Capturing the Cowboy's Heart (11 page)

Cade
glanced down
to study her face
, partially hidden behind the long strands of hair that had fallen over it. 
Those long lashes.  Those full lips parted slightly in sleep.  Lacy Dalton was more than pretty.  She was naturally sexy. 
And as much as he hated to admit it, he liked the way it felt to have her head lying on his shoulder, the way her hair brushed against his skin, the way...

He
tore his gaze away
with a groan
, forcing
his focus onto t
he road
instead
.  His grip tightened around the worn leather of the steering wheel as he struggled with the truth. 

He wanted her.

Bad.

It seemed to take forever to
reach the ranch
.  He
accelerated as he
turned onto the drive leading up to his house.  The sooner he
distanced himself physically
from Lacy, the better. 

He pulled around back and
cut
the engine. 
Then he turned to nudge her awake. 
“Lacy,” he whispered, “we’re home.”

She mumbled something he couldn’t make out and
stretched out to curl h
er arm about his waist. 

He
froze
.  The warmth of her breath
teased
his skin through the thin cotton of his shirt. 
But the t
hings her arm being
draped across him the way it was
did to him...

“Dalton,” he said a little louder
, a lot more desperately
.

She stirred slightly.

He made no move to disengage himself.  Instead, he reached up to brush her silky hair from her face, studying her beneath the pale glow of the overhead dome light.

Beautiful.

Closing his eyes,
he
took in
her sweet scent
, like flowers after a spring rain. 

She shifted, her long lashes fluttering open.

He
yanked his hand
away
guiltily
.  “Hey.”

She struggled to
keep her eyes open and f
ocus on his face.  But he knew the moment she realized she was snuggled up against him because she shot upright
, clipping his chin in the process.

H
e grunted in pain.

She gasped
, reaching up to run her fingers over his
throbbing
chin.  “
I’m so sorry.  Are you okay?”
 

The tenderness in her touch f
elt too damn good. 
He
pulled away.  “I’m all right. 
But you’re exhausted.  You
ought to get to bed.”

She sat up and stretched. 
“I
can’t believe I fell asleep.  You make a good pillow.”

He
didn’t want to think about her lying against him.  “
It’s the middle of the night.  People are supposed to be asleep.  Besides all that singing you did is likely to wear anyone out.” 

“You heard?”

“I think the whole town did.”

She looked up at him. 
“I was
angry.
”

He couldn’t take his gaze from her lips.  Full, kissable lips.  “I gathered as much.”

“I suppose you’re right.  We’d better get to bed.”

Did she have to put it that way?
 
He nodded. 
“Yeah, we’d better.”

She reached for the door handle and then looked back at him.  “Cade...”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”  She leaned over, plant
ing
a quick kiss on his cheek.  Then she slipped from the truck and
hurried toward the house
.

He watched her go, her slender form silhouetted in the moonlight.  Only when the screen door creaked shut behind her did he
look
away. 

Draping his arms over the steering wheel,
he
looked up through the window at the stars above. 
K
aren
had been taken from him,
a woman who never raised her voice, never spat with him over things like clothes
.  How was he supposed to deal with a woman like
Lacy Dalton
?
 
A woman completely the opposite.  One he
couldn’t seem to get out of his mind. 

He
searched the starlit sky until he found it.  The brightest star, glowing in the night. 
“I’ll never forget you,
” he said, words meant for his lost love. 
But it was time to move on and start living life again.

*
             
*
             
*

Cade strode into the guestroom and flipped on the light.  “Wake up,
Dalton
.  It’s
six a.m.
and your breakfast is getting soggy.” 

He crossed the room and yanked open the curtains, filling the room with the soft morning light. 

She
rolled over, squinting in protest of the sunlight streaming in through the window.  “Go away,
Cade
.”  That said, she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. 

He laughed.  “Up and at’em, Dalton.  Time’s a wasting.”

“I didn’t hear any rooster crowing,” she said, dragging the pillow over her head. 

Shaking his head,
he
walked over and tugged the pillow from her face.  He’d already let her sleep in.  If she was going to be working for him, she was going to follow the same schedule as he and other hands did.  He pointed to his watch.  “I expect you down at the barn by seven, so you’d better get a move on.”

She stirred again.  “Come back in an hour.”  She jerked the pillow from his hands and plopped it back onto her face.

He snatched it away again.  “Let’s go,
Dalton
.  I was serious when I said if you’re not up in time to eat breakfast you don’t eat and it’s a long time until lunch.”

“Sleep or food?” she said, weighing her options.  “I choose sleep.”

“Don’t make me drag you from that bed.  You and I have a deal.  Or are you backing out of it?”

Her eyes flew open.  “No, I’m not backing out of it.”  She sat up with a sigh.  “I’m getting up.”  Drawing up a knee, she unzipped one of the boots she’d been wearing when he brought her home.

