Long Road Home Read online

  “Believe me, I’m regretting the shoe decision, but at the time I was going for stylish.”

  “They are that.” He put the truck in Reverse, backed up a ways and cut the wheel. Then he pulled forward and edged right up next to the steps.

  “But if I’d worn sensible boots, you wouldn’t have had to haul me over to your truck.” She picked up her purse and one of the two bags.

  “I enjoyed it.”

  She gave him a quick smile. “Me, too.”

  That comment made him bolder. “Listen, I’m not sure how this visit will turn out for me, but can I give you a call before I leave town?”

  “Sure.” She zipped open her purse, rummaged around in it and came up with a business card. “My cell’s on there.”

  “Thanks.” He took the pink card, which advertised the beauty salon, To Dye For, but also gave Olivia’s name and number. “I’ve toyed with the idea of relocating here.”

  “Really?” Her gaze met his. “That would be nice.”

  “Meeting you gives me some extra incentive.”

  Her blue eyes warmed. “Good.”

  He had the craziest urge to kiss her, but it was too soon, and he didn’t want to ruin everything by overstepping.

  Then, to his amazement, she leaned toward him and quickly brushed her lips against his. “Thanks for rescuing me today.” She pulled right back, as if to signal it was a one-time shot.

  The kiss came and went so fast he didn’t have time to close his eyes, much less reach for her. “You’re welcome.” His voice sounded a little rusty, which wasn’t surprising since he was busy processing the soft feel of her mouth.

  “I’ll come back for the second bag in a sec.” She opened the door and let in a gust of wind and rain. “Man, it’s some storm!”

  “Yep.” Wyatt watched as she navigated the rain-soaked steps to deposit her purse and the first bag beside the door. As far as he was concerned, it was a wonderful storm. Without it, he would have arrived at the ranch, discovered Jack wasn’t there, and driven back to either the Bunk and Grub or the bar. He might have met Olivia in passing but they wouldn’t have talked, not when she was there to create nail magic.

  Instead they were well on their way to becoming friends. Wyatt was really starting to like it here. The country was beautiful, even in the rain, and the local residents, including a certain blue-eyed beautician, interested him a great deal.

  Leaning back in, she grabbed the second bag. “Okay, that does it. I’ll meet you inside.”

  “Right.”

  She paused, and her eyes narrowed. “You are coming inside, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, I am, but I’ll leave my muddy boots on the porch. I actually considered asking you to make my excuses, but I didn’t think you’d appreciate that.”

  “Good guess. And besides, you don’t want to miss the food.”

  Wyatt imagined finger sandwiches and tea cakes washed down with wine coolers. “That’s okay. Once the storm lets up, I’ll go into town and—”

  “No, really. You don’t want to miss the food. See you inside.” She started to close the door but opened it again. “Can I say that you’re here? Or do you want to make a grand entrance?”

  He chuckled. “Do I strike you as a grand entrance kind of guy?”

  “No, but you did mention this was supposed to be a surprise.”

  “That was a smoke screen. I was just too chickenshit to give Jack advance warning in case he told me not to bother. So, yeah, go ahead and announce that I’ll be in after I park the truck, but please tell Sarah I’m not planning to stay and interfere with this night of beauty she’s set up.”

  Olivia looked amused. “I’ll tell her. But don’t blame me if she vetoes your decision.” Then she shut the door, ending any further debate on the matter.

  Pulling carefully away from the front of the house so he didn’t accidentally take out a chunk of the wooden steps, he drove over to the area where everyone else had parked and turned off the engine. So he was here. Considering he’d met Olivia, he was glad he’d come.

  But no matter what, he wouldn’t stay at the ranch tonight. He’d made it out here, and he could make it back to the paved road, too. When Jack came home from the horse show tomorrow, Wyatt would drive over and try this routine again.

  A flash of lightning followed by a crack of thunder that sounded like a mountain being split in two made him jump. The house went dark. Well, damn. What kind of guy marched into a house that had just lost power and announced he was taking off?

