They walked on toward the herd of gazing cattle and Roslyn purposely turned her attention to their surroundings. The sunshine was hot on her face and the breeze carried the scents of sage and wildflowers. Small birds fluttered around the Joshua trees, while in the far distance, a copse of pines dotted the slopes of a mountain. Roslyn had never been in a wilderness like this before, with nothing around her but rugged land, cattle and wildlife.

  The awed appreciation she was feeling must have shown on her face, because he suddenly asked, “I realize I’m repeating myself, but are you okay, Roslyn? You look a bit dazed.”

  She cast him a quick, reassuring smile. “Sorry, Chandler. I guess I’ve been staring with my mouth open, haven’t I? This land is so beautiful. Everything about it intrigues me. I could probably ask you a thousand questions.”

  A faint smile tilted his lips. “A thousand questions, huh? Well, ask away. I might be able to answer a few.”

  “Well, for starters, I’m curious about how many herds of cattle there are on Three Rivers?”

  “I can’t give you an exact number. The count changes. But it usually ranges around twenty separate herds.” He gestured toward the cattle. “This one is number eleven. And the next one we need to look at is number twelve. ’Course, that’s not all the cattle we own. We have about three or four more thousand head on our grazing land up by Prescott. And a thousand or so down at Red Bluff. What’s the next question?”

  “The water. I noticed a creek runs through this little valley. Does it supply enough water during the dry seasons for the cattle to drink?”

  “No. This is one of three creeks on the ranch. This one and another a couple of miles from here dry up completely. The other keeps a bit of water in certain places. But we have deep water wells with pumps and other irrigation methods to handle the ranch’s needs.”

  She digested that information, then said, “So there actually are three rivers on the ranch. I figured the ranch’s name was just something someone made up.”

  He shook his head. “My great-great-great-grandfather named the ranch for the three small rivers that converge on our property.”

  “Gosh, that many ‘greats’ meant he came to this land a long time ago,” she said. “I can’t imagine how wild and uninhabited this area must’ve been back then.”

  “The first Hollisters came here in 1845. At that time, Edmond and Helena were newlyweds. She was very young—sixteen, I think. He was about ten years older. Mom has a couple of old tintypes of them on their wedding day. I’ll show them to you sometime.”

  “I’d like that,” she said, while thinking how very rooted Chandler must feel. He knew why the older generations of Hollisters had come here, why they had stayed and why they would always remain on this spot of ground. How would it feel to have that sort of solid foundation beneath her feet? She could only wonder. She knew very little about her ancestors and those she knew about had been scattered.

  “Since there are still Hollisters here on the ranch, I’m assuming Edmond and Helena had children.”

  “Two boys and a girl,” he replied. “My brother Joseph is named after their first son. The girl died as a child from dysentery.”

  “How sad. I’m sure in those days a medical doctor would’ve been a long distance away.”

  “Yes. And medicine wasn’t always that helpful.”

  By now the cattle were less than twenty yards away. Some had lifted their heads and were curiously watching their approach.

  Chandler placed a hand on Roslyn’s shoulder to stop her forward progress. “This is as close as I want you to get, Roslyn. The cattle are gentle, but sometimes the new mothers can be overly protective. If one charged and hurt you or the baby, I’d never forgive myself.” He pointed to their right, where a pair of Joshua trees grew close together. “You might stand over there in the shade. If anything runs in your direction get behind the trees.”

  “Don’t worry. I will.”

  He walked on into the herd of cattle and Roslyn made her way over to the Joshua trees. From there, she watched as he moved from one calf to the next, searching for signs of scours. Oddly enough, the animals seemed to trust him and several times he managed to get his hands on the calves for a closer examination.

  After about ten minutes, she saw him draw a cell phone from his shirt pocket and make a call. Once he’d ended the conversation, he walked over to where she was waiting. He didn’t appear overly concerned, but she was learning he was a cool, laid-back type of guy. She’d heard Holt say Chandler was more like their late father than any of the brothers. Perhaps he got his easygoing manner from Joel, along with his striking looks.

