Winning The Rancher's Heart. Arlene James

no one moved. It was as if the world simply stopped for the space of a heartbeat. Then suddenly, fear hit Ryder. He knew too well how quickly tragedy could change everything. He scrambled to his knees, shaking off his gloves, and laid hands on Jeri to make sure the metal hook hadn’t somehow caught her. As stunned as he, she stared at him while he checked her head and shoulders for injuries. He found no lump or gash, but before he could explore further, she rolled away.

      Suddenly, Wyatt was there, reaching down a hand to each of them, his face set like stone, lips taut as he hauled them up.

      “Anyone hurt?”

      They both shook their heads while dusting themselves off.

      Wyatt closed his eyes and sucked in a deep, calming breath. For a moment, Ryder feared that his big brother was about to blow his stack. Of all the Smith brothers, Wyatt had the hottest temper, though he kept it under control. He could, in fact, be exceedingly patient. Tina’s pregnancy, the coming storm and the biting cold had combined to fray his nerves, however, and Ryder wouldn’t have been surprised if any little thing pushed Wyatt over the edge.

      “Are you two trying to maim each other?” Wyatt growled.

      Jeri shook dust from her hair and bent to snatch up her hat.

      “The anchor came loose,” Ryder said quickly, picking up his own hat and gloves. He paused to watch her slap cold, red dust from her clothing. “You sure you’re okay?”

      She nodded and sent him a wry smile. “Guess it’s my day for accidents.”

      He chuckled and reached out to sweep away a blot of dust that she’d missed on her sleeve. Her eyes widened. The next instant, her face hardened, as if a mask had slipped into place, and she jerked back. Ryder dropped his hand as Wyatt started beating the dust off him. Embarrassed, Ryder brushed off his brother’s hands. He wasn’t five years old anymore, and Wyatt had no reason to treat him as if he was. Besides, a little dirt never hurt anybody.

      Muttering, “I’ll get the harnesses,” Ryder trudged over to the truck bed while Wyatt helped Jeri secure her load.

      With the load safely tied down with rope, Wyatt took a harness from Ryder and went back to his own sledge and horse. Ryder helped Jeri hitch up her horse.

      “This is an ingenious rig,” Jeri commented, stepping up beside him as he went to work on his big red dun, Handy. “Simple. Efficient. Best of all, I see no way this could harm the horse.”

      “It’s a good system,” Ryder agreed. “Our uncle invented it. There was talk of a patent, but we’re not sure he ever did anything about that.”

      “Maybe you should,” she said. “I think you could manufacture and sell this.”

      “Worth considering,” he commented, grinning.

      Abruptly, as if she’d just remembered something important, she strode to the Perlino’s head, abandoning Ryder and the conversation.

      Ryder lifted his eyebrows. What a strange female. Strange and lovely.

      He tightened the girth on the dun’s saddle before securing the load on his sledge. While he hooked the tie-down into place, Jeri efficiently tightened the girth on Pearl’s saddle. Wyatt swung up onto his big gray, Blue Moon. Pearl’s reins in hand, Jeri shifted around to the side, as if preparing to mount. She paused to watch Ryder stand and give his load a final check.

      “Watch it!” Wyatt warned.

      Ryder looked up in time to see Pearl, who was something of a clown, curl her neck and throw her head, butting Jeri right between the shoulder blades. Ryder straightened as Jeri launched toward him, the reins falling to the ground. Pearl placidly faced forward again, the equine equivalent of feigned innocence. Ryder, meanwhile, found himself clutching an astonished female with curves not even a down coat could disguise. Mouth agape, eyes wide, she stared up at him from beneath the brim of her hat. He tightened his arms and smiled to let her know she was safe. She hadn’t, after all, hit the cold, hard ground this time. He realized that he was staring at her lips when her gaze dropped to his.

      Ryder didn’t know what might have happened if Wyatt hadn’t burst out laughing. At the sound, Jeri jerked away, flouncing off to gather Pearl’s reins. She trod on Ryder’s foot in the process, the uninjured one, thankfully. He grimaced but kept his groan inside.

      Jeri climbed onto Pearl. Shaking his head, Wyatt led off. Ryder gestured for Jeri to follow then limped around to mount. As he and Handy fell in behind her, Ryder knew exactly what his big brother was thinking. But dangerous didn’t scratch the surface of the peril that Jeri Bogman brought with her.

      The woman was positively lethal.

      In more ways that Ryder dared contemplate.

       Chapter Three

      Guilt and regret washed over Jeri as Wyatt stalked back to shut the gate behind the truck, trailer and horses, muttering that they were returning to the house over two hours later than they should’ve been. Their tardiness was, of course, her fault. After her unexpected reaction when she’d found herself in Ryder’s arms, she’d purposefully made every “mistake” she could while “helping” the Smith brothers provide for their cattle. She’d been hoping for an angry outburst from Ryder to remind her why she was right to hate him—and why it was wrong to find his arms around her so very appealing.

      It wouldn’t have been an easy morning even without her interference. That being the case, something should have set off Ryder’s temper. Obviously, he was on his best behavior in front of company. Still, she reasoned that she was at least nettling him, priming the pump, so to speak. Eventually, given enough provocation, he’d surely lose control. Wouldn’t he?

      Unfortunately, the only one she’d managed to upset thus far was Wyatt, and she couldn’t be happy about adding to the weight on his shoulders. He was a man with a lot on his mind.

      Wyatt had called his wife to be sure she was okay and let her know they would be late for lunch. Jeri noticed that Ryder had calmly, gently tried to reassure his brother. Though he addressed himself to Jeri now, his words were clearly aimed at Wyatt as the older brother climbed back into the truck.

      “Takes a lot of strength to carry twins, but that’s Tina for you. No challenge too big for her. Why, you should’ve seen the state the house was in when she first came. And, of course, she’ll do anything for the sake of her husband and kids, even put up with his lazy brothers.”

      “And which brothers would those be?” Wyatt asked, putting the transmission into gear and starting the rig forward again. “You and Jake have worked your fingers to the bone getting the place in shape.”

      “That reminds me,” Ryder said. “Now that the B and B and the shop are fully operational, I’m going to help Jake do some work around his and Kathryn’s place after the weather warms up. They want to add an office and a third bedroom.”

      “Sounds good.”

      Wyatt pulled the truck up to the small door on the stable end of the barn. Ryder got out and went to untie the horses. Jeri went to help him. She didn’t intend to apologize, but she couldn’t seem to help herself.

      “I’m sorry if I made us late.”

      “Aw, no,” Ryder said, tossing her that shy, boyish smile so at odds with his muscular build, heavy beard shadow and deep voice. “We’d have taken even longer without your help.”

      “I’m not sure Wyatt would agree.”

      “Wyatt knows you didn’t intentionally slow us down.”

      Except she had, and that knowledge shamed Jeri even as she rationalized it in her mind.

      They got the horses to their stalls. Jeri volunteered to open the big, central barn doors while Ryder began unsaddling. She left Wyatt backing the truck and trailer into