Chapter One
Near Forth Worth, Texas, 1867
“Dammit all to hell, hold the horse steady!”
Wade’s profane shout burned Catherine’s ears. Typical, she thought, disgusted. But not her problem, at least for the moment. Putting him out of her mind, she resumed her stalking through the hayloft, hunting for the newest batch of kittens. From below a horse whinnied loudly and she froze. It sounded like Ginger, her mare.
Catherine ran over to the hayloft window, standing on her toes to see, and looked out across the paddock. Sure enough, there was Ginger. Catherine’s brother-in-law, Wade Masters, had her on a lead, steadying her as one of the ranch hands ran across the dusty ground toward the gate. Two others stood by in the dust, watching. In the background she heard a stallion trumpet.
What was Wade doing with Ginger?
She studied him, which was a mistake. His tall form was covered in dust and sweat, but even from the hayloft he looked better than any man should. The thin fabric of his shirt clung to his work-toughened body, outlining his every feature. Work-hardened, strong as the horses he loved so much, unwilling to compromise. Everything about him called to her, and she hated him for it. Wade made her gut twist with longing, and watching the play of his body as he held the horse firm didn’t help. Ginger reared up, and his broad-rimmed hat flew off his head. He steadied her, speaking in gentle, soothing tones that ran right along Catherine’s spine, making her wonder just how good he might sound next to a woman in the middle of the night.
She shook her head, warding off the thoughts. She might be a widow, but it still wasn’t decent, the way she sometimes dreamed about Wade. No good woman would spend her meals studying his firm, full lips across the dinner table. And a prudent woman wouldn’t take an extra ten minutes every time she trimmed his sun-streaked brown hair in the kitchen, running her fingers through the soft locks and imagining them against her stomach.
The ranch hand swung open the gate and led Wade’s stallion, Baron, into the fenced area. Suddenly she realized what was going on down there—Wade was going to breed Ginger to Baron. Catherine’s eyes narrowed in anger.
“Wade Masters, you stop that right now!” she yelled out the window without a second thought. The men looked up at her, startled, and then a slow grin stole across Wade’s handsome face.
“You want to help breed the horses, Cat?” he called back, his tone taunting. “I didn’t know ladies liked to watch these things, but we can use the help.”
Anger washed through Catherine and she gritted her teeth, even as she felt a hot blush rising across her face. Women didn’t talk about horse breeding. But Wade knew exactly how she felt about Ginger. They’d discussed it last week. She didn’t want the mare bred this season. She needed time to recover from her last foal. Not to mention that Catherine wanted Ginger in good riding condition. If she got that teaching job in town, she’d need her. She hadn’t mentioned teaching to Wade just yet, but that didn’t mean she had to just sit back and let Wade wreck everything by getting her mare pregnant. Catherine stormed across the loft to the ladder, only to find Wade climbing up toward her.
“What’s happening with Ginger?” she asked, toying with the idea of kicking him back down to the barn floor if she didn’t like the answer. Perhaps her intentions showed in her face, because he didn’t answer her until he’d pulled himself up into the loft.
“Go to the window and see for yourself,” he said, nodding toward the opening.
She shot him a suspicious look, then headed back to the window. José, another of the hands, had taken Wade’s place holding Ginger’s lead, clicking at her as the other hand brought in Baron.
“Wade, you have to tell them to stop,” Catherine said, whirling around to confront him, too angry to feel embarrassed. He’d come up behind her, though, and she found herself face-to-face with him, far too close for comfort.
“It’s too late, he already has her scent,” Wade said. His voice was low and smooth, holding just a touch of condescending exasperation. She hated that tone. Bully. The man was as full of himself now as he’d been as a ten-year-old taunting her, “Here, kitty Cat, Cat, Cat!” before catching her and pulling her braids. But soon she’d be rid of him. The teacher’s job came with a house.
“She’s fine, look for yourself,” he continued, and something in his tone caught her attention. She looked up at him, really looking this time, and realized her studied her far too closely. His face was hard, brown from years of sun, his eyes cold with the shadows they’d held since coming home from the war. Their green color startled her, as they always did. He focused on her face so intently it was uncomfortable. And he was too tall, looming over her, making her feel small and powerless.
To avoid facing him, she turned back toward to the window to watch her mare. The gentle female had gone still as Baron sidled up next to her, intently sniffing, nudging her with his nose. The ranch hands continued holding the leads, but they kept them loose, allowing the horses some space. Baron reared up just a little, and Catherine saw the mare twitch her tail to one side. They were about to mate, right in front of her, and while she’d seen animals breeding before, she wasn’t prepared to witness it with Wade.
Dear heavens, they had too much tension between them already.
But Wade stepped closer to her, putting one hand on the window frame on either side of her head, trapping her. She felt his hot breath on the back of her neck as he leaned forward to speak low and soft.
“Ginger knows what she wants,” he said. “She’s not afraid of Baron. You don’t need to worry about her, Cat. She’s doing what she was designed to do.”
The words sent a shiver right down her spine, tickling her all the way to her toes. Enough was enough, she shouldn’t stay here and watch. It wasn’t proper. Ginger squealed again, and then Baron reared up and covered her. Catherine’s eyes widened as she saw the dark length of the stallion’s enormous penis lengthen.
“I can’t believe how big it is,” she said softly, and blushed fiercely, damning her stupid tongue. Why did she always blurt out what she was thinking? Other girls never said foolish things like that, yet she’d been doing it all her life. Wade chuckled in her ear, and moved closer in, crowding her body against the wall. She felt the heat of him against her back, and in that moment her worst suspicions were confirmed.
Wade wanted her, the way a man wants a woman.