The Rancher and the Event Planner - By Cheryl Gorman Page 0,27

okay? Cade’s warning came back to her. She knew she needed to be careful but a part of her wanted to fling caution to the night sky. She was more determined than ever to prove to him that they belonged together because she was so tired of being alone.

She hated going to bed alone, eating alone and watching movies alone. Despite her accident and sentence, the last several days had been heaven being here on the Rocking M. The house held such peace and contentment not to mention the love that pervaded the atmosphere. She rolled onto her side and looked at the shaft of moonlight spilling in through the bedroom window and closed her eyes. She imagined Rafe lying in bed, her body spooning against his, his breath on her neck, his arms holding her safe and secure.

She longed for it more than she’d ever longed for anything in her life because only then she knew the demons would never crowd in again. Despite her efforts to stop them, her mind filled with the memory of her father leering at her in a way that a father shouldn’t look at his teenage daughter, like it was her fault, like she was wrong somehow, like she shouldn’t have hips and breasts. Of course he looked at her that way when he’d come home drunk which was basically every day. The rest of the time she was invisible, nothing more than a dust mote floating in the air.

Her father had been a selfish man who never should have had a family. He took money out of their bank account for himself first and anything left her mother was welcome to use for paying for food, the mortgage, clothing and medical bills. She rolled to the other side and bunched the pillow. He ruined every holiday by getting drunk and making a scene. He even turned over the Christmas tree once while trying to plug in the lights.

Things were different now. Her father and mother were gone and she’d built a good life for herself. Now she had a chance to make Rafe and Molly a part of that life and she refused to let old fears get in the way.

***

Rafe heard Jennifer laughing with the owner of Duncan’s hardware as Rafe climbed from his truck. He’d been at the realtor’s office finalizing the sale of the old mansion to the town and was looking forward to telling Jennifer. She’d pulled her hair up into a messy knot and wore a white bib overall already sprinkled with a few dots of forest green paint. Yesterday he’d scored a big fat zero in his quest to prove to her that they didn’t belong together and today he was determined to even the score. Noticing that her arms and neck were bare to the sun, he frowned. He hoped she’d applied sunscreen but just in case she forgot, he had a tube in his pocket. He didn’t know why he was so concerned about her delicate skin, he shouldn’t be. After all, he wanted to win the bet right? But the sun’s rays blasted down like a blacksmith’s fire and she wasn’t used to working this hard in the heat. In fact, he didn’t particularly like the idea of her working outside on such a hot day.

She leaned over and poured some paint into a roller pan. The overalls pulled snugly over her shapely rear causing his pulse to beat hard at the base of his throat. Relax, McCade. She’s a woman in painting duds not high heels and a short skirt. For a moment a picture of her wearing those heels and skirt flashed like sunlight on a silver concha into his brain.

“Hi, Rafe.”

The sound of Jennifer’s voice jerked him from his lust-filled haze. “Hi, ready to start?”

“Yep, pull up a paint brush.”

Rafe nodded to Matt Duncan. “Got a pair of overalls for me too?”

“Sure thing.”

Rafe pulled off his shirt and slipped on the overalls. In a moment, he joined Jennifer and they started to paint. Most of the business owners were painting their storefronts with help from a lot of locals who had turned out to help.

He and Jennifer got to work on the area surrounding the large front window of the store. “By the way, the owners have accepted the town’s offer. The mansion officially belongs to the town of Salvation.”

She turned with a big smile on her face. “That’s great. All we need to do now is draw up some