He laughed, the same rich sound she remembered from earlier. “Sorry. Just yanking your chain. I saw you bid on the bull, so I figured I’d already stepped in it.” He winked. “Shows you what happens when you assume. So how about telling me your name?”
She didn’t see any reason not to answer him since he could certainly find out from someone else.
“Amy Stark. My brother Matt and I own Stark Ranch.”
“So you’re Matt’s sister.” He rubbed his jaw. “Sorry about the
boss
crack before. I was just teasing.”
“Uh-huh.” She stared up at him. “So you know Matt?”
“I’ve run into him a couple of times in town. He gave me some helpful advice.”
Advice? About what?
“Matt knows a lot about this area,” she told him. “Our family has owned this ranchland for three generations.”
“Good to know since it seems we’re about to be neighbors.”
She tilted her head. “How’s that?”
“I just bought the Hayes Ranch, which isn’t too far from yours.”
He was going to be a neighbor?
Damn
. A million questions bumped each other in her brain, but she settled for one.
“Then maybe you should tell me your name?”
“Buck. Buck Montgomery.” He lifted his hat. “Nice to meet you, Amy Stark. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again. Now that I’m going to be part of the community, that is.”
“Oh, um. Yes. I’m sure we will.”
Buck Montgomery? Those images she’d been trying to suppress came crowding back, making her wonder what he’d look like
buck
naked.
She shook herself. “Well, I need to be on my way. Good luck with the ranch, Mr. Montgomery.”
His grin widened, became more infuriating. “You just go ahead and call me Buck. I don’t stand much on formality.”
She might have been flattered if she didn’t have the feeling he was somehow laughing at her.
“Okay, fine. Buck.” She spat out the name.
“Sure I can’t persuade you to stay for one drink?” he asked.
“No, but thank you. Maybe another time.”
And maybe not. She and her friend, Reenie, had a habit of not choosing too well in the man department. But Reenie had recently broken the cycle and was happily married to Matt, so maybe there was hope for her. Still, starting something that might fall apart with a neighbor didn’t seem like the smartest thing to do. But as she walked back to her truck, she couldn’t get the image of him out of her mind, or the erotic sound of his voice out of her head. And behind that lurked the unlikely thought that she’d seen him somewhere before.
Buck stood watching Amy Stark walk back to her truck, fascinated by her trim body with its unconscious sway of hips, and the way her rich sable curtain of hair bounced with each movement. Her dark brown eyes when she’d glared at him on the highway had been full of piss and vinegar—could you say that about a woman? The thick lashes framing them had only made them more intense. And that mouth.
Jesus
. He’d be dreaming about that mouth for a long time.
His gaze still followed her as she put one booted foot in front of the other. The Concho belt threaded through the loops of her jeans emphasized her slender waist, and he recalled how the soft cotton of her shirt had caressed her breasts. Breasts he wouldn’t mind holding himself.
Not here, Bucko. Not now. And maybe not ever.
Buck Montgomery today was a totally different man from the one he’d been before he ended up here. He’d changed everything, including parts of his appearance. He’d done a good job burying most of his past, and he wanted to keep it that way.
Why the hell had he flirted with her on the road? Acted like such a chauvinistic ass? Maybe because he’d sensed it would turn her off. Because he had been instantly attracted to her, and he needed to shut that down before it got started.
Getting involved with Amy Stark would be a huge mistake. The women he’d had in his life didn’t even come close to the class that she wore like a second skin. Even now he didn’t remember half of their names. Some he hadn’t even bothered to find out to begin with. A roll in the hay was a roll in the hay.
But all that was behind him now. Every bit of it. He had a fresh start here and he didn’t intend to blow it. How could he tell Amy that what she saw wasn’t what she’d get with him? That if he let her see beneath the surface, she’d run like hell and take his chance for a new life with her? Accumulating the money to buy the ranch had taken too much time and too much sweat and agony to waste this opportunity because he thought with his dick instead of his head.
