Christmas at Blue Moon Ranch
Lynnette Kent

To our military heroes and their families,

With many thanks.

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter One

Thunderclouds piled up on the western horizon as Willa Mercado drove into Zapata, Texas, to betray her husband.

She wasn’t contemplating actual adultery. Jamie had been dead for eighteen months. She couldn’t cheat on a dead man even if she wanted to. And she did not want to.

But selling the Blue Moon Ranch, which had been Mercado family land for more than a century, definitely felt like betrayal.

“Not the whole ranch,” she reminded herself for the millionth time, gripping the steering wheel tightly with both hands. “You’re only selling ten percent, a thousand acres. You’ll never miss it. Your grandchildren will never miss it.”

Even so, the guilt continued to chafe at her as she drove, like leather boots a size too small.

Her attorney, Juan Angelo, occupied an office in a strip mall near the fancy new Zapata County Courthouse. Willa whipped her truck into a parking space, pulled the key from the ignition and shoved the door open. Without giving herself a chance for more second thoughts, she grabbed up her purse and the folder of papers she needed, then strode toward the lawyer’s tinted glass door. A chime sounded as she entered the air-conditioned space, and two pairs of eyes fastened on her face.

“I’m Willa Mercado,” she told the pretty blonde at the reception desk. “I have an appointment for a closing at three.”

“Yes, Mrs. Mercado.” The young woman gave her a friendly smile. “Mr. Angelo will be free in a few minutes. Can I get you something to drink while you wait?”

Willa’s hands were shaking too badly to hold a cup steady. “No, thanks.”

Another bright, white smile. “Just have a seat, then. He’ll be with you shortly. My name is Julie—let me know if you need anything.”

Julie got up from her desk and went through a door at the back of the room. Willa turned toward the chairs arranged around the wall near the front windows and met the gaze that had been fixed on her since she’d walked in.

He sat at ease in the corner chair, one long, jean-clad leg stretched out in front of him. A soft chambray shirt and navy sports coat hung a little loosely from his wide shoulders. His bright blue eyes smiled as they met hers and he brought up a sexy, three-sided grin, which creased his cheeks and heated hers.

“Willa Mercado?” His voice made her think of warm butterscotch on cold vanilla ice cream. “I’m Daniel Trent. I think we’re here on the same business.”

The urge she’d felt to return that grin evaporated. Willa nodded curtly. “Major Trent.” She chose a chair as far from his as possible, facing the receptionist’s desk so she didn’t have to confront the man who was buying part of her soul.

“Forgive me for not getting up,” he said, evidently oblivious to her desire to ignore him. “My bum leg’s acting up with the storm coming in.”

Willa waved away the comment without looking at him. “Don’t worry about it.” But she couldn’t stop her gaze from sliding sideways to his legs. She didn’t see a cast or a brace. What did “bum leg” mean? Was it the one he kept bent, or the one he held straight? Just how disabled was he?

He still didn’t take the hint. “There’s a question I’ve been wanting to ask you ever since I first heard the name of your spread. El Rancho Luna Azul—the Blue Moon Ranch. Where did the name come from?”

Nosy, as well as dense. “The legend says that Rafael Mercado, who founded the ranch, spent his first night on the land under a blue moon.”

Trent chuckled, a rich, deep sound. “Old Rafael must have been a romantic.”

She glanced over, unable to suppress a smile. “He had his wife with him. Maybe she chose the name.”

“Women being more imaginative? Maybe.” He lifted a quizzical eyebrow. “Does that mean Rafael was henpecked?”

Before she could answer, Julie reappeared. “Mrs. Mercado? Major Trent? Right this way. Mr. Angelo’s got everything ready.”

Willa took a deep breath and stood up, then glanced Daniel Trent in time to see him pick up a cane from the floor. She couldn’t look away as he propped the stick in front of him, then held it with both hands for extra support as he came up out of the chair, using only the strength of the bent left leg. His right leg stayed straight. When he stepped forward, he swung that stiff leg out to the side in a rolling sort of gait.

Daniel Trent caught her staring, of course, and shrugged one shoulder. “Like I said, the weather.” Leaning one-handed on the cane, he motioned her ahead of him with the other. “Shall we?”

Without the mesmerizing smile to distract her, she could see the stress in his face, the lines at the corners of his eyes and around his mouth, which revealed a pain he didn’t want to acknowledge.

A twinge of sympathy lodged in Willa’s chest. “Sure.” She followed Julie down the hall. About halfway along, though, her second thoughts hit like a rampaging longhorn bull. She actually stumbled in shock.

A warm hand closed around her elbow from behind. “Are you okay?”

Her cheeks hot with embarrassment, she glanced back at Daniel Trent. “I’m fine. Sorry.”

He let go easily as she pulled free. “No problem.”

Frowning, Willa hurried to catch up with the secretary. Maybe she was making a huge mistake. When she’d put the land up for sale, she’d expected to get a man with experience, a steady and reliable neighbor she could depend on. What kind of ranching background did Daniel Trent have? How would he manage cattle if he couldn’t walk without a limp? Did he have other plans for the land that she should know about?

At the end of the hallway, attorney Juan Angelo waited for them in a windowless conference room. “Willa, good to see you again. I’ve got your papers right here.” He pulled out a chair at one corner of the long table that filled most of the available space and scooted it in underneath her. Then he went to shake hands with Daniel Trent.

“I’m glad to meet you, Major Trent. I’ve arranged your paperwork, too.” He glanced at the cane, and rolled back a chair on the other corner. “Have a seat.”

Willa understood, from the way Daniel pressed his lips together, how much he disliked that accommodation to his disability. But he said, “Thanks,” and lowered himself into the chair without much trouble. Now they sat facing each other, with the attorney at the head of the table between them.

Juan rubbed his hands together. “So, we’re here to close on the sale of a thousand acres of ranch land. Willa, you’re the seller, of course, and Daniel is the buyer. We’ve got a fair amount of paperwork to go through, but nothing too complicated. This first page—”

Willa put up a hand. “Just a minute.” Her reservations had seized control, and now she looked Daniel Trent straight in the eye. “I know I should have asked this before, but better late than never. Just what are you planning to do with this land, if you buy it?”

Daniel Trent didn’t avoid her gaze. The lift of his eyebrow remarked on her use of if.

The attorney cleared his throat. “Willa, you shouldn’t—”

She glanced at Juan. “I think I have a right to know if he’s got something planned that’s going to affect my operation, my business. Like a trailer park or a factory or an oil refinery.”

“But—”

“It’s okay,” Daniel said. “I don’t mind answering the question.” The smile had returned to his eyes. “I’m planning to use the land just as you have. I want to raise cattle and a few horses. I’m planning to be a rancher.” That devastating grin came into play. “I thought I’d call it New Moon Ranch.”

Willa didn’t smile back. “Do you have a ranching background?”

He shook his head. “Not much. I’ve spent the past twelve years in the Army.”

“Do you have any experience with cattle? Horses?” Could he handle the rustlers who’d been preying on her herd?

“Growing up in Ohio, I had a pony. As a teenager, I spent summers working on a dude ranch in Wyoming. But I haven’t done any riding recently. The U.S. cavalry,” he said with a smile, “got phased out a while back.”

So she wouldn’t be able to depend on his help in stopping the cattle thieves preying on her herd. Willa dropped back against her chair. “How do you expect to be able to run a ranch? With just a few months of experience and…and—”

“And a bum leg,” he finished for her.

“Well, yes. How in the world are you going to make this work?”

“I think Major Trent’s plans are his own business, Willa.” Juan’s plump face had turned a deep red and his eyes had gotten very wide, with all the whites showing. “We’re just here to complete the sale.”

“I figured I could hire good hands to help me out,” Daniel explained. “And I’m not too proud to ask my neighbors for advice, maybe a little assistance now and then.”

“Ranching is a full-time job.” Boy, did she know that. “Running a ranch, even a small one, requires stamina and strength, coordination and physical competence.” Which was why she was always exhausted at the end of each and every day. “The economics are against you, too. Running such a small herd—one, two hundred head—you’ll barely break even most years. The price of corn is going up and water’s been scarce. Do you know how to handle those problems? Why do you want to take on a complicated enterprise that’s pretty much guaranteed to fail?”

“Willa…” Juan groaned.

Daniel Trent straightened up in his chair, and suddenly she could see the military training behind his easy-going facade. “I may not be a hundred percent physically, but I expect to make a profit on the New Moon.”

“I’m sure you will,” Juan started. “And I’m sure—”

“I’m not.” Willa flattened her hands on the table. “And I don’t think I can complete the sale under these conditions.”

The attorney choked. Trent narrowed his eyes. “You’re backing out on the deal?”

“This land is my children’s heritage. I have a duty to see that it’s cared for properly.”

“I can do that.”

“How do I know? How do you know?”

