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  Going back, they met Josie and Morgan coming up the stairs, each carrying her child. Morgan had located a flashlight and was using it to light their way. Wyatt stepped aside to give them more room to pass while Sarah and Olivia continued on down.

  “We’re packing it in,” Morgan said. “The others are cleaning up the last few things before they come up. Pam’s already gone off to her room, and I think Mary Lou’s in bed already. We tried to get Rodney to go out to pee, but he won’t. We weren’t sure if you were ready to bank the fire, either, so we left it.”

  “I can take care of the fire,” Wyatt said. “I’ll make sure it’s okay before I go to bed. And I can take the dog out, too. Maybe it’ll let up a little and he’ll be more willing.”

  Sarah reached the bottom of the stairs and turned back to smile up at him. “That would be wonderful, on both counts. Thanks for all your help.”

  “Seems like the least I can do.”

  “You’re a pleasure to have around, Wyatt.” Sarah laid a hand on his arm. “In fact, if your brother Rafe is anything like you, then—”

  “He’s not. He’s a lot harder and tougher than I am, at least on the outside. When we were kids, he was always telling me not to care so much.”

  Sarah nodded. “Sounds like Jack.”

  “If you put the two of them in a room together, you’d know they were brothers immediately. It’s not only that they look so much alike, but they seem to have the same attitude.”

  “Which explains why you came to the ranch and he refused.” Sarah gave his arm a pat. “I’m so glad you did.”

  “Me, too.”

  “And now I’m off to bed. Sleep well, both of you.” With a little wave, she headed down the hallway toward her room.

  Dominique walked toward the stairs, trailed by a sleepy-looking Tyler and Emily holding candles. “We’re going up, too,” Dominique said. “Thanks for a fabulous job, Olivia.”

  “Yeah, thanks!” Tyler said. “Loved it.”

  “You’re welcome, all of you.”

  “And thanks for the floor show, Wyatt,” Emily said with a laugh.

  “Anytime.”

  “The dog has to pee,” Tyler said over her shoulder as she trudged upstairs. “We couldn’t make him go out.”

  “We’ll handle it,” Olivia said.

  “There’s rain boots, slickers, and a flashlight by the front door!” Tyler called out before disappearing down the hall to her room.

  After they were out of sight, Olivia took a deep breath before looking up at Wyatt. “I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t mind relaxing by the fire a little longer.”

  “Listen, don’t worry about me. I really can take care of the dog.”

  That wasn’t quite the response she’d hoped for. Maybe he wasn’t in the mood for company. “Or, maybe you’d prefer to relax by the fire alone.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Well, except for Rodney. Maybe you’d like to do the man and his dog companionship thing.”

  Alert to the sound of his name, the dog padded over and stood looking up at them.

  “Olivia, I—”

  “Or, maybe you’d like to toddle off to bed and let me take care of the fire and the dog, which would nip that pleaser tendency in the bud. I used to have a dog, so I can handle Rodney. And my father’s a scientist. I understand the principle of banking a fire.”

  That produced a smile. “Let’s not bank the fire, yet. Let’s put on another log.”

  “Okay.” Now that was more like it.

  “You haven’t had a chance to put your feet up all night. I think I should give you a foot massage.”

  Her first thought was that would be heaven. Her second was that she was the foot care professional and Emily had suggested it would make a good payback for having him rescue her. “No, really, I should give you one in exchange for pulling me out of the ditch.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Tell you what. I’ll massage your feet first, and then you can massage mine. How’s that?”

  “I like it.”

  “Good.” He took her by the hand and led her to the couch with Rodney following behind. “Take off your shoes and get comfortable while I build up the fire.”

  “Gladly.” She sank down to the soft leather cushions as he walked over to the hearth and moved the screen aside. “I enjoyed your floor show, too, by the way.” She eased her shoes off.

  “If that’s a hint, I’m not putting on another one.” He grabbed a log and laid it in the middle of the bed of embers. “Basically I’m too shy to do that, but I’d had a fair amount of beer on an empty stomach.”

