Jasmine had only been inside the entrance hall and living room of the Clayton ranch house the time she’d dropped off the blanket. The high vaulted ceilings were awesome. She felt as if she was stepping back in time when Wymon gave her the full tour. The house had been built with an extensive amount of local stone from the Sapphires combined with distressed barn wood that created its unique design.
She walked on one beautiful Nez Perce rug after another. You could spend hours looking at all the family photos along with the Western memorabilia. Some of the furnishings had to be priceless. Her upstairs bedroom with the fireplace looked out at the mountains. Though it was close to midnight, the silhouette against the night sky was a sight that would be imprinted on her mind forever.
Someone had hand-sewn the exquisite quilt on her four-poster bed. After inspecting the perfect stitching, she looked up at Wymon. “I feel like I’ve been transported back to another time.”
He’d brought up her suitcase and put it at the foot of the bed. In his Western shirt and cowboy boots, he appeared to be part of the whole fabric. Through the black fringe of his eyelashes, his gaze wandered over her slowly, missing nothing. “I hope you’ll be happy staying in this room.”
“Who wouldn’t be? Your mother has made me feel so welcome! Somehow I thought she’d have dark hair like you, but she’s a lovely blonde woman.”
“Roce and Toly have her coloring. Eli and I take after our father.”
“Well whatever color, she’s a wonderful, charming person.”
“Mother enjoys having guests.”
“I’m very lucky.”
“That makes two of us. Since it’s late, I’m going to say good-night here. On the way to my house, I’ll look in on Moondrop to make sure she’s settling in all right. Then I’ll come over to have breakfast with you in the morning at seven.”
He was leaving her again. Those few kisses in the truck before they’d unloaded her horse had left her more unfulfilled than ever. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? But she knew it had to be this way, and it was late if they were going to get an early start tomorrow.
“Good night, Wymon. I’m so excited to be here.”
“If you multiply those feelings by a hundred, you’ll begin to know how I feel.”
The way he stared at her before going out the door left her burning up inside. She reached for the nearest bed post and clung to it. Her mother’s words of a few weeks ago flashed through her mind.
You’re the one who has to live with Rob. If he isn’t your be-all, end-all, then the last thing we’d want is to condemn you to an unhappy marriage. One day the right man will show up when you least expect it.
Jasmine knew in her heart and soul that Wymon was her be-all, end-all. The right man had shown up when she’d least expected it. He’d brought her home to meet his mother. If he didn’t tell her soon that he was in love with her, too, she didn’t know how she was going to function.
Part of her wanted to dash outside to the barn and beg him to stay in there with her for the rest of the night. But he’d brought her here as a guest. If he’d wanted to make love to her all night, he’d have taken them to his house after putting Moondrop to bed.
Would you have gone with him?
The answer was easy.
Yes.
Jasmine was desperately in love. He’d swept her away, heart, mind, soul and body. There wasn’t anything she wouldn’t do to be with him. After setting her watch alarm, she climbed under the covers and fell asleep dreaming of him.
She could hardly believe it when her alarm woke her up the next morning. It felt as if she’d just gone to bed, but when she looked at the time, it was six thirty. When she’d packed her suitcase back home, she’d decided that skirts and blouses would be the most appropriate thing to wear when they went door-to-door.
But she’d added something else at the last minute. Yesterday she’d found a store that sold T-shirts with a picture of a grizzly bear mom and her cubs by a stream beneath a snow-capped mountain. She’d bought one for her and another one for Wymon. Maybe he wouldn’t think it was a good idea to wear the shirts while they were canvassing, but if not, it would simply be a little present for him.
Once she’d taken her shower and brushed her hair, she dressed in an off-white wraparound skirt and the T-shirt. She slipped on running shoes and hurried down the staircase with his T-shirt inside her tote bag.
Wymon, looking fantastic in tan chinos and an open-necked shirt, was waiting for her at the bottom. When he saw what she was wearing, his mouth broke into a broad smile. “Where did you find that so fast?”
“It’s easy if you know where to shop.”
“You look gorgeous in it.”
“So you think it’ll be all right to wear? If not, I’ll run back upstairs and change into one of my blouses.”
“It’s perfect.” He pulled her into his arms. “In fact you look good enough to eat this morning.” He fused his mouth with hers, and they began devouring each other. But no kiss was long enough or deep enough to satisfy her.
This time it was she who eased away from him first, afraid his mother might walk in on them. They were both out of breath.
