He carried two chilled cans of cola over to the table and pushed one her way, but didnt immediately take a seat. Instead, he walked over to a row of cabinets, fished out a bottle of acetaminophen and shook two out in the palm of his hand.
Im glad to see youre going to take my advice, she said as she popped the lid on her drink.
He tossed the pills into his mouth and washed them down with a long drink of the soda before he walked over to the table and took a seat across from her.
I still have a stretch of fence to finish before it gets dark, he explained. I dont want my arm to get too stiff to work.
There was no way he needed to be straining his arm using post-hole diggers or wire stretchers, but she wasnt going to bother pointing that out to him. He was a grown man and his well-being was not her responsibility. Besides, being a nurse had taught her that there wasnt a man alive who wanted a woman to hamper him with limitations.
So this is where youve been doing all this work that Abe talks about, she commented. As I drove up I noticed the new barn. It looks nice.
Thanks. The barn is taking a lot more work and twice as much money as Id first anticipated. But I think its turning out okay.
He must have removed his hat when hed come into the house to attend his cut, she thought. It was only the second time shed seen him without the battered felt atop his head. The other being when hed sat down at Abes dinner table. But that occasion hadnt lasted long enough for him to get the chair warm. Now, as quiet moments ticked by, she couldnt help but notice the thick, rusty wave dipped across one corner of his forehead, the unruly strands curling around his ears.
His face and arms were tanned as dark as a coffee bean, but the glimpses shed had of his bare chest told her he wasnt into lounging around in the sun without his shirt. She doubted he was into lounging around anywhere. From the looks of his lean, hard muscles, the man worked tirelessly.
Her carnal thoughts brought her up short. The two of them were entirely alone and with the letter delivered and his arm bandaged, she no longer had any good reason to remain in Quint Cantrells house.
Quickly rising to her feet, she said nervously, Well, Im glad that I didnt interrupt your workthough I guess the injury to your arm had already done that. But I wont keep you any longer. I promised Abe Id be back to Apache Wells before it got too late.
Quint rose to his feet also. You havent finished your soda.
Ive had enough. Thank you.
She started out of the kitchen and as she did, she could feel Quints presence following close behind her. The idea made her heart thump at a rapid pace and she drew in a deep breath in an attempt to calm it.
Im not in that big of a hurry to get back to work, Maura. Why dont you let me show you around before you leave?
His suggestion caught her by surprise and she dared to glance over her shoulder at him. Do you really want to?
He suddenly chuckled and Maura was amazed at how different he looked with humor softening his features.
I dont make offers unless I want to.
Something about the husky tone of his voice, the warmth in his eyes, sent prickles of excitement racing through her. She could feel her cheeks growing warm and pink and she suddenly felt like a foolish teenager instead of a thirty-six-year-old woman whod been married and divorced.
But just for this once, she wasnt going to think about the dangers this man represented to her peace of mind. Tomorrow she would remind herself that she was behaving like an idiot. Today she was going to let herself enjoy the pleasure of being in the presence of a very sexy man.
In that case, she said, Id love to have a look around.
Moving forward, he touched a hand to her back and Maura felt her senses splintering in all directions.
Good, he murmured. Just let me get my hat and well be on our way, he told her.
Chapter Three
Once they stepped onto the porch, Quint dropped his hand from her back and Maura was finally able to draw in a normal breath. But as they moved into the yard, he immediately wrapped a hold around her upper arm.
Lets go to the barn first, he suggested. I need to let Jake, my ranch hand, know Im okay.
Nodding, she looked away from him and tried not to dwell on his warm, rough fingers pressing into her flesh.
The afternoon was all bright sunshine, while a soft west wind carried the scent of sagebrush and juniper. A lone aspen shaded one corner of the house, but that was the only bona fide tree that she could see for miles around. The rest of the vegetation growing beyond the ranch yard amounted to a few spindly pinyon pines, some twisted snags of juniper and a sea of jumping choya cactus and sagebrush. It was a stark, yet beautiful sight and Maura instinctively knew it would be even more so in the late evening when the sun fell from the sky and twilight purpled the nearby mountains.
