Heart's Desire Read online

  “I’m saying that with these kids on the ranch, if anyone were to get hurt, and their parents were to sue, they could come after all of your assets.” He pointed his fork at Justin. “And, right now, that would include everything but the clinic.”

  “If that’s true, then Dad would have done this a long time ago,” Jessie argued. “Trust me, he wouldn’t have put the ranch at risk.” She picked up her plate and rose. “Dad cared too much for this place to take a chance losing it. Nothing came before the ranch.”

  Nathan didn’t miss the derision in her voice. Leave it to Jessie to jump to conclusions and assume he was attacking her parents’ character. “Unless they didn’t know. What if they were getting bad advice?”

  “From whom?” Julia’s voice was quiet.

  “This is something their lawyer should have recommended to them years ago. At the very least, your accountant should have mentioned it.”

  “Brendon.” Jessie sounded irritated, but her voice had lost the aggressive note. She slid back into her chair, frowning down at her plate as if trying to figure out a difficult puzzle.

  Nathan understood the feeling. He felt like he was trying to get a clear picture through a cloudy lens. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. However, the nagging suspicion in his gut told him it wasn’t going to be good news.

  “That explains your questions earlier.” Julia tipped her chin and looked over at him.

  “Look, I’m only trying to help you guys. The first step is to find out where that missing money is going is each month, and then for you to incorporate all of the Heart Fire businesses under one entity so they can be beneficial to one another.” Nathan saw Justin’s head snap up. “Can you schedule an appointment with the attorney and the accountant tomorrow?”

  “I can try, but what money?”

  “I can’t do it tomorrow,” Jessie interrupted, glaring at Nathan. “I have the Findley Brothers cowboys coming by tomorrow to sign some new-hire paperwork. I have to get them settled in before this weekend.”

  Justin frowned at her. “Make time.” He turned back to Nathan, giving him his full attention. “What money?”

  Jessie’s eyes snapped with blue fire. “Don’t tell me how to run my ranch, Justin. I have guests coming this week and I need to make sure that—”

  “Jess, stop!” Justin slapped his hands against the table and stood, his chair scraping back quickly, almost toppling over. “What is this about missing money?”

  “Don’t yell at me,” she shouted back, jumping up from her own chair. “I just found out about it.”

  “How much, and how long has this been going on?”

  “Hey, guys, let’s settle down.” Julia tried to diffuse the situation, laying her hand on her brother’s arm. “Sit down.” She shot Nathan a pleading look, begging him to help her calm her brother and sister.

  Justin settled, but only slightly, and scooted his chair back under the table. “How much?” he repeated slowly.

  Nathan looked at Jessie, who looked ready to spit flames in his direction. She was furious, but he’d assumed she would’ve shared this information with her siblings. He should have known better. Jessie had a stubborn, independent streak and wore it like a badge on her chest. Admitting that there was money missing would be equivalent to another failure on her part. Jessie turned away from both men, staring out the kitchen window, refusing to meet Nathan’s gaze.

  He sighed, regretting that he’d even opened his mouth. “About four thousand dollars a month for the past six months.”

  “Four thousand!”

  “Justin.” Julia cleared her throat in warning.

  “Jessie, this is a big, complex operation, but how do you not realize four thousand dollars a month is missing from the books? That’s more than half the profit each month.” Justin rose and began pacing the kitchen, a move Nathan remembered from college as the calm just before the storm. He was about to launch into a full-scale attack with his sister taking the brunt of the force. Nathan felt guilty for being the catalyst.

  “Julia and I have been funding this ranch for months, and you’ve been just throwing money away, not even knowing where it’s going? I’m doing without equipment I need at the clinic, and you just keep bringing more horses in.”

  “I’m not the one doing the books, remember? I don’t even see them, so how could I have known?”

  “You could have asked Brendon, at least checked before you went throwing money away.”

  “I haven’t been throwing it away. It’s missing!”

