather.”

“You’ll love cross-country skiing. I’ll teach you,” Ty said, shocked to discover he meant it. But they were leaving soon. He was counting on it, he reminded himself.

“Oh Lord,” Delia murmured, rubbing her head. “It just hit me. The wilds. We’re really living in the wilds.”

“Eighty-three thousand square miles of wonder,” he confirmed. “That’s Idaho. There’s no place more wild in the U.S., except for maybe Alaska.”

Delia moaned.

“Well, it’s not like we’re camping,” Maddie pointed out in her quiet, infinite wisdom. “You have electricity for your hair dryer, Delia. A tub for your bubble bath.”

Zoe let loose enough to laugh, the sound unexpectedly light and happy. Her tense face transposed, softened...and took Ty’s breath away. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Skiing,” Zoe murmured a bit dreamily. “I’ve always wanted to try it.”

The yearning in her voice tugged at him. “You’re in, Slim?”

He knew what the stakes were for her; Delia had told him. After years of going to college at night while working full-time during the day, Zoe had finally gotten her business degree. Would she be happy running a ranch when a cool, easy living was all she’d ever wanted?

“And you’re going to stick with us?” she wondered. “No matter what?”

They were still watching each other, so that there was no hiding what flickered between them. Honesty, fear. Need. Startling need. “I’m going to stick, no matter what,” he said.

He saw the moment his response registered. The promise he was making. Saw, too, her fierce disbelief, and he experienced a strange urge to pound whoever had hurt her so badly in her past, whoever had caused Zoe to accept a promise, any promise, with such mistrust.

“Well, I think you’d make a good partner,” Maddie said softly, with a shy smile. “But only if Delia and Zoe agree.”

Delia’s wide gaze whipped to Maddie. She was so uncustomarily ruffled she forgot to pretend she wasn’t.

“I promise to make sure all the amenities run smoothly,” Ty said seriously, though he wanted to sigh in relief. They’d never stay long, and while he might actually miss them, he convinced himself he was doing them a favor. “I’ll even build a Jacuzzi, Delia. Just for you.”

“Oh, really?” She beamed. “You really will?”

“Promise.”

“Okay, but I won’t raise pigs. Or kill anything that makes red meat,” Delia said firmly.

“No problem. We can start with horses if you’d like.”

Delia flipped back her hair and took a deep, calming breath. “Oh God. Okay. I’m in, too. Maddie’s right. You’d be a great partner. Zoe?”

All eyes flew to Zoe, including Ty’s. She looked at him, unusually intense.

And again that strange, inexplicable communication happened between them. She was looking for honesty and he’d claimed to have given it, but he hadn’t, not fully.

He was counting on them leaving and guilt hit hard.

She deserved more, but unfortunately he couldn’t give it.

The room was thick with unspoken hopes and dreams. Ty watched Zoe, waited while that current tugged between them.

Stubbornness set her jaw, and he knew from the sudden disappointment filling him what her answer would be before she even spoke.

“You know what?” she said softly. “We’ll do this, we’ll manage to get this ranch running, but we can do it on our own. We won’t be a burden to anyone.”

“I never said you’d be a burden,” he said carefully. What had given him away? Had she read his guilt for what it was? “I offered.”

“Zoe, I—” Delia pinched her mouth closed at the look of determination on Zoe’s face. “Never mind. You’re right.”

Maddie sighed, then smiled and took Zoe’s hand, effectively disarming the tension. “Thanks, Ty, for offering.” She spoke softly but firmly, sparing one last glance for her still-silent and brooding sister. “But we’ll be fine.”

They were united, together. Reluctant admiration shot through Ty. Seems they had grit after all.

Then he looked at Zoe, who was looking at him with a definite challenging light. He felt his blood stir to meet that challenge. They would still work together. After all, he was manager of their property for the next year whether they liked it or not. It would be interesting, to say the least, considering she was stubborn to the last drop.

So was he.

“But Ty, honey?” Delia smiled beguilingly. “Think I could still have that Jacuzzi?”