  He needed to go in and find out what he could do to help before he left. Climbing out of the truck, he ignored the rain pelting him as he walked around to the rear and opened the back window of his camper shell. Fortunately his battery-operated lantern was within easy reach of the tailgate.

  Lantern in hand, he sloshed through water and gravel and climbed the front steps. The cool, rain-scented air smelled of wood smoke, so a fire must be blazing inside. He unlaced his boots, toed them off and peeled away his wool socks, which were soaked.

  When he came out—if he came out—he’d just wear the boots out to the truck and carry the socks. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door.

  It opened soon afterward. “There you are!” Olivia stood holding a brass candlestick with a lit candle. She looked like an angel. “Come in. I told everyone who rescued me and they’re all dying to meet you. Well, I guess Sarah has already met you.”

  “Briefly.” He remembered a stately silver-haired woman in her sixties who had a warm smile and kind eyes. Stepping into the entryway, he closed the door behind him. “I’m dripping. I should stand out here on the mat for a minute so I don’t mess up the hardwood floors.” The musical hum of female voices and laughter filtered in from the living room, along with the clink of glasses and the snap and crackle of a fire.

  “Maybe I should get you a towel.”

  “That’s not necessary. I really can’t stay.” He threw the comment out there, although his escape hatch was closing fast. “But I brought a lantern in case the power’s out for a while.” He held it up.

  “If the lightning hit a transformer, and Sarah thinks it might have, then the power will be out for the rest of the night.”

  “Doesn’t the ranch have a backup generator for emergencies?”

  “Yes, but it’s not working right now. The men were planning to buy the part in Casper and repair it after they came back. I guess this storm was a surprise to everyone.”

  “Oh.” Although intellectually Wyatt knew that the women on this ranch were unlikely to be helpless females who couldn’t look after themselves during a power outage, he still couldn’t picture himself driving away, knowing he’d left them in the middle of a blackout that might last until morning.

  “Sarah wants you to stay, and I think you should. Pam’s fine with it, and she won’t charge you for a night at the Bunk and Grub, either.”

  The escape hatch closed with a bang. “I’m happy to pay her anyway, but yeah, I’ll stay. Although I don’t have anything with me like clothes and stuff. I left it all at the B and B.”

  “I’m sure that can be worked out. A place with this many men on-site must have some old clothes somewhere.”

  “I suppose.” Wyatt felt something warm and wet on his bare feet. Glancing down, he discovered a low-slung, brown-and-white spotted dog with floppy ears licking his toes. “Who’s this?”

  “Rodney, Sarah’s recently adopted dog. She got him from a shelter in Colorado, and he’s a mix but he’s mostly basset hound.”

  “Not the kind of dog I’d expect on a ranch, but why not?” Wyatt crouched down and scratched behind the dog’s oversized ears. “How’s it going, Rodney?”

  “His full name is Rodney Dangerfield.”

  Wyatt lifted the dog’s muzzle and looked into his sad eyes. “Ap
propriate. Can’t get no respect, can you, Rodney?”

  The dog whined and wagged his white-tipped tail.

  “You and me, we’ll hang out tonight, buddy. We’ll find us a baseball game on TV—”

  “No power,” Olivia said.

  “Oh, right. No worries, Rod. With that face, I’ll bet you’re great at poker. We’ll play cards by candlelight.”

  The dog whined again.

  Olivia glanced up at him with a smile. “That’s enough of the stall tactics. You’ve stopped dripping, so it’s time to come inside and meet everyone. I told them how you rushed to my rescue, so I suspect you’re going to be the man of the hour.”

  Wyatt groaned inwardly. Just what he didn’t want. He followed Olivia into the living room with Rodney trotting at his heels. Wyatt wasn’t sure of his welcome with Jack, but at least he’d scored with the dog.

  3

  OLIVIA GUESSED THAT WYATT had agreed to stay because he was unwilling to leave a group of ladies caught in a power outage. If chivalry kept him here, that was fine with her. She wouldn’t mention that these were resourceful ranch women who didn’t need a man to babysit them in an emergency.

