“It sounds very painful.” She outlined each scar, staring at them intently.
“It’s meant to be.”
“I didn’t notice them the day of the storm, when we were in the supply shack.”
Chase closed his eyes briefly, trying to block out vivid, arousing images of lying with her and holding her in his arms. But he could almost feel her skin under his palms now, and the recollection became stronger each time Letty Sue fingered one of his scars. “In the shadows, they blend in with my skin.”
“Hmm,” she said, lifting her sparkling blue gaze to his. Her eyes filled with passion, a hunger he was sure she wouldn’t really want satisfied, innocent as she was.
He grabbed her wrist, meaning to shove her away, but instead flattened her hand to his chest. The jolt sent his senses flying, and blazing hot fire flamed from under her palm.
She whispered his name so softly, he barely heard her. “Chase.”
Chapter Four
L
etty Sue had never felt such power, such strength in a man before. His bronzed chest, smooth and sleek, exuded pure natural masculinity. She brought her other hand up to touch his skin, hot now, matching the blazing warmth in his eyes.
“Don’t play games, Letty Sue,” he whispered harshly.
Her hands seemed to move of their own accord, slowly and tentatively, over the muscles of his chest. And when her finger slid over one smooth, flattened disk, Chase inhaled sharply.
She couldn’t fathom what was happening inside her head or her body. Every fiber of her being wanted him. And a deep, low burn of longing settled in her belly. She shook her head. “That’s just it… I don’t think this is a game.”
She was inexplicably drawn to him, rather like a moth to a flame. And like the moth, if she got too close, she’d surely get burned. Yet she’d never known another man like him, so confident, so impossibly virile
and strong. And he’d been right that day at the creek when he’d first arrived, saying she hadn’t known a real man, not until now. She stood there, wanting his touch, wanting so much for him to kiss her, yet knowing all the while nothing good could come of it.
“Easing the lust of our bodies won’t change a thing.”
Stunned by his boldness, Letty Sue asked tentatively, “L-lust?”
“That’s all it is. I could take you, right now, in this room, but in the end we’d both be sorry.”
“But I—”
“You’d best get back to the house,” he commanded sharply.
She yanked her hands off his chest and nodded, dropping her gaze to the ground. She couldn’t look at him—her pride wouldn’t allow it. He was turning her away. A rush of humiliating heat coursed through her. She hoped it wasn’t evident on her face.
She brushed by him, heading for the door, but his hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist gently. His eyes, hard as gunmetal now, pierced hers intently. “Letty Sue,” he said almost too calmly, “you and I barely tolerate each other. We come from different worlds, want different things. I made a promise to your mother and I don’t intend to…”
“What, Chase? What don’t you intend?”
His long silence unnerved her. She made a move to remove her wrist from his grasp. He held firm and his gaze roamed over every inch of her, appreciation
evident as his eyes caressed each curve of her body. Small consolation, she thought.
Chase released a breath. “Truce or no truce, it’d be best if we kept our distance.”
“I see,” she said quietly. She tilted her head to one side and attempted to smile. She meant nothing to him. But then, why should she? She was a thorn in his side. He had a ranch to run and didn’t need a troublesome woman around, causing havoc. He didn’t like her, and now she understood just how much. This time, when she yanked, he released her arm. “You’re right, of course. We are worlds apart.” She hoisted up her chin, recovering her pride. “And I’m suddenly very tired. I’m going to bed, and I suggest you do the same. But don’t forget about our truce, Chase Wheeler. From now on, you treat me like an adult, the woman that I am.”
Chase scratched his head and cast her a look that said he’d just treated her like a woman and look where that had got them. There was a hint of sympathy in his eyes, and another emotion as well. It was something she never thought she’d elicit from him. Pity.
“Letty Sue.”
“Good night, Chase,” she said, and with head held high, walked out of the tack room.
Chase rode Tornado hard, testing the stallion’s strength, his endurance. There wasn’t a better horse on the ranch, and Tornado appeared more than willing to prove it. After riding out quite a ways, Chase
brought the horse to a slow trot, giving them both a respite. He checked the line fences on the southern end of the property, looking for damage—a section down or an area where the barbed wire wasn’t fastened properly.
