Chapter 1
It was a beautiful fall morning, one of those days that made her happy she’d moved to Colorado. It had been a bold move, but the job had been too good to pass up, and they’d needed a fresh start far from home. A place where no one knew their past and the things her ex-husband had done to them, as well as the town. The last few years had tested not only her strength, but her spirit, in the end they’d survived, and now had a chance to start again.
In the few months they’d been here, Maria’s nightmares’ had become almost a thing of the past. What had once been almost a nightly occurrence, had dwindled to an occasional bad dream. Sabrina was almost beginning to think that all the counseling, as well as the move had begun to heal Maria. She would miss Kentucky for the rest of her life, but couldn’t imagine going back, after all there wasn’t anything for her there anymore, but bad memories.
Enough, she thought, time to look to the future, not the past. She was sure that it would be a busy day, it always was at the posh, progressive private school where she taught. She settled at her desk, opened her planner and groaned. Seeing the red pen on the page meant only one thing, Garrett Terrell had an appointment with her that day.
The father of one of her students, he was rich beyond belief and accustomed to getting his way. They’d had many battles in the past over the ridiculous reasons he’d been taking his son out of school. Admittedly, one of the reason’s she’d wanted this job, besides the pay and benefits, was the schools progressive attitude toward real life experiences for their students.
The school not only encouraged, but required students to have learning experiences outside of the classroom. Parents were required to participate and most gladly did so, choosing appropriate explorations of the city. Garrett Terrell, however, had used it as nothing more than a way to spend time with his son when it was convenient for him.
Their first battle had been over the paper work that was part of the program, instead of following the protocol, he’d texted her to say that he was taking Scott out of school for a learning experience. She’d texted back that he wasn’t unless she had paperwork and the battle had ensued. No one had emerged the winner, since Garrett sent the paperwork to school with Scott the next day and she had no choice but to accept it.
Their next confrontation had been even more heated, but not because of anger. Ever since the text message incident, Sabrina had been apprehensive about meeting Scott’s father at back to school night. From everything she’d heard, he was not only worth billions, but had one of the biggest cattle ranches in the state.
She was quite sure he would be just like the rest of the parents she’d met, happy to swoop down and take the kids to the museum or a concert, then leave them at the dorm to fly off to some exotic destination. But, from what Scott’s teacher from last year had said, Garrett Terrell would arrive unannounced and take Scott off on some questionable outing whenever it was convenient for him.
“But, that’s not how the program is supposed to work.” Sabrina had complained, frustrated.
“No, but no one’s ever been able to say no. The one time I tried to question his choice, he had Scott write a three page paper about all that he’d learned that day. I was beat.” The teacher had explained, shrugging her shoulders. “Wait until you meet him, you’ll see.”
She had understood perfectly what that teacher had been telling her when Garrett had walked through the door. She had immediately felt a pang of desire flash through her as he stood in the doorway to her classroom. He’d had to duck slightly to get through without bumping his head, so he must have been well over six feet tall, taller than Sabrina for sure.
At times her height of five feet, eight inches had made her feel like a giant, but this man made her feel small. He was dressed in tight jeans, which covered obviously powerful legs, and a western shirt which did nothing to hide his muscular arms and chest. In his hand he carried what she assumed was a Stetson hat.
Their eyes met across the room, and she blushed realizing that he’d noticed her checking him out. Not the best way to meet one of your student’s fathers for the first time. She saw amusement and confidence on his face, which was not exactly handsome but arresting. She wondered what he would look like if he smiled.
He crossed the room in a few strides and offered her his hand, “I’m Garrett Terrell, Scott’s father. You must be Sabrina Burke.” He said, flashing her that smile she’d wondered about.
“It’s nice to meet you.” She managed to say, her heart pounding in her chest. She’d been right, when he smiled, his blue eyes lit up and his whole face changed. Even worse when his huge hand had enveloped hers, she again had that sensation of feeling small and strangely, protected.
