going
to bite you!” His teeth chomped near her neck.
With a shriek, Callie
pulled away, flattened a hand to the hat and started to run through the tall
grass. Her long skirt hampered her progress and even though she held it up with
one hand, she heard his heavy footsteps approaching from behind. A moment later
strong hands lifted her into the air and warm lips joined hers as they both
breathed heavily.
She tightened her arms
about his neck. Not that she was afraid to fall, but because she didn’t want to
let go.
Rand cuddled her like a babe. “Ah, Miss Callie, I
can’t remember when I’ve ever enjoyed being with a woman so much. You’ve
brought a light into my life that I never knew existed.”
A tear sprung to her
eye. This big, bold man was as soft-centered as a marshmallow. He held her up
like a prize he’d won at a carnival. Yet, what did she have to offer? Who was
she? She’d had twenty-five years of living with nothing to show for it.
“Sir, you sure know how
to turn a girl’s head.”
His smile lit up his
face and his eyes glistened in the sunlight. “I plan to do a lot more than
that.” He set her feet back on the ground.
“Meaning?”
“Meanin’,” he took his
hat from her head and put it on his, “I want to show you all of Way Out West. I
want you to experience the joy of a simple way of life. I want you to
understand why this place is so special to me.”
“Whoa, hold on,
Maverick. I’m only here to do a job, not start a new life. And even if I was,
the Old West is the last place I’d look.”
“Are you sure?” he
murmured.
“Sure about what?”
“You’re not here to
start a new life. From what you’ve told me, it doesn’t sound like you have
anything to go back to.”
Callie hesitated. “Well,
I don’t, really.” She plopped down in the grass, which crinkled under her
weight. Tugging her skirt snugly over her knees, she drew her legs up and
hugged them as a melancholy mood settled over her.
He was right, she had
absolutely nothing to go back to. As for staying, Rand was only there for a
week. They’d no sooner get to know each other and he’d be off to his real life,
doing whatever he so carefully kept secret. Why didn’t he ask her why she was
there and what exactly did she have to go back to?
But he didn’t. Upholding
the solemn creed of secrecy, Rand just sat down next to her and gazed out at
the field.
“I was engaged once,”
she said, matter-of-factly. A long silence stood between them. She let the
prickly aftereffects of that statement run over her like a porcupine. It should
have been a happy time in her life, but she’d been miserable.
“Callie, you don’t have
to tell me any of this. Your private life remains private here.”
“But I want to. I want
you to know who I am.”
“I know who you are.
You’re a sweet, generous, fun-loving woman. And brave. It takes courage to
leave everything behind and come to a strange place where you don’t know a
soul.”
She laughed to herself.
He really thought of her as all those things? Funny, she didn’t recognize any
of it as her.
“What I am is a
quitter.” She noticed Rand adjusting his hat, obviously uncomfortable with her
soul-baring words. But she didn’t want him to have any false notions about her.
“We became engaged in my
second year of college. Shortly after that I quit school and got a job to
support us. He was a graduate student. Ha, he’s probably still a graduate
student. Keith was one of those career students. He ate, slept, and breathed
academia. I became his secretary, his research assistant, his maid and cook.
After about a year, I realized he’d never think of me in any other way so I
just up and left. He never even looked for me.”
She picked at another
long blade of grass. “Anyway, I stayed with my parents awhile before coming out
to California. They wanted me to go back to school, but I couldn’t bring myself
to do it. When I got here, I took some acting lessons but soon
to bite you!” His teeth chomped near her neck.
With a shriek, Callie
pulled away, flattened a hand to the hat and started to run through the tall
grass. Her long skirt hampered her progress and even though she held it up with
one hand, she heard his heavy footsteps approaching from behind. A moment later
strong hands lifted her into the air and warm lips joined hers as they both
breathed heavily.
She tightened her arms
about his neck. Not that she was afraid to fall, but because she didn’t want to
let go.
Rand cuddled her like a babe. “Ah, Miss Callie, I
can’t remember when I’ve ever enjoyed being with a woman so much. You’ve
brought a light into my life that I never knew existed.”
A tear sprung to her
eye. This big, bold man was as soft-centered as a marshmallow. He held her up
like a prize he’d won at a carnival. Yet, what did she have to offer? Who was
she? She’d had twenty-five years of living with nothing to show for it.
“Sir, you sure know how
to turn a girl’s head.”
His smile lit up his
face and his eyes glistened in the sunlight. “I plan to do a lot more than
that.” He set her feet back on the ground.
“Meaning?”
“Meanin’,” he took his
hat from her head and put it on his, “I want to show you all of Way Out West. I
want you to experience the joy of a simple way of life. I want you to
understand why this place is so special to me.”
“Whoa, hold on,
Maverick. I’m only here to do a job, not start a new life. And even if I was,
the Old West is the last place I’d look.”
“Are you sure?” he
murmured.
“Sure about what?”
“You’re not here to
start a new life. From what you’ve told me, it doesn’t sound like you have
anything to go back to.”
Callie hesitated. “Well,
I don’t, really.” She plopped down in the grass, which crinkled under her
weight. Tugging her skirt snugly over her knees, she drew her legs up and
hugged them as a melancholy mood settled over her.
He was right, she had
absolutely nothing to go back to. As for staying, Rand was only there for a
week. They’d no sooner get to know each other and he’d be off to his real life,
doing whatever he so carefully kept secret. Why didn’t he ask her why she was
there and what exactly did she have to go back to?
But he didn’t. Upholding
the solemn creed of secrecy, Rand just sat down next to her and gazed out at
the field.
“I was engaged once,”
she said, matter-of-factly. A long silence stood between them. She let the
prickly aftereffects of that statement run over her like a porcupine. It should
have been a happy time in her life, but she’d been miserable.
“Callie, you don’t have
to tell me any of this. Your private life remains private here.”
“But I want to. I want
you to know who I am.”
“I know who you are.
You’re a sweet, generous, fun-loving woman. And brave. It takes courage to
leave everything behind and come to a strange place where you don’t know a
soul.”
She laughed to herself.
He really thought of her as all those things? Funny, she didn’t recognize any
of it as her.
“What I am is a
quitter.” She noticed Rand adjusting his hat, obviously uncomfortable with her
soul-baring words. But she didn’t want him to have any false notions about her.
“We became engaged in my
second year of college. Shortly after that I quit school and got a job to
support us. He was a graduate student. Ha, he’s probably still a graduate
student. Keith was one of those career students. He ate, slept, and breathed
academia. I became his secretary, his research assistant, his maid and cook.
After about a year, I realized he’d never think of me in any other way so I
just up and left. He never even looked for me.”
She picked at another
long blade of grass. “Anyway, I stayed with my parents awhile before coming out
to California. They wanted me to go back to school, but I couldn’t bring myself
to do it. When I got here, I took some acting lessons but soon
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