Читать книгу Wyoming Wife? - Shawna Delacorte - Страница 7

One

Nowhere in Samantha Burkett’s neatly organized and planned-out life had she ever imagined she would someday be in a situation like this one—at the mercy of a complete stranger, strapped into a helicopter seat, and skimming above a frozen landscape toward some unknown destination.

She had never been so cold in all her twenty-nine years. The only impulsive action she had ever taken in her entire life, and look where it had gotten her. She shivered inside her lightweight jacket. One thing was blatantly obvious—the wilds of Wyoming was no place for a tailored silk pantsuit and Italian leather shoes. She was a long way from Los Angeles and the conference-room protocol of the business world where she efficiently functioned on a daily basis.

An entirely new type of fear churned in the pit of her stomach as she watched the ground rush by beneath them. Even though she was strapped in, her side of the two-seater helicopter had no door. Not only was the cold wind whipping right through her thin clothes, she just knew she was going to fall out. She closed her eyes and made an attempt at swallowing the lump in her throat.

A single tear ran down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. She thought she had cried out every tear that could be squeezed from her body two days ago, when her entire world had come crashing down around her. She shook her head to clear away the bad thoughts. That part of her life was over forever. She had to make a plan for the future. Right now, however, she needed to figure a way out of her current predicament. She took a deep breath, held it for a couple of seconds, then slowly expelled it.

She turned toward the man seated next to her, the man piloting the helicopter. Everything had happened so quickly she had not even gotten a good look at him. One moment she had been on her backside in a snowdrift on a country road, desperately trying to get her car unstuck, and the next moment she found herself slung over this stranger’s shoulder like a sack of flour as he ran toward the waiting helicopter. She had been aware that he was tall, an inch or two above six feet, but everything else was just a blurred impression of a man wearing dark glasses and bundled up in a heavy jacket.

She finally managed to utter a few words, the first attempt at any conversation on either of their parts. “Who are you? Where are you taking me?”

He did not respond to her questions. The loud noise of the engine and the rotor blade drowned out her words and made conversation impossible. She studied him as they flew toward what she assumed would be a small local airport, someplace where she could get help with her car and hopefully find a motel where she could spend the night.

His blond hair was thick and a little long, but it seemed to suit his strong, chiseled features—at least the ones she could see with his jacket collar turned up around his neck and cheeks. His dark glasses prevented her from seeing the color of his eyes. His face was tanned, and his skin seemed to be showing the first signs of the effect of working outdoors in adverse weather conditions. She guessed his age to be mid to late thirties. The way this ruggedly handsome man had picked her up in one easy move and thrown her over his shoulder said he had to be in superb physical condition.

A few minutes later a large ranch house, barn, stables, corral and a cluster of surrounding structures came into sight. Snow had already started falling again when the helicopter touched down next to one of the small buildings. The stranger jumped out of the helicopter and was met by two men who ran from the barn. “See that the copter’s secured real tight, Ben. We’re in for a bad one.”

The older of the two men took charge. “I was getting worried about you, Jace. I was afraid the storm was going to cut you off and leave you grounded out in the middle of nowhere. They say the main thrust is going to hit with a vengeance—Arctic blast of freezing temperatures, strong winds, possibly as much as three feet of snow.”

“We usually get one pre-season snowstorm, sort of nature’s warning that winter is on the way, but nothing like this. I hope it moves on as fast as it came in.” Jace turned toward the ranch house, calling back over his shoulder to Samantha. “Come on, let’s get inside. You must be nearly frozen.”

Before she could respond, he was halfway across the yard. She ran to catch up with him, her progress anything but graceful as she tried to keep from stumbling while running through the snow buildup. This certainly was not an airport, but at that moment the only thing she wanted was to be somewhere warm and dry. She finally caught up with him at the porch of the ranch house. He held open the front door and she hurried inside. She spotted the fireplace and went straight to it, then kicked off her wet shoes and set them on the hearth. Her feet were almost numb with the cold, and her silk pantsuit was undoubtedly ruined. Her teeth chattered, and her hands trembled as she held them out toward the warmth of the flames. She knew she looked more like a rag doll that had just been run through the washing machine than a successful businesswoman.

