CLAIRE felt amazingly content that next morning. Until she realized Logan was lying on his back and that she was sprawled all over him. She cautiously lifted her head to see if he was still asleep, but held back her sigh of relief while she carefully moved off him and got out of bed. She quickly collected her clothes then rushed into the master bathroom to get dressed for the day.
It was just after 5:00 a.m. Since she didn’t know how early Logan normally got up, she wanted to take care of her makeup and hair before he was awake. Finished in record time, she cleared her things from the counter, then quietly opened the door and tiptoed out into the bedroom. Logan’s rough voice startled her.
“You won’t get away with that tomorrow,” he told her, and Claire glanced toward the big bed. Logan was sitting up with his back resting against the head-board.
Her soft, “Good morning,” helped her avoid making a comeback. “Shall I bring your coffee?”
“I’d appreciate that,” he said, then gave her a slow, sexy smile. “Just bring it right on into the bathroom when you get back.”
Yikes! The man was more dedicated to his mission than ever, so Claire rushed out into the hall then on into the kitchen. Since she was just as dedicated to her mission—to put the brakes on things—she didn’t exactly rush back with his coffee like an obedient little wife.
It was then that she realized how different she felt about Logan now. After that sweet kiss last night, he’d been a gentleman. Her skin still tingled at the memory of being wrapped in his strong arms all night. Heaven help her, her body had loved the feeling of lying against him, and now her heart was remarkably changed.
Not rushing back to take his coffee to him quickly began to feel like a mistake. In the end, the odd excitement of wanting to please the strange and interesting creature she’d married lured her back to the master bedroom and across the carpet to the open door of the master bathroom.
To her relief, Logan had dressed in his jeans and boots, though the jeans’ snap was open and he wore no shirt. He’d just lathered his face for a much-needed shave—his jaw had been rough with beard stubble—and he was about to lift the razor to make the first stroke. She saw the glitter in his eyes as his gaze met hers in the mirror.
“I’d rather start my coffee before I shave,” he said, but it was more a comment than a criticism.
Claire gave a small shrug. “If you’re a benevolent dictator today, my timing might improve tomorrow.” She walked over to set his coffee on the counter. He turned his head to look down at her.
“How good are you with a razor?”
The question startled her. It was an invitation she couldn’t have imagined him making, and she wasn’t sure how to take it. Except that her heart had accelerated a little.
“I’ve never shaved a man before, but…” she hesitated to turn him down because there was something appealing about the way he was looking at her. Something almost playful, so she replied in kind.
“If you’re willing to put your life in my hands, I won’t hesitate to make the most of the opportunity,” she said, then gave him an innocent smile.
The glitter in his dark eyes intensified. “I can tell you’ll never be a dull wife.”
“Was that what you thought you’d get?”
“Yes, ma’am.” His low drawl was as sexy as the faint smile that softened the hard slash of his mouth.
Claire couldn’t help that her insides quivered a little, because he didn’t seem unhappy about that. Still, she hoped he’d make it a little plainer.
“You must be so disappointed.”
Logan held out the razor to her. “I’m anything but disappointed, Claire.”
Leery of shaving him but liking this too much to refuse, Claire gamely took the handle. Fortunately for him, the razor was the safer kind with a disposable blade.
“You’ll need to sit down or my arms will get too tired.”
Logan moved over to close the lid on the commode and sit. Claire went along and tried to decide where to start.
“Any advice or instructions?”
He grinned a little. “You complain about being bossed around by a tyrant, but now you’re asking for advice?”
“Ooops. Guilty.” Claire made herself go serious. “Don’t talk, and whatever you do, don’t move.”
She carefully positioned the razor against his jaw and lightly drew it up, feeling the blade scrape away the lathered beard stubble.
“Ah, this is easy,” she commented after she’d worked awhile, rinsing the foam from the razor periodically. “Just sit you down somewhere, order you not to talk and not to move, and then enjoy the novelty of having you at my mercy with a sharp object in my hand. I could get used to this.”
Logan didn’t reply, but through the whole process, she could feel his gaze on her face and then down the front of her.
Her knee often brushed his thigh, and she couldn’t help but be affected by that and by standing so close.
