A Real Cowboy Never Says No (19 page)

He was going to make it.

"I brought you coffee." Mira leaned over the door beside him, holding a steaming mug. "Thought you might need some caffeine."

"Thanks." He glanced over at her. She was covered in sweat and dirt from the long night, and there were shadows beneath her eyes, but there was a radiance on her face that nearly glowed. "You were great. I don't think I could have done it without you."

She smiled, and mimicked his position, resting her arms over the top edge of the door as she watched Spy rest. "Could he really have died?"

"Yeah. It was bad." Chase let out a breath, finally able to acknowledge the depth of what had been at stake last night. "He's my breeding stallion," he explained. "I paid a lot of money for him when he was a colt, but it was far less than he's worth. The guy who owned him was short on cash, and I was in the right place at the right time. He's my future. I could never afford to replace him if he'd died last night. The entire future of this ranch is riding on him." Instinctively, in a move that was so natural he didn't even think about it, he draped his arm over Mira's shoulders, drawing her against him as they watched Spy. "Thanks for your help, city girl."

She relaxed against him, and he could tell she was as weary as he was. "I'm glad I was here."

"Me too." As he stood with her tucked up against him, Chase had a sudden feeling of contentment. Mira had been a star all night, fighting as hard as him to save Spy. She'd never complained, and had never shown a sign of fatigue, even when she'd worked tirelessly beside him to help with the morning feeding. Not a single one of his brothers had ever been here to help him, but Mira had been by his side all night, without hesitation, and her satisfaction in saving Spy was evident.

He realized suddenly that she fit on the ranch. She fit in his life. She was an asset, not a liability. Mira, the Deep South lady he'd coveted for so long, wasn't who he'd thought at all. Yeah, she had the huge heart he'd always expected, but she was also gritty, strong, and tough enough to fight off death.

Was she also tough enough to survive him and his brothers? Was he tough enough to survive her? Shit. He didn't even know how everything was supposed to fit together anymore. He'd had a plan for his life, and now things were skewing in different directions, ones he wasn't prepared for.

His phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw it was Zane. He moved his thumb over the "Send" icon to answer, then realized Zane was probably calling to give him grief about Mira.

He didn't want to hear it.

He didn't want his brothers in this moment.

He turned off his phone and slid it back into his pocket, Gary's words echoing in his mind about how he needed to treat Mira better. He thought of Martha's orders to start dating her. Maybe he would try. Maybe he was supposed to try. "You hot?"

She glanced over at him. "Hot, sweaty, and dirty, yes."

"Want to go for a swim? I know a place. Just for an hour, then we'll be back to check on Spy. It'll work better than caffeine to pick you up."

She eyed him for a moment, those sexy blue eyes studying him. He tensed, his entire body on edge, waiting for her to accept his offer.
Say yes, Mira. Say yes.

After a moment, she nodded. "Okay."

"Okay." He couldn't suppress his grin, or the rush of energy that flooded his body. "Two horses or one?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Two."

Two? Bummer. Looked like he still had some work to do.

But she'd said yes.

It was a start.

"I am so not jumping off this rock." Mira stared uneasily over the edge of the boulder that loomed above the natural pool nestled in the cliffs near Chase's house. The boulder was at least fifteen feet above the water, and despite Chase's suggestion, there was no chance she was jumping off there.

Maybe in her youth, but now? She'd probably need a wheelchair if she did it.

Chase walked up beside her. He'd already shed his jeans and shirt, leaving on only a pair of black boxer briefs that didn't hide the fact that he was walking around with an erection. He didn't seem to care that she could tell, so she tried to ignore it.

Not so easy, when she could remember lots of details about that particular part of his anatomy.

His body rippled with muscle, and his neck and arms showed the layers of grime where his collar and shirt sleeves had ended, exposing his skin to the dirt of the previous night. He looked sexy beyond words, a rugged cowboy who was a part of the earth that he rode on every day.

Suddenly, she didn't feel like a woman who wanted to park her butt on the top of the rock and sit. She wanted to be the woman who jumped out there with him.