Juan got to his feet. “Willa, can I talk to you privately for a moment? Excuse us, Daniel.” He walked to the door and opened it, waited for Willa to go through and then followed her out into the narrow hallway. With the door shut again, he faced her, his hands propped on his hips.

“What in the world do you think you’re doing?”

Willa winced as she heard the attorney’s urgent question.

He rushed on before she could answer. “You’re throwing away this sale is what you’re doing. Why?”

“I can’t sell the land, Juan. Especially not to someone who knows next to nothing about ranching, or cattle.” She rubbed her eyes with her fingers. “I might as well poison the water and set fire to the grass.”

“Do I have to remind you of how much you’ll be making off this sale? Daniel Trent didn’t argue with the price, didn’t try to talk you down. He paid top dollar and all he wants to do is run a few head of beef and some horses. It’s not that big a deal.”

“That land is the Mercado legacy. I want to know it’s taken care of.” I wanted some help! She bit her lip to keep the words unsaid.

“So let me remind you about the taxes you owe on that land. About the outstanding bills at the feed store and the veterinarian, the payroll you’re behind on. Remember the mortgage Jamie took out on the ranch, and the fact that you have kids who’ll be wanting to go to college in just a few years. You need this cash, Willa. As your attorney, I’m recommending you march in there, keep your mouth shut and sign those papers.”

She stared at him in the dim light of the hall, hating the truth, unable to decide. They both jumped when the door to the conference room opened.

Daniel Trent stood silhouetted by the fluorescent light behind him, his shoulders slanted slightly, his hip cocked to the side by that stiff leg. “If you two want to come back, I think I have a solution to this dilemma.”

BY THE TIME THEY’D FINISHED, Daniel’s leg felt like a fallen tree with a host of termites chewing on it from the inside out. The extra paperwork he’d suggested had extended the meeting by almost an hour, which meant he was two hours past the time for his usual dose of pain meds. He only took over-the-counter stuff these days, but the drugs still made a difference.

As a distraction, he let himself gaze at Willa Mercado while she finished reading the agreement he’d proposed. She might have a heart of stone, but he found her incredibly sexy—her thick black hair, tamed into a shiny braid hanging down her back, her smooth olive skin, her wide, long-lashed dark eyes. Thin and graceful, she reminded him of a gazelle, all legs and arms, with the potential for great speed and endurance. Her mouth fascinated him, and he couldn’t seem to look away from the sensual promise of those wide, full lips.

A promise likely to remain unfilled, he told himself. She’d agreed to let him live on the portion of the Blue Moon he’d wanted to buy, but she wasn’t happy about it. At his suggestion, she’d put him on probation. After three months, if she didn’t think he’d demonstrated an aptitude for ranching life, the sale contract would be void and he’d be out on his ear while she kept his deposit as rent.

Willa finished reading and, without a word, picked up a nearby pen to sign the last sheet. She passed the page to Juan, who gave it to Daniel for his signature. After three copies had been completed, the lawyer rubbed his hands together in satisfaction.

“That’s great. I think this is an excellent solution.” Stacking the papers together, he practically beamed. “Daniel, you’ll have a chance to make sure this is what you want, and Willa, you’ll be able to see that you’re doing the right thing in selling Daniel this parcel of land. I’ll have Julie make an appointment for three months from now, and we’ll all get back together to finalize the sale.”

He bustled out, leaving the door open, but returned before Daniel had a chance to say anything to the woman across the table. “I just looked at the calendar,” Juan said. “Three months from today will be Christmas Eve. I thought I’d ask whether you want to set something up after the New Year.” He gave an apologetic shrug. “Our office is usually closed that last week of December.”

Willa opened her mouth, but Daniel spoke first. “Set it up for December twenty-first,” he said. “I plan to spend Christmas on the New Moon Ranch.”

He heard the click of teeth as Willa snapped her jaws shut.

WITH THEIR BUSINESS COMPLETED—for good or for ill, and Willa wasn’t sure which—Juan led them back to the front of the office, where the sound of rain drumming on the roof resembled the thunder of stampeding cattle. The storm had arrived with a vengeance.

“I’ve been listening to the weather,” Julie volunteered. “They’re predicting flash floods for the rest of today and tonight, plus the possibility of tornadoes.”

“A bad night to travel.” Juan stood between Willa and Daniel as they stared out at the downpour. “Willa, you should probably stay in town for the evening, go home tomorrow after the storm passes. La Casa Motel, just down the road, is a pretty nice place.”

“I’ve got a spare umbrella.” Julie came to stand beside her. “You’re welcome to use it to get to your car.”

“Thanks.” Willa held the door open with her shoulder and opened the umbrella just outside. As she started out into the deluge, Daniel Trent took her place in the doorway. Still sheltered by the roof over the walk, Willa obeyed the prompting of her better nature and waved at him to join her. “Come on—we can share.”

His sunny smile seemed to brighten the weather. “I don’t mind if I do. I’m no fan of drowning.” He joined her under the umbrella, automatically reaching for the curved handle.

But her hand was already there, and for a moment his warm, dry palm closed over her fingers. Willa gave a little gasp as the friction between his skin and hers set off tingles that ran up her arm and into her chest. Standing so close to her, Daniel Trent was much bigger than she’d realized, his frame more imposing. She felt sheltered, having him between her and the storm.

“Your truck’s closer,” he said, bending his head to speak into her ear, and another shiver swept through her. “Let’s go that way.”

Willa nodded. Three inches of water had pooled on the asphalt parking lot, soaking into her one pair of good dress shoes with each step. Alone, she would have sprinted through the rain to the truck but, thinking of Daniel’s leg, she matched her speed to the one he set. By the time they reached her truck, her slacks were soaked from the knees down.

“Thank God for remote keys,” she said, pulling the door open as soon as she could touch the handle. Daniel raised the umbrella to shelter her while she climbed in, then backed away as soon as she got seated. With the cane in one hand and the umbrella in the other, he gave her a nod before turning toward a shiny silver pickup parked several rows over from hers. He’d bought himself a fancy new truck to go with his new ranch.

Willa squeezed her eyes shut. She intended to deny him his ranch…his dream. Guilt pounded in her temples and throbbed at the back of her neck.

Or maybe that was hunger. Breakfast had happened before sunrise and she’d skipped lunch to finish up her chores prior to heading into town. Even if she didn’t stay the night, she could check into La Casa Motel for a few hours, get a nap and a good meal before the drive home. She’d have to deal with Daniel Trent as a neighbor soon enough. Then she’d know whether she should feel guilty at the bargain she’d struck…or relieved.

DANIEL HAD STAYED AT LA CASA the night before, so he bypassed the reception area for the side door closest to the elevator. He’d bolted down some pain pills with the dregs of a soda he’d left in the truck. Now he just needed to stretch out on a bed and wait for them to take effect.

His stomach woke him up an hour later, growling like a grizzly bear at the end of winter. As he stripped off his damp shirt and jeans to take a shower, he kept his back to the mirror. All his life, he’d taken his functional, unscarred body for granted, and he still wasn’t adjusted to the new reality. The last woman he’d dated hadn’t even wanted to try.

In the motel dining room, he chose a table giving him a view of the thunderstorm still raging outside and savored the tart flavor of a margarita as he watched rain sheeting the windows. Willa Mercado just might be stubborn enough to believe she could drive through this kind of weather, but Daniel hoped she was smarter than that. He was tempted to try to reach her through the hotel switchboard, just to see if she’d checked in. Otherwise, he’d probably spend the night worrying about her.

Even as the thought occurred to him, she appeared at the entrance to the restaurant. She looked more relaxed than she had at the lawyer’s office, and the smile she gave the hostess was downright friendly. Daniel thought he’d have to try to earn himself a few of Willa Mercado’s smiles.

Thanks to the pain medicine, he got to his feet fairly smoothly as she approached his table. “Good evening,” he said, as she jerked to a stop upon seeing him. “I’d be happy to have you join me.”

The hostess assumed Willa would agree and disappeared. From the line between Willa’s arched eyebrows, though, Daniel wasn’t so sure. “Please?” he said.

She took in a deep breath and then blew it out. “Sure. Thanks.” Once seated, she folded her arms on the table and stared straight at him. “You look better.”

Her perception startled him. “I…um…got a nap. And some pills.”

“For the bum leg.” The corner of her mouth quirked—nearly a smile.

“Right.”

“Were you in a car accident?”

He shrugged. “You could say that. My truck ran over an IED in Iraq. That’s an—”

She held up a hand. “I know what it is. Improvised explosive device. My husband Jamie was killed by one. In Iraq.”

Daniel swore under his breath. “I’m sorry.” Grabbing his cane, he started to get up. “The last thing I want to do is remind you of your loss. I’ll let you enjoy your dinner in peace.”

Willa could have let him go. She’d looked forward to dinner by herself, hadn’t wanted to share a meal with this…this intruder.

