Page 15 of Ash on the Range (Red Hart Ranch #6)

WILL

Cassie curled next to me in the truck on the way back to the big house.

We tried a few more places after a late lunch—a really late lunch.

My knees ached and a few more things, though the benefits of our marathon lovemaking session far outweighed the cons in my book.

I hoped she felt the same way, and from how she leaned onto my side, my jacket draped over her tiny, curved body, I figured I got that part right, at least. I’d never forget the way she looked, arching beneath me all spread out and flushed as she came again and again.

We tried to find our clothes afterward, but not everything turned up the way it should have.

Her bra remained AWOL no matter how hard we searched and her white tee that I loved?

It suddenly seemed like a not so great idea because while it showcased her curves— all of her curves to me without the bars underneath.

, I could see the outline of her nipples that I had toyed with for the last hours and I didn't want any other man’s eyes on them.

So I was kinda glad when the weather closed in and Cassie accepted my jacket, wrapping her up tight.

My hands still wandered, but that body of hers I planned upon worshiping plenty of the days he had left?

That was for my view alone. Gage might have different views on the matter with his wife and their relationship, but Cass was my girl, I wanted her to myself.

And with the rodeo boys rolling in from after dusk last night to before dawn this morning in their typical style, I didn't doubt there would be plenty of eyes on Cassie, especially ones who knew her.

My arm around her shoulder tightened. I didn’t doubt she was it for me, or even me for her. But I’d heard the doubt in her voice when I talked about the distance between Jude and Natalie, and that hit something deep in my gut. Hard.

“Hey, so after the rodeo, I’ve got a few more weeks of work here, then I can take you back to school if you like.

At Montana U. If you’re up for another road trip?

” I swallowed back the bile that rose in my throat at the thought of leaving her there.

Maybe I could get some work at a ranch nearby, but that would clash with the rodeo circuit's start dates and then I’d be out for a full season.

In the last few years, I’d never missed a season.

Not that I won much money, but sponsorships and earning a name got me paid just enough to keep going and…

Hell.

I rubbed my knuckles across the back of my neck. Who was I kidding? I had nothing to offer a girl like Cassie who came from money and had dreams of her own.

She stiffened beneath my arm and I knew straight away I'd said the wrong thing. “I didn’t want to think about leaving,” she mumbled into the collar of my jacket.

I hugged her tight to my side. “Forget I said anything. I don’t want to rush this with us,” I reassured her. Or tried to.

Her laugh came out hollow, and no amount of leather between her and me could disguise that. “Well, we took over a month to get it on. How much slower could we actually take it?” The dose of scorn in her voice left my jaw tweaking.

I gripped the steering wheel hard enough for the rubber to squeak.

“I mean, we could have left it for a—” I closed my mouth with a snap.

No way could I tell her that I’d imagined her dressed in something else white and lacy looking at the outdoor chapel behind Red Hart where Travis and Rachel were married.

Another couple who spent time apart because Rachel had her own vet’s practice and Travis ran Red Hart.

I pulled the truck up and pressed my lips fiercely to Cassie’s temple, turning her to face me.

“Listen to me, Cassie. I don’t want to take you back to college.

Hell, I don't want to take you anywhere at all. I want to stay right here with you. But this isn’t my home.

It's not my place. I have no idea where that is at all, but—” I frowned when I realized her eyes weren’t focused on my face.

Cass stared over my shoulder, her gaze slightly vacant.

In all the times we’d talked and she’d sassed me—and that was still sexy as all hell—she’d never flat out ignored me.

“Cass?” I pressed a knuckle beneath her chin and lifted her face up to mine, peering at her. “Honey, did I scare you?”

Cassie blinked. Her gaze shifted to focus on mine. “Smoke,” she whispered.

I stared hard at her, and twisted in my seat, already swearing.

I’d been so wrapped up in my thoughts about the girl beside me that I’d been too blind to see what was right in front of me.

Fine tendrils of smoke melded with the growing afternoon haze just feet ahead of us.

Faint here, but as I peered through the trees, the haze grew.

I grabbed my phone off the dash and shoved it into Cassie’s hands, yanking the seatbelt across her chest that I hadn't made her wear as we meandered out way across the ranch on our way back, taking our timer. The damn thing finally snicked as I shoved it into place.

“Call,” I snapped. “Travis or Jude.”

Cassie’s fingers flew over the keypad once I opened it for her, and she spoke quietly, no sigh of panic in her voice as we pushed through the haze.

Thankfully it thinned out fast as we moved toward the house.

I pointed out a few landmarks for her, and she relayed those to Travis, or whoever picked up on the other end.

Finally, I drove into the yard and pulled her into me for a quick, hard kiss.

