Chapter 13

Rock’s mouth hung open at the sight of his mother sneaking out of the Rivers’s house.

Vivi gasped, her hand clutching her chest, and she whispered, “Oh dear Lord, Rockford, you scared the pee out of me.” She yanked her shoes on and scurried across the empty yard toward the barn. “I mean it. I literally peed myself a little.”

“Come on, Mom. I do not need to hear that,” he whispered back, following behind her as they hustled around the edge of the barn.

Once they were out of sight, Vivi slowed to a walk and headed toward the path through the pasture.

“Mom,” Rock said, keeping his voice low as he fell in step beside her. “What in the world are you doing here?”

She offered him an impish grin and smoothed down her hair. “Would you believe that we were watching a movie and I fell asleep on the sofa?”

“Well, it’s a heck of a lot better than imagining the alternative.”

She let out a laugh. “Well then, that’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.”

“Geez, Mom.” He shook his head. “Hamilton? Are you serious? You do not understand the dynamics of a feud whatsoever.”

She chuckled again. “That dumb feud has been over for years.”

The path dipped where a rainstorm had cut a gulley across it, and he held out his hand to help her across.

She took his hand, skipping over the ridges in the path, then squinted up at him. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doing, Son. Keeping the attention on me so we don’t have to talk about the fact that I wasn’t the only one sneaking out of the Rivers’s house this morning.”

He shrugged. “I must have fallen asleep on the sofa too.”

His mother’s hearty laugh rang across the green pasture.

* * *

Later that evening, Rock flicked his fishing pole, letting out his line with a whirr as he cast into the serene waters of the pond that lay between the Rivers’s ranch and theirs.

The sun was just setting behind the mountains, the air had cooled slightly, and the water was alive, rippling with bugs lighting on the glassy surface. He’d already seen three fish jump, and he let his cast fall in the area he’d seen the last one.

A red-and-white-striped bobber floated on the surface, and he leaned back against his favorite tree as he kept an eye on it. The trunk of the old cottonwood was huge, and a few of its roots lay exposed, like gangly arms reaching toward the cool water of the pond.

The roots offered great places to sit, to lazily lean back against the tree, and to look across the water, the backdrop of the mountains standing tall against the brilliant blues and pinks of the Colorado sunset.

Rock let out a sigh. A good sigh, deep with contentment. Yeah, he still felt a few effects of the concussion, and his ribs were still tender, but if he had to go anywhere to recuperate, this was the place to do it.

He could almost feel the combination of the mountains and the ranch working to heal his body and soul. There was nothing like being home.

He felt good. Really good.

A grin crept across his face. A grin that had less to do with the healing properties of the mountains and a heck of a lot more to do with the healing properties of spending a long night having wild sex with the only woman he’d ever truly loved—the woman who haunted his dreams and who made his body sore on an entirely different level.

A rustling shook the grass on the other side of the pond, and the woman he was thinking of appeared, walking through the tall stalks almost as if he’d imagined her into being.

She smiled and offered him a shy wave, and he beckoned her over.

He watched her walk around the pond toward him, soaking her in, filling his heart with the vision of her. She wore cutoff shorts and cowboy boots and a loose, short-sleeved, button-up, red western shirt. Not so loose that he couldn’t see her generous curves.

Her long hair was pulled back and braided into a thick rope that curled around her slender neck, and a straw cowboy hat perched on her head.

“Hey, cowgirl,” he said, offering her his best rakish grin.

She laughed and nudged his foot with her boot. “Hey, cowboy.”

He patted the ground next to him. “What are you doing out here?”

She carried a thin, quilted blanket and spread it on the hard-packed dirt next to him, then sank down onto it and leaned her shoulder against his. “I just felt like taking a walk.” Strands of her hair tickled his arm, and her scent filled the air around him, mingling with the smell of honeysuckle and fresh hay.

“And your feet led you straight to me.”

“I didn’t know you’d be here.”

“Did you hope I would?”

She shrugged, trying to keep a straight face. “Maybe.”

