Part 1 (1/2)

WILDFIRE.

Cheyenne McCray.

To Mop and Pop Whatever you do, donat turn the page!

Acknowledgment:.

Many thanks to Annie Windsor, Nelissa Donovan and Jordan Summers for everything you do.

Chapter One.

Dean MacLeod s.h.i.+fted in her saddle to alleviate the ache between her thighs as she watched her ranch hands count the cattle theyad rounded up over the weekend. While she inhaled the familiar smells of dust, livestock, and testosterone, she couldnat help but enjoy watching the men work. The flex of muscle, lean bodies in tight Wrangler jeans, leather chaps, tanned forearmsa Yummy.

The ache intensified and she s.h.i.+fted again, rubbing her jean-clad crotch over the leather of her saddle. Her panties were drenched and her nipples jutted out beneath her denim s.h.i.+rt. G.o.d did it ever turn her on to watch cowboys at work, and she just happened to employ the best looking wranglers in all of Arizona.

The air was filled with the busy hum of deep male voices and the low of cattle. Saddle leather creaked as she leaned down and rubbed her mareas neck, wondering what the men would think if she cried out with an o.r.g.a.s.m right here by the corral. Considering that behind her back she was known as aDean the Ice Queen,a those cowboys might just tumble out of their saddles if they had any idea how erotic her thoughts were.

d.a.m.n but she needed a man. Only shead yet to find one worth keeping.

Not since Jake Reynolds.

She frowned and straightened in her saddle. Why in the h.e.l.l was she thinking about him after all these years? She was definitely over that man ages ago.

Pus.h.i.+ng up the brim of her straw Resistol, Deanas gaze followed Jess Lawless, her new foreman. Now there was one fine looking male specimena”luscious dark brown hair, wicked blue eyes and a body that was made for s.e.x.

In the past month since shead hired him, shead considered breaking her own no-dating-employees-rule when it came to Jess, and she had the impression head be more than happy to take her up on it. But she also knew better than to complicate things by getting involved. She never intended to get serious about anyone ever again, so why complicate a perfectly good business relations.h.i.+p?

Of course there was always Kev Grand, who owned the Bar One, the ranch neighboring hers. For years the man had made it clear he wanted her. Shead dated him a few times recently, but when head tried to do more than kiss her, shead put him off. Mustached, blonde and hazel-eyed, he was a handsome man, but she just never felt that sizzle with him like she had with Jake.

Dammit. She had to get over the idiot. Ten years was too long to have that man come into her mind and trample all over her libido.

Sweat trickled between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and she unfastened another snap on her s.h.i.+rt, hoping a light wind would kick up and cool her skin. September suns.h.i.+ne warmed her face, the sky an achingly clear blue. Not even a breeze stirred the mesquite bushes and tumbleweeds on her ranch.

September. A strange sensation came over her as her thoughts turned to another Septembera”ten years ago, when shead met Jake Reynolds.

Her hand automatically moved to her throat and she closed her eyes as a memory came to her, sharp and vivid. The sound of his deep voice calling her Dee, rather than Dean like everyone else did. His sinful grin, his muscled chest and athletic thighs. And the feel of his huge c.o.c.k as he slid inside hera”

aDean?a She snapped her eyes open, a rush of heat engulfing her as she looked into Jessas blue gaze. He was sitting astride his mare. His face was coated with dirt and sweat, and d.a.m.n if that didnat make him look even s.e.xier.

With his forefinger he pushed up the brim of his Stetson, his handsome face creased into a frown. aYou all right, boss?a aYou know it.a She pulled her s.h.i.+rt away from her chest, trying to cool off, and pretended not to notice how his gaze drifted to her cleavage. aWhere do we stand with the count?a aThieving b.a.s.t.a.r.ds.a Jessas jaw tightened and his features hardened. aWeare down fifty head.a aFifty?a She rolled her eyes skyward, unable to believe what head just said. aHow the h.e.l.l did they steal so many without us catching them?a Jessas gaze had a predatory gleam before he tugged his mareas reins and turned back toward the corral. aI donat know,a he said over his shoulder, abut I aim to find out.a With a groan of frustrations, Dean guided Shadow across the rangeland and to the ranch house to take a quick bath. So much for feeling h.o.r.n.y. Jessas news was a cold shower on her arousal, giving her more important things to think about than getting laid.

It was a road he hadnat traveled for almost ten years, Jake Reynolds realized as his truck hit a pothole, jarring his teeth along with his memories.

