Vivian Arend - Rocky Mountain Haven

“I’ll walk along with you.”

“That’s not necessary—”

Mike swung past, moving on his crutches far faster than a man his age should. He blocked their path and grinned at Beth. “I take it you’ve met my middle boy before.”

Daniel stared off into the distance to hide his face as Beth responded. His father was being a stubborn ass. It wasn’t like him to get in the way and be so curious about the women his boys took an interest in. What was he playing at?

“Daniel, if you’ve got a minute, could you go and make sure the heating coil is turned on around the water pipes at the Peter’s house? It’s getting colder, and I’d hate to forget to do it before it freezes.”

“I can do that,” Beth insisted. “Just tell me where to look and…”

Mike shook his head. “I’m not letting a lady crawl under the house. Daniel knows where it is. It’ll only be a minute’s work, right?”

“Yes, sir.” Daniel watched Beth closely. He wanted to talk to her, needed to talk, but if it was too much today, he’d back off.

After all, he knew where to find her.

She stared up from under her lashes and his body tightened. She may have been surprised to see him, but the interest they’d shared before—it still seemed to be there. Beth guided her boys toward the parking lot, the three tykes suitably subdued.

“I’ll meet you there,” Daniel called after her. He’d love to be a fly in the car and hear what the boys had to say about the swimming hole. Smart kids, even if they were in a heap of trouble at the moment.

He followed her van back toward the house where he’d lived until a few weeks ago. They passed the original ranch house where he currently slept. Daniel loved the layout of the entire SP Ranch. His great-grandpa and his brother had planned well when they had set up the place. Of the two homesteads, what they still called the Peter’s house was slightly smaller. It had been built after the two bachelor brothers had gotten married and started families within a year of each other. The second house stood on the other side of the coulee and creek. The layout had given both families privacy, and yet easy access to the barns and storage for their joint field equipment.

Years later, the Peter’s house had provided a wonderful location for the oldest boys to get out from under their parents’ roof without moving into town. At twenty-six, Daniel had been batching it with Blake and Matt for the past eight years. It felt awfully strange to have moved back into the home of his youth.

On an impulse, he turned down a side gravel road that led to the back of the barns. He left his truck there and strode through the trees, crossing the small footbridge to access the other side of the property. He made it to the Peter’s house just as Beth pulled in. The boys poured out of the van and raced for the door.

“Night, Daniel.” Three sets of hands waved as the kids shot up the wide porch stairs to disappear in to the house.

He laughed and turned to face Beth. “I see you’ve been living in the country long enough you’re not locking your doors anymore.”

She opened her mouth then closed it tight, wrinkling her nose for a moment. “You’re right. I hadn’t even thought about that.”

When she moved slowly toward the house, he hurried to offer his arm.

“Your leg sore?” he asked.

She shook her head. “Just not looking forward to doing the ‘Mom speech’. I decided to save it until we got home so I could concentrate on the road.”

Damn, no wonder the kids ran off so fast. “For what it’s worth, the creek is a pretty harmless place. It’s not very deep, and usually a whole lot of mud. I think I caught them the first time they were down there, and I’ve been keeping an eye out for them ever since, so they’ve been safe.”

“Thank you for that.” She opened the door. “Good night.”

“I’ll wait here once I’m done with my chore, until you’ve got a minute to talk.”

Beth clutched the doorknob so hard her fingers went white. “I have to put the boys to bed.”

“No troubles. I’ve got nowhere I’ve got to be.” Panic flashed in her eyes again, but he refused to back down. He wasn’t going to push this too far, but now that he’d found her—she could run, but she couldn’t hide. He dipped his head, maintaining eye contact until she had to pull her gaze away.

Three little faces stared upward, lips quivering. She barely had the strength to finish her lecture on staying safe and making sure Mom knew where they were at all times without breaking into a smile.

“We’re sorry, Mommy.”

She hugged them close. Now that her heart had slowed from the fear of having them near the water alone, she understood the attraction. Although, they hadn’t been unsupervised—her mysterious stranger had been there. Daniel had managed to tangle himself into her life whether she wanted him there or not.

“Okay, guys. I know you’re excited from the picnic, but it’s time to start slowing things down. I want all of you in the tub, then we can read together before bed.”

The boys raced off to the bathroom, voices raised in energetic shouts. Beth breathed a contented sigh until she remembered Daniel waited on her deck. What in the world was she going to do?

She placed a trembling hand on the back door. There was no unwind button she could push. No way to make the past disappear. He was probably stubborn enough if she didn’t go out he’d sit there all night like he’d threatened. She sucked in her courage and pressed the door open.

The porch boards squeaked, announcing her approach, and he looked up from where he’d settled on the old-fashioned swing.

He hesitated before speaking, sincerity clear in his tone. “You’ve got awesome kids. I’m sorry again about the swimming-hole thing. It never crossed my mind you didn’t know.”

She waved his confession away. “I’m mortified I didn’t figure out where they were disappearing to. I should have kept much better tabs on their whereabouts, and I’m grateful you had an eye on them.”

He stood and peeked in the window. “Will you need to go and get them into bed?”

“They’ll start on their own, but they’ll get distracted soon.”

