“Nope. She really doesn’t climb trees very often.” Henry grabbed a branch and started descending. “Do you hafta arrest Mr. Pearson?”
“Well, I at least need to talk to him.” Quinn stepped gingerly on a narrow branch.
“Okay. But you gotta know, he’ll run. He likes to run sometimes.”
Wonderful. Quinn shook his head. He actually wanted to fight for the sheriff position again? As he glanced at the now whistling, stark-nude old guy, he grinned. Yeah. Why the hell not?
Juliet slowly approached the paddock, wondering how in the world she’d ended up in this particular mess. Sophie had been kind enough to drop her off, but at some point, Juliet needed a car. Though licensing a vehicle under a fake name would be too risky.
She rubbed aching eyes. She’d had two sleepless nights after the sheriff had dropped her off the other evening, and her exhaustion was all his fault. The kiss had her body on fire and her mind whirling.
Plus, when she’d gotten up to get a drink of water, she could’ve sworn somebody tapped on the outside door to her apartment. She’d pressed her ear against it, no way stupid enough to open it, but nothing.
The barn door opened, and the cause of her restlessness stalked out, leading two saddled horses. Today the sheriff wore dark jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt that hugged his fine muscles like it was made of horny female cotton.
He tipped his black hat up on his forehead.
Desire slammed through her so quickly she stopped moving. The Stetson shadowed his angled in a face in a way promising danger and sex, and not necessarily in that order.
She swallowed. “Those are big horses.” The biggest one was all black with wild eyes. A stallion? The second was a light tan with a dark brown mane. It was much smaller than the other one, but still huge.
Quinn rubbed the shadow on his jaw. “I’ve dreamed about you wearing tight jeans. My dreams didn’t come close to the reality.”
Serious and intent, his deep voice wandered right down her belly to pool in heat. Was it possible to be seduced by a voice? She squared her shoulders. “Why did you chase a naked old man around the Maverick subdivision yesterday?”
Quinn chortled and handed her the reins to the smaller horse. “There are no secrets in Maverick, now are there?”
That wasn’t true. Not even close. She frowned at the quiet animal. “No.”
Quinn leaned close and brushed a kiss on her forehead. “It’s nice to see you, Juliet.”
She nodded, her tongue suddenly thick.
His eyes darkened. Keeping his hands on the reins, he tilted his head, and his mouth captured hers. Firm and warm, his lips tempted her until she opened for him.
She could’ve easily stepped back.
Instead, she stepped forward into the heat generated by the man.
He deepened the kiss, taking her under, making her head spin. Finally, he released her and focused on her face. “I’ve wanted to do that since our kiss at the fund-raiser.”
Juliet breathed deep, trying to dispel the crazy need rushing through her body. No way would her voice work.
“This is going somewhere, Juliet,” he said.
Panic shoved desire out of the way. She shook her head.
Amusement filtered through his eyes. “Apparently you need time. That’s all right. I’m a very patient man.”
She glanced around the area in a lame effort to control her libido. His sprawling ranch house held a wide porch, the colors matching the three closest barns. Acreage spread out in every direction, some fields, some trees, plenty of cattle in the far distance. “I like your place.”
“Me too.” He smiled. “Mom and Tom live toward the north, while Jake and Sophie have a house to the east. Apparently Colt wants to build over that way, as well.”
“You’ve combined all the family ranches?” What would it be like to have family you actually wanted to be around?
“Sure. We all work the cattle and share the profits—and losses.” He shrugged. “Are you done stalling?”
She swallowed. “Yes.”
He chuckled and drew the smaller horse closer. “This is Mertyl, and she’s a sweet mare. Put your foot in the stirrup, and I’ll hoist you up.”
Juliet cleared her throat and tried to ignore her still-humming abdomen. Man, the sheriff could kiss. “I can get up.” She’d seen this done on television.
“Sweetheart, let me help.” Charming was too tame of a word to describe his smile. “Just a quick caveat to the no-touching-rule limited to helping you on and off the horse. I promise.”
Either she could make a fool of herself and fall on her head or let the sheriff assist her. “Fine.”
Quinn grasped her waist and swung her onto the horse. Her butt hit the leather saddle. He instantly released her. Ignoring the heated imprint from his hands, she wiggled into a comfortable position.
“Excellent.” Smooth and graceful, the sheriff hoisted into his own saddle. “You’ve ridden a little, right?”
She considered lying. But he’d probably been riding since birth, and he’d figure out the truth. “No. This is my first time.”
“How is that possible?”
“My folks owned a store in Idaho, and we lived in town. No horses.” This time she did lie and kept her gaze on the mare’s mane. The sheriff needed to quit probing into her past. “Tell me about the naked man you arrested.”
“Just a minor arrest for public nudity and being drunk on moonshine,” Quinn said. “He made bail, and I took him back home.”
Just what she’d thought. “You couldn’t give the guy a break?”
“I had to make sure he had a good meal.” One dark eyebrow rose. “Plus, the guy broke the law.”
No wiggle room with the sheriff and his values. He would never understand why somebody might need to break the law. “You’re a hard man, Sheriff.”
“So I’ve been told, darlin’.” He held the reins and easily controlled the massive beast. “Are you all right on the mare?”
Besides still being horribly aroused and sitting on a wild creature of death, sure, she was fantastic. “I’m fine.”
He nodded, gaze dropping to check the stirrups. “You’re a delicate one, Juliet Montgomery. I want you to go slow and take it easy. If you get scared, we stop.”
A hard man with a sweet side. A very intriguing sweet side. Juliet couldn’t bring trouble down on him. If the truth about her family came out, just being linked with her might hurt him professionally. “I’m not delicate.”
“Yes, you are. But I won’t let anything hurt you. I promise.” He flashed an encouraging smile. “You can do this.”
She came from the city where predators wore fancy suits and drove fast cars. In Montana, the strong wore cowboy hats and didn’t care about the rest. Without a question, Quinn Lodge held a natural toughness no city man could match—but he played fair. Those who played fair got hurt. No way would she let him get hurt from knowing her, because her family never played fair. “This isn’t a good idea, Quinn.”
“Sure it is. Just use your hands and legs to steer Mertyl. She’s easy.”
Had he really misunderstood her? Taking a deep breath, Juliet nudged the horse with her knees. The animal trotted forward.
Ack. Juliet grabbed the reins tighter. She bit her lip while her ass hit the leather saddle. Slap. Slap. Slap.
Pain ricocheted up her spine.
She whimpered, her mind rushing to the inevitability of her flying over the horse’s head and landing on her face. Panic shot through her. Yanking up on the reins, she kicked her feet.
The horse shot into a gallop, straight for the solid ranch house.
Juliet screamed, her body flying into the air and slamming back on the saddle.
A low growl echoed behind her before Quinn snapped an order to the horse. The damn animal halted immediately. Juliet lunged forward onto the pommel and dropped back. Safely.