Hot in the Saddle (Heroes in the Saddle Book 1) (3 page)

He’d always heard that one kiss could change a man’s life.
And this was that kiss. He could barely breathe.

Delta pulled away first. “Wow.” The word floated out on a
sigh. She blinked those pretty mismatched eyes at him and licked her lips. “You
sure know how to surprise a girl.”

Surprised
her
? Hell, he couldn’t believe he’d just
done that. “If I blame it on the pain meds, would you forgive me?” But the meds
had worn off an hour ago. This was all pure desire happening here in his
kitchen, and he could feel her response just as if she’d waved a green flag at
him.

“Nothing to forgive, cowboy.” She held up the sandwich for
him. “And in case you didn’t notice, I was glad to participate.” The smile she
gave him was soft and flirty.

He took a bite, chewed and swallowed, watching her. “You’re
not what I expected.” The media made her out to be a wild child, doing what she
wanted whenever she had the urge, spending her deceased father’s money like she
was determined to go broke, and living her life on the edge.

“Yeah, I’ve got a reputation out there.” She frowned as she
picked up another wedge of sandwich.

“Yet, here you are, being my nurse, cook, stable hand—”

“I’m really glad I could do it.” She said the words quickly
as she set down the sandwich. “But honestly, Treven?” She squinted at him. “If
both my race cars weren’t out of commission, I might not have offered.” With a
shrug of one shoulder, she got up to refill his water glass. “I probably would
have hired someone to nurse you for a time, though. Throw some of the family
money at a problem, like I usually do.”

Her candor surprised him, her words spoken with a heavy dose
of self-directed scorn. “Delta, I appreciate the honesty, but no matter why
you’re here, it’s something so unexpected.” He paused to find the right words.
“Besides my friends on the fire crew, no one has ever done anything like this
for me.” Emotion welled in his chest. “Thank you. Really, I’m overwhelmed.”

She turned to look at him, and her eyes misted over. “You’re
welcome. But reserve judgement until you see how I do with those horses.”

He smiled and gestured to her chair. “Let’s eat then we’ll
go out and see what you can do with a barn full of cayuses.”

A watery smile curved her lips. “Cayuses?” She gave a quick
laugh. “You Texans use such interesting words.” She held a pain pill to his
lips then lifted his glass for him.

He took the pill as he let his eyes wander over her face,
and his mind wander into the future. What would she be like in bed? The wild
child he’d read so much about? Or the caring, concerned woman he’d seen the
last few hours. A mix of both would be hot. Real effen’ hot.

Delta moved around the island and took her seat next to him.
“And we’d better do the horses fast before that pill hits you, ‘cause I’ll want
you to stay in bed for the rest of the day.”

Her words caused a flood of lust to race to his cock.
“Delta, darlin’, how could I ever refuse a command like that?”

She paused a moment, then broke out in laughter, her sweet
voice rising to the rafters.

He knew right then he’d already lost half his heart.

Chapter Three

Treven could barely stay on his feet in the barn, exhaustion
and pain rendering him nearly useless, but he liked that Delta picked up the
list of chores quickly. She’d actually brought a pen and paper and had taken
notes on everything.

They trudged back toward the house as he recited emergency
phone numbers, Clint and Rex’s numbers if she needed help with any of the
heavier chores, and a couple of additional tasks for her to do.

When he hit his bed, it took less than a minute for him to
fall asleep. When he woke, in the exact same position, the room was dark. The
sun had set. Delta had been right, he needed the sleep. If she’d only come and
lay next to him, this would have been the best day of his life.

He padded down the hall. The kitchen was clean, just the
under-counter lights on, but an amazing smell emitted from the crock pot on the
counter. If he could figure out how to get the lid off and spoon some into his
mouth, he’d be all set.

Quiet, feminine laughter came from the living room.

He headed that direction. Delta sat on the couch in a pair
of shorts and a T-shirt, headphones over her ears, and a tablet in her lap. She
looked so young, so carefree, but he knew she had a heavy load on her
shoulders.

Not only had she taken on the burden of her legendary
father’s racing team, she’d become a major player in the Pennington Racing
Company, living like a nomad most of the year with no family, just a pit crew.

Spotting him, she pulled off the headphones and stood. “Hi.
How are you feeling?”

The outfit must be her pajamas. A little too short for
public consumption, the shirt bared her belly and cupped the round globes of
her breasts. Treven’s mouth watered.

“Hungry?” She stepped toward him.

He wanted to wrap his arms around her and kiss her
senseless. Damn, why hadn’t he thought to brush his teeth, use mouthwash? Hell,
with his hands like this, he couldn’t do any of those.

“Yeah, I’m hungry.” In his underwear, a hard one formed. He
turned toward the mammoth television sitting dark in the corner. “You don’t
like a big screen?”

