Cowboys In Her Pocket (2 page)

A sudden flash of light through the trees made JJ tense. It was followed by something…a figure? It dashed across the garden. But it was so far away, she wasn’t sure. Had she just seen someone?

Dan must have sensed something too, because suddenly he was withdrawing from her. He gazed down at her with a frown.

“Wow, you just tensed right up. What’s wrong?”

“I think…I saw someone.”

He blinked, as if not understanding what she’d just said. She pointed toward the ranch house and Dan turned to look.

“I’m not sure. Maybe it was a deer or a bear? But I saw a flash, and then something or someone running,” she explained.

Dan narrowed his eyes and surveyed the yard.

“I didn’t hear a plane. What exactly did you see?”

“A flash of light. Like sunshine glinting off glass or metal or something.”

Dan’s frown deepened. He let go of her and swooped over, quickly picking up their clothes.

“Let’s get dressed. I’ll check it out. I want you to go inside and lock the doors.”

Alarm rocked JJ. “Lock the doors?”

He smiled, but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Just precaution. I’m ninety-nine percent sure it’s nothing. In the meantime…get yourself ready for me, babe. We’re not finished.”

Heat seared JJ’s cheeks. “What about supper?”

Dan winked. “You’re my supper tonight.”

He handed her her clothing and then began to slip into his underwear.

Whew! This guy sure knew how to make a girl feel really good. Suddenly, JJ wasn't sure if she really had seen anything. All she wanted to do was hop into bed with Dan and stay there forever.

After they dressed, Dan accompanied JJ back to the ranch house. When she went inside, he walked around the perimeter of the yard and checked for any signs of footprints in the freshly tilled soil and the nearby ground. He saw none. Spotted nothing out of the ordinary. What in hell had she seen?

The way JJ’s entire body had tensed and the look of surprise and concern flashing in her eyes had brought him right to attention. They rarely got company out here. It was pure isolation.

Most likely she'd seen an animal. But she’d mentioned a glint of light. Maybe it had been a hunter?

Dan stood in the area where she’d pointed and stared into the forest where he’d just been making love to JJ.

From here, it was a good vantage point to look up into the forest where he'd been with JJ and probably see everything that had been going on. If someone had been around he or she might have been watching them.

But how had this person or persons gotten here without them hearing a plane? The lake was large. It was many miles long and just as wide, and laden with several islands. Anyone could come in via a floatplane on the other side of the lake and bring along a canoe. There were occasional interior wilderness campers who were dropped in and portaged along the line of rivers and creeks that joined all the lakes. There were plenty of nature enthusiasts who enjoyed the scenery. Plenty of people who wanted to get away from the hectic life down south.

A person could easily get lost in this wilderness, if they wanted to. That’s a reason why he’d come here. To get away from the rat race and live simply and not have to have contact with people.

Dan had done a couple of university stints, mainly at the insistence of his parents. First, he tried the pharmacist route, but he'd flunked out. Then he'd decided on becoming a chiropractor.

Through hard work he'd become one and had had a successful business in Toronto.

But he'd felt unfulfilled. Until he'd met Brady, who'd voiced his own unhappiness. One day over lunch, while talking about selling their practices and investing in a cattle spread up north, Rafe had come along, right out of the blue. He'd been a complete stranger, but just a couple of sentences out of Rafe's mouth saying he'd overheard them talking and wanted in on the cattle ranch and Dan felt as if he'd known Rafe his whole life.

Now here they were.

Yeah, sure he was selfish in not dealing with family or the everyday riffraff of life, but hell, it was his life to live and this is how he wanted it.

Dan smiled and gazed at his surroundings. The log ranch house the three of them had dreamed up looked damned good under the fresh sunshine. They had several outbuildings, including a large barn and a sawmill where they'd made their furniture and other things the ranch needed.

Every year their ranch grew. They sold most of their prime cattle in the autumn, then put their money back into their business, leaving only a little spending money for each of them.