She sensed his nearness, as if he were standing immediately behind her. Even with her back to him she could feel his eyes on her. She wanted to attribute the odd sensation that shivered across her nape to the cold, but she knew it was not that simple. She turned around. He stood not more than four feet from her.

He had taken off his dark glasses. She stared up into intelligent silver eyes that peered intently at her, seemingly studying her every move. Something about this imposing stranger reached out and grabbed her as nothing ever had before, and she did not understand it. The odd sensation that slowly spread through her entire body had a downright sensual feel about it. There had to be a rational explanation for what was happening. She was a sensible, logical person. Unfortunately, there was nothing sensible or logical about the very real attraction she felt toward him.

She glanced quickly around the room, then returned her attention to the man who continued to stare at her. “Who are you? Where am I? Why have you brought me here?” She caught the undertone of apprehension that came out in her voice even though she tried to control it. “This certainly isn’t an airport.”

“My name’s Jace Tremayne and this is my ranch. We’re here because the storm was closing in around us and I needed to get home before we were cut off and forced to land in the middle of a pasture.” He blatantly looked her up and down. “I think you’d better get out of those clothes.”

She felt her eyes widen in shock. Had she understood him correctly? Had he brought her to an isolated ranch just so he could tell her to take off her clothes? She swallowed the nervousness that tried to climb out of her stomach as she took a step backward. “Uh...excuse me?”

“Your clothes...they’re wet and you’ve been out in the cold air. You need to get dry and warm or else you’ll end up sick.” He pointed down the hallway. “The second door on the right is a guest room with a private bathroom. You might want to take a hot bath, too. It’ll help you warm up. You’ll find clean towels in the cupboard.”

He seemed oblivious to the momentary anxiety his comments had caused her. Perhaps she had read far more into what he said than was really there. The logical assumption would be that she had simply overreacted to his specific words due to the uneasiness caused by her sudden and unexpected attraction to him. Yes. that had to be it. She felt a desperate need to bring some type of logical control to what was happening, and felt satisfied with her assessment of the situation. Unfortunately her physical attraction to him did not fit as comfortably as her rationalization did.

His comment about her wet clothes had been correct, though. “That’s...uh...very generous of you, lending me your guest room.”

The first thing Jace had noticed about her was that her clothing wasn’t suited to cattle country and was totally inappropriate for the weather. There was no question that she was completely out of her element. There was also no question that despite her disarray she was a pleasure to look at. He was even willing to admit that she was beautiful, an honest beauty that reached out and grabbed him.

He could also admit that he found her an incredibly desirable woman, if he were willing to be that honest with himself. He shoved the thoughts aside. He did not have time for idle speculation of a personal nature. Besides, the direction of those thoughts made him decidedly uncomfortable.

“I certainly appreciate the offer of a hot bath, but I don’t have any dry clothes to put on. My suitcase is still in the trunk of my car.” She wasn’t sure whether to be angry with him for literally abducting her without even one word of explanation or grateful to him for rescuing her from what was obviously a bad situation. She tried to suppress her irritation. “You grabbed me and forced me into your helicopter so quickly that I didn’t have an opportunity to get it.”

“You were obviously in trouble, so I did what needed to be done. There wasn’t time to debate the issue.”

Her moment of concern no longer seemed appropriate. She did not sense any feeling of personal danger, at least not physical danger.

“Wait here.” Jace turned and walked away. Now she really didn’t know what to do or think. A couple of minutes later he returned and handed her a thick terry cloth bathrobe. “Here, you can put this on until your clothes dry.” She accepted it, folding it across her arm.

A stern look crossed his face, and his voice took on a hard edge. “I have lots to do before the brunt of this storm hits, but when I get back you can tell me what the hell you were doing driving around the back roads in a snowstorm dressed like you were going to some uptown art gallery. Didn’t you even bother to listen to a weather forecast before you took your leisurely drive through the countryside with your common sense stuck up your CD player? You’re lucky I spotted you, otherwise you’d be in real serious trouble.”

