Daddy Wore Spurs (Mills & Boon Cherish) (Men of the West, Book 32) (7 page)

“You told me you’ve listed the property with a real estate agent,” he said with a frown. “If that’s the case, he should be dealing with that person. Not you.”

With a hand at her back, he urged her toward the house. “Come on. I’ll deal with this.”

When they reached the steps, Mariah remained close by Finn’s side as she quickly introduced the two men. “Mr. Oakley says he lives down in Likely,” she informed Finn. “That’s a little town south of here.”

The stranger directed an appreciative grin at Mariah and she instinctively cuddled closer to Finn’s side. From the moment the strange man had arrived, he’d been leering at her to the point where she’d begun to doubt whether he was actually here about seeing the ranch. Yet if he was truly a potential buyer, she was hardly in a financial position to send him packing just because he was giving off creepy vibes.

“That’s right,” the man said. “I work on a little spread down there. But I heard this place was on the market. And from what I can see it’s a dandy. A man could do well for himself here.”

Finn’s lips tightened to a thin line. “Mr. Oakley, I assume you know how to use a telephone?”

The man looked at Finn with comical confusion. “Yeah.” He patted a leather pouch attached to his belt. “I’ve got a cell phone right here.”

“Then why didn’t you use it before you drove up here?”

Oakley looked as if he’d just been boxed on both jaws. “I—beg your pardon?”

Finn said, “If your interest is in buying this ranch, then you need to be talking with the real estate agent. Not bothering Miss Montgomery by showing up here out of the blue on a Sunday morning.”

Stunned that Finn was giving the man such a stinging lecture, Mariah’s gaze swapped back and forth between the two men. Oakley’s face was beet red, while Finn’s features appeared to be chiseled from concrete. What had come over Finn? She’d wanted him to deal with the pushy stranger, but she’d expected him to do it in a polite manner.

“For your information, I did call the agency,” Oakley said. “I didn’t get an answer.”

“Then you should’ve kept calling until you did get an answer,” Finn retorted.

The stranger’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Finn. “Who are you, anyway?” he asked curtly. “I thought Miss Montgomery owned this ranch.”

Next to her, Mariah could feel Finn go tense and then suddenly his arm was wrapping possessively around her shoulders.

“I am this baby’s father. That’s who I am,” Finn said tersely. “And if I were you, I’d get out of here right now. I don’t want to see you around here again. Ever.”

Without a word, Oakley stomped off the steps and skirted his way past Finn and Mariah.

Leaving her side, Finn followed a few steps behind the man, then waited at the yard gate until he’d climbed into his truck and driven away. Before the dust from the tires drifted off to the southeast, Mariah carried Harry into the house and placed him in a small playpen she’d erected in the kitchen. Once the baby was settled, she walked back out to the porch to find Finn climbing the steps.

“What was that about?” she asked.

He stepped onto the porch. “Just giving the man the send-off he deserved. He was up to no good and I didn’t see any point in playing nice.”

“Up to no good?” She shook her head. “Maybe he was a little flirtatious, but that had nothing to do with him being a potential buyer for this ranch. Now you’ve scared him off!”

He shot her a disgusted look. “Are you kidding me? Would you honestly want a creep like him to own this place? A home you’ve lived in for twenty years?”

“That’s not the point!”

With little more than an inch standing between them, he stared down at her, and Mariah felt her insides begin to tremble. Not with anger, but with raw desire. And the uncontrollable attraction she had toward the cowboy aggravated her as much as his authoritative attitude.

“You’re telling me it doesn’t matter who winds up here?” he demanded. “Just as long as you have the money?”

“You make it all sound nasty!” she shot back at him. “And you’re doing that to make me forget about your—rude behavior!”

“Maybe you’d better explain that,” he said tightly.

“Yes, Oakley was a creep. But you could’ve gotten rid of him in a nicer way.”

“Nice, hell! If you think a man like him understands nice, then you’re too damned naive to be living out here alone!”

Furious now, she said, “You don’t own this ranch. And you certainly don’t own me. From now on I’ll handle my personal business.”

His nostrils flared and though the sparks in his eyes were fueled by anger, the sight of them made her wonder if he made love with the same sort of unleashed passion. The notion sent a shiver of excitement slithering down her spine.

“You think— Oh, to hell with it,” he muttered.

He turned to leave the porch and Mariah instantly snatched hold of his forearm.

“Finn, I’m trying to understand your behavior,” she said, her voice growing softer with each word. “But you’re not making it easy.”

