Bowles, Jan - Branded by the Texas Rancher (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  He sat down on the bench next to her. A distinctive perfume assailed his senses. He recognized the smell but just couldn’t quite place it. Then he knew, gardenias, she smelled of gardenias. The exotic tones were sexy and out of sync with the way she dressed. For Christ’s sake, they were talking about his daughter, and all he could focus on was the perfume she wore. “Your predecessor said exactly the same thing. Then what can I do about it?”

  “I propose some extra lessons, Mr. Monroe.”

  He shook his head. “Now I want what’s best for my little girl, Miss Wade, but I ain’t sure if I can rightly afford extra lessons.”

  Just then his name was called back to the arena. “I’m sorry, Miss Wade. I gotta go.”

  “Mr. Monroe, if you’d like to discuss this further, please come by the schoolhouse. I’m there most evenings until seven. I’m sure we can come to some arrangement.”

  * * * *

  Rebecca watched him return to the arena to accept his prize of a silver belt buckle. When he had sat next to her, she had been overwhelmed by his presence.

  He had a raw, masculine scent of wild horses and honest sweat. In truth, she had noticed everything about him, from the work-roughened hands to the sun-bleached hair that fell about his face. The strong jaw and smooth lips had all been branded in her mind. Yet, it was his eyes, so startlingly blue, standing out from his weather-tanned skin, which had caused the most impact. It was almost as if he could read her thoughts.

  Rebecca took a deep breath. She wasn’t used to this hard, masculine world where men where men. It probably came from the pioneering days when the men needed to take control and carve out a living on the land. All those centuries of hard graft had filtered down to make them incredibly masculine. The type of environment she had frequented only contained men in suits.

  Jason was a suit. In fact, Jason had never even broken into a sweat. Only on a couple of occasions, when she had allowed him to make love to her, had his pulse rate raised at all, and hers had simply stayed the same. Surely that proved she was devoid of any emotion?

  Yet, she knew that wasn’t entirely true. Just now when Mr. Monroe had looked at her, she had felt her heart race away.

  As she watched Annie’s father collect his prize, she realized she had moved into a completely different world. The fact that his daughter cooked his meals at such an early age only underlined the fact. The men here saw their women in an entirely different way. Back home in England the men she’d known had seen her as weak. They’d undermined her to a point that she had little confidence in her own abilities. Here the men expected the woman to take on duties and responsibilities.

  She only hoped that Jed Monroe would take his daughter’s education as seriously as he seemed to take the rodeo.

  Chapter Two

  Jed watched his daughter playing on the swing outside the kitchen window as he put the final touches to their meal.

  It had been over a week since he’d seen the schoolteacher, but every day when he looked at Annie, he remembered Miss Wade’s words.

  Surely he should find out what Miss Wade proposed to do? Didn’t he owe it to Annie to give her the best possible start in life?

  He opened the casement window and called, “Come and wash up, Annie. Dinner’s just about ready.” When he turned back to the kitchen, pain shot through his spine. Damn, his neck hurt like hell. He rubbed his hand over the tender flesh. Why had he entered the rodeo? He’d been suffering for over a week now.

  When she entered the kitchen, he spoke to her. “Annie, Miss Wade wants me to go and see her.” He smiled. “Now don’t go looking so glum.” He spooned a heap of corn potatoes onto her plate and motioned for her to take it to the table. “We’ll drop in there this evening, and I’ll see what she has to say, okay?” She started to sit down. “Hey, don’t forget mine, Pumpkin. How am I meant to keep big and strong, huh?”

  “Sorry, Pappy.” She picked up his plate and placed it next to hers. “I like Miss Wade. She don’t get cross like the other teachers.”

  “Well, that’s good, Annie.” He had to admit he quite liked Miss Wade himself.

  * * * *

  Rebecca placed the last book on the pile and then began tidying up. Every night she would stay after school and mark the day’s work handed in by her pupils. This could all be done at home, but there was no one to rush home to, and this way suited her just fine.

  Picking up the eraser, she began removing the last lesson of the day until finally it had wiped clean. Then, in her usual methodical way, she prepared for tomorrow, writing the first topic of the day on the board.