They paid JJ a good wage, hoping she’d stay forever. So far she was adapting very nicely to the solitude. Even her anxiety attacks and panic attacks had ebbed. Dan couldn’t remember when she’d had her last one. She said they’d been a daily occurrence while she’d been penned up behind prison bars. He had no idea how she’d been able to cope in a small cell. How anyone, for that matter, could cope.

Shit. He couldn’t even imagine what she’d gone through in the past. He was just glad she was here with them.

Dan inhaled deeply and enjoyed the sweet scent of pine and the tinge of fish that drifted in from the nearby lake. This was the life. He was free and in total control of his own destiny. He couldn’t think of living any other way now. Especially without JJ in his life.

Dan turned to look up at her bedroom window. The sun sparkled off the pristine glass panes, making his eyes hurt. He dropped his gaze to the main floor. The windows sparkled as well.

Hadn't she just cleaned the windows the other day?

Dan laughed. Yeah, that’s what she’d seen. Glints of light off her spotless clean windows.

From somewhere out in the lake came the lonely wail of a loon.

Relief spilled through Dan. The culprit
had
been the light flaring off one of the ranch windows.

Maybe some wildlife or maybe a couple of loons flying low enough to the ground made JJ see some movement.

She’d be relieved when he told her that there was nothing to be afraid of. Just thinking of getting back to her and spending the rest of the afternoon and evening in bed with her made Dan painfully aware of his attraction to her. It was time to get back to JJ and show her how much he needed her in his life and in his bed.

* * * * *

A flash of light, followed by the ear-splitting crack of thunder, made JJ jump in the garden where she'd been rototilling. She shot a quick glance at the sky and anxiety burst through her at the swollen black clouds on the southern horizon right over the lake.

Oh, crap. A storm
.

She'd been outside all morning, enjoying the warm sunshine and fresh air while trying to finish tilling the garden so she could surprise Dan when he returned from his daily trek checking on the cattle. It appeared her surprise wasn't going to happen.

A sudden gust of wind blew JJ’s cowboy hat off her head and tore through her hair like manic fingers. She took a step toward her hat to retrieve it, but another bright flash and shattering crack made her swear in fright. Screw the hat — she’d look for it later. With trembling hands, she grabbed the nearby tarp, covered the machine and tied it down with some rope.

Wow, storms came up pretty quick out here.

JJ headed toward the ranch house and cast a glance at the lake. Usually the water looked inviting, but now whitecaps rode giant angry dark-blue waves. The roar of the waves as they crashed against the rocky shoreline made her heart beat faster.

Goodness, everything was so loud now compared to the earlier quiet she'd been loving. She’d been so intent on finishing the garden she hadn’t even noticed the approaching storm.

In the nearby forest, branches creaked, cracked and dropped to the ground. Gusts of wind made the nearby pine trees dance and groan. Giant raindrops spattered JJ’s face and she ran for the nearest entrance to the ranch house, suddenly worried for Dan's safety.

Dan had left earlier this morning to check on a herd in their west pasture and he wasn’t expected back until later tonight. Yesterday, she’d experienced her first outdoor sex adventure with him and after he'd explained that what she’d seen was most likely her sparkling windows and a couple of loons, she'd relaxed and they’d spent the rest of the day in bed, having sex.

Supper had been at midnight, followed by some more lovemaking and joking about the missing cake leftovers. Dan had been out the door early this morning, while JJ had been asleep.

After a quick shower and some breakfast, she'd ventured outdoors to do the rototilling. Now, with the storm coming in, that would have to wait.

More flashes of lightning sizzled overhead, chasing JJ onto the wraparound porch at the front of the ranch house. A crash of thunder rattled the glass panes as she entered the building.

Another crack made her cry out as she slammed the door behind her.

Sudden silence followed, and she cursed as a moment later shards of rain pelted the windows.

The shrill of the phone on the living room table made her jump. Spears of fear suddenly raced through her.

It was dark in the hallway and as JJ entered the living room, she flipped on the lights. She cringed as wind bombarded the windows with such a ferocity that she swore the glass would break.

“Moose Ranch, JJ speaking,” she answered in a shaky voice.

“Hey, sweetheart, you sound stressed. Is everything okay?” Concern etched a familiar man's voice and relief made her sigh.

