Lead Me Home

Danny clamped down on his cigar as he fanned out his cards. “He’s like a hostage negotiator, and we’re the hostages.” He threw a chip in the middle of the table. “Ante up, suckers. I’ve got me a powerhouse here.”

As the poker game progressed, Matthew lost more than he won, which wasn’t surprising. His thoughts kept drifting back to Aurelia Imogene Smith, which didn’t make for good poker-playing. The cowhands chalked it up to jet-lag, and he willingly agreed.

If he and Aurelia became lovers, and he thought it was likely they would eventually, he’d rather not have the whole ranch know about it. However, he wasn’t sure if he could avoid that. His comings and goings from the bunkhouse would be noted.

No matter what, he couldn’t let his interest in Aurelia overshadow his purpose in being here. While a new hand was being dealt, he brought up the subject of Houdini. “Any tips on the horse I’m here to train before I get started tomorrow?”

Jeb laughed. “Tucker, anything you want to say on the subject of Houdini?”

“Yeah. He’s a pain-in-the-ass, but I love that horse. If it hadn’t been for him escaping on Christmas Eve, I might never have met Lacey, the love of my life.”

Matthew glanced at him. “That sounds like a good story.”

“Don’t get him started,” Danny said. “The boy’s got it bad.”

“Lacey’s a nice girl.” Bob picked up his cards and adjusted his glasses. “Probably too good for you, Tuck, but she seems as blinded by love as you are.”

“Thanks for that vote of confidence, Bob.” Tucker fanned his cards. “The point is, Matthew, that Houdini’s gift for opening stall doors and escaping every chance he gets turned out good for me because I chased him over to the cabin where Lacey was staying, which led to us getting together. But the horse is too smart for his own good. He’ll keep you on your toes.”

Matthew consulted his cards. “I’d rather have him be smart than dumb as a box of rocks. A smart horse can be trained.”

“In theory, that’s true.” Danny chewed on his cigar. “But we have some fine horse trainers on this ranch, including those at this table, and we haven’t made a dent in that horse’s behavior. If he had a middle finger, he’d be giving us the Italian salute.”

“That’s okay. I like a challenge.”

Shorty glanced across the table at him. “If you can fix Houdini and our food problem, then drinks are on me at the Spirits and Spurs before you leave.”

“Whoa.” Danny reared back in his chair. “That’s big medicine, there, Shorty. I can’t remember the last time you bought a round of drinks.”

“Bite me, Lancaster.”

Matthew grinned. It was good to be back in the bunkhouse of a working ranch. Add in an excellent ranch cook who looked like Aurelia, and he couldn’t think of anywhere he’d rather be, at least for the next couple of weeks.

ALTHOUGH AURELIA WOULD have happily fixed breakfast for Sarah every morning, Sarah insisted on making breakfast for both of them each day. Sarah was a good cook, though not particularly imaginative. Aurelia didn’t mind since the shared meals gave her a chance to know the woman who had been Aunt Mary Lou’s employer and friend all these years.

While Sarah scrambled eggs, fried bacon and toasted bread, Aurelia sat at the table with her coffee and the ratatouille recipe.

“You and Matthew must have bonded over the subject of gourmet cooking last night.” Sarah glanced over her shoulder at Aurelia.

That wasn’t all they’d bonded over, but Aurelia wasn’t about to mention the sizzling chemistry between them. “Have you talked to him?” After a week, she still wasn’t used to the ungodly hour everyone got out of bed on a working ranch.

“He called an hour ago, before he headed down to the barn to get started with Houdini. He praised your cooking to the skies.”

That got Aurelia’s heart pumping. “That’s nice to hear, since he’s eaten in restaurants all over the world, including Paris, the food capital of the world.”

“I know.” Sarah turned off the stove and pulled two plates from the cupboard. “He’s an interesting combination of down-home cowboy and jet-setter.”

And gorgeous, super-sexy, male. “I was a little worried that my brochettes aux rognons, de foie et lardons wouldn’t be up to his standards, but he liked it.”

“He told me he did.” Sarah filled their plates and brought them over to the table. “He also said that he’d get a kick out of consulting with you on future menus.”

“Did he?” Aurelia did her best to act mildly interested while her heart thumped so fast she worried that Sarah would hear it. If he’d mentioned that possibility to Sarah, then the menu-planning sessions were still on. And if the menu-planning sessions were still on, then so was the possibility that they’d become lovers.

But she didn’t want Sarah to suspect any of that. “How do you feel about Matthew helping me with my job?” she said as casually as possible.

“Whatever he wants works for me.” Sarah sat down and spread her napkin in her lap. “It was a coup getting him here in the first place. He’s in demand all over the world, and we’re fortunate he took us up on our offer.”