  “Did some of the cows have pink eye?” she asked.

  “A few. I’ve made a call for some of the hands to bring a trailer out here. I want the calves and their mothers hauled back to the barns at the ranch yard. The cows need to be treated with medications. The calves look okay, but for obvious reasons they need to stay with their mothers.”

  “Will the cows eyes get well?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Yes. Thankfully, the hands spotted the problem early. Blake will appoint two or three men to care for them for the next few days. Don’t worry. They’ll be fine.”

  “So what do we do now? Go look at the next herd?”

  “Not yet.” He wrapped his hand around her arm. “We’ll have to wait here until the cowboys arrive so I can show them which calves need to be loaded. I’m sorry, Roslyn. Looks like it’s going to be a long while before we head back to the ranch.”

  “Don’t apologize,” she told him. “I’m enjoying every minute of this.”

  His blue eyes swept over her face and Roslyn got the faint impression he was glad she’d come along. “Okay. Let’s walk down to the creek and sit in the shade. Or would you rather wait in the truck?”

  “I’m all for the creek,” she told him happily. “Just lead the way.”

  * * *

  Chandler didn’t know what had possessed him to invite Roslyn to join him on this working trek. This wasn’t any place for a pregnant woman, who wasn’t used to the outdoors. Moreover, spending time with her wasn’t really a wise thing to do. For the most part, he didn’t want her getting the wrong idea about his motives. She might get to thinking he was in the market for romance, or even worse, for a ready-made family.

  But she was just so damn pretty and being with her made him feel young and full of energy. He supposed his brothers, especially Holt, would consider him crazy for being attracted to a pregnant woman. After all, Chandler could easily find himself a date, if he wanted one. There were plenty of women around who were more than willing to go out with him. Some had even gone so far as to call and invite him for a night on the town. But none of those women came close to piquing his interest. And he especially didn’t want to waste what little spare time he had being bored by a female whose favorite subject was herself.

  Beneath the shade of a gnarled mesquite tree, Chandler sat on a fallen log and allowed his gaze to follow Roslyn’s graceful movements as she walked along the creek bank. A pair of butterflies hovering near a branch of blooming salt cedar had presently caught her attention and as he studied her from afar, he decided that being a city girl hadn’t stopped her from taking to life here on Three Rivers. It was a fact that surprised him greatly. Although, a part of him wondered if the novelty would soon wear off. The same way it had quickly worn off with Vivian’s ex-husband. The ink had hardly dried on his sister’s marriage license before Garth had grown bored with living twenty miles from town. A small town at that.

  Years had passed before Vivian had finally put their divorce behind her and found the love of her life in Sawyer Whitehorse. His sister was incredibly happy now, but Chandler hadn’t forgotten the heartache she’d gone through before she’d met Sawyer. And he sure as hell didn’t want to take a chance on the same thing happening to him. And yet there were times he felt very lonely. Times he wished for a woman who would love him and whom he could love in return. A woman he could build a life with and grow old with.

  “You’re welcome to come share my seat,” he called to Roslyn. “You’re probably getting tired.”

  She turned from the water’s edge and walked over to where he was sitting. “I’m not really tired, but if it will make you feel better I’ll sit,” she said.

  She eased down next to him and Chandler was suddenly overcome with her nearness and the soft feelings she evoked in him. She smelled of lily of the valley and her skin held an inner glow, as if she’d been sprinkled with stardust. The night at the clinic when she’d fainted, he’d touched her face and wrapped his hand around her tiny wrist. Beneath his fingertips, she’d felt as delicate and smooth as the dewy petal of a flower. Days had passed since that night, yet he’d not forgotten how it had felt to touch her, to cradle her in his arms.

  “It’ll take a while for the men to get out here with the trailer and then a few more minutes to tag the right cow-calf pairs. If I take you back to the ranch in an exhausted condition, Mom and Reeva will skin my hide.”