  Nathan rose and moved between Jessie and her brother. “There’s no way she would have found this unless she knew to look for it, Justin. She didn’t know the surplus your parents had before their accident. I don’t think any of you really knew how much this ranch was making, did you?” Nathan looked at each of them individually, gauging their reaction. “But someone else did. There have been several transfers to another account. I still haven’t been able to fully trace where it’s going. But money is being slowly funneled from Heart Fire Ranch.”

  Justin’s tirade stalled as he spun on Nathan, shock written over his face. “What do you mean, funneled?”

  “Do either of you know what Heart Fire Industries is?” Nathan glanced from Justin to Julia, watching their reactions for anything that might be suspicious. He didn’t want to believe it was one of Jess’s siblings taking the money, but he’d seen families do far worse to one another.

  “Other than every one of our businesses using Heart Fire in the name, I have no clue.” Julia reached across the table for Jessie’s hand, but Jessie pulled it away from her grasp, unwilling to accept any comfort. “Jess,” Julia whispered.

  “Well?” Justin glared at Jessie.

  “This looks like something put in place before your parents were killed, Justin. Not something Jessie did.” Nathan glanced over his shoulder at her. “As a matter of fact, if it hadn’t been for the ranch getting to the point that you had someone look at the finances closely, this might never have been discovered. Heart Fire Ranch is funding another Heart Fire entity; we just need to figure out what it is and why.”

  Justin took a few steps across the kitchen toward Jessie, and Nathan moved so he stood between them, trying desperately to bury the desire to punch his friend. The hurt at Justin’s accusations shimmered in Jessie’s eyes. “Jess, I’m sorry, I just—”

  “You just thought I was too stupid and irresponsible to run this ranch. You don’t trust me to be able to do it.” She pushed herself away from Nathan, moving away from all three of them. She brushed past Nathan and headed for the back door, pausing to look back at them, still watching after her. “Contrary to what you believe, Justin, not every problem with this ranch is my fault.” The screen door slammed against the frame behind her.

  “Jess!” Julia jumped up and started after her.

  “No,” Nathan put a hand up. “Let me go talk to her.” He looked at Justin pointedly. “I think, more than anything right now, she needs to hear that this isn’t her fault.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  JESSIE CLIPPED THE cross-tie to the mare’s halter and began to groom her. In the flustered state she was in, she needed to be with her horses, allowing their quiet strength to soothe her troubled spirit. It was exactly why the teens blossomed working with the horses.

  She didn’t need to hide her emotions from a horse. She didn’t need to lie to them. She could admit her failures and guilt without recrimination. With the horses, she could be vulnerable and open herself without fear of being hurt. Jessie ran her hands over the mare’s back, wanting to release the tension from the confrontation with her brother, but it overwhelmed her. She laid her cheek against the mare’s neck, breathing in her dusty, sweet smell.

  Her chest ached, knowing Justin assumed the worst about her, that he believed she was incompetent, or worse, that she was using him for handouts. He was never going to believe in her ability to run this ranch. Her parents should have left
it to him.

  She wasn’t cut out for this. She was nothing more than a horse trainer who had given riding lessons to guests. What did she know about running a dude ranch? Most of Nathan’s business lingo went right over her head. What did she know about incorporating or proprietorships?

  She was a trainer—that was all she knew how to do and the only thing she was good at. Her mother called it her gift, her calling, but with her parents gone and no one to share this load, it had become more of a curse.

  The mare whickered a quiet greeting, and the hair at the base of her nape stood up. She knew it was Nathan even before his large hands found her waist, simply because of the way her body reacted to his presence. Goosebumps rose on her arms, and she felt a shiver of heat travel down her spine.

  “Jess, are you okay?” His voice was quiet, but she could hear the strength in it. He would offer it to her if she was willing to accept it.

  “I’m fine,” she whispered. Jessie didn’t bother to move from where her cheek lay against the mare’s neck. It was a lie and they both knew it.