“What?” His unexpected—and what she considered unfounded—verbal attack slapped across her senses and brought out her defensive anger. “I was hardly taking a leisurely afternoon drive in the country. I—” If the truth were known, that was pretty much what she had been doing. She had been mindlessly and blindly driving without any thought to where she was going and no purpose to her actions. She was not even sure when or why she had decided to get off the interstate. She had been totally oblivious to her surroundings. It was something she had never done before and was not about to admit to this very disconcerting stranger.

He stood tall with his arms folded across the front of his heavy jacket. He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, but maintained his stern expression. “You were...what?”

She rubbed her hand across the back of her neck as she tried to calm her inner jitters. “I...had gotten lost. I was disoriented by the storm and was trying to find my way back to the main highway.”

He displayed a smug why am I not surprised expression that carried over into his tone of voice. “Humph! Just like a woman—no sense of direction.”

Her temper flared. “Exactly what do you mean by ‘just like a woman’? What are you, one of those chauvinistic types who think the womenfolk should stick to the cleaning and cooking and not try to do anything complicated like compete in the world of big business because that’s men’s work?”

He blatantly looked her up and down again. “I can only go by what I see standing in front of me...woman dressed in a silk suit with fancy shoes and a lightweight jacket in the middle of a snowstorm who doesn’t even know where she is.”

She felt herself losing the battle, but had to give it one last try. “I knew where I was before you grabbed me off the road and took me somewhere in a helicopter. You didn’t even bother to ask me if I needed help. You simply took it upon yourself to decide that you knew best!”

“I thought you just said you were lost and trying to find your way back to the main highway.” Again the smug look covered his features. “I guess I must have misunderstood you. So, just where were you headed when your superb sense of direction put you on a country road and buried you in the snow?”

“I don’t think it’s any of your business!” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew she should not have said them. They sounded too harsh, too defensive. They also sounded downright rude and very ungrateful. After all, she had been stranded on a back road and stuck in the snow. She should be thanking him for saving her, not being antagonistic.

She glanced down at the floor, took a calming breath, then recaptured his gaze. “Look...I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. This whole thing has been a very unnerving experience for me. I’m not accustomed to dealing with chaos and disorder. I don’t like being forced into making snap decisions. I prefer to have things carefully planned out. I had been visiting...uh...a friend and...well, things didn’t—”

She felt the shiver across her nape. Again she was certain that it had nothing to do with being wet and cold. Everything about this Jace Tremayne—his words, his decisive actions, even his body language—said he was a very dynamic man. Overbearing, arrogant and chauvinistic, but very dynamic. He also radiated a tantalizing sex appeal that he did not seem to even be aware of.

His attitude softened a little bit. “Do you need to call anyone to let them know you’re all right? Any family members who might be worried?” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “The friend you were visiting... or perhaps your husband?”

A couple of days ago she would have called Jerry Kensington. But now... “No, there’s no one I need to call.” She tried to shake away the sudden feeling of despair that threatened to overwhelm her. She looked up at him. Once again his silver eyes seemed to be attempting to penetrate through to her inner soul. She glanced down at the floor, unable to hold his gaze any longer for fear he could read her every thought and feeling.

He pointed down the hallway, once again indicating the guest room. “The second door on the right.”

Samantha opened her mouth to speak, but his actions stopped her words when he turned and walked out the front door. Just what had she gotten herself into? She certainly had not made any provisions for this strange turn of events when she had originally formulated her travel plans. A cold shiver darted through her body, reminding her of her wet clothes and need of a hot bath.

She carried the robe with her as she headed toward the guest room, pausing for a moment to look out a window. Large snowflakes filled the air and the wind had picked up considerably. She saw Jace disappear across the yard toward the barn. She pursed her lips, and a slight frown wrinkled across her brow as she turned away from the window. He had certainly pulled her out of a very precarious situation, but had he deposited her into an even more perilous one?

She was acutely aware of the totally out-of-character thoughts and feelings he stirred in her. She found him aggravating, he and his snap decisions made without benefit of proper thought and planning. But there was more, much more. She was far from being a prude, but the way he made her insides quiver with excitement was something beyond her logical reasoning. She had certainly never experienced that same type of excitement with Jerry Kensington. She glanced out the window again.