Yet she found herself on her feet, putting a hand on his arm to stop him before he moved away.

“Don’t leave, Daniel.” She met his troubled blue gaze with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry I’ve been so rude. We can’t go anywhere else while this storm lasts, and we’re going to be neighbors. Let’s get to know each other.”

Chapter Two

By the time their salads were served, Willa was no longer surprised to find herself chuckling, even laughing aloud, at some of Daniel’s comments. He possessed a wealth of stories about his travels with the Army, along with a charming, humorous way of telling them.

She’d offered a few details about her family—thirteen-year-old twins Robbie and Susannah, ten-year-old Toby, plus Jamie’s aunts, Rosa and Lilianna, who lived with them and took care of the house. The margarita she’d enjoyed with their tortilla chips and salsa had helped her relax, of course. Now they were sharing a pitcher of sangria, a temptation she hadn’t indulged in since before Jamie had left. For the first time in more than two years, Willa allowed her worries to slip to the back of her mind while she concentrated on the here and now.

“Here and now” being an incredibly attractive man who seemed to be enjoying himself very much indeed. She took a sip of the wine, then another, and voiced the question that had been on her mind all afternoon. “What made you decide to take up ranching? I mean…you don’t have the background, or a family connection. And it’s not exactly a career the military trains you for, right?”

“Right.” He watched the wine slosh gently as he rolled the stem of his goblet between two fingers. “I guess it sounds pretty crazy. Everybody I’ve talked to thinks so…including you.” His grin flashed. “It was about a year ago, I guess, I was sitting in some doctor’s office for what seemed like appointment one thousand, facing more surgery and time in a hospital bed. I picked up one of those magazines about the West, and started looking at an article on some big actor’s ‘alternative lifestyle.’”

With a glance at her face, he continued. “Gorgeous scenery, working outside in the fresh air and sunshine with animals and nature—what’s not to like?”

Willa rolled her eyes. “I could give you a list a mile long.”

He held up a hand. “Leave me my illusions, for a few more days, at least. After twelve years in the Army, I knew I wanted to be my own boss, make my own decisions. Ranching seemed to me—still seems—like an independent, productive way to live.”

Willa decided to forbear commenting on his naiveté. “I haven’t seen too many famous actors buying up land in Zapata County. So why did you decide on south Texas? What made you decide to buy my…this particular piece of land? How many other ranches did you see?”

Daniel shook his head. “Not a single one. I read your ad…‘For Sale, 1000 Acres of the beautiful Wild Horse Desert in the heart of Texas cattle country. House and barn ready for occupation. Your dream is waiting!’” He pretended to slap himself, first one cheek and then the other. “That’s all it took.”

Willa gazed at him in confusion. “When did you come down to visit? Seems like I would have met…” She stumbled to a stop as he shook his head.

“I didn’t visit. I liked the sound of the Wild Horse Desert and Texas. There was a house and a barn and a thousand acres of land. I didn’t need to know anything else. I called the real estate agent that afternoon and made the offer.”

The idea of such impetuosity left Willa breathless and uneasy. “That’s…that’s a big risk, don’t you think? With a lot of money?”

He shrugged one shoulder. “My parents left me a healthy life insurance policy and some very smart investments. Sometimes you have to go with your gut instincts. And my instincts tell me that the New Moon ranch is just what I want.” He leaned toward her, holding out the pitcher. “More wine?”

“I shouldn’t.” But she didn’t draw her glass away. Yes, she was a little buzzed, but what was the harm? The kids were safe at home—she’d called to check on them and the ranch before she’d come down to dinner. And she wouldn’t be driving tonight, thanks to the storm. After two years of being in charge, of always staying in control, couldn’t she have just one carefree evening?

“Such a serious face,” Daniel said. “What are you thinking about?”

Willa shook her head, then blew out a deep breath of relief. “Responsibility, and how good it feels to let go a little.”

Daniel nodded, and held up his own wineglass in a toast. “To freedom,” he said.

Smiling, Willa clinked her rim against his. “To freedom.” They drank, holding each other’s gazes, and she felt a quiver deep inside, where nothing had stirred for a long, long time.

“Fajitas?” a distant voice said. “Enchiladas royale?”

“Dinner.” Willa broke her connection with Daniel and looked at the waiter. “Just in time. I’m…um…starving.”

“Me, too,” she heard Daniel murmur. “Me, too.”

SEVERAL HOURS LATER, WILLA leaned a shoulder against the wall as she and Daniel waited for the elevator. “I haven’t had this much to drink in years,” she confessed. “I’ll be sorry tomorrow morning.”

“Me, too.” He nodded slowly. “But sometimes you just have to cut loose, you know?”

The door beside her slid open and Willa tipped herself inside the elevator. “I guess. And you do tell some outrageously hila…hilarious jokes.”

With a line of concentration between his eyebrows, Daniel studied the elevator control panel. “What floor are you on?”

“Three.”

His eyebrows lifted in surprise. “Me, too.” After a couple of misses, he managed to stab the button. “Funny we didn’t see each other earlier.”

“Funny.” The car started with a jerk and the spin in Willa’s head accelerated. She balanced against the wall behind her and closed her eyes, which did not help, so she opened them to look straight across at Daniel. He was smiling as he looked back at her. Through the haze of alcohol surrounding them, she recognized the glint in his eyes for what it was. Desire, pure and simple. Daniel Trent was thinking about taking her to bed.

She’d been thinking the same thing about him for the past hour…or four drinks, whichever lasted longer.

Fortunately, the elevator door slid open and saved her from literally jumping his bones. Willa stepped carefully across the metal threshold and studied the sign on the opposite wall.

“My room’s this way.” She swayed to the left. “G’night.”

“Mine is, too.” Daniel followed her. She could feel him behind her, big and warm and sexy. Damn him.

Concentrating hard, Willa read the room numbers as she walked along. “This is me. 334.” She slid the key card in, took it out and turned it around so the arrow pointed in the right direction, then tried again. “’Night.”

“334.” Daniel nodded. “I’m 343.” As she looked back, he braced a hand on the wall beside her head and stood for a second just gazing at her. Reading his face, she knew all she’d have to do was ask him in. He’d take over from there. He wanted her. She wanted him. Badly.

“Good night,” Willa said distinctly, emphatically. Then she tripped into the hallway of her room, turned and shut the door in his handsome face.

“’Night, Willa,” he said from the other side. With her cheek pressed against the door panel, she heard him whistling as he moved further down the hall, toward 343. The whistling stopped, and she could visualize Daniel focusing on getting the key card into the slot correctly.

“Damn.” He said the word softly, but with feeling. In another second, he swore again…and again, with more force.

Willa opened her door and peered down the hall. Daniel stood at the very end, next to the emergency exit, jabbing his key card into the lock.

He glanced back her way. “It won’t open.” Growling low in his throat, he raised a fist to pound on the door. “Dammit, the damn key won’t work.”

As he drew back his arm for another round of pounding, the door panel flew open. A short, round-bellied, gray-haired man stood on the threshold in a T-shirt and red plaid boxer shorts. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Daniel barely managed to avoid punching the guy in the face. The effort sent him staggering backward, up against the opposite wall. “This is my room!”

“This damn sure isn’t your room. And if you don’t shut up and get out I’m going to call security and the cops!” The door slammed shut.

Daniel closed his eyes and dropped his spinning head back against the wall. “Why is he in my room? Where am I gonna sleep?” He hadn’t been drunk in a long, long time. He hadn’t been this frustrated in even longer.

Cool fingers closed around his wrist. “Come on,” Willa said as he opened his eyes. “You can call the front desk from my room and find out what’s going on.”

Her touch soothed him like a soft salve on a hot burn. Blowing out a deep breath, Daniel followed without argument. Inside her dimly lit room, he dropped to sit on one of the beds and punched O on the phone. “This is Daniel Trent. I’m trying to get into my room—my key won’t work and there’s a guy already in there. What’s going on?”

A bored voice asked, “What room number is that, Mr. Trent?”

“My room. 343. Why is there someone else in my room?”

After a pause, the voice said, “Um…that’s not your room, Mr. Trent. You’ve mistaken the number.”

Daniel swore. “Well, what’s the right number?”

Another hesitation. “I can’t tell you that over the phone, Mr. Trent. If you’ll come down to the front desk and produce some I.D., we’ll be happy to give you the room number.”

“Oh, for God’s sake. It’s just a room. Tell me the number and let me go to bed!”

“I can’t do that without being certain of who you are. Our guests’ security—”

Daniel grunted and hung up the phone. “Great. I have to go back downstairs and give them some I.D. before they’ll tell me what room I’m in.”

Willa sat on the other bed, facing him, frankly laughing. “You’ve forgotten your room number?”