Brushing past him, she shrugged one shoulder. “I didn’t want
to risk waking you.”

He followed her into the kitchen, admiring the way her nice
ass wiggled in those shorts. “I was pretty much dead in there.”

She flipped on the lights and shook a pain pill out of the
bottle. “Ready?” She held it up.

His hands hurt. Bad. Otherwise he’d say no and offer to sit
up with her and watch TV. “Yep.”

Supper was a comedy with her handling two bowls of stew and
two spoons. Then she walked to the hall closet and pulled out a box. “Now, I
don’t know how you’re going to feel about this.” Her mouth quirked in a frown
as she opened the lid on the box and pulled out a yard-long plastic stick with
a sponge on the end. “But one of your neighbors dropped this off with a few
other things that might make your life easier.”

Treven stared at the sponge, realizing just how completely
helpless he was, and the glaring way that weakness was prominently displayed in
front of the sexiest woman he’d ever gotten close to. “Just kill me, Delta.
Please.”

She snorted, then laughed. He laughed with her, and they
ended the night falling asleep next to each other on the couch, watching an old
western on the big screen.

****

The next morning, Delta stood outside the walk-in shower in
Treven’s bathroom, adjusting the water temperature for him as he stood under
the cascading spray. The plastic bags on his hands were secured to his forearms
with the waterproof tape she’d found in the box from his neighbor lady. In his
black underwear, he was a gorgeous specimen of man, all wet muscle and long
sinews.

Her gaze finally made it back to his face, and he smirked at
her. “Could I impose on you to wash my hair for me?”

“I’d be happy to.” She sounded a little too eager, but her
fingers itched to touch him, wash his hair, soap him down. Everywhere. After
the shampoo, conditioner, and a brief rubdown with the bar of soap on every
inch of skin not covered by his underwear, her whole body tingled with chills of
desire. The smell of his manly products, the firm contours of his body. And
surprise! In his underwear, he had a half-mast chubby. For her.

What would he say if she stripped off her clothes and joined
him?

“Thank you, Delta.” He turned his back to her. “I can take
it from here.”

Disappointment doused her like cold water. “Shout if you
need anything.” She wandered back to the kitchen and chose a casserole to put
into the oven for lunch, then emptied the dishwasher from the morning meal. She
didn’t have chores to do until later. If Treven wasn’t sleepy, she’d love to
spend time with him.

Opening the hall closet door, she reached up and took down
four games in colorful boxes. This would keep them busy. And keep her mind off
her thoughts of jumping Treven and inventing naked games to play with him.

****

It took over a week for the pain to abate enough for Treven
to be able to use his hands for a few things. After two trips to town to see
the doctor, and daily visits from friends and neighbors—all bearing gifts—Delta
had settled into life on his ranch. And she loved it.

No traveling cross-country, no media circus surrounding her,
no dealing with her uncle about expenses and mistakes she made on the track.
And how rare that she could wear just shorts and an old T-shirt? Plopping down
on a rocking chair on the porch, she set down her tall glass of iced lemonade
and breathed in the sweet, warm evening air.

She liked him. The brave cowboy who volunteered as a fire
fighter in his spare time. They’d played every game he had in the house, taken
walks when he was feeling well enough, and had watched television. Mostly,
though, they talked. Not about anything deep or soul-searching, but about their
lives and how they’d gotten to where they were.

She’d learned about his wife, who’d left the ranch four
years earlier because she couldn’t stand the country life. The girl had given
Treven an ultimatum—move to Houston with her, or she’d go alone—and she’d gone
without him and gotten a divorce. He didn’t seem too broken up about it,
though, so maybe the relationship hadn’t been all that strong to begin with.
But he’d torn down the old house he’d grown up in and had this amazing new one
built. What did that say about him?

The screen door opened and Treven walked out, wearing a white
T-shirt and gray sweatpants. “Hey.” He stretched and yawned, coming around
after his long nap.

When his shirt rode up, exposing a peek at his firm abs, she
snuck a look. “Want some lemonade?”

“No, thanks.” He padded barefoot and sat in the chair next
to hers. “Nice evening.”

“Beautiful.” The sun would set to their left, over the
field, and would turn the tall grass golden. She loved this time of day here.
Peaceful. Something she’d never thought she’d crave.

“Supper was good. Thanks.”

Rex Tarrow, the dark firefighter who’d helped her that day
on the track, had brought hamburgers, and she’d asked him where the grill was.
Rex had directed her to an electric grill on the patio off the back of the
house. That had gotten her thinking, and while Treven slept after the three of
them ate, she checked the water heater. Electric. The furnace. Electric.
Clothes dryer. Electric. There were no gas appliances on the property.

“What is it, Delta?” He stared at her with those intense
green eyes.

“Why do you think there’s something?”