“I have a gift for you.” She pulled his shirt out of her bag.
Her senses leaped to see the way his silvery eyes darkened with emotion. Without saying a word, he pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a cut chest with a smattering of dark hair. He placed it on the bannister and put the T-shirt on over his broad shoulders. Jasmine’s heart got the workout of its life.
“I don’t look as good in this as you do,” he said.
Oh Wymon. If you only knew. “D-Did you get a good sleep last night?” she stammered.
“No, and you know why.” His voice had a slight growl as he cupped the back of her neck and pulled her to him once more in a fiery kiss. “Right now I’d like to carry you upstairs and forget the world.”
“I wish you would,” she whispered.
She could tell he was trembling. “You shouldn’t have told me that.”
Feeling braver every second with this man who was such a private person, she brushed her mouth against his. “Why not? It’s the truth.”
“I’m not sure if you’re ready for the answer.”
Wymon, Wymon. “What more can I do to let you know I’d rather be with you than anyone else in the world? That day you rescued us after the crash, I knew my whole world had changed. The feeling was terrifying and wonderful all at the same time.”
“Then you have some idea of my state of mind after I carried you away from the plane and smelled your hair.”
Even then he’d had feelings, too?
“When I didn’t see you at the rodeo, I was devastated. It was very forward of me to approach your brother and tell him about the glasses. But I wanted to see you again so badly—I had to do something to get your attention. Then I was afraid you’d think I was a terrible person.”
He sucked in his breath. “If you hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be here with you now.”
“What made you so hesitant to get in touch with me?”
“At that point I didn’t know how involved you were with Rob Farnsworth.”
“Since you’re the antithesis of a dishonorable man, that’s exactly what I was afraid of. Still, I can’t help but sense there’s something else you’re holding back from me.”
He held her at arm’s length. “When we’re alone in the truck, I’ll tell you. First, let’s eat. Solana’s scones are out of this world. Then we’ll take Moondrop out to the corral.”
* * *
WYMON WAITED FOR Jasmine in the truck with the engine running. It warmed his heart to watch the way the filly kept nudging her so she’d give her another treat. Three other horses were already out in the corral for her to get acquainted with. Ron, one of the stockmen, would be keeping an eye on her today until they got back.
“That’s all there is for now,” he heard Jasmine say through the open window. “Be a good girl while I’m gone.”
Her horse neighed several times in protest as Jasmine hurried to the truck and climbed in.
“She’s worse than a newborn baby,” he teased her.
Jasmine smiled at him as they left the ranch for Stevensville. “I know.”
“So how’s the mother? Would you rather stay here today? I can turn around and drop you off.”
“Don’t you dare! She’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”
“Why?”
“With all these doors we’re going to knock on, I don’t want some beautiful woman to take a look at you and invite you in for some ‘coffee.’”
Wymon threw his head back and burst out laughing, never knowing what would come out of her mouth next.
“Laugh all you want, Mr. Hunk, but I’m a woman, and I know these things.”
“Mr. Hunk?”
“Hmm. I saw the nurses at the hospital checking you out. My friend Annie saw you on TV. She said you were in a whole other league of handsome. So now that we’re alone with no one to bother us, why don’t you tell me why you needed any encouragement at all to phone me after I left the hospital? You have to know that every woman you meet would like to get to know you better.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Those are flattering words, Jasmine, but as you know, what you first see isn’t always what you get when you dig a little deeper.”
“That’s true. It’s what the dating experience is all about. You keep trying, sometimes for years, with lots of disappointments.”
“In high school I thought I’d end up with the girl I was crazy about. I never considered another option. I’d always worked on the ranch and didn’t want another life. When we both started college, I assumed that after graduation we’d get married and build us our own home on the property. But I hadn’t counted on Sheila going to Europe on a study-abroad program and falling for someone else.”
“Oh, no—”
“While she was in Italy, she met a guy from Hollywood, acting in a film. They spent day and night together. When she came home, she broke up with me. It turns out ranch life wasn’t what she wanted, even though she’d come from a ranching background near Stevensville. This guy she’d met offered her a life she couldn’t pass up. That was seven years ago. They got married and are still together as far as I know.”
Jasmine turned to him. “I can only imagine how much that must have hurt at the time. You’d known her through high school and had no indication that things would turn out differently after college.”
“I got over it, but it made me distrustful of my own judgment.”