He rolled his eyes. “I haven’t had that much alcohol in quite a while.” Propping his cane in front of him, he pulled himself to his feet. “I’ll get out of your—”

The stick tilted. His head swirled, his balance deserted him and suddenly he was falling forward. Toward Willa. Daniel managed to twist enough to avoid landing on her, but his weak leg wouldn’t support his weight. He bounced onto the mattress beside her.

Laughing hard, Willa fell back to lie beside him.

“I didn’t do that on purpose,” Daniel said. “I told you—”

“I know. We’ve both had too much to drink.” She wiped her eyes, still laughing. “What a disaster.”

“Yeah.” He propped himself on an elbow and looked down at her. “You’re beautiful when you laugh.”

She sniffed and wiped her eyes again. “That’s quite a line.”

“No line.” He touched her cheek with his fingertips. “Soft. Smooth.”

“Daniel…”

“You can stop me,” he told her as he leaned closer. “Just say no.” A slight press of his fingers turned her face toward his. He brushed his lips across hers. “Just say no.”

He made another pass across that wide, generous mouth, but he didn’t hear a word. Her hand came up and cupped the back of his neck, bringing him even closer. And then he was kissing Willa Mercado for all he was worth.

Willa couldn’t believe how good it felt. How good he felt. The size and weight of him, the warmth of him surrounding her, seemed like a miracle. She’d been so cold for so long.

His mouth skimmed hers, lingered, plundered. He tasted of tequila and lime, but also something essentially, basically male. He smelled like soap and clean clothes and good man. As he kissed his way across her cheek and down her throat, she buried her face in the bend of his neck and breathed deeply of that wonderful scent.

Like magic, the buttons of her blouse came undone. For a second the air chilled her bare skin, but then Daniel chased the cold away, pressing kisses on her breast bone, the balls of her shoulders, the hollow between her breasts and everywhere in between. Willa sighed, and in the next moment her bra disappeared. First his hand claimed her and then his mouth, and she cried out at the shock of pleasure.

She went a little crazy after that, desperate for more of…well, everything. Her fingers fumbled with the buttons of his shirt, and she gave up after the second one to pull the damn thing over his head. To her surprise, he wore a plain white T-shirt underneath, yet another barrier. When she reached for the hem, though, Daniel drew back.

“Don’t,” he said raggedly, and bent to kiss the inner curve of her elbow. “I’m not nearly as gorgeous as you are.”

Willa gasped at the stroke of his tongue against her skin, and forgot to argue with him. A few minutes later he eased her slacks over her hips. Once he’d dragged his palm along the length of her legs, she wasn’t sure she remembered her own name.

“Daniel,” she whispered, arching closer, wrapping a leg around his hips to draw him nearer still. Hard met soft, and she moaned. “Please. Please, tell me we don’t have to stop.”

She heard his low chuckle, saw a flash of that fabulous grin. He backed off enough to unfasten and strip off his jeans.

“Not a chance. I was a Boy Scout.” He jerked his wallet out of the discarded pants and pulled out a duo of condoms. In the second he used to break open one package, Willa stroked her hand up his thigh, underneath the hem of his pale blue boxers.

Instead of the smooth skin and firm muscle she expected, the flesh she touched was a landscape of ridges and valleys, hard and harsh.

Daniel froze, and she looked at him in horror. “My God,” Willa said. “Those are…scars?”

He nodded, then took a deep breath. “Sorry.” With an awkward shift of his hips, he started to move away.

But Willa came with him. “No. Daniel, don’t.” On her knees behind him, she put her arms around his shoulders and her head on his shoulder. “Don’t.”

His shoulders lifted on a deep breath. “I wasn’t thinking. I know what I look like. I shouldn’t have subjected—”

“Hush.” She sat back on her heels and grasped the hem of the T-shirt. He jerked, clearly wanting to escape, but she put a hand on his shoulder. “Stay.” Biting her lower lip, she deliberately peeled up the white T-shirt, uncovering the mutilated skin of his back. Tears rolled down her face as Willa studied the map of purple grooves and red hills she’d revealed.

“I’m so sorry.” She put a finger gently on one of the scars. “So sorry.” The pain he’d endured was unimaginable. How had he even survived? If Jamie had come back to her like this…how would he have felt? What would she have done?

“It’s okay.” Daniel pulled down the T-shirt again and shifted to face her. “I’m okay. Really. Don’t cry, Willa.” He wiped her cheeks with his thumbs, then bent to give her a quick kiss.

She understood he meant to leave without finishing what they’d started. But despite seeing the horrors he’d suffered, Willa didn’t want to let him go. Even as he drew back, she circled her arms around his neck.

“Stay.”

His eyebrows drew together, his blue eyes questioning, doubtful. “Are you sure?”

“Oh, yes.”

He squeezed his eyes shut for a second. “Thank God.”

And then he came back to her, stronger, more demanding than before. The room heated up, or maybe that was just her body, on fire everywhere Daniel touched her, everywhere he kissed. And that was everywhere. Finally, they lay together, skin to skin. He moved inside of her…gently, at first, then harder, faster, till the bed rocked and her body thrashed and her senses exploded into a brilliant climax. Before she could catch a single breath, Daniel gave a strangled cry.

And then he relaxed, falling to the side, drawing her with him into the shelter of the covers and his arms. Safe and sated, Willa plunged mindlessly into sleep.

SHE WOKE UP WINCING, WITH A headache thudding like a bass drum between her ears. Through one squinted eye she saw the yellow line of sunlight at the top of the drapes, which meant she must have slept much later than she’d intended.

In the next second, Willa realized she was naked under the covers. Then she remembered why.

With a gasp, she whipped her head around to see that the other side of the bed was empty. She had a moment to sigh in relief before her stomach revolted and sent her running for the bathroom.

After a few unpleasant minutes, she wiped her face with a cold washcloth. Unable to meet her own eyes in the mirror, she sat on the end of the bed she…they…hadn’t slept in, her fists clenched in her lap, and faced the shameful facts.

Last night, she’d abandoned the last ounce of good sense she possessed to have sex with a man she didn’t know, a man who hadn’t even stayed long enough to say “Good morning.” After fourteen years of marriage and three kids, she should know better than to take this kind of risk.

Every woman had the right to be stupid once in her life, especially as a teenager. Giving in to a boy’s persuasion—“If you loved me you’d do it”—was understandable when you were only sixteen.

But what excuse did she have at thirty-two? How could she have allowed her principles to be overturned by a sexy grin and a pair of sweet blue eyes?

Well, no more. As she jerked on her clothes, Willa swore to herself that she wouldn’t let Daniel Trent get to her. She would keep her distance, make him keep his. With any luck, he’d fail miserably in his attempt at ranching and be gone well before Christmas. All she had to do was wait him out…

…and never again give herself a chance to make a mistake like the one last night.

WHEN SHE FINALLY DREDGED UP the courage to leave her room, she found Daniel Trent leaning against the wall in the hotel lobby, scanning a newspaper.

“Good morning.” Smiling, he straightened and fell into step beside her. “Can you join me for breakfast?”

“No. Thanks.” She glanced at the people moving around them as if looking for someone, avoiding his knowing blue eyes. “I need to get on the road. I can’t afford to miss a whole day’s work.”

“Okay.” He folded the paper under his arm. “I thought I’d follow you out to the ranch, look around a bit. My stuff won’t be arriving until the end of the week, but I’d like to see the setup, get a feel for what kind of supplies I’ll be needing.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shrug. “I’ve lived in army housing most of the time, so I don’t have much furniture. Outfitting a house is a new experience.”

Panic erupted in her chest. Without answering, Willa walked quickly outside, aware that Daniel was following as fast as he could. She didn’t slow down for him.

Somehow, though, he was right behind her when she opened her truck door. He put a hand on her arm as she started to climb in.

“Willa? What’s going on?”

She threw her purse into the passenger seat and jerked around to face him. “What’s going on is that I’ve made two horrible mistakes in the past twenty-four hours. I’m furious with myself and—”

“With me,” he said, interrupting.

“Yes.” She shook off his touch. “I should never have put that land up for sale, and I shouldn’t have let you talk me into this crazy arrangement we’ve got set up now. All that was bad enough.” Taking a deep breath, she tried to steady her voice. “But to know that I let myself get drunk enough to…to—” The words stayed stuck in her throat. How could she have been so careless, so disrespectful of herself?

Daniel didn’t have the same scruples. “Sleep with me?”

Willa clenched her hands into fists. “Stop that! I don’t want you reading my mind and finishing my thoughts.”

Daniel raised his hand and stepped backward, out of her reach. “Yes, ma’am.” His gaze had gone cold, and his mouth was a hard, straight line. “I will be following you as you drive home, however, because I have a contract that allows me access to the thousand acres of land I’m calling the New Moon Ranch. You should expect to see me from time to time, since the road to my place goes by the main house of the Blue Moon. I’ll try not to inconvenience you as I get settled.”

