Chase Wheeler's Woman Read online

  “That’s all it is. I could take you, right now, in this room, but in the end we’d both be sorry.”

  “But I—”

  “You’d best get back to the house,” he commanded sharply.

  She yanked her hands off his chest and nodded, dropping her gaze to the ground. She couldn’t look at him—her pride wouldn’t allow it. He was turning her away. A rush of humiliating heat coursed through her. She hoped it wasn’t evident on her face.

  She brushed by him, heading for the door, but his hand snaked out and grabbed her wrist gently. His eyes, hard as gunmetal now, pierced hers intently. “Letty Sue,” he said almost too calmly, “you and I barely tolerate each other. We come from different worlds, want different things. I made a promise to your mother and I don’t intend to…”

  “What, Chase? What don’t you intend?”

  His long silence unnerved her. She made a move to remove her wrist from his grasp. He held firm and his gaze roamed over every inch of her, appreciation evident as his eyes caressed each curve of her body. Small consolation, she thought.

  Chase released a breath. “Truce or no truce, it’d be best if we kept our distance.”

  “I see,” she said quietly. She tilted her head to one side and attempted to smile. She meant nothing to him. But then, why should she? She was a thorn in his side. He had a ranch to run and didn’t need a troublesome woman around, causing havoc. He didn’t like her, and now she understood just how much. This time, when she yanked, he released her arm. “You’re right, of course. We are worlds apart.” She hoisted up her chin, recovering her pride. “And I’m suddenly very tired. I’m going to bed, and I suggest you do the same. But don’t forget about our truce, Chase Wheeler. From now on, you treat me like an adult, the woman that I am.”

  Chase scratched his head and cast her a look that said he’d just treated her like a woman and look where that had got them. There was a hint of sympathy in his eyes, and another emotion as well. It was something she never thought she’d elicit from him. Pity.

  “Letty Sue.”

  “Good night, Chase,” she said, and with head held high, walked out of the tack room.

  Chase rode Tornado hard, testing the stallion’s strength, his endurance. There wasn’t a better horse on the ranch, and Tornado appeared more than willing to prove it. After riding out quite a ways, Chase brought the horse to a slow trot, giving them both a respite. He checked the line fences on the southern end of the property, looking for damage—a section down or an area where the barbed wire wasn’t fastened properly.

  He found Sam Fowler working on a broken fence. Chase dismounted, ground tethering Tornado. When the horse didn’t take flight, Chase felt immense pride. Taming the stallion hadn’t been as hard as he’d thought.

  But taming one wayward woman had Chase warring with emotions so perplexing he couldn’t piece together two consistent thoughts. Conflicting battles waged inside his head. Letty Sue made it clear she wanted to be treated as a woman, and Chase knew dozens of ways to satisfy her in that regard.

  But he’d made a pledge to Joellen, and one thing Chase Wheeler had never done was go back on his word. And as womanly as Letty Sue was on the outside, with her enticing body and beckoning blue eyes, Chase feared she really didn’t know her own mind. She was a true child at heart, playing at being a woman.

  “Howdy, Chase,” Sam called out.

  “Sam.” Chase walked over and inspected the downed fence. “Need some help here?”

  “Sure wouldn’t refuse a hand.” Sam struggled to lift the heavy fence post. Chase braced the post from below, and the two managed to ease it upright. “Got it,” Sam announced.

  Chase held it firm.

  Sam took a large hammer and pounded it in, until the post was steady. “Much obliged.” He removed his gloves, using them to wipe the sweat from his forehead. “Got three more broken sections down the line a piece.”

  “Well, let’s get to them.”

  Sam smiled and nodded. “Appreciate it.”

  They mounted up and slowly ambled along the fence line. The blazing sun beat down hard, the way everything seemed to happen here in this rugged land. Nothing subtle about Texas, Chase thought. The majority of the land was wild, free and formidable, just the way he liked it. He lowered the brim of his hat, fighting off sunlight.

  “Heard you met Sally Henderson the other day,” Sam said, twisting a long strand of switchgrass in his mouth.

  “Sure did.”

  “She invite you to the church social?”