He found Sam Fowler working on a broken fence. Chase dismounted, ground tethering Tornado. When the horse didn’t take flight, Chase felt immense pride. Taming the stallion hadn’t been as hard as he’d thought.
But taming one wayward woman had Chase warring with emotions so perplexing he couldn’t piece together two consistent thoughts. Conflicting battles waged inside his head. Letty Sue made it clear she wanted to be treated as a woman, and Chase knew dozens of ways to satisfy her in that regard.
But he’d made a pledge to Joellen, and one thing Chase Wheeler had never done was go back on his word. And as womanly as Letty Sue was on the outside, with her enticing body and beckoning blue eyes, Chase feared she really didn’t know her own mind. She was a true child at heart, playing at being a woman.
“Howdy, Chase,” Sam called out.
“Sam.” Chase walked over and inspected the downed fence. “Need some help here?”
“Sure wouldn’t refuse a hand.” Sam struggled to lift the heavy fence post. Chase braced the post from below, and the two managed to ease it upright. “Got it,” Sam announced.
Chase held it firm.
Sam took a large hammer and pounded it in, until the post was steady. “Much obliged.” He removed his gloves, using them to wipe the sweat from his forehead. “Got three more broken sections down the line a piece.”
“Well, let’s get to them.”
Sam smiled and nodded. “Appreciate it.”
They mounted up and slowly ambled along the fence line. The blazing sun beat down hard, the way everything seemed to happen here in this rugged land. Nothing subtle about Texas, Chase thought. The majority of the land was wild, free and formidable, just the way he liked it. He lowered the brim of his hat, fighting off sunlight.
“Heard you met Sally Henderson the other day,” Sam said, twisting a long strand of switchgrass in his mouth.
“Sure did.”
“She invite you to the church social?”
“She did. I’m thinking about going,” Chase said.
“Sally’s great. Got loads of brothers and sisters. One of her brothers married a sweet young gal. She’s part Indian. Family embraced her like a cowboy throwing his best loop. They sorta roped her right in. Know what I mean? ”
Chase slanted him a look.
“And well, I know Sally…she’d take to you right fine. You gonna bid on her lunch basket?”
“Sam,” Chase said evenly, “you been skirting around something worse than a saloon girl doing a jig. Say it outright or don’t say it at all.”
Sam tossed his reed of switchgrass away and eyed Chase. “All right. I’m bidding on Letty Sue’s basket. I outbid everyone for the past five years. Just thought I’d warn you.”
Chase chuckled. “How’d you stomach her food?”
A wry grin crossed over Sam’s face. “You know about her cooking?”
“Word gets around.”
Sam’s lips twitched. “Joellen usually does up the basket for the church social. But it don’t matter. I’d bid on Letty Sue’s basket if there was nothing in it.”
“Might be a safer choice for your gut.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But still, it’s been my honor for as long as I’ve known her, and I’d like it to stay that way.”
Chase nodded. “Won’t get an argument from me. Letty Sue know how you feel?”
Sam’s eyebrows lifted, nearly meeting his hairline, as he met Chase’s gaze head-on. “And how’s that?”
Chase shrugged. “Man’s willing to risk his stomach for a lady. Means something, I’d say.”
“We’re friends. Good friends.”
Chase nodded.
“Fact is, she thinks she’s going to find happiness traveling the world.”
“And you know better?”
“Yeah, I know Letty Sue. She doesn’t know it, but she’s a Texan, through and through. She’d never be happy off the ranch. It was her and her Mama for so long. Letty Sue’s only dreaming, but it ain’t real.”
“And you aim to prove it to her?”
“I hope to rid her of all them fancy notions. Yeah.”
“I wish you luck.”
He let out a self-chastising chuckle. “That woman curls her finger and I come running. I’d say I’d need more luck than a gambler holding four aces.”
Chase’s smile was quick. “She’s got that effect on a corralful of men.”
“You included?” Sam asked with genuine interest.
Chase shook his head. “I’m foreman, Sam. It wouldn’t set kindly with Joellen for me to tangle with her daughter, now would it?”
“Don’t suppose, but Letty Sue has a way about her.”
Chase reined in Tornado when they reached the next downed fence post. “She does at that, Sam. But you’re the one bidding on her lunch basket, remember?”
