Читать книгу Forever Jake - Barbara Dunlop - Страница 10

“NOTHING,” was what she quickly said. “I mean, I, uh…” She didn’t want him to think she was here to rekindle the old flame. But she didn’t want to talk about her Florence Nightingale impulse, either.

“Nice place you’ve got here,” she offered a bit desperately, glancing around the ranch. Close up, she was truly dazzled by what he’d done with his family’s land.

Connie had raved about his hard work and vision. Looking at the house, the barn, pens and outbuildings, Robin could certainly understand why. It must have taken some kind of work ethic over the past fifteen years to accomplish all of this.

He peered at her from under his hat brim, recapturing her attention. “So you came over to admire the place?”

“Yeah.” She nodded and immediately felt her neck heat up.

He looked pointedly and skeptically at her open shirt collar, then returned his gaze to her face, raising his eyebrows. “Did you come over to watch me ride?”

“Yeah.”

His eyes narrowed, and he reached forward to tip her collar out of the way. “Want me to ask you something really embarrassing?”

“No!”

He let go of her collar without the slightest brush to her skin. She couldn’t stop a little flare of disappointment. Those calloused hands were a real turn-on. Of course, so was pretty much everything else about him.

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Just tell me why you’re here.”

Robin sighed with exasperation. She hated that built-in lie detector. There were definite disadvantages to being around people who’d known her as a child. “I thought you might need medical attention.”

He pulled back. “You’re not a doctor.”

“I’m a licensed paramedic.”

“You’re kidding.”

“People don’t tend to joke about that.”

“That’s not what I meant.” The horse trotted past behind him, nickering softly, obviously none the worse for wear. “I’m just surprised, that’s all. I thought you were doing wilderness tours.”

“I was. Well, I was scouting locations, anyway. It helps to have medical training when you’re out in the field.”

“That makes sense.” A small silence followed his nod.

An errant blackfly buzzed her face, and she waved it away. She knew she should say goodbye and go help Connie with lunch. But she hesitated. Jake the Cowboy was everything Jake the Teenager had been, and more. He was all grown-up now, and so was she.

She couldn’t help wondering what would happen if they met for a midnight swim at thirty-two instead of eighteen. Would he send her away this time?

She took half a step closer, eyeing the broad shoulders straining beneath his denim shirt. She itched to touch him, to see what his muscles felt like, hardened by time and ripened through experience.

She cleared her throat. “Do all your horses buck people off?” It was difficult to keep an inconsequential conversation going through her escalating sexual buzz.

“Not all of them.” The gravelly base of his voice and the whisper of the wind reminded her they were alone. “I have a few that are rideable.”

“Oh. Good. That’s good.”

“Would you like to try one?” he asked.

“A horse?”

“No, a bull.” He grinned and her stomach flipped over. “Do you ride?”

It took her a second to recover her voice. “Yes. Yes, I ride horses. The nonbucking kind. Wild Ones Tours was considering a seven-day trek in Brazil last year.”

“So you tested it out.”

“Yeah.”

“Well, this isn’t Brazil.” He angled his head toward the towering hills behind his ranch. “But I have a little bay mare who needs some exercise, if you’d like to take a ride up the back.”

“With you?”

“With me.”

Her legs weakened at the thought. Or maybe they were weak from the long run. Who could tell? “Just the two of us?”

“Unless you think we need a chaperone,” he joked. But when his eyes caught hers, his smile swiftly faded.

The awakenings that had coursed through her young body pulsed with a vengeance.

He stilled. The air around him hummed with raw energy.

Oh, boy.

Was Connie right? Was this how fate reached out and grabbed you?

It was too early for her to be fertile. So fate obviously didn’t want Jake to father her child. Maybe fate just wanted them to have great sex.

“Sure.” She smiled. “I’ll go riding with you.”

JAKE TETHERED THE HORSES on a small, green plateau high above Forever where an underground stream surfaced for a few feet then disappeared into a rock fissure. So much for his master plan.

Staying close to Robin was easy. He’d sure been up close and personal in his dreams last night. It was the working-her-out-of-his-system part that had flaws.

Take now, for instance. The close part was on track. She was only ten feet away, taking in the view of the river far below. Unfortunately, lust screamed from every pore in his body. And he wanted nothing more than to toss her down on the bed of wildflowers and see how long it took before her kisses completely blew his mind, ruining him for any other woman on the planet.

“Ever climbed the face?” She stepped up to the cliff edge, leaning forward to look over.

Jake closed the gap instinctively, ready to pull her to safety if need be. Then he remembered her career. She’d probably peered over the edge of mountain cliffs too numerous to mention.

The woman wasn’t in any danger. He’d be the one committing suicide if he pulled her backward into the cradle of his hips.

“Seems like a waste of time and energy,” he answered on a forced drawl, trapping his thumbs in his belt loops to keep his hands where they belonged.

“You think so?” She cocked her head sideways, considering the steep plunge. “I think I could sell this trip to Wild Ones.”

“Yeah?”

“Horseback riding. Mountain climbing. River rafting. Who knows, someday Forever could be the adventure tourism mecca of the Yukon.” She grinned and stepped away from the edge.

And then maybe you’d move back? He closed his eyes and shook his head, disgusted with himself. If he wasn’t careful, he’d fall in love with her all over again. Then he’d have to stand helplessly by while she boarded the Beaver and stomped his heart to dust.

“You climb?” he asked.

She shrugged her small shoulders. “I took some lessons in Switzerland, but I’ve never done any of the big climbs.”

“Big climbs?”

“Everest, the Matterhorn, K-2.”

Her words highlighted the rift between their lifestyles. As if it needed any highlighting.