* * *
Aidan stared hard into Jillian’s eyes and couldn’t help but feel they were waging a battle. Of what he wasn’t sure. Of wills? Of desire? Passion? Lust? He rubbed his hand down his face. He preferred none of those things but he had a feeling all of them were fighting for the number one spot right now.
He all but saw steam coming from her ears and figured Jillian didn’t like being ordered around.
“Look,” he said. “We’re wasting time. You want to see the land and I have nothing better to do. I apologize if I came across a little gruff earlier, but by no means did I want to insinuate that I am being forced into showing you around or getting to know you.”
There was no need to tell her that Bailey had asked him to be nice to Jillian and her sisters. He’d always been cordial and as far as he was concerned that was good enough. Getting too close to Jillian wasn’t a good idea. But then, he was the one who had suggested she call him if she needed help preparing for medical school. He now saw that offer had been a mistake. A big one.
She studied him for a moment and he felt something deep in his gut. It was a lot stronger than the kick in his groin he’d experienced when he’d watched her swing her leg over the back of the horse to mount it. He’d taken a long, explosive breath while fighting the sexual hunger that had roared to life inside of him. Even now, with those beautiful full lips of hers frowning at him, a smoldering spike of heat consumed him. One way he knew he could put a stop to this madness was to get her out of his system, since she seemed to have gotten under his skin.
But the way he would do that wasn’t an option...not if he loved his life.
“You’re sure about this?”
Hell no, he wasn’t sure about anything concerning her. Maybe the main reason behind his attraction to her, in addition to her striking beauty, was that he truly didn’t know her that well. Maybe once he got to know her he’d discover that he didn’t like her after all.
“Yes, I’m sure about this, so come on,” he said, nudging his horse forward to stand beside hers. “There’s a lot to see so I hope you’re a fairly good rider.”
She gave him a smile that made him appreciate the fullness of her mouth even more. “Yes, I’m a fairly good rider.”
And then she took off, easing her horse into a canter. He watched in admiration as she flawlessly jumped the horse over a flowing creek.
He chuckled to himself. She wasn’t a fairly good rider; she was an excellent one.
* * *
Jillian slowed her pace and glanced over her shoulder to see Aidan make the same jump she had. She couldn’t help but be impressed at his skill, but she shouldn’t be surprised. She’d heard from Dillon that all his brothers and cousins were excellent horsemen.
In no time, he’d caught up with her. “You’re good,” he said, bringing his horse alongside hers. The two animals eased into a communal trot.
“Thanks,” she said, smiling over at him. “You’re not bad yourself.”
He threw his head back and laughed. The robust sound not only floated across the countryside, but it floated across her, as well. Although she’d seen him smile before, she’d never seen him amused about anything.
“No, I’m not bad myself. In fact there was a time I wanted to be a bronco rider in the rodeo.”
For some reason she wasn’t surprised. “Dillon talked you out of it?”
He shook his head, grinning. “No, he wouldn’t have done such a thing. One of Dillon’s major rules has been for us to choose our own life goals. At least that was his rule for everyone but Bane.”
She’d heard all about Aidan’s cousin Brisbane Westmoreland, whom everyone called Bane. She’d also heard Dillon had encouraged his baby brother to join the military. He’d said Bane could do that or possibly go to prison for the trouble he’d caused. Bane had chosen the navy. In the four years that Pam had been married to Dillon, Jillian had only seen Bane twice.
“So what changed your mind about the rodeo?” she asked when they slowed the horses to a walk.
“My brother Derringer. He did the rodeo circuit for a couple of summers after high school. Then he got busted up pretty bad. Scared all of us to death and I freaked out. We all did. The thought of losing another family member brought me to my senses and I knew I couldn’t put my family through that.”
She nodded. She knew about him losing his parents and his aunt and uncle in a plane crash, leaving Dillon—the oldest at the time—to care for all of them. “Derringer and a few of your cousins and brothers own a horse-training business right?”
“Yes and it’s doing well. They weren’t cut out to work in the family business so after a few years they left to pursue their dreams of working with horses. I try to help them out whenever I come home but they’re doing a great job without me. Several of their horses have won important derbies.”
“Ramsey resigned as one of the CEOs as well, right?” she asked of his oldest brother.
He glanced over at her. “Yes. Ramsey has a degree in agriculture and economics. He’d always wanted to be a sheep farmer, but when my parents, aunt and uncle died in that plane crash he knew Dillon would need help at Blue Ridge.”
Jillian knew that Blue Ridge Land Management was a Fortune 500 company Aidan’s father and uncle had started years ago. “But eventually he was able to pursue his dream, right?”
Aidan nodded. “Yes. Once Dillon convinced Ramsey he could handle things at the corporation without him. Ramsey’s sheep ranch is doing great.”
She nodded. She liked Ramsey. In fact, she liked all the Westmorelands she had gotten to know. When Pam married Dillon, the family had welcomed her and her sisters with open arms. She’d discovered some of them were more outgoing than the others. But the one thing she couldn’t help but notice was that they stuck together like glue.
“So how did you learn to ride so well?” he asked.
“My dad. He was the greatest and although I’m sure he wanted at least one son, he ended up with four girls. He felt we should know how to do certain things and handling a horse was one of them,” she said, remembering the time she’d spent with her father and how wonderful it had been for her.
“He evidently saw potential in me because he made sacrifices and sent me to riding school. I competed nationally until he got sick. We needed the money to pay for his medicine and doctor bills.”
“Do you regret giving it up?” he asked.
She shook her head. “No. I enjoyed it but making sure Dad got the best care meant more to me...more to all of us...than anything.” And she meant it. There had been no regrets for any of them about giving up what they’d loved to help their father.
“Here we are.”
She looked around at the beauty of the land surrounding her, as far as her eyes could see and beyond. Since Dillon was the oldest, he had inherited the main house along with the three hundred acres it sat on. Everyone else, upon reaching the age of twenty-five, received one hundred acres to call their own. Some parts of this area were cleared and other parts were dense with thick foliage. But what took her breath away was the beautiful waterway that branched off into a huge lake. Gemma Lake. She’d heard it had been named after Aidan’s great-grandmother.
“This place is beautiful. Where are we exactly?”
He glanced over at her and smiled. “My land. Aidan’s Haven.”
Aidan’s Haven, she immediately decided, suited him. She could see him building his home on this piece of land one