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  Anticipation

  Anticipation

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  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Samhain Publishing, Ltd.

  512 Forest Lake Drive

  Warner Robins, Georgia 31093

  Anticipation

  Copyright © 2007 by Patrice Michelle

  Cover by Scott Carpenter

  ISBN: 1-59998-782-1

  www.samhainpublishing.com

  All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  First Samhain Publishing, Ltd. electronic publication: October 2007

  Anticipation

  Patrice Michelle

  Dedication

  To my family, thank you for believing in me.

  To my fans, thank you for your amazing support!

  Acknowledgements

  To my editor Linda Ingmanson, I appreciate your tenacious desire for “more”.

  To my critique partner Cheyenne McCray, thank you for never holding back!

  Anticipation

  Chapter One

  The man I could never have, Deidre thought as the cowboy who had haunted her fantasies for a decade drove up in his blue and white police car. Her stomach muscles flexed as he cut the engine and climbed out of the driver’s seat.

  Her parents told her a few years back that the Flying Wind’s wrangler had become the town sheriff, but nothing could have prepared her for the devastating sight of Jonas Mendez’s broad shoulders decked out in a uniform, complete with a shiny silver badge. The white shirt showed off his mixed Hispanic and Caucasian skin tone to perfection, and the gun belt strapped around his black pants only added to the steely confidence he exuded, even more now than he had ten years ago.

  “Miss Nelson.”

  When she’d agreed to watch her parents’ B&B, she’d psyched herself up for this meeting. She couldn’t let herself get caught up in him again. Yet, even though she knew there couldn’t be anything between them, her heart sank a little that he hadn’t called her Deidre. She let her smile melt away and put her hand in his warm one, shaking it with a firm grip. “Thanks for stopping by, Sheriff. My parents appreciate you making the effort.”

  “My pleasure, ma’am.” He released her hand and touched the rim of his hat, giving her a respectful nod.

  Despite his formal tone, the brief clasp of his hand around hers had ignited a burst of tingles in her arm. Why are all the good ones always taken? she lamented, until her brain caught up with what she’d seen, or rather what she didn’t see when he’d touched his hat.

  His left hand was bare.

  Her heart stuttered in shock. Was there a reason he wasn’t wearing his wedding band? Deidre’s gaze jerked to his dark blue one in hopes he’d volunteer an answer to the question she knew reflected in her eyes.

  “It’s the least I can do considering I haven’t been able to stop the acts of vandalism that have occurred at the Flying Wind lately,” he said as he scanned the B&B and its surrounding property with an assessing gaze. “I’ve missed the quiet tranquility of this place.”

  “I heard you’ve taken over your parents’ property now.” She tried to keep her tone casual despite her pulse’s rushing whoosh in her ears. “I understand the Mendez spread is pretty vast.”

  His jaw ticked as he squinted into the sun. “My mom died six years ago and my dad followed her a couple years later. My brother wasn’t interested in running the ranch, so I took over.”

  Something was bothering him. His grim tone told her there was more. She tilted her head in curiosity, wanting to ask, What’s wrong? How have you been doing these past ten years? Is your favorite food still chili with lots of Tabasco? What made you decide to run for sheriff? And for god’s sake why aren’t you wearing your wedding ring? “Can’t be easy being both sheriff and full-time rancher.”

  Jonas’ focus shifted to her. Fine lines were more apparent around his eyes, his bearing more intense. His shoulders might be broader, but his cheekbones were leaner, projecting a harsher, less relaxed persona than she remembered from the twenty-six-year-old wrangler she’d met a decade ago.

  “I have a foreman who oversees the ranch during my office hours, but I enjoy the constant hard work.”

  “With very little time to relax,” she finished for him before she thought better of it. Damn, that was stupid. New York wasn’t supposed to follow me.

  His mouth set in a firm line. “I prefer to stay busy.”

  While the late summer Texas wind whipped around them and the early evening sun dipped low in the cloudless blue sky, tense silence stretched between them. Deidre lifted her hands in the air, spreading them wide as she cast her gaze from one side of the B&B’s long front porch to the other. “Well, as you can see, the Flying Wind is safe and sound, so you can head home now.”

  His black eyebrows drew downward. “I don’t like you staying here by yourself.”

  He sounded so serious and forceful, she couldn’t help but grin. The quiet town of Ventura, Texas was far safer than Manhattan! “Hey, no worries. I just finished my latest column for the magazine and had some free time on my hands, so I offered to housesit. My parents decided since nothing has happened at the B&B in the past three weeks, they would take their vacation before the fall season kicks into full swing. I wanted them to enjoy their first cruise without having to worry about leaving an empty house behind.”

  His frown only deepened.

  Shaking her head at his stoic expression, she kept her tone upbeat. “I’ll be fine.”

  He stared at her for a couple more seconds before he gave a curt nod. Reaching into his front pocket, he withdrew a business card and handed it to her. “I’ll be by tomorrow around this time. Call my cell if you need me any time. My property is adjacent to your parents’. I can be here in three minutes.”

