Romancing the Rancher Read online

  To Kiss a Cowboy

  Former rodeo star Jarrett Deeks knows about saving horses, but city women like Theresa Pirelli have always been out of his league. Yet her kiss rocks him harder than any bull he’s ever ridden. In her, he sees himself: a little bruised, a lot lonely. She’s his for only a few weeks, except unlike his horses, he can’t let her go once she’s healed. But how can he convince her to stay?

  Theresa is used to taking care of patients...not being one! When an accident jeopardizes her career, she needs a break from worrying about her uncertain future and interfering family. A few weeks at Jarrett’s rustic California horse ranch seem like just the ticket to get back on her feet. Until she’s completely swept off them by one sexy cowboy.

  The conversation around her came to a halt...and she saw him.

  Jarrett, holding out his hand. “Can I have this dance?”

  Are you sure that’s a good idea? asked a voice in her head.

  No, I’m not sure at all.

  But as she placed her hand in his, a bad idea had never felt so good.

  “I, um, haven’t danced since the accident.” But as his palm slid to her lower back and he pulled her body close to his, heat spread from his palm throughout her limbs, melting every bit of resistance within her.

  He smiled. “Not a lot of call for dancing on the ranch, either. But I figure we make the perfect partners—you lean on me, I lean on you. As long as we keep our feet moving, we can call it dancing.”

  It was what a relationship was supposed to be, wasn’t it? Two people trusting in one another.

  She cupped the back of his neck, her fingers sliding into his hair, and she didn’t feel the least bit clumsy. With the heat flaring in his eyes, the slight catch in his breath, she felt sexy, seductive...whole.

  And she liked it.

  THE PIRELLI BROTHERS:

  These California boys know what love is all about!

  Dear Reader,

  While Romancing the Rancher is technically the fourth book in The Pirelli Brothers miniseries, for me, the books started with Sophia Pirelli, the Pirelli sister, in Her Fill-in Fiancé (July 2011). With Sophia’s brothers finding happily-ever-after in books of their own, I thought now would be a good time to bring in another Pirelli girl.

  Theresa Pirelli has spent her life caring for others. When an accident leaves her physically and emotionally traumatized, she travels to her cousins’ hometown of Clearville, California, to rest and recover. Romance is the last thing on her mind, especially a romance with her temporary landlord, Jarrett Deeks.

  Former rodeo star Jarrett Deeks knows a thing or two about rescuing horses, but rescuing a woman like Theresa isn’t in his skill set. Even so, he finds himself drawn to the beautiful nurse. He’s determined to put a spark back in her eyes...before she heads back to the big city where she belongs.

  On the outside, Theresa and Jarrett might not have much in common, but inside they both have the caring and compassion to help each other heal.

  I hope you enjoy Romancing the Rancher and look for more Pirelli Brothers stories to come!

  Stacy Connelly

  ROMANCING THE RANCHER

  Stacy Connelly

  Stacy Connelly has dreamed of publishing books since she was a kid, writing stories about a girl and her horse. Eventually, boys made it onto the page as she discovered a love of romance and the promise of happily-ever-after. When she is not lost in the land of make-believe, Stacy lives in Arizona with her three spoiled dogs. She loves to hear from readers at [email protected] or stacyconnelly.com.

  Books by Stacy Connelly

  Harlequin Special Edition

  The Pirelli Brothers

  Small-Town Cinderella

  Daddy Says, “I Do!”

  Darcy and the Single Dad

  Her Fill-In Fiancé

  Temporary Boss...Forever Husband

  The Wedding She Always Wanted

  Once Upon A Wedding

  All She Wants for Christmas

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

  To the people who dedicate their lives

  to animal rescue—my doggies and I thank you!

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Excerpt

  Chapter One

  “You know, you’re more than welcome to stay with us.”

  Theresa Pirelli shifted her gaze from the towering redwoods flashing by the passenger-side window to glance over at her cousin Sophia Cameron. Concern drew Sophia’s dark eyebrows together beneath her fringe of bangs, and Theresa forced a smile.

  A smile she’d gotten used to pulling out like fine china—all for show and, often she feared, just as fragile. “As much as I’d love to spend my whole trip spoiling that baby of yours, the three of you need your time alone.”

  And so do I.

  After the weeks she’d spent in the hospital following a devastating car accident and then the months of recovery under her parents’ watchful and worried eyes, Theresa desperately needed an escape. But it had to be one that wouldn’t cause her parents further angst. A visit to Clearville and to meet the newest member of the family fulfilled both of those needs.

  But with her cousin Drew getting married to local baker, Debbie Mattson, her family would soon descend en masse on the Northern California town. Her freedom from their almost suffocating concern wasn’t going to last long, but she planned to make the most of it and use these precious days to figure out what to do with the rest of her life.

  “Not so much alone time that you couldn’t stay with us for a few weeks. Adult conversation is appreciated, you know. I’m half afraid baby talk is going to become my first language.”

