Cardwell Ranch Trespasser(6)

“A woman after my own heart,” Dana said.

Hilde began to clean up the picnic, putting everything back in the cooler before she got up and wandered over to the edge of the falls.

“What has gotten into you?” Dana whispered next to her a few moments later.

“Sorry. I was just curious how long she’s planning to stay,” she whispered back. “I didn’t mean to be rude.” When Dana said nothing more, she glanced over at her. “What?”

“You’re jealous of my cousin.”

“No, that’s not it at all.” But Hilde could tell there was no convincing her friend otherwise. “Fine, I’m jealous.”

“Don’t be,” Dana said with a laugh. “You’re my best friend and always will be.” She lowered her voice. “Not only that, Dee has had a really rough life.”

“She told you that?” Hilde asked, unable to keep the skepticism out of her voice.

“She didn’t have to,” Dana said. “I could tell. So be nice to her for me. Please?” Hilde could only nod. “I’m going to get my camera and take a photo.”

Hilde turned back to the falls, thinking maybe Dana was right. Maybe she was jealous, and that was all it was. The roar of the water was so loud she didn’t hear Dee come up behind her. She barely felt the hand on her back before she felt the shove.

She flailed wildly as she felt herself falling forward toward the edge of the roaring falls, nothing between her and the raging water but air and mist.

Dee grabbed her arm and pulled her back at the last second.

“I found my camera,” Dana called from over in the trees, and turned in their direction. “Look this way so I can get a picture of the two of you.” A beat, then: “Is everything all right?”

“Hilde got a little too close to the edge,” Dee said. “You really should be careful, Hilde. Dana was just saying earlier how dangerous it can be around here.” She put her arm around Hilde’s shoulders. “Say cheese.”

Dana snapped the photo.





Chapter Four

“I don’t think your friend likes me,” Dee said once they were in the pickup and headed back to the ranch.

“Hilde likes you,” Dana said, not sounding all that convinced. “But I think she might be a little jealous.”

“I suppose that’s it,” Dee agreed. “Well, I hope she accepts me. I feel so close to you. It’s almost like we’re sisters instead of cousins, you know what I mean?”

Dana readily agreed, just as Dee had known she would. “Hilde is just a little protective.”

“A little?” Dee said with a laugh. “I think she’s worried I will take advantage of you, stay too long.”

“Put that right out of your mind,” Dana said, as she parked in front of the house. “You’re family. You can stay as long as you’d like.”

“Hilde has nothing to be jealous of me about,” Dee said. “She’s beautiful and smart and self-assured and has her own business. She’s what I always wanted to be.”

“Me, too,” Dana said with a laugh.

“Oh, you have even more going on for you,” Dee said. “You have Hud. And the kids,” she added a little belatedly, but Dana didn’t seem to notice. “And the ranch. I bet you were practically born on a horse.”

“I have been riding since the time I could walk,” Dana said, then fell silent for a moment. “Do you want to talk about your childhood? I don’t mean to pry.”

Dee realized that she’d sounded jealous of both Dana and Hilde. The truth had a way of coming out sometimes, didn’t it? She would have to be more careful about that around both women.

“There isn’t much more to tell.” Only because the real Dee Anna Justice hadn’t been forthcoming about her family. There had definitely been something in her background she hadn’t wanted to talk about. But it could have just been that some wealthy people didn’t like talking about themselves or their wealthy families.

So now Dee had to wing it, hoping to give Dana enough to make her feel even more sorry for her. “As I told you last night, when I wasn’t away at school, my parents were never around. My father traveled a lot. My mother was involved in a lot of charity and social events. I grew up feeling alone and unloved, yearning for what everyone else had.” At least the last part was true.

“I’m sorry, Dee. I wish I had known about you. Maybe you wouldn’t have felt so alone,” Dana said, as she parked in front of the house. “I would have shared the ranch with you.”

Dee watched Hud come out onto the porch and thought about Dana’s generous offer to share what she had. “Hud mentioned some high country back behind the ranch that has a great view. I’d love to see it. But this is probably a bad time.”

As Dana got out, she suggested it to Hud, who said the kids were napping and he’d be happy to take her if that was what she wanted to do.

“You sure it’s not an inconvenience,” Dee said.

“Not at all,” he said.

She watched as he gave his wife a kiss and felt that small ache in her stomach at the sight.

“I’ll help with dinner when I get back,” he said to Dana.

“I’ll help, too,” Dee said, even though she’d never cooked in her life. In New York City it was too easy to get takeout.

She followed Hud to the four-wheeler parked by the barn and climbed on behind him, putting her arms around his waist. He started the motor and they were off. It didn’t take long before the house disappeared behind them and they were completely alone.

Dee watched dark pines blur past. The air got cooler as they climbed, the road twisting and turning as it wound farther and farther back into the mountains. She laid her cheek against the soft fabric of his jean jacket and breathed in the scent of him and the mountains.

There were few times in her life that she’d ever felt safe. It surprised her that now was one of them. Hud was the kind of man she’d always dreamed would come along and sweep her off her feet. How could she still believe in happy ever after after what she’d lived through?

Her parents had hated each other to the point where they’d tried to kill each other. Her father... She didn’t even want to think about the role model he’d been to his daughter.

And the men she’d met since then? She let out a choked laugh, muffling it against Hud’s jacket. They’d hurt her in ways she’d thought she could never be hurt.

She’d been waiting her whole life for a hero to come along. When she’d seen Hud Savage come riding up, her heart had filled with helium at the sight of him. He looked bigger than life, strong, brave, the first real man she’d ever known.

She held on a little tighter, wishing Hud was hers.

When they reached the summit, Hud stopped the four-wheeler and shut off the engine.

Dee let go of his waist, stretched and climbed off to look out across the tops of the mountains. “This is amazing,” she said, actually meaning it. “You can see forever.”

“It is pretty spectacular up here, isn’t it?”

She tried to imagine living in country like this. It seemed so far away from the noise and filth of the big cities she’d wandered through so far in her life. What must it be like to wake up to this every morning?

Hud began to point out the mountain peaks, calling each by name with an intimacy that plucked at her heartstrings. She could hear his love for this land in his voice. There was nothing sexier than a man who loved something with such passion.

It took all her self-control not to touch him.

“So what are those mountains over there?” she asked, wanting this moment to last forever. She didn’t listen to his answer. She just liked the sound of his deep and melodious voice. Desire spiked through her, making her weak with a need like none she’d known. She wanted this man.

“You have a wonderful life here,” she said, realizing she’d never been so jealous of anyone as she was Dana Savage. “It’s so peaceful. I can’t imagine having the tie to the land that you do. I’ve moved around a lot. I’ve never felt at home anywhere.” Until now, she thought, but she didn’t dare voice it.

Like Hilde, she was sure Hud was wondering how long she was going to stay. But she’d never met a man she couldn’t charm. Hud Savage would be no exception.

She moved to the edge of the mountaintop and breathed in the day. She’d been telling the truth about her family moving around a lot. Her father couldn’t bear to stay long in any one place—even if he wasn’t forced to flee town before the law caught up to him. A small-time con man, he worked harder at not working than he would have had he just gotten an honest job.

“I feel as if I could just fly out over the tops of all these mountains,” she said, as she freed her hair to let it blow back in the wind. She stuck out her arms, laughing as she laid her head back. The wind felt good. She felt alive. Free.