  “She did. I’m thinking about going,” Chase said.

  “Sally’s great. Got loads of brothers and sisters. One of her brothers married a sweet young gal. She’s part Indian. Family embraced her like a cowboy throwing his best loop. They sorta roped her right in. Know what I mean? ”

  Chase slanted him a look.

  “And well, I know Sally…she’d take to you right fine. You gonna bid on her lunch basket?”

  “Sam,” Chase said evenly, “you been skirting around something worse than a saloon girl doing a jig. Say it outright or don’t say it at all.”

  Sam tossed his reed of switchgrass away and eyed Chase. “All right. I’m bidding on Letty Sue’s basket. I outbid everyone for the past five years. Just thought I’d warn you.”

  Chase chuckled. “How’d you stomach her food?”

  A wry grin crossed over Sam’s face. “You know about her cooking?”

  “Word gets around.”

  Sam’s lips twitched. “Joellen usually does up the basket for the church social. But it don’t matter. I’d bid on Letty Sue’s basket if there was nothing in it.”

  “Might be a safer choice for your gut.”

  “Yeah,” he agreed. “But still, it’s been my honor for as long as I’ve known her, and I’d like it to stay that way.”

  Chase nodded. “Won’t get an argument from me. Letty Sue know how you feel?”

  Sam’s eyebrows lifted, nearly meeting his hairline, as he met Chase’s gaze head-on. “And how’s that?”

  Chase shrugged. “Man’s willing to risk his stomach for a lady. Means something, I’d say.”

  “We’re friends. Good friends.”

  Chase nodded.

  “Fact is, she thinks she’s going to find happiness traveling the world.”

  “And you know better?”

  “Yeah, I know Letty Sue. She doesn’t know it, but she’s a Texan, through and through. She’d never be happy off the ranch. It was her and her Mama for so long. Letty Sue’s only dreaming, but it ain’t real.”

  “And you aim to prove it to her?”

  “I hope to rid her of all them fancy notions. Yeah.”

  “I wish you luck.”

  He let out a self-chastising chuckle. “That woman curls her finger and I come running. I’d say I’d need more luck than a gambler holding four aces.”

  Chase’s smile was quick. “She’s got that effect on a corralful of men.”

  “You included?” Sam asked with genuine interest.

  Chase shook his head. “I’m foreman, Sam. It wouldn’t set kindly with Joellen for me to tangle with her daughter, now would it?”

  “Don’t suppose, but Letty Sue has a way about her.”

  Chase reined in Tornado when they reached the next downed fence post. “She does at that, Sam. But you’re the one bidding on her lunch basket, remember?”

  “I remember. Just hope the rest of the male population of Sweet Springs doesn’t forget it, you included.”

  Chase twisted his lips, battling off a grin. “Not me, Sam. I have a great memory.”

  Letty Sue mopped her forehead with her sleeve. The kitchen was hot from all the smoke filling the air, created by her last attempt at making a pie. She’d tried three times, and each time something different went wrong.

  Either the crust burned or the filling did. The last time, as she was pulling the pie out of the cookstove, the whole thing slid out of her hands and made a giant pecan mess on the floor. It to
ok her the better part of an hour to clean it up.

  She wasn’t cut out for household chores, but darned if she wasn’t determined to change that. Her mind drifted to Jasper and Joellen having a grand old time in New York. Her mother had sent a wire just yesterday saying that very thing.

  Letty Sue dreamed of the day she’d be allowed to travel, to see new sights, enjoy citified life and know something of culture and refinement. She’d been too long on the ranch, and now that Mama had remarried, it would be her turn.

  Soon, she thought, she would have her chance.

  And she’d not have to dwell on the likes of Chase Wheeler.

  Her rational mind knew he’d been right to cast her off last night. She’d been swept up in the moment, her heart overriding her good sense. Seeing those scars on his chest and feeling his massive strength had done something to her, affecting her in a way she’d never been before.

  A river of compassion had flooded her senses as she’d realized what Chase had endured, how he’d lived, how his mother had died. She’d let herself become immersed in him, in the intimacy of the quiet small room, in the way he’d spoken to her. But then he’d turned her away.

