The Dangerous Gift by Jane Hunt Read Free Book Online Page B

Jen.
    “Jared. What’s the matter? Come here.” Jen patted the empty side of her bed as she rubbed her eyes.
    Jared stumbled across the room and practically fell into her open arms. There was no passion this time. The floodgates that held back his pent-up sorrow disintegrated. Last night’s alcohol and Jen’s compassion towards him breached his emotional dam, leaving his grief raw and exposed. Sobs racked his body as he finally accepted his terrible loss.
     
    ***
     
    Jennie
     
    Jennie’s tear-soaked shirt clung to her and chilled her. Jared’s weight numbed her left side. He looked a mess and smelled like a distillery, but it didn’t matter. She owed him. He’d held her like this when her own parents died and had given her a rock to cling to as her world disintegrated around her. Now she would be his rock and keep him afloat in his own tsunami of grief.
    As he lay in her arms, asleep at last, Jared’s grief-stricken state made her decision to stay on at the ranch easier. She couldn’t abandon him when he was so low. She eased herself into a more comfortable position and started to make plans. She would have to postpone her master’s; she was only halfway through her course. Finishing her degree through the Open University was a possibility. If not, she would defer for a year and then decide. Perhaps when things were on steadier footing at the ranch, she could spend a few months in England and finish her course. Staying at the ranch right now and staking her claim was the right thing to do. She smiled as Jared muttered in his sleep. He looked years younger, and his face reflected a previously unseen vulnerability. Jennie stroked his hair back from his forehead. He was going to be hers, and together they would make the dude ranch a success.
    Darleen occupied the place in Jared’s heart and bed that Jennie wanted. She pushed the unwelcome thought to the back of her mind. If Jared was with Darleen, there was no future for Jennie at the ranch. She feared that conversation, but she’d have to have it with Jared sooner rather than later. Her beloved mother Sarah had told her to always follow her heart, and this time she would. It was time to stand and fight for her man.
     
    ***
     
    Jared
     
    His eyes raw, Jared breathed in the fragrant smell of roses. His head was cushioned against Jen’s soft breasts, which rose gently as she breathed. As he eased his weight from her delicate frame, he saw her face was tired and drawn.
    “I’m okay. There’s no need to move.” Jen stroked his head.
    Jared enjoyed the caress and couldn’t resist teasing her. “Liar.” He lifted his head off her arm and lay beside her on the rumpled quilt.
    “Okay, you’re a lump.” Jen rubbed her obviously numbed arm.
    “Thank you.” The words didn’t begin to describe what she’d given him, but he said them anyway.
    “For calling you a lump?” Jen smiled as a faint rose blush stained her cheeks.
    “No, for being there for me.” Jared held her gaze and hoped his eyes conveyed his gratitude. Jen seem to understand and nodded as she stroked her fingers through his short, spiky hair. “I really lost it earlier,” Jared muttered sheepishly. Reality dawned as he remembered the flooded bunkhouse. “A pipe’s burst in the new bunkhouse.” He should go back outside and help. He’d already let his men down once today.
    “What’s the damage?” Jen sat up and eased off the bed.
    “The soft furnishings are the main casualty.” Jared cursed the tremor in his voice.
    “The things Annie made?” Jen leaned forward and kissed his cheek. “I’ll get a shower and see what I can do to help.” She looked at him with concern. He searched her face for any sign of censure or pity but found none.
    Jen was his. It wasn’t that simple, though, was it? Her life wasn’t here, it was in England. She was in the middle of her second degree; she couldn’t just up and permanently move back to Texas, no matter what he wanted.
    Jared felt the