* * *

Zoe took a walk after dinner in the cold night, desperately in need of some perspective, which she couldn’t get being in the same room with the enigmatic, sexy Ty Jackson.

Leaving Ty happily and easily charming Maddie and Delia, she stomped along. Why did he do that? she wondered. He certainly didn’t bother with any charm when it came to her, yet with her sisters, he poured it on. It wasn’t fake, either, which also confused her. No, when he spoke to Maddie or Delia his eyes were warm and relaxed, his manner genuine and easygoing yet somehow protective.

But she wasn’t fooled.

Letting her pent-up energy take her where it would, she roamed. In daylight, Triple M was too gorgeous to believe. Behind the house, there were the three peaks, behind them more mountains for as far as the eye could see. The fertile black soil was covered with lush growth. Tall green grass, myriad colors of wildflowers, the azure-blue sky, the deeper blue of the raging river, and interspersed among it all were the two rustic red barns, the ranch house and a series of run-down cottages.

A picture-perfect scene.

Except that the barns were empty and in desperate need of repair. So was the house. Brightly colored wildflowers grew like weeds in the empty pastures.

At night, though, like now, Zoe could walk through and imagine it how it should be.

She gave in to the panic gnawing at her belly. They had savings, but they were small. Too small. God, she thought, leaning against a wooden railing. What would they do? They couldn’t go back, there was nothing for them in L.A.

This was where they belonged, she could feel it, but she was deeply afraid about their future.

For whatever reason, Ty wanted this place, too. But she was every bit as rough and tough as he, and utterly indestructible, despite the broken promises in her past.

She told herself she hardly ever thought about that anymore, her mother’s hastily whispered vow to return as she dumped a terrified three-year-old Zoe in the group foster home.

Good thing for Zoe that home had been so strong, so supportive. There had been some rough kids she’d had to fend off occasionally, but the owners of the house, the Fontaines, had been kind, loving and very warm. Without that base in her life, who knows how or where she would have ended up.

Yet she wasn’t stupid enough to ignore the fact that she had indeed been perversely affected by her beginnings, no matter how much she shoved those beginnings away. She knew she didn’t trust well. She knew she used gruffness and irritability as a shield to keep others at bay. And she protected her wary heart with a grid of iron, never allowing anyone but her sisters too close. Even then, she’d held back a good part of herself, though it shamed her to admit it, for in return they had given her everything.

Fact was, Zoe liked control. A lot. And she went out of her way to ensure she always had it, which included holding tight reins on her feelings. But she didn’t have it here and she didn’t have it with Ty. One look into those sharp, knowing eyes and she knew the truth. Ty Jackson wasn’t the type to be controlled, which was reason enough to steer clear of the man. Not a problem, even if he had the best butt in Idaho and a smile that made her heart stutter. She’d steer clear.

She didn’t need the heartache.

What she did need was to survive, and she was a master at that. All she had to do was turn this ranch around, and fast. As in yesterday.

She could do it. They could do it.

But the little flutter of nerves had her pushing on. She drew in a deep breath of night. Dark in Idaho was unlike anything she’d ever seen in Los Angeles. It was...black. And complete. The sky was littered with stars, the air cold and crisp. It smelled like...camping.

And now it was home. Home.

God, what was she thinking? They were out of her element, there wasn’t a Taco Bell within a hundred miles! There wasn’t even a major city within a hundred miles.

But deep down she knew she wasn’t worried about Boise. Shooting the house a disgusted look over her shoulder, she kicked at some dirt and walked into the night, her inefficient tennis shoes sticking in the mud.

She was worried about her sisters.

And, if she were being honest, she was worried about Ty.

One of them was bound to fall for him. Delia loved a man with a sense of humor hidden behind the body of a Greek god, and Ty definitely fit the bill. And Maddie, she seemed to be such an easy mark for any man, with her low self-esteem and constant need to be...well, needed. Someone like Ty could take advantage of a woman like her in less than two minutes.

Only one problem with the theory of Ty hurting one of her sisters—he wasn’t looking at either Maddie or Delia with that fiery passion hidden behind sleepy bedroom eyes. He was looking at her.

