“Uh-uh,” Donna said. “That’s my job. You go have some fun with Kane.”

  “Are you sure? I hate to leave you with this mess.”

  “This mess is what I love, so go on, get out.”

  “Okay.”

  She put on her hat and headed outside. Kane was waiting for her. They walked down the steps and toward the barns.

  “What’s on tap for today?” she asked, trying her best to keep up with his long strides.

  “I thought we might start with some stall cleaning.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He laughed. “You wouldn’t mind cleaning stalls?”

  “Why would I? They need to be done, don’t they?”

  “Yeah, but it’s a shit job. Literally.”

  “That’s okay. It’ll be fun if we do it together.”

  “I was kidding about the stall cleaning. How would you feel about giving some of the horses a bath and a good grooming?”

  “I’d love that.”

  “Let’s go, then.”

  The day had dawned sunny and warm with just a touch of a breeze, which would keep it from being too hot. Not that it would be all that hot in November, but then again, Mae had known of heat waves at Christmas, so anything could happen. She just knew it was a good day for grooming horses, and she couldn’t think of anything she wanted to do more than getting her hands on these beauties.

  They had a bathing area that was enclosed and warm, perfect for keeping the horses clean in the colder months. It took a minimum of an hour to bathe each horse, so they were at it the majority of the day, breaking only to grab a quick sandwich for lunch. This was harder than any hot yoga class Mae had ever taken, but she had to admit it was a lot more fun. The horses enjoyed being handled, and she loved every minute of grooming them, especially after they were dried and she could brush and comb their beautiful manes.

  Of course she’d had to be the one to bathe and groom her favorite horse, Annie, in fact couldn’t wait to spend time with her. She’d talked to Annie in a low, sweet voice, and the horse spoke back to her in soft snuffles against her head.

  “You think anyone would notice if I stuck Annie in my luggage when we left?”

  Kane’s lips curved in a wry smile. “Worth it to see you try.”

  “Oh, you mean those hidden armed guards might take me out?”

  Kane threw a blank look her way. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Uh-huh. I know they’re here somewhere, skulking about, making sure I don’t slip off with her in the dead of night.”

  He snorted out a laugh. “Right. But just to be on the safe side, I wouldn’t.”

  “Trust me, I value my life.”

  “I value your life, too.”

  Once she was certain Annie was good and dry and utterly shiny, she walked her back to her stall, which had been miraculously cleaned during her absence and now sported fresh, clean bedding. Just as they arrived, Annie’s trainer showed up and took over, so she smoothed her hand over Annie’s nose and left the barn.

  She went back to the bathing area and she and Kane put all the supplies away and hosed everything down, tossing all the items to be laundered in the nearby basket.

  “I don’t know about you but I’m starving,” he said.

  She pulled her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans, surprised to see that it was already dinnertime. “I can’t believe the whole day is gone.”

  They started toward the house. “You worked hard.”

  “I’m sure I’ll feel it tomorrow.”

  “You know, I’ll be happy to work out any kinks in your muscles with a full-body massage later.”

  She leaned against him. “I’ll hold you to that.”

  They went inside and washed up for dinner, which consisted of pork chops, mashed potatoes, applesauce, green beans and salad. After today’s workout she was so ready for food. Surprising even herself, she gobbled up everything on her plate with not one bit of remorse. If she’d been by herself she might have even licked the plate.

  “You were hungry,” Kane said.

  “Yeah, I was. Plus, the food is excellent. Thank you, Donna.”

  Donna beamed a smile.

  “You want seconds?” Kane asked.

  “No, I’m good.”

  “She’s leaving room for the peach cobbler I made for dessert,” Donna said.

  Mae gave Donna a look. “You didn’t.”

  “Oh, but I did.” Donna grinned.

  “I might be in love with you.”

  “Don’t make me fight you, girl,” Tess said, squinting. “I might be older, but I can still kick butt.”

