At some point during the battle Morgan started laughing, probably because she"d adjusted to the water temperature and the exercise had warmed her up. Gabe decided that it might be safe to advance in her direction without danger of being kneed in the groin, so under cover of myriad showers of water, he managed to get close enough to grab her.
She yelled and pretended to fight him off, but in the end she pulled his head down for a very wet kiss with lots of tongue involved. Apparently he was forgiven.
Caressing her water-slicked body gave him ideas for the future involving showers and possibly hot tubs. But if they didn"t stop kissing like this, he"d have to do something more immediate to satisfy them both, and he wasn"t willing to deal with mosquitoes a second time.
Reluctantly he lifted his mouth a fraction from hers. "We need to leave."
Her breath was warm on his lips. "Just like a man. Throws you in the water but won"t let you stay." Beneath the water, she fondled his c.o.c.k, which was already growing rigid.
"Just like a woman. Complains about going in and complains about getting out." He should make her stop doing that, and he would...in a minute.
"Just like a man. His brain says go, but his d.i.c.k says stay."
He had a tough time arguing with that. He should end this maneuver while he could still walk. Ah, but her touch was heaven.
"How"re you feeling?" she murmured.
"Rooted to the spot."
"Good. "Cause I want that blanket first." Letting go of his p.e.n.i.s, she splashed her way toward the beach and was wrapped in blue-and-white checks before he could take his next breath.
"You set me up!"
"Payback!" she sang out.
She looked so smug that he couldn"t help laughing. Maybe he"d had this much fun with other women, but if so, he couldn"t remember. This relationship was quickly taking center stage in his life, the very place that used to be occupied by cutting-horse events. Now there was a startling insight.
And maybe it was no coincidence that Morgan was suddenly so important to him. He"d allowed Jack to sidetrack his plans and Morgan had come along soon after. By distracting himself with Morgan, he avoided having to challenge Jack. That was not good, not good at all.
MORGAN HAD BEEN so busy drying off and dressing quickly to ward off the mosquitoes that she hadn"t paid much attention to Gabe. He"d seemed pretty busy doing the same, so they hadn"t taken time to make pleasant conversation. While he dressed, she"d waved her borrowed hat to keep the mosquitoes away. They"d managed to ride back through the woods and into the meadow without getting bitten more than a few times.
But once they were in the meadow, Morgan could tell that something was bothering him a lot more than a few mosquito bites. Being a direct sort of girl, she decided to ask him about it. "Are you upset because I abandoned you in the water?"
He smiled at her, the first time he"d done that since climbing out of the pond. "Nope. It was funny."
"Then what"s wrong?"
His sigh seemed to come from somewhere deep inside. "As you"ve probably been able to tell, I"ve loved every minute of being with you these past two days."
Uh-oh. This was how guys started a kiss-off speech. She told herself not to panic, but panic was exactly what she felt. Even though she wasn"t interested in a permanent commitment, she"d still allowed herself to become invested. And now he sounded ready to change the game.
"If it"s your mother"s matchmaking that"s bothering you, I can fix that," she said. "I won"t spend any more time at your place, and I probably shouldn"t be riding your horse, either. She"s reading far too much into it."
"It"s not my mother. It"s me. I"ve devoted the past ten years of my life to honing my skills in the arena. Every summer I"ve competed, and every winter I"ve trained to get even better. I eat, sleep and dream compet.i.tion.
It"s all I"ve cared about since I graduated from high school."
"I admire that kind of intensity."
He gazed at the Tetons outlined against the blue sky. "So do I, and I"ve lost my edge."
"Lost it? Since when?"
He turned to her. "This summer. And the thing is, I was worried about my slump, but the more I"m with you, the less I care about it."
"Wait a minute." Her sense of justice prevailed.
"That"s been all of two days. And it"s not as if I"ve been hounding you for attention, either. I didn"t plan to see you until tonight. You"re the one who called and asked if I"d come out to the-"
"Hey, hey, I know. I said this was my deal. You haven"t done a thing except be your wonderful, s.e.xy self. I"m the one who"s allowed this to become an obsession that"s taking my mind completely off riding."
A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach. If he was losing focus, it didn"t matter whether she"d caused that to happen or not. She would still be labeled as the reason, the fly in the ointment, the glitch in the plan. The bottom line was that with her around to tempt him, he would lose his motivation to do what he"d spent all those years training for.