  She laughed lightly and the sound made him smile along with her. It was good to hear her laugh. After all she’d apparently gone through with her father and the broken engagement, he figured she deserved to be happy. He wanted her to be happy.

  “Don’t worry. I won’t cause you to get skinned,” she said, then glanced wondrously around her. “There’s so much here to look at and experience. I’m never going to forget this place. Thank you for bringing me with you today.”

  As he watched the wind play with the brown hair lying against her neck, he wondered what she would think if he scooted closer and nuzzled his nose against her cheek. How would she respond if he touched his lips to her lips?

  He couldn’t allow himself to wonder about such things, he scolded himself. Sure, she’d be here for the next few weeks, but after that she’d be saying goodbye. Kissing her would be all wrong. And yet the urge had been eating at him from the first moment she’d given him one of those sweet smiles.

  “Thank you for joining me, Roslyn,” he said, while wondering if his voice sounded as strained to her as it did to him. “Cows aren’t as good company as you are.”

  Laughing softly, she turned to look at him and as soon as their gazes met, her laughter sobered. Something warm and smoky filtered into her brown eyes and all of a sudden Chandler was having trouble breathing.

  “I—I’m glad to know I provide a bit more companionship than a cow,” she murmured.

  Before he realized what he was doing, his hand was sliding gently up and down her arm. Surprise flickered across her face, but to his relief she didn’t pull away.

  “You’re very beautiful, Roslyn. I’m sure that’s a tired old line you’ve heard over and over. But that’s the way I see you.”

  She swallowed and he wondered if being near him was affecting her as much as touching her was rattling his senses.

  “I’m not beautiful,” she protested. “And other than Erich, I’ve not spent much time in a man’s company.”

  “Why not? And don’t tell me the guys back in Fort Worth treated you like a wallflower. I’d never believe it.”

  She looked out at the shallow water moving sluggishly over the rocky riverbed and Chandler could plainly see sadness etched upon her features. He didn’t like seeing it. Didn’t like the idea that she’d ever suffered a moment of sorrow.

  “Oh, I was asked out often enough. But I usually turned down the offers. I spent most of my teenaged years at home with my mother. You see, all through my high school years she was very sick and I didn’t want to leave her alone. Dad hired a private nurse to care for her. But that wasn’t the same as having her daughter with her.”

  “What about your father? Surely he was with his wife.”

  Her grunt was a mocking sound. “Only when it suited him. And that wasn’t often. Don’t misunderstand me, Dad always provided lavishly for us. But not with his time or his affections. I guess that’s why my mother and I clung to each other. I could see I was losing her and she was basically the only family I had. I realized every minute I spent with her would soon end. So I...”

  Her last words trailed off on a hopeless note and he finished the sentence for her. “You neglected yourself in the process.”

  A faint frown on her face, she looked at him. “I wouldn’t call it neglected. I just didn’t do the things that my friends were doing at the time. Dances, ballgames, dates—I wasn’t much interested. By the time I graduated high school, Mom had grown much worse. I didn’t want to go to college, but she insisted. She wanted my life to be normal even though hers wasn’t.”

  “That’s because she loved you,” he said softly.

  She smiled at him, but Chandler was focused more on the bright tears in her eyes.

  “How did you know I needed to hear that?” she asked softly.

  “Maybe because being a vet isn’t always easy. Or maybe because my dad died and I don’t really know why. We may never know.”

  She turned slightly toward him and then her hand reached out and touched the side of his face. The tender contact caused his insides to melt like candy on his tongue.

  “Chandler, I—I’ve never met anyone like you. You make me feel like I’m worth something. You make me feel wanted. And that means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

  Her words should’ve set off alarm bells in his head. Instead, his heart gathered them up like a starving man at the dinner table.

  Leaning toward her, his eyes delved into hers. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Roslyn. And I’m glad you stopped at the clinic. Glad our paths met that night.”

