Page 40 of Texas-Sized Secrets

“Hell if I know. I just do.” Then he was kissing her, hard and long. Before she could begin to think, his hands were combing through her hair, bringing her lips impossibly closer.

Mona’s lips parted and Reed’s tongue delved in, past her teeth to tangle with and taste her tongue.

When his lips tore free, she stared up at him, her eyes wide, her breathing ragged. What had he just done to her? He’d made her completely forget for a moment anything to do with Rancho Linda and her heritage. For a moment all she wanted was for him to kiss her again.

The baby kicked against her belly hard enough to make her jerk.

Reed jumped back, moving her to arm’s length. “Was that the baby?” A look of wonder spread across his rugged face.

“Yes.” Grasping at her chance to regain control of her emotions and the situation, she backed away from Reed. “He wasn’t too happy about being squashed between the two of us. And he’s just as determined to protect his heritage as I am. So if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to get moving.”Before I go back for seconds on that kiss.Her mind and lips numb, she stumbled for the door.

He grabbed her arm, his fingers firm but gentle. “You’re staying.”

“I’m not, so let’s quit wasting time and saddle up before they get away with the herd.” She didn’t give him a chance to argue. Instead, she shook off his hold and left the house, striding toward the barn in long desperate steps, her thoughts as tumultuous as the stormy sky.

Jesse must have known she’d win the battle, because he had her horse saddled and waiting next to two others. They stamped in the dust, eyes flaring with each strike of lightning and rumble of thunder. Chewy whimpered beside Jesse, staring up at him, awaiting his command and determined not to be left behind.

Wind blasted across the prairie like a freight train, pushing the grass flat and forcing the riders and horses to lean against it to remain upright.

Crazy to leave the relative safety of the house in such wicked weather, Mona gritted her teeth and moved on, tired beyond words, but determined to save what was left of her cattle.

Halfway out to the north pasture, Mona sent Jesse and Chewy to the central pasture to check the herd there. She kept Reed with her, suspecting the cattle in the north were the only ones targeted in this run.

In silence, they rode over hills and down into rugged gullies to get to the far northeast corner of her property. Uncle Arty’s ranch bordered on the northeast and the Palo Duro Canyon lay due north of Rancho Linda.

On the border of her uncle’s property, close to a gravel county road, they found the fence down and no cattle in sight.

Damn, had they already loaded them and taken off? A lead weight hit the pit of Mona’s stomach. She couldn’t lose again. She’d be ruined.

Reed shone his light on the ground where the dry earth had been sifted by hundreds of hoofprints. The wind lifted the dust and sandblasted Mona’s skin. “They can’t have gone far and they didn’t have enough time to load them yet.” Reed stared out over the prairie.

Mona nudged her horse forward. “Come on, we have to find them.”

The cowboy jabbed his heels into his horse’s flanks, causing the animal to rear up in front of Mona. “No.” In the sporadic light from the flashes of lightning, he looked like the legendary Zorro ready to ride for justice.

An unexpected thrill raced through Mona’s chest. One she quickly tamped down. “Cute.” Her shouted sarcasm was lost in the raging wind. “But it’s not stopping me.”

“You can’t charge into a pack of rustlers. Most likely, they’re armed and prepared to shoot.”

“I can’t let them take my cattle.” She dragged in a breath of dusty air and let it out. “I’ll hang back. But we have to see who’s doing this in order for us to catch them.” When he didn’t move, she planted her fist on her hip and ground out, “I didn’t hire you to stop me. I hired you to help me.”

For a moment more he hesitated, then he jerked his reins, aiming his horse in the direction the hoofprints led.

When Mona moved forward she could swear she heard Reed mutter something along the lines of “Lord save me from stubborn women.” She could have been mistaken, but she didn’t think so.

A smile tilted the corner of her lips as she set her horse into a gallop. “Women? Or woman?” she tossed over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of his stern face in a flash from the heavens above.

His lips set in a firm line, Reed caught up with her and moved ahead, providing a barrier between her and any danger they might encounter.

As they neared a rise in the terrain, Reed reined in and slipped from his saddle. “We walk from here.” He reached up and helped Mona from her horse, setting her gently on her feet. He stared up at the sky. “Won’t be long before the sky opens up. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some hail and maybe a tornado out of that front moving our way.” A brilliant flash lit the sky and thunder cracked nearby.

Both Reed and Mona ducked instinctively. The horses reared, dragging them away from the top of the hill, apparently having more sense than the humans for being out on a night like this.

Reed walked ahead up the small hill, Mona tagging along behind. When they topped the ridge, they peered down into the entrance to a canyon, probably a branch of the Palo Duro.

“There they are.” Reed grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to the ground, pointing to the shadows at the base of a cliff.

She had to wait for another flash of lightning before she could see what he pointed at.

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