Page 25 of Texas-Sized Secrets

He shrugged and stepped back. “Suit yourself.”

After Mona swung her leg over the horse, hands reached up to help her the rest of the way to the ground. Firm but gentle hands.

An electric shock ran from where his hands rested on her hips, all the way through her body. How could a woman who was almost six months pregnant and whose body was bulky and misshapen feel desire for a stranger? But she did. An overwhelming urge to feel his hands on her naked skin washed across her, making her nerves tingle with awareness.

As her feet touched the ground, she let herself lean into him, inhaling the scent of leather and prairie on his skin. So earthy and fresh, not coated in cologne and filled with lies.

“See these?” He released her and squatted on the ground beside the barbed wire. He pointed at grooves in the ground from knobby tires. “Four-wheeler tracks. Looks like they originate from the county road and go into your property, what I would guess to be a long way. If you want, I could follow them.”

“Not necessary. They were fishing for cattle and didn’t find any within easy range.”

“Good thing Fernando had them penned closer to the house.”

“Yeah.” Her chest tightened. “I can’t keep this up. Either I lose cattle to thieves or lose them to starvation.” Her eyes stung with mounting moisture. “Damn it.” She brushed at a tear, only more fell in a slow, steady stream. She used the back of her blue chambray sleeve and wiped at the tears until she soaked her sleeve. “I’m sorry. I can’t seem to stop.”

Reed straightened and dug into his back pocket, unearthing a red bandanna. “Let me.” As careful as a surgeon, he dabbed at her eyes, plucking the loose strands of hair off her wet cheeks and pushing them behind her ear. “Better?”

Mona sniffed, more tears trickling down her face. “Why are you being nice to me?”

“It’s all part of the cowboy-to-the-rescue job. Didn’t you read my résumé?”

She laughed, then hiccupped and snatched the bandanna from him, her fingers colliding with his for longer than necessary. “Actually, no. You never gave me one.”

“What kind of boss are you? You should always check out a man’s references before hiring him. You never know when he might be a fugitive, running away from the law.” He raised her hand to capture yet another tear with the bandanna she clutched.

“Are you?”

“A fugitive?” His hand fell to his side, his gaze never leaving her.

“Not running away from something or someone?”

Reed stared at her for a long time, and then turned toward his saddlebag. “No.”

Had she struck a chord that hurt?

He didn’t give her a chance to ask further questions. Instead, he went to work attaching a strand of the wire he’d brought to the cut wire to make it longer. Then he hooked the come-along around a fence post and tied the wire to the end.

“Stand back in case the wire snaps.”

Chafing a bit at his demands, Mona stepped back. This was work she could do with her eyes closed. But he was right. If the wire snapped, she could injure her baby as well as herself.

While Reed worked each of the four wires, Mona handed him supplies, making sure she moved away when it came to stretching the wire taut. But she had plenty of time to watch him, her mouth growing dry as he bent, flexed and strained his muscles.

“Could you hand me the hammer?” He held out his hand. “And tell me why you jumped into the middle of last night’s fight?”

She stared at him a moment, letting the questions sink in, taken aback by the second one. She grabbed the hammer from his saddlebag and laid it in his outstretched palm a little harder than necessary. “I had to. Dusty would have killed Jesse.”

“He could have killed you and your baby as well.” He cranked the come-along until the bottom strand of barbed wire stretched tight. Then he positioned the horseshoe-shaped nail over the wire and hammered it into the post.

Even after he’d hammered the second nail in, Mona didn’t have a response for him. He was right. Almost six months pregnant wasn’t the stage at which a woman should be jumping into a fight. But he didn’t have to point it out to her, she knew it. That he was right made her mad. “Is this your idea of casual conversation?”

He straightened and walked to where she stood beside his horse.

The closer he came, the less air entered her lungs until she breathed in shallow breaths, her body alert and ready. For what?

He stopped with his toes almost touching hers, then he leaned toward her, as if he would kiss her. “Are you bent on losing that baby?” He reached out his hand, skimming past her shoulder to snag the wire cutters from his saddlebag. His mouth brushed close to her ear, but he returned to the fence without laying one lip on her.

He might as well have. Mona labored to inhale and exhale at a normal rate and her blood raced through her veins. Damn the man. He had to know his effect on her, or why tease her like he’d just done? “Why did you quit the sheriff’s department?” There, that ought to cool his heels.

---