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  “Let’s sit out on the patio,” he suggested, and she followed him to the door. He held the door for her and switched the lights off outside. Small yard lights and lights in the trees, as well as the pool lights, still gave enough illumination to clearly see each other. Boone pulled a chair close to hers.

  “Erin,” he said, setting down his beer and taking her hand. “Think about us. You know there’s a world of difference between caring for siblings and caring for your own baby.”

  “I can’t believe that you’ve had a complete turnaround. What I can believe is that guilt and honor will cause you to pursue marriage as if your life depended on my consent, but that isn’t what I want,” she explained patiently. “It really isn’t.”

  He caressed her nape and then pulled her head closer, gazing into her eyes. “I don’t want a future without you,” he said, and her heart thudded so hard she was certain he would know it. He leaned the last bit of distance to kiss her, and his tongue entered her mouth, starting a storm of sensations and emotions. She kissed him in return and knew when he lifted her to his lap.

  Finally she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him long and passionately before pushing against him and slipping off his lap to get back to her chair.

  “You slow down. I don’t believe you. You just want to do the right thing.” She stood. “Boone, I’m getting tired.”

  He stood. “Let’s go to dinner tomorrow night. I miss you and I want to straighten all this out.”

  “That translates to I want to get you to do things my way.”

  “Maybe, but I’m not so sure about your protests. I think you’re saying no for the wrong reasons. If you didn’t love me and really wanted me out of your life, I’d go, but I don’t think that’s it, just like you don’t believe that I mean what I say.”

  “Boone, I saw your reaction when you realized I was pregnant. It was not joy and love.”

  “I was shocked. It wasn’t something I expected. That doesn’t mean I haven’t had time to think things over and to change how I’ve always felt about babies and marriage.”

  “I don’t think so,” she said, taking his arm to lead him to the door, where she turned to face him.

  “Go to dinner with me Saturday night, Erin.”

  “What’s the point in dragging things out?”

  “The point is, I want to be with you. Just go out to dinner with me. We’ve had a good time together and we’ll have a good time Saturday night.”

  She sighed. “Going out together isn’t going to change things.”

  “Doesn’t have to change anything except me sitting around alone and missing you. All right, darlin’?”

  “It seems so pointless.”

  “I want you to go with me,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders. He stroked her shoulders and then framed her face with his hands. Desire burned in his blue eyes and she wanted to let go and trust and believe him, but too well she remembered the look on his face when he had found out she was pregnant, and remembered all his declarations against marriage.

  “Erin,” he said, “I love you.”

  She closed her eyes, thinking how she had dreamed of hearing those words, longed for them, fantasized about them, but now she couldn’t believe them. She shook her head and opened her eyes to gaze into his. “You don’t really mean that.”

  “Yes, I do, darlin’,” he said, pulling her into his arms to hold her close. He stroked her head. “You’ll see. Just give me a chance.”

  She looked up at him and met his gaze and there was no mistaking the desire that blazed in depths of blue. She stood on tiptoe, pulling his head down to her to kiss him. As tongues touched, his arms tightened around her, holding her against him, and she felt his arousal. He leaned back against the door and cupped her bottom, pulling her closely to him while he kissed her. His hand caressed her back while he continued to hold her tightly with his other arm.

  Her heart thudded, and longing swamped her, wanting everything with him and wanting to believe him, yet scared to let go and trust.

  He slipped his hands beneath her shirt to cup her breasts, stroking her nipples, and she moaned softly, finally pushing against his chest.

  “Slow down, Boone. I mean it.”

  He stroked her hair away from her face while she pulled her shirt in place. “I want you, Erin,” he said.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow night,” she said quietly, and opened the door. He gazed into her eyes and she clutched the door, knowing she needed to stay right where she was and not walk into his arms again.

  He brushed a light kiss on her lips and turned away. “Tomorrow night about six,” he called over his shoulder.

  She nodded her head and closed the door, her heart pounding with joy that she tried to bank because she didn’t really believe that he was truly in love. Not a love to last.

  But oh, if he did—Her breath caught and she stopped following that line of thought. Instead, she remembered the moment he had learned that she was pregnant and how he had looked appalled and sounded distraught and unhappy.

  Her smile faded while reality and grim facts took hold. Memories of his statements about marriage were as clear as if he had just said them to her. In three days she knew he couldn’t have had a change of heart about something he had felt strongly about for years.

  Her joy vanished, and she clutched her hands around her middle. There were some rocky times ahead. Tomorrow night she should tell him goodbye and stop this futile pursuit of his when he didn’t really mean it.

  She was not marrying the man when he was doing it out of a sense of duty.

  She shivered and was swamped with longing and taunting memories that made her want to toss aside reason and hope that someday he would fall in love.

  She knew she couldn’t do that. Go out tomorrow night, break it off for good.

  She went to bed and lay in the dark feeling lonely and forlorn and trying to concentrate on the baby until her thoughts brightened and she finally fell asleep.