“After the situation with Rob I can relate, but for a different reason. Unlike you, I knew something wasn’t right very early in our relationship, but I didn’t act on it. I kept thinking everything would become clear if I just gave it more time. Instead it gave him hope and made everything worse. You’d think at the age of twenty-six I would have handled things better.”
Wymon shook his head. “Over the years I’ve dated various women and have enjoyed their company, but not to the point that I wanted a permanent relationship.”
“You probably never gave them a real chance to get to know you. Because if you had, you’d be married by now.”
“If I’d fallen in love with one of them, I would have gotten married, but it didn’t happen.”
“How come with me I had to do something overt and then hope you would respond?”
They’d arrived in Stevensville. He drove around the corner of the first residential area he wanted to canvass and pulled to a stop at the curb. After shutting off the engine, he turned to her.
“My reason for holding back with you in the beginning was because I’d learned my lesson with Sheila and the actor she married. It bothered me that once again I was attracted to a woman who in the end wanted an exciting life with a well-to-do politician who could fly her around the country in his own plane. Though I didn’t see a ring on your finger, I refused to go through that again.”
“But I wasn’t attracted to his lifestyle, Wymon! Not at all. After a few dates, I was ready to stop seeing him, but another part of me said to give him a chance and not judge him because of his career. Do you honestly think I would have gone to lunch with you that day in the hospital if I hadn’t wanted to be with you?”
“I’m not sure I did much thinking that day. What I do know is that I couldn’t get you out of my mind.”
“I had the same problem and felt so guilty about it. While the man I’d gone flying with was recovering in his hospital room, I lay in my bed down the hall thinking about you. I kept hoping you’d come back to talk to me or call me. When my parents came to pick me up the next day, I told them I wanted to buy you a thank-you gift. I needed to see you so badly, I would have done anything.”
“I had no idea,” Wymon confessed.
“How could you? As far as you knew, Rob and I had a commitment.”
“When Toly told me you’d approached him after the rodeo about the glasses, I had to make a decision whether to ask you to mail them to me, or drive to Philipsburg to get them. We both know it was an excuse to see you again. After you showed up at the ranch with that blanket, I couldn’t stay away from you.”
“Thank heaven you couldn’t,” she said softly. “Now that I know your fears, I’m so glad you wanted to see me enough to find out what could be between us. It’s what I wanted, too, but I was so afraid you wouldn’t try to contact me. I went through agony.”
“Agony?” he teased, but deep down her words thrilled him.
“Yes! When I saw your name on the caller ID, I almost had a heart attack I was so happy.”
“How many other men have there been in your life who wanted a relationship with you? If you tell me there weren’t any, I wouldn’t believe you.”
“Of course there were men. I had several crushes on guys in high school, but they burned out fast. In college I had two semi-serious relationships, but my feelings never turned to love. I thought something had to be wrong with me that nothing was working.
“When I happened to meet Rob in my father’s office, I was in a bad place because I’d just lost Trixie. As you know, he came along at a low point for me. At first when he pursued me, I was flattered by the attention. It took my mind off Trixie.
“But after a few weeks of dating, I began questioning what I was doing. He was on a political path that drove him. Rob really does want to go all the way. I knew we were both absolutely wrong for each other. He needed a woman who would want to be at his side in all ways.”
“You’re at my side this morning.”
“That’s different. You’ve helped me to believe in what you’re doing, and I love being with you no matter what we do. Now you know everything about my life.” She flashed him a glance. “I’m where I want to be right now.”
Right now maybe, but what about the future? That was the operative question for Wymon.
Let’s see how she feels by the end of the week, Clayton.
He reached around for a bundle of brochures from the box on the floor and split it, giving her half. “Before we get started, why don’t you read one of these first?”
She looked adorable as she started to concentrate on the information in front of her.
He got out and pulled two clipboards and pens from the back, each with some petition sheets for those residents who were willing to sign. He’d already downloaded a map of the streets they would cover on his phone. When he got back inside, she turned to him.
“If everyone would study this literature, especially the quotes by John Muir, they would all be converted.”
Now was not the time to crush her in his arms. “Knowing that you’ve become a believer has made my day.”
“I think I already was one when I saw that mother grizzly and her cubs years ago. I realize I was little and hadn’t learned to fear in an adult way, but that experience has always stayed with me. Since the beginning of time, many wrongs have been committed in this world. We can’t fix most of them, but how fantastic would it be to bring the grizzlies back to the home that was once theirs?”