He turned back to her and Mariah’s heart lurched into a wild gallop as his hands closed over her shoulders.

“Then I need to make things plainer, Mariah. Maybe I ran that creep off because I don’t want him, or any man, thinking they have a snowball’s chance in hell of doing this.”

This? The question had barely had time to zing through her thoughts when she saw his head lowering to hers. Yet the realization that he was about to kiss her wasn’t enough to make her step back. If anything, she wanted to step into him. She wanted to feel his arms around her once again, to experience the taste of his hard, searching lips.

In a feeble attempt at resistance, she planted her palms against his chest, but before she could push a measurable distance between them, the warmth of his muscles seeped into her hands and raced up her arms. The sensation was so pleasurable, she couldn’t move, much less make her lungs work in a normal fashion.

“This shouldn’t be happening again.”

The breathless words rushed past her parted lips but did little to slow the downward descent of his head.

“Probably not,” he whispered, his mouth touching hers ever so softly. “But I don’t think either of us is going to stop it.”

Chapter Six

M
ariah had never been kissed outside in broad daylight, not like this. It made her feel exposed and naked and even a bit wicked. Finn’s lips were making a hungry foray over hers, turning her into a melted mess, making it impossible for her to think.

Closer. That was the only thing she wanted, needed. With that one thing on her mind, her hands instinctively moved to the back of his neck, the front of her body arched into his, while their lips rocked back and forth to a rhythm only they could hear.

Her head began to whirl until she was certain she was floating off into the blue sky. Her breathing stopped and her heart pounded. If the kiss ended, she’d surely die, she thought. But eventually it did end when Finn finally lifted his head.

Sanity rushed into Mariah’s brain and with it came the reality of how lost she’d become in Finn’s embrace. Her fingers were tangled in the hair at the back of his neck, while his hands were splayed against her back, holding her upper body tightly against his.

Through a foggy haze, she stared up at him. “Finn,” she whispered hoarsely, “I don’t know what’s happening to me. To us!”

Not waiting to hear what, if anything, he had to say, she pulled away from him and hurried to the other side of the porch. With her back to him, she stared out at the distant mountains and tried to gain control of her labored breathing. She was trembling all over and her body felt as though a wildfire had ignited inside her and was now spreading from her head to her feet.

The sound of his boots moving across the porch floor alerted her to his approach. Even so, she wasn’t ready for the contact of his hand as it rested gently against the back of her shoulder. Until she’d met Finn, she’d had no idea that the simple touch of a man’s hand could have the power to shake her like an earthquake.

“Mariah, if it makes you feel any better I’m just as confused as you are. I didn’t come here looking to start up a relationship with you.”

She swallowed to ease the aching tightness in her throat. “I’m sure you didn’t. So what—”

“Am I doing?” he finished for her. “The only thing that’s clear to me is when I’m near you I lose control. And I think it happens to you, too.”

She turned to face him and her heart was suddenly crying for her to step into his arms, to confess how much the warmth of his embrace chased away her loneliness. But that would be inviting trouble. The sort she didn’t need at this point in her life. She had very little experience with men. Especially one as rugged and sexy as Finn. Hot, brief flings were his style. Not waking up in the same bed with the same woman for the rest of his life.

“Yes. It—” Glad he couldn’t see her face, she closed her eyes and licked her swollen lips. “I’m not going to deny that I’m attracted to you. That would be pretty pathetic, wouldn’t it? When I just kissed you like—well, like I wanted you.”

His fingers tightened on her shoulder and for some inexplicable reason Mariah felt the urge to cry. To brace herself, she bit down hard on her lip and drew in a deep, cleansing breath.

“I want you, too, Mariah.”

Such sweet, simple words. But his wanting wasn’t the same as hers. She wanted him for more than just a day or night. And she wanted more than just his physical touch. She wanted even the simplest form of his company. To see his smile, hear his voice, watch the ever-changing moods in his sky-blue eyes.

A few years ago, during her college days, she’d thought she felt these things for Kris. But now she realized how lukewarm her feelings for him had been compared to the intensity of her reactions to Finn. And what did it all mean? That she was falling in love with a man she’d met less than twenty-four hours ago? No. Dear heaven, no. His life was back in Nevada on that rich ranch. He’d never think of her in a long-term way.

Bracing herself, she turned and faced him. “It’s nothing more than chemistry, and we need to deal with it in an adult way.”

“Speak for yourself. I pretty much feel like an adult right now.”