What had that been over dinner, that strange connection between them? For a long, uncomfortable amount of time, she hadn’t been able to tear her gaze from his. Not that the big, lean, muscular man was a hardship to look at, but it unnerved her, this attraction she didn’t want.

Just the thought had her walking faster into the night. Behind the shack of a barn, and nearly a hundred yards away, was another building, a second barn. With all her energy, it was no problem to cover this distance quickly. She was oddly unafraid of the dark, even with all the night sounds echoing around her. In fact, she felt more at home here in the wilderness than she ever had on the crazy streets of Los Angeles.

This barn was much nicer than the one closer to the house, and she knew why. It wasn’t used by Constance’s ranch, it was part of the land leased by Ty. This part of Constance’s land was closest to his, and at certain times of the year, such as now, when it was still cold at night, he kept horses stabled here.

Through a thicket of trees and up a gentle slope she thought she could see the lights of his own ranch house. But because she didn’t want to imagine his life there, she turned away and opened one of the heavy double barn doors.

“Well, hello there.”

Zoe nearly jumped out of her skin at the unexpected voice, which was mixed with the sounds of the horses within the barn, stomping impatiently at the late intrusion.

“It’s just me. Cliff.” The man turned his flashlight on himself as he dismounted from his horse. “How‘ya doing tonight, ma’am?”

Zoe recognized him as one of Ty’s men. He was young, late twenties at the most. He smiled easily, laughed just as easily, was sweet and kind to a fault; altogether the opposite of his boss.

“I’m just checking the horses,” he said, as if he needed to put her mind to rest. “We’ve got one close to foal.”

Zoe’s troubles fell away at the thought. “Really?” She pictured a brand new baby horse, all awkward and adorable, struggling to stand next to its mother, and went warm and fuzzy inside. “I’ve never seen a pregnant horse before.”

“Can’t have that,” Cliff drawled, smiling at her. He walked past her into the barn and hit one of the switches on the wall. Soft light filled a small portion of the barn. So did an intriguing mix of scents that Zoe hadn’t gotten used to yet, but liked. Sweet hay, horse...man.

Even here, she thought with wonder, she could smell Ty.

She told herself that was dumb and concentrated on looking around. There was a double row of stables here, and a couple of curious horses peeked out over the doors. A sable-colored mare stood closest in her stall, staring over the wood with large, melting eyes.

Zoe moved closer, mesmerized. In the past few days she hadn’t had time for this, with getting the house cleaned and everything situated. She reached out with a slightly nervous hand, charmed when the horse pushed her big head closer, stretching her long neck.

Then Cliff was there, right next to Zoe, holding an apple. He pulled out a pocketknife and sliced off a piece. Gently, he took Zoe’s hand in his warm, callused one, put the wedge of apple on it and held it out. Zoe went still at Cliff’s touch and waited for that burst of awareness, the same one she got whenever Ty inadvertently touched her.

Nothing.

Disappointed, she looked up into Cliff’s handsome face, wondering why. It didn’t seem fair in the least that this man did nothing for her. It wasn’t unusual, she’d gone most of her life without being tempted in the slightest by the more rugged male species. She’d managed to lose her virginity early due to pure curiosity, but a shrugging disinterest in the activities had assured her she wasn’t missing anything.

Here she was at twenty-six, a woman who didn’t seem to lust as most normal women did. So why was she suddenly doing just that with Ty of all men?

Well, if she had to be experimenting, then it should be with someone kind and gentle like Cliff. Maybe if she tried just a tad bit harder...

Oblivious to her thoughts, Cliff held the apple up to the eager horse. “Watch,” he whispered conspiratorially, winking when Zoe beamed up at him, giving it her best shot.

The beautiful animal, whose sides were bursting, obviously filled with pregnancy, reached its sniffing, hopeful face toward them and...bright light flooded the place.

The horse snickered, annoyed. Zoe blocked her eyes from the bright glare.

“This is certainly cozy.”

