01 Winters Thaw Read online

  “How?” she asked.

  “I think about him every day. I remember that life’s short. There aren’t any guaranteed tomorrows, so it’s a smart idea to take advantage of today.”

  His response annoyed her, and her fingers dropped from his arm. “That’s rather shortsighted, wouldn’t you say?”

  “What?”

  Sienna wasn’t sure what had triggered the damn temper she was helpless to keep contained lately, but she found herself unleashing far too much anger on this stranger. “I guess you never given a thought to the consequences of your actions and how they might affect others. God, your poor mother must’ve died a million deaths when you told her you were joining the rodeo. She’d already lost one son and then you head off to do something reckless and dangerous too.”

  “My mother understood my love of the rodeo and wanted me to be happy. She supported my career choice.”

  Sienna shook her head. “I bet what she said and what she felt were two different things. It’s pretty callous of you to think only of yourself without caring about what you’re doing to the people who love you.”

  Daniel frowned. “I love my mother and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt her. If you knew me better—hell, if you knew me at all—you’d understand that.”

  She sucked in a deep breath. What the hell was wrong with her? She was chastising a stranger for his choices in life. She was losing her mind these days. “I apologize. I didn’t mean—”

  “Who’s hurting you, Sienna?”

  She couldn’t speak the real answer. She hadn’t even admitted it to herself, so she grasped a lie instead. It was easier. “No one. I’ll see you at the house for dinner.”

  She stepped out of his trailer before he could question her further, but Daniel didn’t take the hint.

  “Hey, See,” he called from the doorway.

  She turned to face him, debating whether or not she should chastise him for using her family’s nickname for her. It was too personal. Too close.

  “You got a boyfriend?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Does he drive motorcycles? Ride with the circuit?”

  She smirked, understanding full well where he was going with his questions. “No, he doesn’t. He’s away at college, studying business.”

  He graced her with that charming, deadly grin she’d seen earlier. “Serious boyfriend?”

  She tilted her head. “Very serious. We’re going to get married and buy a house in Compton Pass. He’ll inherit his parents’ hardware store while I work as a nurse and—God willing—we’re going to have a couple kids.”

  He glanced at her left hand. She felt compelled to stuff it in her pocket so she wouldn’t have to acknowledge his shrewd look that told her there was no ring on her finger yet. “So you got it all figured out, do you?”

  She nodded, wishing he wouldn’t give her that wicked look that made her think wholly inappropriate thoughts.

  “Kind of reminds me of another saying.”

  “My, aren’t you the king of quotations.”

  He didn’t bother to acknowledge her snide comment. “A wise man once said the best laid plans often go astray. Seems to me your well-organized life could benefit from some shaking up.”

  “My life is just fine. And none of your damn business.”

  “Maybe. Maybe not.” Daniel gave her a sexy, suggestive wink before turning and heading inside his trailer.

  Sienna should confront him, blast him for being so forward, but the door slammed before she could form a proper retort.

  She spun and headed back to the house, feeling furious and foolish. Daniel Lennon had a talent for twisting her words…and her insides into knots.

  She didn’t need this.

  God, she really didn’t need this.

  Chapter Two

  Daniel sat astride his horse and watched the clock as Doug ran a few drills to improve his barrel racing. He had been living on Compass Ranch for two weeks and for the first time in ages, he felt at home somewhere. The Compton family was, as his mother liked to say, good folk. They worked hard, played hard and, from what he could tell, they fell hard. He’d never met so many devoted, wholly in love couples in his life. After several years traveling the rodeo circuit, he’d seen one marriage after another crumble amongst the cowboys. So many, in fact, he’d sworn off commitment and sticky entanglements for a while. Living in Compton Pass had started to renew his faith in the institution, made him think that hitching himself to a pretty woman wouldn’t be such a hardship.

  “How was that?” Doug asked, riding alongside him.

  Daniel checked the clock. “Not bad. You shaved about half a second off your time.”

