Cowboy Dreaming. Shawna Delacorte
to her, not the father she had known when she was growing up. She looked toward the woman standing at the stove. Melanie offered her a smile. “Hello, Edna. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to finally meet you, too. Buck has mentioned you so many times.” Edna gathered another place setting and carried it to the table. “You come make yourself comfortable and I’ll have your breakfast ready for you in just a minute.”
“Please don’t go to any trouble. Just some juice and coffee will be fine.” Mel noted the amount of food on both Buck’s and Cody’s plates and spoke up quickly before Edna had a chance to start cooking more. “I’m really not much of a breakfast person.”
“Nonsense. There’s lots of hard work to ranching and everyone needs a big, hot breakfast.”
Like it or not, Melanie ended up with a plate full of food. She surprised herself by eating most of it. Once the first bite was in her mouth she realized she was as hungry as she was tired. It had been a long time since her hamburger at a fastfood place late yesterday afternoon.
When she finished breakfast Melanie pushed back from the table and stood. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll take a walk—get some fresh air. I’m not accustomed to eating a big breakfast.” She offered a weak smile to both her father and Cody. “All that food, added to the fact that I haven’t had any sleep…I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep my eyes open.” It was the truth, as far as it went. What she had not said was how uncomfortable her father’s conversation made her feel.
All through breakfast he kept talking about how happy he was that she had finally come home. Come home…the words rang hollow in her ears. This was not her home. It may have been where she had lived for her first eighteen years, but it was not her home. She pursed her lips and furrowed her brow as a thought passed through her mind. Exactly where was her home? It seemed that she spent as much time on the road as she did in her apartment. There was no real feeling of permanency to her life, no solid foundation to draw strength and comfort from in troubled times.
She stepped out onto the front porch and looked across the landscape. The hillsides were carpeted in an emerald velvet dotted with patches of brightly colored wildflowers, signaling the end of winter. The breeze rustled through the new leaves on the trees, creating a background whisper that softened the harsh sounds of the squawking blue jays. She shielded her eyes from the bright morning sun and watched as a hawk circled overhead. The crisp, cool air filled her lungs, the sweet smells of spring tickling her senses. How different it was from the choking fumes of car exhaust and the congestion of the Los Angeles freeways.
She left the porch and started down the path toward the barn. As a child the barn had been her place of refuge, the safe haven where she could hide from everything and everyone. She had created an entire imaginary world for herself up in the hayloft. She was the beautiful princess in her castle, waiting for a handsome prince to come along and sweep her up onto his horse and ride away with her.
She opened the barn door and stepped into the dimly lit interior. The barn was empty. She knew the ranch hands would have been hard at work from the first light of day. The barnyard chores would already have been done—the cows milked, chickens fed, eggs collected. She climbed the ladder to the loft, found a soft spot and snuggled into the hay. Her eyelids fluttered shut and within a few seconds she had fallen asleep, visions of a handsome prince dancing through her mind. A handsome prince who bore a remarkable resemblance to Cody Chandler.
“I can handle this, Cody.” It had only been during the past year, when his health dictated that he spend more and more time in the office rather than out on the ranch, that Buck had finally learned how to use the computer. Now he took care of all the office functions, including the daily bookkeeping chores, leaving the heavy-duty accounting to Cody and their CPA. Up until a year ago Cody had handled the entire business end of things, but now he had to take up the outdoor slack left by Buck’s diminished capacity.
“You’ve really come a long way with that computer.”
“Yeah, it just goes to show…you really can teach an old dog new tricks.” Buck swiveled around in his chair until he faced Cody. “I haven’t seen Melanie since she left the table after breakfast.” He checked his watch. “That was over three hours ago. I know there’s lots of work to be done, what with us coming up on spring roundup, but could you check on her? Make sure she’s okay? Maybe show her around the ranch and point out the improvements we’ve made in the past few years?”
“Sure thing, Buck. I was about to head outside anyway.” He felt the irritation again. But was it irritation at being expected to look after her or did it go deeper than that? Was he really irritated by the fact that she had not strayed very far from his thoughts since the moment he flipped on the living-room light and saw her sprawled on the floor?
Cody had no idea where she had disappeared to. He checked down the hallway, but she was not in her bedroom. He asked Edna, who said she had not seen Melanie since she had noticed her through the kitchen window going into the barn, but that had been quite a while ago. He left the house and headed toward the barn. It gave him a place to start looking.
It didn’t take long for Cody to discover Melanie’s whereabouts. He stood on the top rung of the ladder leading to the hayloft and watched her as she slept. The sunlight streamed in through the open loft doors, covering her face in a golden glow. Her features showed no signs of her earlier anger. Her long, dark lashes rested against her upper cheek. Pieces of straw were tucked into the folds of her hair. Her breasts slowly rose and fell with her breathing. Yes, indeed, she’s very attractive…
Cody climbed up the last step into the loft, though he wasn’t exactly sure why, and stood for a moment, staring down at her. Then he knelt next to her sleeping body. He carefully plucked a piece of straw from her hair and gently tickled the tip of it across her cheek. She stirred but did not wake as she batted her hand at the intrusion. He withdrew for a moment, then traced her lower lip with the straw. That tempting mouth—that very tempting mouth—still begged to be kissed. It was a temptation he could not resist. He bent over her, lowering his head until their mouths were within a fraction of an inch. He hesitated, then brushed his lips against hers.
It was the most delicious dream. In fact, it seemed almost real to Melanie. The handsome prince of her childhood fantasies had come for her. She felt his lips against hers, felt the heat and passion of his kiss, even though it only lasted a fraction of a second. She slowly opened her eyes and dreamily focused on Cody’s face. He seemed so real, as if she could actually reach out and touch him. She lifted her hand and extended it toward him. Then the dream ceased to be. Reality presented itself as her fingers came in contact with a flesh-and-blood man.
Melanie jerked upright, her eyes wide with shock. Her voice trembled; her words came out in a hushed gasp. “What do you think you’re doing?”
It was a valid question, but Cody did not have a good answer. He was not sure exactly what he thought he was doing, or more accurately why he was doing it. There was nothing about Melanie Winslow that said she was in any way the type of woman with whom he would want to pursue a serious relationship. She was also Buck’s daughter and Buck was not only his friend, Buck was his employer. But still, like it or not, something other than her good looks had worked its way under his skin.
He wanted to push it aside as being a ridiculous thought that had no place in his world. He tried, but was not totally successful. He decided to ignore her question. “If you wanted to take a nap shouldn’t you be doing it in your bedroom rather than up here?”
Melanie was not sure exactly what had been real and what had been a dream. Had he really kissed her? Perhaps the best thing would be to proceed as if nothing had happened. She sat up, carefully avoiding any physical contact with him. A hint of embarrassment found its way into her voice. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep. I used to come up here when I was a little girl. I guess I…” She could