He wasn't at all surprised. 'Do you like children?'
'I don't know. I've never been around any.'
'Then how would you know if they liked you or not?'
'No one else does.'
He let out a sigh. 'Can you help out around the ranch?'
'Doing what?'
'I don't know. I guess you wouldn't be any good roping steers or breaking in horses. You're too soft.'
'I am?' She tried to turn around to look at him.
He tightened his hold around her waist so she couldn't move.
'What about washing the dishes, or cooking, or sewing?'
'Sewing! I can do that.'
'There you are.'
'But it's too late. I've been thrown out, remember?'
'If you promise to try to get along, I'll talk to everyone. I'll make them hold off for a couple of days and then take a vote again. You can't be sassy, Eleanor. If you're nice to be around, they'll forget about tossing you out.'
'Why are you being so nice to me now?'
'Because you're about the prettiest and meanest and sweetest woman I've ever known.'
'No one can be mean and sweet at the same time.'
He shrugged.
'Did you vote against me, Cole?' she asked.
'What I did in the past is forgotten.'
'Does that rule apply to me?'
'Sure it does. We'll have a fresh beginning.'
She turned around to thank him for his advice. She looked into his eyes and promptly forgot what she was going to say.
He turned his attention to her mouth. He couldn't make himself stop staring at her. He was thankful the horse knew the way home because Cole was too preoccupied to guide him.
He knew what was going to happen before she did.
'Sorry,' he muttered in advance of the liberty he was going to take.
Whatever had come over him? And why was he apologizing? She saw the warmth and tenderness in his eyes and was quite astonished. She hadn't ever noticed any man looking at her the way Cole was looking at her now. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought he was going to kiss her.
And then he did. His mouth settled on top of hers and took absolute possession. His lips were soft and warm against hers. He wooed her with his gentle touch. She wasn't certain if she was supposed to kiss him back or not. He was the first man to ever kiss her, and her inexperience made her shy and unsure.
All she knew was she didn't want him to stop, and when he started to pull away, she leaned into him and put her arms around his neck. Cole growled low in his throat, tightened his hold on her, and kissed her again.
He stopped long enough to tell her to open her mouth. She didn't ask him why. She let him show her. Her heart felt as if it were going to leap out of her chest so frantically was it pounding. His tongue rubbed against hers in an erotic mating game she thoroughly enjoyed.
She was a quick learner. Because of her inexperience, she didn't have any reservations or inhibitions. Her own curiosity made her bolder. She imitated his every move, wanting only to please him as much as he was pleasing her.
They were both shaken when Cole pulled away. He had enough sense to know when to stop. Eleanor didn't. At least he didn't believe she did. She wouldn't have tried to pull him back to her if she had any sense at all.
He made her turn around. Then he quickened the pace, for he was suddenly in a hurry to get home… and away from her.
'Did you like kissing me?'
'Now, why do women always want to talk about stuff like that?'
She shrugged. She wasn't upset by his surly tone of voice. 'I don't know why. We just do. You're the first man to ever kiss me. Naturally, I was curious to find out if you liked it.'
He lost his gruff edge immediately. 'You've never been kissed before?'
She heard the smile in his voice. 'I didn't tell you just to amuse you.'
'I'm not laughing at you. You did a real nice job kissing me back.'
'Thank you. Why did you stop?'
'Oh, for God's sake. Do we really have to discuss the reasons now?'
She bumped his chin when she nodded. He sighed.
'Don't tempt a grizzly unless you're willing to get eaten up.'
She wasn't completely ignorant. She'd heard stories about what went on in the marriage bed. Quite a lot of what she'd heard sounded possible to her. Some sounded impossible. Still, she'd learned enough to figure out what Cole had just said to her.
He hadn't wanted to stop.
Eleanor smiled all the way home.
'There's Adam and Harrison in the corral together with, that ugly horse.'
'Adam's going to try to ride MacHugh,' Cole said. 'Say hello to them, Eleanor.'
Adam turned when she called out to him. He returned her greeting with a smile.
'It looks like your plan might be working. Eleanor sounded almost happy,' Adam said, turning back to Harrison.
Harrison nodded, arrogantly pleased with himself. As long as Eleanor kept behaving herself, life would be pleasant for the family. Of course, Mary Rose would kill him if she ever found out what he had done. She'd think he was a heartless bastard.
Hell, what did it matter what she thought? She was going to end up despising him as soon as she found out his intent.
Roping steers sounded like a good way to keep his mind occupied, Harrison had decided. If he was too busy to think, he wouldn't have time to worry. He was suddenly anxious to get going. He wanted hard, back-breaking work. What he got was a lesson in humility. And a hell of a lot of pain. By the time he sat down at the supper table, every muscle in his body ached. He felt as if he'd been the one to be roped and dragged out of the mud. His left hand was on fire.
Mary Rose was full of sympathy. As soon as they'd said grace, she changed places with Eleanor so she could sit closer to him. It made her task of cutting up his meat much easier.
'Did the salve help?' Adam inquired from the opposite end of the table.
'Yes, thank you.'
'Why did you take your gloves off?' Douglas asked. Travis speculated a guess before Harrison could answer. 'Maybe he had an itch.'
Adam turned to Cole. He noticed his smile and shook his head at him. 'You were supposed to be looking out for him,' he remarked. 'It wasn't my fault. Anyone with half a brain would have enough sense to let go of the rope.'
Adam visibly winced over the picture he was getting in his mind. His curiosity was every bit as morose as that of a man passing by a burning building who is compelled to stop and watch. 'Were you dragged far?'
Far enough, Harrison thought to himself. 'It doesn't matter,' he said. 'Cole's right. It wasn't his fault. I thought I knew what I was doing. I didn't. I learned a valuable lesson today.'
Mary Rose was waving his fork back and forth in front of his face. Harrison lost his patience. He snatched the utensil out of her hand and told her to stop pestering him.
His irritation didn't faze her. 'You haven't taken a single bite,' she said.
'I'm not an invalid. I can feed myself.'
'Quit worrying about him,' Douglas said. 'I'll bet that rope burn hurts too much to even think about eating. You're lucky it was just your left hand.'
'Tell us what you learned,' Adam suggested. 'To keep his gloves on,' Travis answered with a grin. 'To let go