But, man, she was something, and not just her body. She was the first woman he’d met in years that he wanted more than just physically. The first he wanted to match wits with. Dance with. Laugh with. Spar with. Her dark-chocolate eyes had spit fire at him, and her full lips couldn’t disguise the sass she handed out liberally. He’d really had to control the urge to grab her up and kiss that smart mouth until she had no breath left. And that would have been a huge mistake.
The path he’d chosen might make for a lonely life, but he was sure no woman like Amy Stark would want him if she knew the truth about him, even though he wasn’t that man anymore. Maybe in the future, when he’d really established the man he was now, things might be different.
Of course, by then she’d probably be married with a houseful of kids. Sometimes life just sucked.
“Glad to see you made it today.” A huge hand clapped him on the shoulder, and he shifted position to see Fred Barnes, the realtor who’d handled the sale of the Hayes Ranch. “How’s it coming on the ranch? Getting settled yet?”
“It’s coming along just fine, and I’m as settled as I can be for the moment.” He gestured toward the auction barn. “Added some good stock today to what’s already there. They’ll deliver it as soon as I finish getting the feed in and the pastures ready.”
Barnes nodded. “I saw the lot. With what the Hayeses left, it won’t take you long to build the place back up to full strength. Hired on any help yet?”
Buck shook his head. “So far it’s just me. I’m being very careful with my money until I get through the first year. But it’s almost summer, and I figured if this place was like all the other ranching towns I’ve been through, there’s a lot of experienced kids looking for summer jobs.”
“That’s true. The Starks can be a good resource for you. I saw you talking to Amy a couple of minutes ago. Sharp gal.”
Buck snorted a laugh. “No kidding. Got a tongue like a pitchfork.”
Barnes chuckled. “Yeah, you wouldn’t want to get on her bad side. I’d get in her good graces if I were you.”
Yes, if he could keep it objective and not insult her any more.
“You, um, didn’t say anything to anyone about…”
“What we discussed?” Barnes shook his head. “If you only knew the secrets stored in this old head. I keep confidences, son. And keep them very well. Although, like I said, I think you’d be better off just telling people.” He looked Buck in the eye. “Most of it, anyway.”
“Yeah, well, the problem with that is once people know where to look and what to look for, it’s all over but the shouting.”
“Your decision. But don’t shortchange the people around here. You’d be amazed at what they accept.”
“Like you said, it’s my decision.” Buck shoved his hands in his pockets. “Buy you a cold one?”
Barnes lifted an eyebrow. “I thought—”
“Strictly soft drinks. But that doesn’t mean I can’t watch you enjoying one.”
“All right then. Let’s go. And get some of that good barbecue. Too bad Amy left. They’ve got a band and everything. Bet you and she would look fine on the dance floor.”
“Maybe some other time.”
Or maybe never. If he once got his hands on any part of Amy Stark’s body, he wasn’t sure he could keep himself from tasting and touching every bit of it.
Chapter Two
“It looks like the honeymoon agreed with you.” Amy grinned at Reenie and Matt as they sat across the table from her, drinking coffee.
The newlyweds were still living in the main house while their own was being finished two miles down the road. They expected to be moved in less than a month. They had returned the night before from two weeks in Hawaii, looking tanned and relaxed. And they still couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Matt had his arm around Reenie’s shoulders, and even holding her coffee she seemed glued to her husband’s side. The two of them exchanged a look so intimate it made Amy both embarrassed and jealous. She busied herself refilling their mugs, then sat as casually as she could.
Matt burst out laughing. “Amy, are we embarrassing you?”
She felt heat creep up her cheeks. “Of course not.” She winked at him. “Remember, Reenie and I were the ones who dragged your naked body back to bed before the big romance blossomed.”
Now it was Matt’s turn to blush. Amy was sure none of them would ever forget his first meeting with Reenie, right here at the ranch. He’d come home stinking drunk, barged into the living room completely naked and passed out. He’d had to do a lot of talking to get Reenie to look at him as something besides a drunken slob.
