The Rancher Takes a Bride

  She tried to heave a sigh of relief and only choked on wisps of cinders flying through the air. The smoke-filled air shimmered with heat, the temperature climbing as sweat poured down her face. Her skin felt as if it were melting and she wondered when she would begin to burn.

  Where was Travis? Why hadn't someone come in to help her? Her heart pounded fiercely in her chest as she stumbled through the haze. For a brief moment she wondered if he were dead, and the thought brought a swift rush of pain. She hated him, yet she cared about him.

  "Travis!" she screamed against the roar of the flames. Coughing continuously, she wondered if she would die from lack of air.

  He laid his hand on her shoulder and she jumped in fear.

  "Travis!" Impulsively she threw her arms around him, her relief at seeing him so great. "Oh, God, Travis!"

  "What in the hell are you doing in here?" With both hands he grabbed her by the shoulders and gave her a sharp shake.

  "The horses and cows. I had to help the animals." With each breath, her lungs felt seared with heat and smoke. Bright orange flames licked the walls seductively, dancing to a destructive beat.

  "Get out," Travis shouted, spinning her around and trying to shove her toward the door.

  "Not without you!" she commanded.

  "Go! I'll get the rest of the animals, and then I'll be right behind you."

  They had precious seconds before the ceiling would collapse. "I'm not leaving you."

  "Then come on!" he said, running across the barn to stalls she hadn't seen.

  Throwing open the doors, he shooed the animals out while she herded them through the thick haze and burning embers toward the open wooden door.

  "Come on, let's get out of here," he yelled over the growing roar of the flames.

  The loud bawl of a frightened cow and a bawling calf stopped her cold.

  Travis turned and looked at her. "Come on, let's go-"

  "Not yet." She let go of his hand and ran toward the calf.

  "Damn it, Rose, we don't have time."

  She ignored him and went to the stall. As soon as she opened the door, the mother cow hurried out of the barn, but the calf stood there frightened, braying.

  Rose looked at the little calf and her heart ached. She couldn't leave the baby. She reached in and gave the animal a push on the backside toward the open barn door. Thankfully, the frightened baby ran after its mother and Rose followed.

  When she reached Travis's side, the roof over the stall collapsed. Wrapping his hand around her arm, he pulled her toward the main door.

  Sweat was pouring off her from the heat of the fire, and her skirt started to smolder. She watched in amazement as the hem caught fire. A cry of fright escaped her as she stopped, bent, and tried to put out the small flame.

  Behind them the cracking and popping exploded, and the splintering wood fell to the ground, causing them to sprint for the open door, regardless of her flaming skirt. Rose knew they didn't have time to stop. They were mere seconds from death.

  Travis pulled her until they ran through the open wooden door and gasped the fresh air. Only then did he grab the edge of her flaming skirt and rip the material from the waist down, leaving her in her pantaloons. Given the alternative, she didn't mind.

  Rose collapsed to the ground, coughing and choking on the fresh air. She gasped and sputtered, trying to get rid of the awful taste the smoke left in her mouth and lungs. Tears streamed from her smoke-irritated eyes.

  "Travis, Rose, we didn't know you were in there. I didn't know where you were," Eugenia cried, rushing over to them.

  Rose lay back on the ground and gulped fresh air. She glanced over at Travis, who was lying on the ground, watching her closely.

  He looked up from the ground at his mother. "I came out of the bunkhouse and saw Rose enter the barn at the same time I saw the smoke. I rushed into the barn after her and to try to get the horses out."

  "The animals can be replaced. Thank God you're both safe." Eugenia said as she watched Travis continue coughing. "You need a doctor. I'll get one of the men to ride into town and bring him back."

  Eugenia walked away, leaving them lying on the ground in the late evening shadows as the men tried to keep the fire from spreading with a bucket brigade.

  Travis stared at Rose, his eyes dark with fury. "What the hell were you thinking, going into a blazing barn? You could have been killed."

  She coughed, her lungs burning. "I ... I couldn't leave the animals to die."

  "You don't even like horses."