The whole idea was preposterous. Jace Tremayne was in no way representative of what her ideal man should be: a professional man; someone who carefully scheduled his activities; someone whose life was planned out and knew what he would be doing five years from now; someone who thrived on the stimulation provided by city life. In short, nothing like what she had observed of Jace Tremayne.

While his unexpected guest thawed out, Jace had several duties to handle. So why was he standing in the barn staring back at the house and making no effort to move? He did not know where this woman had come from or why she had been out on the road. He did not even know her name.

He did know that she was argumentative, stubborn and overly opinionated. He also knew she was hiding something. He could see it in her eyes, in the way certain things made her nervous. She was a strong and assertive woman, yet he sensed a vulnerability—a carefully hidden side that she tried not to show. He was also aware that she possessed the very real ability to slice right through to the center of his most heated desires, seemingly without even being aware of it. The realization left him decidedly unnerved.

He relaxed his tensed nerves and allowed a slight grin to tug at the corners of his mouth. Her angry accusation about him being a chauvinist, who thought a woman’s place was cooking and cleaning, amused him. His wife had been a creative, independent woman. They had met when she’d marched up to his front door and informed him that she was researching a book about the history of Wyoming and it would not be complete without information about his family, since they figured prominently. He’d told her there was plenty of information in the University library, but she had refused to take no for an answer.

Her death had hit him very hard. His own life had been so empty for the past four years. Work had kept him busy, but it hadn’t erased the hollow feeling that had lived inside him from the day his wife of only two years died of injuries incurred in an automobile accident. She had been three months pregnant with their first child. To compensate for the loss, he’d thrown himself into the needs of the ranch, putting in long hard hours. His unceasing efforts had paid off with material rewards, but his deepest emotions had remained locked away where they could not be trampled on again.

Then one stormy day this woman appeared from out of nowhere and intruded into his life. Even though their meeting was abrupt, the circumstances unusual and their contact best described as adversarial, she had certainly managed to arouse his long-dormant libido. For the first time in four years he felt a strong physical attraction to a woman—a woman he knew was totally wrong for him.

He allowed a slight furrow of his brow as he glanced down at the ground. It bothered him that she did not have anyone to call, that there was no one who would be worried about her. The hurt that had shown in her eyes also bothered him. Perhaps she, too, had suffered a very personal tragedy in her life, just as he had.

“The copter’s tied down. Should be okay.”

Jace shifted his attention to the medium-sized man in his early forties who had just come in the side door of the barn. Ben Downey was his ranch foreman. Jace was thankful for the interruption that put a halt to his thoughts about his very attractive houseguest, the ones that were starting to turn decidedly personal. “Good...thanks. Why don’t you check here in the barn to make sure everything is securely fastened, and I’ll make another pass through the stables. Have one of the boys pile extra firewood in the bins at the bunkhouse and ranch house. Have Vince check the emergency generator, make sure it’s ready to go on-line. It could be days before this storm clears. If it’s bad enough, the power lines could snap again like they did three years ago.”

Samantha emerged from the guest room an hour later, half that time having been spent soaking in a hot bath and trying her best not to think about the sensual thrill that tingled through her body whenever Jace Tremayne drew close to her. She had to keep telling herself that she would be leaving his ranch very soon, and the physical excitement he stirred in her would thankfully be put to rest.

She snuggled inside the bathrobe he had given her, having left her damp clothes hanging in the bathroom to finish drying. The robe belonged to a woman, but was at least three sizes too large for her. The texture of the terry cloth against her bare skin heightened her awareness of her nudity beneath the robe. She tightened the sash around her waist, then padded barefoot down the carpeted hallway to the living room seeking out the added warmth of the fireplace.

It was the first time she had relaxed since getting off the plane in Denver and driving to her fiancé’s house. She had been engaged to Jerry Kensington for almost a year, even though they lived a thousand miles apart. She had insisted on a two-year engagement. She believed that was the sensible and logical thing to do. It would give them a proper amount of time to discover any possible difficulties in their relationship, and plan out their future.