  “Really?”

  Doubt put a waver in her voice, but Chandler’s was strong and steady as he answered. “Yes. Really. Otherwise, I’d never know what it was like to know you—to do this.”

  Her eyebrows lifted slightly. “This?”

  All finished with thinking, Chandler cupped a hand against the back of her head and drew his face close to hers.

  “Chandler, what are you...doing? Thinking...?”

  As she whispered the question, her warm breath fanned his lips. The sensation was totally erotic and whetted his appetite to kiss her even more.

  “I’m not thinking,” he admitted, desire turning his voice gruff. “I’m hoping...that you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you.”

  “I do. Oh, yes, Chandler, I do.”

  Her response barely had time to register in his brain before she took the initiative and touched her lips to his.

  Soft. Incredibly soft. Like the wisps of a cloud brushing against his face. She kissed each corner of his lips, then moved to a nearby dimple. Chandler exhaled a shaky breath, while his fingers tangled around her silky hair.

  She whispered his name again and then her lips were back on his, open, fierce and hungry. Giving him exactly what he wanted and more.

  Groaning with pleasure, Chandler’s arms instantly wrapped around her shoulders and drew her upper body close to his. She moaned in response and, not caring about the consequences, he deepened the kiss until their surroundings faded to little more than flashes of sky and ground.

  He hardly noticed the insistent buzzing in his shirt pocket and even when he did recognize the sound as his phone, he chose to ignore it.

  But Roslyn didn’t. She pulled back and sucked in a shaky breath. “You should probably answer that,” she said, her gaze purposely avoiding his. “It might be an emergency.”

  Her raspy voice sounded as though she’d just woken from a deep sleep, making him wonder if she’d been just as lost in their kiss as he’d been.

  Hell, Chandler, even if she had been turned on by you, that didn’t mean anything. Except that she wasn’t immune to physical pleasure. Don’t be a fool and start thinking the kiss had been important to her. You’ve gone down that road before and it’s a road to nowhere. Just remember that.

  Shoving out a long breath, he did his best to ignore the jaded voice in his head. “Yeah. I’ll see who it is,” he muttered. “Could be the hands trying to locate which range we’re on.”

  Roslyn rose from the log and while she ambled over to a shady portion at the water’s edge, Chandler pulled the cell phone from his pocket. Seeing the call had originated from the clinic, he punched the call-back button and Cybil answered before the first ring ended. She immediately apologized for interrupting him, then hurriedly went on to explain a situation with two kittens suffering from coccidia.

  Chandler patiently instructed, “Yes, if the test came back showing coccidia parasites they’ll need to be dosed immediately. With the same medication we use for the swine and poultry. Just weigh each kitten carefully. If they’re alert and willing to drink, don’t bother with drips. The owner can take them back home. If they’re weak and listless better hold them over and hydrate them. Ten days of medication and soft food. Got it?”

  After Cybil had assured him she had all the instructions she needed, Chandler ended the call and walked over to stand next to Roslyn. She didn’t bother to look at him. Instead she stared straight ahead as though she’d decided the two of them had connected enough for one day.

  “Sorry for the interruption, Roslyn. My assistant back at the clinic is trying to deal with sick kittens without my help. Intestinal issues. Must be the day for such things,” he said wryly.

  “Must be,” she quietly replied.

  He touched a hand to her shoulder and she glanced up at him. As her brown eyes scanned his face, he could see they were shadowed with confusion and doubts. Damn it! He’d not meant to cause her any anguish or uncertainty. He’d simply wanted to be close to her. He still wanted it.

  “I hope you’re not sorry about that kiss, Roslyn. I don’t want you to...regret what just happened with us.”

  A lost, lonely sigh slipped past her lips and Chandler desperately wanted to pull her into his arms. He wanted to reassure her that she could trust him to never hurt her. But could he really make her such a promise, when he had no idea what she might eventually ask from him?