How many men do you have working for you? she asked.
Now that they were walking abreast, he dropped his hold on her arm and Maura didnt know whether to be disappointed or relieved. Either way, just being this near him left her shaky and nothing like the practical, no-nonsense nurse that had dealt calmly with all sorts of men. She kept remembering the way hed looked without his shirt and how the warmth and scent of his body had filled up the little bathroom and stifled her breath.
The contractor working on the barn and storage sheds has several men working with him. But as far as the ranch goes, I only have two hands. Once I start putting livestock on the place, Ill hire more. Though my grandfather deeded over the land a few years ago, I only started full-time here about two years ago.
She kept her gaze on the rocky ground in front of her. Do you have plenty of land here to support cattle?
Ten thousand acres. Not that much, but enough to do what I want to do.
Glancing over at him, she asked curiously, And what is that?
He shrugged and not for the first time, Maura couldnt help thinking how serious and driven he was for a man his age. Abe had commented one day that his grandson wasnt yet thirty so that meant he was either twenty-eight or twenty-nine. He certainly didnt look any older than that, Maura thought. Yet he seemed older, as though the years hed been on this earth had pushed his soul to manhood long before his body had caught up.
My plans arent anything grand. Just raise a few purebred cattle and a few horses.
What about the old gold minethe Golden Spurthat your ranch is named after?
Shed not meant to ask that question. It had just slipped out on its own. The same way her heart seemed to jump into a crazy jig each time she looked at his face.
Frowning, he glanced her way. What about it? he asked curtly.
Knowing shed touched on a tender spot, she shrugged in an effort to appear casual. Nothing really. Except that I couldnt help noticing the letter Abe asked me to deliver to you. The return address was Red Bluff Mining Company. And your grandfather doesnt make any secret about wanting to reopen the old thing.
His footsteps paused on the barren ground and Maura came to a stop with him. As he looked at her, she could see frustration edging his features.
His footsteps paused on the barren ground and Maura came to a stop with him. As he looked at her, she could see frustration edging his features.
Gramps thinks the mine could be profitable again. But I dont want anything to do with it. Having a bunch of trucks and men and equipment going across the ranch is the last thing I need.
If it turned out to be profitable, the extra money might come in handy, she suggested. Especially when you start buying stock for this place.
I dont need the money, he said flatly. Nor do I want it. Im a rancher, not a miner.
He picked up his stride again, only this time it was much longer and purposeful as he covered the last few yards to the barn. Maura quickened her steps to stay up with him.
So if money isnt the issue, why does your grandfather want to reopen the mine? she said, darting a quick glance at his sober face.
For the adventure, Maura. Hes always wanted to turn over a rock just to see what was beneath it. Thats how he got rich in the first placeon the plains of Texas, drilling for oil. He hit it big and brought his fortune out here to New Mexico to buy land and cattle. To him, the mine takes him back to those days when he was drilling for black gold. Guess it makes him feel young all over again. He didnt care about the mine for years when he owned it, but now that I have the land, its all he seems to care about.
Sometimes feeling young or having a dream is very important. Sometimes it even keeps a person from dying.
The muscles around his hard mouth tightened with impatience. Dont try to make me believe that Gramps is dying. That he needs you or the mine to keep him healthy.
I wouldnt attempt such a thing, she said defensively. Abe isnt ill. He has a perfectly good mind. And the way I see it, he has the right to dream his own dreams. Just like you.
By now they had reached the massive barn. Instead of opening the huge double doors at the south end of the building, Quint led her to a smaller entrance at the side.
With his hand pausing on the door latch, he turned a searching look on her. And what about you, Maura? What are your dreams?
