He reached for her, bunching a handful of her wild mane at her nape in his fist as he pulled her to him. Her brown eyes fired with a heat he hadn’t seen for a long time—even longer, felt.

Her lips parted. He dropped his mouth over hers, felt the soft remnants of a smile disappear as he kissed her—and she kissed him back.

He encircled her with his arms, holding her as the kiss ended. Slowly, he drew back to look into her eyes. Her gaze was as dark as the night. It stirred a fire in him, sparking a yearning that had lain dormant far too long.

If only it had been with some other woman...any other woman.

He let go of her and started to open his mouth to speak.

“If you say you’re sorry for kissing me so help me I’ll slug you,” Dulcie said, narrowing her eyes at him.

He laughed because that’s exactly what he’d been about to do. He brushed a lock of her hair back from her cheek with his thumb. “What will you do now?”

“Go to bed.”

“No, I mean—”

“I know what you mean.” She looked up toward the heavens. “I never make decisions at night, especially after a big steak and—” she lowered her gaze to him “—an amazing kiss. Can’t trust your judgment at times like that.”

He smiled. “You’re a smart woman.”

“Aren’t I, though? Good night, Russ. Sweet dreams.” She turned and went inside.

He stood smiling after her, then walked to his truck. It wasn’t until he was almost to the ranch that he realized he hadn’t made an offer on her land. He hadn’t even broached the subject.

But then it wasn’t good to make a decision after a big steak and an amazing kiss, now, was it?

When Jolene started toward school the next morning, she noticed a pickup parked out front and feared there was a problem with one of her students.

The schoolhouse door was propped open. As she approached it, she wondered who in the community had a key besides her.

Titus Cavanaugh was sitting behind her desk, leaning back, eyes closed. For a moment she thought he was asleep.

Titus, a large, white-haired man with a powerful voice and a strong handshake, was pretty much in charge of everything in Old Town Whitehorse.

He opened his eyes as she approached and she saw that he hadn’t been sleeping. “Hello.” He smiled broadly. “I just came by before class to see how you were doing.”

“Fine, I think,” she said, sliding into one of her students’ chairs.

“Good.” He crossed his arms and leaned over her desk to look at her. “No trouble with that Carpenter boy?”

She shook her head. “Should I be having trouble with him?”

Titus laughed. “The last teacher found him...temperamental.”