  As if conjured up by her gloomy feelings, the next day a rainstorm came up about noon. Black clouds gathered on the horizon, whipping up and spreading across the sky with surprising speed while lightning split the summer sky. They needed rain, so it should be welcome, but she didn’t particularly want to go out to dinner tonight in the rain.

  It would be more cozy to curl up in the house, but she didn’t want to get cozy with Boone when she was going to have to tell him goodbye.

  As she made calls and then got some ranch brochures ready to mail, the house darkened until she had to switch on lights. She moved through the dark house and looked at the surface of the swimming pool. The water rose and fell and the wind whipped up tiny waves.

  Gusts tore at flowers, ripping loose petals and sending them tumbling through the air while the trees bent and shook. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed liked cannons. She went upstairs to look outside when a big clap of thunder rumbled, and then lightning flashed a blue-white brilliance and there was another ear-splitting bang.

  Rain poured down in gray sheets, a deluge opening up while more lightning flashed. She wondered where Boone was and if he was out on the ranch somewhere and if he could get to cover.

  She laughed at herself. The man had been in Special Forces. This was a rainstorm.

  Feeling restless, she went back downstairs, and as she crossed the kitchen, she saw the first orange lick of flame.

  She blinked, rushing to the window. An orange flame danced along the stable roof.

  Ten

  C hilled to the bone and terrified, wondering what horses were inside, she raced to the phone and yanked it up to call Perry and sound the alarm.

  She called the emergency numbers and then tossed down the phone as she ran outside and sprinted through light rain to the burning stable.

  As she ran, all she could think about were Boone’s warnings about firetraps. Surely the sprinkler system would put out the fire in minutes.

  Men were already there, getting out horses,
and she raced inside. Some horses had gotten out into the run on their own, but others were in stalls that for one reason or another weren’t open.

  “Get out of here, Erin!” Perry yelled, but she dashed past him, yanking down a blanket to throw it over a horse’s head and try to lead the frantic animal outside.

  Even though the sprinklers had gone off, the fire raged out of control, hay going up instantly and the aged dry wood burning like tinder becoming a roaring fire that neither the sprinklers nor the light rain could deter.

  Leading a horse out into the run, she handed it over to a cowboy who then led it away from the stables. Horses whinnied, and the rain still drizzled. Men yelled instructions as she ran back into the burning building.

  Stunned, she drew back momentarily. The fire seemed to have doubled since she had led the last horse outside, but she could hear the frantic neighing and pawing of a horse still trapped.

  “Boone was right,” she said, without realizing she was talking to herself.

  A timber cracked and she looked up as one of the large supporting beams that was consumed by fire broke loose and fell.

  Flames shot high from the roof and could be seen all over the ranch. The dark plume of smoke had darkened and was spreading.

  Far from the stable, Boone could see the fire.

  He had been out on the ranch with Dusty, looking at new horses recently acquired when he had gotten a call from Perry. Terrified for Erin’s safety, Boone raced for his pickup, while Dusty jumped in beside him. Boone floored the gas pedal, leaving the road and racing back toward the stables.

  Cold fear gripped him because he knew if Erin learned about the fire, she would go out to save any horses caught in the burning stable.

  Hunching over the steering wheel as the pickup bounced and raced across the ranch, Boone forgot Dusty beside him. He splashed through a creek, sending a spray of water high into the air and then raced out on the other side. He hit a rock and the pickup tilted, riding on two wheels a moment and then righting, dropping with a jolt that made it bounce when all four wheels hit the ground.

  Boone heard Dusty swear, but he was barely aware of it. He could see the flames shooting high above the treetops then disappearing from sight as he raced down an incline.

  When the stable came into view, while he was still hundreds of yards away, he saw Erin dash inside and his heart dropped.

  The entire structure was a raging bonfire with flames shooting high, rain still coming down and men trying to move horses and fight the fire. The rain had slacked off to a fine mist, not enough to bring the fire under control, and a pumper truck was pouring water on the stable closest to the burning one.

  Boone braked to a stop and flung out of the pickup, racing for the barn. Someone caught his shoulder and tried to stop him, but he shoved him away and ran inside. Someone else thrust a wet towel in his hand and he put it over his shoulder.

  “Erin!”

  She screamed as a beam fell, and Boone had to jump back. He ripped off his T-shirt and tied it around his nose and mouth, looking for her while his heart pounded wildly and fear gripped him.

  Flames roared up the sides of the stable and above him. The entire place was an inferno and billows of smoke hid everything from sight.

  “Erin!” he shouted. He felt as if his heart were being torn out.

  He saw a shape in clouds of smoke, yards away, trying to lead a rearing, frightened horse.

  Clinging to the halter, she was trying to get the frightened animal to come with her.

  Boone leaped over the burning timber. “Go through the stall into the run! Get out, Erin,” he yelled, yanking his T-shirt from his face and shoving it into her hands. “I’ll get the horse.”

  He flung the towel over the horse’s head and turned the horse to lead it out.

  Covering her nose and mouth with his shirt, Erin moved ahead of him. While he watched her, Boone tried to keep the wild horse’s eyes covered, battling to get it outside, but watching Erin who was a dark form lost in smoke and hidden by flames.

