Page 55 of Taylor’s Warrior

“You want to tell me what you were smiling about just now?” he asked.

“Smiling? Who’s smiling?”

“Don’t play the wide-eyed innocent with me, Ms. Markham,” he warned with mock sternness.

“How can you tell? The wide-eyed thing, I mean. I’m wearing shades,” she pointed out.

“I can hear it in your voice. So, what were you smiling about?”

Taylor pressed her lips together. She had the ideal comeback all lined up. Of course, it would massage his ego, but as consequences went, she could live with it.

“To tell you the truth, I was congratulating myself. Why, you ask? Because I’m the lucky woman who gets to jump your bones whenever I want, that’s why.”

A second or two of silence followed her declaration, then he burst into deep, rumbling laughter. “Always happy to serve, ma’am.”

And he did. Very, very well.

As they left the main house behind, Taylor started to relax a little. They were safe on the ranch; she was with the man she loved… what more could she ask for?

The creek was one of Charity’s favorite locations on the ranch, but she didn’t mind sharing it with Taylor and Rhys. When Rhys brought the pickup to a halt under the trees at the top of the slope down to the water sparkling in the sunshine, Taylor took a few moments to take in the lush, green view. She sighed again, but this time, it was a sigh of contentment.

“You sound better already,” Rhys observed. “Why don’t you go down and find us a nice spot?”

“To do what?”

He shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Watch the world go by?”

“Okay. I think I know somewhere, over in that direction.” She pointed to the left. “While I’m doing that, what are you going to do?”

“You’ll see. Trust me.”

She had no problem doing that.

The heat was like a furnace as she crossed the short patch of open ground to the stand of trees providing welcome shade by the river. For a moment, she wondered if she should have left a trail of breadcrumbs for Rhys to follow, but thought better of it. He was a trained special forces operator, so he could probably track her anywhere.

She was watching the water tumble over the rocky bed when she heard Rhys behind her. She turned, to see him carrying a large cooler and a blanket. “What’s all this?”

“Lunch. Good choice, by the way.”

He set the cooler down a few feet away from her, then shook out the plaid blanket before laying it out beneath the trees.

“You planned all this? What if I’d said no?” She wouldn’t have but she was curious about his fallback plan.

“I’d have charmed you into agreeing. No question.” He was almost smug about it.

Taylor folded her arms. “You seem very certain.”

“That’s because I am. Now, are you going to argue, or are you going to join me on the blanket and see what Charity’s packed for us?”

“Charity did this?”

He nodded. “I happened to mention what I was planning and she volunteered to help. And when I say help, I mean…”

“You mean she took over.” Taylor chuckled. She knew her friend too well.

“You could say that,” he agreed wryly.

Rhys wouldn’t let her help as he set about unpacking their picnic—box after box of sheer deliciousness, along with a selection of soft drinks. The food was as delectable as it looked, and afterwards, Taylor flopped onto her back and groaned in satisfaction. “That was amazing. And just what I needed. Thank you.”