  Doug’s grin grew. The boy reminded Daniel of himself when he was younger. There was no denying Doug had been bitten by the rodeo bug. While James enjoyed the sport, for the older boy it was just a way to pass the time until graduation, and to impress girls. Doug, however, was constantly driven to learn, to improve.

  Doug sidled closer. “You think you’ll ever go back out on the circuit?”

  For a long time after his accident, Daniel had considered returning, despite the doctor’s advice. He often dreamed he’d be the one to beat the odds, to come back stronger and better than before. Reality has a way of kicking you in the teeth. His arm wasn’t—and wouldn’t ever be—powerful enough to allow him to compete competitively.

  He shook his head. “No. I’m afraid not.”

  Doug’s young face reflected exactly how much he knew that loss must hurt. “Do you miss it?”

  Daniel smiled sadly. “Yep. I sure do.”

  “Yeah. I would too. Bet you had a lot of girlfriends when you were riding the bulls.”

  Daniel swatted Doug playfully with his hat. “Is that the only reason you’re practicing so hard? To get that cute little blonde thing I saw hanging out here yesterday to notice you?”

  Doug blushed and shook his head emphatically. “Hell no. I don’t like Denise. She’s annoying.”

  “What did I say about your cussing?”

  Doug glanced around. “There ain’t any ladies here right now.”

  Daniel couldn’t argue with the boy’s logic. “You got me there.”

  “You got a girlfriend?” Doug asked.

  “No.” Daniel hadn’t had a serious girlfriend since he left Virginia. Truth be told, if there was a silver lining to his accident, it was that. He’d missed the companionship of a woman. Longed for someone to share his days—and nights—with. After years of one-night stands, he was hoping to turn over a new leaf. He was nearly twenty-six. The idea of settling down wasn’t as scary as it had been when he was twenty-one and thought he was ten-feet tall and bulletproof.

  “Jade doesn’t have a boyfriend either,” Doug suggested.

  Daniel had met Doug’s cousin. The accident had injured his arm, not his brain. “I think Jade’s a bit unbroken for me. She’d be a wild filly to tame.”

  Doug laughed. “Yeah. Uncle Sawyer says she’s ornery as a mule.”

  Daniel had to agree with that assessment.

  “There’s always my other cousins, Hope or Sterling. They’re not dating anybody either.”

  Doug’s matchmaking was in full-force. “Well, I’ll keep that in mind. I haven’t had a chance to meet them yet.”

  “If Sienna wasn’t dating Josh, you could go out with her.”

  Daniel couldn’t resist digging for a little info. “You like Josh?”

  Doug shrugged. “He’s okay, I guess. He doesn’t ride horses or rope or anything like that.” Daniel could tell by the crinkle in Doug’s nose those were big marks against Josh.

  “Well, not all guys can be as cool as us.”

  Doug laughed. “Yeah. You’re right. Can I go again?”

  Daniel rubbed his shoulder, trying to ease some of the stiffness out. The damn thing was giving him fits today. “Aren’t you tired? You’ve been at this same drill for nearly two hours.”

  Doug shrugged. “One more time. Please.�
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  Daniel nodded and started the clock. A car pulled down the driveway, distracting him. Sienna was home from work. She was the lone Compton who hadn’t fully embraced his arrival here. While she was friendly, he’d had to work hard to engage her in conversation after his playful teasing at his trailer. It had taken days for her to look at him without suspicion or nervousness. Oddly enough, her anxiety pleased him, made him realize he wasn’t alone in his attraction.

  Sienna Compton was an equal mix of sweet and sexy, with long chestnut hair that was touched with just enough red highlights to match the fiery temper he’d seen the day they’d met. She had dark brown eyes and an hourglass figure that just begged to be admired and touched and caressed and…

  Shit. If Seth knew all the inappropriate thoughts Daniel was having about his daughter, his boss would probably kick his ass from here to Mars.

  On top of her pretty face and quiet disposition, Sienna was also a puzzle. Daniel had precious few challenges in his life now that his bull riding days were over. There was something about Sienna that called to him, made him long to figure her out.