Zoe blinked until she could see. Ty leaned negligently back against the wall, arms loose, fingers hooked into his belt loops, legs crossed in a deceptively casual pose. Every switch on the wall had been flipped on. “Sorry if I interrupted anything,” he said, looking anything but.

Cliff smiled at him and shook his head. “Just giving Abby a bedtime snack.” But he dropped his hand from Zoe’s.

Ty nodded, his expression inscrutable. “You’re all done for the night?”

Cliff’s smile faded some and he shuffled his feet slightly. “Well...”

Ty lifted a brow, all stern and unrelenting, none of the sharp wit that Zoe had come to think of as innately part of the man in evidence now. “Well, what?” he snapped.

Zoe opened her mouth, but not sure what to say, she shut it again.

Cliff shifted his weight. “I didn’t have time to—”

“You had time to come on to Ms. Martin.”

Now Zoe opened her mouth again, suddenly positive she did indeed have plenty to say.

Before she could, Ty pushed away from the wall, and when he did, Cliff shot Zoe a half-sheepish, half-apologetic glance, moving clear from her.

“Ah...gotta go,” he mumbled.

With enough bright lights shining that she could see every line on his tanned face, Zoe had no trouble detecting Cliff’s blush, or his embarrassment. She glared at Ty, who didn’t appear to notice. When Cliff had fumbled his way out of the barn, leaving the door open in his haste to escape, Zoe ground her teeth and turned to Ty. “Well, that was...nice.”

His eyes flashed. “Don’t flirt with my help.”

“Flirt?” A shocked laugh left her. This had to be a joke. But it wasn’t, she realized, looking at his furious face.

“If you want to flirt,” he growled, “you do it with me.”

Carefully she closed her dropped jaw. “You’re the last man in Idaho—No, the last man on earth that I’d flirt with.” Tossing her hair back, she stormed over to him. That her chin didn’t even come to his tense shoulder didn’t stop her; she wasn’t afraid of him. “And don’t you ever tell me what to do.”

“I’ll tell you whatever I please when it’s my business.”

“This is just because I refused to take you on as our partner.”

“Believe me, it has nothing to do with that—”

“You flirt with Shirley.”

He laughed then, some of the tension leaving him as she stood him down. “I do not.”

“I saw you.”

“What you saw, Zoe, was me turning her down. I don’t mix business and pleasure. Usually,” he added, taking the last step between them.

The breath backed up in her throat at the look on his face. The shadows covered some of his expression, making it difficult to tell if all that heat was anger or arousal. She preferred the former.

“Did you hear me, Zoe? Stay away from my ranch hands.”

“You’re a...a bully!”

He laughed again. “Is that the best you can do?” Before she could come up with better, he’d taken her shoulders and pressed her back against the stall. Zoe was sandwiched between the hard, cold wood and Ty’s equally hard but warm body, and her mind went blank. He surrounded her, and it wasn’t a threatening sort of feeling at all, though it should have been. His broad shoulders blocked the light, blocked out everything but him.

“You were...” She struggled to keep her train of thought, difficult when all the blood rushed out of her head at the rough, unexpected embrace. “Rude to Cliff.”

“I know.” His forehead lowered to hers at the startling admission. “What is it about you that drives me so crazy?”

It was a rhetorical question, but with his lips hovering only a scant inch from hers, Zoe felt the compulsive need to keep talking because if she stopped, he might kiss her and then she would be lost.

“Don’t worry,” she said quickly. “I drive everyone crazy, it’s not just you. Ask Delia—”

“Delia’s not here.” His large hands captured her head with surprising gentleness. Slowly he tilted it up, better aligning their mouths so that if he so much as breathed, they’d be connected.

It couldn’t happen, she thought, unreasonable panic welling. This was crazy, they had no business doing this, none at all. Forget her wild fantasy involving his wicked mouth covering hers, of his tough, powerful body doing things to her own, of his deep, husky voice detailing each one of those things... Goodness. Forget it, this was not what she wanted.

