“No wonder you look so dang happy,” Noah told Josh as he came to stand in front of Sara. “You are the prettiest thing I’ve seen in ages,” he said to her, making her color deepen. She put out her hand but he swatted it away, instead grabbing her up in a bear hug and twirling her in a fast circle.
“Put her down,” Josh ordered.
“Oh, darlin’, you smell so good. Sweet as my mama’s apple pie.” He nuzzled his face into Sara’s neck. She heard Josh growl behind him.
“I mean it, Noah. Enough.”
Manny stepped in front of Josh. “Señorita,” he crooned, pulling Sara away from Noah’s tight embrace. “You make us crazy hombres act even more loco.” He took her hand, but instead of shaking it, brushed his lips across her knuckles.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Josh grumbled.
“Wow,” Sara whispered. She hadn’t experienced anything like this in years. To be the center of attention for these men was strange and exhilarating, like the first time she’d flipped through channels and watched herself on TV. She felt strangely exposed, but not in a bad way like she had so many times in L.A.—still safe, although not quite herself. It gave her a dizzy sort of feeling.
“You guys are funny,” she said with a giggle, then cupped her hand over her mouth. Sara was not a giggler by nature.
Manny released her hand as Noah stepped forward. “I feel like I know you from somewhere. Do you have a twin sister?”
Sara’s shook her head as her grin evaporated. Here it comes, she thought.
He paused and wiggled his eyebrows. “Then you must be the most beautiful girl in the world,” he said to a chorus of groans from the rest of the group.
Josh gave him a quick thump on the head. “Knock it off, bozo.”
“Who died and made you boss of me?” Noah countered, his good-ole-boy ease replaced with six feet of tall, angry man. Josh’s shoulders stiffened.
“It’s okay,” Sara said, stepping between the two.
“Not to me,” Josh answered. It felt like all the air whooshed out of the room at the intensity of his tone.
Noah studied Josh. “Is there something you’re not telling us? You guys have a fling going on here?”
“No,” Sara and Josh answered at once. Josh continued, “I don’t want things complicated while you’re here.”
“Uncomplicated,” Dave said, giving Noah a soft elbow to the back. “That’s us.”
“Dinner,” April announced in the ensuing silence.
As quick as that, the mood changed again. “I’m starving,” Noah said, heading for the dining room.
“With service like this, we may never leave,” Manny agreed with a wink at Sara as he passed.
When everyone else had left, Sara turned to Josh. “I know they’re just joking with all of the compliments. Trying to be nice.”
“Those guys don’t do nice.” He scrubbed one hand across his face.
She put her fingers on his arm, shocked at the tension in his corded muscles. “What’s the problem?”
“Is Noah your type?”
“What?” The question took her aback.
“At first I thought it was Ryan, the slick Hollywood bit. But maybe you’d like slumming with a bad boy. Tell me, which way is it going to go?”
Sara sucked in a breath. “You are way out of line, Josh. My idea was to spend the night holed up in my cabin. Alone. But April convinced me to come out here to meet your friends. It was hard as hell since I was sure they’d give me the same once-over I get every day in L.A. then make a big deal about who I used to be. But you know what? Those guys were nice. And sweet. And funny. I don’t get that a lot and would appreciate if you’d stop raining on my parade with your bad attitude.”
She whirled away but he held her wrist. She wouldn’t turn around but felt his heat against her back. “I’m sorry,” he said finally.
“Fine. Now let go.”
He didn’t release her. “You deserve someone nice, sweet and funny. You deserve someone whole. I hope you find that man. Even if it’s one of those guys. Any of them would be lucky to have you.”
She looked over her shoulder and her breath caught at the stark pain in his eyes. “What do you mean whole?”
He dropped her arm. “Never mind. Let’s go eat.” He moved past her without another word.
As he walked from the room, her gaze caught on the slight limp in his gait that became more pronounced at the end of a long day. She couldn’t answer for herself, but she was certain he didn’t deserve the self-inflicted solitude he seemed to carry as his burden. He’d had everything in his life taken from him. Not the slow unraveling that marked her failure, but one instant that stole his future and challenged a reputation he’d built for years.
At least she knew that she could go back to acting if given the chance. His days on the back of a bull were done. She couldn’t imagine the strength it had taken him to move on, to start over on the ranch and with Claire. How could he think he was anything less than whole? His strength of character was deeper than most of the men she’d known combined.
The question remained: What did she want in a man? Her eyes roved over his strong body as he disappeared around the corner, a shiver dancing along her spine. It had been years since she’d considered dating after a string of relationships with would-be actors had left her hollow inside.
Josh was 100 percent real man. As she followed him into the dining room, the thought crossed her mind that she might not even be up for the challenge that he held.
Once again, she reminded herself it was a good thing she was only on the ranch for the summer. For any number of reasons.
Josh sat through dinner with a chip on his shoulder and a pit in his stomach that prevented him from enjoying any of the delicious food April had prepared. Not so for his friends, who dug into heaping dishes of enchiladas and all the trimmings with the gusto of a pack of NFL linebackers.
What ate at his gut even more was the way Noah and Manny continued to flirt with Sara right in front of his face. Her rich, musical laughter filled the dining room as she immediately slid into the rhythm of their close circle as if she’d been a part of it for years.
That got him, too, because she was so different from any of the girls he’d met on the circuit. The ones he’d known his buddies to date throughout the years. The “buckle bunnies,” as they were called, were a special brand of groupies, and it was rare to find a true love, like Dave and Brandy, when you were on the road in cheap motels and seedy diners for weeks at a time.
He took another pull on his beer and groaned inwardly when he heard the front door slam shut. One more complication for his evening.
“Daddy? Sara? Whose truck is that in the driveway?”
Claire came into the dining room, and out of the corner of his eye, Josh saw Bryson sit up straighter.
Down boy, Josh thought to himself, giving a mental eye roll at how much he sounded like an old geezer.
He got out of his chair to stand next to Claire. “Claire, I think you’ve met Dave and Brandy. The guy who looks like his twin is his little brother, Noah. That’s Manny at the end of the table and Bryson next to him. Everyone, this is my daughter, Claire.” He pointed a finger in Bryson’s direction. “Off-limits,” he ordered, placing a protective arm around Claire’s shoulders.