  He’d actually learned more than he cared to about her boyfriend, Josh, from Jade. Jade was a regular around the stable, a born ranch hand. She was tough, opinionated and funny as hell. Daniel had uncovered quite a bit about Sienna through her. Jade’s main concern about her cousin was the fact she’d never dated anyone except Josh. In Jade’s opinion, See was settling for the first boy she ever loved without bothering to “test drive” different makes and models.

  While Daniel couldn’t fault Sienna for her loyalty and commitment—he admired both those characteristics—it was her unwillingness to live a little that bothered him. In the two weeks he’d been here, she’d done nothing more than go to work and hang out with her family each night. She constantly followed the same routine of work and home with nothing else to break up the monotony. Jade assured him that pattern wasn’t a fluke, but the norm.

  Jade complained that her cousin was too set in her ways, and Daniel had to agree. He longed to take Ms. Sienna Compton out of her comfort zone and show her a good time, introduce her to a little spontaneity. From what he could tell, fun was something she was lacking in her life. Hell, it was something that had been lacking in his lately as well.

  He lifted his hand in greeting as she emerged from her car. She waved back and then walked over to the paddock when Doug called out to her.

  “Hey, See. Watch me!”

  Doug returned to the starting line, then asked Daniel to restart the clock.

  Sienna patted Daniel’s horse before approaching the fence. “Okay, I’m watching.”

  Daniel gave Doug the nod to begin.

  Sienna blew out a long, tired breath. She looked like a balloon with a slow leak, her shoulders sinking.

  “Tough day?” he asked, observing her exhausted expression.

  “Yeah. There’s a flu bug going around. We were booked solid on appointments today. I barely managed to squeeze in a ten-minute lunch break.” Sienna worked for one of the local doctors. While Compton Pass wasn’t exactly a small town, it certainly wasn’t large enough to classify as a city. It boasted five doctors, two dentists, a grocery store and, he’d learned from Sawyer, they’d just added a deputy to the police department, which meant Sienna’s uncle was no longer the lone lawman. The nearest Walmart was nearly sixty miles away, something unheard of in Daniel’s home state, where it seemed like you couldn’t throw a stone without hitting one of the stores.

  “Hope you don’t come down with the flu.”

  She glanced up at him. “I had a shot.”

  He absentmindedly rubbed his shoulder again and studied her outfit, silently amused with himself. He was actually turned on by Sienna’s hot pink scrubs. Jesus. He’d gone way too long without a woman. Hell, he hadn’t gotten laid since his accident. He’d hit a honky-tonk last night with some of the other ranch hands, but none of the local ladies tempted him like Sienna.

  “Does your arm hurt?” Sienna asked.

  Daniel stopped moving. “It’s a little stiff.” He glanced toward the sky. “I suspect we’ll have a thunderstorm tonight. One of the benefits of my injury is I can now predict rain with pretty decent accuracy. The weathermen have nothin’ on me.”

  Her gaze locked on his face, studying him in a purely medical way. He wished she’d view him a little less professionally.

  “You’ve been working really hard since you got here. You need to be careful not to overdo it. What were your injuries exactly? You never said.”

  He shrugged, wondering if there was some way to avoid this conversation. He didn’t like to dwell on the accident. It reminded him too much of how much he’d lost. “Dislocated shoulder, right arm broken in three places, four broken ribs, cracked skull and a punctured lung. Those were the biggies. There were a bunch of other smaller issues.”

  Sienna winced. “The biggies were big enough. I have some salve in the house that will help that sore shoulder. I’ll change out of my work clothes and bring it over to your trailer in about an hour. It’ll fix you right up. Okay?”

  His pride emerged first and Daniel started to refuse, to claim his shoulder was fine and that he had his own muscle cream. Luckily, his brain engaged just in time to save him from refusing her generous offer. “Thanks.”

  She turned to offer Doug some sound advice on his run before she headed toward the house. Daniel gave Doug a few more pointers and then returned his horse to the stable. He hurried back to his trailer, anxious to tidy the place before Sienna arrived.