He liked this side of her, this sweet shyness that he hadn’t seen in so long. The last several years, all he’d gotten from her on the few occasions that he’d run into her was sarcastic, snarky comments that were not always the most ladylike in nature.

It made him ridiculously happy to have her smiling and playfully flirting with him. It was like the same feeling he got when his team had won a championship game, like he’d just scored the winning goal and earned the trophy.

“You catching anything?” She gestured to the fishing pole that lay forgotten by his feet.

“Not yet.” He leaned back against the tree, raising his arms and linking his fingers behind his head. “But I’m not too worried about it. I came down mostly for the view.”

She leaned against him, snuggling into the crook under his raised arm. “It is a pretty great view.”

He looked down at her and had to swallow at the sudden emotion that filled his throat. Lowering his arm, he wrapped it around her, pulling her closer to him. “I can’t think of anything else I’d rather see right now.”

Letting his eyes roam, he took in all of her, from her mesmerizing brown eyes to her long, tanned legs. Emotion and need stirred in him as his gaze lingered on her curves.

A long, silver necklace hung around her neck, the chain falling between her breasts. Hanging from it was a large, silver heart and a small, gold key, but the gold had rubbed off in several places.

He wrinkled his forehead. It wasn’t the sort of thing Quinn would normally wear, but it looked familiar. The charms bordered on tacky, like something a teenager would wear.

A laugh bubbled up, and he pointed to the necklace when he finally recognized it. “Where the heck did you find that old thing?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t have to search too hard. It was in my jewelry box, and I just felt like wearing it today.”

“Didn’t I give you that for Christmas my senior year?”

She nodded. “And it’s always been one of my most prized possessions.”

He chuckled again. “I can see why. That thing’s got ‘quality’ written all over it.”

“Hey, I love this necklace.” She tilted her head, giving him a sweet smile. “I’ve always thought it was pretty nice for what a seventeen-year-old guy picked out by himself, and for what he could afford at the time. And I always wore it with pride.”

“I can tell you with confidence that that seventeen-year-old guy’s taste and spending budget has vastly improved.” He reached out and lifted the heart charm into his hand. His fingers brushed against the curve of her breast, and he heard her quick intake of breath. “This was the mushiest thing I’d ever given you.”

“You said it was the key to your heart.”

“I remember.” He gingerly set the necklace down and raised his hand to cup her cheek. “You still have it, you know. No matter where I’ve been, or what stupid decisions I’ve made, my heart has always belonged to you.”

He leaned in, kissed her softly, barely grazing her lips with his.

He wanted the kiss to signify the emotion he felt, not just the lust he’d had when he’d snuck into her room the night before and tossed her onto her bed.

But then she let out one of those small, sexy sighs, and a fire lit and sparked in his belly.

She arched into him and pressed her mouth against his, deepening the kiss, her tongue skimming across his lips. Her cowboy hat fell off when she wound her arms around his neck.

Her lips were warm, pliant, and full of hunger as her hands tunneled through his hair. Her body squirmed, pressing tighter to him, and she shifted as she curled her leg around his.

So much for taking it slow. Having her legs wrapped around his and her chest pressing against him was too much. His jeans tightened as his bulge swelled against them.

She nipped at his lip, let out a soft whimper, and he almost came undone.

He twisted, ignoring the pain in his bruised ribs as he laid her back in the crook of the tree roots, keeping his arm around her to protect her from the dusty branches.

His hands skimmed up her hip, her side, the curve of her full breast. He lifted her arm over her head as he trailed a line of kisses down her neck.

What he’d originally thought were buttons on her shirt were actually snaps, and his erection swelled further as he gave a swift yank and the snaps popped free. Her shirt fell open, exposing a lacy red bra that barely contained the swell of her lush breasts.

Feeling again like he’d just scored the winning goal, he dipped his head and may have let out a low growl as he kissed the crests of her cleavage, then freed one of her breasts and dragged her taut nipple between his lips.

She let out another faint moan as he sucked and teased the tip with his tongue.

One of his hands was trapped under her as he held her, but the other was free to roam and touch, to caress and fondle, and he explored her body, pulling both of her breasts free and giving them equal attention with his lips, his tongue, and his fingers.