The past two months, however, had been difficult ones for her. In spite of all her careful planning, she’d had the feeling that something was wrong. What bothered her the most was that she did not feel as upset about that possibility as she should have. She had refused to deal with the fact that perhaps she did not love Jerry, at least not enough to sustain a marriage commitment.

Her trip to Denver was as much to clarify her own feelings as to see Jerry. He continually chided her about being too structured and compulsive, about having to plan out every facet of her life. She had eagerly anticipated his look of surprise followed by exclamations of pleasure at her impulsive decision to make the trip.

The image of what had really occurred came rushing back to her. The shocked expression that had covered Jerry’s face when he opened his front door had not been one of pleasure. His dark hair was bedroom tousled and he wore a hastily thrown-on robe. He had stammered awkwardly while blocking her entrance to the house. Then she had seen the reason why. The woman who had casually strolled out of his bedroom was dressed in one of his T-shirts. It was barely long enough to reach her upper thighs and she obviously had nothing on underneath it.

Samantha had seen the guilt in his eyes, but his embarrassment had clearly come from having been caught, rather than any regrets about his actions. She had turned and walked away, and Jerry Kensington had made no attempt to stop her. She had never in her life felt as betrayed as she had at that moment...or as alone.

That was two days ago. Since then she had driven aimlessly through Colorado and into Wyoming until she had become stranded in the middle of nowhere, plucked out of a snowstorm by a stranger in a helicopter and whisked away to a ranch. She had no idea where she was, other than somewhere in Wyoming. Her life had always been so organized, structured and carefully controlled. She had no practical experience dealing with turmoil or unplanned events.

She also had no practical experience with the way Jace made her feel. The physical side of her relationship with Jerry Kensington had been carefully planned, too...just the type of predictability she thought she had wanted. But it was also dull. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind she had wished he would just once do something exciting to surprise her. She knew that was an absolute contradiction to everything she had professed to want out of life, but she couldn’t stop the thought.

She carefully took in her current surroundings. It was a large, comfortable room that gave the impression of many happy family gatherings over the years. She felt a moment of sadness. Happy family gatherings had not been part of her childhood. And now, after that disastrous and humiliating scene with her fiancé—she corrected herself: Jerry Kensington was now her exfiancé—it did not look as though they would be part of her future, either.

She straightened her posture and squared her shoulders as she forced a new determination. It was obvious that being in a relationship—marriage and a family—was not to be. She would throw herself into her career and concentrate on being a success in the business world. It would guarantee her a comfortable future. That should be enough. Being stuck at this ranch was only a minor interruption of her plan. She would make the best of it for the short duration of her stay, then return to Los Angeles as soon as the weather cleared.

A cold blast of air whipped in as Jace came through the front door. He stomped his boots on the floor mat to knock away the snow, pulled off his gloves and removed his heavy jacket. Then his gaze fell on the mystery lady. There was something very appealing about the way the large robe enclosed her body—and very enticing. He cleared his mind of the inappropriate thoughts and crossed the room to the fireplace. “Did you find everything you need?”

“Yes, thank you.” She turned up the collar of the robe, then nervously tugged at the sash, pulling it tighter around her waist. “I sure appreciate the use of this robe.” His nearness sent little tingles across her bare skin and a flush of heat across her cheeks. She lowered her gaze to the floor, too embarrassed to meet the silvery shimmer of his eyes any longer. She tried to calm the nervous excitement that welled inside her.

“The robe belongs to Helen. I’ll pass on your appreciation.” He could not stop the surge of desire that rushed through him.

Her voice quavered slightly, attesting to a nervousness. “Helen? Who is she?”

He paid an undue amount of attention to the fire in an effort to dismiss the very real physical allure that continued to tug at his consciousness. “Helen Downey. She’s the housekeeper and cook. Her son, Ben, is my ranch foreman.”

Samantha looked around, searching for the owner of the robe. “Is she here? I’d like to thank her for the considerate gesture.”