Garrett must had felt something too, because as he was shaking her hand, he looked down to where their hands were joined with a strange look on his face. He recovered quickly, and met her eyes again.
“I’m sorry about that whole text thing the other day, but most of the teachers know how I operate. We’ll do better in the future, in fact I’ll be taking Scott out of school for a baseball game.”
“A baseball game? How is that going to teach him anything? Mr. Terrell, I know I’m new to this school, but I really don’t think that’s an appropriate outing to miss a day of school for.” She’d protested.
“Be that as it may. Scott and I will be attending that baseball game tomorrow.” He’d said, as he turned and walked away to join Scott at his desk.
She’d just stood there with her mouth hanging open, not able to believe he’d ended the conversation so quickly. Part of her was glad he had, the longer she’d been close to him, the more she’d become aware of his raw masculinity. He reeked of man, hardworking man and the faint smell of horses. A smell she had grown up with.
Thinking back now, she guessed that what she had been attracted to was that smell, not the man. After all she was 35 years old, no spring chicken anymore, she couldn’t be experiencing that kind of physical attraction at her age. Those days were long gone. Besides, romance was not something she was looking for. She just wanted to live in peace, make a few friends, and raise her daughter. She had no desire to get tangled up with another man, not after Marie’s father.
Still she found her heart rate speeding up at the thought of him here in her classroom, not only because he’d sounded ominous when he’d arranged the meeting, but because just the thought of his big hands, sent a shiver of longing though her. According to her appointment book, he wouldn’t be here until the lunch break, she’d just have to put him from her mind until then.
*****
Sebastian and Donovan had been enjoying a quiet breakfast when they heard the slam of a door, then the unmistakable sound of their brother, Garrett’s boots on the tile floor. From the sound of it, he wasn’t happy, not that Garrett was ever all that happy when he was in the city, but this sounded worse than usual.
He stomped through the door and slapped a newspaper down on the table. “Looks like Rita is up to her old tricks again. She’s signed on with the new newspaper, and used us to launch her new career.” He said, gesturing to the newspaper he’d just thrown on the table.
Sebastian and Donovan looked at each other, neither wanting to pick up the offending paper, the last time Rita had written a story about them she’d alluded to incest between them and their cousins. It had cost her, she’d been fired from the paper the minute a law suit had been mentioned. But, the new newspaper obviously had fewer requirements about the truth, if they’d hired Rita.
Donovan finally picked up the paper with a sigh, prepared for the worst, and it was a good thing he did. There on the front page of the paper were their faces, printed as big as the page would allow, along with a headline in red ink.
“Meet the Rocky Mountain’s Most Eligible Bachelors”
He slid the paper to Sebastian, who groaned when he saw it. “What is that woman up too? Why can’t she leave us alone?”
“Garrett knows why.” Donovan said.
“Oh, yeah. Want to share?” Sebastian asked.
“Not really, but if you must know, I dated her for a while. She thought we were way more serious than we were and wasn’t pleased when I informed her otherwise. I admit, I might not have handled things well, but when she started talking about remodeling the ranch house, I set the record straight.”
“In your usual gallant fashion, I assume.” Donovan said.
“Well, in my defense, I never made a secret of the fact that I was still married. Just because I hadn’t seen Mindy in three years, didn’t mean we weren’t still married. I also made it more than clear that I wasn’t looking for a serious relationship, it’s going to be a long time before I let another woman redecorate my house.” He said, walking to the window at the view of the city.
“Yeah, yeah, we know. You’re done with women, they all lie and cheat, and only want your billions. We’ve heard that speech plenty of times. You know not all women are like Mindy. There’s got to be a woman out there who could put up with you.” Sebastian said, trying to tease his brother out of his foul mood.
“So, are we going to do something about this?” Donovan asked, pointing to the paper. “We could just ignore it and hope it goes away, we only have two weeks until the round up and Sebastian has to report to training camp. It can’t get that bad in only a few weeks.”