  Heat licked at Boone and his lungs felt on fire. He couldn’t see where he was going for a moment and then he saw the door looming and a slight figure go through it. Hurrying behind her, he led the horse out.

  The instant he stepped outside, he released the halter. “Someone get this horse!” he shouted, and a man ran past him.

  Boone scooped Erin into his arms. He strode away from the stable and then heard another loud crack and glanced over his shoulder to see what was left of the roof cave in with a crash that sent flames and sparks high into the air.

  “The horses—” Erin gasped.

  “They’re out,” he replied, not really knowing that, but wanting to calm her and knowing that if the last one wasn’t out, there was no saving it now.

  She tightened her arms around his neck. “You were right. The sprinklers did nothing to stop the fire.”

  “Don’t worry about it, darlin’. Everyone’s safe. We can rebuild. Shh. Are you all right?”

  She raised her head and he gazed into her eyes that were brimming with tears. She wiped at them and he leaned forward to kiss her, a kiss that became long and fierce.

  He strode away from the fire, leaving the others to deal with it and carrying Erin home. Her back door stood open where she had run outside when she’d first spotted the fire.

  Boone strode through it, kicking the door shut and carrying her straight upstairs through her bedroom to her bathroom. She was shivering uncontrollably in his arms and he turned on the shower, stripping away her clothes and his and stepping into the shower with her. Warm water poured over her and gradually she stopped shivering.

  “Boone, I was wrong—”

  “Forget about it. The stable is gone. Doesn’t matter now, darlin’. Ah, Erin, don’t ever scare me like that again. You shouldn’t have gone into that burning stable and risked yourself and our baby.”

  When she looked up at him, her eyes widened.

  “Promise. Don’t ever do anything like that again,” he persisted. “I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.” He stood in the shower with water streaming over both of them and framed her face with his hands.

  “Erin, I love you.”

  Erin thought she would faint with joy because there was no mistaking the need and sincerity in his voice this time.

  When he kissed her, she wrapped her arms around him. In minutes he shut off the shower and grabbed a towel, drying her slowly, lightly running the towel over her. And then he picked her up to carry her to her bed where he made slow, tantalizing love to her.

  Afterward, he held her tightly against him as they lay on their sides. “Darlin’, this is the way it should be. So good, my love.”

  He trailed kisses over her and held her close and they lay locked in an embrace.

  “I love you, have loved you for how long now and didn’t even know how to recognize the real thing,” he whispered. “Darlin’, I’ll never be able to say it enough—I love you.”

  She hugged him tightly. “I love you, Boone.”

  They kissed for a long time and then he held her close. “You’re the most important person in the world to me,” he whispered and kissed her again. In a few minutes, she settled against him, held tightly in his embrace.

  “Boone, I need to go call the insurance adjuster.”

  He kissed her temple. “I suppose you’re right.” He rolled away and leaned down to look at her. “When things settle tonight, let’s still go to dinner. I want to talk about our future.”

  Her pulse jumped as she nodded and watched him walk away.

  In minutes he emerged from the bathroom in his wet jeans, pulling on his boots.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “I better see if the men need help and if everyone is all right.”

  She sat up and swung her legs out of bed. “I’ll come with you.”

  “No you don’t,” he said firmly. “You’re staying right here—high and dry. I’ll report back and I
’ll call if you’re needed, but I can tell you now that you won’t be. There wasn’t one man out there who wanted you to be there.”

  “Men!” she snapped in disgust. “I got several horses out of there.”

  “So you did,” he said grimly. “Now, you stay put.”

  “Yes, sir,” she said in a sarcastic voice, and he grinned.

  “See you soon,” he said, and was gone.

  She got out of bed and got a robe, pulling it on and going to a window where she could see the stables and see what was happening.

  The rain had stopped and a rainbow arced across the sky. The blackened ruins still smoldered and small columns of gray smoke rose in the air. Men milled about and the corral held restless horses.

  If no horses or men had been injured or lost, they were indeed fortunate, and she realized that she should have listened more closely to Boone about building new stables, particularly when the fire chief agreed with him.

  Was she also turning a deaf ear to him about his feelings on getting married? she wondered. She knew he had meant his declaration of love this afternoon. The words hadn’t been said out of any sense of duty.

  Today he had acted like a man who was in love. She watched Boone cross the yard and join the other men. Perry joined him and the two men talked. She moved away to go to her office and call the insurance adjuster and tell him about the blaze.

  When she had finished talking to him, she showered again. In spite of Boone’s urging her to stay home, she was going to go see the damage for herself.

  When she stepped out of the shower, the phone was ringing and she picked up the receiver to hear Boone’s voice.

  “Darlin’, I miss you.”

  She laughed. “You just left me, Boone. What about the men? Was anyone hurt?”

  “Nope. Only scratches and minor burns. Everyone is all right, and all the horses are okay.”

  “Thank heavens!” she exclaimed in relief. “I talked to the adjuster and he’s coming out. I just showered and I don’t have on a stitch—”

  “Erin,” Boone said in a low voice. “I’ll be right there.”