And the fact that she had to use her free hand to angle his head this way and that while she worked, and that he’d responded to her so easily, was also affecting her. As if just her light touch alone was enough to control a very dangerous and powerful animal. The notion stirred some need for feminine power that she’d not realized she had.
It was a surprising disappointment to finish the last stroke, and she moved away to rinse the razor before she wet a washcloth under the faucet and turned back to him. It took only a few moments to wipe away the last traces of shaving foam from his face, but the small task seemed even more intimate than shaving him had been.
To distract them both, she commented, “Little boys’ faces, big boys’ faces. Both need a lot of maintenance. So what are your plans for the day, boss?”
Logan took the washcloth from her fingers and tossed it toward the counter as he stood up. Claire took a prudent step back.
“To spend the day in bed with my wife.”
Claire gave him a no-nonsense shake of her head as he reached for his coffee and finally had a sip. “Since you won’t be getting Plan A, what’s Plan B?”
He set the cup on the counter. “To get you on a horse.”
Claire rolled her eyes and walked out of the big bathroom into the bedroom. “How about I just jump off a cliff or throw myself off the barn roof?” she asked as she glanced briefly over her shoulder to see him follow her out. “That way, we can have the same result without pestering one of your horses.”
Logan plucked his shirt off the doorknob to the walk-in closet and started to put it on. “You’re that chicken, huh?”
Claire took a few moments to fluff their pillows before she efficiently made the bed. He was teasing her about being a chicken, and since she couldn’t detect scorn for her fear, she decided that now was as good a time as any to tell him the story.
“I was ten years old when I rode one of my uncle’s horses. I’d probably made it once around the pasture before the horse bucked me off, broke my wrist, then stepped on me before I could get off the ground.”
She walked around the bed to Logan’s side and spread up the top sheet and comforter. “After I was on my feet, the horse my cousin was riding bit me on the shoulder.” She finished and turned slightly to point to a place on the back of her shoulder under her shirt. “I still have the scar. I’m a complete chicken, except I don’t have feathers and I don’t lay eggs.”
Claire watched his stern face while he buttoned his shirt. “You need a rooster for that.”
Relieved things were still light between them, she said, “Good point, but since I don’t seem to be able to help it, it’s a waste of time to bother. I tried a couple of other times to ride after the cast came off. My uncle took it all so seriously that he forced me to get on a horse, and yelled at me. Cussed, too. I promptly lost my lunch, along with whatever dignity or hope I had left.”
She laced her fingers together in front of her as he finished buttoning his shirt and began to briskly tuck the tail into his jeans. He’d not commented on anything so far, so she was persuaded to confess the rest. But as much to caution him about the futility of pushing her to try again as anything else.
“I became the laughingstock of that part of the family and lived through it, so I’m immune to being shamed or coerced or cussed into trying again.”
Logan silently finished with his shirt. He seemed to have taken what she’d said seriously, but what amazed her was that he appeared to accept that she couldn’t be pressured into another try. Relieved, she walked around the bed and stopped to wait for him before she started for the hall.
He met her gaze somberly. “You might want to reconsider sometime, because you have a little boy now. Think how you’ll feel when his life revolves around horses and riding, and you can never go along.”
She only had a half second to register the pleasure of his “You might want to” beginning before the rest of his words struck her heart like a soft punch. With just a few quiet words he’d managed to ensure that she wouldn’t be able to ignore her fear of riding and just go on happily afoot. Her voice was soft and a little choked.
“Just when I begin to think you might not be the quite manipulative cretin you started out to be, you manage to give me fresh evidence.”
There’d been no real fire in the words that were more a signal of impending surrender than criticism. Logan seemed to know that, and he moved close to gently take her hands.
The part of her heart that wasn’t aching over the thought of Cody’s interests and hers dividing at some point was surprised by the comforting gesture.
“It’ll be different this time, Claire.”
She looked up at him, sick that she had absolutely no confidence in that. She’d been afraid of riding too long. “And if it’s not?”
“You’ll have a choice at every step.”
Claire gave him a doubtful smile. “Will I?”
His face was still somber. “You have my word.”
Claire was deeply touched by that, by this, and as he leaned down, her eyes drifted closed. It was another sweet, sweet kiss, and her heart responded much the same way as it had last night.