  Damn, but he was cute. She had a serious crush going on, made more intense by that wounded part of him he tried so hard to hide. “I wasn’t asking for a song and dance routine,” she said. “I’d just like to talk and get to know you better.”

  He replaced the screen, dusted off his hands, and turned back to her. “I’m all yours.”

  She knew he wasn’t, not really. But he’d just stated her ultimate goal. She’d been too passive in her dating life and had allowed men to choose her. Then she’d gone along with their decision to become a couple. But for the first time in her life, she was making the choice, and she wanted Wyatt Locke.

  Chapter Six

  Wyatt couldn’t imagine a more beautiful sight than Olivia relaxing on the cushy leather couch, firelight dancing over her skin and gilding her curves as she waited for him to join her. He wished he’d met her under difference circumstances, when he wasn’t dealing with the emotional issue of his half-brother Jack. But if not for that issue, he might never have met her at all.

  He sat at the opposite end of the couch and turned to lean back against the couch’s rolled arm. Drawing his leg up onto the cushion, he reached for her left foot and brought it into his lap. Her sparkly toes rested inches from his crotch, but he vowed not to think about that.

  “You’ll have to give me some pointers.” He took hold of her foot with both hands and ran his thumbs up the curve of her arch. “You’re the professional.”

  “That feels nice. It’s nearly impossible to do it wrong unless you’re tentative. Firmness is everything.”

  He grinned. “Sort of like sex.” Whoops. He hadn’t really meant to introduce that topic. The words had slipped out, probably because he was thinking so hard about how they would not get sexual tonight. “Sorry. Shouldn’t have brought that up.”

  “Why not?”

  “Inappropriate.” Cupping her heel in one hand, he began working on each individual toe. Touching her was great, but he couldn’t help thinking how nice it would feel to touch the rest of her.

  “I wouldn’t say that. Neither one of us is committed to anyone, and speaking for myself, I’m very attracted to you.”

  “I’m very attracted to you, too.” He used a more gentle pressure as he rubbed the top of her foot. “But under the circumstances, we can’t do anything about that. Not tonight, anyway.”

  Her expression grew serious. “No, we can’t. I think Sarah made that clear when she put me on the girls’ side of the house and you on the boys’ side.”

  “Yeah, I got that message.” He worked his fingers into the crevice at the base of her toes.

  She moaned softly. “That feels terrific.”

  He chuckled. “Anybody listening might misinterpret that moan and comment, you know.”

  “Do you think anyone is?”

  “Don’t know. They all looked pretty tired to me.”

  She gave him a secret smile. “I think everyone’s fast asleep, but just in case, I’ll keep my moans discreet. You are doing a fabulous job, by the way. I suspect you’ve massaged a woman’s feet before.”

  “A time or two.” He concentrated on a spot next to the ball of her foot. When he’d first pushed against it, she’d looked almost orgasmic. And he didn’t need to think about that subject, either.

  He searched for a more general topic. “So, how many broken hearts did you leave back in Pittsburgh?” />
  “Three.”

  “Oh?” He hadn’t expected such an instant and precise answer.

  “At least I assume their hearts were broken, at least temporarily, and I’m truly sorry for that. My heart was broken, too, because I’m the perennial relationship optimist. I convinced myself we were meant for each other. But just so you know, I always gave back the ring.”

  “The ring?” He was so startled he stopped rubbing her foot. “Are you saying you were engaged to all three of these guys?”

  “I was. And each time I thought it was for keeps, but then… I realized it wasn’t going to work, and I’d have to break off the engagement. Which was all terrible and sad for both of us.”

  “I’m sure it was.” Knowing she’d accepted a marriage proposal three different times was sobering. Then she’d rejected each of those guys and returned the ring. He hoped never to have to go through something that painful.

  She glanced down at her foot. “Ready to switch?”

