The Rancher and the Event Planner - By Cheryl Gorman Page 0,35
gaze fixed on his. He stirred to life in his swim trunks and looked down to see them tented like a tee-pee. Her lashes were clumped together, her lips parted and wet and her blonde hair streamed over her shoulders in gentle waves. If he leaned just slightly toward her, he could steal a kiss.
“Daddy, I’m hungry,” Molly said.
Me too, but not for food. “Okay, let’s get changed.” He would have to stand in the water for a few extra minutes before he could get out of the pool without embarrassing himself or anyone else. “Jennifer, would you mind helping Molly change then I’ll meet you both by the chow tables in a few minutes.”
***
Later, JC sat with Rafe and Molly beneath a sheltering elm where the tree’s wide, leafy branches offered relief from the day’s boiling heat. Molly finished her food and went to play with some of her friends. “Stay away from the pool, sweet pea,” Rafe said.
“I will, Daddy,” she called, as she ran toward her friends.
Rafe alerted Linc that he and JC were going for a walk and asked him to keep an eye on Molly. He disposed of their paper plates and drink cups and together they wandered toward the stream at the back of the property. JC wanted to know more about his marriage to Caroline, to give her more of a solid understanding of why he believed he was bad at relationships, but how should she ask him?
A sturdy wooden bench sat beneath one of the willow trees dangling its branches over the stream. They sat down and JC listened to the water trickling over the rocks jutting upward from the stream bed. Her pulse thudded and her heart skipped like a stone on water. “I thought we could have another date and try again. What do you think?”
He glanced at her then back at the stream. “I know you believe we’re right for each other but there are things you don’t know about me or my marriage.”
Here was her chance to find out. “Would you like to tell me?”
He leaned forward and rested his arms on his thighs. “You tell me about your marriage and then I’ll tell you about mine.”
She nodded. “Fair enough.” She exhaled a breath and leaned against the back of the bench. The breeze caressing her face and the sound of the water soothed her. No reason why she shouldn’t tell him. They were old friends after all. “I met him at a rodeo. He was friends with a guy I worked with. He was all smiles and charm. Swept me off my feet, promised me the moon and all the stars and I believed him. Two months into the marriage I caught him with a buckle bunny in the back of his truck between rodeo events. We had a major blow up. We fought like curs over a scrap of meat, tearing gouges out of each other right there in the parking lot. When the yelling and accusations had stopped, and the dust had cleared, we both knew there was nothing left, so we decided to go our separate ways. Whew, now it’s your turn.”
Rafe’s fingers grasped her chin and slowly moved her face toward his. “I’m sorry you had such a hard time, but thank you for telling me. The guy was a total jerk who wasn’t fit to wipe the dust off your shoes much less be your husband.”
They sat still for a moment and listened to the trickling stream, the hot breeze through the willow branches, the tittering birdsong. Rafe’s gaze lowered to her lips. Laying his firm, cool mouth on hers, Rafe sampled her lips as if tasting a rich dessert. When the kiss grew deeper, desire spiraled through her, he pulled her into his arms, enveloping her in the security of his body. His heart beat in rhythm with hers as she fell into a dark, sensual abyss until suddenly the kiss ended. Smoothing his thumb over her lower lip, he stared into her eyes and said, “I promised myself I wouldn’t do that again, but you’re way too much woman for me to resist.”
She rested her palm on the side of his face. “That’s good,” she said through tingling lips. “I still have a chance to convince you, but first I want to know about you and Caroline and what went wrong.”
Chapter Nine
Regret and guilt rose inside Rafe like a rain swollen river about to breach its banks. He clasped his