Unable to stop himself, he leaned across to kiss her mouth. “If you’ll give that little speech to everyone who’s willing to listen, you’ll get the signatures we’re looking for. While you cover this side of the street, I’ll walk across to the other side and meet you at the end of the block. Then we’ll cover another section and another and work our way back to the truck.”
“Perfect. Whoever gets the least amount of signatures by one o’clock has to buy the other lunch.”
“You’re on,” he said, grinning from ear to ear.
* * *
JASMINE GOT OUT of the truck and headed for the first door on her route. She ended up leaving brochures on three front doorknobs because no one was home. At her fourth and fifth house, older people answered and said they didn’t have time to talk. But they accepted the brochure with Wymon’s name and phone number if they wanted to sign the petition later.
At the sixth door, a teenager, probably sixteen or seventeen, answered in his soccer uniform.
“Hi! I’m Jasmine.”
“I’m Mike,” he said with a half smile.
“I’m working on behalf of the coalition to reintroduce the grizzly bear back into Montana’s Sapphire Mountains.”
He sized her up and invited her in the house. She declined and said she hoped he’d show the brochure to his parents. He laughed. “My dad hunts and would probably kill a grizzly if he saw one.”
“Why do you think he would do that when it’s against the law and they’re on the endangered species list?”
“I don’t know. So he wouldn’t get mauled first?”
This was the very attitude Wymon was up against. “Do you hunt, too?”
“Yup.”
“Maybe if you read what the legendary naturalist John Muir said about grizzlies, you’d change your mind.”
The teen rested against the doorjamb. “What did he say?”
“It’s right there.”
“Why don’t you tell me instead?”
He was being deliberately provocative, but she accepted the challenge. Without consulting the brochure, she paraphrased what she’d read. “Appalled that the grizzlies had all but been wiped out, Muir said, ‘The grizzly isn’t our enemy. He’s simply an equal.’”
“An equal? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“If you’ll read what’s there, you might develop an appreciation for grizzlies. Thank you for your time.”
As she walked away, he called her back. “I’ll take one of those.”
Shocked, she handed him one. “I appreciate you listening to me.”
She headed for the next house. She had three more houses to go before reaching the corner. The people weren’t home, so she left brochures. At the last house she saw a mother come out and put her baby in a stroller. Jasmine introduced herself and asked if she’d be willing to sign the petition.
“Sure. I saw some ads on TV and thought it was an intriguing idea to bring the grizzlies back.”
Jasmine thanked the woman for adding her name to the list and hurried to the corner to show Wymon, who was waiting for her. “I got my first signature! Your television ads worked for her.”
“That’s good to hear.” He put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “You had better luck than I did. Maybe mine will change. Let’s go down this next street and find out.”
Between them they covered an average of twenty houses every half hour. By one o’clock they returned to the truck, having canvassed 160 houses and obtained forty-five signatures, the bulk of them Wymon’s. She wished she could have gotten more, but she wasn’t complaining because she knew every signature was vital to him.
“Congratulations. I owe you lunch.”
Wymon drove them to a drive-thru for burritos and mango freezes. While they ate, she felt his gaze fixed on her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he answered in that deep voice she loved.
“Forty-five out of 160 isn’t a bad percentage.”
“I agree.”
She swallowed her last bite. “Something’s bothering you.”
“You’ve given up your vacation time to help me. I’ve been greedy wanting you all to myself. It isn’t right.”
“It’s my decision.”
“Your willingness to help me means more than you know, but I’ve made one too.”
“That sounds significant.”
He chuckled. “In a half day, we’ve accomplished a full day’s work, as much as if I’d been alone. So we’re going to go back to the ranch. After we freshen up we’ll enjoy the rest of the day. I thought we’d ride up into the foothills.”
Jasmine almost jumped out of her skin with excitement. “Much as I’d love that, you need all the help you can get. I’m staggered by the thousands of people out there who haven’t heard your message yet.”
“It’ll get out there slowly but surely.” He started the truck, and they headed back to the ranch.
“I don’t think you have any idea how much I admire what you and your coalition are trying to do.”
“Most people consider it an unnecessary waste of time and money.”
“I heard that same argument when my parents took me to Alaska on a cruise after high school. We went out whale watching.”
“That’s one experience I haven’t enjoyed yet.”
“It was wonderful. One of the tour directors gave a talk. He said some of us want to conserve whales, but the opposition says ‘What’s the point’?”
“Our coalition gets that question all the time.”
