The youngest and tallest of the three spectators made his way around the corral toward Robin. He stopped in front of her and offered his hand. “Derek Sullivan. I’m a friend of Jake’s.”
“Robin Medford.” She accepted the neatly dressed man’s handshake. Nothing to do but brazen it out. Maybe they’d all assume she’d come over to watch the show.
He looked to be about her own age, but he definitely hadn’t grown up in Forever.
“Nice horse,” she said, nodding toward the animal, pretending she had a clue what she was talking about. Jake started across the corral toward them, his worn cowboy boots sinking in the soft dirt with each step.
“Dynamo’s as good as they come.”
If that was the case, Robin sure didn’t want to see a bad horse. “Is this what he does for entertainment?”
“Dynamo?”
“Jake.”
Derek grinned. “Only as a favor to me.”
Derek wanted Jake to get tossed off a wild bucking horse? Some friend. She glanced at the older couple. They had wandered over to admire a mare and foal.
“Hey, Robin.” Jake nodded, eyes narrowing quizzically as he came to a stop and placed one booted foot on the bottom rail. He probably wondered what she was doing here, since she’d made such a point of not engaging him in conversation last night. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
She wondered what the heck she was doing here, too. Her memories of their teenage encounter were so fresh and vivid, she actually felt embarrassed looking him in the eye. And she felt attracted. As attracted as she’d been fifteen years ago.
“Hi,” she returned, swallowing to combat the breathy sound of her voice. Dust didn’t usually turn her on. Neither did sweat, faded jeans or well-worn cowboy boots.
Jake cocked his head sideways, his expression becoming almost hesitant. “So, what did you think of the ride?”
Frightening. Insane. Gorgeous. Sexy. “The horse seemed a bit…frisky.”
Both men chuckled.
“We like ’em that way,” Derek offered.
“To each his own.” Robin wished her pulse rate would return to normal.
“You do know what I do for a living, right?” asked Jake.
“Not exactly.” She forced herself to concentrate on the lone cloud developing above the mountain peak. She knew he raised horses, but hadn’t given much thought to what he did with them in Forever. Tourist trail riding, she supposed. With really healthy tourists.
“I raise rodeo horses.”
“Rodeo horses? In Forever?” Her gaze zipped from the cloud to his face.
“Right here in Forever,” he said.
“Thanks for the demo, buddy.” Derek clapped Jake on the shoulder, releasing a small cloud of dust. Tiny particles clung to Jake’s face, accenting his beard stubble and highlighting the interesting lines crinkling the corners of his charcoal-blue eyes.
“See you later tonight. Nice to meet you, Robin.” Derek headed over to collect the older couple.
Jake waved his friend off with a nod.
He ducked between the fence rails, then straightened and leaned back, crossing his boots at the ankles. His familiar eyes caressed her, sending the pulse in her throat into overdrive. “So, Robin, what can I do for you?”
Several answers immediately blossomed in her mind. None of which she could voice.
3
“NOTHING,” was what she quickly said. “I mean, I, uh…” She didn’t want him to think she was here to rekindle the old flame. But she didn’t want to talk about her Florence Nightingale impulse, either.
“Nice place you’ve got here,” she offered a bit desperately, glancing around the ranch. Close up, she was truly dazzled by what he’d done with his family’s land.
Connie had raved about his hard work and vision. Looking at the house, the barn, pens and outbuildings, Robin could certainly understand why. It must have taken some kind of work ethic over the past fifteen years to accomplish all of this.
He peered at her from under his hat brim, recapturing her attention. “So you came over to admire the place?”
“Yeah.” She nodded and immediately felt her neck heat up.
He looked pointedly and skeptically at her open shirt collar, then returned his gaze to her face, raising his eyebrows. “Did you come over to watch me ride?”
“Yeah.”
His eyes narrowed, and he reached forward to tip her collar out of the way. “Want me to ask you something really embarrassing?”
“No!”
He let go of her collar without the slightest brush to her skin. She couldn’t stop a little flare of disappointment. Those calloused hands were a real turn-on. Of course, so was pretty much everything else about him.
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Just tell me why you’re here.”
Robin sighed with exasperation. She hated that built-in lie detector. There were definite disadvantages to being around people who’d known her as a child. “I thought you might need medical attention.”
He pulled back. “You’re not a doctor.”
“I’m a licensed paramedic.”
“You’re kidding.”
“People don’t tend to joke about that.”
“That’s not what I meant.” The horse trotted past behind him, nickering softly, obviously none the worse for wear. “I’m just surprised, that’s all. I thought you were doing wilderness tours.”
“I was. Well, I was scouting locations, anyway. It helps to have medical training when you’re out in the field.”
“That makes sense.” A small silence followed his nod.
An errant blackfly buzzed her face, and she waved it away. She knew she should say goodbye and go help Connie with lunch. But she hesitated. Jake the Cowboy was everything Jake the Teenager had been, and more. He was all grown-up now, and so was she.
She couldn’t help wondering what would happen if they met for a midnight swim at thirty-two instead of eighteen. Would he send her away this time?
She took half a step closer, eyeing the broad shoulders straining beneath his denim shirt. She itched to touch him, to see what his muscles felt like, hardened by time and ripened through experience.
She cleared her throat. “Do all your horses buck people off?” It was difficult to keep an inconsequential conversation going through her escalating sexual buzz.
“Not all of them.” The gravelly base of his voice and the whisper of the wind reminded her they were alone. “I have a few that are rideable.”
“Oh. Good. That’s good.”
“Would you like to try one?” he asked.
“A horse?”
“No, a bull.” He grinned and her stomach flipped over. “Do you ride?”
It took her a second to recover her voice. “Yes. Yes, I ride horses. The nonbucking kind. Wild Ones Tours was considering a seven-day trek in Brazil last year.”
“So you tested it out.”
“Yeah.”
“Well,