The Reluctant Rancher by Patricia Mason, Joann Baker Page A

  Refused to think how it would be if he offered her a piece of his land, a piece of his soul , and all of his heart.
    Just then Hawk came out, leading two pregnant mares.   “ Oh, would you look at them.   They’re so beautiful, ” Mary exclaimed as she stepped on the first rung of the fence.   The m ove pushed her breasts high , giving him a perfect view of her body and making his hands itch to grasp the firm flesh hidden behind a long western style shirt.
    “ I wish I could ride. ”
    “ Have you ever ridden? ” Luke moved closer. So close that his breath stirred the fine tendrils of hair at the nape of her neck and his lungs filled with her soft lemon scent.   Despite his suggestion, she’d pulled her hair in a ponytail once again. She looked cute and sassy.   And desirable.   Damned desirable.   Like a bolt of lightening he realized he wanted to make love to this woman.
    Make love hell, Tanner, his libid o shouted, you want to have sex. Hot, raw sex. And not just to prove you could .   Making love required a commitment of emotion, something he shied away from giving.   That brought him up short.   Had his heart betrayed his body?   Had he lost the ability to be a man through his unwillingness to admit to being human?   To acknowledge the fact that he needed the warmth and closeness of someone other than himself?
    “ No, ” Mary answered, breaking into his thoughts.   “ I never learned to ride.   My family never stayed in one place long enough to own a house, much less a horse. ”
    “ You should have gotten one of the boys to teach you last year at that camp, ” he said.   He knew she’d been there but hadn’t spoken to her.   They few times he’d gone out to the site she’d been surrounded by children.   And now that he gave it some thought, he realized that he had never seen Mary on a horse during the month and a half she’d been on the ranch.
    The look she threw him spoke volumes.
    “ What? ” he scowled darkly.
    “ I didn’t want to find myself hanging at the end of a rope, strung up for being a horse thief, ” she replied tongue-in-cheek.
    “ Very funny, ” he said, his brows drawing together even more.   “ I did not say that. ”
    “ Whatever you say, Mr. Tanner. Whatever you say. ”   Her smile lit up her face and Luke felt the kick all the way to his soul.
    “ Well, since you didn’t take advantage of my kindness last summer, I’ll give you a lesson now.   If you want, ” he offered.   He could picture Mary riding across the open range, her long hair whipping about her like a silver mane.   The picture brought a rare smile to his rough features.
    “ Oh, Luke, would you really? ”   With a squeal of delight, she grabbed his hand and pull ed him inside the barn.
    Luke followed , savoring the unexpected feel of her hand i n his.   Once inside, he reluctantly l et her go and headed to the nearest stall.
    “ This is Lady Jane. ”   He rubbed the patch of white on the nose of a beautiful sorrel mare.   “ Come get acquainted. ”
    “ She’s beautiful.   Aren’t you girl? ”   Mary cooed. The large wet nose nudge d her hand and she laughed as she opened her hand to show the animal it was empty.   “ Not today.   You had your treat yesterday. ”
    “ So you’re the one who’s been spoiling my prize ponies. ”   Luke’s voice held a teasing note as he handed her a chunk of carrot. He watched as she fed the mare her treat, feeling his gut tighten.   She looked right at home in his barn.   In his ho use.   In his bed.
    “ Guilty as charged.   Joseph and I give them a treat on the mornings we walk .   But I really want to feed him . You’re both always gone when we walk. ”   She started toward the black stallion housed apart from the others.
    Luke moved with surprising swiftness for a man his size to come between her and the horse.   “Stay away from Lucifer, ” he ordered, a ll traces of teasing erased from voice.
    He had been out