  And if my needs are of a more personal nature? She gave an inward sigh as she took the card. “Thanks, Sheriff.”

  He touched the brim of his hat once more and walked back to his car. Opening the door, he paused and leaned his arm on the window frame, regarding her with a steady gaze. “I may have more responsibilities now, but I’m still the same cowboy, Deidre. Jonas will do.”

  He wasn’t the same laidback cowboy she remembered, but a much older, hardworking man who managed to blow through all the mental barriers she’d spent weeks building up. And all it took was seeing him with those secrets in his eyes. Her heart raced as he drove away, gravel dust clouding over the red taillights. After ten years, hearing her name again in that sexy Texan accent caused a shiver to ripple over her body. How many times had she fantasized hearing him say her name in a passionate moment? She stared at the crisp card in her hand, wishing it were six o’clock tomorrow already.

  * * *

  Ten years earlier…

  Jonas’ horse ambled up the wooded trail. Velvet walked behind them via the lead rope. The mare held her head low…as she should, Deidre thought with a wry smile as she turned her attention forward once more. Darn horse had scared the wits out of her, taking off like she had.

  But Jonas’ firm grip around her waist distracted her from her anger and made her forget about the stinging cut she’d acquired on the cheek during the skittish horse’s mad dash down an unmarked trail. She glanced at his tan forearm wrapped tightly around her waist,
noting the sprinkle of dark hair and the defined veins that spread up his muscles. With each step his horse took, her body dipped and swayed, molding her against Jonas’ hard frame.

  “I’m not gonna let you fall, darlin’.” Butterflies scattered in her belly at the sensation of his fingers gripping her rib cage. His chest pressed against her back, muscular and warm. She leaned into him, inhaling his woodsy, masculine scent—a scent that had driven her nuts the last several days she’d spent at her parents’ brand new bed and breakfast retreat they’d named Flying Wind. She’d thought the Texan B&B would be a nice place to visit during her fall break from college. What she didn’t expect was to be instantly attracted to her parents’ head wrangler in the process.

  She laid her head in the crook of his neck and closed her eyes…wishing.

  His warm breath came close to her temple as if he were going to say something…or kiss her. Her pulse skittered in anticipation and goose bumps formed on her skin. When he did neither, a maddening mix of relief and disappointment washed over her.

  His horse slowed and she opened her eyes to see they were near the end of the wooded trail. Dusk was almost upon them and sunlight filtered through the thick trees above them, making her feel warm and secure. The smell of earth and outdoors, mixed with Jonas’ heavenly scent, surrounded her in a blanket of rightness she didn’t want to let go.

  When he placed his hand on her thigh and squeezed, her belly tightened in instant response to the heat generated by his broad palm. She bit her lip as she lowered her gaze to his tanned hand. In a month he’d be wearing a wedding band on his ring finger. Why didn’t my parents open their business a year earlier? she mentally wailed.

  Jonas slid off his horse in one graceful, fluid movement. His black Stetson tilted until his deep blue gaze collided with hers.

  As he encircled her waist to lift her down, words lodged in her throat. Once her feet touched the ground, she finally forced an appropriate response, unlike the zillion other inappropriate thoughts rumbling around in her mind. “Thank you for rescuing me.”

  He smiled and instead of letting her go, his grip tightened around her waist. Pulling her close, he pressed his jaw against her temple. The sensation of his chest rising and falling in a deep, shuddering breath surprised her.

  “In another life…” he said in a gruff tone before he released her and moved to untie Velvet.

  * * *

  Deidre awoke with a dull ache between her legs, her heart racing. She sat up and pushed her hair away from her face, staring at the bright morning sunlight filtering past the pale green gingham curtains in the B&B’s front guest bedroom. She’d lost count of how many times she’d dreamed of the last time she’d seen Jonas Mendez—the last words he’d spoken to her before she went back to college. Since then she’d had a litany of fantasies about Jonas. Of course, in her dream world, the sexy cowboy hadn’t been engaged.

  And why wasn’t he wearing a wedding band ten years later?

  Maybe he never wore one. Or his marriage had failed.

  It happens.

  She’d thought she was on the “right” relationship track, twice. Her last two boyfriends turned out to be work-a-holics who spent more time at the office than with her. Tom’s true love was his corporate status, and Jeremy’s long hours led to playing with a redhead in his law firm.

  Irritated with herself for dwelling on Jonas’ marital status and her own past miserable experiences with men, she pushed back the covers. The goats needed to be fed and her parents had asked her to fertilize the main flowerbeds while they were gone. Fortunately it had rained hard the night before and there wasn’t any rain in the forecast. Now was the best time to spread the fertilizer. Better get started on those chores. Apparently I need a distraction from fruitless ponderings. Shaking her head, she stood and turned toward the bathroom.

  * * *

  “Hey, Sheriff,” the cashier called out as she swiped Deidre’s credit card through the automated machine.

  “Afternoon, Sally.”

  Deidre cast her gaze over her shoulder to see Jonas heading toward the back of the Mom-and-Pop store. His boots hit the wood floor with a heavy, purposeful stride, sending shivers down her spine. He stopped at the bottom of a ladder and spoke to the older man who was stocking extra canned goods on a top shelf.