He pivoted on his good leg and moved away with that awkward limp, climbed into his rain-spattered truck and let the engine idle, waiting for Willa to lead the way.

Swearing under her breath, she started her own vehicle and left the parking lot. All through the hour-long drive home, she was aware of him behind her, his face grim through the windshield. He wore mirrored sunglasses, but she could imagine the blue gaze behind them. She’d read the hurt there before anger had replaced it.

Last night, she’d urged him to stay and make love with her, accepting him despite his terrible scars. This morning, she’d rejected every moment they’d spent together. That made three terrible mistakes she had committed in the past twenty-four hours. Willa couldn’t believe how badly she’d behaved. No doubt about it, Daniel Trent brought out the worst in her. Yet another reason to avoid him.

With every mile that passed, the screw of nerves inside her twisted tighter. By the time she reached the familiar gateway—an iron arch spelling out El Rancho Luna Azul, with a crescent moon on each end—Willa was a wreck. Abruptly, she steered her truck to the side of the road just inside the entrance and cut the engine. Daniel stopped behind her, but she reached his window before he could open his door, so he rolled down the glass.

“Something else wrong?” he asked in a cold voice.

“Stay away from me,” she told him. “If you need help, I’ll send one of my workmen to do what he can. But leave me alone.”

Daniel took off his sunglasses, and she was surprised to see the laughter in his eyes. “You’re running scared, aren’t you, Willa? Afraid of what you felt last night?”

Her cheeks heated up at the memory. “I don’t sleep around.”

“I didn’t think you did. And I don’t intend to pressure you for something you won’t give freely.” He slipped the shades back onto his face. “But I do intend to make the New Moon Ranch my home. You’d better figure out how to tolerate my presence.”

The truck engine roared, and Daniel gave her a grin. “’Cause come Christmas Day, I’ll be a permanent fixture in your life. And it’s gonna be a long fifty years if we can’t even say good morning without getting into an argument!”

Then, without warning, he backed into a cloud of dust, turned sharply and headed up the road, leaving Willa behind.

Chapter Three

A mile inside the Blue Moon gate, Daniel came over a rise and saw the Mercado ranch house sitting off to his right. Easing off the gas and unclenching his jaw, he slowed down for a good look at Willa’s home.

He’d gleaned a little of the ranch history from the attorney and the Internet, enough to know that Rafael Mercado from Mexico had taken possession of the land in the 1840s, back when Indian attacks were an ever-present threat. The tall, defensive wall Rafael had first built around the house had been lowered in the twentieth century to reveal the courtyard, filled with mature live oak trees, which surrounded the villa inside. A series of white-columned arches created a wide veranda along the two-story front wing of the house. Two side wings stretched back at right angles to form a U-shape with another courtyard in the center. Green shutters framed the windows, a sharp contrast to the creamy white stucco walls.

Daniel squeezed a whistle through his teeth. Willa had a right to be protective—this was quite a showplace. He could imagine how much maintenance work would be involved in caring for such a property. Around the house stretched ten thousand acres of the Wild Horse Desert, where she bred and raised longhorn cattle. No doubt about it, the woman carried a heavy burden. And since her husband had died, she’d carried it alone.

At the sound of her truck rumbling up behind him, he squeezed the accelerator and pulled away fast enough to spray gravel as he fishtailed on his way. The last thing he needed was another “get lost” lecture. She’d made her point and it was a sharp one, especially after last night’s pleasure.

Following the winding, hilly road farther into the Blue Moon, he saw the barns, corrals and utility buildings that formed the heart of the ranching operation. Miles of wire fencing defined the pastures, which alternated between cultivated range land and the scrubby shrubs and natural grasses native to south Texas. The wild landscape held a beauty all its own, however, especially on the morning after rainstorms had cleared the dust from the air. Daniel appreciated the wide blue Texas sky, the varied shapes of the trees and cacti and bushes, the freshness of the wind.

There was no sign to tell him when he crossed onto his own property, just a line on the map the attorney had provided. The terrain didn’t change. There were fences, and cattle…although he was sure Willa would have those rounded up and removed soon enough. She wouldn’t want to leave any of her property under his control.

As he came over the top of yet another hill, he realized he’d reached his destination—the foreman’s cottage he’d be living in. Sited on a bare stretch of ground with only a few prickly shrubs to soften the sandy dirt, the house lacked any evidence of architectural imagination. An uncovered stoop anchored the cement-block structure, its plain front door painted a dull gray like the rest of the building. Daniel pulled into the shade of the carport attached to the side of the house and sighed as he switched off the engine. For the first time since beginning this crazy venture, he felt a little daunted.

Inside, the rooms were clean, bare and equally uninspiring. Willa hadn’t gone to any lengths to make him feel welcome.

Outside once again, he drove toward the barn associated with his property, visible about a quarter of a mile away from the house. The weathered, metal-sided building, surrounded by dry, dusty corrals, did little to bolster his confidence that he could develop a functional ranching business in this place. He was stuck out here in the desert with scant practical knowledge, few ranching skills and no support.

Maybe Willa would win, after all.

Within the barn, years—decades, maybe—of discarded equipment loomed in the corners and cluttered the aisle between stalls, which appeared to have not been cleaned for about the same amount of time. What would he do with all this space once he got it cleared out? His first task, he guessed, would be to hire a foreman. Somebody with in-depth experience, somebody who knew what the hell was supposed to happen next.

What actually happened next was that somewhere, in a far corner of the cavernous building, someone sneezed.

“Hello?” Daniel welcomed the prospect of a trespasser to take his mind off the mess he’d gotten himself into. “Who’s there?”

When no one answered, he walked down the aisle, peering into the stalls as he went. “Come on…I heard you. Do I have to say gesundheit before you make an appearance? Consider it said.”

He stopped by a narrow wooden ladder leading to the loft above the main floor and waited, without result. Then, a minute later, came another sneeze. And another. And yet a fourth.

“Bless you.” Daniel leaned his shoulder against a stall door to take the weight off his aching leg. “I’m not leaving, so you can stay hidden and sneeze your brains out or join me in the fresh air.”

A revealing scuffle came from overhead. He looked up and found a face looking down at him over the edge of the loft.

“You can’t really sneeze your brains out.” Under a pint-sized Resistol cowboy hat, the boy was about ten, with dark eyes, nut-brown skin and shiny black hair.

“Are you sure?” Daniel couldn’t mistake the kid’s resemblance to Willa. This must be the youngest boy. Toby, right?

“Yeah. It just feels that way.” The face disappeared, to be replaced by a pair of boots reaching for the top rung of the ladder. In the next second, the kid landed with a thud on the barn floor. He turned around to confront Daniel, his hands propped on his hips and his eyebrows drawn together. In his hat, his well-worn blue-checked shirt and his weathered jeans, he looked like a miniature cowpoke. “You must be the new guy.”

“I must be. My name’s Daniel Trent.”

The boy gave a single nod, like an aristocrat acknowledging a peasant. “I’m Toby Mercado. This is my ranch.”

Daniel decided not to dispute the issue at that moment. “It’s a nice place, from what I’ve seen so far.” He looked around them and shrugged. “Although this doesn’t look exactly encouraging.”

Toby nodded. “We haven’t used this barn for a long time, not since our foreman got his own land and decided to live there. You’ll have to bring in your own equipment.”

“What kind of equipment?”

The dark eyes went round. “Man, you need tractors and seeders and spreaders and rakes and chains and trailers. You need tools for building and mending fences, just for starters. How many head do you have coming?”

That would refer to cattle, Daniel assumed. “How many do you think I should have?”

Toby gave him a look of pure disdain. “Don’t you know anything?”

“Sure. But I’m new to the ranch business. I’ve got a lot to learn.”

The boy shook his head in disgust. “You’re telling me.”

“Speaking of learning…” Daniel glanced at his watch. “It’s noon on a Tuesday afternoon. Shouldn’t you be in school?”

Scuffing the dirt floor with one toe, Toby avoided his eyes. “Nah.”

“There’s no school today?”

Hands in his jeans pockets, Toby shrugged, still staring at the ground.

“I guess that means you’re playing hooky.”

“What’s that?”

“Skipping school. Cutting class.”

“Oh.” Another shrug, and then another sneeze. “School’s useless.”

“Why is that?”

“’Cause when I grow up I’m gonna run this ranch, just like my dad did. I don’t need school for that. I can learn what I have to know staying home, working with my mom and the hands.”

“Did your dad go to school?”

Toby looked up at him with a surprised expression. “I don’t know.” And sneezed again.

Daniel nodded. “You should ask your mom about that. I’ll take you home so you can talk to her.” He turned toward the barn door, but the boy hung back.

“She’s gonna be mad.”

“Probably. I imagine she likes to know where you are during the day.”

Toby hung his head and sniffed. “I’m in big trouble.”