  But judging from what the women had said after she’d arrived, nobody should be out driving tonight, not even a can-do wilderness guide. Sarah’s battery-operated weather radio had predicted high winds and hail would follow on the heels of the heavy rain. She and Wyatt walked into the living room, where a fire burned in the large rock fireplace and candles positioned around the room illuminated a comfortable collection of brown leather furniture and sturdy wooden side tables.

  Conversation stopped among the eight women gathered there. Eleven-month-old Sarah Bianca, Morgan Chance’s little girl who was known as “SB,” continued to babble to her stuffed dinosaur, and four-month-old Archie, Josie Chance’s son, slept peacefully in his carrier. All other eyes turned toward Wyatt.

  Olivia understood why. Firelight and candlelight bronzed his wet T-shirt look with an erotic glow that was truly mesmerizing. The women had good reason to stare, especially after hearing Olivia’s tale of being carried through the rain by this fine specimen of manhood.

  Sarah was the first to break the charged silence. “Good to see you again, Wyatt, but my goodness, you’re soaked!” She set down her wineglass and walked toward him, all smiles. “We need to do something about that before you settle in.”

  Olivia swallowed a bubble of laughter. What Sarah really meant was that if she didn’t reduce the sexual wattage of that impressive physique by giving him something dry to wear, the women would be distracted the entire evening by the resident beefcake.

  “I have some of my sons’ old clothes I was going to take to a rummage sale in town,” Sarah said. “Come on back to the laundry room with me. Something should fit you.”

  “Thanks. I appreciate it.” Wyatt set his lantern on a side table and followed her down the hallway to the left with Rodney close behind, his short legs moving rapidly to keep up.

  “Whew.” Josie Chance, Jack’s wife, flipped her long, blond braid over her shoulder. “Don’t anybody tell Jack I said so, but that guy’s hot. I had no idea. Jack just said he was a typical hiker type with sandy-colored hair.”

  Morgan Chance, Josie’s redheaded sister-in-law, laughed as she took the dinosaur her daughter handed her. “Of course he said that. You think he’s going to describe his half brother, or any guy, for that matter, as good-looking?”

  “I wish I could have snapped off a couple of shots before Sarah dragged him away.” Nick Chance’s wife, Dominique, a tall brunette with short hair, was a professional photographer who always had her camera handy. “But that would have spooked him, I’ll bet.”

  “Oh, you think?” Mary Lou, who’d been a cook at the ranch for years, shook her head and grinned. “You ladies better take it down a notch or he’s liable to spend the evening in a back room playing with the dog.”

  “That would be a shame.” Olivia had returned to setting up her mani-pedi station in a corner, but she glanced over at Dominique. “Still, I would have loved a picture of him in that wet T-shirt. I can see it framed and hanging in your gallery. You’d sell a few prints of those, girlfriend.”

  “But you and Dominique would be the only ones who could get away with having that picture,” said Tyler, Morgan’s dark-haired sister. “I don’t think Alex would take kindly to me pasting it up on the inside of my closet door. Those days are over for this married lady.”

  Emily, a petite blonde, lifted her chin. “I don’t need a picture like that. I have Clay.”

  “Spoken like a woman who’s only been a bride for two months.” Morgan winked at her. “Just because we ogle once in a while doesn’t mean we don’t adore our guys. There’s no harm in a little recreational voyeurism. Right, ladies?”

  “Right!” everyone chorused, except for Emily.

  “I can’t believe I didn’t recognize his name when he made his reservation at the Bunk and Grub.” Pam Mulholland, a curvy woman who counted on Olivia to keep her gray hair looking blond, sipped her wine. “Sarah told me about his visit last summer, and you’d think I’d have made the connection.”

  “It’s probably just as well you didn’t.” Josie walked over to peek at a still-sleeping Archie before retrieving her glass of mineral water. “If Jack had known he was coming, that might have changed his plans for the Casper horse show.”

  “True,” Morgan said. “And I think it’s great that they all went and took so many Last Chance horses. Gabe was looking forward to putting on a cutting horse demonstration.”