But he was going to kiss her if she didn’t do something, anything. “Ty...I don’t think—”

“That’s right,” he murmured, his eyes heavy-lidded. “Don’t think. Feel.”

“But—” He was watching her mouth with a hot, intent purpose that had her knees knocking together. “Ty...”

“Hmm-mmm...”

He wasn’t going to listen to her. Well, she knew what to do, she was from Los Angeles, and well prepared. “Ty,...”

“Shh.” His hips slid over hers, the hard ridge between his thighs unmistakable. He did it again, finding the soft notch between hers, and she was putty m his hands. “Ty...I don’t—”

“Zoe.” Just that, just her name on a groaning sigh.

Nope, listening was beyond him, it was nearly beyond her. So she did the only thing she could think of to stop him.

She punched him.


Chapter 4 (#ulink_d8dda650-4cd9-5194-8290-98805f828e46)

One week later, as spring gave way to summer, Zoe began to regret her rash decision in turning down Ty for a partnership.

And also for punching him in the belly.

Ty had pretty much ignored her, brooding and silent whenever they were together. However, with her sisters he’d been Mr. Charm.

Zoe told herself she could live with that.

What she couldn’t live with was the ranch in its current condition. The only income they generated was the land Ty currently leased for his own operation. Which meant one fourth of the land looked good and cared for. He had fenced in pastures for his horses, and not only were they beautiful and impressive, it was an unbelievable thrill to stand outdoors, on land that belonged to her and her sisters, and watch nature take its course.

With the warm season came a patchwork of colors so brilliant it hurt the eye. Wheat, peas, alfalfa and wildflowers all grew naturally, blowing gently in the breeze, framed in by the river and the mountains. It was gorgeous beyond anything she’d ever known, and her love for the place grew.

She didn’t want to give up on it, but they had to be able to survive.

Enchanted by the magnificent land, despite the isolation and clear-cut problems, Zoe and her sisters had agreed—they’d stick it out until the end. For better or worse.

Only for Zoe, it’d gotten worse. She’d had no clue how hard it would be to see Ty Jackson on a daily basis. Hell, on an hourly basis.

He was everywhere.

Long, powerful legs strained his snug, faded jeans. Tough, rugged shoulders managed to take on amazing amounts of work and responsibility. And his silent, crooked, knowing smile that taunted her.

“What’s the matter, Slim?” he called out from his spot twenty-five yards away.

“Did I complain?” she snapped, turning her back to him.

Being manager could have meant any of a thousand things, but thankfully he seemed to respect them enough to let them make their own decisions for the ranch. Unfortunately they had no idea what those decisions should be.

Ty had a full staff of trainers and ranch hands at his own place, and since Triple M didn’t, and couldn’t afford one, he’d committed to riding fences on their land today, a chore desperately needed. To Maddie and Delia’s combined delight, and Zoe’s suspicion, Ty had taken Zoe as his helper.

This amused her sisters because they both sensed exactly how explosive she and Ty were together, and since the closest video store was an hour’s drive away, it served as their entertainment.

Maddie had days ago suggested, in her sweet, calm way, that Zoe try harder to get along with Ty, that maybe Zoe was mad because Ty did what no one else did—made Zoe feel.

Maddie didn’t know what she was talking about, grumbled Zoe as the sun beat down on her. She saw no reason to try to get along with the man who was only being nice to her to get her land, no matter how good his arms had felt around her.

He drove her crazy on purpose, she thought darkly, wiping her damp forehead with her arm. He thrived on it, as if he was as strangely frustrated as she at their strange, unaccountable attraction.

Ever since that night she’d slugged him, he’d stopped teasing her at every turn, but he still, when she least expected it, shot her one of his...looks.

The scorching, hungry, “maybe I’m going to kiss you in spite of you hitting me” look that made her bones melt. Made her yearn and ache and...yes, dammit, feel, in a world where she’d learned that feeling only hurt. She’d been with Delia and Maddie for years, and still she’d managed to keep a good part of Zoe to herself.

So what made it so hard with Ty?