Brady. Thank God!

“I’m fine. Just got caught in a storm and I’m a little out of breath. How’s it going?”
When are
you coming home
?

“We’ve hit a bit of a snag on that special organic feed we wanted for the calves. The specialty stores are sold out. One says they'll have more tomorrow. So we can’t get back until we have it.”

Her hand clenched tighter around the phone. She wanted them home, now.
Please come home
.

JJ brushed away an unexpected rush of tears and stared at the nearby kitchen windows. Rain gushed down the panes. Dan was out there in this weather. Concern for his safety made her bite her bottom lip.

“JJ? Are you still there?” Brady asked. The line crackled and instincts told her it was just a matter of time before the phone died due to the storm.

“I’m here.” Emotions, thick and raw, welled inside her chest.

“Are you sure you’re okay? Maybe we should come home and forget the feed.”

Oh goodness, JJ didn't want to put the health of the calves in jeopardy. So many had been born through the late winter that they were running out of the nutritional supplements fast. And the last thing she wanted was to screw the guys' plans. She didn’t want them to come back on her account. They would think she was a baby and not cut out for this kind of life. That’s the last thing she wanted for them to think.

“No, you deal with business. Stay there. Dan will be back tonight. I’m fine.”
Liar
!

She heard Rafe telling Brady he wanted to talk to her, but then the line went dead. The lights flickered also and died. The room was thrust into a gloomy semi-darkness that only added to JJ’s anxiety.

Shit
!

JJ slammed the receiver down onto the cradle.

Okay, everything is fine. Just get the generator up and running and start cooking
.

JJ always felt better when she kept herself busy. Besides, Dan was used to this kind of weather.

He’d know what to do. He was probably holed up in one of those numerous utility sheds they had scattered over the thousands of acres of property.

JJ nodded. Yeah, he’d be fine. She’d be fine too.

But she wasn’t. Something wasn’t quite right, and JJ wasn’t sure why she had the feeling she wasn’t alone. Maybe she’d feel better once she got the lights back on.

Man! This is one hell of a storm
! Dan thought as amidst the downpour, he sawed into the third tree that had fallen over the trail that would lead him back to the ranch and to JJ.

Sure, it wasn’t unusual to come across fallen trees on this particular trail. That’s why he carried the chainsaw, but this was getting damned ridiculous. They made it a point to keep this trail well-groomed because it was the main artery from the north pastures back to the ranch. It appeared they hadn’t done a good enough job. Trail grooming was another thing to add to the long list of things to do before the snow fell again.

But first they needed to get through spring, summer and the autumn. Plenty of time for the work to get done. Another crack of thunder snapped overhead and Dan shook his head. He hoped JJ was doing okay. She wasn’t used to these kinds of storms. Because of the greenhouse effect, the weather up here was getting extreme. Winds were fierce and the storms more intense.

Dan continued to chainsaw and tried like hell to see through the waterfall that flowed off the brim of his cowboy hat. Hell, maybe he should just hunker down and wait this one out before he got hit by lightning. JJ would be okay. She was a strong woman, despite her anxiety attacks.

Turning off the chainsaw, he then tucked it into the atv trailer and grabbed the small emergency tent. In moments, the tent was pitched. Tossing in his duffel bag where he kept an emergency pair of dry clothes, a small propane stove and some food, he removed his rain gear, scrambled inside the tiny one-man tent, zipped up the tent fly and waited.

“Am I losing my mind?” JJ said aloud as she searched the fridge for the bear steaks she’d put in yesterday to thaw for tonight’s dinner. She just couldn’t find them. What in the world was going on? Had Dan taken them with him? No, he wouldn’t do that. Would he?

Had she just dreamed that she’d done it? With all the sex she’d been having with Dan since Rafe and Brady had been gone, maybe her brain was addled and she was misplacing things? Or maybe the steaks had gone down the same rabbit hole like the cake?

JJ shook her head and slammed the fridge door. Well, she’d just have to whip up something else for dinner. In the meantime, she needed to put the laundry away. Thankfully, the generator had allowed her to get laundry done. The storm was easing, but it was still raining cats and dogs.