Garrett thought it over for a minute, “I think you’re right. If we make a big stink, it will just attract more attention, and we’ll all basically be out of circulation in a few weeks. No way is any woman going to follow us twenty miles into the wilderness and the NFL will protect Sebastian while he’s at camp.” He said, turning from the window.
“Okay then that’s settled. One of these days, one of us needs to get married, then all this,” he pointed to the paper, “would be a thing of the past.”
“Well, it’s not going to be me. Been there done that. Now if you two will excuse me, I have some things I need to do before my lunch meeting with Scott’s teacher. It’s beyond me why I have to ask her permission to take my son out of school.”
“Oh, so that’s why you’re wearing that big scowl on your face. Garrett, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you’d met your match. What is it about this woman that has you asking her permission? You’ve never done that before.” Donovan said, with an evil grin on his face.
“Yeah, big brother. Since when do you ask permission, why in person?” Sebastian asked, trying to sound innocent. “Isn’t Ms. Burke the new teacher? I heard she’s quite stunning, all curves and valleys.” He added, baiting Garrett.
Garrett turned and paced back to the window, momentarily at a loss for words. He would never understand how his brothers could more or less read his mind. He had in fact been thinking about Ms. Burke and her curves and valleys, but more than that, he was thinking about the strange need he felt to protect her.
He wasn’t quite sure what to make of the feeling, but he knew one thing, he shouldn’t be feeling it for a woman he barely knew. This protective feeling should be reserved only for family, his parents or brothers, even his cousins. Yet the minute he’d gotten close to her, touched her, he’d felt both drawn to her and fiercely protective of her.
He could understand the first part, she was a beautiful woman. She was all curves and valleys as Sebastian had said, but her eyes had been what had gotten him. When they met across the room, their hazel depths had called to him. There was a vulnerability there that he was sure only he could see, she hid it well, but something had hurt her badly in the past. At the time, he’d shrugged it off as his natural protective instincts honing in on something that was wounded, but as time had passed, he’d found that he couldn’t get her out of his head.
“After our last episode, I just want to make sure she understands that there is nothing to debate about Scott going on the round up. It will save time to talk to her directly.” He said, almost believing himself. “As soon as I’m done with Ms. Burke, I’m out of here. I’ve had enough of the city for a while.”
“Whatever you say, big brother. I’ll see you in two weeks.” Donovan said, getting up from the table. “I’ve got to go, big meeting with the ski area manager.”
Sebastian got up as well and started for the door, “I’ll see you after training camp.” He said, tempted to tease Garrett some more but knowing when to stop. Long years of beatings had taught him that.
Garrett watched them go, shaking his head at their teasing. They always knew how to get under his skin, but in this case there had been some truth to their teasing, he had to admit that to himself. But Ms. Burke was Scott’s teacher and even if she was willing it was highly inappropriate for them to become involved.
Realizing that he had things to do if he wanted to get out of town today, he put thoughts of Ms. Burke from his mind, he’d have time to be angry and confused about what he was feeling about her later. Whatever it was, he’d enjoy seeing her again, but there was no way he was going to act on his feelings, he’d had enough of women to last a life time.
By the time he got to the school, he was angry and annoyed, nothing had gone as planned today. The parts that were supposed to have been waiting for him for a week, had been the wrong ones and now he would have to stay in the city for another night.
He was seriously considering driving to the outskirts of town and renting a motel room, at least he would be able to open a window and get some fresh air. He always felt trapped in the apartment down town, it might be worth a fortune, but he would have gladly sold it. He was scowling as he walked into the classroom and spotted Ms. Burke behind her desk.
She hadn’t heard him come in, so he took a second to watch her, she was chewing on her pencil, her brows wrinkled in concentration. He cleared his throat and she jumped a little, then took a deep breath to calm her heart.
It was an impossible task she realized, when their eyes met and her heart only beat faster.
“Mr. Terrell, come in. I’m sorry, you startled me.” She apologized.