Daniel smiled. “I think my mama used to say it was like trying to herd cats to get us all in bed on time. I won’t keep you long, but…” He reached for her hand, threading his fingers between hers. She swallowed hard. Oh Lord, it felt so good and scared her mindless at the same time. She stood as still as a statue in spite of her pounding heart.

“I’d like to see you, Beth.”

She bit her lip. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

He turned over her fingers, his thumb brushing the groove on her ring finger that was slowly disappearing. After ten years of wearing her wedding band, the sign was still there, even though the ring was not. “You’re not married.”

She shook her head. “He’s gone.” He raised a brow, and she had to say it, knowing the confusion not speaking plainly would cause. “He’s dead. He died in the accident that injured my leg.”

Her throat went tight. Images flashed through her mind, the icy road, the glaring lights. The pain.

The guilt.

His fingers stopped. “I’m sorry.”

He moved to pull away, and impulsively she resisted, maintaining a hold on his hand. Damn her indecision.

“It’s…okay. We were having troubles when he died, and I’m not grieving for him. Not really. I just don’t think it’s a great idea for you and me…” She couldn’t speak. What she wanted and what she should do—why was it so hard to know which was which?

He squeezed her fingers then let go and paced away. “There’s a whole lot I think you’re not saying right now. That’s fine. I’m still the man you met one night while you were in a drunken state and you don’t know me.”

“I wasn’t drunk.”

He chuckled and her face heated. “We call that liquid courage around here, darling, and you had some. I want you to know I was serious back then when I said I was interested in you. I’m even more interested, knowing you’re not a city girl living in some high-rise apartment hours away from me.”

“Maybe I’m not staying.”

“Then maybe while you’re here, we should spend some time together. I’m a good man, Beth. I’m not talking about taking over your life. I’m saying you intrigue me and you make my body ache. I think our attraction is something worth exploring.”

He moved closer. Her pulse pounded, and she tilted her head involuntarily to keep their eyes in contact.

Another step.

“I want to kiss you,” he growled. Their bodies were close enough their heat meshed, and a gasp of need escaped her throat. “Do you want to kiss me?”

Oh God. “I shouldn’t.”

“But do you want to?”

Desire and being responsible warred within her. Accepting his touch tonight would make it all that much harder to turn him down the next time.

He pressed closer yet, and their torsos connected, his groin rubbing her belly. Her back hit the wall as he caged her without using his hands. Their lips brushed, and she sucked in his air, the full body of his flavour rolling over her tongue like a fine wine. He kissed her tenderly, not the white-hot passion she’d replayed over and over in her mind from the bar scene, but a worshipful caress that started and finished with their lips.

When he pulled away his pupils were huge, his smile even wider.

“Good night, Beth.”

And he walked away, down the path that led into the trees.

Daniel took his time making his way home, stopping by the swimming hole to stare into the swirling water. His thinking place—the spot he’d retreated to when the noise and bustle of being a part of huge family grew too much.

He’d needed to find quiet. The middle child of six, his daddy would joke, which meant he’d always had one or another of his brothers around. He’d learned to be the peacemaker, to walk the most serene path possible. At least in the public eye.

A ripple spread from the rock he tossed, small waves carrying across the slow-moving section of creek. Beth was a widow—he hadn’t expected that. Something in her actions in the bar had struck him hard, and he wanted so badly to explore the way she had let him take control of her in that hallway before the time and place had ripped them back to reality. She hadn’t acted like a grieving widow. She’d said as much, but she must have been with the man for a number of years. Lance had to be at least eight.

Heck, the boys were another whole issue. Daniel loved kids, but they weren’t what he was focusing on right now. It was the woman who fascinated him. Although, if he did get involved with Beth, she’d probably have all kinds of rules about not seeing the kids and keeping things secretive. He had a buddy in town who was dating a single mom, and he’d shared stories that reminded Daniel of having to crawl in the windows at two a.m. to avoid the wrath of his daddy for missing curfew.

He stood and dragged his fingers through his hair. Ahh, shit. The vision of Beth’s eyes haunted him. Why in the hell couldn’t he just walk away? Did he want to have to hide and balance dating and dealing with kids? The ache in his belly screamed far louder than the warning in his brain.

It wasn’t about being totally in lust, although getting to continue the adventure they’d interrupted so long ago excited him a lot. No, it was something else altogether. Something drew him and damn if he could deny the need.

Baggage and all, he was determined to see where this thing between them could go.

He strode through trees, twilight enough to guide his path. Before he even hit the porch, he smelled his daddy’s pipe, the aromatic tobacco lingering on the air. Daniel took the steps two at a time, dropping himself into one of the comfortable chairs on the deck.

“Beth and the boys get home okay?” Mike puffed his pipe then blew a long slow stream of smoke into the air.

Daniel shook his head. “You adopting more strays? They got home fine.”

His father rocked his chair a few times, the rhythm of the porch boards creaking soft and low. “She was surprised to see you today. You want to share what that’s about?”

Daniel coughed. Last thing he wanted was to tell the truth. “No.” His father raised a brow. “Sir.”

Mike didn’t say a word, just lifted his pipe to his lips. He smoked in silence, and Daniel tapped his fingers against his leg.

Damn it. His father did it to him every blessed time.

“I met her in Calgary when we took in a shipment of furniture in July. I hoped to see her again, but we…lost touch.”