  Her revelation had made him completely forget about massaging her feet. “Um, yeah. I’ll work on the other one, now.”

  “I really appreciate this. I can’t remember the last time a guy offered.” She pulled her left foot back and gave him her right.

  “I’m happy to do it.” He wondered if any of her three ex-fiancés could have saved the day with a decent foot rub. He reapplied himself to the task at hand, but in the back of his mind he was still assimilating the fact that Olivia could commit and uncommit far more easily than he could. That was important to know.

  “I think I figured out the problem, though, and I don’t expect to go through that again.”

  “And what’s the problem?” He pushed with both thumbs as he worked his way up her arch.

  “Oh, that’s heaven.” She closed her eyes. “Please do that again, Wyatt.”

  He did, but he was in serious trouble. She was turning him on with her breathless comments. He could see why her exes had become involved with her. He knew exactly why they’d shown up with a ring in their pocket, and no doubt a firmness, as she’d put it, in their Jockeys.

  She was beautiful and sensuous, which was attractive to most any man. Besides that, she had the quality he’d mentioned earlier while being grilled by the night of beauty women. She was enthusiastic. And yes, he was thinking about sexual enthusiasm, damn it.

  So what was she talking about before she closed her eyes and moaned like a woman in the midst of sexual ecstasy? He searched his lust-soaked brain. Oh, yes.

  And he really wanted to know the answer to the question, too. “So how are you going to avoid broken engagements in the future?”

  “Simple.” She opened those gorgeous blue eyes and gazed at him. “I’m going to pick the man instead of waiting for the man to pick me. I’m going to take my time about it and make sure it’s what I want and I’m not just going along with his idea.”

  “I see.”

  “I’ve had a reasonable amount of interest from men.”

  “I’m sure you have.” He massaged her toes, working from the base to the tip, and watched a dreamy expression steal over her face. He should get a medal for not seducing her right now. She was becoming more relaxed by the second, and a relaxed woman was usually a willing woman.

  “And that’s the problem. I’ve allowed them to pursue me and catch me. I was never the pursuer, only the pursuee. They wanted me, so I convinced myself that I wanted them, too, because I was flattered and it made life easy.”

  So the poor saps had been screwed from the get-go. “Just so you know, I don’t want you at all.”

  Her smile was damn near irresistible. “Yes, you do.”

  He wanted to kiss her so much his throat ached. “No, I don’t. What you see going on is a case of indigestion. Lust and indigestion look remarkably alike, especially in the human male.”

  “You don’t have to pretend indifference, because the thing is, I decided hours ago that I wanted you.”

  After what she’d just said about choosing her potential husband instead of being chosen, he needed some clarification. “How do you mean that, exactly?”

  “It’s okay for you to want me. It’s a mutual attraction. I’m not just going along with what you have in mind. I want what you want.”

  “We’re just talking about sex, right? Not rings and weddings and stuff like that?”

  She laughed. “Absolutely! No way am I ready to choose a husband, but I have to start being more proactive with men in general. So to be perfectly clear, we’re just talking about sex.”

  “Which we can’t have tonight.” Still rubbing her foot with one hand, he slid the other inside her pant leg and caressed her smooth calf.

  Her lips parted slightly and her eyes grew unfocused. “True.”

  He brushed her soft skin with his fingertips. “So I won’t be peeling off your jeans and exploring what’s under those silk panties.”

  She swallowed. “How do you know they’re silk?”

  “Sparkly toes, stylish shoes, designer jeans. They’re silk.” His cock grew hard.

  “Good guess.”

  “And they’re pink.” Why he was torturing himself, he wasn’t sure.

  “Lavender.”

  “I was close. Trimmed with lace.”

  Nodding, she met his gaze. “And wet.”

  He groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. “That was a low blow.”

  “Yeah.” Her voice was husky. “Sorry.”

  He opened his eyes and looked at her. “I doubt it.”

  “Okay, I’m not sorry.”

