Gabe was the luckiest guy at the carnival.
As they wandered through the rows of vendors, he listened to Jennifer gab about different foods, fun games and the crowded midway. She seemed full of words that couldn’t help spill out. Melanie held tight to the stuffed dog and gabbed back with equal enthusiasm. People smiled at them as they passed, and he knew it sure wasn’t because of him.
Gabe had never experienced having a beautiful woman on each arm until tonight.
Of course, technically, they weren’t on each arm. No way was he going to get in the middle of their feminine nattering. He escorted them, perfectly content to have Melanie beside him with her attention directed toward Jennifer.
The sun had dipped behind the peaks a little while earlier, and the lights of the rides and midway were turning up as the sunlight turned down. Kids ran all around them. Teenage boys walked awkwardly beside teenage girls who dragged them from game to game, ride to ride. Hawkers dipped into the crowd looking for players. Gabe grinned, remembering the thrill the carnival always brought to town.
“What do you think, Gabe?” Jen looked at him.
“About what?” He turned to the two expectant faces.
She rolled her eyes. “Riding the Ferris wheel. Let’s climb on before it gets pitch-black over the valley.”
Mountain peak shadows lengthened as the sun sank lower. “Sure. Looks better when we can see beyond the ring of lights. How many tokens?”
Melanie shifted the dog in her hands. She bounced on her toes like a little kid. Fidgeting with the toy, she tilted her head toward the bench seats swaying with the wheel.
“Don’t worry, the dog will fit on the seat with us.”
She beamed. “Have you seen Jason?”
Jennifer looked around the crowd, her keen eyes checking out all the lines. “There’s Hank. I’m sure Jason’s not too far behind.” Her face brightened. “Oh, look. There’s RJ.” She tugged on Melanie’s sleeve. “Now there’s a cowboy for you. Maybe he wants to ride with us. RJ!”
Melanie dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a handful of tokens. Wisps of blond hair fell across her cheek as she watched Jen wave RJ over. Gabe reached out and tucked the hair behind her ear, the strands as soft as down. She graced him with a smile that lit up his world as she shifted the dog square in front of her.
“I know I have more tokens.” She handed the golden disks to him. “I held some back so Jason wouldn’t spend them all in one place.”
His palm heated as her fingers remained locked with his. Packs of teenagers moved between rides like misplaced amoebas. Couples, young and old, strolled the midway. And Gabe didn’t want to let go, not for all the tokens in the world.
Her fingers slipped away as Jason ran up. “I won a stuffed pig for Jennifer. Told her it would make her remember the barbecue.” Bouncing as if springs loaded his shoes, Jason pointed across the lot. “Look, a Tilt-a-Whirl. Wanna ride with me?”
“You bet.” Melanie grabbed his hand as if he might take off without her. She turned and offered Gabe her dog. “Will you hold this? You never know what gravity will do to people in one of those things.”
He accepted the stuffed animal. Melanie captured his hand and pulled him with them. Pink and blue cotton candy on paper tubes bobbed up and down in the hands of excited kids, and the scent of fried funnel cakes filled the air. At the ride line, Melanie pulled Gabe and Jason together like window draperies.
She peeked between them. “Jennifer and RJ an item?”
Gabe twisted around. RJ stood with Jen in line for the Ferris wheel. Jen gabbed with her usual animation and RJ appeared enthralled. “If they were, it would be news for the whole town.”
“Every tidbit is news for this town.”
But Jennifer and RJ would make the front page. “Yeah, well.”
Hank strolled up and stood on the other side of Jen. The line moved and all three of them squeezed into a seat. “I think she’s well chaperoned.”
Melanie still held his hand. Her fingers squeezed. The small gesture tickled his insides. He squeezed back and looked up at the top of the ride as it squealed to a halt. “Don’t suppose I can talk you into that merry-go-round ride, huh?”
“You weren’t kidding, were you?” A smile he couldn’t decipher danced on her lips. “That’s okay. Thanks for holding the dog.”
She gave his fingers a final squeeze before she followed Jason through the line into the monstrous contraption.
His fingers tingled and his palm felt empty without her hand.
Lights flashed and music blared as the ride began to spin. Colors blurred until the entire wheel looked like it could shoot off into space. His stomach turned even though he stood on solid ground. Minutes later, the ride slowed and stopped. Gabe braced, ready to help Melanie no matter her condition.
She walked toward him, her cheeks flushed. “That is the most amazing ride.”
Amazing was right. She didn’t look a bit fazed.
“Jason. How was it?” A frown replaced her delight.
He held on to his mother’s arm, his skin pasty and cheeks drawn.
“Hey Bud, looks like the wind kinda blew out of your sails.” Gabe packed the dog beneath his arm. He reached over with his other hand and urged the boy toward him. “Let’s go for a walk. I’ll bet you’ll feel better once you get your land legs back.” He started to reposition the dog when his gaze collided with the deepest, bluest, most troubled eyes he’d ever seen. Eyes that pleaded with him. For what, he wasn’t sure. “Melanie. You okay?”
