At the Rancher's Request. Sara Orwig
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“He’s in bed asleep now,” Mike answered, her warm, enticing smile drawing him. “Did you have enough dinner? I’ve got steaks, casseroles in the freezer, an array to choose from.”
“I did have dinner. But I’d love something warm to drink.”
“How about hot chocolate and popcorn? Or if you want something stronger, we have drinks from wine to whiskey.”
She laughed as she walked beside him. “I’ll take the hot chocolate and popcorn. Right now that sounds just the thing for a cold, winter night.”
“I agree,” he said as they headed to the kitchen. As he made the hot chocolate and got the popcorn going, he was aware of her moving around him. Her perfume was light, barely noticeable, yet inviting. While he waited for the popcorn, he realized he was staring at her full lips and wondering what it would be like to kiss her. Again, the attraction startled him. It had been a long time since he had wondered any such thing. He didn’t welcome those feelings back into his life yet. He didn’t need any more complications for either Scotty or himself.
He still lived with a constant, dull pain over Elise. He missed her every waking hour. At least there was no danger of any complications with Savannah because she was leaving for California as soon as Ed repaired her car. By that time the weather shouldn’t be a factor, so she would be gone in days. For all he knew, she was married, although she wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.
Finally, they moved to the family room that adjoined the kitchen. Mike placed two cups of hot chocolate on a coffee table while she set down a big bowl of popcorn. He picked up the table to move it closer to the hearth.
“Let me get a fire going,” Mike said, adding a few logs to the fireplace. In minutes they sat on the floor in front of the blaze with the popcorn and hot chocolate on the nearby table. As Savannah looked around, he glanced at the familiar surroundings. He never gave them any thought: brown leather furniture, a game table and chairs, a large, wall-mounted flat-screen television, thick area rugs and a stone fireplace that dominated one wall. Adjacent was a glass wall with doors that opened onto a covered patio that now had snow blowing over it.
“So tell me about your life. Who are you and what do you like besides ranching?”
“I have a simple life that centers around my son, my family and friends, my ranch, my horses. I like rodeos, flying, skiing, baseball, tennis, apple pie. Some things I’ve dropped since Scotty’s birth. I have a responsibility now, so I’m not as reckless as I was before. No more bull riding when Scotty is so young.”
“That’s good.”
“It’s a simple life. What about you, Savannah?” he asked. She sat facing him with her long legs tucked under her. Firelight gave her a rosy glow and once again desire stirred, increasing his awareness of her appeal, bringing the same surprise that she stirred such feelings, surprise now tinged with guilt for feeling that way even though Elise had been gone almost two years now. Overriding those feelings was the ever-present sorrow over his and Scotty’s loss.
“I think my life may be quieter and more simple than yours,” she said, flashing another engaging smile. “My world centers around my family and friends. I’m a neonatal nurse and I love babies and children. As I mentioned earlier, I have three siblings and I’m the youngest. I adore my four little nieces and nephews.” She thought for a moment. “The only thing we have in common that you listed is tennis. I still play occasionally.”
“Is the trip to California a vacation?” he asked, wondering why she left Arkansas.
“Not really. I have an aunt in California and she wanted me to come,” Savannah said, watching the fire while Mike watched her. She was a beautiful woman and he wondered what she was running from.
“My aunt said I won’t have difficulty getting a job and I’d love to live in California. I love a beach, swimming, warm weather—so I’m going to try it for a while and see how things work out.” She turned to face him. “I’ve never been away from home before except to college and that was still in Arkansas, so I have mixed feelings,” she said. “Since we’re a close family, this is an experiment in my life.”
Mike nodded and kept silent, thinking she shouldn’t gamble because she couldn’t bluff her way through anything unless she was playing with Scotty. Her voice was filled with reluctance, so whatever she was leaving behind, she wasn’t happy about it.
“How old are your siblings and what are their names?” he asked.
Big blue eyes gazed openly at him. “Dan is thirty-two, Phillip is thirty, Kelsey is twenty-eight and I’m twenty-six. They’re all married.”
“You can always go home if you don’t like California.”
“That’s the plan,” she said. “Now tell me about your family.”
“We’re close, too. I’m the oldest, thirty-five, and then Jake, who married Madison Milan last fall.”
“Madison Milan, the artist?”
“So you’ve heard of her in Arkansas?”
“Sure. Is she from Texas?”
“Yes, from this area. Josh is next in age and then our baby sister, Lindsay, is the youngest. Lindsay is a full-time rancher, the same as I am. I’m the only one of my siblings with a child and I told you that I’m widowed. Elise died of breast cancer when Scotty was almost a year old.”
“That’s heartbreaking. I’m so sorry,” Savannah said.
He glanced at her and nodded. “Most of my family is in this area,” he said to change the subject. “Some more than others. Lindsay and I are the ones that are here most all the time.”
The hiss of sleet grew loud and Mike glanced toward the glass doors. Outside lights were on and beyond the covered patio, he could see sleet coming down steadily, tree branches and posts beginning to glisten with a coat of sparkling ice.
“We’ll be a solid sheet of ice tomorrow. Power lines will go down in this, although some of ours are underground and we have generators. Look at that stuff come down.” He stood and walked to the glass doors, standing with his hands on his hips to watch. “It’s a good thing you don’t have to be in California by a deadline.”
“I am so glad that I’m here in your house,” she said, coming to stand beside him.
“It’s freezing solid as we speak,” he remarked. “I have a feeling no one can cross even the west bridge now,” Mike said, glancing at her. “Did you have any food or a blanket in your car?”
“Yes. Not for an emergency like this. I just had some leftover candy and some cold drinks from drive-throughs. I did have a blanket in the trunk. I can’t stop thinking about how close I came to being out there by myself in the cold and the dark with a car that wouldn’t run.”
“You’re here. Warm and safe.”
Standing close beside him, she looked up. Blue depths ensnared him and that sizzling current of awareness shook him again.
Her eyes widened and he inhaled deeply as desire swept him. Her mouth looked soft, tempting. It had been a long time since he had held a woman in his arms, kissed anyone. He leaned closer as he looked at her mouth and thought of his loss. She closed her eyes and tilted her face for only seconds and then she looked into his eyes.
“Savannah,” he whispered, frowning.
“Mike,” she whispered at the same moment, shaking her head slightly.
* * *
Startled, Savannah stepped away. Her heart raced and she was torn between desire and common sense. His dark brown eyes revealed longing. Now that his hat was gone, his black hair was a tangle of curls, locks curling on his forehead. To her surprise, desire drummed steadily, increasing tension while tugging at her senses. Shocked by her reaction to him, she decided it was the nerve-racking night, her car, the storm, relying