After letting him anticipate the worst for a minute, Daniel put a hand on his shoulder to move him forward. “You might as well face the inevitable like a man. Get it over with.”

“What’s in-inevble?”

“Something you can’t avoid.”

“Oh.” He sighed. Sneezed. “Yeah.”

Once they were in the truck and headed back to Willa’s house, Daniel said, “How’d you get out of going to school, anyway? Do your brother and sister know you’re not there?”

“I said I was sick this morning. Once Robbie and Susannah left and Lili and Rosa were in the garden, I just went out the front door.” He shrugged. “No big deal.”

“Pretty slick.” But Daniel had a feeling Willa would think it was a very big deal, indeed.

After a minute of silence, Toby said, “So what did you do to your leg?”

“My truck hit a landmine in Iraq.” After eighteen months, he could say it without gritting his teeth.

Toby looked out the side window. “That’s what happened to my dad.” His voice was subdued. “He died.”

“I know. I’m sorry. Three of my friends got killed when I was hurt.”

After a minute, Toby glanced at the hand controls Daniel used to drive the truck. “Do you mind having a…a limp?”

An honest question deserved an honest answer. “Well, what would you think, if you couldn’t play ball anymore—very well, anyway—or sit down easily, walk smoothly or stand up for a long time without your leg feeling like it was on fire?”

“I’d hate it.”

“Sometimes I do. But at least I came home.”

“You were lucky.”

“Yeah, I was.”

He could hear other questions seething in Toby’s brain, but the boy didn’t give voice to his thoughts. They rode down the driveway of the ranch house without another word. Once Daniel stopped the truck, Toby took a deep breath and wrapped his fingers around the door handle. “Thanks for the ride. I—”

Before he could finish, the door was yanked open from the outside. Willa stood there, clearly furious.

“Tobias Rafael Mercado, where have you been? What do you mean, sneaking off without telling anyone? You’re not too old for a spanking, mister, and this may just be the day you get one.”

She grabbed his arm and pulled him off the truck seat to stand in front of her. Bending down, she looked him straight in the eye. “Lili and Rosa have been worried sick, Toby. Why would you do something like this to them?”

Toby had adopted the toe-scuffing technique again. One shoulder lifted in a shrug.

Straightening up, Willa blew out a short breath. “We’ll talk later. Go to your room…and stay there.” The boy turned to start for the house, but she put a hand under his chin and made him look up at her. “Do you understand, Toby? Do not leave your room.”

“Yes, ma’am.” With a slump to his shoulders, dragging his feet, he went into the house. In the stillness of the day, the slam of a door could be heard clearly.

Willa stood for a moment with her shoulders hunched, too. Then she straightened up and looked at Daniel through the open truck door. “Where did you find him?” Her cheeks were bright red with what he figured was pure embarrassment.

“In the barn at my place. He was up in the loft, and he sneezed. Maybe he really does have a cold.”

“If he was sick, he should have stayed home in bed instead of worrying my aunts to death.”

“I guess so.”

“He’s been a handful recently. Always up to something.” She said it almost to herself…or as if he were a friend she’d turned to for advice.

But Daniel knew she didn’t want help from him. He put his hand on the key to crank the truck engine.

“Wait.” Willa reached out, and he turned off the engine again. “I haven’t said thank you.”

“Not necessary.”

“Of course it is. I appreciate you bringing him home—you saved us hours of worry.”

“Anytime.”

“I hope not.” She flashed a smile that took him straight back to last night, to the incredible satisfaction he’d found with her. “I’ll make sure he doesn’t bother you again.”

Daniel’s mood crashed like a falling rock. “I’m sure you will.” Once again he reached out to start the engine.

“Willa?” Two women came scurrying out the front door and across the veranda, both of them tiny, about sixty years old, with bright, dark eyes and identical faces. “Willa, we just talked to Toby. Is this Major Trent?”

“Yes, Lili. Daniel Trent.” She gestured to the aunt wearing a pink-flowered dress. “Daniel, this is my aunt, Lilianna Mercado.”

“Pleased to meet you,” he said automatically, wishing he was outside and standing up instead of talking awkwardly across the interior of the truck.

The other aunt, wearing blue flowers, crowded in next to her sister. “This is Rosa Mercado,” Willa said from behind them.

“Miss Rosa.” Daniel nodded. “It’s a pleasure.”

“We’re so grateful to you for bringing Toby home,” Lili said. Rosa nodded in agreement. “He slipped away while we thought he was napping, and we had no idea where to look. And with Willa gone, we weren’t at all sure what to do.”

“It’s no problem. I just found him in the barn and drove him back.”

“We do appreciate your effort.” Rosa put a hand on her chest, somewhere near her heart. “And we’d like to thank you properly. Please come in and join us for lunch.”

Daniel glanced at Willa and saw her mouth tighten. “Thank you for the invitation, but it’s really not necessary. I’ll just get on back—”

“Oh, you can’t!” Rosa leaned into the truck, bracing her hands on the passenger seat. “I’m sure you don’t have much in the way of groceries up at that house, and it’s so far to drive to the nearest town, you’ll be starving before you get anything to eat. Please, come in. Willa should have asked you before now.” She gave her niece a reproving look.

Trapped. While he was still trying to think of a way to say no, Willa cleared her throat. “Lili and Rosa are right, Daniel. Come in and have some lunch. It’s the least we can do since you brought Toby home.”

His stomach chose that moment to growl fiercely, and the Mercado sisters laughed. Lili clapped her hands. “You see, you need some food right now. You’re a big man. You shouldn’t be going hungry.”

Daniel grinned and surrendered. “Who am I to argue with a lovely woman? Thank you, Miss Lili. I’ll be glad to stay for lunch.”

Lili and Rosa fussed over him all the way into the house, herding him through the large main room, with its twenty-foot ceiling, into the dining room beyond, where they led him to the head of an antique table that could easily have seated twenty people. The chairs were equally old, ornately carved and upholstered with red leather, but remarkably comfortable.

“You sit and relax—” Lili instructed, laying a hand lightly on his shoulder “—while we get the food ready. It’ll just be a moment or two.”

In little more than that, the table was spread with a lunch the size of which Daniel had seldom seen outside an army mess hall. He’d expected Mexican food, but instead there was a huge casserole pan of lasagna, with hot cheese and tomato sauce bubbling on top, plus a crisp salad in a glass bowl, warm bread in a napkin-lined basket, sliced apples and pears on a silver plate…

“This isn’t lunch,” he said when they joined him, the aunts on his left and Willa on his right. “It’s a banquet.” He looked at Willa. “Toby doesn’t get to eat?”

“I took a plate to his room,” she said, her eyes on the salad she was serving herself. “He had fallen asleep. I guess he does have a cold.”

“I thought he had a slight fever when I touched his forehead this morning.” Rosa shook her head. “But not enough to keep him in bed, I guess.”

“Ten-year-old boys are pretty hard to tie down.” Daniel forked up a bite of the lasagna. “Wow. Delicious.”

Rosa and Lili smiled at his appreciative groan. Willa took a deep breath and let it out slowly, finally allowing herself to relax a little. She’d been afraid, though of what, she wasn’t quite sure. She hadn’t really thought Daniel would try to—to sweep her off her feet in her own home, in front of her aunts and her child. Despite what they’d done…together…last night…she didn’t know him at all. But she believed she could trust him to behave in front of her family, at least.

Maybe she didn’t trust herself?

She dropped her fork at the thought, and everyone looked up as it clattered against the china plate. “Sorry,” she managed. “The lasagna is terrific, Lili. As always.”

Focusing on her food again, she had to admit it was nice to have a man at the head of the table once more. Jamie had sat at the other end, nearest the kitchen, and Lili and Rosa had avoided putting Daniel in his seat. But the sheer size and presence of a strong, virile male made a difference in the room. A difference she had sorely missed.

And wasn’t that just wonderful? Here she was, already putting Daniel Trent into her dead husband’s place. This was just what she’d hoped to avoid, warning him off. They didn’t need another man in their lives, stirring up hope in the kids, getting Lili and Rosa all flustered, making Willa herself wish for more of what she’d had last night. She’d simply have to resist any urge to get closer. How hard could that be?

Looking up just as he smiled at Lili after yet another compliment, she got an inkling of exactly how hard, indeed. The man was a charmer. And she was far from immune.

She couldn’t help noticing he made a good meal—two helpings of lasagna and salad, three pieces of bread and even seconds on the flan Rosa brought out for dessert. Willa, on the other hand, found her appetite had deserted her. Her plate returned to the kitchen with most of the food untouched.

“That was quite a meal,” he commented as she walked him back to the front door. “Please be sure your aunts know how much I appreciate their efforts.”

“I think you made it clear.” She opened the heavy door to the veranda and ushered him out ahead of her. “Anyway, they love having company. We haven’t seen many guests in the past couple of years.”

