The Rancher's Daughter by Pamela Ladner Page A

he once was and she worried about him constantly.  The accident had taken a toll on him.  He was a man that all his life had to be constantly doing something.  Now, he was, restrained to doing very little, when he very much wanted to do more.  It bothered him, she knew, not to be able to use his fist the way he once could, not to be able to throw hay bales like he once could.  She knew he wanted to ride long hours in the saddle and fix fence the way he used to.  He was broken down but he would not, be beaten. 
                  Heath noticed the tension and said nothing.  He knew J.Ws temper was quick and Josey’s could peal the hide off a mule’s ass.  They were both stubborn and pigheaded, but then again so was he.
                  The ride home was long and quiet.  It gave Heath time to think.  Only, he didn’t want to think because all he could think about was Josey’s arm touching his, her legs rubbing his and the shifter being between her legs made his mind go places it shouldn’t, especially when her father was in the truck with them.  He forced his mind to concentrate on driving.  Before long he was, tense too.  No one in their right mind would get near the three of them right now.  He shifted gears and arm grazed Josey’s knee.  He actually felt electricity run through his body. 
                  They had to hurry up and get home or he was gone be in a world of hurt.  He forced the thought out of his mind and pressed down on the gas giving the truck some speed.  No one seemed to notice.  They probably wanted to get home as much as he did. 
                  The sound of the pipes racking as he shifted down to turn into the driveway vibrated the whole truck.  Why did she have to have pipes on her truck?  He supposed it was the tough thing to do, when you were a country girl.  Heck, he remembered a time when he too had pipes on his truck.  That was before he got his diesel drinking dually. 
                  He drove slowly up the driveway when he really just wanted to hurry up, but growing up on a ranch, he knew the rules.  You didn’t fly down a rancher’s driveway in case of cattle being in the drive.    He pulled up in front of the house and climbed out of the truck leaving the keys in the ignition.  He headed to his father’s office ignoring the woman staring at his back. 
                  He needed to get his head clear.  What he really needed was a cold shower after riding beside her for so long.  Nevertheless, he knew the shower was out and decided to make his self busy, doing something else. 
                  He walked in the office and slammed the door behind him.  He sat down at the desk and picked up the phone.  “Rocking K, ” the voice answered.  Heath cleared his throat and told his former boss he would not be returning to the Rocking K.  They talked a little bit and Heath even gave him a few names of people whom he thought could handle the position, then said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. 
                  The door opened and Josey walked in.  She was a woman on a mission and she got that intense look on her face, as if she could tear the hide off him.  “You listen to me, Heath Jenkins.  You’re not going to get by around here if you think you can just ignore me.  You can stop pretending like I don’t exist, I know what’s wrong with you.” She turned around and locked the door.  Then she slowly made her way to the window and lowered the shades.  She grabbed his shirt and pulled him to her so fast Heath nearly lost his balance.  Her lips locked with his and his arms went around her waist.  “We can’t do this in here.” He said tearing his lips from hers. 
                  The kiss was full of passion and he ached to have her riding him.  It was the middle of the day and he couldn’t let her ruin the reputation and the respect