“Good.”  Cade couldn’t keep his eyes from traveling up the bare flesh of her leg. 

She switched to the other boot and looked up at him.  “Do you intend to help me dress?”

“No,” he replied with a guilty grin.  “I was just thinking that the sheriff would think you’re a stripper if he could see you now.” 

“Stripper?” she snapped.  “I’ll show you stripper!”

He ducked as the pillow came hurtling at his head
, laughing
.  “I’m just giving you a hard time
.  Geez, y
ou weren’t kidding when you said you weren’t a morning person.  I’ve seen briar patches with
fewer
thorns on them.”

“Well, if you aren’t just full of compliments today.”  She tugged off her boot and tossed it in his direction, too.

Cade managed to dodge it, his grin still intact.  “Sorry.  Lack of sleep tends to do that to a person.”

She
fl
opped back onto the mattress.  “Tell me about it.”

“I’ll leave you to get dressed.  See you in
the kitchen.
”

Lacy
slipped from
the
bed
and crossed the room to the dresser.  Rifling
through her clothes,
she
contemplat
ed
what to wear for her first day of work as a ranch hand.

She passed over the short skirts.  They were definitely out.  She opted for a pair of designer jeans and a cropped jean shirt that tied in the front.  A large rhinestone star appliqué adorned the shirt’s front pocket.   

A glance at the alarm clock told her
she needed to get a move on. 
Cade would be thinking she’d changed her mind and
had
gone back to bed. 
Slipping into
a pair of crisp white leather tennis shoes
, she
hurried out to the kitchen.

“Morning,” Burk chirped
from where
he stood
at
the counter pouring himself a cup of coffee.  “Sleep well?”

“
Like a log
.”  She took her seat at the table
.  Several boxes of cereal were lined up there, along with a half empty jug of milk.  An empty bowl and spoon sat in front of her.  Right next to a
tall glass of orange juice.

Cade looked up from the paper he was reading and nearly choked on his juice.

“What?” she said, looking down.

He chuckled. 
“Rhinestones?
  Really, Dalton.
”

“Don’t
you even
start,” she warned, pinning him with her
gaze
.  “I didn’t come here with the intention of being a ranch hand, so you’ll have to take what you get.  Rhinestones and all.  At least, until I can go shopping.”

“I’m not complaining
,” Burk said with a grin.  “
Your outfit looks good to me
.
”

Cade turned to his friend.  “I thought you just came back inside to get some coffee.”

“And to say good morning to Miss Dalton here.”

“
Stop with the Miss Dalton,” she said.  “It’s Lacy.”

Burk’s grin widened.  “Lacy, it is then.  Pretty name.  It suits you.”

“Why thank you, Burk.”

Cade grabbed his spoon and shoved it into his bowl so hard milk and
soggy cereal bits
splashed out over the rim of the bowl and onto the table.

Lacy turned her smile to Cade. 
“Need a bigger spoon?
  A
man with a mouth as big as yours...”

“Dalton,” he grumbled, his
eyes narrow
ing
into thin blue slits.
 

“Now kids,” Burk interjected with a grin.  “Am I gonna have to send you both to your rooms
,
or are you gonna start playing nice together?” 

Ignoring Burk,
Cade grabbed a handful of napkins and began wiping up the mess he’d made.

Lacy sighed.  “Look,
I’m sorry I caused you to lose sleep last night
.  Both of you.
”

“I didn’t mind,” Burk
said
.  “I got to drive your car back to the ranch last night when Cade went to fetch you from jail.
”

“
Don’t even mention that word.  Can you believe I was locked up b
ecause I like to wear short skirts
?
”

“No, you were locked up for bribing an officer of the law,” Cade corrected as he carried his bowl over to the sink.  “Now eat
up, Dalton.  It’s going to be a long day.”

She
waited until the two men
had left for
the barn before getting up from her seat and carrying her barely touched breakfast over to the sink.

Reaching for the dish soap, she filled the sink with hot sudsy water and began washing the dishes. 
Movement outside
drew her gaze to the window.  It was Cade and Burk, walking
toward the back barn in long, purposeful strides.  Her gaze slid appreciatively down
Cade’s
lean, hard body
.  She sighed in disappointment when he disappeared into the barn.
 

It wasn’t until she felt the warm sudsy water seeping into the front of her shirt that Lacy realized she was about to flood the kitchen while lost in her thought
s
about Cade. 

Cursing her carelessness, she hurried to shut the water off and then grabbed for the roll of paper towels suspended beneath the cupboard next to the sink.  She mopped up the counter top and then soaked up the puddle on the floor at her feet.  Once the mess was cleaned up and the dishes were done,
she made her way out to
the barn.

“
Well, hello there
.”

She s
pun around, startled by the unexpected male voice.  A cowboy, his hat slung just low enough to cast a shadow over his face, was leaning against a nearby tree, smoking a cigarette.