Standing in the shade, he turned to look at her, his blue gaze serious, his face solemn. “I’m sorry, Willa. I know this wasn’t what you wanted.”

She shook her head, then waved a hand in dismissal. “I’m the one who should apologize. I wasn’t…nice…this morning.”

“I don’t expect you to be ‘nice.’ Honest is good.”

“Okay, then.” She pulled in a deep breath and took the risk of meeting his eyes. “Last night can’t ever happen again. It wasn’t—wasn’t me. I can’t afford to be so irresponsible. And the kids—they’re still grieving—”

Daniel held up a hand. “It’s okay. I get it.” He put his weight on the cane and pivoted toward his truck. Once on the other side of the hood, he looked at her again.

“I’ll keep my distance from you and your family,” he promised. “You’ll have to come looking if you want to find me. And, Willa…” That sexy, inviting grin curved his lips. “I can guarantee last night won’t happen again—until you ask for it!”

“I LIKE THAT YOUNG MAN.” Lili set a stack of dirty plates on the kitchen counter.

“I do, too.” Rosa breathed in a lungful of steam as she filled the sink with soapy water. When they’d realized they would have a guest for lunch, they’d decided to use the second-best china, which had to be washed by hand. “He’s very handsome.”

“Oh, yes. He reminds me of…” Lili shook her head. “I think he’ll be a good neighbor.”

Rosa didn’t have to hear the rest of the sentence to know whom her sister was thinking about. “Willa seems doubtful. And very disturbed by him.”

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Could be. She’s barely aware of poor Sheriff Sutton, no matter how hard he tries. But…” Rosa shook her head. “Willa’s a stubborn one. Even if she couldn’t resist falling for Major Trent, I doubt she’d admit it, to herself or anybody else.”

“Do you think he’s interested?”

“Oh, yes. There was a smile in his eyes every time he glanced at her.”

“Well, he’s our neighbor now, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing quite a bit of him. He’ll want Willa’s advice on hiring hands, to start with.”

Rosa paused in the act of sponging off a plate and stared out the window over the sink for a moment. “He’ll need a foreman, too, won’t he?”

“I expect so.” Lili put the leftover lasagna in the refrigerator. “He did say he hadn’t done much ranching.”

“Yes. Yes, he did.” And she might know just the man for the job. Biting back a smile, Rosa looked down into the suds again. “I’m sure Willa could make getting his ranch going much easier for Major Trent, if she wanted to.”

Drying the plate Rosa had just washed, Lili wrinkled her forehead in distress. “Why wouldn’t she want to?”

“She may take a while to get used to the idea of another man in her life.” Rosa handed over the sparkling-clean fruit bowl and winked. “But when it comes to Major Trent, there’s three of us and only one of her.”

Lili’s face cleared and she gave one of her delightful rippling laughs. “How true. Dear Willa doesn’t stand a chance!”

Chapter Four

The van delivering Daniel’s worldly possessions pulled into his driveway at nine o’clock Saturday morning. The Mercado kids arrived on horseback ten minutes later. They galloped up the road in a cloud of dust and slid to a stop on the bare dirt in front of the house. Toby sat on a sturdy brown-and-white horse with a friendly face. His sister—the image of her mother—rode a beautiful palomino with a dark gold coat and a cornsilk mane and tail, while the older boy seemed completely comfortable on his very tall, very black mount.

“Hi,” Toby said, before sliding to the ground. “We came to help you move in. This is Robbie and Susannah. My horse is Patches. Suze rides Lustre, and Robbie’s horse is Tar.” He nodded toward his siblings. “We’ll put them in the corral.”

“Wait a minute.” Daniel suppressed the smile he was feeling. “I don’t recall asking for help.”

“We’re neighbors,” Susannah said. “That’s what we do.”

He was pretty sure they hadn’t checked with their mother before heading his way. And he didn’t want to come between Willa and her children. “Well, you see those two big guys right there?” He waved his cane at the movers who were levering his new recliner out of the van. “They’ve got everything under control. I appreciate the offer, but I think you three had better head back to your house. You must have chores to do for your mom.”

The shock and disappointment on their faces would have been comical, if he hadn’t felt like such a heel turning them away. Toby stood with his jaw hanging loose, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d heard. “But—”

“Come on, Toby.” Robbie, who looked the least like his mother, with bigger bones and a fuller face, wheeled his horse. “We’ve got work to do at home. We don’t have to stay where we’re not wanted.” He pressed his heels into the black horse’s sides and took off at a fast lope. With a glance back at Daniel, Susannah shrugged and followed.

Toby threw his own disgusted look in Daniel’s direction, pulled himself into the saddle and kicked his pony to a gallop. Daniel watched in admiration and a little envy as they charged back down the hill. All three kids rode like they were part of the animal underneath them.

That was why he was so shocked to see Toby’s horse buck several times, then rear straight up on its hind legs—not once, but twice. The second time, Toby fell off.

Daniel heard one of the kids shout. By the time he had his truck backed out of the carport, he saw that Robbie and Susannah had returned to help their brother. A minute later, he stood beside Susannah as she knelt in the dirt with Toby. Robbie waited nearby, holding the three horses.

“He’s knocked out,” Susannah said, a thread of panic edging her voice. “I don’t know what happened. He never falls.”

Daniel mentally cursed his inability to get down on his knees. “Do cell phones work out here?” Susannah shook her head. He looked over at the older boy. “You have to go home and get your mother. If she can get a doctor to come, that’s a good idea.” The boy stared at him blankly. “Go on, Rob. Move it!”

The military tone worked. Robbie managed to mount his horse while still holding the reins of the other two, and then set off down the road at a trot.

“Now, let’s see what’s with Toby.” Daniel leaned as far as he could over the prone little boy. “Can you tell if he’s broken a bone?”

Susannah felt up and down Toby’s limbs and shook her head. “Nothing feels weird.”

“Run your fingers over his scalp, under his hair. Any cuts? Bleeding?”

She did as instructed. If Daniel hadn’t been watching closely, he’d have missed the wince that passed across Toby’s face. Coupled with the good color in his cheeks and the even rise and fall of the boy’s chest, that flinch suggested to Daniel that they might be dealing with injuries more pretended than real.

“Okay, then, let’s check his ribs.” Balancing on his cane, he reached down and tickled his fingers up and down Toby’s rib cage. The little boy made a really valiant effort…but in the end, he had to laugh.

“Don’t! Stop,” he pleaded, giggling, and curled into a ball. “That—ouch!” The sudden gasp of pain was real. “It hurts!” He folded his arms over his midriff and opened his eyes. “Something really hurts.”

“Show me where.” When Toby put his fingertips on his rib cage, Daniel nodded. “You may have cracked that rib, big guy. Do you feel okay, otherwise? Headache? Dizzy? How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three.”

“Yep.” Daniel straightened up, ignoring the scream of his own muscles. “Let’s see if we can get you on your feet. Susannah, take his arm and I’ll take the other hand.” Carefully, they levered Toby to stand. “How’s that feel?”

“Okay, ’cept I have this ache…” He curled his torso around his arms.

“Come lie down in the back of my truck. We’ll wait for your mom and I can drive you down to your house or the doctor, whichever she wants.”

Toby climbed gamely into the backseat of the truck and even agreed to lay his head on Susannah’s leg as she sat beside him.

“What happened?” She brushed a fringe of black hair off her brother’s forehead. “What caused Patches to spook like that?”

“I dunno.” Toby shrugged, then winced. “Maybe he saw a snake. A rattler, coiled up on the side of the road, ready to strike.”

Susannah frowned. “I didn’t see a snake when I went by.”

“That doesn’t mean there wasn’t one.”

“But the other horses—”

“Are stupid.” Toby shoved himself away from his sister. “I said I don’t know what happened.”

“That’s okay.” Daniel touched Susannah’s shoulder lightly. “We won’t worry about why right now. You need to stay still, Toby. Lie back down.”

But the boy had his lower lip stuck out and refused to relax. “Let’s just go home.”

“No, we’ll get your mother here first.” At the sound of an approaching engine, Daniel glanced down the road. “There she is, now.”

Willa dropped down from her truck and strode toward Daniel. “Is he hurt?” Her dark eyes were fierce with worry.

“He might have cracked a rib. Otherwise, I think he’s okay.” He stepped back as she reached him, allowing her to peer into the backseat.

“Toby, what have you done this time?”

“Patches spooked and reared,” Susannah said. “He says it was a snake on the road, but I don’t believe him.” She slid out, and Willa took her place next to Toby.

Robbie had come back with his mother, and he walked up while Willa talked to Toby. “Come on, Suze. Let’s get in the truck. Mom wants to take him into town to the doctor.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Can’t you be polite?” Then she looked at Daniel. “Thanks, Major Trent. I appreciate your help.”

Daniel gave her a smile. “I’m glad I was close by.”