“You stopped rocking. You’re in constant motion. Unless
something’s wrong.”

Delta used her toes to get the chair moving again. “May I
ask you something personal?”

“We’ve been talking personal all week. I don’t see why
anything would be off limits.”

A smile curved her lips. She’d told him about how her father
hadn’t known about her until, on her fifth birthday, her mother had dropped her
off at his big house in an Atlanta suburb. And Mom had never come back. Her
world tilted and wobbled that day, and had never truly righted itself since.

Dad never adopted her, legally, but he’d changed her name
and taught her how to drive race cars. He’d brought her on the circuit with him
and had given her cars and a pit crew when she came of age. Then, when he’d died
in a dirt bike accident five years ago, her uncle had ended up managing Dad’s
estate, and treating Delta like she was a commodity, not a relative.

But, as long as she made money for Pennington Racing, he
gave her some latitude to do what she wanted.

“You stopped rocking again.” Treven’s voice held a hint of
worry.

“Guess I’m the kind of girl who can only do one thing at a
time.” She turned toward him. “Will you tell me about the scars on your neck
and shoulder?” The burn mark concerned her, made her want to hear the whole
story. To hear another piece of Treven’s life, and share another bit of
personal information with this man who’d snuck his way into her heart.

He huffed out a breath and got his own chair rocking. After
a few minutes, he cleared his throat and stopped moving. “I was twelve.” He
pointed in the direction of the outbuildings. “We had a fire in the barn. My
sister…” He didn’t move, just stared at the barns.

He’d already mentioned that he’d grown up here. Said his
parents were now living in a retirement community on the Gulf of Mexico. But
he’d never spoken of a sister.

“They think she started it. She was fifteen, and had a
boyfriend with her in the hayloft. They were smoking.”

“Oh, Treven.” She heard the pain in his voice, hadn’t meant
to dig up such a terrible memory. “I’m sorry. If you’d rather not discuss—”

“No.” He reached over as if he wanted to take her hand, then
shook his head as he stared at the big white bandage.

She wrapped her fingers around his forearm and gave him a
soft smile.

Treven blinked a couple times, looking at her as if he was
just seeing her for the first time. “I want to talk about it. I’ve never talked
about it with anyone.”

Her brows rose. He’d never talked about it with his wife?

With a harsh laugh, he took his arm back, and she laced her
fingers together in her lap.

He stared off into the distance. “I couldn’t save her.
Rhianna. My sister. I climbed the ladder, but the fire was too hot.” His jaw
clenched, a cracking sound came from his mouth.

“You were only twelve.”

“I was a big kid, strong for my age. Back then, the ranch
had cattle and I worked with Dad when I could.” He went silent for a while. “I
was hit by a falling board, knocked down, and burned. But that probably saved
my life because the roof collapsed over the hay loft, and the whole thing came
down.”

“That’s so sad.” She rocked slowly. “And that’s why you’re a
volunteer firefighter?”

“Yep. I joined when I turned eighteen. Even though I have a
fear…no, a complete and nightmarish paranoia about fire.”

That explained the lack of gas appliances, and the electric
grill. “But you ran right in and saved me without a thought for your own
safety.” Had it been to prove something to himself after all these years?

“Delta.” He sat forward, resting his forearms on his thighs.
“I knew I would be burned. I didn’t care. I had my chance to prove I could do
it. That’s why I went in after you. Not because I’m some hero, like you said.”
After a few minutes, he stood and walked to the railing. “I wanted to know I
was capable of saving someone.” His voice caught on the last word.

Foolish man. Why was he overanalyzing this? She stood and
walked to him, wrapping her arms around him from behind and pressing her cheek
to his back. “The term
hero
might not sit right with you, but it doesn’t
matter why you reached into those flames. And why you risked getting blown up
along with me if the gas tank had gone up. And why you dragged me to safety.”

He stiffened.

“Treven, you didn’t have time to think, you just acted. Now,
after the fact, with your body coping with the residuals of the pain pills,
this might not be the best time.”

He turned and wrapped his arms around her, looking into her
eyes. “What are you saying?” His voice came out too quiet.

“I’m saying that you can analyze your actions from now ‘til
the end of days, but in that moment, in that split-second, you ran straight for
danger and did what few people would have done. And those who would have done
the exact same thing? They’d probably have solid reasons for doing it too. Some
of which might even be, ‘I wanna be a hero!’”

Tipping his head down and getting closer to her, he
swallowed hard. “How is it you understand me so well?”

She cupped his strong jaw in the palms of her hands. “I’m
not sure.” Delta looked into his beautiful eyes. “But I do know that I don’t
want to leave here without spending a night with you.”

His brows shot up.

“And I know that’s forward and fast and flirty, but I’ve got
the hots for you, Treven Arnett. And I want to do something about it.”