Sweet and Wild (14 page)

When he returned with Robby’s beer,
Craig leaned against the wall. Marisol was attempting to draw Quinn out to
perform. Quinn didn’t look like she wanted to anything to do with it. Robby put
his beer down.

“Come on, sweetheart, we’ll sing
together. Remember the song we sang at that talent show junior year?” He tugged
at her hand.

She pulled back. “No, I don’t remember
it.”

“Oh come on, the words will be on the
screen. You’ll remember as soon as you hear it.”

Robby looked at the girls. “Quinn here
is fabulous. Come on, we need her up here.”

“You’re lying. I’m mediocre,” Quinn
muttered.

The girls joined in the chorus of
encouragement. Craig didn’t say a word, torn between annoyance at Robby and
intrigue of seeing a new side of Quinn.

She gave in, but not without shooting a
look of death at Robby. She took the microphone from Bonnie and drew in a deep
breath. Robby stood close to her, looking at her rather than the TV screen.

The song he selected was slow and
romantic. From the first word that came out of her mouth, it didn’t seem to
matter who she sang with. Her voice was sultry and had a wide range. No, she
might not be the best singer he’d ever heard, but she definitely was better
than mediocre.

When the song finished, everyone
applauded. Her eyes sparkled and she glanced at Craig. He knew without a doubt,
the warmth he saw was only for him, even when Robby launched her into another,
more lively tune.

Their audience cajoled them into two
more songs, but finally Quinn pleaded for a break. Marisol intercepted her on
the way to a chair and threw her arms around her.

“You’re as good at singing as you are at
riding. You and Robby look so good together. I think you should go out with him
again.”

Robby wound his arms around Quinn from
behind and pulled her against his chest. “You and me both, Marisol. I think
maybe you and I need to work together to convince her.”

Quinn pulled away from Robby, but gave
him a sweet smile. “We had our chance. I’ve moved on.”

Robby leaned down and said something in
Marisol’s ear that caused the girl to giggle. Quinn glared at him.

Time to break it up for Quinn’s sake.

“All right ladies, it’s past ten. Time
to clean up and get to bed,” Craig announced.

A chorus of protests greeted his
suggestion.

“We’re not even tired, Dad. Can’t we
stay up longer?” Marisol clasped her hands under her chin and gave her best
pleading look.

“A little longer.”

Bonnie suggested ghost stories after
getting into pajamas. The other girls agreed, but they wanted to do it within
the dark privacy of Marisol’s room.

That left Craig wondering what next. He
couldn’t go back to that moment he and Quinn had shared. He could’ve discussed
Emerald, but Robby’s presence put a crimp in that plan as well.

“Well, thanks for dropping in,” he told
his brother. “You were a hit.”

Robby chuckled “You trying to get rid of
me?”

“Not at all. I can’t imagine there’s
much reason to keep you here. Quinn and I have some business to discuss.”

Robby continued to smile, his hooded
gaze falling on Quinn. “Unfortunately I was counting on Q to give me a ride
back.”

So that’s how he wanted to play. Craig
didn’t think his brother knew of the growing attraction between him and Quinn,
but Robby was determined to win her back. More determined than Craig had
realized.

“I think I can hold down the fort for
the rest of the night if you want to go.”

Quinn’s mouth tightened into a thin
line. Apparently she hadn’t planned on ending the evening so abruptly either. With
a roll of her eyes, she gave Craig a half smile.

“I have an early morning, so maybe we
should head out. If you’re sure.”

Craig nodded.

“Can I help clean up?”

He shook his head. Her persistence
impressed him. “Actually, I need to pay you for the pizza.” He was stretching
for something to keep her there even just a few minutes longer. “Got my wallet
in the kitchen.” He hoped Robby would stay behind and sighed inwardly when he
heard Quinn tell Robby to go start her truck.

Even though he knew they were alone, he
still whispered. “I couldn’t let you go that easily.” He pulled her to him and
wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and lowered his mouth to hers.

“Mmm,” she sighed as he feathered kisses
on her soft lips, and then traced his tongue against hers. Flames of want
danced in the pit of his stomach.

“God, I want to tell Robby to get lost,”
he murmured, caressing her cheek and ear with his thumb. She nestled into his
neck.

“He’s got the worst timing. But we don’t
want him in our business.” Her voice soothed his mind as much as her touch
inflamed his body.

“No. Not yet anyway.”

Slowly she pulled away. “If I don’t go
out there he’s going to come in. Tell Marisol I said goodnight.”

Craig followed her out of the kitchen,
and watched her go through the door. He didn’t move for a long moment. He heard
her truck door open, then a pause. The truck engine was running but the vehicle
didn’t pull out. Quinn dashed back in just as he reached for the curtain to
look out the window.

“I left my bag. In the kitchen I think.”

As she spoke, she grabbed his hand and
dragged him back into the other room. As soon as the door swung shut behind
them, she turned and threw her arms around his neck. This kiss was frantic,
wild and unexpected, but no less welcome. He greeted her enthusiasm, nearly
lifting her off her feet in his need to bring her as close to him as he could.

Her hands slid into his hair, down his
cheeks. Every touch electrified and demanded. He met her passion with his own.
No delicacy now, no sipping from her overflowing desire.

When she pulled away, she kept her hand
on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist,” she said
out of breath.

“I don’t mind at all.” Craig leaned in
and caught her lips again.

“I have to go or your brother will be
inside looking for me. I’m going to talk to Jacob in the morning. I can’t wait
to get going on Emerald.”

 “Give me a call and let me know when
you want to move in.”

She nodded, grabbed her bag and dashed
out of the kitchen.