  When she heard the sharp tap, she looked up, surprised to see Annie’s father on the other side of the glass door.

  “Come in, Mr. Monroe. I’m glad you’ve stopped by.”

  He cleared his throat. “I’ve left Annie outside.”

  Rebecca saw her on the climbing frame. “That’s fine.” She ushered him inside and then shut the door. Pointing to a chair, she said, “Please take a seat, Mr. Monroe.”

  She watched him sit tentatively on the chair opposite her desk. He rubbed a hand over his neck as he searched for the right words to begin.

  “Miss Wade, I’ve been thinking about what you said. If you think Annie needs extra tuition, then that’s what she must have.” He paused. “But, I don’t know how we’d go about it.”

  “I may have a solution, Mr. Monroe.” She smiled. “I need some help around the house I’ve just bought. It’s not in good condition, it needs work.”

  “Yeah, I hear you bought old Forest Tucker’s place, over by Rattlesnake Creek.” When she nodded, he continued, “I never seen that man do a day’s work in his life, so I guess everything must need doing.”

  “It does indeed, Mr. Monroe. I found out the other day when it started raining. The roof leaks.”

  He laughed, his eyes twinkling across the divide between them. Her heart seemed to skitter in her chest. He looked at her in a different way to what she was used to. Jed Monroe seemed to look right into her soul. Averting her eyes from his, she continued, “The staircase needs some attention, too. Part of the railing collapsed the other day.”

  “Now that sounds dangerous, ma’am.”

  Raising her eyes back to his, she nodded. “I nearly fell from the landing, down onto the hall below.”

  He let out a long, slow breath. “Look, Miss Wade, why don’t I come now and check that out for you? We can’t have the schoolteacher breaking her neck, can we?”

  “Would you, Mr. Monroe? If you can help, I’d match you hour for hour in tutoring Annie. I’m sure in a month or so she’ll be up to speed.” His brow furrowed as he stood. Feeling she may be asking too much, she added, “Would this be acceptable to you?”

  “Sure would, Miss Wade. You’re straight and to the point. I think you’ll fit right in ’round here. The reason I look annoyed is I pulled a muscle at the rodeo last weekend.” He rubbed his hand over his neck. “Thought it would have fixed itself by now.”

  “I may be able to help you with that, Mr. Monroe. I studied as an osteopath before taking teacher training.”

  “I’d be grateful for any help you can offer, Miss Wade. I can’t afford any fancy doctor’s fees.”

  Now why on earth had she offered to do that? Why hadn’t she kept her mouth shut? Normally, she was indifferent to men, but around Jed Monroe she behaved out of character. Now she only had herself to blame if she found herself in an awkward situation.

  Then she remembered Annie. That was it. She’d make sure Annie was there, then there couldn’t possibly be any gossip amongst the townsfolk. Everything would be well and truly aboveboard. She’d make sure of it.

  * * * *

  “This really is dangerous.” He pushed the wooden stair railing that had dislodged entirely from the wall. “You must have really had a fright.”

  “I did. I just managed to hang onto the newel post.”

  He shook his head, wincing as the pain took hold once more in his neck. “It real
ly needs fixin’ straight away, ma’am.”

  “So does your neck. Why don’t you let me take a look at it?” Her blue eyes just stared at him coolly. He wondered if she ever showed any emotion. “If you go into the kitchen, I’ll see if I can help.”

  Once there, he sat on one of the pine ladder-back chairs. Her cool fingers drifted over his neck. “If you could just twist your head once to the right, and then to the left,” she whispered behind him. Her scent overwhelmed him. What was it with gardenias anyway? “It feels like you’ve trapped a nerve, Mr. Monroe.”

  “Is that good or bad?”

  “I think I can fix it, but you’ll have to remove your shirt first.” As she walked over to the back door, he noticed a faint blush to her cheeks. So she wasn’t quite as cool as she made out. Then she called out into the yard, “Annie, if you could just come in here for a moment, please.”

  He smiled and teased. “What’s the matter, Miss Wade, don’t you trust yourself alone with me?”