  Despite the complaint, Theresa didn’t think she’d ever seen her cousin so happy. And why not when Sophia was married to the man she loved. A man who was not her son’s biological father. They’d had a rocky start to their relationship, but Jake had fought hard to prove that he was the family man she’d been looking for, finally winning Sophia over.

  It was a similar battle to the one Theresa had fought with her fiancé, Michael Parrish. Only she had lost.

  Her muscles tightened, as if physically trying to block out the memories. Her right hand curled into a tight fist in her lap while her left hand...did not.

  After pulling in a deep breath, she made sure her voice was even and calm as she stated, “It’s not like we won’t see each other while I’m here just because I’m staying outside of town.”

  “I know but...in one of Jarrett Deeks’s cabins?”

  From what Theresa had read online, along with being an equine rescue, the Rockin’ R offered trail rides, lessons and boarding for horses. Recent expansion included building half a dozen or so guest cabins on the property. Judging by the somewhat stark descriptions on the website, the cabins didn’t offer much in the way of amenities. They were an alternative for people who didn’t want to stay in the cute and cozy Victorian bed-and-breakfasts the small town was kn
own for.

  Theresa supposed hunters and fishermen drawn to the area by its rugged wilderness weren’t interested in sleeping in the “Rose Suite” or “Daisy Drawing Room.”

  “I’m sure the cabins will be fine,” Theresa insisted. Long hours working as a nurse in a St. Louis emergency room had taught her to sleep wherever and whenever she could. Lumpy couches, narrow, uncomfortable beds, even sitting on the floor with her back propped up against a wall had all provided her with a few hours’ rest between many a shift.

  All part of the job she loved. The job she lived for...

  “I know the cabin will be fine,” Sophia was saying, her cheerful voice calling Theresa back from the empty, endless void of her future, “but I was thinking that having you stay over would be like when we were kids, and you and your brothers used to come visit.”

  Memories of those long-ago summer vacations drifted through her thoughts. How she’d loved the freedom of roaming the woods outside her cousins’ small hometown. “That’s a nice thought,” she told her cousin, even though she knew those carefree days were long gone. “But I need some time on my own.”

  She’d been offered a place to stay for the next month with any one of her four cousins, but Sophia and Jake had the new baby, Nick and Sam were both newly married, having met the loves of their lives within the past year, and Drew was preparing for his own wedding. Her aunt and uncle had also offered her a room at their home, but that would have been almost the same as staying with her parents.

  Even the small apartment above the antiques shop Sophia managed on Main Street had been a little too close. She could imagine family popping in every few hours. She loved them all and appreciated their concern—truly. But the strain of pretending everything was all right weighed so heavily on that porcelain facade, hairline cracks had started to show through. And just the thought of letting her family, or anyone, know how damaged she was beneath—

  It won’t happen. I will not break.

  She unclenched her fist, covered her left hand with her right and ignored the voice in her head whispering that she was already broken.

  * * *

  A few minutes later, Sophia pulled the car to a stop in front of a rustic building at the end of a graded dirt road. Through the trees, Theresa could see a corral and what she assumed to be the stables. As she opened the car door, the early-spring air carried a faint hint of hay and horses. The surroundings were so peaceful and quiet, she took her first deep, relaxing breath since...she didn’t know when.

  “I’m pretty sure this is Jarrett’s rental office,” Sophia said as she rounded the front of the car and approached the building, “but it doesn’t look like he’s around.”

  “I received an email confirming my reservation, so I’m sure this Jarrett knows I’m coming.” The website hadn’t offered any information about Jarrett Deeks, the owner of the stables and the newly built cabins. Sophia had said something about the man being a retired rodeo star.

  Theresa could easily picture the aged cowboy relaxing in one of the rocking chairs that sat on the small porch. The perfect spot to greet guests and tell tales about roping calves and riding bulls or whatever he’d done back in the good ole days.

  “He’s probably down at the stables,” Sophia said with a frown.

  “Then I’m sure he’ll be back to the office in a few minutes.”

  Her cousin sighed. “From what Nick says, Jarrett can be totally fixated when it comes to his rescue horses.”

  Theresa knew the feeling. Or make that had known the feeling. The hectic pace of the emergency room could be overwhelming without the ability to focus on the job at hand. She could admire that kind of determination, and if it meant he’d forgotten about her arrival...well, that was okay.

  She grabbed the edge of the car door to help pull herself to her feet, careful to balance her weight on her right leg. But even then, the muscles in her entire left side screamed after the long flight from St. Louis and ride in from the airport. The reconstructive surgeries on her knee had gone as well as expected, and thanks to the titanium rod and screws holding her broken femoral shaft together, the fracture had healed to a point where she no longer needed the crutches she’d so hated.

  But the recovery was taking so much longer than she’d anticipated, even if her doctors and therapists insisted her rehabilitation for her leg was right on track. If she kept up with her therapy, she would in time regain her strength and range of motion. It was her other injury, the one far less obvious than the broken femur and damaged knee, that had a less-promising prognosis.