  Nathan’s hands crept up her back, his thumbs gently massaging her tense muscles. She sighed as his fingers kneaded her tight shoulders. Her brain warned her to move away from his hands, even as her body leaned back into his touch. The mare crooked her head back to look at them, curious, and Jessie patted her neck gently.

  “Okay, I’ll pay attention to you.”

  She forced herself to walk to the grooming bucket near the mare’s head. She dropped the currycomb inside and retrieved a soft brush. When she turned around, Nathan was waiting. One hand curled behind her neck, his fingers winding into her loose curls, and drew her mouth to his. Flutters began in her belly, rising into her chest, warming her, then settling over her. It wasn’t the fiery passion they’d shared before. This kiss was tender, touching the aching core of her, reaching the open, bruised soul that had been exposed by her brother. She didn’t deserve Nathan’s empathy but, oh, how she wanted it, craved it.

  “Nathan,” she whispered against his lips, “don’t.”

  He brought his other hand forward to cup her jaw in his palm, his thumb brushing over her cheekbone. “I’ll stop if that’s what you want, Jess.” His lips found hers again, sapping her will to resist him.

  She recognized her weakness for this man. Like a shot of smooth whiskey, one touch, one kiss from him went straight to her head, and she was drunk with desire. It was dangerous. He was far too astute, saw too much she wanted to remain hidden. She didn’t want to think about why this man, the one bound to leave, the one who didn’t belong here in the first place, was the only one who’d been about to reach this emptiness in her that no one else even noticed. He would finish this job, dust his hands off, and leave. And she would be left with the broken shards of her heart, wondering why she’d been weak enough to believe him again. It was safer to stay away from him until he left next week. At least that way her heart would remain intact.

  As if sensing her indecision, Nathan smiled against her lips. “Okay, I’ll stop.” She fought the urge to grab him by the front of his shirt and pull him back toward her. “For now.”

  Her eyes opened and met his. The gold flecks were bright and the dimple creased his cheek. He plucked the currycomb from her hand. “Show me what to do.”

  Nathan moved to the mare’s side. The horse looked back at him, as if she was just as uncertain of Nathan’s intentions as Jessie.

  “Um, okay. You take this and brush short strokes over her coat with it.”

  He reached for her hand and drew her in front of him, fitting her body against his chest, laying her palm over his hand. “Show me.”

  There wasn’t an inch of her skin, from her shoulders to the back of her thighs, that didn’t feel like it ignited through her clothing. Their right hands moved in unison over the mare’s back while his left hand rested over Jessie’s stomach, just below her ribcage, his thumb absently tracing a path from her ribs to the bottom of her breast, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. Her left hand covered his, stilling his thumb as she tried to catch the breath that seemed to have fled her lungs at his first touch. Her entire body was trembling with want, but she couldn’t seem to stop it. Deep breaths only made her inhale the scent of his soap, a spicy mix of citrus and mint, with the smell of the horse.

  She felt the quiet rumble of his laughter against her back more than she heard it. “Relax, Jess. I’m not going to attack you. I promise. We’re just two consenting adults, grooming a horse.” The tone of his voice and the way her own words fell from his lips had her turning to look at him. He gave her a smile. “Scout’s honor.”

  Jessie arched a brow. She’d spent years convincing herself that he was a heartless bastard, that he’d deliberately seduced her and broke her heart with complete disregard for her feelings, yet here he was, tender and teasing, so much like the man she’d thought she fell in love with that summer. She needed to get her footing with him again, regain the upper hand.

  “Okay, Wall Street. You finish with the brush and I’ll grab a comb for her mane and tail.”

  She started to move away, but he wrapped his arm tighter around her waist and nuzzled his lips against the edge of her ear. “But I like you here.”

  Jessie shivered against him. She wanted to be the tough cowgirl her father had raised, the one who didn’t need anyone and was in complete control, but her heart was rebelling, ignoring her every warning. The more she demanded it not care, the more she was drawn to him. The more she tried to convince her body she didn’t want him, the faster desire seemed to course through her veins, consuming her. She’d tried to keep her distance, but the truth was, she didn’t want to. Even knowing he was bound to leave and take her heart with him again, she couldn’t help the way she felt.