Craig busied himself with cleaning the
mess from the party, but his mind couldn’t leave Quinn alone. God, he was
charged. He hadn’t felt this way for so long and he fully intended to enjoy it.

“Dad?”

He turned around. Marisol stood at the
door, dressed for bed.

“Hey sweetie.”

“Do you like Quinn?”

“Of course I do. Why?”

“I mean, do you like her like she was
your girlfriend?”

Warning flags waved in his brain. “What
do you mean?”

“Bonnie said something, that’s all. She
said you looked like you wanted to kiss her. Quinn, I mean. I just wondered if
she was your girlfriend.”

Craig pushed his fingers through his
hair. Lie? Was he really willing to do that? He’d never done that before.

Before he could answer, Marisol
continued. “I know Robby still really likes her and they look good together,
don’t you think? Especially when they were singing that love song. I think Quinn
would make a cool aunt.”

How was he supposed to respond to that?
Agree? Disagree?

“We’ll see what happens between them. If
she can’t be your aunt at least she can be a cool friend.”

“Yeah, she can. Well, I’m going to bed.
I’ve got a really good story to tell the girls.”

He wasn’t sure if he should be relieved
or worried about how the conversation ended.

Quinn found Jacob in his office after
breakfast the morning following the slumber party. She sat down in the chair
across from him.

“Keep your feet off the desk,” he said
without glancing away from the computer monitor.

“Yes, sir.” She put her hands in her lap
and sat up straight. “I got a pretty exciting job offer last night.”

Now he looked at her, his dark brows
furrowed and his jaw tense. “Thought you were helping chaperone a slumber party.”

Quinn chuckled. “Yeah, I was. But Craig
offered me a job and I don’t think I can turn it down.”

“What kind of job could he be offering?”

“Managing Emerald Ranch for him.”

Jacob narrowed his eyes. “I heard he
bought it back from Ted. I figured he’d knock down some fences and make it a
part of the Shady H.”

“No, that’s Marisol’s place when she’s
older. He wants Emerald for himself when that happens. Until then he can’t run two
places so he wants me to move over there and manage it. He owns Ted’s horses
now, including all those mares. I’ll be in charge of it all.”

Jacob leaned back in his chair and gave
her a long look. “That’s an incredible offer. You think it’s something you
could handle?”

“I’ll be doing what I’ve done here
except on a larger scale. Got to put all that college education to good use.
Craig will let me have my own horses there and he’s going to hire some help for
me. I can’t turn this down.”

“What happens when Craig wants Emerald
back?”

Quinn chuckled. That was why Jacob was
the successful businessman and she wasn’t. He planned ahead, looked closely
around every corner while she focused on the here and now. The immediate future
was what mattered, everything else, she figured, would work out on its own.

“By then hope I’ll have enough money
socked away to fix the old homestead up.”

Jacob nodded. “I bet you will,” he
replied slowly, studying her closely for another long moment. Then he sat
forward and rested his arms on his desk. “We’ll miss you here.”

 “I’ll miss seeing you and Thea every
day. But look on the bright side, with me out of the house you could convert my
rooms into more guest space.” Of course, he might not be thrilled with her
leaving for other reasons. “You don’t think I’m deserting you, do you?”

Jacob smiled. They’d always had a close
relationship. She truly loved him and would miss seeing him on a daily basis.

“We’ll make it just fine. We managed
when you were in college. I’ve got plenty of help. Unless of course Robby bails
and goes back to Hollywood.”

Quinn rolled her eyes. “One can only
dream,” she replied wistfully.

“It’s really over between the two of
you?”

“We had our shot. He bailed. I got over
him. End of story. He may want to resurrect a long dead romance, but I don’t.”

Jacob leaned back in his chair. “I must
say I’m relieved. He’s too much of a player. Good for the young single women
who come looking for a flirty cowboy. Not husband material.”

“Can you see him running a ranch? I
mean, really running one. He’s pretty, but his talents lie elsewhere.”

“Maybe we should get you off this ranch.”

“Let’s do it.”

Quinn moved through the next few days,
putting her future on the backburner in order to help Jacob. A crowd had
arrived at Long Knife Creek, a family reunion of twenty people, thrilled to
live the cattle ranch experience and even more thrilled to have Quinn, a real
live rodeo champ, show them the ropes.

Two girls latched onto her, one
Marisol’s age and the other a few years older. They became Quinn’s shadows. She
didn’t even have a moment to talk to Jacob about his job offer.

Finally she needed a break. “Hey, how
would you girls like a few hours of pampering at the spa?”

The girl’s eyes brightened. Both looked
a bit red and rough around the edges. She’d caught the older girl examining her
nails with disgust. “I have a friend who I’ve been promising a bit of spoiling.
You could go together.”

After making sure it was okay with the
girls’ mother, Quinn called the Shady H. Though they’d spoken when she was over
for Marisol’s lessons, she and Craig hadn’t had a moment to themselves. Not to
discuss anything more than Marisol’s riding. It drove her crazy and she
certainly couldn’t mistake the look in his eyes when they talked.

She hated to think she needed Marisol
out of the way to have some alone time, but the fact was they needed to talk.
Alone.

Besides, she’d promised Marisol a treat
as soon as the girl had mastered the canter with Sunny. She’d certainly worked
hard enough, and, according to Craig, pulled her weight in the barn as well as
at the house. She deserved a few hours away from the ranch. Quinn got Marisol
on the phone and told her about the plan.

“Oh, that would be so much fun.”

“I’ll pick you up and bring you back.
Remember, you can do anything you want, short of chopping or coloring your hair
or getting anything pierced. My treat for being an awesome student.”