A Cowboy To Kiss

Then he held open his arms and waited for her to step in next to him.

But she didn’t.

They stood there for an awkward moment, neither of them really moving.

Everything was happening so fast, it made her dizzy with confusion. She could barely speak, much less allow him to take her in his arms.

“Don’t tell me you don’t recognize this ol’ cowboy? It’s me, Jake Scott, the kid you used to follow around like a motherless calf. Look at you.” His gaze quickly swept over her body, not in a lascivious way, but in a genuinely friendly way. But she still didn’t like it. “All grown up into one fine woman. Still playing cowboy with your fancy hat and your rodeo buckle. And will you get a load of those boots.” He whistled while gazing down at her feet. “Must be handmade with all that fancy work going on. Good gracious, you look like that doll you used to carry around in your back pocket.”

She resented his disparaging attitude.

“And you look like you slept in your truck.”

He tugged at his wrinkled shirt, smiling. “As a matter of fact, I did. But hey, I hear you’re runnin’ this ranch just like you told me you would. Always did admire that about you.”

Kenzie let out the breath she’d been holding as the fuzzy lens slipped from her brain and she could think clearly again. “Admire what?”

“Your spunk. You got it goin’ on in spades.”

“Thanks, but coming from you, I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or a barb.”

His deep laugh rumbled through her, as his eyes sparkled with the same amount of tease he had when they were kids. “Then nothing’s changed between us.”

“Should it have?”

“Absolutely straight it should. Come on over here and give this ol’ cowboy a big kiss.” He stepped in closer, and whispered, “I’m hoping you’re a little better at it than you were when you were sixteen.”

Kenzie could feel the blood rushing through her veins, could feel the anger exploding in her gut. She wanted to push him away, lash out, tell him what she thought of him, maybe even say something to wipe that grin right off his downright adorable face. Instead, she narrowed her eyes, and said, “I wouldn’t kiss you, Jake Scott, if my very next breath depended on it.”

“Glad we got that settled right up front, ’cause I was worried you’ve been pining over me all these years, seeing as how you’re still single and all.”

Kenzie heard her dad step off the porch. She glanced back at him as he headed toward them. Unlike Kenzie, he looked genuinely happy to see Jake.

“Why don’t you keep on going where you’re going? We already have a pugnacious bull on this ranch. There’s no room for another one,” Kenzie told Jake, a hand resting on one of her hips.

“Can’t. First you and me have a little business we need to take care of.”

She had no idea what he was talking about, and from the look on his face, he seemed adamant about staying. She folded her arms across her chest.

“You must be mistaken. I don’t have any business with you, now or ever.”

“Sure you do, and from what I hear, it might take some considerable time to accomplish.”

She moved in closer to this misinformed cowboy, so much so that she could smell his musky skin, and feel his breath on her face. Jake Scott had always been taller than she was by at least six or seven inches, but now as she stood not two inches from him, she realized that gap had shrunk to a more perfect fit. Being this close to someone she’d sometimes fantasized about caused a momentary hesitation in her resolve.

Despite her burning rage, she couldn’t help the desire that raced through her. She’d always had a thing for Jake, ever since that first summer when they met on his family ranch. That “thing” was more that she’d wanted to be like him: confident, surefooted, smart and perfectly adorable. He even had a small dimple in the center of his chin, from what she could see under all that sexy scruff.

She didn’t know why she’d been so attracted to him, or why in some secret way that “thing” still burned bright. Maybe it had something to do with those emerald green eyes of his or that perfect nose, and those tempting lips. Whatever it was, she had no intention of ever giving in to her emotions again...like she had when she was sixteen and she kissed him.

Mistake.

Big mistake.

He smirked and murmured, “Can’t keep away from this cowboy, can you? Maybe we should try that kiss again. Might be better now that you’re all grown up.”

Then he leaned in and she instantly turned away, pressing her lips right up against his ear. “Listen up, you egoist in a cowboy hat. Not only can I kiss you and make your toes curl, but I make love like an alley cat, then purr like a kitten when it’s over. I’ve got a body that’s sinfully fabulous, and a mouth that will set your world on fire. Too bad you will never, ever get to even touch my soft, silky, naked skin, much less taste it, you sad excuse for a real cowboy.”

Then Kenzie turned on the heels of her very expensive handmade cowgirl boots and strutted away, with an emphasis on some tantalizing hip action. The dogs followed her excitedly.

Eat your heart out, Jake Scott.

* * *

JAKE HAD WANTED to make a good impression, especially on Kenzie, and from the look on her face, and from what she’d said, it wasn’t exactly what he’d been hoping to make.

From the moment he first saw her as he drove up the ranch road to the main house, he knew he was going to be in big trouble. Not only had she grown into a stunning beauty, but from how her dad had carried on about her, he knew she was an accomplished rancher—albeit a commercial rancher. Which took a lot of hard work, research and knowledge. Not that organic ranching was any easier. It wasn’t. But with his hands-on upbringing, and having always lived on an organic ranch, he hadn’t had to sit through countless ranching classes in college to learn about what came naturally to him. It was just part of who he’d always been, who he always wanted to be, a rancher.

And now he’d been asked to share that innate knowledge with a woman who’d just told him she made love like an “alley cat.”

Why did she have to go and say that?

He couldn’t help himself, he felt about as fired up as grease in a hot pan.

He knew he’d have to pull up that little jerk kid she’d known or there’d be no chance of her ever taking his suggestions for the Grant ranch seriously . . . and he prided himself on keeping a level playing field when he had to work closely with someone. It was a rule he’d learned from his dad, and he never let anything get in the way of that, even if he had to go out of his way to be cordial until the job or the partnership was over.

Working with Kenzie Grant couldn’t be any different.

What a woman, he thought as he watched her walk away. Too bad he’d been called in to give her suggestions for more natural ranching operations or things might be a lot different. Ever since his divorce over ten months ago, he’d been charging in at full throttle, wanting to assure himself that it wasn’t his fault his wife left him before their first anniversary. Now he wasn’t so sure. With no one to really confide in, he’d been obsessing over the breakup ever since she’d moved out. He’d never been close enough to his brothers to talk to them about relationships, at least not his own relationships. Being the youngest, advice had never been something he would seek out from his brothers, at least not verbally. He’d learned a lot from them by just observing, but talking over matters of the heart had never been in the cards. He’d always been looked at as the baby of the family. His brothers, Curt and Lucas, were quite a bit older than him, and that gap may as well have been a deep gorge.

Ranching was something else entirely. Both brothers had more or less given that responsibility over to him. He had taken it on because he loved it so much, and it had always come naturally to him, unlike his brothers, who could think of a hundred things they’d rather be doing, especially Curt, who couldn’t seem to settle into anything, much less ranching.

Now that his divorce was final, all he wanted to do for the foreseeable future was slow down to the speed of life. Take a break from his everyday routine. Get a new perspective. Take a couple weeks to reflect and come to terms with his current situation.

Single.

I make love like an alley cat.

Oh, yeah, that would slow him down all right...real slow.

“Somehow, I thought my Kenzie would be happy to see you,” Henry Grant said, as he shook Jake’s hand then gave him a quick hug.

“We never were kissing cousins,” Jake replied.

“More like kissing rivals,” Henry said. “Hope that doesn’t cause you any problems.”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” he told Henry as he watched Kenzie disappear into one of the longest horse barns he’d seen in a while.

Chapter Two (#ubf7b268e-4bad-5bc9-9631-3df85b1d77c4)