  Nerve damage...

  Could completely heal...

  Might regain full use of hand...

  But for all their noncommittal responses, Theresa feared her body was giving an answer that screamed louder than any words. The nerves weren’t healing. She didn’t have full use of her hand.

  Look at you! You can’t even take care of yourself. How do you expect to help anyone else?

  Echoes of the harshly spoken words battered her, the emotional blow rocking balance and stealing her breath as much as the ache in her left leg. Theresa forced herself to move as if she could run from the painful memories, but the best she could manage was a shuffling walk that failed to outdistance any of the raw images from that final fight with Michael.

  “Maybe we should drive down to the stables,” Sophia was saying as Theresa made her way toward the porch.

  The breeze cooled the sweat gathering at her hairline, and she was almost out of breath, but she’d made it from the gravel drive and up the three front steps. Waving a hand at one of the rockers, she said, “I’ll just wait here for him.”

  “Theresa, no.”

  “Sophia, yes,” she retorted. “I’ll be fine.”

  The weather was crisp and cool, but far milder than the snowstorm she’d left behind in St. Louis. A small stream of sunlight filtered through the trees, bathing the corner of the porch with a warm glow. She’d brought her knee-length, red wool jacket and black leather gloves with her and would be perfectly warm enough to wait outside for Jarrett Deeks.

  Between her time stuck in the hospital, in rehab and then at her parents’ house, she didn’t think she’d spent more than a few hours outside since the car accident. And most of that time was dedicated to the long, painful process of getting to and from doctors’ appointments.

  “I’ll just get my bags and—”

  But Sophia was already racing back toward the car with a cheery, “I’ve got them!”

  And of course, she did. She had the wheeled suitcase and over-the-shoulder bag out of the trunk and back up on the porch before Theresa could have made her way down the front steps.

  She pulled in a deep breath. After all, in the months since the accident, she’d learned a lot about patience, hadn’t she? Swallowing the anger, the frustration, the self-pity at her inability to complete the simplest tasks from bathing to walking to putting on her own shoes. She’d come a long way, and she just needed to hold on to that patience a little while longer and wait for the rest of her family to catch up.

  So she simply said, “Thank you,” as her cousin set the luggage beside her.

  Sophia beamed back and leaned in for a hug. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

  Anger and frustration slipped away, and she was grinning by the time her cousin pulled back. “I am, too.”

  “What’s so funny?”

  “You still wear the same perfume, but you also smell like baby formula.”

  Sophia rolled her eyes. “It’s the latest scent. Worn by exhausted new mothers everywhere.”

  But Sophia didn’t look exhausted. With her dark hair cut in a short pixie style and her brown eyes sparkling, she looked as adorable as she had when they were kids and just as happy. Ignoring the twinge of jealousy, Theresa said, “You make it work. Now go back to that be
autiful baby and hot husband of yours before he tracks you down like we both know he can.”

  “He is rather amazing, isn’t he?” Sophia asked with a smile, but rapid blinking told Theresa she was fighting back tears. “He said he loved me enough for both of us and that it wouldn’t matter...”

  “But you still wondered,” she filled in softly.

  Her cousin shook her dark head. “I shouldn’t have. Not even for a second.”

  “You’re a lucky woman, but I still think if you asked him, Jake would say he’s the fortunate one. He has you and your baby.”

  “Two for the price of one,” Sophia joked. “Who doesn’t love a bargain?”

  After another few minutes arguing that Theresa would be fine waiting by herself until Jarrett Deeks arrived, Sophia finally—reluctantly—agreed. She backed away from the small office with a wave, and Theresa waited until the car was out of sight before slowly lowering her aching body into the rocking chair. The long trip and mini-reunion at Sophia’s place had left her far more exhausted than she dared let on.

  The chair swayed beneath her weight as her legs gave out, and she practically collapsed into the seat. She was glad Sophia had a man she could lean on, but past history had taught Theresa she was better off standing on her own—no matter how shaky she sometimes found the ground beneath her feet.

  * * *

  Jarrett Deeks swore beneath his breath as he heard the approaching sound of a car engine and the crunch of tires over the gravel lane leading past the stables. It could have been someone interested in boarding their horse at his place. Or maybe tourists wanting to take a late-afternoon ride on one of his many trail horses. Even a kind soul looking to adopt one of his rescue horses. Could have been. But he’d bet the ranch it wasn’t.

  No, he was pretty sure that car carried his first paying customer and guest to his new rental cabins. He snorted as he gave the gelding he’d been brushing a final pat. When he’d placed ads in hunting and fishing magazines, his plan had been to target men like himself. Guys who enjoyed nature and wildlife and were looking for an escape from city life. Not that Clearville offered much in the way of city life. But the small-town sense of community was almost worse than crowded cities and their towering sky-rises.