Oh how she hoped this was the beginning of good things for this marriage! If she could somehow survive Plan B without being killed or going catatonic, it might be a sign of more good things to come. Claire knew already that mastering her fear would also enhance her relationship with her husband, and she wanted that now. Wanted it a lot.
Logan drew back slightly. “Think the boy’s awake yet?”
Grateful for the change of subject, her soft, “Probably,” was barely a whisper.
If she hadn’t been so deeply worried about Logan’s plan to take her riding and her certainty of both trauma and failure, Claire might have realized how far her heart had gone toward falling in love with him.
Claire couldn’t get down more than three bites of toast at breakfast. After she’d made sure Cody and Elsa would do well together, she joined Logan at the back door. She suffered being fit with a Stetson and a pair of western books that were kept on hand for guests, then walked out with her solemn husband to meet her fate.
To her surprise, they got into one of the ranch pickups and drove away from the headquarters. Too preoccupied with worry and a mental litany of desperate little clichés along the lines of “What won’t kill you will cure you,” and the old, “I am woman, hear me roar,” Claire didn’t pay much attention to the panorama of range land around them.
When Logan drove toward a stand of abandoned wood rail corrals, she noted the corrals weren’t quite abandoned. Two saddle horses and Cody’s pony were tethered in one of the pens. It didn’t take much to figure out why the pony was there.
“Oh, Logan,” she breathed out, then gave a helpless chuckle. “No wonder you brought me to the back forty.”
Clearly, he meant to start her out on the pony, and her pride squirmed. She felt about two inches high—which was just as well because the pony was small.
But Logan would be the only human witness, and at least she had some confidence that he’d never repeat what he saw here today. Male pride alone ensured that. After all, he’d have to be able to hold his head up among the macho set, so he could hardly blab the news that he’d used a pony to help his wife get over her fear of riding.
Resigned to the excruciating embarrassment but mightily relieved because at least she couldn’t fall far if the pony threw her off, Claire got out of the pickup and walked with Logan into the pen.
It took him only a moment to slip off the pony’s halter and put a pony-sized bridle on its head. He passed her the reins and she made herself take them.
“You can begin by handling him from the ground,” Logan said, then instructed her in the basics, as if she was no older than Cody. It was a small reprieve—after all, she couldn’t miss the significance of the two saddled horses nearby—but she appreciated the chance to become a little more comfortable with the pony before she actually had to ride him.
Polite and well-trained, the pony complied with everything Logan had her do, from leading it around to removing its bridle then putting it back on. She actually managed to get the knack of lifting the pony’s feet. Logan apparently could tell the moment she felt at ease.
“Lead him over here, and I’ll hold him while you get on.”
Claire turned toward him and brought the pony over. “Bareback?”
“The only saddle that fits him is a kid saddle. Too small for you.”
“You’re sure I won’t hurt him?”
“He’s big enough to carry you.”
Of course he would be. Logan knew horses, so he must be right, and the muscular pony’s back was almost as high as her waist. Claire handed over the reins. Not quite so nervous, she faced the pony’s side.
While she was trying to figure out how to get on the sleek back, Logan stepped over and caught her waist to lift her up. He’d startled her, and Claire spent those first few seconds trying to get her balance.
And then Logan led the pony much as he had with Cody. He periodically had her dismount then get back on by herself, and she quickly figured out how to do both with some semblance of grace. Logan took a moment to explain neck-reining, then turned over control and stepped away to coach her as she rode around the corral solo.
Absurdly thrilled, Claire felt like crowing as Cody had the first time Logan had taken him riding. From there, it was easier for Logan to talk her into mounting one of the big horses. He followed the same procedure, first leading the horse then handing her the reins.
Nervous but not as terrified as before, she cautiously rode around the corral, following his commands to switch directions, stop and back up. The huge horse calmly obeyed her every signal and gradually she felt more at ease.
Too soon for her jittery stomach, Logan put the pony on a lead rope, mounted the other horse, and led the way as he opened the gate and kept watch as Claire rode along to follow him out.
Her insides were still a mass of quivering jelly, but she was actually riding a horse! The ground didn’t look so far down after a while, and the animal seemed willing to plod harmlessly along under her cautious control.