“Anyway.” She cleared her throat. “I got the bull for us. He’s being trucked in today. I thought you’d want me to wait until you got back and could see to the unloading. Besides, I wasn’t sure where you wanted to put him.”
“Good thinking.” He nodded. “He’ll go in that double stall in the second barn. When he wants some air, he can just walk out into his own special pen.”
“No mixing with the ladies until it’s time?” Reenie asked, laughing.
“Absolutely. Gentlemen have to show some restraint.” He squeezed her shoulder, another intimate gesture that made Amy turn away.
Amy ran her finger around the rim of her mug. “I understand you met our new neighbor. Buck Montgomery.” She made her voice as casual as possible.
Matt looked at her with curiosity. “Yeah, I did. How did you know?”
“I met him at the auction.” She didn’t see the need to tell him the flat-tire story, or the fact that just the short time she’d spent with him, only minutes, had given rise to erotic fantasies in her dreams that made her squirm when she remembered them. “He, uh, seems very nice.”
Her brother leaned forward on his elbows. “He
is
nice. He bought the Hayes Ranch and plans to increase the stock and bring it back up to the level it once was.”
“He must have a lot of money,” Reenie commented. “As we all know, ranching’s not cheap.”
Matt shifted his gaze from his wife to his sister and back again, his face nearly expressionless. “I believe he had a nest egg he cashed in. He’ll be running pretty close to the bone for a while, but I have a feeling he’ll make a success out of that place.”
“What do you know about him?” Amy asked. “Where did he come from?”
Matt laughed. “Amy, if you’re so interested, why don’t you ask him yourself?”
“Yes,” Reenie chimed in. “In fact, let’s invite him over for dinner.”
Amy drained the last of her coffee. “Are you sure that’s such a good idea? I mean, he seemed nice enough, but what do you really know about him?”
Matt snorted. “Damn, Amy, how much do I need to know to be a good neighbor? I’ve spent a little time with him twice, and I’m pretty sure he’s not an ax murderer on the loose.”
“That’s not what I meant, I just—”
“He’s a
neighbor
,” Matt stressed. “Since when did you become so antisocial?”
Since I had an unwanted physical reaction to the man. And dreams that I can’t seem to control.
“Fine.” She pushed back her chair. “Fine, fine, fine. Call him and invite him over. You can do your famous barbecue steaks.” She rinsed out her mug and put it in the dishwasher. “I have some errands to do in town. I promised Hank I’d ride fences with him this afternoon.”
Hank was the oldest of their hands, the one who’d been here the longest. He’d been the one to put Amy on her first horse and to show her “which end of the cattle eats and which end shits,” as he’d so colorfully put it.
“You know you don’t have to do that,” Matt pointed out. “You’ve got records to bring up to date and the monthly weight-gain reports to get out. And Hank just wants an audience for those tales he’s told a thousand times.”
When their parents had decided to move to New Mexico, she and Matt had split up the responsibilities of the ranch. She took care of all the paperwork, which he hated, and he served as the actual foreman, supervising the hands and overseeing the daily care and feeding of the cattle as well as maintaining the fences and outbuildings. But when she was younger she had often ridden fences with Hank, listening to his stories. She figured by now she was the only one left who’d put up with them.
“I’m good,” she told him. “And sometimes it just clears my head to ride along with Hank and listen to his bullshit.” She picked her keys up from the counter. “See y’all later.”
All the way into town, she couldn’t seem to get Buck Montgomery out of her head. She’d hardly spent much time with him, and half of that she’d been royally pissed. But the image of the man just lingered in her brain, not to mention what thoughts of him did to her body.
Wait
. She was an intelligent thirty-year-old woman not given to stray erotic fantasies. Especially about men she hardly knew. It was bad enough when she fantasized about men she did know and they all turned out to be assholes. But lordy. There was just something about Buck Montgomery that set her pulse to pounding, her blood to racing and every hormone in her body to waving a flag.