Picnic in Someday Valley (Honey Creek #2)(48)

Ten minutes later when he came out of the barn dressed in jeans and a white shirt, he was back to being just a rancher. He saw her and waved, then jogged to the porch.

“This is a surprise.” He calmly walked up the steps. “You want some supper? I’ve got a stew slow cooking that will be ready in a few hours.”

“I came to take you out, if you’re available. We have to eat early because I start training tonight. I got a job today and a new place to live. The rent was half what I thought it might be, so I thought I’d buy you supper.” She was rattling. Knowing his secret made her nervous.

A slow smile spread across his face, making him look almost handsome. “You asking me out, Marcie?”

“I am.”

He stood so still, she thought he might turn her down, then he took off his hat and said, “I’d be honored to go anywhere with you. You mind if I ask for something first?”

“Name it.” She’d guess he wanted to know more about her new job or where she was living or even about how her car was running.

“I wondered, with this being a date and all, if I could have the good night kiss before we start. I might do something or say something wrong and I don’t want to miss the last part of the date.”

Marcie had slept beside the guy all night and he hadn’t touched her, and now all he wanted was a kiss.

She moved in front of him, stood on her tiptoes, and smiled. “You got it.”

The moment her lips touched his, Brand reacted. His arms circled her and he raised her off the ground. She felt like pleasure hit her full on. A tender kiss. Her body melting into his hard chest. The fresh smell of shampoo and shaving cream from his shower in the barn. The thrill of knowing how he looked without his clothes. And last, the knowledge that he liked her enough to want to kiss her.

She’d thought she was tough. She’d been around trouble most of her life. Men were hard to understand. They’d say anything to get what they wanted. A one-night stand. Her money. Sometimes her heart. But this man was so different.

Brand wasn’t just some man kissing some woman. He was a gentle man who’d gone far beyond being kind to her. She had no doubt he’d been thinking about this one kiss for a long while, and she’d finally made the first move. For the first time she felt herself starting to believe in a fantasy. One good man.

Marcie relaxed and let the kiss carry her away. She wasn’t sure what a perfect kiss would be, but this was as close to it as she’d ever had. The gentle way he held her made her feel cherished. The hunger in his kiss made her feel needed.

When he lowered her down to the ground, his hands lingered at her waist. She leaned her cheek against his chest. For a long while she just rested as she moved with his breathing. His hands traveled slowly up and down her back.

He wasn’t pushing for more. He seemed to simply enjoy this moment.

Finally she pulled an inch away. “I was wrong to kiss you before the date.”

The warmth in his gaze told her he’d loved the kiss as much as she had. “So, what do I do to correct the error?”

“You have to give the kiss back.”

A smile spread across his face. “Fair enough.”

She wouldn’t have believed it, but his second kiss was better than the first. He was learning how she liked to be kissed. Deep and tender. She felt herself melting against him once more. The way he kissed wasn’t just foreplay to the main event. This was pure satisfaction. Something full and complete all by itself.

She broke the kiss. “I could do this with you forever, but we have to talk.”

He shook his head as if he planned to object.

“Brand, we have to talk.”

He pulled her closer.

She smiled as if he were a defiant child. “I’ll make you a deal. I haven’t had breakfast or lunch. Let’s eat dinner in Honey Creek and I’ll give you one more kiss before I go to work, but until then we talk.”

He nodded and let go of all but one hand. “I’ll follow you into town so you don’t have to bring me back. That will give us more time. I plan to walk you all the way to the sheriff’s office.”

As she waited for him to pull his pickup around, she tried to figure out how a quiet man who lived alone learned to kiss. She doubted an online class was available.

One other question lingered. Why would a small-time rancher need to keep in perfect shape? It felt almost as if he was preparing for a battle he knew would come someday.





Chapter 29


Colby


For a change, the office in Austin was quiet and Texas Ranger Colby McBride could comb through the files for answers, but Piper never left his mind. Maybe it was just coincidence that a man like Brand Rodgers lived near Honey Creek. He had to live somewhere, and it made sense that he’d keep a low profile. What better place than his family home. Colby had no idea exactly what Brand did. Maybe some kind of troubleshooter for the FBI, but Colby had seen the respect the suits paid him. Whatever he did, he did it well.

When the story of the warehouse shoot-out came out in the paper, there was no mention of a stranger being among the drug gangs.

Colby made a mental note to look up this Brand Rodgers when he got back to Honey Creek. And he would be going back to Piper. Not because she needed him but more because she was part of him.

Friday seemed too far away, but Colby wasn’t ready to bring in anyone else on the mayor’s problem. He’d promised Piper, for one thing, and secondly, no crime had been committed. Even if Marcie went to the sheriff and filed a complaint on the thin guy, not much could be done. A restraining order, maybe a charge of harassment. But then it would be down to who said what. Her word against his, and she didn’t even know his name.