Leery of claiming success prematurely, Claire kept silent until they’d reached the stable at the headquarters. Flushed with victory, Claire started to dismount, got a leg cramp, then began to slide helplessly down the side of the horse. Logan caught her waist to slow her descent, but her knees buckled when her feet touched the ground. If he hadn’t kept hold of her, she’d have ended up in the dirt.
“Let’s walk you around,” he said, and Claire clung to his arm until she could walk on her own. “That won’t happen once your legs get some muscle on them,” he remarked.
“That’s good,” she said and let go of his arm. They handed off their horses to a stable hand and started for the house.
Claire couldn’t get the wide smile off her face, and she knew she must look like a grinning fool.
“I can’t believe it, Logan. I actually rode a horse. A really, really big one.”
Logan’s eyes twinkled as he smiled over at her. “You’re on your way.”
Claire’s excitement animated her. “I never thought it could happen—this is so unbelievable! I was embarrassed about the pony, but you were right to have me ride him first.” She grabbed his arm with both her hands and gave it a shake, absurdly thrilled over the accomplishment.
“I take back every mean thing I ever thought about you. I can’t believe it was so easy! You made it easy—you’re a genius. You got me to ride a horse and I actually stayed on! I can’t explain what it means to me to be able to do that. It’s because of you, Logan, only because of you.”
She was so excited that she couldn’t seem to help that she stopped and tugged on his arm to prompt him to lean down.
“You are the most wonderful man—I so underestimated you.” It was in her heart to give him a “thank you” kiss. Logan had started to oblige when a feminine voice intruded and startled them both.
“I can’t believe Logan Pierce would marry a city girl who couldn’t ride a horse before this morning.”
Claire jerked her head in the direction of the voice and felt her face go fiery as she realized she’d been so completely oblivious to the woman’s approach that she’d babbled out what she’d hoped to keep secret from the rest of the world.
The gorgeous brunette stood with her hands on her svelte hips, and she looked as at home in her Stetson, work clothes and boots as she would have in a sequined gown at a ball. Instinct told Claire that this woman was an expert with everything to do with horses and ranch life.
She was probably also an expert in sequined gowns and ballrooms. Claire could almost see the word “debutante” in the green eyes that looked her over with enough pity in their depths to make her feel like an idiot.
Not used to bearing that kind of attitude with any kind of grace but not yet certain what Logan’s relationship with the woman was, Claire made herself give a stiff, polite smile.
“Hello, my name is Claire,” she said as she recovered her confidence and stepped forward to offer her hand to the woman.
Logan finished the introduction. “And this is Kiki Lynch. She’s one of our neighbors.”
The woman put out her hand as if she was only reluctantly allowing the gesture. She let go of Claire’s fingers almost before their hands made full contact, and then simply dismissed Claire’s presence by addressing Logan.
“When you decide to do something, you sure keep it to yourself.”
“No need to advertise.”
There was a hint of displeasure in Logan’s low voice that the woman appeared untroubled by, but the shorthand exchange indicated a familiarity that Claire couldn’t mistake.
“Well, bring her along Saturday after next, and let folks get a look at her.”
As if she needed another look herself, Kiki’s green eyes flicked over Claire, and again Claire saw the trace of pity. She felt compelled to say something.
“What happens Saturday after next?”
“Mama and Daddy are havin’ a barbecue to celebrate my birthday.”
“Happy birthday.”
Kiki gave a wave of her hand. “It’s not for three more weeks,” she said, effectively cutting Claire out as she stepped between her and Logan to take his arm as if she did it regularly.
“You’ve been keepin’ me in suspense for a whole month, darlin’, so now you don’t get a choice. You’ll want to introduce Carla around, and there’s no better place to do it than in a crowd.”
Claire stared in amazement as Kiki slathered on the charm in a bid to not only persuade Logan to show up, but the woman was squeezing then stroking his arm as if making love to it. Logan’s stony expression didn’t change a whit and Claire felt a burst of hilarity. Kiki’s ploy to trivialize her by referring to her as Carla instead of Claire was hardly original, and that made it difficult to keep a straight face.
On the other hand, Logan was keeping a straight enough face for both of them so Claire decided to enjoy this. After all, nothing could truly spoil the accomplishment of that morning, and Claire was content to listen to Kiki wheedle and tease as they all walked along.