She squirmed and wiggled beneath him, riding the side of his leg, creating the friction she needed.

His head roared with his own need, and his fingers skimmed down her stomach, across her waist, along the soft curve of her thigh. He used his knee to spread her legs before slipping his hand up under the hem of her cutoff shorts.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was a goddess. Her eyes were closed, and she bit down on her bottom lip. Her one arm was still lifted above her head, and she gripped a limb of the tree in her fist.

Another moan escaped her as his fingers found her sensitive core and rubbed in gentle circles.

Her shirt was open, her breasts bare and spilling over the crumpled cups of her disheveled bra.

He shifted his hand, sliding his fingers inside her underwear. A rumble of arousal vibrated through his chest as she pressed against his palm.

It only took a few swift strokes, and she broke apart beneath him, the fingernails of her free hand digging into his arm as the spasms rolled through her.

When she stopped writhing, he pulled his hand free from her shorts. But he couldn’t bring himself to cover her spectacular breasts—the view was still way too good.

Her eyelashes fluttered open, and a sly grin covered her face. She licked her lips, then her gaze flicked to the bulge in his jeans. “Your turn.”

His mouth went dry, and he tried to swallow. The thought of Quinn’s lips around him, of her tongue circling his…

The whirr of his fishing line filled the air, and he turned to see the pole pull free from where he’d jammed it in between the limbs of the tree.

Holy cow. That fish had to be a big one if it was pulling his pole toward the water.

Correction. Not his pole. His brother’s pole. And Mason would kill him if he lost it.

He scrambled across the bank and made a grab for the rod. It slipped through his grasp and was pulled into the water.

“Shit,” he yelled, making another grab for it, soaking his arms up to his shoulders.

Luckily, the pole floated, and Rock blinked in amazement as he watched it glide across the water.

He raced around one side of the pond, slipping and dunking his foot up to his knee into the water. “Damn it.” His soaked jeans and one soggy boot were heavy as he pulled it out of the water and kept after the pole.

“It’s coming back.” Quinn stood on the banks, doubled over in laughter as she watched him chase the pole. She’d unfortunately snapped a few of the buttons closed on her blouse.

Double damn it.

“Come over this way,” she instructed, pointing toward the other side of the pond.

He raced back around, swatting her playfully on the backside as he ran past.

She shrieked with laughter as he took another misstep into the pond, soaking his foot again.

“Screw this,” he said as he made his way back to her. He pulled off his boots, then unzipped his jeans and shimmied out of them. Tugging his T-shirt off, he tossed it on the ground next to his pants.

Wearing only his boxer briefs, he dove into the pond, coming up for air with a gasp as the shock of the cold water constricted his lungs.

“It’s right behind you,” Quinn cried, pointing over his shoulder. “Grab it.”

He spun around, shaking the water from his hair, and made a grab for the pole, but it shot forward, and he splashed at the water with his fist.

“Go after it,” Quinn yelled, holding her sides as another round of giggles overtook her. “You almost had it.”

He turned around and sent a splash of water toward her. “You are enjoying yourself way too much, woman.”

“Sorry, I’ll stop laughing.” She cupped her hand over her mouth and tried to look serious, but then belted out a shriek of laughter as the pole zoomed by and whacked him in the shoulder.

He swam forward, pulling his arms in hard strokes as he went after the pole, this time grabbing ahold of it when he reached out. “I got it.”

Now what the heck was he supposed to do with it?

He tried to swim back to shore, hauling the pole and the fish with him. “There’s a big freaking fish on there.”

Scrambling up the bank, he planted his feet in the dirt and gave a hard yank on the pole. The line pulled taut, bending the end of the pole toward the water. Rock spun the handle, trying to reel in the fish as he leaned backward.

Giving the pole another swift yank, he hoped to pull the fish out of the water.

Instead, the line snapped, and he fell backward, landing hard on his butt in the mud of the bank. “Dang. I lost him.”

He tossed the pole onto the bank and offered Quinn a grin. “That sucker put up a heck of a fight.”