“I’m gonna have to run.” I stared down at her regretfully, memorizing the pretty shape of her eyes, wishing it was her bed I'd fall into later tonight, though my lump borrowed mattress would have to do. “I’ll try to find you if we don’t come in too late, okay? ”

She returned my gaze just as fiercely, unflinching. “I’ll be here, Will.” Soft lips pressed to mine, then she flurried out of my car, leaving my phone in the warm spot where she’d sat tucked in beside me the entire trip back to the big house.

“Damn, that girl’s got you spinning, hasn’t she?” Gage hung in the door Cassie just vacated.

I glared at the older soldier turned cowboy. “Isn’t it your bedtime, old man?” I groused, wishing I had just a few extra minutes with my girl. “I was looking forward to a quiet night with her, maybe?—”

“Get laid like you tried last night and fucking failed?” Gage snorted. “Nice try, kid.”

I shook my head and said nothing.

His shrewd eyes missed nothing. “Instead, you raised hell after doing just that, huh? We all gotta join your post coital party? Get your ass out here and help, huh?”

He slammed my door shut hard enough to make me wince and pray the damn thing didn't fall off and show the rust underneath that made the price tag affordable for my wallet when I bought it. Thankfully, everything stayed as it should. I climbed out to find Cassie exiting the house I thought she’d just headed into, bearing bundles of blankets and a plastic container of foot.

She nudged a second container forward that held a collection of drink bottles.

From the sound of its scrapes across the veranda, they were full.

I took the steps two at a time and collected them from her.

“Hey, you don't have to be a one woman army, you know.” I kissed her because I could and everyone had better be too busty prepping for whatever the hell was coming before I grabbed the water bucked and layered the sandwich container on top. “What are the blankets for? I don’t think we’re camping out in a wildfire, honey. ”

She huffed and stalked past me, dropping the bundle that looked heavier than it should be on the back of my truck.

Water dripped out of the bottom of the pile.

“Some are damp. They’re for it if you catch fire or something needs to be damped out that shouldn’t be ablaze, okay?

” She looked up at me with worried eyes. “Do you remember what I said?”

I scraped her hair back from her face. “That you’ll wait up?” The thought of her being there for me when I crawled my smoky, dusty ass back through those doors tonight kindled something different inside me.

“Yeah, that’s what I said. I’ll be here, Will Kirk. Right here.” She pointed to the dirt she stood on.

I hauled her into my chest in a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. “Go inside, Cassie," I murmured to the top of her head. “I reckon it’s warmer in there, and you can do something other than watch for us. That’s a shit job, am I right?”

She looked up at me and swallowed hard, then turned and ran back up the stairs, almost colliding face first with Travis who headed out of the house at the same time.

He looked at me with raised eyebrows. I shrugged as he put on his boots, followed by Rachel who ignored his own orders to stay put with a shake of her head.

Eve and Jude were nowhere in sight. I figured one was already at the site of the fires, doing a little reconnaissance and the other was inside. No brownie points for guessing which was which, and though I knew Jude possessed the patience of several saints rolled into one, waiting wasn’t his style.

“Alright, listen up,” Travis called from the top of the stairs as both rodeo crew and the ranch hands gathered around the yard.

He motioned them closer. “I have no idea what it looks like apart from the fact that we’ve seen a few fires around and the conditions are right for a wildfire.

We want to stop this thing from getting any bigger, because that makes it damn hard to stop, and out here, that’s deadly.

There aren't that many places out here, and if you're looking for the local fire brigade, turn to the man beside you and say hello.”

That little one linter earned the ranch owner a decent laugh, breaking some of the tension in the yard.

“Jude’s already out there, so take his direction once you hit the ground.

Your other crew chiefs tonight are myself, Gage,” Travis paused to locate the man who raised a hand to identify himself, “and Will. Where the hell are you, Will? Damn, you’re shrinking by the day,” Travis called out.

“You’d better stay on a bull better than that or we won't be able to find you at all.”

I gave him an easy wave as the rodeo crew behind me had a decent laugh.

One of the older riders, Denver, who I respected, clapped my shoulder. “I mean, he’s not wrong about the bull.”

My wave turned into a one finger salute over my shoulder and Denver laughed.

Travis gave everyone a hard stare after he organized teams. “Most of you are familiar with the land, so follow Will back to the site. It’s dusk and the land changes.

Follow the direction of your crew chief tonight, and we should do fine.

If there’s a problem and you lose contact, grab the numbers from Gage, who has everyone’s plus the house.

The girls inside will be here in case it gets out of hand and we need to call in extra help. Clear?”

I knew they would have already, but it made the new crew feel a whole lot better about it. I gave one last glance at the house and headed for my truck, praying it would be a quick and easy job, and we’d all be back chatting around the table telling stories before full dark with Cassie in my arms.