A few years ago his questions would have been easy to answer. Her dreams were waiting for the day her roving husband would settle down to a life exclusively with her. Shed been dreaming of the time they could start having children and Gilbert would be home so that they could parent them together. Shed waited because he kept promising hed be ready the next year, and she wanted to raise her children with her husband home every night. But none of those dreams had come true. Instead, shed discovered hed changed women as often as hed changed the cities his job had taken him to. And shed had to accept the fact of his infidelity and that hed never intended to change his job and settle down to family life. That had only been one of his false promises.
Maura had spent the past year trying to restore her broken self-confidence and move on from her shattered marriage. For months after her divorce, shed struggled to simply put one foot in front of the other, and looking back, she realized her responsibilities as a nurse had been the only thing keeping her going. She was good at her job and no man could take that fact away from her. As for her dreams, she wasnt sure what they were now.
I dont know, Quint, she said honestly. Sometimes dreams get lost along the way.
Nobody had to tell him that, he thought grimly. His romantic dreams had been busted years ago. Now his goals were concrete and didnt depend on another personparticularly a woman.
Yeah, he murmured. And when that happens, its damned hard to find new ones.
While the two of them had been talking, her face had taken on a sad hue and Quint realized he didnt like seeing her in such a mood. Maybe because it reminded him of his own lonely existence. Or maybe because he simply didnt like to think of this woman suffering over anyone or anything.
The unwanted notions disturbed him so much that he quickly turned away from her and shoved open the door.
Lets go in, he urged. I think Jake is probably at the back of the building where the men are working.
Since livestock hadnt yet been moved onto the ranch, the barn was missing the smells of animals and hay and leather. Instead, the scents of sawdust and fresh paint filled the air. On the opposite side of the building, a table saw buzzed and hammers rang out as men erected a frame of lumber that Quint explained would eventually become a large feed room.
The contractor hasnt yet finished the horse stalls or the tack room. Theyll get to that next, Quint continued as they slowly made their way through the building.
She was looking around her with real interest, a fact that surprised Quint. Even though she came from a ranching background, she didnt seem the sort that would be personally interested in such things. After all, shed chosen a profession outside the Diamond D, her familys famous thoroughbred ranch. Add to that, she had a soft, feminine air about her that was totally opposite of an outdoor girl.
This is going to be very nice, she said. And I like the way youve laid out everything. When you open the big doors, the horses will be able to look outside. They like that, you know. When they can see whats going on, theyre more content.
Bemused by her observation, Quint paused to look at her. Now that they were indoors, her features were muted by shadows, yet the dimness couldnt diminish the pearly sheen of her skin and for a brief moment he wondered what it would feel like to press his cheek against hers, to experience such softness next to him.
You know about horses, do you? he asked.
A smile tilted her lips and at that moment he decided hed never seen anything so fetching or genuine.
Why wouldnt I? My family raises thoroughbreds.
He folded his arms against his chest. But you dont work with them. The horses, I mean.
Her smile turned whimsical. No. Not since I went into nursing. But I spent a lot of time at the barns when I was young.
I know that Bridget is a doctor, but if I remember correctly, you have another sister. What does she do?
She glanced away from him. Dallas operates Angel Wing Stables, a therapy riding clinic for handicapped children. Its completely nonprofit and something she feels deeply about.
So all three of the Donovan sisters were dedicated to helping needy people. That should have reassured Quint and allowed him to quit worrying aboutAbe hiring Maura as his nurse. But it didnt. The more he got to know this woman, the more concerned he was. And not because he believed she was out to snag any sort of money from the old man. No, hed written that idea off fairly quickly. The more hed thought about it, the more hed concluded she wasnt the gold-digger sort. Furthermore, the Donovans had just as much money or more than the Cantrells. She didnt need it.
No, Quint was far more concerned about his grandfathers emotional state than his bank account. It was obvious the old man had already grown extremely fond of Maura. And just because Abe was in his eighties, didnt mean he was immune to a females charms. His grandfather might even fall in love with her. Stranger things had happened. And Maura had just now talked about the importance of a mans dreams. When she left Apache Wells, and she would, what would happen to his grandfathers dreams? Theyd be broken.