“Yeah, stomach like a rock.” She clasped her arms across her chest. “I should have known better. After all he’s eaten today. Putting him into a musical centrifuge wasn’t a good idea.”
Rethinking his strategy, Gabe handed the stuffed canine to her and steered Jason toward the parking lot. He looked over his shoulder and hoped his grin encouraged her. “Go find Hank. I think someone’s fun meter just maxed out.”
“Everyone comfortable back there?” Hank gripped the wheel of the SUV and swung onto the main road out of town.
“Perfect.” Gabe answered in hushed tones beside her. “Just take it easy on the curves, okay?”
Melanie stroked Jason’s hair back from his forehead, as he lay across her lap, asleep. Way too much fun today. Malteds, cotton candy, hot dogs and taffy, all swirled together by a Tilt-a-Whirl, did not a good combination make.
Gabe handled it like a real trooper.
“Hank, you’re doing fine.” She touched Jason’s cheek, relieved to find it cool. “Thanks for driving. I like the way Gabe thinks when there’s disaster a-brewing. Good thing to have him back here, just in case.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Hank chuckled, his grin spread wide in the reflection of the rearview mirror. “Good thing for the boss to handle.”
“Glad I could help, ma’am.” Gabe settled back. The cushion of the seat dipped under his weight and she leaned with the shift.
His voice rumbled in his chest as he and Hank spoke of people he’d seen. Wedged between Gabe on one side, his arm stretched across the back of the seat, and Jason snuggled beside her on the other, Melanie burrowed into her little hollow and relaxed. Heat emanated through his cotton shirt and chased away the chill in the night air.
From the moment she’d seen the Ferris wheel, she knew she wanted to ride it. With Gabe. Strange flutters flew through her body as she thought how close she’d come to touching the icy white stars in the midnight black sky on a ride whirling through the cool air.
Sitting beside Gabe.
She indulged in a fantasy she hadn’t considered in years. A fantasy she yearned to fulfill if the past didn’t keep getting in the way. A past she didn’t think Gabe and his family would approve of any more than had her own.
Jason snuggled into her lap and peace filled her. She fingered his cotton T-shirt, remembering his toddler years. Wild assortments of food tossed in his belly at the same time didn’t sit well with him back then, either. She rubbed her back against Gabe and settled deeper into the seat cushion. She thought about the taffy…and the stuffed dog…and the taste of Gabe’s malt….
And then she didn’t think about anything except calloused fingers brushing her hair.
“Hey, Bud, you ready to go?”
Gabe’s voice boomed into the little cabin through the open door. Melanie shot out of her bedroom, one shoe on, one shoe off. After last night, she couldn’t image Jason wanting to ride anything. “He ran down to the house. Where are you going?”
“Town.” Gabe opened the screen and stepped inside the kitchen.
Crisp blue jeans, a cotton shirt and his black hat all looked great on the man. Melanie fought the urge to touch the spot on the top of her head where he’d run his fingers through her hair as she’d slept. Her cheeks warmed. Best nap she’d had in years.
She blew the thoughts out of her mind as she dropped her other shoe and stuck her foot in it. “Leave something behind last night?”
His eyes sparkled as a slow grin spread across his face. “Mom shoved a list in my hand and told me not to take too long. Thought I’d take Bud with me, since Hank and the boys are moving cattle in the south fields, Dad has a headache and Mom said you were helping her in the kitchen this morning.”
“Gabe.” She shook her head. “You don’t have to babysit.”
“Babysit?” His eyes grew wide. “Bud’s my bud. We’ve got guy shopping to do.” He leaned toward her. The same scent as the evening before brought back memories of a solid chest she’d commandeered as a pillow. She dipped toward him and their shoulders bumped. Melanie pressed firm.
His breath tickled her ear. “Besides, I want to get him something, if that’s okay with you. Something to remember us by.”
As if Jason would ever forget the weeks he spent on the Davidson ranch. As if she ever would. Gabe Davidson was the most thoughtful man she’d ever met. At times like this, she wished her life had been different. But then, if it had, she probably never would have met Gabe in the first place. “Don’t spoil him too badly.”
His lingering gaze stole all rational thought. “No, ma’am.”
He ducked out the door. Melanie watched him amble down her path back to the ranch house, his steps sure and solid. She swallowed the lump in her throat. Grabbing her sweat jacket, she pushed past the screen door. Maybe she needed more to remember him by, too. “I’ll walk down to the house with you.”
She fell into step as they followed the path through the trees. They passed a tributary path leading to another cabin tucked in the trees.
“You said you normally have these cabins full in the summer. I’ll bet the help love having their families close by.” She pushed a bushy pine bough out of her way.