He hadn’t attempted to kiss her again, yet he’d kissed her sisters regularly. Sweet little pecks with closed lips. He kissed other women like Shirley—which for reasons Zoe didn’t want to think about, made her want to strangle him, especially since those kisses were not so sweet and not so little at all.

Zoe knew this because she’d had the misfortune to catch him kissing the woman in the barn. Well, to be honest, as Ty had told her, Shirley had kissed him. But it’d been a long, deep, messy-looking kiss.

She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut against the strange pooling of heat between her thighs.

What made that memory even worse was the way Ty had looked when he’d finally managed to pull back. Dark, intense...aroused in spite of himself.

And some pathetic little part of Zoe wanted to feel that way, too. Wanted Ty to make her feel that way.

Was she that awful? She hadn’t hit him that hard, had she? And it was only because she’d been frightened, not of him, but of what he made her feel.

God. What was she thinking? Zoe didn’t care why he didn’t kiss her! She was thankful, yes, she was.

She didn’t want to be that desperate for anyone. If she just stuck mostly to herself, she’d be just fine. Yes, she had Delia and Maddie, but she knew deep down, one day they’d get married and have children and drift away from her. They’d find others in their lives to love and she would be fine with that.

She’d be alone again, and she’d be fine. Just fine.

Ty patiently held the wire. The sun gleamed off his reflective sunglasses so that she couldn’t see his eyes, but she imagined they were lit with amusement—at her expense. “Don’t tell me you broke a nail,” he called out.

“Shut up,” she called back in what she meant to be an amiable tone, but she sounded weary even to her own ears. Straightening, she stretched her aching body, knowing she’d lie down and die before she admitted she was tired. Die, too, before admitting she’d been thinking of him.

Shoving her long, out-of-control hair back, she wished for a hair band with all her might. She lifted her hands to raise it off her hot neck, but her hands were disgustingly dirty. Shrugging her shoulders at this minor inconvenience, just one more in a long line of many, she snipped off an extra piece of wire and twisted it in her hair, far more concerned with comfort than looks.

It’d be hell later, untangling the wire from the snarls in her curls, but that was a worry to be saved for nightfall.

“Hey there.”

He’d come right up behind her. She jumped a little because his voice was so rough yet silky, and it did something funny to her nerves. “Stop sneaking up on me.”

Solemnly, he held out a pair of gloves. “Keep these on,” he demanded. “You’ll ruin your skin.”

“You must be confusing me with Delia.” It was only fair to share her rotten mood with him since he’d caused it “I could care less about my nails.”

“Hmm.” His work-roughened hands brushed hers, and at the contact, her stomach tightened all funny. She jerked her hands away, annoyed at both of them.

“Touchy,” he noted.

“Just keep your paws to yourself.” No one’s touch had ever made her feel all tingly inside. Why his? Why now? And if she smacked him again, would he understand that it was just her irrational fear and nothing personal?

“Touchy and full of insults.” He grinned. “You’re a real joy to work with.”

“So are you,” she said evenly. “Just ask Cliff.”

He didn’t even look ashamed. “I apologized to him.”

“Not to me.”

“You slugged me!” He slid a hand over his perfectly flat stomach as if remembering the punch vividly.

Why, she wondered for the hundredth time, was he so gentle with the quiet, withdrawn Maddie, so funny with intense Delia and so absolutely ungentle and unfunny with her?

Instead he was bold and wicked and fierce, and she refused to feel bad, or at least admit that she did. “You could have chosen Maddie or Delia to help you today, so don’t complain that you’re stuck with me.”

“Who’s complaining?”

Well, he had her there. Feeling awkward with him so close and so big, she looked around desperately for a distraction. She didn’t have to look too far. The dry, parching heat was getting to her. “I wish I had a rubber band!”

“Here.” He reached into the truck and opened the glove box. His wallet fell out, opened, to the floorboard. Ignoring that, Ty found a rubber band and handed it to her.

“Thank you.” But the words were hard to say because she was looking into the truck, down at his open wallet. And at the two—two!—condoms in it. A little squeak of shocked embarrassment escaped her.

