by this turn of events, Maura hardly noticed Abe quietly leaving the kitchen.
“There’s no need,” she told him. “I’ll gather everything up later. We’d better not waste daylight.”
She put the plates in the sink, then turned to see he was waiting for her by the door. As she joined him, her heart began to pitter-patter like a rain shower threatening to turn into an all-out storm.
“The evening might get cool before we get back,” he suggested, his eyes sliding slowly over her bare shoulders. “Do you think you might need something to cover your arms?”
“You’re probably right. Hold on,” she told him, then hurried out of the room. By the time she fetched a shawl from her bedroom closet, she was breathless and silently berating herself for behaving like some besotted teenager. Quint Cantrell was merely being polite and friendly, she told herself. This was only a walk. Not a date.
Once the two of them were off the back porch and walking down the middle of the dirt road that led to the ranch yard, Maura breathed deeply and tried to relax.
“I really didn’t expect you to go through with this,” she said honestly. “I mean—Abe can be so obvious sometimes. And he doesn’t stop to think that you might have more important things to do than show me a horse.”
Except for the crunch of gravel beneath their feet, the night was quiet. When Quint chuckled softly, the sound wrapped around her like the warm night air.
“I think showing you a horse is far more important than talking about that damned old mine. I was glad for an excuse to get away.”
Smiling, she glanced at him. “Well, I understand you’re not keen on inviting that sort of mining hubbub onto your ranch, but I think you’re wonderful for listening to your grandfather’s dreams and taking them seriously.”
He shrugged as though he didn’t warrant her compliment. “He’s always listened to mine. And in spite of him being so cantankerous, he’s a very wise man. I’d be a fool not to listen to him.”
Too bad Gilbert had been so full of himself that he’d not looked to his family or anyone for advice, Maura thought. He’d believed himself to be smarter, slicker and savvier than anyone around him. And to a point, he had been, she thought grimly. He’d certainly fooled her for years. Was that what love did to a woman? Blinded her ability to see the truth, twisted her judgment? Until her love for him had begun to crumble, she’d not seen the real man.
“So how is your arm doing?” she asked after a moment. “I don’t suppose you went to the doctor and got stitches.”
“No. But it’s healing.”
It seemed the farther they walked, the closer he was drawing to her side. Maura tried not to notice, but that was fairly impossible to do when her heart was hammering in her chest.
“One of the best things I like about working for your grandfather is having time to be outdoors,” she said. “Before, putting in long hours at the hospital didn’t leave me much time or energy for walks outside.”
“Did you do hospital work before you moved back to Hondo Valley?” he asked.
Before her divorce, she thought ruefully. Clearing her throat, she gazed ahead at a stand of tall pines and the long, dark shadows slipping across the road. Beyond the distant mountains, the sinking sun painted a bank of clouds pink and gold and as she admired the beauty, she realized she was just now coming awake after a long, long sleep.
“No. I worked at a large health clinic. Which was hectic, but rewarding.”
“Forgive me if this sounds tacky, Maura, but we both know that you don’t have to work at anything. I mean—your family has made millions and you’re obviously wealthy. You could travel the world and be a lady of leisure.”
She looked at him, then burst out laughing. “Oh, Quint. That’s so funny. Me, a lady of leisure? I’d be bored out of my mind. And everyone has a reason for being, don’t you think? I like to be doing—to make a difference for others. Don’t you?”
He smiled and then his expression turned sober. “I guess I’ve never thought about it that much. I suppose from the time I was a boy I’ve been on a mission to keep the ranches going. As for making a difference for others—I must be selfish. I do what I do, because in the end, it pleases me.”
Her eyes softened as she studied his face. “That’s not entirely true, Quint. I don’t know you all that well, but I can see that you want to make a difference for your grandfather, your mother. That’s not a self-centered man.”
One corner of his lips tilted to a wicked little grin. “You’re wrong, Maura. I am selfish.” One hand reached out and wrapped itself around her shoulder. “Because right now all I’m thinking about is what I want.”
She shivered as heat rushed from the spot where he was touching her and shot to every particle of her body.
“And what is that?” she asked in a strained voice.
“To kiss you.”
He watched her lips part with shock, but he didn’t give her the chance to utter a word or move away. Placing a finger beneath her chin, he bent his head and settled his lips firmly over hers.
Soft. Incredibly soft. And oh, so sweet. Those thoughts tumbled through Quint’s brain as his lips began to move against hers, to search for even more of her honeyed goodness. Mindlessly, his arms slipped around her waist and drew her ever closer.
Between them, he felt her hands flatten against his chest, then reach upward to his shoulders. The warmth of her spread through him like a white-hot sun baking his skin, heat seeping right down to his bones.
How long had it been since he’d kissed a woman? Since he’d wanted to kiss a woman? He couldn’t remember. Couldn’t think. While his mind turned to mush, the rest of his body burst to life, buzzed as though her lips were liquid spirit, intoxicating, luring, begging him to surrender to the moment. To her.
Fired by a hunger that threatened to consume him, his hands pressed into her back and crushed her body up against his. Beneath his lips, hers opened like an exotic flower, tempting him to taste the center. When his tongue delved inside, she moaned low in her throat.
The feral sound matched the urgency inside him and it was all he could do to keep his hands anchored at her back instead of allowing them to cup her breasts, the swell of her bottom, to drag her hips forward and grind them against his aching arousal.
He wasn’t sure how much time had ticked by when she finally pulled her mouth from beneath his and stepped back. For all he knew, it could have been long minutes or even hours since he’d first tugged her into his arms.
No matter, he thought, as he sucked in a harsh breath and tried to collect his senses. However long their kiss had lasted, it hadn’t gone on long enough to suit him. Even though she was looking at him with stunned dismay, everything inside him was screeching for him to hang on to her, to capture her lips all over again.
So much for kissing Maura and getting her out of your system, Quint.
“I…think we’d better forget about walking on to the stables,” she said in a breathless
