The Rancher and His Unexpected Daughter by Sherryl Woods Page A

said softly.
    He lowered his head until his lips were a tantalizing hairbreadth above hers. She trembled as she waited for him to close that infinitesimal distance. When, at last, their mouths met, she could have sworn fireworks exploded. She’d been expecting a kiss that was gentle and tentative. Instead, he plundered, claiming her mouth as surely as his ancestors had claimed Comanche land.
    After the first startled instant, when she couldn’t have moved if her life depended on it, Janet slid her hands from his shoulders into his thick hair, holding him, encouraging him to continue the assault that had her senses vibrantly, thrillingly alive for perhaps the first time ever. Nothing she had shared with her ex-husband compared to the consuming, white-hot fire raging through her just from Harlan Adams’s incomparable kiss.
    She willed it to go on forever, imagining all of the wicked places it could take her. But just as she was indulging in sensations so sweet her heart ached for them to continue, she heard a startled gasp behind her.
    â€œMom, how could you?” Jenny protested with all of the hurt and confusion a thirteen-year-old could experience.
    The kitchen door rattled on its hinges as Jenny left far more noisily than she had entered.
    â€œI’ll go after her,” Harlan offered, but Janet stilled him.
    â€œNo, it’s up to me. You’d better leave, though. She won’t want to see you again tonight and this could take a while.”
    He nodded, reluctance clearly written all over his face. “If you’re sure.”
    â€œI am. I’ll handle it.”
    â€œYou’ll be at White Pines in the morning, then?”
    â€œThat might be difficult,” Janet said. “She might not want to be there after this.”
    â€œA deal’s a deal,” he reminded her, his expression intractable.
    She saw then, what she should have recognized before. Harlan Adams had a will of iron when it came to the things he wanted. What worried her was that she’d just had unmistakable evidence that what he wanted was her.

Chapter Six
    H arlan was up before dawn the morning following his dinner with Janet and Jenny. By six he was pacing the front porch from end to end, wondering if they would show up and if they did, what kind of reception he might get.
    He’d cursed himself a dozen different ways on the drive home the night before. As much as he’d been aching to kiss Janet, he never should have taken a chance on doing it where Jenny could walk in on them. Even a fool would have been smarter than that.
    Now, not only had he put his relationship with the intriguing Janet Runningbear at risk, but it seemed likely he’d spoiled the fragile rapport he’d been building with her daughter.
    When he finally heard the sound of an engine in the distance, his spirits soared, then crashed just as quickly when he saw that it was Cody’s red pickup barreling down the lane.
    Just what he needed. He doubted there was a chance in hell he could keep his perceptive son fromguessing what was on his mind. And if Cody picked up on his mood, he’d be offering unsolicited advice to the lovelorn and enjoying every minute of it.
    â€œAren’t you supposed to be up north today, checking those fence lines?” Harlan grumbled as Cody approached. “You’re getting a mighty late start.”
    Cody eyed him warily. “You roll out on the wrong side of the bed, Daddy?”
    â€œNo, it’s just that we could lose a lot of the herd if that fence doesn’t get taken care of. I shouldn’t have to be telling you a thing like that.”
    â€œI’m aware of what’s at stake,” Cody retorted as carefully as if he’d unwittingly walked into a mine field. “Which is why I sent Mac and Luis up there first thing yesterday morning. I didn’t want to wait for today.”
    â€œOh,” Harlan said, and fell silent. It took everything in him, but he