She wondered if he would come over tonight after she put Ivy to bed or if he would stay away, try to put some distance between them. It made her heart hurt to think of it. Which told her how deeply she had fallen in love with him.
It told her how much it was going to hurt when he was gone.
* * *
The wind blew up a storm that Saturday morning. Dark, rolling clouds grew thick and heavy above the damp earth. The rumble of thunder and dull flashes of lightning in the distance made the livestock restless and uneasy. It perfectly suited Josh’s mood.
He couldn’t get the night he’d spent with Tory out of his head. No woman had ever affected him the way Victoria Bradford did. No woman had made him feel so protective, so possessive, so damned hungry. Her sweetness, her determination, her love for her little girl, combined with the raw sexuality that came to life whenever he touched her. They were impossible to resist.
What had started as lust had rapidly turned into something more, something he had no idea how to handle. He wanted her. Constantly. But he wasn’t ready to commit to a permanent relationship and his uncertainty wasn’t fair to either one of them.
He’d left the trailer at daybreak, though he’d wanted to stay in bed and make love to her again. Instead, he’d gone back to his house, showered and changed, gone out and started working the little two-year-old bay stud he’d brought in from the pasture a couple of days ago.
He wished he could get away. He longed to saddle Thor and ride out, just take off with no particular destination. If Cole and Noah were here, he would, but it was Saturday. The men were off for the weekend, and he didn’t want to leave Tory and Ivy completely alone.
He hadn’t forgotten the bikers. It was impossible to know what Bridger might do.
Yesterday after they’d returned to the ranch, he’d called Wes Turley and Ben Rigby, told them about the arrest the FBI had made, thanked them and said they would no longer be needed.
He’d phoned Deke Logan and relayed the news. He didn’t miss the constant buzz of ATVs zooming around the property, the sight of armed men he’d hoped to leave behind when he had left Afghanistan.
He’d called his brother at the Tex/Am office. Linc had a meeting with the governor so the call had been brief, but his brother was relieved to hear the terrorist was in custody.
Still, Josh felt hemmed in, desperate for some time to himself. He was working the colt on a lunge line, running the horse in a circle, when Tory came out to the training ring.
“How’s he doing?” she asked.
“Great. Buster’s smart and eager to please. He’s going to be a great horse.”
“I was thinking maybe we could bring Star into the barn and get him settled, take some shots this afternoon.” Fortunately, the camera gear had survived the shooting in the strip mall.
“Sounds good.” He tugged the colt in, took hold of his halter, and led him out of the ring. Tory walked beside him over to the pasture behind the barn and waited while Josh turned the horse out to graze.
“Let’s go get Star,” he said and they headed for the pasture where the stallion was grazing. As soon as Star spotted Tory, his head came up, his ears shot forward, and he trotted over to greet them.
“How’s my pretty boy this morning?” Tory scratched his topknot and he nickered softly. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe this was the same crazy-mean stallion who had been at the ranch when Josh first bought the place.
While Tory fed him half an apple in the flat of her hand, Josh slipped the halter over his head. “You like that apple, don’t you, fella?” He ran his hand along the stallion’s sleek neck, over his powerful chest, then down his back while Tory fed him the rest of the apple.
Together they walked the stallion out the gate back to the barn. Star walked into the stall without a moment’s hesitation, turned around, and placidly stuck his head over the top, looking for another treat. Tory smiled and rubbed his head, which the stallion loved.
Josh had a hunch the horse had once been well-mannered, but the cruelty of his last owner had destroyed his trust in people. Tory was helping Star regain that trust.
Josh’s stomach rumbled. He hadn’t eaten anything all morning.
“Sounds like you’re hungry,” Tory said. “I’ll have breakfast ready in ten minutes.”
“Great, I’ll be right there.” He watched her walk away, trying to figure how a woman could manage to look sexy and feminine in a pair of work jeans and worn cowboy boots. As she disappeared inside the house, he felt the same tug of longing that had been pulling him in two directions for weeks.
The restlessness returned. He needed some space. Badly.
He was walking through the front door when his cell phone rang. Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he looked down and saw it was Linc, pressed the phone against his ear. “Hey, big brother.”
“I’ve got news. Is Tory around? She needs to hear this, too.”
“She’s close. I’ll get her and put the call on speaker.” He walked into the kitchen and set the phone on the round oak table. “It’s Linc. He’s got news.”
“Hey, Linc.”