She groaned with frustration. “Yesterday we were total strangers, Finn!”

A slow grin spread across his face and Mariah’s gaze went straight to his lips. Even now, she wanted to forget the right or wrong of it and tilt her mouth back up to his. Oh my, she had to get a grip and fast.

“If you ask me, a kiss is a pretty good way for us to get to know each other.”

She stepped around him before she was tempted to give in to the urge of touching him again. “You need to understand that I’m nothing like Aimee!”

“What the hell does that mean?” he barked.

She started toward the door. “It means I won’t go to bed with you just because it would feel good!”

“Thanks for the warning,” he flung at her, then stomped off the porch.

Mariah didn’t wait to see where he was going. With her eyes full of tears, she hurried into the house.

* * *

A few minutes later at the barn, Finn backed his truck up to the door of the feed room and began to unload sacks of grain and alfalfa bales from the bed. As he stacked the feed and hay neatly to one side of the room, Mariah’s parting words continued to eat at him.

Damn it, did she think all he wanted from a woman was to get her into bed? Having a brief fling with Aimee didn’t make him a playboy. But apparently in Mariah’s eyes it did. And after the way he’d been grabbing her up and kissing her, he could hardly blame her for thinking that way.

Using his knee to shove the last bale into place, Finn stepped back from the stacked hay and pulled a bandanna from the back pocket of his jeans. As he wiped the sweat from his face, words of warning from his father and brother swirled through his mind, adding to his frustration.

Deep down, he realized his family was right. Now more than ever, he needed to use common sense. He couldn’t let a pair of soulful gray eyes and warm lips turn him into a randy fool.

“What is all of this?”

At the sound of Mariah’s voice he quickly glanced over his shoulder to see her standing in the doorway of the feed room. After stomping off the porch in a huff not more than twenty minutes ago, he certainly hadn’t expected her to show up here at the barn.

“Where’s Harry?” he blurted the question.

“He just went to sleep. He’s safe in his crib and I only intend to be here for a few minutes.”

“What’s the matter? You didn’t jab enough barbs in me a while ago? You decided to come out here to the barn and try to cut me a few more times?”

Her lips tightened. “I didn’t walk out here to the barn to discuss that—that kissing episode on the porch. We’ve said enough about it. I came out here because I saw your truck was loaded with hay. And I didn’t ask for it.”

Relieved that she wasn’t going to keep harping about that kiss, or whatever the hell it had been, he turned and walked over to the open doorway. “That’s right. You didn’t ask for it. I took it upon myself to buy some things for the horses.”

The look of disapproval on her face changed to one of concern. Her mouth opened, then after a moment’s pause, snapped shut. When it opened a second time he expected to hear a loud protest. Instead, she simply said, “All right. Give me the bill and I’ll write you a check.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he told her.

Her shoulders straightened to a stiff line. “It’s necessary to me.”

He shook his head, while wondering how one moment he could be so on fire to make love to her and the next he wanted to yell with frustration. “We need to talk,” he said.

“There’s nothing you can say about this—”

“It’s not about the hay or the feed.” He stepped out of the barn and shut the door behind him. “Let’s go to the house. I’ll meet you there as soon as I move my truck.”

“I’ll be in the kitchen,” she told him.

* * *

A few minutes later, Finn entered the kitchen carrying several packages. As he placed them on the breakfast bar, Mariah left the cabinet counter where she’d been peeling apples and joined him.

He gestured toward the sacks. “I got all the things you had on the list and a few more. There’s a little something for you, too,” he added sheepishly.

She cast him a guarded glance. “Me? I didn’t write anything on the list for myself.”

Reaching for the sack closest to her, she pulled out diapers, formula, tiny T-shirts, matching shorts and two pairs of jeans that snapped on the inside of each leg. She couldn’t imagine this man strolling through the baby department, picking out clothes for Harry. It only gave her further proof that he wasn’t about to shy away from fatherhood.

As she thoughtfully smoothed a finger over the blue fabric, he said, “He might already have plenty of clothes. But I thought they were cute.”

“Very cute,” she agreed. “I’m surprised you didn’t find a Western shirt to go with the jeans.”

“I would have, but the store where I bought that stuff didn’t have any. And with it being Sunday the Western store was closed,” he said. “But give me time and I’ll have a stack of shirts for him. And when his feet get big enough, he’ll get a pair of boots. Just like mine.”