  “And Jack didn’t have time to get all discombobulated at the idea of Wyatt returning,” Josie added. “So I’m glad it didn’t occur to you, Pam.”

  “I’m certainly not complaining, either.” Olivia pulled her stainless-steel footbath out of one of her zippered totes. She’d organized the area with a comfy chair and a small desk for manicures and a second cozy chair for pedicures. She’d roll back and forth on the office chair Sarah had brought out.

  “I’ll bet you’re not complaining,” Morgan said.

  “He seems really nice.” As Olivia took inventory of the stack of towels Sarah had provided, she almost mentioned that Wyatt might move his business here, but she thought better of it. He wanted to relocate, but he might not appreciate having her give out that information prematurely.

  “Yes, he does seem nice,” Josie said. “I hope that everything—well, never mind. I hear them coming back down the hall.”

  “So!” Sarah clapped her hands together as she walked into the living room with Wyatt and the ever-present Rodney Dangerfield. “Let’s get this party started!”

  Olivia straightened and turned toward Sarah and Wyatt. Whoa. She was more than ready to party, all right, but she wished it could be a private one featuring her and the hunk of burning love who’d just walked in. The wet T-shirt had showcased Wyatt’s glorious muscles beautifully, and she hadn’t thought Sarah could improve on that.

  Oh, but she had. The yoked gray Western shirt was a smidgen too tight and tucked into worn jeans that fit like a second skin…ooo, baby. Olivia licked her suddenly dry lips.

  A scuffed but serviceable tooled leather belt with a plain silver buckle brought her attention to the fly of his jeans, and she looked away quickly before she could be caught staring. A pair of Western boots that showed some wear completed the outfit. He’d left the room a wilderness guide. He’d returned a cowboy.

  * * *

  SARAH INTRODUCED WYATT to everyone and he did his level best to keep them all straight. Josie, Jack’s wife, would be important to remember. She was the one with the long blond braid. Their baby, Wyatt’s new nephew, was named Archie, after Jack’s grandfather. Archie was asleep in his carrier, so despite Wyatt’s curiosity, he kept his distance, not wanting to wake him.

  Morgan, a bus
ty redhead, was obviously the mother of a little redheaded tot named Sarah Bianca, SB for short. Morgan’s dark-haired sister, Tyler, had married Alex Keller, Josie’s brother. Wyatt decided when he had access to paper and pencil he’d write some of this down.

  Then he met Dominique, a tall brunette who was the third daughter-in-law, and Emily, a petite blonde who had just married the guy who ran the stud program. That took care of the women in his generation.

  He recognized Pam, a blonde in her fifties, from hearing her voice on the phone when he’d registered at the Bunk and Grub. By process of elimination he knew that the gray-haired woman with the jolly smile had to be Mary Lou, the cook. Yes, he would definitely write all this down before he went to sleep tonight.

  But he should be okay for the evening while the introductions were fresh in his mind. Maybe this wouldn’t be so awkward after all. He’d thought he’d be uncomfortable wearing somebody else’s clothes but he’d been wrong. These cowboy duds felt great.

  Sarah had offered him several shirts and pairs of jeans along with clean underwear. Neither of them had talked about the need for underwear, but he was soaked through.

  Once Sarah had handed over the clothes, she’d waited outside the laundry room while he tried them on. He’d chosen the first things he’d put on for expediency’s sake. But the longer he wore them, the more right they seemed.

  When he’d asked her who the clothes had belonged to, she’d confided that they’d all been Jack’s. Now that Jack was relaxed, happy and enjoying married life, he’d put on a little weight and couldn’t wear them anymore without straining the seams. She’d made Wyatt promise not to mention the weight gain to Jack, because he swore the clothes had shrunk in the wash.

  Apparently Wyatt was about the size that Jack had been a year ago, before he’d married Josie. Knowing they were so alike in build, if not in coloring, had pleased Wyatt. But meeting Jack while wearing his old clothes might be weird. Wyatt planned to drive back to the Bunk and Grub and change into his own stuff before Jack came home.