“The guys stay up here all summer from all parts of Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Their families come visit when they can. Everyone is so busy with ball practices, swimming lessons, work, we hardly ever have anyone here in one cabin all summer.”
“But this year you only have RJ?”
“Manny lives in town. His cousins Gus and Raul work here during the summer. We hire as we need. Too many idle men make for trouble.”
“So the guys up here have families?”
“Hank is family.” Gabe grinned as if proud of his own wit.
Melanie elbowed him in the ribs.
“And RJ?” Memories of Jennifer hanging on RJ’s every word the night before flashed through her mind.
“Nick sent him with the cattle knowing we were short on help this summer. He’s a good worker, with strong, ethical values.” Gabe swiped at a swarm of gnats clouded around them. “I’m hoping he stays.”
She nodded, relieved. “Glad you invite families to visit.”
“Seems to make the most sense. Getting to Hawk Ridge from anywhere takes hours, and the work goes all summer long. The guys get days off, but no guarantee it’s Saturday and Sunday, or even if the days are together. Depends on what they’re good at and how much and when we need them.”
“What kind of time do you take off?”
“When you run your own business, the boss is always the last to turn the lights off.”
“You seem to have time for us.”
“I don’t want to tell you what time I turn my lights off.”
Many nights she knew he left his office well past her bedtime. “That late?”
He shrugged. “Ranching by day, paperwork by night.”
“I thought you had help. The office is in your parents’ house.”
“The office has always been there, so why mess with a good thing? And besides, it gives me a chance to finish up shop. When I walk over to my place, I leave the work behind. It’s a mental thing.”
“If you keep up this pace, you probably will go mental. Glad I was able to straighten up and file for you.” Pride filled her at the difference in the office space since she’d spent a few hours organizing. “Call me when things get out of hand again.”
“Promise you’ll come?”
She glanced up at him, impossible to study his face as they moved. He took two more steps then stopped and turned toward her, giving her the advantage of standing higher on the path so they were almost face-to-face. He tipped his hat back and let the morning sunshine bathe his face in light.
Melanie searched for dark circles under his eyes or evidence of strain around his lips. Instead, all she saw was a firm jawline, a straight nose and well-drawn lips that twitched under her scrutiny. A tiny dimple appeared at the corner of his mouth.
She was a goner for his crooked smile.
Insects buzzed around in the summer sun. The natter of ground squirrels blended with the whistles of the jays. His shallow breaths warmed her cheeks.
He stood before her, watching her. Waiting for her answer.
She remembered his gentle touch atop her head as she’d dozed against him the night before. She so wanted to touch her lips to his, to know safety and trust.
He cleared his throat. “Well?”
In his dark eyes, she read a longing that matched her own. The air stilled around them as he drew closer and touched his lips to hers.
Nothing prepared her for the tenderness that passed between them. His palm cradled her cheek and she didn’t know whether to rub against the rough skin or move closer to deepen the kiss. In the end, she didn’t have to choose. Gabe drew back, his dark eyes locked on hers while his fingers wove through her hair.
A soft breeze carried strands of hair across her face.
“I’m sorry, I should’ve asked first.” Gabe ran his finger down her cheek before dropping his hand. “I’ve wanted to do that for a while.”
“I—” Melanie licked her lips and swallowed, grappling for words. “I don’t want to complicate matters.”
She drew a breath as he studied her, searching for something she hoped she had the right answer for.
As if coming to a decision, he offered her a gentle smile. “I promise not to tell.”
He stepped to the side and allowed her to continue down the trail. Her mind revved at a billion rpm. They only had a few more days to spend here in paradise. She had to go back to her real world. One without cowboys. And barbecues. And pregnant young ladies loved and encouraged by the entire town.
She’d only been here a couple weeks. How could she become so attached? Melanie stole a glance and found him staring at her. Her face warmed and she couldn’t keep from smiling.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time, too.”
His dimple deepened and he looked ahead. “I’m glad.”
They crossed the parking area without saying a word. Gabe opened the gate and she darted into the yard. Voices filtered out of the kitchen door.
“Well, it’s about time you got down here.” Grace set a couple of bowls on the table. “We’re baking pies this morning.”
Gabe leaned against the doorjamb, his casual stance igniting every nerve in her body. Melanie knew if she remained by his side she’d most likely disgrace herself and her family by saying something stupid. Or worse.
Baskets of berries sat on the counter. She angled around the table and peered into the fruit. “Pies sound great.”
Grace set down a flour canister and measuring cups as Melanie grabbed a seat at the table. She ventured a look at Gabe. His grin made her face heat.
“Going to town sometime today, Gabriel?” Grace pulled out a chair for herself and sat down.
“Hmm.” Gabe pushed away from the wall. “Make sure you make a pie for tastin’, too.”
Grace nodded. “Of course. Now get going and bring back the supplies.”
Gabe tipped his hat and added a long, slow stare for Melanie.
She thought she would melt.