She was still laughing. “It sure did. And you look like you’ve been in a heck of a fight.”

He glanced down at himself. Mud streaked across his chest and waist where he’d held the pole, caking across the purple-and-yellow bruises that had already been there. He had dirt and mud splattered up his legs and across his thighs.

Turning back to the pond, he took a few steps, then dove back into the water.

Breaking the surface, he shook the water from his hair. “Come on in. The water’s fine,” he called to Quinn. It really felt pretty good now that he was used to it.

She narrowed her eyes, her brow furrowing as if trying to make a decision. Then she shook her head and pulled off her boots. “Aw hell,” she said, shimmying out of her shorts.

He let out a whoop as her shorts hit the dirt.

She paused, her fingers on the few snaps that held her shirt closed, and giving her head another shake. “What did you say last night? Go big or go home?” She yanked the snaps free and peeled the shirt off, dropping it to the dirt as she ran toward him wearing only her red bra and a tiny pair of matching red bikini panties.

Splashing into the water, she let out a shriek and swam toward him. “This water is freezing,” she cried as she surfaced next to him, her wet hair glistening and slicked back against her head.

“I’ll keep you warm.” He made a grab for her, his body already heating as he pulled her against him, her wet skin slick against his.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they emerged from the pond, laughing and still teasing each other.

Quinn shivered, and Rock grabbed the quilt and shook it out before wrapping it around her shoulders. He rubbed her arms as the soft fabric dried the pond water from her skin.

She’d forgotten just how much fun it was to laugh and play with him. It felt good to have him back, back in her life.

Back in your bed, her quiet inner minx whispered.

Yeah. That was pretty good too.

She held out one side of the blanket. “Here, get in. You need to get dry too.”

“If you insist.” He offered her a flirty grin, then stepped into the circle of her arms, and she wrapped her arms around him, drying him and gaining warmth from him in the same step. The guy’s body was like a furnace.

And speaking of heat.

He leaned down, and her breath caught as he captured her mouth in a kiss. His lips were cool, but his tongue was warm as he teased it between hers. His hands slid around her waist, caressing her skin and pulling her tighter against him.

Her head spun as a whole battalion of butterflies swirled through her stomach. Kissing him and the feel of his hands on her body sent a dizzy wave of sensation coursing through her.

A sensation very similar to happiness.

It was a feeling she hadn’t experienced in a long time. The pure joy of being with Rock, being with the man she’d spent over half of her life in love with.

Was she still in love with him?

Had she ever stopped loving this man?

She knew that she loved this feeling. The feeling of his arms around her, of his mouth on hers. And she knew she didn’t want it to stop. She wanted this feeling to last. To go on forever.

The melodic chimes of a ringtone filled the air, and Rock pulled back.

“Shoot. That ringtone is my coach. I gotta take that.” He’d already pulled away, left her shivering, as he rifled through the tackle box, then held up his phone.

He tapped the screen and held the phone to his ear. “Hey, Coach.” He paused as he listened to his coach’s reply. “Yeah, I’m feeling good. Really strong. I was actually just doing a light workout—getting in some water therapy.” He grinned at Quinn and playfully waggled his eyebrows.

She smiled back, but inside, her heart was breaking—the call just a reminder of the fact that Rock was leaving. That this wasn’t going to go on forever, this wasn’t going to last.

This whole thing was a temporary distraction—something for Rock to do while he was recuperating.

Cheeks burning, she turned away and quickly pulled her clothes back on, snapping up her shirt and stuffing her feet into her boots as Rock continued to talk to his coach about his recovery.

She folded up the blanket, hugging it to her chest as she picked up her hat and offered him a wave. I’ll see ya later, she mouthed.

His brow wrinkled, and he shook his head, signaling for her to stay.

But she couldn’t. She had to get out of there. Had to get away from him. Away from the reminder that he would soon be gone. That he would go back to Denver and leave her behind.

Again.

She waved off his gestures with a pretend smile that she hoped he believed.

Turning her back, she headed for the trail that led back to the ranch, tugging her hat on her head and praying that it hid the tears that were building as she walked away.