  Before she could answer, Annie burst through the door just as he began to unbutton his shirt. He explained, “Miss Wade’s gonna fix my bad neck, and we want you to hold on to my shirt. Can you do that, Pumpkin?”

  She nodded. “Will it hurt?”

  He looked at the schoolteacher, noticing the deepening blush to her cheeks. It looked kind of quaint, and to him just a little bit sexy. “I’d like to know that, too. Will it hurt?”

  “Just a little.”

  He handed Annie his shirt and sat back down on the chair. “I’d have preferred it if you’d said no.”

  “I was taught never to lie, Mr. Monroe.” With that, she walked behind him and placed her hands strategically, one on his back and one on his chin. “If you just let your head relax. That’s it.”

  Then, without warning, she pulled sharply on his chin. His neck twisted, and a sharp pain drove down into his spine and out to his fingertips. He couldn’t help but shout out. “Goddamn it, woman.” Within seconds, the pain had diminished, and his neck moved freely for the first time in over a week.

  He rubbed a hand over the muscles. “My, that feels better already. You have some real talent there, lady.”

  “Good, I’m glad it worked. It doesn’t always.”

  “Me too. Fancy that, Pumpkin. Your Pappy’s cured.” He took the shirt from his daughter and began putting it on.

  “It’s a weakness in your neck, Mr. Monroe. It’s likely to happen again, especially if you go rodeo riding.”

  “Sounds like you disapprove.”

  “I’m only advising. It’s completely up to you what you do.”

  He noticed she kept her eyes averted from his, focusing somewhere on his shoulders. Damn. Close up, the schoolteacher sure was pretty. He made a mental note as he began buttoning up his shirt.

  “Annie, can you get me the hammer and nails from the car?”

  “Sure, Pappy.” She rushed out the kitchen, leaving him alone with the schoolteacher once more. She looked small and fragile, standing behind a chair, gripping it for support. Her gaze still averted from his.

  “I’ll do a temporary fix on your railing. It won’t look pretty, but it’ll be safe. In a day or two I’ll fix it properly.”

  When he’d finished buttoning his shirt and tucked it back into his jeans, she finally looked at him. Her eyes were huge, and he had the distinct feeling she’d been fighting some inner conflict.

  “Call me Jed, please, especially since we’ll be seeing more of each other.” She nodded but didn’t reply. So he added, “I can keep calling you Miss Wade if you prefer?”

  She seemed to come to her senses and laughed nervously. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. By all means, call me Rebecca.”

  All he could think at that moment was what a lovely name. “Rebecca, it suits you.”

  She walked over to the fridge. “Would you like a drink, Mr…Jed? You too, Annie?” she asked as his daughter came bounding into the kitchen with the hammer and nails. “I’ve a pitcher of homemade lemonade in here.”

  “Oh, yes, please, Miss Wade.”

  “Thank you, Rebecca. I will, but I’ll just go fix your banister first.” He took the hammer and nails from Annie, who looked surprised that he’d called her schoolteacher by her first name.

  It didn’t take long to fix, and he returned a few minutes later, enjoying the sounds of laughter coming from the kitchen.

  “I’ll sort out a better arrangement in a few days, but at least it’s safe.” He picked up the glass of lemonade and took a sip. “My, that’s good.”

  “Pappy, Miss Wade says she’ll teach me how to make it next time I come over.”

  “That’ll be real good, Pumpkin.” He looked at Rebecca. “I guess that’s one thing we haven’t got ’round to yet, cooking. I haven’t the time to show her how to do it. I just dish it up.”

  “Oh, so you do the cooking then, Jed?” She smiled and turned to Annie. “And what does Annie do for her keep?”

  “I serve it to the table, Miss Wade.”

  * * * *

  When she was finally on her own, Rebecca almost sagged to the floor. Keeping her emotions in check had been an effort to say the least.

  How ridiculously she’d behaved. After all, she was a grown woman, not a child. She’d seen naked chests before. Yet, she hadn’t seen one as beautifully honed as Jed Monroe’s. All that physical work on his ranch had carved the muscles into hard sinew. They rippled up his torso to the sparse smattering of hair on his chest.