  "No, but I didn't want them to die. I was afraid you'd blame this on me, just like you blame everything on me. I wasn't going to be responsible for the deaths of your animals."

  "I damn sure would hold you responsible. After all, if you hadn't been holding a séance in my barn, none of this would have happened." He stared at her incredulously. "Did you consider for a moment how much danger you were in? You could have been killed!"

  She coughed and raised herself on one elbow to lean over the man she'd been afraid was lying hurt or burning in that barn. The man she'd wanted so desperately to leave, yet, when she'd seen the fire, she couldn't walk away from.

  "If you would let me go, I could be holding séances back in my nice little house on Main Street in Fort Worth. Instead I'm stuck here with a man who wouldn't know the truth if it smacked him in the face. And who is ungrateful to boot!" She lay back in the grass, whatever energy she'd mustered spent.

  "I'm not ungrateful—but you scared me. You could have died in there." His brown eyes darkened, but this time they weren't quite as hostile. This time they appeared softer, gender. "I don't understand why you stayed."

  "I know," she said. "But I couldn't let those animals burn to death. I couldn't stand the thought."

  Travis rolled over next to her, until their shoulders were touching. He put his arm across her body, effectively trapping her in his arms. He was so close, she felt pinned beneath him, unable to get away from his steely gaze.

  His voice was rough and scratchy. "What kind of con are you playing this time, Rose? Every time I think I know what you're going to do, you choose a different direction. Every time I think I know what you're about, you change or add some new dimension. Tell me, what are you really up to? Why didn't you run?"

  His face was mere inches from her, yet there was no softness or gentleness in his features. He still believed she had no morals. He still couldn't think anything but the worst about her.

  "Have you ever considered that I might be innocent? Have you ever thought that you could be all wrong about me?"

  He was so close, and with his hard body laying beside hers her mind seemed to go blank for just one seductive moment. To think of nothing but the sensations his nearness was evoking. She gazed at his full lips and ran her tongue across her own. God, she wanted him to kiss her. They'd almost died together this evening, and right now all she wanted was to feel his lips against hers, his arms around her, the safety and security of being held in his embrace.

  His eyes narrowed, and for a moment she thought he was angry again. "I made up my mind about you the first night we met, and everything you've done has only proven me right, except for tonight. So what kind of con are you playing this time, Rose?"

  ***

  Travis spent the next day resting, taking it easy, and thinking. What a fool he was to have gone to the bunkhouse while Rose had been packing in the house. The fire was his own damn fault, and he so much wanted to blame it on his little gypsy. She had given up her opportunity to escape and instead had raced into the burning barn to save his horses. Animals she didn't even like.

  Why? What had prompted her to run into a burning barn?

  The fire had started when he had gone to the bunkhouse to find Isaiah, to ask the man to talk sense into Rose. The sound of the horses crying in alarm had sent him rushing back just in time to see Rose go into the blazing barn.

  The sight of her entering that blazing inferno had terrified him. And even though he wouldn't
wish anyone harm, why had seeing Rose in peril given him so much anxiety? He wouldn't want even a liar and a cheat to die that way. But she was, after all, an easy woman, who tricked innocent people out of their money and had probably lain with more men than a body had a right to.

  She was a con artist! An actress playing a part. A thief who had stolen his mother's wedding ring. A woman of easy virtue who had managed to send his sexual urges into full gallop. All he needed was the signal, and he'd be all over her like flies at a Fourth of July picnic.

  But last night she'd acted highly insulted that he would consider that she was anything less than a lady.

  Yes, he wanted Rose in a big way and had resisted the urge until now. But maybe it was time to sample the little con artist. Taste her wares, get the urge out of his system, find the ring and then take her for an extended visit at his brother's boarding house, otherwise known as the county jail.

  For once he'd drunk from her nectar, surely this attraction would fade away and die. Surely once he'd experienced her, he could get her out of his mind.

  Once he'd had his fill, she would be as forgettable as every other woman he'd ever met. Wouldn't she?

