Page 46 of In Bed with the Rancher

“I’ll never forget you,” he said in a husky voice. Then he turned and went striding to his car.

She shut the door and stood there, unable to move. Tears streamed down her cheeks, but her silent, oh, so empty house reminded her why she had told him goodbye. She wanted a family man in her life, a man who loved babies and children, who would be a good dad.

It wasn’t going to be Wade.

Putting her hands over her face, she cried because she was in love with him. So deeply in love with him. He was an ideal man in so many ways except the two most important things. She couldn’t take life on his terms. He wouldn’t take it on hers. Besides, he wasn’t a man in love.

She had tried to minimize her feelings for him and what was happening in her life while he stayed at her cabin, but he had been too wonderful for her to guard her heart and resist him.

She sat in the nearest chair, placing her head in her hands, and let the tears fall freely.

“I love you, Wade Sterling,” she whispered through her sobs. “I’ll do everything in my power to get over you and forget you. I’m sure you’ll forget me and you don’t have to get over going out with me.”

The worst part was, despite it all, she wanted to be in his bed, in his arms. She loved him. And she knew she would for the rest of her life.

Eleven

As Wade drove away, he hurt. He wanted Ava in his arms tonight. He wanted to make love to her all through the night and he wanted to take her home to his ranch tomorrow and show it all to her.

His feelings for her astounded him. She had gotten closer to his heart than any other woman he had ever known.

He still hadn’t changed his mind about marriage and children, and he never would. But that didn’t stop him from missing Ava.

All he could think about was Ava, holding her, kissing her. Fabulous kisses that set him on fire and made him tremble from head to toe. But he’d never kiss her again. Now he had only one thing he could do. Get over her.

He realized she was the first woman about whom he’d had to tell himself that. He had always been able to end affairs with his heart intact—Olivia, for instance—and he told himself this wouldn’t really be any different. He wasn’t in love and whatever he felt for Ava, he could get over it. He had to.

The next day he left for the Bar S Ranch. He’d stayed in town unusually long and now that he looked back on the days in Dallas, he realized part of it was getting back after the storm and seeing his family, but he realized he had stayed in Dallas because Ava was there.

He couldn’t get her out of his thoughts as easily as he expected, and last night had been long and lonely. All night he’d told himself he’d get over her, that there would be someone else in his life, but right now, he missed her and he was going back to his ranch, where hard work would take his mind off her.

He drove another pickup he kept in Dallas to replace the one that went into the creek. It had been found and the sheriff called this morning about it. His wallet had been found,too, in the pickup, and they were sending the dried contents back to him. He’d have to get all new cards. The last thing he did before he left Dallas was place a large order of wild Alaskan salmon to be shipped to Gerald and Molly, as well as four cakes from a famous Texas bakery in a small town near Dallas, to show his gratitude. A similar order went to Sheriff Ellison.

He wished there was a way to show his gratitude to Ava, but their evening at the private dinner club would have to suffice. He wouldn’t be seeing her again.

Opening the window of the pickup, he let the breeze blow away his memories of her.

At the ranch he poured himself into working outside. Sometimes he rode with the cowboys. He made repairs in the barn and he built a new dog house for a stray that had either wandered up or been dropped off.

The weekends were the worst and he tried to do enough physical work that he would go to bed exhausted and sleep would finally overtake him.

He had some women friends who lived in the ranch area. On a weekend he’d called one of them and she could go out for dinner and a good time.

Or so he thought.

The first Saturday night he went out, he just thought about Ava and took his friend home early. At her doorstep she turned to look at him. “I had a fun time tonight, but I don’t think you did. We’ve known each other a long time, Wade. I heard your dad has been in the hospital and I thought he was doing fine. Is that what’s worrying you?”

“No, Nan,” he said, smiling at the redhead he’d known for years. She was a good friend. “I’ve just had things in my life that didn’t go the way I wanted.”

She laughed and punched his shoulder lightly, leaning closer to stare at him. “Are you in love with someone who walked out? It had to happen someday, even to you.”

He laughed. “I don’t think so. I’m not in love and I’m not a marrying man and you know that.”

“I know that, but your heart might not. It’s hard to feel sorry for you, though, because you’re the one who breaks hearts and you’ve never had a clue what that feels like.”

He shook his head as he smiled. “Okay, enough on that subject. Sorry if I wasn’t my best tonight.”

She kissed his cheek. “I never thought I’d see this day come. Buddy, you’re in love and you don’t even know it, or else you don’t want to be. Well, you’ll get over it like we all do. Thanks for tonight. See you around, my friend.” She laughed as she went in her house and shut the door.

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