“Not your fault. You looked like you were concentrating on something important.” He said, coming farther into the room.
“Just trying to figure out how to teach Shakespeare to sixth graders, not an easy task. Anyway, what can I do for you?” She asked, hoping he would keep his distance. She had a pretty good idea what he was here for. Scott had been talking about the big round up for weeks.
“I wanted to let you know in person, that I will be taking Scott out of school for two weeks for the fall roundup on the ranch. It’s something we do every year and he’s not going to miss it.” He said, feeling sure he’d left no room for argument. But he’d underestimated Sabrina’s belief that two weeks was much too long to be out of school.
“Mr. Terrell, I know in the past, you’ve pulled Scott out of school, but I have to protest. It’s such a long time to be gone. He’ll be so far behind the class.”
“That’s never been a problem in the past.” He said, crossing his arms over his chest.
“But, Scott is getting older now. It’s important that he be with his peers, both for his academic success, as well as his social success. A lot can happen in two weeks around here.” She finished in the best authoritative voice she could.
“In my opinion, the roundup serves that purpose as well. Have you even been on a roundup?” He asked, beginning to tire of the conversation but intrigued that she would continue to stand up to him.
“No, but how much can he learn, playing cowboy in the mountains. Not much call for herding cattle in today’s world.” She finished, triumphantly, her chest heaving with anger.
He turned and strode across the room, to look out the window. The sight of her breasts rising and falling with each breath was more than he could take. He’d found her words fading as he thought about taking one of them into his mouth.
It had been even more enticing that she was covered completely, the last button fastened at her throat. He could only imagine what color lace he might find under that black silk shirt she wore. Refocusing his thoughts, he turned to her ready to let her have it, when she got up from the desk and came out from behind it.
She was wearing a pencil skirt that hid none of her ample curves, it was all he could do not to run from the room, when a lightning bolt of desire shot through him and straight to his crotch. Instead he turned that desire into anger, stopping her in her tracks.
“It seems to me that you’re preaching about something you know nothing about. I dare you to come with us, see what goes on while we’re playing cowboy.” He said, with a sneer.
“As much as I’d like to, in case you’ve forgotten, I’ve got a classroom full of students whose parents expect them to learn something during those two weeks.” She said, stomping across the room and staring him down.
“Fine then, bring the whole class, they could stand to learn something too, I’m sure.”
“You’ve got to be kidding. Take the whole class on your roundup? That doesn’t even make any sense. Are you crazy?” She said, stepping back a step, suddenly realizing how far things had gone.
“Don’t think you can handle it? Playing cowboy too hard for you? Or are you afraid you might learn something. I promise you the kids will.” He said, closing the space between them with a step forward.
“Once again, I wonder what world you live in. Not very many parents would agree to this, and I doubt the principal would be on board either, it would be expensive.” She said, stepping back again.
“You haven’t been at this school very long, I think you might be surprised what parents might do given the opportunity. The principal is no problem, one word from me and it’s a done deal. I challenge you, Ms. Burke, to put your money where your mouth is.” He said, closing the distance once again, this time coming a little closer than before.
“Do you have any idea how much work it would be to put something like this together? It can’t be done in two weeks.” She said, wanting to step back but realizing that there was a desk at her back. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, stirring feelings she’d long ago put into hibernation.
“Let me know if you need help and I’ll have my brother send you someone who can run a computer and answer the phone. Any more excuses, Ms. Burke? You have my contact information.” He said, stepping back a few feet, then letting his gaze slide from her mouth to her feet, taking in each and every bit of her.
She suddenly felt as if he’d just undressed all size 12 of her, what he saw she had no idea, his eyes gave nothing away. But her body responded to his gaze, her nipples hardening under her lace bra, shivers of desire flashing through her body.
Just managing to find her voice, she said. “I’ll do my best, but I don’t have much hope.”
He just looked at her for a second, then said. “We’ll, see.” Then turned and walked out of the room.