Susannah smiled back and started to say something else, but Robbie grabbed her arm. “Come on.” With a jerk, he got her started toward Willa’s vehicle. She glanced back at Daniel and waved, before her brother urged her with both hands into the backseat. The door slammed shut. Despite the shadowed interior, Daniel saw the twins arguing.

Willa backed out of his truck and looked over. “You might be right. He’ll need an X-ray, I guess.”

“That’s a good idea.”

“Thanks again for taking care of him.” Blowing out a deep breath, she tented her fingers against her lips for a moment. “I can’t imagine what happened, though. Patches has always been bomb-proof—he never spooks. I’ve been on him when a snake actually crossed his path. On the other hand, Toby usually sticks like a burr. He’s been riding his whole life.”

Daniel decided to keep his thoughts to himself. “Maybe he was thinking about something else. I’m just glad he didn’t hit his head.”

“Me, too.” Her gaze met his for a second. “Robbie said your furniture arrived.”

“Yeah, what there is of it.”

“They rode up to help you, I guess.”

He nodded. “I doubted you knew they’d come over.”

“No.”

“So I sent them home.”

Looking away from him, she nodded. “Um…I appreciate that. Now, we’ll get out of your way, let you move in.” She walked quickly to the other side of the truck, helped Toby out and led him to her vehicle with an arm around his shoulders. Once behind the wheel again, she gave Daniel a wave, echoed by Toby and Susannah, then executed a precise three-point turn and headed back down the hill in a cloud of dust.

Daniel returned to his house to find that the movers, with no direction, had deposited his bedroom furniture in the living room and were ready to be on their way. He offered them fifty bucks in cash to assemble the bed where it belonged and place the dresser and chest of drawers that had belonged to his great-grandmother. Gritting his teeth, he also requested them to unstack the boxes so he could open each one without having to lift. Then, embarrassed, he let them leave.

Sitting in his recliner a few minutes later, he heard the distinct sound of a car engine shutting off outside his door. When he’d levered himself to stand and reached the living room window, he could see that an ancient station wagon—the kind with real wood panels on the sides—had pulled into the yard. As he watched, one of the Mercado ladies came around to the back and lowered the tailgate, at the same time as someone knocked on the door.

The other aunt stood there, as he’d expected. “Good afternoon,” she said brightly. “Lili and I thought you would need some help getting settled. If you’ll hold open the door, we’ll bring these things inside.”

He’d had trouble telling the twins apart at lunch. Now he noticed that Rosa wore a metal bracelet, the kind used to remember prisoners of war and soldiers missing in action. That would help him keep them straight. “Miss Rosa, you don’t have to…”

His protest fell on deaf ears. She went back to the wagon and collected a big basket, as Lili approached carrying a cardboard box. “Hello, again, Major Trent. These go to the kitchen.”

“Miss Lili, I can’t let you—”

She, too, ignored him. And so Daniel stood there, bemused, as the two ladies paraded back and forth from house to wagon, carting in groceries and he didn’t know what else.

“That’s all,” Lili said, as she came in again. “You can close the door now. We’ve let out enough of the cool air.” When Daniel followed her into the kitchen, he found Rosa unpacking pots and pans.

“We weren’t sure whether you had kitchen supplies,” she told him. “And I gather, looking at your boxes, that you don’t.”

“Um…no.” Daniel ran a hand through his hair. “I haven’t cooked much, over the years.”

“That’s quite all right. We have plenty to spare.”

“And dishware?” Lili lifted a stack of plates out of a box. “Do you have your own?”

He shook his head. “You really shouldn’t have—”

Lili waved away his objections. “We didn’t expect a bachelor to have much in the way of provisions. So we brought some basics. And some frozen meals, to get you started. Those are already in the freezer.”

The freezer, Daniel saw when he opened the door, was filled with neatly labeled packages. “Your lasagna,” he said weakly. “That was really good.” He’d been eating peanut butter sandwiches since that one great lunch at Willa’s house.

“And, of course, you’re welcome to any meal at our house,” Lili said. “Even breakfast, if you want to drive down that early. You don’t have to call—just arrive and we’ll feed you.”

“Thanks.” Daniel could just imagine Willa’s face if he showed up for breakfast, or any other meal, unannounced and uninvited by her.

“Now, we’ll get the sheets on your bed.” Rosa headed for the bedroom. “And some towels in the bath.”

“Ladies…” Daniel trailed after them. “I can make the bed. You really don’t have to do all this work.”

Again, his protests fell on deaf ears. The sisters set up his bed and bath to their satisfaction, all the way down to unwrapping the bars of soap for sink and shower. When they started eyeing the boxes, however, Daniel took charge.

“No,” he said firmly, “you aren’t going to unpack for me. I couldn’t live with myself if I let you work so hard. You’ve already done too much.”

“Nonsense.” Lili allowed him to escort her back to the living room. “You’ve saved Toby twice, now—we couldn’t possibly do too much.”

“Then we’ll call it even.” Daniel surveyed them both. “But it’s getting late and you’ll want to be back home before dark.”

He was able to help them into the wagon one-handed, and then stepped back. “Thank you for everything. You’re welcome to visit anytime—come empty-handed, though!”

They laughed and beeped the horn. Daniel watched them out of sight down the road before going back into his house.

His well-provisioned house, now that the Mercado sisters had been there. Between the luxury of choosing whether to enjoy beef stew or meat loaf for dinner, the prospect of a good night’s sleep on cool, smooth sheets and a swig from one of the beers Rosa had stowed in his refrigerator, Daniel felt as if he’d finally come home.

He raised his bottle in a toast. “To the New Moon Ranch,” he said aloud. “Willa, my dear, you’ll just have to learn to like losing!”

TOBY WANTED HIS MOM NEARBY while the doctors examined him, but Robbie and Susannah were told to remain in the waiting room.

“I hope he’s not really hurt.” Susannah hunched her shoulders and hugged her arms around her waist.

Robbie propped his elbows on his knees and stared at his hands. “Yeah, well, he deserves it, pulling a stunt like that.”

“What stunt?”

“You are so gullible.” He threw his sister an impatient look. “He made Patches rear, then deliberately fell off.”

“Oh.” She was quiet for a few seconds. “Why would he do that?”

“’Cause he’s all excited about Major Daniel Trent from the U.S. Army. He wanted that Trent dude to come to the rescue.” He used a sissy voice to make the title sound as silly as possible.

“He’s a nice man, Robbie. I like his smile.”

“You would.”

She punched him in the shoulder. “I’m not stupid.”

“Sure you are,” he said, just to make her mad. Then he grinned, so she’d know he didn’t mean it.

After she stuck out her tongue at him, Susannah said, “Why do you think Toby’s so interested in Major Trent?”

“Duh? Because it’s like Dad coming back again?”

She didn’t say anything. When he looked around, she’d bowed her head over her arms, and he saw a tear splash on her wrist. After a minute, though, she sniffed and straightened up. “So you think Toby wants Major Trent to take Daddy’s place?”

Robbie shrugged one shoulder.

“Marry Mom, and everything?”

“Don’t make me gag. Mom doesn’t need another husband. She’s got us to take care of her.”

“She’s pretty lonely. So maybe—” Susannah stared at him, her eyebrows wrinkled. “Would that make him our dad?”

“Nope.”

“And would he run the ranch? Would he…would he own it, once he married Mom?”

“I—I don’t think so.” Robbie could still hear in his head what his dad had said, kneeling in front of him just before he got on the plane. “I’m counting on you, son. Take care of your mom. And take care of the Blue Moon.”

Susannah tugged on his sleeve. “Robbie, are you sure?”

Robbie realized he’d closed his eyes. He opened them wide and saw his mom and Toby emerge from the examination area across the room. “The Blue Moon belongs to the Mercados, Suze.” He made his voice strong, so she’d believe him. “Always has, always will.”

He’d make sure of that, somehow. For his dad’s sake.

NIGHT HAD FALLEN BY THE TIME Willa pulled her truck into the driveway at the house. She cut the engine, climbed out and went to help Toby off the high seat.

“I don’t need help,” he complained, but then leaned heavily on her hand as he came to the ground.

“I know you don’t. But humor me—moms like to help when their kids have cracked ribs.”

“Okay.” He pulled free soon enough and walked into the house under his own steam, but with a tired slump to his shoulders.

“He doesn’t feel good.” Susannah came up on Willa’s right. “Maybe they should have put him in the hospital.”

“He’s just begging for sympathy,” Robbie countered. “You watch—he’ll want extra dessert because he’s hurt.”

“I think he’s sore,” Willa told them. “But maybe he’s learned a lesson.” They both looked at her in question and she shrugged. “My guess is he tried to fall off…and succeeded better than he expected.”

Susannah held out her hands in a helpless gesture. “But why?”

“I told you. ’Cause he wanted to stay with his new hero,” Robbie said with disgust. “He’s all hung up over the Trent guy.”

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