Expecting the Rancher's Heir / Taming Her Billionaire Boss. Kathie DeNosky

“You, Mr. McDermott, are incorrigible.”

      He laughed as he helped her spread a blanket for their picnic. “More like insatiable, angel.”

      “That may be, but do the best you can to contain yourself,” she said, smiling as she carried their lunch to the blanket.

      Kneeling at the edge of the fleece, she avoided his intense blue gaze as she placed the sandwiches on plates, then opened two small bottles of apple juice. If she looked at him, there was a very good chance she would abandon her resolve and that was something she couldn’t afford to let happen.

      “We have things to talk about and decisions to make,” she said, taking a sip from her juice.

      His expression turning serious, Shane lowered him self to sit on the blanket beside her. “Let’s put a hold on that for right now. We’ll have plenty of time to make our plans tomorrow.” Smiling, he reached for a sandwich. “You need to take today to relax and regroup, anyway. Yesterday was a pretty rough day for you.”

      It was the first reference he had made to her meltdown the night before, and she was grateful that he didn’t seem overly interested in pursuing it now. “Maybe you’re right.”

      “I know I am,” he said, sounding so darned sure of himself, she wasn’t sure whether she should kiss him or take something and bop him with it.

      Either way, she decided to take his advice. There would be plenty of time tomorrow to figure what to do about a carefree affair that had unexpectedly become a very serious issue.

      Four

      The first shadows of evening had just begun to stretch across the valley when Shane and Lissa rode back into the ranch yard. All in all, it had been a pretty good day, he decided as they dismounted. He had been more than a little pleased by her reaction to his ranch and looked forward to showing her more when they had time.

      “I’ve been thinking that supper in front of the television would be nice tonight,” he said, leading their horses into the stable. “We can watch a movie on one of the satellite channels or pop a DVD in the player.” Unsaddling the stallion, he carried the tack and blanket into the tack room, then returned to the center aisle of the stable to do the same with the roan. “Although, I think I had better warn you. I don’t have much in the way of romantic movies in my collection.”

      “Why doesn’t that surprise me?” she asked, laughing as she reached for a brush to groom the gelding. “I have to admit though, a night of vegging out does sound nice. And whatever you choose to watch is fine with me. I’ll probably fall asleep before the opening credits even get started.”

      Finished with brushing the stallion, Shane led the animal down to his stall, then returned for Stormy. “Why don’t you go on to the house and take a hot shower? It will only take me another few minutes to feed and water the horses.”

      Without waiting to see if she took him up on his suggestion, Shane walked Stormy to his stall, then set about giving the animals oats and filling their water troughs. He was surprised when he turned around to find that Lissa had sat down on a bale of straw beside the tack room door to wait for him.

      “I thought you were going to take a shower and change,” he said, walking up beside her.

      Shrugging, she smiled. “I thought we could go back to the house together.”

      He liked the sound of that and without hesitation, he picked her up and sat down to settle her on his lap. Her arms automatically circled his neck and she laid her head on his shoulder.

      Damn, but he loved holding her like this. “Legs still a bit wobbly from riding so much?”

      “A little. But not as bad as the first time I dismounted.” She snuggled closer. “Thank you for today,” she said softly. “I really enjoyed seeing your ranch and Rainbow Falls. It’s all very beautiful.”

      Her warm breath whispering over his neck and the feel of her cradled against him sent his hormones racing. His arousal was not only immediate, it left him feeling light-headed from its intensity.

      “I’m glad you had a good time,” he said, shifting to a more comfortable position.

      “I’ve been thinking, Shane.”

      He didn’t like the sound of her tentative tone. “About what?”

      “This weekend should probably be our last time seeing each other.”

      Her voice was so quiet he wasn’t sure he had heard her correctly. But a bucket of ice water couldn’t have been more effective at putting an end to his overly active libido.

      Sitting her up on his lap, he met her gaze head-on. “You want to explain yourself? What do you mean this is our last time together?”

      She sighed. “Jarrod Ridge is a family-oriented resort. Some of the older investors would likely take a dim view of our having an affair.”

      “What do you think is going to happen when they find out you’re pregnant out of wedlock?” he shot back. The way he saw it, they’d take the news a whole lot better and be less likely to condemn if she had the baby’s daddy standing beside her.

      She nibbled on her lower lip a moment before shaking her head. “I’ve thought about that, too. I’m hoping they won’t find out.”

      A chill raced up his spine. She wasn’t talking about …

      “I’ll have to check with our attorney, Christian Hanford, to see if there’s a way to keep from losing my inheritance if I move back to California. But having the baby out there would keep the talk down around the resort,” she said, oblivious to the fact that she had damned near given him a coronary before she finished explaining. “You and my family will be the only ones who know that I’ve had a child. I know they’ll keep that kind of news quiet in order to keep from jeopardizing our business.”

      Why did everyone’s opinion matter so much to her? For that matter, why did the whole family protect the Jarrod Ridge reputation as if it were as valuable as the gold in Fort Knox?

      “Why the hell are you protecting the resort above all else, Lissa?” he asked before he could stop himself. But once the words were out, he couldn’t really say he regretted the question.

      She looked stunned. “What do you mean?”

      “Why are you scared to death about what everyone is going to say or think?”

      Shane knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but he had a feeling that it had been drilled into her as a child that appearances were everything and the reputation of the resort came before anything else. Even if it meant sacrificing her own happiness or well-being.

      Her body stiffened and he knew he had hit the nail on the head. “My father’s death caused enough upheaval. Jarrod Ridge doesn’t need unrest among the people with a vested interest in its success,” she insisted. “We need their funding to bring more events to the resort.”

      He could tell she was avoiding having to answer his questions. He decided to let that slide for now. But eventually she was going to have to stop putting that damned resort and its precious reputation ahead of her own wants and needs. And if it took him having to bring that to her attention, he was up for the challenge.

      “I’m one of the investors in the resort and I couldn’t care less what the majority of those old goats think.”

      He pulled her close and wondered what kind of childhood she’d had. If being put to work at the age of eight and her unrealistic concerns about gossip were any indication, it had to have been miserable.

      “But we aren’t going to talk about any of that now,” he said, determined to change the subject. “This afternoon, we made an agreement to get this all straightened out tomorrow. I’m going to hold you to that.”

      Deciding not to give her the opportunity to argue the point further, he captured her mouth with his. Resistant at first, he felt her