  They hadn’t started off on the best of terms and he was hoping to correct that. He’d just dried and put away the last dish when there was a knock on the door.

  He opened it and invited Sienna to enter. “Come on in. I was just straightening up a bit.” While he’d thought her nursing scrubs were cute, she was downright hot in her jeans and sweater.

  Sienna smiled. “You didn’t have to go to the trouble. I’ll only be here a minute.”

  He hoped he’d be able to entice her to hang around longer. She started to hand him the salve, but he didn’t reach for it. “Truth is, I have some cream, Sienna. I just don’t seem to be able hit all the sore spots with it.”

  She eyed him suspiciously. He couldn’t blame her. Despite his attempts to play nice, he’d definitely admitted to his interest in her the last time she was in his trailer.

  “Daniel, I—”

  “You have a boyfriend. I’m perfectly aware of that, Sienna. I’m just asking for a little nursing TLC.” It was a lie and a dirty trick. If he’d learned anything about her, it was that she took her job very seriously.

  “Fine,” she said, gesturing to his upper body. “Take off your shirt.”

  Daniel couldn’t restrain the grin that proved her words had taken his mind straight to the gutter.

  Sienna frowned, though he didn’t think she was as annoyed as she pretended. Maybe somewhere in the past two weeks she’d begun to soften toward him? “Don’t get excited, cowboy. I’m just going to rub some of this ointment on your sore shoulder.”

  “You know, I’m a firm believer in paying my way. I could return the favor. I’ve been told I give very good massages and you look like you could use some relaxing after your long day.” He took a step toward her, but she stopped him, placing her hand on his chest.

  “Your gratitude is more than enough for me.” She definitely wasn’t annoyed. Sienna was smiling, clearly enjoying their flirting dance. Her hand lingered on his chest. Daniel tried to ignore how good it felt there.

  “My shoulder is pretty sore. I might need some help with these buttons.”

  Sienna laughed. “Just take the damn thing off.”

  He grinned and began to unbutton his flannel shirt. “I think we got off on the wrong foot, Sienna.”

  Her smile dimmed. “You didn’t, but I did. I’m sorry I snapped at you the first day we met. I’ve been in a really shitty mood lately and you ended up in the line of fire.”
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br />   He shrugged off his shirt and waited for the inevitable pity. He’d seen it in the eyes of plenty of nurses as he recovered from his injuries. Though the scars weren’t quite as red or as angry-looking as they had been right after the accident, they still managed to cut a fairly nasty swath across his pale skin. He hoped when summer arrived, the tan he usually acquired would tone down the paths of destruction wrought by the bull.

  Sienna didn’t speak for several moments, her face completely inscrutable. Finally, she lifted her gaze to his, her playful eyes capturing his. “Ouch.”

  Her unexpected joke caught him off-guard, and he laughed. “You can say that again.”

  She stepped toward him, her close proximity allowing him to catch a whiff of her floral perfume. Lilacs? Roses? He sucked when it came to distinguishing flower scents, but either way, she smelled damn fine.

  “RDL?” she asked, pointing to the small tattoo etched just above his heart.

  He glanced down, running his fingers across the letters. “My brother’s initials.”

  “Oh.”

  “Got the tattoo on what would have been his twenty-first birthday. Might sound corny, but I sort of thought it was a way to show I’d never forget him.”

  She shook her head. “Nothing corny about that. I think it’s a beautiful gesture. My dad and uncles have tattoos on their backs. Amazing ones that represent Compass Ranch. When I was little, I used to run my finger along the pictures on my dad’s while he explained what everything signified.”

  “No ink on you?”

  She grinned. “God no.”

  “Why do you say it like that? Sounds like you like tattoos.”

  “Oh, I do. I love them. I guess I’ve just never found anything meaningful enough to have it etched on my skin forever. Suppose I’m still searching for that memory I want to last.”

  He could understand that. The small tattoo on his chest was his only one. Like her, he believed the sentiment behind the ink needed to be significant. Important.