  One thing was certain: He was attracted to Rose. He never expected to feel so drawn to her, never meant to think of her as a woman, a woman he couldn't get out of his mind. He wanted her. And for the first time he couldn't help but wonder if that was really such a bad thing.

  ***

  Rose's throat ached the next day, and she knew it was from all the smoke she'd inhaled. She still couldn't believe she'd run into a burning building, after animals she hated and that belonged to a man who hated her. Yet he instilled within her a sense of wholeness and dependability such as she'd never experienced in her short life. Sheltered in the safety of his arms, she felt as though nothing could ever harm her again. It was a feeling she couldn't remember ever experiencing before.

  Yet Travis thought the worst of her. Thought she was capable of stealing, whoring, and other vile crimes. Her life had not been the purest, but even she had not stooped to the lowest levels of behavior that Travis obviously thought her capable of.

  She must be going crazy. For some unexplainable reason, she wanted him. Within Travis's arms, she felt secure, as if nothing bad could ever harm her again. Even with the fire blazing about them, she felt Travis would have protected her, kept her safe.

  She had to leave. She had to get away before she did something really stupid, like fall in love with Travis. Because regardless of how she felt about this man, she doubted he could ever return the feeling. At least, not with a woman like her. He could never love Desirée. Therefore Rose would never be good enough for him, either.

  As soon as she was back to her normal self, she had to get away. She took a sip of hot tea and leaned back against the pillows. A knock on the door startled her.

  "Yes?"

  Eugenia stuck her head in. "Do you feel like company?"

  Travis's mother stepped into the room, her skirts rustling as she moved.

  "Of course I do. Come in and tell me what the doctor said."

  "He said the both of you were fools for taking such a risk. And that you were fortunate. Stay in bed, drink plenty of fluids, and expect to do a lot of coughing over the next few days. Travis is already grumbling."

  "I guess that's my fault too," Rose said her voice raspy and gruff.

  "That's my oldest son." Rose watched as Eugenia wrung her hands nervously. "I must say thank you for saving our livestock. Our animals are important, but I wouldn't want anything to happen to either you or Travis. I'm missing one son already and couldn't bear to lose another."

  She gazed at Rose, her voice steady, her eyes unwavering. "You've made it clear that you don't care for horses since you arrived on the back of my son's mare. I wonder if that's the real reason you went into that barn?"

  Rose chewed her lip. "I didn't want to see the animals die, even though they frighten me."

  The memory of the flames racing up the walls and the sound of the ceiling crashing as they ran caused her to shudder. "I did release the animals, but not because I was brave. Because they were trapped, and I didn't want to see them die."

  "Rose, you are very brave. But more than anything, I like the way you stand up to my son." Eugenia smiled. "1 know you're not here under the best of circumstances, but I have to tell you I'm so glad you've come into our lives."

  "Thank you, Mrs. Burnett. But what about your ring? Don't you think I stole it?"

  Eugenia paused. "Rose, I hope that you will for—"

  "Mother!"

  Rose rolled her eyes.

  Eugenia released a sigh. "Excuse me, dear."

  ***

  Sick of lying around the house, Travis was eager to escape the confines of his room and get back to running the ranch. But somehow his mother had convinced everyone to ignore his demands and reminded him the doctor said to take it easy for several days. At last count, he'd been escorted twice to the sofa and told to stay there.

  He settled into the parlor, where he could watch the comings and goings of the ranch from the front window and still work on his bookkeeping. And catch a glimpse of Rose in his pants as she went about the house, trying to help his mother, only to be shooed back to the parlor or her bedroom to rest.

  The sight of her cute little derriere in his tight- fitting pants was enough to cause the parts of his body that weren't sore to ache. The dress she had worn the day of the fire was a total loss. Hopefully, Rose's trunk would be in town waiting for him when he went in to buy the lumber needed to replace the barn.

  All he'd thought about since the night of the fire was a way to get Rose into his bed. There must be a place they could be alone, where she could seduce him, free him of this madness he seemed trapped in right now.

