At the cemetery fence, he paused. "He's buried here?""Yes, along with four generations of Cattenachs." She faced him, watching the hard edges of his profile. "Our parents died in a car wreck when we were eight. I didn't sleep well for a long time afterward and I refused to get in a vehicle for a year, thinking I'd die, too. I won't pretend to understand what you're going through, but what helped me was coming here, talking to them." He turned his head and looked at her, gaze sweeping over her face like a caress. Understanding and respect shone in his eyes before he broke the connection and glanced at the cemetery again.Bones nudged his hand and, with a blink of surprise, Nate looked at the dog."I think he senses what troubles you. Maybe you should let him sleep in your bed, see how it works out." She opened the gate and walked to Justin's grave.Nate's quiet footsteps padded behind her, but he said nothing. He spoke very little, actually, but his eyes gave a lot of him away. G
After the foreman's temper tantrum yesterday morning, Nate had spent the day ten feet from Olivia while she'd shaved wool off sheep. Many, many sheep. At least he knew what shearing meant now. It looked exhausting. A week ago, he wouldn't have said so, but since watching her and Nakos for nine solid hours, Nate would've rather done eight-hundred push-ups than partake.And he'd tried damn hard not to think about how great her ass looked in jeans every time she'd bent over. Which had been a lot. Or the way sunlight had lit her cornflower eyes and auburn hair on their walk. Or the way she'd smiled sweetly at him as if she could chase away all his dark simply by wishing it.Justin had been like that, too - worked his way past Nate's defenses and burrowed deep. Didn't matter how many times he'd told Justin to go away or gave off fuck-you vibes, the guy had just kept at it with charm and smiles and blah, blah, blahing Nate to death. Until he'd found himself liking the fellow soldier so much,
She grabbed the reins of two horses and walked them out the opposite end and into a clearing. Long prairie grass stirred in the wind as the pink sky faded to navy. She tied the brown horse to a post by a fence and held the black one in place.Nate eyed her, then the animals. "Never ridden one of these.""This is Midnight. He's a three-year-old stallion and very mild-mannered. Come on over here." When he did as asked, she took his wrist and had him run his hand down the horse's nose. In turn, Midnight nudged Nate's shoulder, and Olivia laughed. "There, he likes you."She instructed him how to mount, and he climbed onto the saddle. She did the same on hers, looking way more graceful about it, and settled her horse next to his."My guy here is Pirate, and he's a two-year-old gelding. Now, you know how to ride a motorcycle, so you're at an advantage." She set one hand on his stomach and the other on his forearm, and he inhaled hard. "Driving a bike requires using your core and arms. Yo
Olivia spent the next few days riddled in guilt and feeling stupid. And insensitive. And then more stupid. While they'd finished the week shearing and getting the wool loaded for the supplier, she'd done everything in her power to avoid all physical contact with Nate. She hadn't realized how often she used her hands until she'd been forced to think about every move. The best way for her to teach him was by demonstration.In bed, she flopped from her stomach to her back and stared at the ceiling. She was going on three nights of restlessness and nothing was working. She'd tried everything but the obvious path to assuage her wrongs. Because she was a coward.Top of the list? She needed to have a conversation with Nakos to clear the air. Which was darn impossible with Nate underfoot. Nakos had been a friend since as far back as she could remember. She may not share his romantic feelings, but he was entitled to respect from her.Lord. And Nate? What the heck was she supposed to say, to
"Are you cold?"He dropped his forehead to her temple. "The opposite." His nose brushed her cheek as he lowered his head, and she emitted a full-body tingle. "Just the opposite," he repeated, his rough voice barely above a whisper.Shaking his head, he shut off the faucet and reached for a paper towel. He dried her hands like she were a toddler in need of assistance, then held up her hand to examine it. Only a small half-inch knick on her outer palm, but it had created a lot of blood. He pressed the paper towel to the cut and held it there. "It's not deep enough for stitches."She nodded, recalling his initial response. "Does the sight of blood bother you?" Half her ranch hands passed out cold at the hint of red. It was a pretty common phobia and men could be babies."Not usually." "You seemed a little rattled before.""Justin died next to me. My mind flicked back for a second." He straightened suddenly and cursed, then muttered something that sounded like filter. "I'm sorry.
While Olivia talked with Nakos outside the barn, Nate leaned against an ATV a few feet away and crossed his arms. Several sections of pre-cut pine were lying in a trailer attached to the vehicle, and he was supposed to be heading out to the southern pasture to replace fence posts with Olivia. Except, just like she'd been doing a lot lately, she was hedging on working with him. For the past two weeks, while he followed her around doing this and that, getting familiar with the ranch, she'd barely spoken to him, never mind looked him in the eye. If learning a new skill required a hands-on approach, she'd delegated it to her foreman to teach Nate. It was starting to piss him off, but he'd mucked this up all on his own. Put them alone together, and she high-tailed her perfect ass from the vicinity. Accidentally bump one another? She jumped like she'd been electrocuted and created more distance than the Grand Canyon. Try to start a conversation, and he swore she bit her tongue to force o
Christ, they were twenty minutes from the house. He'd never heard that tone in her voice and damn if nothing in all his experiences sounded worse. The radio silence was almost more frightening than her frenzied request. What in the hell could've happened? She was supposed to be in the barn putting on horseshoes.He drove them as fast as the vehicle would allow over hills and across the prairie, but Nate could almost run faster than the damn thing. Nakos keyed up all the ranch hands on the walkie-talkie, but none of them were closer than they were."Hell." Nakos growled. "She's not responding and Mae's not answering the house line.""I'm going as fast as I can." Not fast enough, though. Some protector Nate turned out to be. The first time he wasn't within spitting distance of Olivia, and she was in trouble. The most ungodly scenarios shoved through his mind and acid burned a path from his gut to his throat.Finally, he rounded a bend and parked not far from the barn. Both he and
After the doctor left and assuring herself Amy was okay in the guestroom, Olivia took a shower and made her way downstairs. Comfy in a pair of loose sweats and a tank top, she figured she'd heat a cup of tea and crash. Her limbs were as useless as Jell-O and, any second, she was going to collapse. The house was quiet and dark, but a light shone from the direction of the kitchen, along with the murmur of muted voices. Heading that way, she found Aunt Mae, Nakos, and Nate at the table drinking coffee. They all looked up at her and started talking at once.Olivia waved her hand. "I helped Amy get washed up. She's trying to relax. Her brother Kyle's with her now." She leaned against the doorjamb and rested her head. "Hank says she doesn't think any ribs are broken, just bruised. Same with her face. She gave Amy a shot for pain and a script. I'll fill it tomorrow when I grab clothes from her house.""Think she'll eat something?" Mae rose and went to the fridge. "Soup?""Sure. That's so