  Letty Sue hadn’t had much experience with rejection. It was new to her. She’d not met a man like Chase Wheeler before. It would be better for both if they kept their distance.

  Let Sally have him.

  The thought brought a jolt to her insides—a powerful jolt.

  She shook her head and banished all thought of Chase Wheeler. He perplexed her overly much. Right now she had to concentrate on cooking. Sally had suggested she start with something easy.

  Biscuits.

  How hard could it be to make sour milk biscuits?

  Letty Sue arranged all the ingredients on the counter: flour, salt, baking powder and soda, sugar and sweet milk soured by a few drops of lemon juice. After measuring carefully, she dumped everything into a large bowl and began to stir. The dough began to take shape, and Letty Sue smiled for the first time today.

  She pulled the dough out onto a floured board and kneaded it, pounding with her fists, then rolled it to a one-inch thickness, just like Sally’s recipe called for. Once satisfied, Letty Sue took a coffee cup and inverted it onto the dough to cut circles. Yes, they actually looked liked biscuits.

  With a contented sigh, Letty Sue opened the cookstove door, ready to bake the biscuits. Intense heat and smoke came rushing out, choking her. She blinked and coughed, but before she could back away, licking flames from the overly hot oven swirled up and caught her apron.

  Letty Sue flung the biscuit pan up in the air, letting out a horrified scream.

  She was on fire!

  Chapter Five

  Chase heard Letty Sue’s screams as he stepped outside the barn. He whirled around quickly, seeing a flaming flash whiz by the parlor window. He blinked, adjusting to the sunlight, not truly believing his eyes. Then he took off running.

  Hell and damnation! Letty Sue was on fire!

  Chase raced to the front door within seconds, yanking hard. The door wouldn’t budge. It was bolted from the inside. With no time to spare, he picked up a twisted vine chair on the porch and tossed it through the window, shattering glass everywhere. He dove in headfirst, somehow managing to land on his feet. She let out another boisterous scream right before he tackled her, knocking her to the floor.

  He grabbed her tightly, unmindful of the penetrating heat, and rolled her over and over. Their bodies hit the wall, then the fireplace hearth, then the wall again. He spun her until the fiery flames died, leaving the scent of scorched clothing in their wake.

  He wound up with Letty Sue beneath him on the floor. Her breaths came rapidly, her chest heaving. He held her close, trying to quell her trembling. Fear filled her eyes, and amazement.

  Smoke fumes billowed up from her clothes, but as Chase looked her over carefully, he didn’t believe the flames had touched her skin. While most men hated all the undergarments, petticoats and doodads women wore in the name of modesty, today they just might have saved Letty Sue’s life. For that, he was grateful.

  “Letty Sue,” he said, brushing aside the hair that fell wildly onto her face, “are you all right?”

  She burst into tears then, a flood that diluted the sky-blue of her astonished eyes. Her arms wrapped around his neck frantically, pulling him down on her.

  “Shh,” he whispered, “don’t cry. It’s going to be okay. You didn’t get burned. Did you?”

  He pried himself up enough to gauge the look in her eyes. She shook her head. “Nooooo.”

  Her arms latched onto his neck again. The length of him more than covered her entire petite body. He stroked her hair and let her cry it out. He knew he should sit her up and make sure she wasn’t hurt, but she seemed to need this more.

  “Y-you s-saved my l-life, again,” she said, and little sobs escaped her throat.

  “I helped,” he whispered in her ear. “But I think the layers of clothes you’re wearing saved you this time.”

  Her wide eyes met his as her head moved up and down very slightly. “You think so?”

  “I do.”

  She wiggled underneath him and Chase’s body went rigid. She had her arms wound tightly around his neck, her breasts crushing into his chest. With pouty lips and red, swollen eyes, Letty Sue appeared like a small child, but Chase knew without a doubt she was all-woman. His body told him so, as well as the clear look of longing on her face.

  Their lips were close, so close that they shared the same air. Her sweet breath caressed his face softly. He stroked her cheek with the backside of his hand, removing a bit of blackened soot. She squirmed under him again, and a shot of intense desire speared through him.