Without any sign of self-consciousness, he replaced the wallet and straightened.

“Better?” he asked, gesturing to her now-contained hair.

She could only stare at him. He carried two condoms on him, was all she could think. “Two?”

He let out a slow, sexy grin at that and she nearly swallowed her tongue, realizing she’d spoken out loud. “I mean—”

“I know what you mean,” he said. A long finger stroked her cheek, while his eyes flared with a surprising amount of heat. “I’m not promiscuous, I just like to be prepared. And sometimes one just isn’t enough.” His smile spread. “It wouldn’t be with you, Slim.”

“I—You—Oh.” Hopelessly flustered, she studied their feet, blushing all the more when he laughed softly. And she decided if he was enjoying this, she might as well ask “Just how not promiscuous are you?”

“Well...those two would probably fall apart if I needed them, they’re so old,” he admitted ruefully.

That cheered her up considerably. Until he tipped up her chin and said, “I’m thinking of replacing them.” His thumb glided along her lip, making it tingle, and the look in his eyes made her heart take off like a shot.

He did it on purpose, she decided, just to see her all ruffled, and she renewed her efforts at resenting him with all her locked-up heart.

Before she could stalk off, he easily captured her hands again, studying them carefully. “I want you to wear the gloves so you don’t get cut and scratched.” His thumb slid lightly over a reddened knuckle.

Just a simple touch. One little touch. And because of it, she had to open her mouth to breathe. Then he bent and blew lightly on her wound, just a slight puff of air, and she nearly moaned out loud.

She snatched back her hand. “Knock it off.” She was proud of her even, haughty voice. He didn’t have to know that her bones had just melted away, leaving her drowning in a pool of longing.

He just looked at her, all one hundred eighty pounds of uninhibited, rowdy, knowing male. “What’s the matter?”

She lifted her chin and glared back. “You’re wasting precious daylight hours. I’m going to have to dock your pay.”

“I’m not getting paid.”

Which was another puzzle she’d been meaning to solve. “You cared for Constance that much that you’d do this for one year without compensation?”

He met her gaze evenly. “Yes.”

That sort of generosity was unheard of where she’d come from. There was a reason for it, she reminded herself. Just as there was a reason he was trying to butter them up.

“We are going to pay you, you know,” she grumbled, looking away. “Soon as we can.”

He smiled then and leaned against a post, all sinewy grace. “The gig is up.”

“What gig?”

“Why don’t you save us both a bunch of trouble and admit how you feel about me?”

She managed a laugh. “It’s not flattering.”

That infuriatingly sexy smile stayed put. “You’re crazy about me.”

“Crazy, definitely.” She flipped her precarious ponytail back, using annoyance to cover her fear. Had she given herself away? He couldn’t have guessed her deepest, darkest, most secret fantasy, could he?

Her secret little hope that someday he would be the crazy one. Crazy for her. Not for the land, but her.

Just thinking it in the light of day had color rushing to her cheeks. She put her hands on them, feeling the dirt streak on her skin.

She could only imagine how she looked. And how was it that she felt as though grime clung to her every pore, while he looked cool and clean? He even smelled good, she thought resentfully. Lingering soap and one hundred percent male. No man should be allowed to smell that good. Standing there thinking about it, she wavered in the heat.

No wonder women fell over him. It was disgusting, yet she leaned just a tad closer to catch another whiff.

She must be more tired than she thought.

His eyes narrowed on her, reminding her she didn’t like that he noticed every little thing about her, especially the things she didn’t want him to notice. “You’re slacking off, Jackson,” she muttered, turning away. “Get back to work.”

“Let’s take a break.”

“I don’t need one.”

He hauled her back around, his hands firm on her hips. “I need one,” he insisted, searching her face for who knew what. “I’m tired, Zoe. Very tired.”

“Oh. Well then, I don’t want to show you up or anything and make you feel bad.” She sank gratefully to the tailpipe of the truck—actually, rambling heap better described the ancient, beat-up thing that had been left on the deserted ranch.




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