  Mae laughed. “I believe you. I’ll be sure to maintain my distance, then.”

  Donna sat back and took a sip of her iced tea. “Oh, I don’t know. Been a while since I had two women fighting over me. I’m kind of enjoying this.”

  Tess rolled her eyes and Kane smirked.

  Kane’s grandpa cleared his throat. “Yeah, well, while you’re enjoying the attention, why don’t you serve up that peach cobbler.”

  Donna arched a brow. “Patience, old man. And while I’m getting dessert ready you can all clear the table.”

  It was obvious who was in charge of the kitchen, because everyone got up and took their dishes into the kitchen, then put leftovers away while Donna served up the cobbler, along with oh, sweet lord, vanilla ice cream.

  Mae got her scoops of both and sat at the table, resisting the urge to shove her entire face into the cobbler and ice cream. Instead, she took small, petite bites, enjoying the delicious melty peach and vanilla flavor on her tongue. She couldn’t resist the moan that escaped her throat.

  Kane leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Fan of cobbler, huh?”

  She nodded. “And ice cream. I really like ice cream.”

  “Hmm.” He straightened, then gave her a hot smile. “Noted.”

  She wanted to inquire about that smile he’d given her, but the table was filled with people. Instead, she looked over at Donna and said, “This cobbler is amazing. And the ice cream? Oh my God.”

  Donna grinned. “Thanks. I’m kind of a fan of ice cream myself. I even make it in the winter, though Grandpa and I are the only ones who like it. Tess is more of a hot chocolate girl.”

  “Yeah, ice cream is a summer thing only for me,” Tess said.

  “Not summer now,” Kane said. “And you’re having ice cream.”

  Tess shrugged, licking ice cream off her spoon. “It was warm today.”

  “Hey, it’s always a good time for anything Donna makes for dessert,” Grandpa said. “Marrying Donna was the best thing Tess ever did.”

  “Damn straight,” Tess said.

  After dessert, they cleared the plates and put away the cobbler and ice cream. Once again, Donna kicked them out of the kitchen. Everyone else moved into the living room with their drinks. Mae pulled up a spot on the sofa and Kane snuggled in right next to her, his hand on her leg. She liked that he didn’t seem concerned about showing affection in front of his family. In fact, when Donna came back in, she took a spot on the other sofa next to Tess, rubbing her neck as they all carried on conversations.

  “When is James coming in?” Donna asked.

  “Tomorrow afternoon,” Tess said.

  Kane’s hand gripped her leg tighter. Mae put her hand over his, and when he looked at her, she gave him an encouraging smile.

  He was worried about his dad. Or maybe worried about talking to him about what was going on. She couldn’t blame him.

  After a short while everyone headed to bed. Once upstairs, Mae took off her boots and wriggled her toes, stretching her calves, then lay back on the bed, utterly exhausted from the day’s work.

  Kane climbed on the bed and loomed above her. “I promised you a massage.”

  She reached up and swept her fingers over his jaw, loving the feel of a day’s growth of beard on his face. “So you did.”

  “Let’s get you undressed.” He popped open the button of her jeans, then drew the zipper down, drawing them down her legs. He pulled her socks off and she sat up, removing her top and bra, then rolled over onto her stomach.

  Kane took a few minutes to undress, then climbed onto the bed, straddling her, his fingers lightly sliding upward along her spine, making goose bumps pop up.

  “Time to relax, Mae,” he said, his voice low and sensual as he moved his hands slowly over her back, then added some pressure.

  She moaned. “I like the way you touch me.”

  He swept his hands across her shoulders, bringing them down on all her pressure points, teasing the sides of her breasts before moving back in to press on the muscles of her lower back.

  She moaned again, and when Kane adjusted his position she felt him rock against her butt with his hard cock.

  Obviously she wasn’t the only one enjoying the back rub. Her needs moved away from the massage to desire. She lifted against him, and this time he groaned.