  Her eyes stayed on his, and he felt the rapid beating of her heart. Chase lowered his mouth to hers, noting how she closed her eyes, ready to respond.

  His whole body churned with need of her. Every male instinct he possessed hungered to show her how a man could pleasure a woman and take them both to ecstasy. His need was more than elemental. It went further than that, he realized solemnly. When he’d seen Letty Sue in flames, raw emotion had roiled within him and he couldn’t get to her fast enough.

  Walk as one. Stand together. His mother’s words played in his mind like the string on a tightened bow.

  But Joellen’s words of trust echoed a moment later.

  Abruptly, Chase stood, leaving the heat of her body and turning away from her. He raked both hands through his hair, drawing in a deep breath. Glancing at the broken glass on the carpeted floor, he shook his head. “Damn it, Letty Sue, you should be more careful!”

  She gasped in surprise then, and Chase felt a measure of guilt. It was better this way, he told himself, better to be at odds with her. He couldn’t afford tender feelings.

  “Chase?”

  He closed his eyes at the pleading note in her voice. “Did you wake up this morning and think today was a good day to die?”

  “No, I, uh—”

  He turned to see her puzzled expression. Slowly she rose on shaking legs, but managed to straighten to her full height. Her apron was charred, and a few tendrils of smoke still curled upward. He was tempted to reach over and untie her apron, but stood his ground.

  “Well, you almost got yourself killed today.” The words came out with a bitter edge.

  Her wounded expression changed to anger instantly. She glared at him. “Wouldn’t make you look good in Mama’s eyes if I got hurt, would it, Chase? That’s the only reason you’re upset. Well, I’m just fine, as you can see.”

  The prideful tilt of her chin made Chase’s blood boil. He reached for her, grabbing her arms. “Don’t be a fool, Letty Sue. Next time, you might not be so lucky. Why in hell don’t you know…things?”

  “I’m trying, Chase Wheeler.” She yanked free of his grasp, rubbing her wrists where he’d held her. He glanced down. “I never wanted to know before. Mama tried teaching me, many times. But I put up such a fuss, only half listened to
her instructions. I guess it just became easier for Mama to do everything herself.”

  She’d given her mother a difficult time of it. That didn’t surprise him. His assessment of Letty Sue’s qualities hit the mark dead on: she was spoiled and selfish. “And you aim to change that?”

  “Yes, I do,” she said resolutely.

  “Just be sure all your learning doesn’t blow up the house.”

  She folded her arms across her chest, her blue eyes sparking more flames than the fire he’d just put out. “It won’t happen again.”

  When Chase let out a vile curse, Letty Sue only raised an eyebrow. He bent down to pick up his hat, brushing away glass particles that coated it like a fine layer of winter snow. “I’ve got to see about replacing this window.”

  She nodded. “I would appreciate that.”

  Chase jammed his hat on his head. “And toss that apron in the hearth before another fire breaks out.”

  He slammed out the door. A crashing sound from behind made him jump. He nearly tripped down the porch steps.

  Damn woman. She’d thrown something!

  Ah hell, he thought. He should march back in there and turn her over his knee.

  But well-honed instincts told him that if he marched back into the house, turning Letty Sue over his knee to discipline her wouldn’t give him the necessary results.

  Lust-filled images immediately came to mind of her body atop his.

  He shook them off quickly, but somehow he knew that tonight, when he closed his eyes, that mental picture would plague his sleep.

  Letty Sue didn’t try to hide the disgust on her face when she picked up the bloody bird she was about to cook and slapped it down on the tabletop.

  “Lordy, Letty Sue, today, one way or another, you’re going to have yourself a delicious meal,” she muttered in the empty kitchen.

  Each night she’d watched the ranch hands sit down to a meal cooked by Earl, the oldest of the bunch, under the thatched roof by the outdoor cooking pit. She’d been invited many times to join them—not by Chase, she mused, but by Sam and the others. Stubbornly, she refused. She wouldn’t give Chase Wheeler the satisfaction of knowing how hungry she’d been or how many more meals she’d ruined.