"Gabe, if you need to get back out there and compete, then go! I"ll be the first one to push you out the door. h.e.l.l, I"ll push you out and lock it behind you!"
He angled Finicky so that the two horses almost touched before pulling back on his reins. "Let"s stop a minute. This isn"t the kind of conversation we should have when I can"t touch you."
"Isn"t that the crux of the problem? You can"t keep your hands off me?"
"No, that"s not the problem. Touching you is a privilege and I love doing it." He reached for her hand.
"Back off, cowboy." She guided Top Drawer a short distance away. "You"ve made me feel like Typhoid Mary. You can talk from over there."
He groaned in obvious frustration. "I"m not saying this right. The problems began before I met you and came to a head when I left the circuit to bring home an injured horse."
"Doozie."
"Yes. I"ve stayed home to take care of her, but now Jack"s questioning whether I should go back out on the circuit...ever."
"Is it up to him?"
"Technically he controls the finances." Gabe scratched his shoulder.
Morgan remembered the mosquito that had landed there when they were making love. The way this discussion was going, they wouldn"t be doing that again soon.
"But I own a fourth of the ranch," Gabe added, "and I could use that as leverage."
"And force the issue. Now that I"ve met Jack, I can"t see that turning out well."
"Doesn"t matter. Either I want this enough to fight for it, or I don"t deserve to be out there."
"And you want to be out there."
He gazed at her, his blue eyes troubled. "It"s been my whole life, Morgan. And Top Drawer has a shot at the Hall of Fame if I can get my act together and win more prize money on him. He has the heart and the ability. He just needs me to focus better."
"The Hall of Fame sounds like a big deal."
"It is."
"I"m beginning to see why your mother thought it was so significant that you loaned me this horse. What in h.e.l.l were you thinking, letting me ride him?"
"I don"t regret that for a minute." He paused. "But you"re right. Loaning him to someone I barely knew wasn"t very smart. Still, if I hadn"t done that, we wouldn"t have enjoyed these past two days together."
She swallowed. "It"s clear that you need to call a halt, though. Get your life on track." She sounded a little gruff, and she couldn"t help that. He"d taken her into the candy store, let her taste some of the best truffles, and now it was over. She was allowed to be disappointed.
"I"m thinking so," he said gently. "Sorry."
"That"s okay, Gabe. Truly. All either of us wanted was a romp, and that"s exactly what we"ve had. No regrets." Or none that she"d admit to while he was around.
"We need to get back to the ranch or they"ll wonder what"s happened to us." She nudged Top Drawer into a walk.
"Mom will still want you to stay for dinner." He brought Finicky alongside her.
"Thanks, but I don"t think that"s a good idea. For one thing, I"m a mess." For another, she wouldn"t be able to eat a thing, knowing that he would soon confront Jack. If he succeeded in getting what he wanted, he"d be gone for the rest of the summer.
Although she might kid herself that they"d reconnect in the fall, she doubted it. Once he"d labeled her a distraction from his chosen path, he wouldn"t want to risk hooking up with her again.
"d.a.m.n it, Morgan. I didn"t mean to hurt you."
"Oh, you didn"t!" She plastered on a smile to prove it. "I"m a lot tougher than that. I"d rather not stay for dinner, all things considered, but I"ll take the brownies, if that"s okay."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot all about the brownies and coffee."
"I wonder why." She turned and winked at him, to further make the point that she was still the same wild and crazy girl who could tease him about the s.e.x they"d shared. It would take more than this to break her heart, yessiree.
GABE HATED the way he"d had to leave things with Morgan. She"d taken the brownies, but she hadn"t wanted a tour of the barn. He could hardly blame her under the circ.u.mstances.
As he"d helped her off Top Drawer and held her for that brief moment before her feet touched the ground, he"d wondered what the h.e.l.l he was doing sending her off like this. She was his fantasy come true. He"d never had it so good.
And that was the problem. He could easily see himself filling the rest of the summer with hot s.e.x. How could a guy complain when he had a willing Morgan in his arms?
So he"d loaf all summer, doing odd jobs around the ranch and spending his spare time with Morgan. Gradually he"d lose his will to compete. Cozy winter nights with her could convince him not to train quite so hard. By next summer, if Jack continued to complain about the expensive entry fees, Gabe would probably give up competing altogether. After all, he"d have Morgan to comfort him.