  “Olivia, we’re not going to make out on this couch. I’m not about to have Sarah come to investigate strange noises and discover us writhing around naked on her furniture.”

  “I’m not, either.”

  “She’s my hostess.”

  “She’s my client.”

  “Which settles that issue.” He withdrew his hand from her pant leg. “Shall we go to bed?”

  “We’re not doing anything upstairs, either.”

  “I’m aware of that. But I think we’d be wise to separate before we start something we feel compelled to finish.”

  “Right.”

  He gently — and reluctantly — placed her foot back on the leather cushion and stood. “Going upstairs to our separate rooms and closing our respective doors seems like the only solution.”

  “But first we have to bank the fire and take Rodney out to pee.”

  He shook his head. “No, I have to do those things. I’m the one who said I would. You can go on up.”

  “I’m not letting you struggle with the dog by yourself. It’s still raining.”

  “Yeah, well, it won’t be the first time I’ve been wet today.”

  She winked at him. “Me, either.”

  “Stop it, Olivia.”

  “Oh, come on, Wyatt. Isn’t this kind of exciting? When was the last time you were under the same roof with a woman you wanted and you were forced to restrain yourself?”

  He had to think about that. “I try not to get into those kinds of situations,” he said at last. “I have to go back to my teenage years for a memory like that.”

  “Look at it this way. We’ll get together eventually, so it’ll be that much more fun when we finally accomplish it.”

  He sighed and levered himself off the couch. “I’m not sure I agree with that reasoning, but if you’re determined to help me deal with Rodney, then I accept the offer. I know a lot more about banking fires than taking dogs out to do their business.”

  “Like I said, we had dogs while I was growing up. I think my father hoped a dog would keep me from missing a mother quite so much.”

  “Did it?”

  “Probably. But nothing takes the place of having a mother.”

  “Unless she’s my mother.”

  “Even then. At least she was there.”

  “Physically, maybe, but—” Wyatt caught himself. He didn’t want to talk about his mother anymore tonight. “I’ll get the fire bedded do
wn for the night. Do you know if Rodney has a leash?”

  “I’m sure he does. I’ll go check and make sure it’s hanging by the front door.” She grabbed her shoes and got up. “I’ll get him over there while you handle the fire. We can do this.” She patted her thigh. “Come, Rodney! That’s a good boy.”

  Wyatt wasn’t nearly as confident as Olivia. He’d never dealt with a rain-averse dog and a bedtime potty issue. But if Olivia had grown up in Pittsburgh with dogs, then she had to know about getting them outside in rain, sleet, and snow.

  After he was satisfied with the condition of the fire, he set the screen in front of it. The room was considerably darker without the fire, so he moved a votive candle to the stone hearth to give them a little light when they came back in. Then he walked over to the entryway where Olivia stood with Rodney holding a leash clipped to his collar.

  Wyatt reached for a yellow slicker hanging on a peg. “Ready to suit up for the rain?”

  “I have an idea. How about taking the flashlight and going back to the kitchen to find him a treat?”

  “Like what?” He took the flashlight she handed him.

  “Something bite-sized, that we can give him as a reward. Maybe get a piece of chicken and tear some meat off of it. But don’t bring a whole chicken piece. They can’t handle the bones.”

  “I knew that much. All right. I’ll see what I can find.” Hanging the slicker back on its hook, he switched on the flashlight and headed toward the dark hallway. At the end of it he passed through the large dining room that Mary Lou had explained was where the hands ate their midday meal, and walked into the kitchen.

  Fortunately his lantern was still sitting on a counter, so he turned off the flashlight and switched on the lantern so he had light for this operation. He had the refrigerator door open and the lantern held high when someone tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped and yelled as if someone had hit him with a cattle prod.

  When he spun around, the lantern revealed Mary Lou standing there in a red silk nightgown that he never would have imagined her wearing. He lowered the lantern, although she hadn’t looked particularly embarrassed to be caught in a negligee.