Aurelia had figured out that Matthew was a rock star among horse people. If she thought for even one second that Matthew was the sort of man who took advantage of his position to get women, her infatuation with him would end.

But he wasn’t like that. When the heat between them had threatened to consume them both, he’d left, because it was too soon, too fast. Obviously from his actions, he’d proved that he had standards and scruples. That made him even more irresistible to her.

Sarah buttered her toast. “The more relevant question is, what do you think of the idea? For the time you’re at the Last Chance, this is your kitchen, and you may not want some six-foot-five cowboy invading your space and making suggestions.”

Oh, but she did. And the suggestions could range far beyond the subject of food preparation. She wasn’t an idiot, though. Whatever they shared would be brief, an interlude in both of their lives that would never be more than a memory to savor. But she wanted that memory.

Until she’d accepted Mary Lou’s offer, she’d never left Nebraska. Her family didn’t travel, and Mary Lou was the only relative who lived more than a hundred miles away from Aurelia’s home town. Her aunt’s honeymoon cruise, which included a trip through the Panama Canal, was unimaginable and frightening to the rest of the family.

Aurelia had inherited that same reluctance to travel, so the trip to Jackson Hole might be the biggest adventure she’d have in her entire life. Matthew Tredway might be as close to a rock star as she’d ever get. If he wanted to invade her kitchen—or her bedroom—then she would fling open the door and let him in.

None of that, however, would be part of her answer to Sarah. “If getting involved with the menus interests him, then it’s fine with me,” she said. “With his background, I trust him to give good advice.”

“Great. That’s settled, then. As he mentioned to me, he won’t be training Houdini at night, so that would be a good time to come up to the house and consult with you about the food for the next day.”

“That’s fine.” More than fine. They’d have the kitchen to themselves.

Sarah gazed at Aurelia over the rim of her coffee cup. “I want to make sure you don’t have a problem with Matthew doing this. I promised Mary Lou I’d watch out for you, so if this makes you uncomfortable, tell me and I’ll shut him down. I want to make him happy, but not at the expense of my staff’s morale.”

And that, Aurelia thought, was why Aunt Mary Lou idolized Sarah Chance. She was loyal to those she’d committed to, and even a big-deal horse trainer celebrity didn’t take precedence over the welfare of her staff, including someone like Aurelia, who would be here such a short time.

Sarah couldn’t know that Aurelia lusted after Matthew Tredway. If Aurelia had her way, Sarah would never know, but that was probably unrealistic. Even though Aurelia had been on the ranch a relatively short time, she’d figured out that Sarah was tuned in to almost every aspect of ranch life. Hardly anything got past her.

Right now, Sarah was waiting for an answer to her question. Would Aurelia object to having Matthew, aka muscular hero, show up every evening to discuss the next day’s menu? Hardly. But she didn’t want to appear too eager, either.

“Let’s try it for a night or two and see how it goes,” Aurelia said. “If it’s not working out, I’ll let you know.”

“Perfect.” Sarah tackled her breakfast in earnest. “My main concern is Houdini, of course. I hope Matthew’s able to turn that horse around. If it relaxes him to think about food and menus every evening, so much the better. But he’s here to train Houdini, and that’s the primary goal. Houdini’s a valuable stud, and we’re not getting the income out of him that we need to. We also hope to train him as a cutting horse eventually. Matthew’s supposed to make him a joy to deal with.”

“I’m sure he will.” What Aurelia knew about training horses could fit on the head of a pin, but she could feel Sarah’s frustration with a horse that wasn’t earning his keep. Matthew had been hired to cure what ailed Houdini, and as the new kid on the block, Aurelia wasn’t about to mess with that.

4

A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER, as Aurelia had begun gathering her ingredients and spices for the ratatouille, Matthew appeared in the kitchen. He was a very different Matthew from the one she’d seen the night before. This one wore an old T-shirt that was splotched with sweat and dirt, a T-shirt that strained at the seams over spectacular biceps, pecs and deltoids.

Yesterday’s shirt had somewhat disguised his physique, but this one left nothing to the imagination. He’d been wearing his hat when he’d come through the door, but he took it off to reveal hair that had a tendency to curl when he was hot and sweaty. Two damp tendrils lay across his forehead.

Caught up in the glory that was Matthew, she could barely remember her name. But she sure as hell remembered his, and imagined the joy with which she’d call that name in the midst of a spectacular orgasm. It was quite a vivid picture for ten-thirty in the morning.

“I could use some carrots,” he said, seeming distracted. “Or if you don’t have those, apples will work.”