Clearly, Finn was already becoming very attached to Harry. He truly believed he was the father. If his DNA wasn’t a match to Harry’s, it would crush him. And strangely, Mariah didn’t want Finn to go through that heartbreak. Even though it meant he’d be taking the baby to Nevada.

She glanced down at Finn’s snub-toed brown boots. To her they looked like they were made from expensive alligator hide. And they probably were. She couldn’t imagine him wearing anything fake.

“Considering the size of your foot, that might take a while.”

He grinned and Mariah was relieved that the angry tension between them was easing.

“They do make baby-sized boots, you know.”

“Yes. And I have no doubt you’ll find a pair.” She reached for the second sack and removed a little stuffed horse, a bright green teething ring, and lastly, a shiny gold box tied with a pale pink ribbon. The fact that he’d bought her a little gift made her feel awful for losing her temper with him.

“Is this mine?”

“Yes. And don’t worry,” he told her. “It won’t explode or jump out at you.”

She pulled the ribbon loose and lifted the lid to see a necklace lying on a bed of velvet. The tiny silver cross attached to a delicate chain was so touching and unexpected she couldn’t utter a word.

After a weighty stretch of silence, he said, “It’s nothing fancy. But it’s real silver. And I thought it suited you.”

She swallowed hard. “It’s lovely,” she murmured. “But you shouldn’t have gotten me anything. What you paid for this would’ve bought a week’s work of groceries.”

* * *

Tangled emotions stirred inside Finn as reached for the necklace. “A woman shouldn’t always be practical,” he said huskily. “Let me put it on for you.”

Expecting her to argue, he was somewhat surprised when she lifted her long hair off her neck and presented her back to him.

Moving closer, Finn positioned the little cross in the hollow of her throat. With the scent of her hair filling his nostrils and her soft skin beckoning every male cell in his body, the temptation to drop his head and press kisses to the back of her bared neck was so strong it caused his hands to tremble.

“Sorry,” he murmured as he fumbled with the delicate clasp. “I’m not very practiced at this sort of thing.”

“Neither am I,” she said softly.

The poignant note in her voice caused his fingers to pause against the nape of her neck. One minute she was all fire and the next as soft as a kitten. And either way, he wanted her. It was that simple, Finn thought.

“You’re a beautiful woman, Mariah,” he said huskily. “I’m sure other men have given you jewelry before.”

She was quiet for long moments and then she turned and smiled wanly up at him. “My dad gave me a bracelet for Christmas one year. And once in grade school, a boy gave me a ring that he’d gotten out of a crank machine. That little piece of plastic turned out to be much more heartfelt than a diamond I received...well, later on.”

A diamond? So she had been deeply involved with a man at one time, he thought. Like a match striking against stone, jealousy flared inside him. He didn’t want to think of Mariah loving another man so much that she’d wanted to marry him.

“You were engaged?”

Her head bent downward to hide her face. “For a brief time—a few years ago. It means nothing now.”

“If you were wearing his ring it must have meant something back then,” he ventured to say.

“I thought it did. But later I realized I was confused about him...and myself.”

“Well, that happens,” he told her. “I was confused once, too.”

She looked up at him and Finn noticed how her fingers were clasping the silver cross as though it were a lifeline.

“You’ve been engaged before?” she asked.

He grimaced at the memory of Janelle. She’d been a big part of his young life and for a long time he’d expected her to be a part of his future. But she’d had other ideas. Losing her had forced him to grow up. It had also made Finn decide he wanted no part of marriage until he was certain he could deal with the intricacies of a woman’s emotional needs.

“Not exactly engaged,” he admitted. “We were a steady couple for a long time in high school. It ended before I asked her to marry me.”

Curiosity flickered in her gray eyes. “Were you planning to ask her?”

He shrugged while remembering the humiliation he’d felt when Janelle had turned away from him to marry an older man. “Yes. But at a later time. You see, I was only nineteen. I wasn’t ready.”

“Oh. Yes, things do get confusing at that age.” Turning her head to one side, she licked her lips. “Well, thank you, Finn. It was very thoughtful of you to remember me with a gift.”

His gaze took in the strands of black hair resting against the pale creamy skin of her cheek, the silver-gray depths of her eyes and the moist pink curve of her lips. Something about her made his body ache to make love to her, yet at the same time his heart yearned to keep her safe and protected. The conflicting feelings inside him were seesawing back and forth, refusing to settle on common ground.

“The necklace is just a small token—for being such a good mother to Harry. I truly appreciate what you’ve done for him, Mariah.”