Suns.h.i.+ne glinted off the winds.h.i.+eld, endless acres of gra.s.s and barbwire fence scrolling by as he guided the truck down the dirt road to the MacLeod ranch. One of the largest ranches in the county, the Flying M was ten miles outside Douglas, a dingy town along the Mexico border in southeastern Arizona.

September. It had been September when head first met Dean MacLeod. And then head gone and left her six months later.

Jakeas truck s.h.i.+mmied along the dirt road, but he barely noticed as his thoughts turned to Deea”her smile that had held all the innocence of youth and all the promise of Eve. Her seductive eyes, an unusual color of green, the same shade as her August birthstone. Her auburn hair and the tantalizing mole above her left breast. And G.o.d, those legs. Long legs shead clamped around his hips, and her sensual cries as he buried himself inside her.

d.a.m.n. His c.o.c.k had grown hard just thinking about her.

Jake gritted his teeth as he thought about the girla”the womana”head walked away from all those years ago. Shead been nineteen, starting her first year of college, and head been twenty-two, a deputy with the county sheriffas department. Shead been so young, so vibrant. And head nearly crushed her heart, leaving her like he did.

But at the time he thought head done the right thing when head told her goodbye. That shead been too young. Head been too young.

Being bad at long-term relations.h.i.+ps was in his genesa”at least thatas what head thought back then. His parents had divorced when he was a teenager. Even his brother Nickas marriage had lasted less than a year, and he had always been the stable one in the family.

When Dee had told Jake that she loved him, when she started talking about raising a family, it had scared the h.e.l.l out of him. He told her he wasnat ready for that kind of responsibility and it would be best if they called it quits. And head turned around and walked out of her life.

She was probably married now with a couple of rugrats and living off in a city in some other state. As his truck neared the MacLeod Ranch, Jake tried to comfort himself by imagining her a bit wider in the hips with bags under her eyes, and maybe a few strands of gray from chasing her kids around.

Who was he kidding? Shead still look great.

When Jake had made the decision to transfer to Douglas to be closer to his ailing mother, a part of him had hoped Dee would still be here. That they could pick up where theyad left off.

He slowed the truck as he crossed over the cattle guard that rattled and thrummed under the wheels of his 4 x 4. Herds of sleek Black Angus lined each side of the road, lifting their heads to watch him pa.s.s by and then returning to graze.

Apparently the rains had been good that summer, as the gra.s.s was still green in patches, and plentiful. He noted the well-kept barbwire fences, stock tanks and windmill. Ron MacLeod always did keep his place in fine shape, and he certainly had the money to do it.

Jake didnat expect his gut to clench the way it did when he drove up to the sprawling ranch house. A vivid memory of Dee came to him. Of her running from the front porch to greet him, her smile brilliant, throwing her arms around his neck and treating him to her soft lips. Her husky voice telling him she missed him, and her firm body pressed tight to his.

With a groan, he brought the truck to a halt in front of the MacLeod residence, dust swirling around his vehicle in a beige cloud. He took in the changes of the last ten years. The oak trees and weeping willows were taller and the porch that ran the length of the house was practically overflowing with houseplantsa”a womanas touch.

Had Ron gone and remarried? After Nancy MacLeodas death, everyone was sure Ron would never tie the knot again.

Jakeas gaze pa.s.sed beyond the house, extensive barn, corrals and ranch buildings, to the tawny mountains rising behind. The old tire swing still hung from the lower branch of the oak in front of the barn. He remembered pus.h.i.+ng Dee in that tire, spinning it around, and claiming a kiss when he caught her to him.

Jake crammed his black Stetson on his head, climbed out of the truck and slammed the door a little too hard. Shoving the memories to the back of his mind, he headed up the steps then through the maze of plants on the porch. Wind chimes hanging from the porchas beams made a haunting sound as a breeze stirred. Almost ghostly.

But the only ghosts around were the memories of Dee. He knocked. No answer. Ron must be off working on horseback or in his truck. Jake was about to leave his card in the door when he heard a shriek.

Hair p.r.i.c.kled at the base of his neck and he automatically grabbed his gun from the holster at his back. The scream had come from the barn. Jake made sure everything was clear and hurried to the barn, his boots making no sound as he crossed the hard packed earth.

Everything was quiet. Too quiet.

Pausing beside the open barn door, he listened, his heart beating a rapid rhythm.

aYou littlea”a a woman said, and then a thump and another cry.

He rounded the doorway, his weapon raised. Dee MacLeod was sprawled on the barn floor with her back against a hay bale, her blouse gaping open. She was glaring into a horse stall.