“I learned that today. This guy on the cruise explained that whales play an important role in ocean ecosystems. He said that we should all feel a moral obligation to bring their numbers back because we are the ones responsible for their decline. They have just as much of a right to be here as we do. Your argument for the grizzly repopulation sounds very similar.”
“I’m impressed you got that much out of your cruise.”
“It was so cool to watch the whales breaching the water. The idea that they could be extinct one day was devastating to me. I feel the same way about grizzly bears and want you to consider me a part of your coalition.”
She heard his sharp intake of breath. “I can’t let you do it officially. It will have to be our secret. Otherwise the news would add fuel to the fire if Rob was to find out you were campaigning with me.
“Any association with me and you’re going to meet with all kinds of opposition. Our coalition isn’t popular with a lot of different groups. The majority of fish and game people consider us a royal pain.”
“You’re right.” There was no one in the world like Wymon. “But you are making headway with regular people, Wymon, and you’ve converted me. Please, use me until my vacation is over.”
“I intend to, but I think we should only do half days for the rest of the week. My horse needs the exercise, and Moondrop will love spending time with you. How’s the bareback riding going?”
“She’s a dream. It’s the best way to feel her movements. We’re so in sync with each other. I’m going to wait a while to put a blanket and saddle on her.”
“It’s the only way Jim rides his horses. Has she fought the bridle?”
“No. I played with her gums and massaged them until she opened her mouth and took the bit. She’s already used to it.”
“You have an amazing way with horses, not to mention all the other ways you continue to surprise me.”
While she was basking in the compliment, his cell phone rang. She saw him check the caller ID before he clicked on.
“Wymon Clayton.” The conversation didn’t last very long. “I’ll pass on the message and she’ll come by for it tomorrow. Thank you for calling.”
Wymon didn’t tell her who had been on the phone and she didn’t ask, and soon they were at the main ranch house. He surprised her by driving past it and on up the road where he stopped in front of a small two-story log cabin house.
His house. It had to be. She started to tremble.
He turned off the engine before turning to her with a gleam in his eyes. “I believe you’ve made a conquest. After reading the brochure, some guy named Mike just called and wants to sign the petition, but only if the beautiful curvy blonde named Jasmine returns in the morning before ten.”
Heat filled her cheeks. She knew exactly who Wymon was talking about. “He was one of the first people I talked to.”
“How old is he?”
“Mid-teens, maybe a little older. If he’s serious and has been convinced by the arguments in the brochure, maybe he could be put to work doing a little canvassing for you.”
“Don’t get any ideas about gathering more signatures with him.” Beneath his teasing comment she heard a possessive note that gave her a delicious shiver.
“As if I would.”
He got out of the truck and came around to her side. When she would have jumped down, he pulled her into his arms.
“I can’t wait any longer to do this.” Suddenly they were kissing with a hunger that wouldn’t be appeased. He crushed her against him. No one was around in this secluded spot. The freedom to love him made her euphoric. As her body slid down his hard muscled physique, she felt such a rush of desire, she let out a moan.
“Wymon—”
His ravenous mouth covered hers again, sweeping them away until they were both one throbbing entity. “I want you so badly, Jasmine. You’re in my blood. I swore I wouldn’t bring you to my house, but I have no control over the way I feel. Help me,” he begged.
“I don’t want to help you. I want what you want.” I want to love you to the end of time.
Wymon’s body shook. “You say that now.”
She lifted her head in surprise. The pain she saw in his eyes shocked her. After all these years he hadn’t forgotten what it felt like to be rejected. It caught her off guard because she realized Sheila had been the great love of his life. There was a lot more to his story about her than he’d let on.
He was one of those one-woman men. They were rare in this world. What she would give to be the woman who had such a hold on Wymon’s heart that other women who had tried with him failed, and he was still single. That pretty much said it all.
She’d like to tell him all the things she was feeling, but she could see he wasn’t ready to hear them. Maybe he never would be. Not with her. Not even if he desired her at the moment. A man could give in to physical desire because it was a fleeting emotion and separate from what the soul truly desired. She knew that and wouldn’t get herself into this position again unless he was ready.
“Let’s go to the ranch house as planned, then take that ride in the foothills.” Jasmine eased herself away enough to get back in the truck and close the door. She was devastated, but she turned a smiling face to him. He’d wanted help. Now he was going to get it. “Come on. We need to make the most of this beautiful summer day. Our horses are waiting for us.”