LITMIR.BIZ

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DIDN’T SAY anything as she saddled her horse and they rode out to do the afternoon chores. When she’d been a teenager and she’d felt like she was going to scream from frustration at having to rush home from school to help with chores instead of hanging out in town with her friends, her dad had always assigned her to ride with Jeb. There was something calming about Jeb, steady and quiet. He was sure of himself and he rode with an easy grace that came from spending a lifetime in the saddle.

      The ranch and ranching business had changed, but Jeb never would.

      They fed the cattle and worked quietly alongside each other. And the tightness that had taken up residence in the pit of her stomach loosened. She let the peace of the day and the land wash over her. The sounds of the cattle and the horses.

      The rhythm of life on the ranch worked magic on her troubled soul. That was why she never left for long. The land was part of her. She wondered if it was the same for Jason. If being up in his capsule in space soothed something deep inside of him.

      Probably.

      That was why he’d backed away in the kitchen last night. The sex had been amazing, better than even her steamiest dreams. But they were just having fun. She needed to remember that.

      “I needed this,” she said to Jeb. There was something reassuring about doing the same chores she’d done for most of her life with Jeb by her side.

      “I know.”

      She shook her head. “Jason made a suggestion that I wasn’t expecting when we were at the lawyer’s yesterday...using the land for a NASA training facility.”

      Jeb pushed his straw cowboy hat back on his head. “Say what?”

      “I was surprised, too, but I think it could work. NASA would build the facility and we’d still run the ranch on this part of the land. The old bunkhouses would need to be updated—again on NASA’s dime—to house the trainees. What do you think?” she asked, realizing maybe she should have talked to Jeb before she’d signed off on the plan.

      “Sounds... I’m not sure. I like the idea that we don’t have to play cowboys to a bunch of tourists, but a NASA training facility? What do we know about that?”

      “Jason is the expert. He said NASA would hire the right people for the roles. Mostly we’d just liaise between the ranch and the facility. He’s going to manage most of the details.”

      “I thought he was going back to space,” Jeb said.

      “The work we do at the facility will help NASA to determine who goes and who doesn’t. It will provide the specialized training astronauts need for long-term missions. Something called Cronus. Jason would have to be evaluated and trained along with the other astronauts.”

      She didn’t want to mention his health issue. It was his story to share if he wanted to.

      “So, when will we know about this?”

      “Soon, I think. In the meantime we should act as if we’re going to win the bid. You’ve already started clearing the land, which needs to happen regardless, but there’s more work that we’ll have to do.”

      “I think the bunkhouses are going to take a while. There is a leak in the southern house. The one where some of the boys used to stay.”

      “Rina’s brother is in construction. I’ll ask her to make a call. Maybe they can put their company’s name forward when NASA is ready to choose builders.”

      “Sounds good to me.”

      “I need you to assign someone to show Jason the acreage that will be used for the facility. He didn’t spend much time in that part of the ranch when he lived here before.”

      “Why don’t you show him?” Jeb asked, turning to gaze at the horizon.

      “Because I’m busy,” she said.

      “All right, missy, no need to bite my head off,” Jeb said.

      “Sorry. I’m just...”

      “It’s fine. He always did rattle you.”

      Jeb rode off before she could say anything else. But what would she have said? No, he doesn’t... Jason made her crazy. Not the good kind, either. Except for last night.

      She wished... Why had she been so curt with him when they got back?

      Because she’d felt him slipping away.

      And it was easier to back away herself than to be the one who was holding on. The one who wanted more than the other was willing to give. She’d done love once. Been burned so badly that she’d retreated here and kept her distance from men ever since.

      She needed to remember that. She didn’t want to be back at heartbreak hotel again. Rina had patched her up the last time and Molly had vowed she’d be smarter and stronger if she ever met a man she liked again. But it seemed that her heart didn’t care about common sense.

      She hadn’t counted on Jason McCoy. Hadn’t figured he’d ever walk through her door again, but here he was. Making plans and promises, and she was just following along. Letting her battered heart hope she could handle whatever the future held.

       10

      MOLLY WASN’T HAVING the best day. She had thought she’d do anything to save the ranch, but not knowing what was going to happen was making her edgy. She loved the land and had never realized how much she needed it to stay the way it always had been.

      Jason wasn’t really helping. He had called once in the three days since he’d left to tell her he had gone to Houston and was on his way to San Diego to meet with a defense subcontractor. He made a few bid-related requests. He was all business. How much plainer did things need to be before she got the message? Even though he was trying to move their plan forward, the short call had left her feeling confused and angry. Not at all what she’d expected after their night together.

      She wondered if she’d made a huge mistake by partnering with him and starting down this crazy path that would—if he had his way—lead him away from her.

      Now, in the middle of her daily tour of the ranch property, she heard odd sounds and she brought Thunder to a stop. Not construction sounds, but something repetitive. Strange. As far as she knew, the hands were working elsewhere. The zoning commissioner had stopped by earlier to make sure they could use their land for the NASA facility if the bid was successful, but she was gone now.

      Molly dismounted her horse and dropped the reins. knowing Thunder would stay, and then walked closer to the old homestead. It was a ramshackle house that the first Tanner to live on the Bar T had built. He’d brought his mail-order bride to the house. Even though it was in a sad state of disrepair, the beams were still solid and one day Molly hoped to renovate it.

      Maybe with the profits from the NASA project, she would.

      She wanted to be optimistic about the training facility, but she felt torn. She knew at the heart of her mixed feelings was the knowledge that whatever came of the project, Jason would do everything in his power to get back to active duty. To leave her behind, maybe for good.

      She rounded the trail and stopped in her tracks.

      The source of the sounds was Jason.

      Shirtless, with sweat on his torso, he hefted one of the heavy railroad ties that had originally been part of the front porch over his head. He held it there for a count of twelve, his muscles bulging, and she heard him cursing as he counted. Not using the old one-Mississippi but instead one-fucking-damn.

      She bit her lower lip to keep from smiling, and as he squatted to lower the beam she stayed where she was. His faded blue jeans rode low on his hips. When he stooped to pick up the beam again the fabric pulled tight against his backside.

      Lord, he had a great ass.

      He lifted, counting

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