  Even now he wanted to grab her and kiss her until she was moaning beneath him. The little con artist had somehow weaved a spell around him until all he could think of was holding her in his arms and other delightful things that he wanted to do with her seductive body.

  Being cooped up in this house was only adding to his growing frustration at needing Rose.

  The sound of horse's hooves thundering into the yard had him leaning to gaze out the window to see his brother Tucker riding in.

  A few minutes later, the front door opened and slammed shut. "Where is everyone? I ride all the way from town and no one comes to greet me?"

  "In here," Travis called, his voice still raspy.

  Tucker stepped into the parlor just as Rose came out from the kitchen. "What happened to you?"

  "Humph! I . . ."

  Rose stepped into the room, a frown creasing her forehead as she glanced between the brothers. "Hello, marshal. Should I be packing my bags for a visit to jail?"

  Travis watched as his younger brother's mouth dropped open at the sight of Rose in his pants.

  "Not that I know of." Tucker cleared his throat. "Though maybe I should lock you up for looking so good in my brother's clothes."

  She laughed, faintly embarrassed. "Because of the fire, this is all I have to wear."

  "If I had anything to do with it, that's all women would ever wear. Sweet, lovely pants that showed—"

  "All right, Tucker, we get your point," Travis interrupted, irritated at his brother's obvious perusal of Rose.

  The sight of his brother ogling Rose made him more than irritated. He felt like punching something. He wanted to yank his brother down to the ground and wrestle, as if they were kids once again, but this time it wouldn't be playing. This time his punches would be for real.

  Rose smiled. "You must have ridden out here for me to read your palm again."

  Travis felt his nerve endings prickle with displeasure. Her lips were turned up into a smile that was genuine, friendly, and reached all the way to her eyes. Eyes the color of a field in springtime that suddenly sparkled with amusement. She'd never smiled at him that way.

  Tucker smiled. "No thanks, ma'am. I think I'll skip this time."


  "Suit yourself."

  Tucker laughed. "I don't think I want to know about my future, even if a pretty lady like yourself would be holding my hand."

  Travis didn't know whether he wanted to puke or growl. The two of them were flirting openly—and this was the man who had locked her in a jail cell. He cleared his throat.

  "Just tell me when you're ready to try again."

  Travis coughed, and the two of them turned and looked at him. About damn time someone realized he was still in the room.

  Eugenia walked into the parlor. "Tucker, I'm glad you came." She hugged him. "I guess you heard about the fire."

  "Heard in town you two had some trouble, and I wanted to come check on you, make sure everything was all right."

  Eugenia took him by the arm and walked Tucker to a chair and began to tell him about the fire. "We had a little mishap with a lantern, which started a fire in the barn. Rose saved all of our livestock and horses that were inside. It was a miracle that no one got hurt."

  Tucker glanced at Rose, astonishment on his face, then at Travis. "Rose? I thought ..."

  "Yes, her real name is Rose Severin. Not Desirée," Travis said irritably.

  "Oh," Travis said, looking confused. "So, Rose, you got all the livestock out. What was my big brother doing?"

  "Once he realized I was in there, he rushed in,"

  "I got there as soon as I could," Travis said crossly.

  Eugenia broke in. "But Rose saw the smoke coming from the barn, and she ran in and released all the animals. Travis ran in after Rose, and together they walked out the barn door just as the roof collapsed from the fire."

  "Glad to hear you're okay, brother." Tucker turned back to Rose. "What about you, Rose?"

  "Oh, I didn't get hurt. Burned my fingers and my dress."

  Tucker laughed. "Is that why you're wearing my brother's clothes?"

  "Yes, since my trunk went to Austin without me, that dress was all I had."

  Eugenia cleared her throat and frowned at her older son. "Travis doesn't want Rose to go to town and do any shopping. She's confined to quarters until the return of my ring, even though she did save our livestock, including his favorite horse."

  Travis glared at his mother. For someone who had had her wedding band stolen, her most precious possession, as she so rightly put it, she wasn't being very cooperative. She was siding with Rose against him, her own son!