Pick Me Up

“That bacon is local and it’s the best you’ll have in your life. Don’t worry—you worked off enough calories last night to eat an entire pound of the stuff.”

She laughed at his humor, loving it. Wes would never have ordered bacon, and would absolutely never have joked about sex over breakfast. They ate in companionable silence. When the food was gone and the coffee pot near empty, Brett sat back. Lauren took a deep breath, soaking it all in. This was perfect, but it had to end. She had to be on her way. How did she say goodbye to a man who’d given her so much, but whom she barely knew?

“Lauren.”

“Hmm?” She toyed with the handle of her empty coffee cup, hoping he would take the lead and show her how to back away from their association gracefully. He had to have more experience with this kind of thing than she did, right?

“I was thinking we could spend a little more time together.”

She was expecting to be let down softly, not propositioned.

“Really?”

He moved his chair over closer, his hand covering hers. His fingers didn’t rest, but played over her knuckles in ways that sent sparks of desire shooting through her. She turned her hand over, palm up, wanting him to touch her there as well. He smiled.

“See that? The sheer chemistry we have—I don’t think we should let go of it just yet. I know last night was supposed to be a one-time thing, and I’m okay with that if you want to go on your way, but I was hoping we might make it last a little longer.”

“You want me to stay here for a while?” Her mind raced. She wasn’t sure that she could process what he was saying exactly, though she had to agree with him that they had intense chemistry. While she’d been ready to walk away—in theory—she was open to hearing his side of the argument.

“No, not here. On my ranch.”

“You want me to come home with you?” Her voice rose an octave, and he grinned, shaking his head as she blushed again, looking around to see if anyone heard.

“Sort of. My place is a working ranch. But to keep finances in the black, we also run a tourist business from October to March. It’s a luxury operation, you know, come to the desert but enjoy all the comforts of a nice hotel while experiencing real life on a ranch.”

“I always thought people had to live in the bunkhouse with the cowboys on dude ranches. Eat grub,” she teased.

“I don’t think the guys would care much for that. They aren’t too thrilled with the tourists sometimes, but it’s part of surviving in this economy and has led to some experiences we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

“Such as?”

He shrugged. “Well, once we had a bunch of troubled kids from the inner city who thought they were so tough until they were asked to help with branding or foaling. It opened the world for them. Maybe it saved a few of them. I hope so, anyway.”

Lauren felt her throat choke up a little bit, touched.

“Last year we had a group of senior women come to spend their eightieth birthdays with us for two weeks. They were tough old broads and they taught us a few things.” He laughed, and she laughed with him.

“Sounds like a lot of fun.”

“It can be. But it’s a lot of work, too, though I love it. Can’t imagine life any other way. I’d like to share some of that with you, Connecticut. My treat, you can come as a friend of mine, stay in the main house and take part in as much or as little of the place as you want. Relax, sleep till noon, go swimming, riding, hiking—”

“Swimming?”

“We have one of those spring-fed ponds I was mentioning, and ours doesn’t go dry. Hang out as long as you want, and we can enjoy each other a little bit longer. Have some fun, and when you want to go, you can go.”

She listened, not sure what to think. He was basically offering her a free vacation in exchange for carrying on their affair. A one-night stand was one thing, but this was a whole new level of casual sex she wasn’t sure she was ready for.

“I don’t know, Brett.”

“You aren’t heading anywhere in particular, are you?”

“No. Not in particular.”

“Then what’s the harm? Aren’t we good together?”

She smiled, linking her fingers with his. “We’re better than good. But it was just one night—I don’t want to push it and lose what would otherwise be a wonderful memory.”

“That’s not it.”

“What do you mean? Of course it is.”

“I can see it in your face—you think you’re paying for staying at the ranch with sex. I didn’t mean it like that. I wouldn’t insult you that way.”

She cringed at hearing him say it so baldly. “I’m sorry, I know you weren’t trying to insult me, but isn’t that what it amounts to?”

“Not to my way of thinking. I have friends, business partners, family stay for free at the ranch all the time. It’s my place, my home. I’m hoping we can spend more time together, but if you want to come just to spend a few days and leave, that’s fine, too.”

He trailed a finger up the inside of her arm to the inner curve of her elbow, and she closed her eyes, wondering at the power of such a simple touch.

“Wow,” she whispered, feeling overcome and knowing she wanted this more than just about anything, but was she ready? Was it right? Smart?

Brett was a good guy who was asking her to spend some time with him, offering her a no-strings vacation. No strings, amazing sex, as well, if she wanted it. An opportunity to experience this wonderful place, and this wonderful man, for just a little longer.

Her old, timid self was tsk-tsking at the very thought of accepting his offer, but the new, bold woman who’d had such fun last night wanted to take that finger that he was stroking up and down her arm and suck it into her mouth, among other things.

Goodbyes were not really what she was thinking about.

“Okay. Thanks,” she said in a rush, before she changed her mind. Brett nodded, not saying a word, then leaned forward to cover her mouth in a scorching kiss that easily rivaled the desert heat.

BRETT NAVIGATED THE CANYON roads with ease, glad that Lauren hadn’t minded him taking the wheel up to the spot where he was meeting Pete to get his bike. They’d taken so long at breakfast and then getting out of the motel—they’d barely made it out of Lauren’s room at all—that he would never have met his brother on time if Lauren had been driving.

He’d handled these roads in every conceivable type of vehicle since he was about fourteen years old. Because of Soul Springs, these curves had guardrails. Wait until they hit the dirt roads on the other side of the mountain, down to the ranch, where some edges were lined only with boulders, and some not guarded at all. He smiled, thinking of Lauren’s reaction. She closed her eyes every time they took a turn going over thirty miles an hour.

“There he is,” he said, spotting Pete already loading the bike up on the back of a trailer.

His younger brother straightened as they drove up, and seemed mildly surprised to see Brett get out of a strange car. Well, how else did he think he’d get up here? Angel wings?

Lauren got out as well, but hung back by the passenger side of the car, keeping a healthy distance between her and the drop on the other side of the guardrail. Brett gestured to her to join them, and gave her credit that after a second of hesitation, she did. However, she didn’t come any closer than the edge of the car, keeping her thigh against the solid edge of the bumper. She was pale, and it struck him how severe her fear of heights was. He walked to her side, putting himself between her and the edge, as Pete wandered over.

“I see you got the bike loaded.”

“Yeah. You’re late,” Pete accused without any rancor, his eyes landing on Lauren and taking her in, maybe for just a second too long for Brett’s comfort.

“Yeah, slept late this morning,” Brett answered offhand. What was between him and Lauren was their own business, and he sensed she’d feel a whole lot better if people didn’t know they were lovers. He would, too.

He knew he wanted to keep his private life private—not that he had anything to hide, after all, he was a free man. His former fiancée was honeymooning in the Caribbean with Howie, and that was pretty much that. Things with Lauren were good, simple, and that’s how he wanted to keep it. Separate from the mess that was the rest of his personal life.

“Pete, this is Lauren Baker. We met down in the Springs. I noticed her looking at a brochure of ours in the lobby of the Springs Motel, and so invited her for a stay.”