Embarrassment cut off her words as she turned back toward the fire. She didn’t have a problem talking with people, even complete strangers. Being able to communicate information was part of her job. So why was she having so much difficulty talking with Jace Tremayne? And exactly what was her problem? Perhaps her concerns were not with Jace’s behavior, but rather with her own desires and curiosities about this incredibly sexy man.
Samantha stared at the flames in the fireplace. She’d been totally unprepared for any of the happenings that had occurred since she left Los Angeles. Spur-of-the-moment decisions and snap judgments were not part of her life. She needed to plan, to research, to gather all the facts and study all available information in order to make an intelligent evaluation and determine a viable procedure. The last few days had presented her with enough unexpected happenings to fill her quota for several years.
And the biggest surprise of all was the way Jace Tremayne made her insides quiver and her pulse race. It was inappropriate, very confusing...and very real. It was also totally absurd. He was a cowboy, a rugged outdoors man—not at all the type of man who would fit into her world. And a cattle ranch in Wyoming was certainly no place for her.
She shoved away the inappropriate thoughts. She was not sure where they had come from, but she wished they would go away. She had nothing in common with him, and that was the end of it.
The front door flew open with a loud crash, sending a blast of cold air through the room. Samantha and Jace both turned to see what was going on.
“I think we’re okay, Jace.” Ben Downey quickly closed the door. He removed his hat and hit it against his leg to knock off the snow, then stomped his boots against the floor mat before venturing into the room. “Denny and George are going to do periodic checks of the barn and henhouse. If the storm cuts off the electricity, we’ll need to get generator power to those incubators as soon as possible or we’ll lose all the chicks.” Ben paused as he stared at Samantha.
Jace quickly made the introductions. “Ben, this is Samantha Burkett. Her car was stuck in the snow. I spotted her just as I made the final pass over the back pasture before heading home. It looks like she’ll be staying here until things clear out. Samantha, this is Ben Downey, my ranch foreman.”
Ben nodded toward Samantha. “Pleased to meet you, ma’am. Sorry about the storm putting a hitch in your plans.” Ben returned his attention to Jace and the business at hand. “I need to get some extra supplies transferred from the pantry to the bunkhouse kitchen.” Ben hurried out the door to complete his chores, once again braving the stormy afternoon.
Jace had been thankful for the break in his conversation with Samantha. Her apparent concerns were groundless. Of course she was safe in the house alone with him. But that didn’t mean that a delicious fantasy had not crossed his mind. He hadn’t dated since his wife’s death, nor had he wanted to. He’d finally settled comfortably into a moderately content day-to-day existence. It was not exciting, but then he hadn’t met anyone who excited him...not until now.
As improbable as it seemed, Samantha was definitely that someone. By her own admission she had never been on a ranch and knew nothing of rural life. Her world was silk suits and the big city. So what was there about her that he found so irresistible? Why did he want to take her into his arms and make love to her until they were both too exhausted to move?
It was no good. He needed to elevate his thoughts higher than his belt buckle and move the conversation to safer ground. “I suppose the next order of business is to give you a tour of the house.” Jace waved his arm to encompass all the surrounding area. “This, as you’ve seen, is the living room.” He took her through the dining room, kitchen, den, and finally gestured down the hallway toward the bedrooms. They returned to the living room.
“It’s a very comfortable house. You can tell it’s had many years of love and care,” Samantha said, her sadness working its way to the surface.
She had never lived in a loving home. She had worked hard her entire life in an attempt to make her parents proud of her. No matter how hard she tried, or how much she accomplished, she was never able to elicit even one word of praise from them. She had thought a good marriage might please them. Jerry Kensington had all the credentials they could have wanted—a good family background, a Harvard education, and a successful law practice.
The thought slapped her across the face, startling her with the clarity of the realization. Had that been the only reason she had become engaged to Jerry? Yet another attempt to garner some spark of approval from her parents? Was it possible that she’d never really loved him at all? And then the ultimate question—had she nearly ruined her life by entering a loveless marriage simply to please her parents? It was a very disturbing thought and only went to reinforce her earlier determination—marriage might be all right for other people, but it was not for her. A serious relationship would only get in the way of her career.
She returned her attention to Jace, who glanced at the clock on the mantel. “Make yourself at home. I would imagine you’re probably hungry. Help yourself to whatever you’d like in the kitchen.” He reached for his gloves and heavy jacket. “There’s television and plenty of reading material in the den. I’ve still got a few more hatches to batten down before the day is over.” Before she could reply, he disappeared through the front door.
Hungry. Yes, she certainly was that. It was past three o’clock in the afternoon, and she hadn’t eaten anything since toast, juice and coffee that morning. She also needed to do something about clothes. Her thoughts, and the realization of her physical attraction toward Jace, had made her doubly aware of the fact that she had nothing on beneath the robe he had given her to wear. Her silk suit was already ruined, so tossing it in a clothes dryer with her panties and bra couldn’t possibly do it any more harm.
She located the utility room, put her clothes in the dryer, then wandered back to the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator door and stared at the contents. Everything seemed to need some sort of preparation, unlike her own kitchen where things only required minimal heating if even that. She went to the freezer. Perhaps she’d find a frozen entreé of some kind that she could pop into the microwave. Again, nothing of the sort. Then she noticed there was no microwave.
She gave the kitchen a closer inspection. A six-burner stove, large double ovens, bins of flour and sugar, cupboards of staples, shelves of home-canned fruits and vegetables. There was nothing that suited her extremely limited culinary talents. Since her chances of being able to get a pizza delivered to a ranch house in the middle of a snowstorm were decidedly slim, she settled on making a piece of toast and pouring a glass of milk.
As soon as the dryer shut off, she quickly changed back into her clothes. She had been correct: her pants and blouse were ruined, but at least they gave her something to wear. She paused outside the door as she left the guest room, taking a moment to glance down the hallway. Her curiosity overruled her sense of propriety.
She peeked in the other rooms—an office, two other bedrooms and one more bathroom, in addition to the guest room she was using. None of the rooms revealed any hint of a wife or children.
The room at the end of the hall was a master bedroom with fireplace and private bath. The unmade bed, coupled with the pair of jeans and denim shirt draped across the arm of a chair told her the room belonged to Jace. She glanced back toward the front door, then entered his bedroom.
The room itself seemed very comfortable, though it was sparsely decorated with large areas where things should have been but were not, as if they had been removed without being replaced. She hesitantly reached out and touched the bed, then ran her hand across the indentation in one of the pillows. A hot jolt of pure lust shot up her arm. She quickly turned and left the room.
She