While part of him longed for that, mostly the part below his belt, his brain and heart would always wonder if he"d sold out, if he"d let his big brother determine his future instead of taking the reins himself. He wouldn"t have to wonder that now, though. As he unsaddled the horses and brushed them down before putting them back in their stalls, Jack walked out of the barn. Showtime.
Jack propped his hip against the hitching post and took off his black Stetson. He pretended to examine his hatband. "How did Morgan like her tour of the ranch?"
"Okay. But I have something else I need to discuss with you." Gabe finished up and tossed the brush into the plastic caddy they used for the grooming tools. He turned to Jack. "I"m going to a.s.sume that Doozie will be fine by the end of the month. I plan to enter Top Drawer in every cutting event I can find in August, to make up for the layoff."
Jack put on his hat and adjusted the brim. "It"s a waste of money, Gabe. I did a little research, and we"ve only had one sale this summer as a direct result of your contacts on the circuit."
"You can"t judge it like that." Gabe held on to his temper, determined to take the high road. "If Top Drawer makes the Hall of Fame, that"ll be huge for the Last Chance horses. I might still have time to do it this year."
"Maybe, maybe not. I don"t think it"s a good use of ranch resources."
Tightness traveled from Gabe"s jaw through his temples and down the back of his neck. He flexed his fingers. "Are you saying you won"t approve the expenditure?"
"That"s what I"m saying. It"s not in the budget."
Although Gabe desperately wanted to tell Jack where he could shove his precious budget, he kept his voice level. He wanted to stay cool as he delivered the next part. "Then we may have to get the lawyer involved."
Jack met his gaze. A dark and dangerous light flashed in his eyes. "The lawyer?" he asked quietly.
"Yeah, Jack, the lawyer. The guy who drew up Dad"s will and then read it to us while we all sat in Dad"s office the day after the funeral."
Jack pushed away from the hitching post. "Are you challenging my right to run the ranch the way I see fit? Because the will clearly states that Dad gave me that job."
"He also gave each of us an equal share of the ranch-you, me, Nick and Mom. I plan to use my one-fourth share to finance Top Drawer"s entry fees."
"Impossible. The a.s.sets aren"t liquid. We"d have to sell..." Jack"s eyes narrowed. "This is that real estate agent"s idea, isn"t it?"
"Morgan? This has nothing to do with her."
"The h.e.l.l it doesn"t! You spend the afternoon traipsing around the ranch with her, and now you tell me that we have to sell off some of the acreage to finance entry fees. Any idiot would be able to put that together."
"You"re wrong. In fact, she"s bowing out of my life so that I can focus on making this Hall of Fame thing happen."
"Bulls.h.i.t! She wants a piece of the action!"
Gabe wanted to hit him. He could imagine how satisfying that would be, to knock that know-it-all expression off his face. "You are so full of it, Jack. I"m not even planning to see Morgan anytime soon."
"Tell that to someone who believes it. She"s got you wrapped around her little finger. All she has to do is wiggle her-"
"Careful, Jack." Gabe"s hands curled into fists. "Your mouth is about to get you into some serious trouble."
Jack went into a crouch and motioned with both hands. "Bring it on, baby brother. Bring it on."
Gabe mimicked Jack"s stance. The guy had taught him how to fight. Gabe was about to show his teacher how much he"d learned. "With pleasure."
"h.e.l.lo, boys." Emmett Sterling rode up and dismounted, not looking at them as he looped the reins around the hitching-post rail. "I figured you two might be inside getting ready for the big farewell dinner for Dominique."
Gabe glanced at Jack, who straightened and shrugged.
"Gabe, if you"ll unsaddle my horse, I"d appreciate it," Emmett said. "Jack, come on in the barn for a minute. I think we have some dry rot going on and I want your opinion as to whether we need to tackle it first thing in the morning. Then we all need to get up to the house before Mary Lou pitches a fit."
"Sure thing, Emmett." Jack walked past Gabe, his thumbs shoved casually through his belt loops as if he didn"t have a thing on his mind except checking out dry rot.
"Later," Gabe said in a low voice.
"Anytime, son," Jack murmured. "Anytime."
12.