  “I’m so glad to see you back. You’ve grown into a beautiful lady.” Deidre’s attention returned to the cashier’s full cheeks, which were puffed up in a broad smile.

  Heat tinged Deidre’s face at the compliment “Thanks, Sally. It’s great to be back. I really enjoyed my summer here while I was in college. I wish I’d come back sooner.”

  “Pshaw!” Sally waved her hand then bagged the last of Deidre’s groceries. “You had to experience the big city rush for a while. Only then would you appreciate the relaxed lifestyle our town has to offer.”

  Deidre laughed and put her hands around the bag to pick it up. “Amen to that. There’s a certain amount of comfort in knowing some things don’t change,” she commented as she glanced around the store’s solid wood floor to the barrels of fresh produce on display.

  “True, but there’s one thing I wish would change.”

  Deidre elevated her eyebrow. “What’s that?”

  Sally’s deep green gaze cut to the two men talking in the back of the store. Jonas was holding the ladder while Sally’s husband climbed a rung higher to straighten some boxes. “It’s about time the sheriff settled down.”

  The bag crumpled under Deidre’s tightened fingers. “For some reason I thought he was married.”

  Sally exhaled an unladylike snort of disdain. “He never married.” She leaned forward and spoke in a lowered voice. “Two weeks before his wedding, he caught Candice with his best friend.”

  Deidre’s chest constricted at the news. His fiancée had cheated on him? She resisted the urge to glance back at Jonas’ handsome profile.

  “I’m so sorry to hear that,” she heard herself saying. And she was sorry…for Jonas. Sheesh, in a small town like Ventura, everyone knew everyone’s business. No wonder he appeared harder and less approachable than she remembered. Why hadn’t her parents told her? Then again, they never knew about her crush on their wrangler.

  She was pissed at herself, however. Sure she’d moved to New York to prove she could be successful on her own, but damn it, she’d avoided coming back to Ventura all this time. For nothing!

  She’d thought about Jonas and his sexy smile often over the years, to the point she refused to come back to visit Texas. Why torture herself? Since her parents loved to travel, she’d invited them to New York for the holidays each year. They spent quality time together in her cozy apartment, and she always made sure her mom and dad had a grand time. She was glad her parents never pushed her to visit them at the B&B.

  “Anyway, it’s been almost ten years,” Sally continued. “’Bout time he moved on, in my opinion. You married?”

  Deidre couldn’t help the chuckle that rumbled past her lips at the woman’s direct question and surreptitious glance at Deidre’s left hand. “You trying to play matchmaker, Sally?”

  The older woman shrugged then smiled, an expectant look lighting her face. “So are you?”

  “I’m sure my mom has shared my marital status or lack thereof with you.” Deidre shook her head and grinned. “You and my mother are like two peas in a pod.”

  Sally let out a full-bellied laugh. “True. Dorothy and I are like long-lost sisters. I miss her company already.”

  Deidre’s smile broadened. “She and Dad will be back in a couple more days. I’m sure they’ll be full of stories of their adventures from their cruise.”

  Sally wagged her pudgy finger toward her. “Your mom better have taken her digital camera. I told Dot I wanted lots of photos.”

  Deidre started to pick up her bag of groceries when someone came from behind her and swooped the paper bag out of her arms.

  “I’ll carry ’em out for you, Deidre.”

  Jo
nas’ serious eyes locked with hers. Without his hat shadowing his face, his eyes appeared a deeper blue than she remembered, more stormy and turbulent. No longer crew cut, his coal black hair had a wave to it that just begged to be touched. Slight changes for sure, but her pulse still raced like it had ten years ago.

  “Um, thanks.” She waved to Sally as she turned to walk out of the store.

  “Bye, you two,” Sally called out. As they walked away, Deidre caught the woman’s “thumbs up” signal out of the corner of her eye.

  When Jonas started to turn and say goodbye to Sally, Deidre’s heart jerked. He didn’t need to know they were talking about him. She grasped his elbow and tugged him out of the store. “How’s your day been?”

  “Sally been trying to set me up again?” The corners of his mouth turned up a little as he followed her outside.

  Disappointment settled in her stomach at the amusement in his voice. This was a common occurrence, apparently. He didn’t need to know it bothered her. She came to a halt next to her dark blue rental car and stuck out her bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. “And here I thought I was special.”

  He leaned close enough that she could smell his aftershave. God, he smelled good—spicy, musky and all male. His imposing frame blocked out the sun, dwarfing her own five-foot-nine-inch height. He might’ve gone through some rough times, but Jonas’ charisma had magnified a hundredfold over the years. With a mere glance, he caused her body to heat in instant response.

  Handing her the bag of groceries, he said in a low voice, “You’ve always been special,” before he headed toward his police car. Once he reached the vehicle, he opened the door and called across the parking lot, “Do you still make those oatmeal chocolate chip cookies?”

  She nodded. “I’ve tweaked the recipe a half dozen times since I graduated from culinary school.”