Chase raised his eyebrows. "You stay out all night battling colic, but you're afraid of a little jump? The water's deep. It's safe."

She grimaced, still wearing her jeans, boots, and tank top. Why hadn't she thought of a bathing suit when Chase had suggested swimming? He'd had the horses saddled up and ready in minutes, and she'd been too busy second-guessing her acceptance of his invitation to actually consider the logistics of swimming.

Dirt caked her body, and the water was so clear she could see all the way to the rocks on the bottom. A waterfall was cascading on the far side of the pool, and the high red rock surrounded it, an oasis of perfection in the middle of a harsh landscape. In truth, it looked unbelievably appealing, but to rip off her clothes and charge off the rock was so not her. At least, it wasn't the grown-up her. As a youth, she used to swing out in a tire swing she and AJ had tied to their tree and careen into the river, but that was a long time ago.

Chase stepped in front of her, and held out his hands, his eyes twinkling. "Come on."

She bit her lip. "Leaping off massive cliffs into tiny pools isn't really my thing." She peered past him. "Is there a way down on the side? I can meet you down there." Then, at least, she could swim.

"It's worth it." He wiggled his fingers, clearly trying to tempt her. "Do you trust me?"

His question jerked her attention back to him. She'd used those very words with Taylor such a short time ago when she'd justified packing her life up and moving out to Wyoming. She'd barely even met him at that point, and yet she'd boldly announced how much she trusted him.

How ridiculous to trust someone who was a virtual stranger with her life and her baby's. But now, staring into his blue eyes, she realized the answer was still yes. She did trust him. This time, it was real trust, not trust built simply upon a legend created by their shared mutual best friend. She'd seen Chase care for his horse, bond with his brothers, and stand by her. It was Chase she trusted, the real life man. Slowly, she nodded. "I do."

A smile flashed across his face. "Then come with me."

"Oh, jeez. Really?"

He grinned wider. "Come on, babe. You'll love it."

She made a noise of exasperation, even as her heart was starting to hammer in anticipation. "Okay, fine. But if I break both my legs and wind up in a body cast, you have to be my manservant for the rest of my life." She poked at his chest, and he caught her finger.

"I'll even massage your numb, lifeless feet," he said. "And I'm great at massages. It would be worth it."

"I doubt it." She took a deep breath. Her heart was pounding, but a part of her really did want to jump. "Give me a sec." Trying not to think about what she was doing, she stepped back from him and unfastened her jeans. Her cheeks burned as she peeled her pants off, glad she'd grabbed her pink low-cut bikinis instead of her white, cotton oh-so-comfy ones. And heaven help her if she'd put on a thong. A little bit of modesty was a good thing, right? Yes, she was well aware that he'd seen her completely naked, but that time, she'd been stripped bare by his roving hands while he was seducing her in the dark of night with tempestuous kisses and whispered temptations. Peeling off her clothes in the broad sunlight, while standing on a barren rock with Chase watching her, was completely different.

She tossed the jeans aside and turned back to face him. Her heart immediately started pounding when she saw the heated expression on his face. His gaze seemed to bore into her, and she caught her breath. "Don't." Even as she said it, another part of her was screaming for him to
do, do, do
. Her body remembered exactly what it was like to have his hands on her, and her heart missed that intimacy between them.

Chase didn't leap across the rock and sweep her up in his arms. In fact, he said nothing. He simply held out his hands to her again in an invitation that suddenly seemed much more personal than it had a few minutes ago.

She decided to leave her tank top on. In her middle-of-the-night rush to the barn, she hadn't put on a bra. Yes, Chase had been best friends with her breasts, but in the bright light of morning, standing on a rock ledge with the man who was turning her life upside down, she needed a shirt. "You swear I won't land on a rock or something?" Her hand went protectively to her belly, and the tiny swell that was beginning to show.

Chase walked over to her and put his hand over hers. His palm dwarfed hers, sending heat pulsing through her. "I swear I won't let anything happen to either of you."