  “I’m trying to focus here, Mae.”

  She pushed off him and he rose enough for her to roll over. She raised one arm over her head and gazed up at him. “I’ve got something for you to focus on.”

  And then she arched again, rubbing herself against him.

  “Okay. Enough with the massage.” He pulled off her underwear, and before she could say anything, his mouth was on her sex.

  And this time, her moans were for something entirely different. She spiraled in a hurry, feeling that hot, delicious sensation coiling around her as he pleasured her with his lips and tongue.

  He took her there, right where she needed to be, and then over, making her shudder and shake with the force of her orgasm. And he held her there, kissing her gently while she came down and caught her breath, still feeling the aftereffects of that utter bliss.

  His hands skimmed across her belly and upward, teasing her breasts. He followed up with his tongue flicking across her nipples. She grabbed his head to hold him there so she could continue to experience these mind-blowing sensations.

  He lifted his head, gave her that intense, hot smile of his that never failed to make her insides quiver.

  “Come up here,” she whispered.

  He did, taking her mouth in a searing kiss. She wrapped her legs around him, needing him closer. Inside her.

  He felt it, too, because he pulled away only long enough to put on a condom, and then he was back, sliding inside her. She gasped as they entwined themselves around each other, as if they couldn’t get close enough.

  “More,” she moaned against his lips, gasping as he thrust harder, giving her exactly what she asked for.

  Sweat pooled along her spine as he ground against her, taking her right to the edge, and then plummeting over.

  As she climaxed, Kane’s dark, wild gaze met hers. He gripped her ass cheeks and drove deeply into her, shuddering with his own orgasm. She’d never felt anything so intense, like a wild storm whirling around inside her. She held tight to Kane, needing him as a lifeline to help her weather this maelstrom of sensations.

  She didn’t know how long they stayed like that, or when he left her and then came back to pull her against him. She only knew she fell asleep with his body pressed against hers and his arms wrapped around her.

  And she’d never felt more content.

  Chapter

  twenty-three

  Kane woke up in the dark, knew it was well before dawn even without checking his phone. He got dressed and went downstairs to make coffee. Lucky and Shadow slept downstairs, so they came over to him for morning pets. He gave them some love, then let them outside.

  Grandpa was always the first one up and he wasn’t down here yet, so it was too early to wake Mae. He sipped his coffee, pacing the kitchen and living room, his head filled with thoughts about seeing his dad today.

  He didn’t know what was up with his father, but something definitely was. Maybe it was just stress, or he was busy with work, like everyone suggested. He hoped it was something simple like that, but he knew his dad, and he got the idea it was something a lot more.

  Mom hadn’t been forthcoming any more than his dad had been. In fact, she’d been even less so, giving him her happy-sounding voice and telling him everything was fine and he was worrying for nothing. But there was something off with her as well.

  He hoped they were both coming. It was Thanksgiving, after all, and he hadn’t seen his parents for—well, for a while. He realized they were entitled to have their own lives. Hell, he wasn’t a kid anymore, and it wasn’t like he needed them to take care of him. He had that handled.

  Mostly.

  But still, it would be nice to see them once in a while, even if they didn’t take an interest in his career.

  He sighed and stared down at his coffee cup.

  “Shit, you scared the hell out of me, boy.” His grandfather flipped the light on in the kitchen and glared at him. “Thought someone had broken in.”

  “Sorry, no. Just me.”

  Grandpa let the dogs in and fed them breakfast. He fixed a cup of coffee and took a seat across from Kane at the kitchen table. “Trouble sleeping?”

  Kane shrugged. “Just got up early.”

  “Tell me what’s got you worried.”

  He knew his grandpa would keep digging until he talked. “Just worried about seeing Dad today and wondering what’s going on with him. But it’s probably nothing.”

  “Maybe.” Grandpa took a swig of coffee, then continued. “Maybe it is somethin’. Won’t know until we see him and get a feel for what’s up. You might wanna be prepared for him not wanting to talk about it, if there is somethin’ going on.”