“Nope. Helen’s in Florida visiting her daughter.” Jace stared at his houseguest for an uncomfortable moment. She smelled of soap and radiated a scrubbed freshness. She stood about five foot six. Her short, chestnut-colored hair feathered softly around her face, accentuating her delicate features. Her neatly pedicured toes peeked out from beneath the long robe.

Another hard jolt of desire stabbed at his insides, then reverberated through his body. He did not even know her name. He had not asked, and she had not volunteered the information. It made the whole thing seem strangely exciting, almost like some sort of clandestine rendezvous designed strictly for lascivious pleasure without any strings or emotional attachments.

His disconcerting stare caused little tremors to form inside her body. She took a calming breath and tried her best to project a businesslike outer persona while attempting to regain control of the situation. “I’m afraid we sort of got off on the wrong foot. I’ve been very inconsiderate in not introducing myself. My name is Samantha Burkett and I’m from Los Angeles.” She held out her hand toward him. “And you said you’re Jace Tremayne?” The moment their hands clasped together she felt the outdoors cold that lingered on his skin. But underneath that exterior was a very human warmth that radiated a soft glow and sent a sensual little tingle up her arm.

“Tremayne...” He had not released her hand from his grasp nor had she withdrawn it. “I remember seeing a large gated entrance with the name Tremayne above it, and I think Tremayne Road was where I had turned just before skidding into that snowdrift. Is that you?”

“That was my great-great-grandfather. He settled on this land and started the ranch shortly after the Union Pacific Railroad was established here, several years before Wyoming was even a state. The ranch’s primary business has always been the raising of beef cattle, but my father expanded into other areas when he granted some mining leases on the northern acreage about twenty-five years ago.”

“I’ve always lived in a large city, and I don’t really know anything about ranching. In fact, I’ve never even been on a ranch before, or a farm, either. It would seem to me to be an isolated type of lifestyle. How far are you from a real city?”

The warmth lingered even after he withdrew his hand, but the soft glow quickly disappeared as his eyes narrowed before he responded to her question. “A real city? As opposed to what? Oh, yes. You’re from Los Angeles...obviously a real city. However, your car had Colorado license plates.”

She caught the edge of sarcasm in his voice. His statement sounded more like an accusation than a comment. “It’s a rental from the Denver airport. I picked it up a couple of days ago.”

Jace cocked his head, a quizzical expression spreading across his face. “You flew from Los Angeles to Denver, rented a car and then drove out into a snowstorm dressed in a silk suit? Do you always set out on such harebrained and foolhardy escapades?”

He may have been a momentary knight in shining armor whose charging white steed was realty a helicopter, but that did not give him the right to pry into her personal life. She made no effort to hide her irritation. “I’m not an irrational person, and I’ve never done an impulsive thing in my—” Well, she couldn’t say that anymore. It was her one and only impulsive action that had gotten her into this mess.

She nervously played with the gold chain around her neck. “I’m a professional businesswoman and am accustomed to dressing in a businesslike manner.”

The hint of sarcasm she had noticed earlier in his voice had intensified. “Oh? And just what is it you do in that professional businesswoman capacity of yours while living in a real city?”

He seemed to be baiting her, and she did not understand why. “I work for a consulting firm. I do time-and-motion studies for large corporations to help them run their operations more efficiently.”

He could not stop his total surprise from coming through. “You’re an efficiency expert?” He quickly regained his composure. “Then you should have done a more efficient job of planning your trip.” He wasn’t sure why he had taken such a harsh attitude with her. It was not his nature to be sarcastic or argumentative. There was something very disconcerting about this woman, something that aroused his most basic desires, and it made him uncomfortable. He tried to alleviate his concerns by reminding himself that she was just passing through and would be leaving as soon as possible to return to the real city—a place that apparently suited her lifestyle.

She glared at him. “I might have acted foolishly, even a bit impetuously, but that doesn’t make me an empty-headed ditz, and I’d appreciate it if you would remember that!” She stood with her hands on her hips, making an obvious effort to look as tough as possible. “I certainly owe you my gratitude for pulling me out of a difficult situation, but I resent your insinuation that I’ve got a screw loose!”