“I remember. Just hope the rest of the male population of Sweet Springs doesn’t forget it, you included.”
Chase twisted his lips, battling off a grin. “Not me, Sam. I have a great memory.”
Letty Sue mopped her forehead with her sleeve. The kitchen was hot from all the smoke filling the air, created by her last attempt at making a pie. She’d tried three times, and each time something different went wrong.
Either the crust burned or the filling did. The last time, as she was pulling the pie out of the cookstove, the whole thing slid out of her hands and made a giant pecan mess on the floor. It took her the better part of an hour to clean it up.
She wasn’t cut out for household chores, but
darned if she wasn’t determined to change that. Her mind drifted to Jasper and Joellen having a grand old time in New York. Her mother had sent a wire just yesterday saying that very thing.
Letty Sue dreamed of the day she’d be allowed to travel, to see new sights, enjoy citified life and know something of culture and refinement. She’d been too long on the ranch, and now that Mama had remarried, it would be her turn.
Soon, she thought, she would have her chance.
And she’d not have to dwell on the likes of Chase Wheeler.
Her rational mind knew he’d been right to cast her off last night. She’d been swept up in the moment, her heart overriding her good sense. Seeing those scars on his chest and feeling his massive strength had done something to her, affecting her in a way she’d never been before.
A river of compassion had flooded her senses as she’d realized what Chase had endured, how he’d lived, how his mother had died. She’d let herself become immersed in him, in the intimacy of the quiet small room, in the way he’d spoken to her. But then he’d turned her away.
Letty Sue hadn’t had much experience with rejection. It was new to her. She’d not met a man like Chase Wheeler before. It would be better for both if they kept their distance.
Let Sally have him.
The thought brought a jolt to her insides—a powerful jolt.
She shook her head and banished all thought of Chase Wheeler. He perplexed her overly much. Right
now she had to concentrate on cooking. Sally had suggested she start with something easy.
Biscuits.
How hard could it be to make sour milk biscuits?
Letty Sue arranged all the ingredients on the counter: flour, salt, baking powder and soda, sugar and sweet milk soured by a few drops of lemon juice. After measuring carefully, she dumped everything into a large bowl and began to stir. The dough began to take shape, and Letty Sue smiled for the first time today.
She pulled the dough out onto a floured board and kneaded it, pounding with her fists, then rolled it to a one-inch thickness, just like Sally’s recipe called for. Once satisfied, Letty Sue took a coffee cup and inverted it onto the dough to cut circles. Yes, they actually looked liked biscuits.
With a contented sigh, Letty Sue opened the cookstove door, ready to bake the biscuits. Intense heat and smoke came rushing out, choking her. She blinked and coughed, but before she could back away, licking flames from the overly hot oven swirled up and caught her apron.
Letty Sue flung the biscuit pan up in the air, letting out a horrified scream.
She was on fire!
Chapter Five
C
hase heard Letty Sue’s screams as he stepped outside the barn. He whirled around quickly, seeing a flaming flash whiz by the parlor window. He blinked, adjusting to the sunlight, not truly believing his eyes. Then he took off running.
Hell and damnation! Letty Sue was on fire!
Chase raced to the front door within seconds, yanking hard. The door wouldn’t budge. It was bolted from the inside. With no time to spare, he picked up a twisted vine chair on the porch and tossed it through the window, shattering glass everywhere. He dove in headfirst, somehow managing to land on his feet. She let out another boisterous scream right before he tackled her, knocking her to the floor.
He grabbed her tightly, unmindful of the penetrating heat, and rolled her over and over. Their bodies hit the wall, then the fireplace hearth, then the wall again. He spun her until the fiery flames died, leaving the scent of scorched clothing in their wake.
He wound up with Letty Sue beneath him on the
floor. Her breaths came rapidly, her chest heaving. He held her close, trying to quell her trembling. Fear filled her eyes, and amazement.
Smoke fumes billowed up from her clothes, but as Chase looked her over carefully, he didn’t believe the flames had touched her skin. While most men hated all the undergarments, petticoats and doodads women wore in the name of modesty, today they just might have saved Letty Sue’s life. For that, he was grateful.