  “Yeah, I get that. It’ll be good just to see him.”

  “It will. Been too long.”

  Donna came in, followed by Tess, then Mae came downstairs, and suddenly the kitchen bustled with activity and conversation about anything and everything except Kane’s dad. He pushed thoughts of his father to the side and ate his breakfast, then headed outside to work.

  Work would get him through, keep the anxious thoughts at bay.

  Mae was working inside with Donna today. Donna had actually asked for help, which was highly unusual. Mae had told Kane she was delighted to do some cooking prep in advance of Thanksgiving, so he’d do his thing outside.

  He fed horses, saddled them, cleaned stalls and worked up a hell of a sweat. Time flew, and before he realized, it was past lunchtime.

  Which meant it was time for a sandwich. He went to the house, up the steps, and heard laughing. He smiled listening to Mae’s lilting laughter.

  Obviously they were all having fun. He liked how perfectly Mae fit into his life on the ranch, and how easily his family had accepted her. That had a lot to do with who she was.

  He opened the door, hoping to join in on the good times, then stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his father sitting at the table, surrounded by Donna, Mae and Tess. Surprisingly, his father was the one laughing the loudest, swiping a tear from his eye as he kept laughing.

  Mae looked up and grinned. “Kane. I was wondering if you were going to come in for lunch.”

  His dad looked over at him and gave Kane a smile. “Hey, son.” He got up and came around the table to embrace Kane in a hug. “It’s so good to see you.”

  Kane returned the hug. “Hi, Dad. How are you?”

  “Couldn’t be better. How about you?”

  “Doing well.” He looked around. “Mom come with you?”

  “Oh, well, no.” His dad shifted from one foot to the other, a clear-cut signal that he was uncomfortable with the conversation. “She’s…uh, spending Thanksgiving with your aunt Serena. They haven’t caught up in a while so she really wanted to see her. They were going to go antiquing over the holiday weekend.”

  Now that sounded more normal—or at least normal for lately. “Uh-huh.”

  “Your dad’s been telling us about some of his travel experiences,” Mae said. “Some of them are very amusing.”

  “Really.” His dad hadn’t told him anything at all about his travel experiences lately, mainly because their phone calls never lasted more than five minutes.

  “Sit,” Donna said. “I’ll fix you something to eat.”

  Kane grabbed a chair at the table and sat, his dad sitting next to him.

  And then his grandfather walked in and his dad stood right up.

  “James,” his grandpa said to his father.

  “Hey, Dad.” They hugged and then Grandpa sat at the head of the table. Tess gave him a look and Grandpa let out a couple decent coughs.

  “You feeling okay, Dad?” James asked.

  “Oh, yeah. Fine. Just a little tired these days.” He gave another cough for effect.

  Kane tried not to roll his eyes. His grandfather was the picture of health, could outwork him on the best of days and would likely outlive him.

  Kane’s dad looked concerned. “That cough doesn’t sound good. Have you seen a doctor?”

  “I have. He said it’s just the dust or something. And I’m old.”

  “You should think about slowing down.”

  Grandpa laughed. “I’ll slow down when I’m dead, kid. How are you?”

  “I’m good. Work’s kicking my butt, so you know, the usual. But I’m up for a promotion, so it’s worth the effort.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Donna laid plates in front of them. Absently, Kane picked up one half of the sandwich and devoured it, then the pickle, digging his fork into the salad without even looking, his attention focused on his dad.

  Physically, his father looked okay. He’d lost some weight, but he didn’t look unhealthy, so that part was good. But there was a hollowness to his eyes that Kane couldn’t figure out. Sadness? Unhappiness? Stress? What did any of that look like? He didn’t know, and for all he did know he could be totally off base. Maybe Dad was just overworked and tired and needed some rest. A few days on the ranch might help.