  His teeth gently bit her earlobe and she whimpered quietly, her knees nearly giving out. Nathan laughed against the back of her neck, his breath tickling her shoulder, and she wondered if he felt the same all-encompassing craving she did. Her fingers curled around his hand, now stilled on the mare’s back as his body pressed against her, hard and heated at her hips.

  “I should put her away,” she whispered. Nathan pulled her more fully against him, unwilling to let her go for even the short amount of time it would take for her to walk the mare to her stall.

  His hand loosened from her waist but only enough for him to run his palm over her belly and grasp her hip, turning her in his arms. “You have two minutes.” He gave her an impish grin, his eyes glinting mischievously, and she wondered what it meant.

  Part of her wanted to remain distant from him, to continue to protect her heart. She couldn’t just forget about the way he’d lied to her. Or had he? What if she’d spent the last eight years hating a man who didn’t exist? What if she allowed him to prove she’d been wrong? She knew she couldn’t protect her heart, it was already his, and it always had been. Why was she continuing to pretend differently?

  NATHAN MOVED AWAY, giving her room to breathe again, and she gulped at the oxygen that seemed to flood the space he vacated. As he dropped the brush into the bucket and carried it into the tack room, she led the mare to the stall.

  She locked the stall door and gave him a sly smile, crooking her finger at him as she hung the halter on the door. “You know, I think there’s an empty cabin just around the corner.”

  “Is there? As a matter of fact, my cabin is just a few steps away.” He closed the distance between them quickly. Unable to keep himself from touching her, he buried both of his hands into her hair, tipping her chin up to look at him. “You drive me a little crazy, woman. You know that, don’t you?”

  She smiled up at him, her eyes glinting mischievously. “I do.”

  He let his hands fall, reaching for her hand, twining his fingers in hers, starting for the doorway. “Then we should probably go.”

  She jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Her lips found the back of his neck and the burning ache in his
gut turned into a raging tempest of need. Her scent surrounded him as she clung to him, her thighs circling him and her hair swinging into his face. His arousal sprang to life.

  “Giddyup, cowboy,” she whispered against his ear.

  It took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to press her up against the wall and take her, right here in the barn. But he wanted this to be more than just physical satisfaction. He was connected to Jessie; he always had been. It was obvious she felt something for him, even it if was just attraction, but he suspected it was far more. The question was how he was going to get this stubborn woman to admit it.

  After the way things had ended before, he hadn’t exactly inspired her trust, let alone her forgiveness. He couldn’t blame her for not wanting to be vulnerable with him. Nathan wasn’t about to give up without a fight, even if it meant tricking Jessie into confessing how she felt.

  Nathan pushed open the door to his cabin and carried Jessie into the kitchen, turning backward to slide her rear onto the tile counter. He turned around and moved between her thighs, grasping her buttocks and pulling her against him, leaning down until his lips were only inches from hers. Her eyes flutter closed, her dark lashes laying against her cheeks, waiting for his kiss.

  “I need a drink. You want something?” He dropped a quick kiss on her full lips and went to the refrigerator. Grasping the neck of two beer bottles, he held one out for her.

  Slightly confused, she blinked her eyes a few times. “What?”

  “A drink.” He popped the top from his with an opener and took a long swallow of the beer as if demonstrating. “Yes? No?”

  She looked almost irate before she quickly masked it, narrowing her eyes before smiling at him. He could see she was trying to get a read on his sudden change of mood. “Sure.”

  Jessie hopped down from the counter and took the second bottle from his hand. Sliding her hand over his, she slipped the opener from his fingers before popping the cap and flipping it onto the counter. She tipped her head back and took a long draw from the bottle as he watched. Hunger curled through him, tightening his need into a throbbing ache centered under the ridiculous belt buckle he’d purchased.