“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said, standing back for her to precede him down the hall to the media room.
Once she and Jaron were seated on opposite ends of the big brown leather couch, he turned on the biggest television she’d ever seen and they settled back to watch five unlikely characters defend the galaxy from an evil warlord. Resting her head against the buttery-soft leather, Mariah thought about the bizarre turn her life had taken. Never in a million years would she have dreamed that what seemed to be the worst day of her life had worked out to be the best or that it would lead to her living with Jaron on his ranch.
Yawning, she felt her eyes growing heavy and did her best to focus on the television screen. The next thing she knew, Jaron was touching her arm.
“Mariah, it’s time to go upstairs to bed,” he said gently.
Blinking, she sat up. “But I’m watching the movie.”
The sound of his deep laughter enveloped her like a comfortable quilt and sent a warm feeling all through her. “Darlin’, the movie is over.”
She glanced at the TV to see the movie credits scrolling up the screen. “I must have been more tired than I thought.”
He nodded. “You fell asleep about fifteen minutes into the story.”
“Why didn’t you wake me?” she asked, rising to her feet.
“You were sleeping so peacefully, I figured you needed the rest.” He switched off the television and got up from the couch. “It’s no big deal. If you want to know how it ends we can watch the movie another time.”
“I’d like that. What I saw was entertaining,” she said, covering a yawn with her hand.
“I think it’s time we turn in for the night,” he said, placing his hand on the small of her back to guide her toward the door. “You’re exhausted and I have to be up early to ride the fence in the south pasture.”
“You don’t have your men do that?” she asked as they climbed the stairs.
“In winter, they have Sundays off after they get the morning chores finished,” he answered, stopping at the door to her room. “I’m going to check out what needs to be done and let them know so they can make the needed repairs before they move a herd of steers to that pasture in a couple of weeks.”
From what Bria had told her, any rancher worth his salt knew everything that was going on around his ranch and worked in conjunction with his hired hands to get things done and keep the operation running smoothly. “It sounds as though we’ll both be busy tomorrow. After I finish organizing my things, I plan on taking an inventory of the pantry and starting my shopping list.”
He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Since we both have a lot to do and I’m not in the mood for pizza two nights in a row, why don’t we plan on going out for supper tomorrow evening?”
“I’ll take you up on that offer,” she said, smiling. The more time they spent together in a relaxed setting, the better the chance of him letting down his guard and opening up to her.
As they stared at each other, her breath caught at the longing she detected in his steady gaze, and when he lifted his hand like he was going to cup her cheek, she thought he was going to kiss her. But as if he realized what he was about to do, he let his hand drop to his side and took a step back.
“Good night, Mariah. Sleep well.” His low, intimate tone sent a shiver of desire straight up her spine.
“Good night, Jaron.”
After entering her room, she closed the door and released the breath she had been holding. Just when she thought he was going to give in to the magnetic pull drawing them together, he’d stopped himself.
Mariah sighed heavily as she got a nightshirt from the dresser and headed into the bathroom to change. She had always been told that patience was a virtue. But whoever came up with that old saying had never dealt with Jaron Lambert. He was without a doubt the most frustrating, controlled individual she had ever met.
But that was about to change. She had seen a slip in his ironclad restraint the other night when he hadn’t been able to resist making love to her. And if it happened once, it could happen again.
With renewed determination, she stared into the mirror at the woman staring back at her. “It’s past time Mr. Lambert’s self-contained little world is shaken up. And you’re just the woman to do it.”
* * *
As he followed Mariah and the hostess through the restaurant to a table at the back of the room the following evening, Jaron looked around and hoped they didn’t run into one of his brothers and their wives. That was unlikely, since he’d chosen a roadhouse outside Waco instead of having supper at the Broken Spoke in Beaver Dam. But meeting up with his family would open a whole can of worms that he’d just as soon keep sealed for a while longer.