  Overwhelmed by his presence, her mind had simply gone blank. In the end, she had stopped looking at him in order to function. He must have known she was embarrassed. Thank goodness Annie had been there to divert his attention.

  He really did care for his little girl. She smiled. Annie was a sweet child but clearly very literal. Well, at least now she had the truth. Finally she could put her prejudices to one side. Jed Monroe was a good man.

  The arrangements they’d made were perfect. Annie would have extra tuition with her for an hour after school, and Jed would be able to come by every Sunday when Annie stayed with her grandmother.

  At the top of the stairs, she let her hands drift over the banister he had fixed securely. Three large nails were hammered into the wall. She smoothed her fingers over each one in turn. In some way, she felt the power of the man soaking into her. Already she was looking forward to his next visit.

  Chapter Three

  The following Sunday, after he’d dropped Annie off at her grandmother’s, Jed made his way over to Rebecca’s.

  Although he was going there to work, he looked forward to spending more time with the demure English schoolteacher. She’d certainly intrigued him with her coyness. He guessed she wasn’t used to the company of men. So, perhaps it was his presence that made her act like a cat on a hot tin roof.

  He could only hope.

  He parked his SUV on the drive and stilled the engine, then eased himself from the driver’s seat. He looked up at her roof. Yep, a whole bunch of tiles had slipped, and the chimney looked in need of fixin’.

  As he calculated how many tiles he’d have to buy, the front swung door open, and she walked over to him. Her hair was still swept up on top of her head, and she wore a fetching cotton summer dress in red and white. It clung to all the right places. He wondered if she knew how attractive he found her. He smiled to himself. If she knew exactly what he was thinking now, he figured she’d quickly change into her buttoned-up school attire.

  “Rebecca.”

  “Jed. It’s good of you to come. I don’t know where you want to start?” Her eyes just failed to connect with his, and he knew she was trying to distance herself from him. He put that down to shyness, or maybe she just plain fancied him.

  In your dreams, Monroe.

  A classy woman like Rebecca was hardly going to fall for a rough Texas rancher.

  “Well, even though your roof needs attention, I can’t start on it right away. Not until I’ve bought some spare tiles. Maybe you could
tell me what else needs fixin’.”

  “It’s best if I show you.”

  Jed followed her through the house as she pointed to several things that needed attention. All the time his mind remained only half-focused on the tasks, and fully focused on her. Her femininity assailed his senses. Small and petite and incredibly delicate, she was just the type of woman that had always aroused him.

  The quiet ones with their hidden depths had his mind working overtime. He imagined her under him, naked and begging him for her release. Fuck, if his cock hadn’t hardened into a steel rod. Now that was painful. Better to think about roof tiles and planks of wood than something that was unlikely to happen.

  When she’d finished showing him around, she turned and asked him, “Jed, perhaps you’d like a coffee before you start?” The small kitchen area meant that she was standing far closer to him than she might otherwise do. She clasped her hands tightly together, a sign of nervousness most probably caused by having a man in the house. Something she clearly wasn’t used to. She could barely bring herself to look him in the eye. He wondered why a woman as beautiful as Rebecca had ended up so uncertain of herself?

  Realizing it might be best to give her some space, he began removing his jacket. “No, I’ll start with your windows first, maybe I’ll stop for a drink in an hour or so.”

  * * * *

  When Rebecca looked through the kitchen window, she’d catch a glimpse of Jed. He’d removed his shirt, and although she’d seen his naked torso before when she’d fixed the trapped nerve in his neck, she allowed her gaze to linger on his fine physique.

  It was wrong she knew, but instead of turning her head as she rolled the pastry out for her pie, she glanced surreptitiously at him. Unused to the presence of men around her, she enjoyed her covert appreciation of his body. He certainly had muscles in all the right places. How strong he must be. A tight moan escaped her lips as she imagined his body pressed against hers. So close that she could feel the warmth of his skin as he touched hers and smell the scent of his musky masculinity. She closed her eyes to stop the devilish thoughts that taunted her mind. Being alone with Jed had made her act like a complete idiot.