She nodded, her heart pounding at how close he was. She could see scars on his chest, and she wondered what those had been from, what horrors he'd endured when he'd received them. "Okay."

He smiled and took her hands, walking backward as he drew her toward the edge of the rock. "I used to come here all the time when I was a teenager. After Old Skip worked me all day, I'd get an hour off, and this was my spot. My brothers came here too, when they took their turns working at the ranch. We called it Stockton Rock. It was usually cold as hell, but we swam anyway. We got lucky today with this weather. It's a rare gift for it to be this warm here."

The warmth in his eyes as he spoke about his brothers made her smile. "How did you manage to stay so close to your brothers when you grew up in a rough situation? Where did you learn about that kind of loyalty?"

He shrugged. "I was the oldest. They needed me to protect them. It worked out okay." He dropped her right hand and turned to face the pool, still clasping her left hand as they stood together. "We'll jump side by side. On three. One."

She tightened her grip on his hand, peering down at the still water. "Um...okay."

"Two."

Did she really want to do this? She didn't. She really didn't think she did. "Chase—"

"Three." He jumped.

With a small yelp, she leapt with him, carried far out over the water by the force of his leap. For a split second, she lost her balance, and then he steadied her with their clasped hands. She had a moment of experiencing the sheer beauty of freedom as they sailed through the air, and then they plummeted into the water. The cold water sucked the breath from her, shocking her system as she went under.

She seemed to sink forever, a slow, peaceful descent into water so clear she could see Chase grinning at her through the bubbles rising around them.

She finally stopped descending, giving her the chance to kick to the surface. She broke through, and gasped in the fresh air as Chase surfaced beside her. He flipped his wet hair out of his eyes, his grin so boyish and charming that she found herself laughing at him. She felt energized and brave, filled with life she hadn't felt in so long.

He grinned. "Fun, wasn't it?"

She nodded, treading water. "It was awesome. Can we do it again?"

He threw back his head and laughed, a gorgeous, irresistible laugh that made her belly curl with delight. "Of course. Follow me, my princess." He stroked his way across the pool toward the base of the rock and grabbed an outcropping.

When she reached him, he grabbed her hand and hauled her against him. "One kiss per jump. It's the toll." He kissed her once, a hard, fast kiss that was over just as her toes were starting to curl. "Now, up you go." He pointed out the footholds, and then she grabbed the rock.

To her surprise, there was a natural path of foot and hand holds up the side of the rock, and she found herself at the top before she'd even realized she was climbing. Chase was right behind her, water streaming over his bare chest, making it glisten in the sunlight.

He was unbelievably sexy, and the way his gaze raked across her made her feel just as desirable. Her shirt was plastered to her body, and she could feel that her nipples were hard from the cold water.

"Aren't you hot in that shirt?" he asked. "You look hot."

She grinned at the double word play. "I'm keeping it on." She turned away from him, aware of his heated gaze on her almost naked bottom. "You coming?"

"Wouldn't miss it." He caught her hand, and they stood side by side again. "On three?"

"No. Now!" She let go of his hand, ran two steps, and leapt into the air, sailing far out into the pool. The wind was rushing by her, flinging her hair aside as she waved her arms for balance. Again, a moment of perfect suspension, and then she plummeted into the water. The cold closed in around her again, but this time it felt like it was cleansing all the silt from her body and her soul. She felt like she was a child again, leaping out in the river with AJ, using the rope swing they'd hung themselves. She'd felt so free and happy back then, and she felt the same way again: young, carefree, and connected with the man she was with.

There was a loud splash as Chase plunged in beside her, and he caught her ankle as he went past, jerking her down toward him.

She had only a split second to protest, and then she was in his arms, being assaulted by his kisses as he kicked them both to the surface. They broke the surface of the water, and she pushed off him, laughing as she caught her breath. "Let's do it again!" She stroked toward the rock, laughing as Chase caught up to her and then effortlessly passed her, reaching the rock while she was still several yards out.