She felt his hand dip to the small of her back, pressing her into the rhythm. Her body brushed against his.

"Space, Jamie."

"This is a slow dance, city woman. Out in the country, we do them close."

She gritted her teeth.

"Bodies have to touch." His hips met hers briefly as he rocked her slowly.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she whispered heatedly. The neighboring couple cast a strange look their way.

He only laughed, humming to the music in her ear. When Alex felt his lips brush her earlobe, she involuntarily shivered. She knew he felt it, because he made a little "ummm" sound in the back of his throat.

Alex contemplated stomping on his toe. "Your little bleach blonde would be better suited to such beer-induced advances."

"You jealous?"

"No!" she shot back. "Just sick to my stomach."

He dipped his palm between them and lightly touched upon her taut belly. "Poor Alex."

This time, she did stomp on his foot. Unfortunately, she had switched her heels for flats before leaving the ranch. He only grimaced and tightened the circle of his arms.

"Quit being such a prude and dance with me. Try being neighborly. I know it's real hard for you, Lovey, but try."

"Fine." Impulsively, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her body firmly against him. Tit for tat.

Jamie stilled the exploration of her body with his hands, and groaned aloud. Well, he'd goaded her purposely, ruthlessly almost, and she was going to pay him back.

She nibbled on his neck with warm lips.

"Quit that," he growled in her ear.

"Oh, poor baby," she crooned low in her throat. When she allowed her hips to brush his groin, she felt him tighten his fingers on her back, and the tips twitch against the small of it, as if preparing to drop lower and explore her bottom.

She shimmied against him, and dropped lower. Then she turned around and had the gall to bump her ass against him. He grabbed her by the hips and rocked with her.

"Quit being such a prude and dance, Jamie," she goaded. "Try being neighborly."

"Yeah sure, but why don't you look around for a second."

Alex glanced over her shoulder and saw their dirty dancing was gaining them a lot of curious looks now. Damn it to hell. She closed her eyes briefly, already flushed from the beer and his closeness, and gathered her wits.

She attempted to push away from him again, but he held her hips firmly. "If you don't knock off your damned teasing, I'm going to kiss you in front of everyone. Hard, long, and with no room for argument. And believe me, it won't end there, Alex."

She glanced up at him uncertainly. The love song trailed away, and a thumping dance beat hopped up the pace.

Alex laughed nervously. "Saved by the bell."

Jamie took her elbow firmly and led her toward the booth, his mouth drawn in a frown.

Aaron watched their approach, and made a disgusted sound in his throat.

"What's up with them?" Ginny questioned.

"They're in love and don't even know it," he muttered, "They're too damned busy trying to get one up on each other all the time. It's truly sickening. They're complete opposites. All wrong."

Alex noticed that Ginny was perched on Mouse's lap this time around, and a wide grin was evident on the big man's face. Aaron appeared to be sulking.

"This guy is like a big teddy bear," Ginny announced, giving Mouse a hard hug and a kiss on the cheek. At Alex's raised eyebrows, she added, "Don't worry, I'm not hitting on him. He's my cousin."

Mouse stood up, lifting Ginny with him like she was made of feathers.

"Hey, Hee-Man!"

He set her down gently, chuckling. "I haf dish-es, Gin-nee." With a wave, he disappeared into the kitchen.

"Jack-of-all-trades," Jamie responded to Alex's surprised look. "Actually, his Pop owns half the restaurant. Mouse gets saddled with a lot of the dirty work."

"Poor guy."

"His Pop's not the ideal fatherly sort," Aaron added with a frown. "Treats him like he's completely worthless."

Ginny laid her long, red fingernails on Aaron's shoulder. "All right, young buck, time to show me your moves." She gestured to the dance floor. "I gotta burn off some calories."

"I thought you'd never ask." They moved away into the dancing crowd, leaving Jamie and Alex to stare uncertainly at one another.

"Have a seat," he murmured with a grin, and Alex slid into the booth. Jamie sat opposite from her, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Mentally, she still struggled to shake off the lingering feeling of the intimate slow dance, and the impact that it had on her. Her own teasing had left an impact on her senses with which she hadn't even begun to contend.

"So what have you been up to lately, James?" She managed shakily to break the awkwardness. Alex found two mugs, and poured them each a beer.

"Well." He blew out a breath in an attempt to switch gears.

"It was a hectic week, to say the least. I'm involved in a fairly big project that's really gaining impetus at the moment, plus the farm work is no easy ride during the summer months."

"What kind of project?"

"It involves something called a biomass plantation... a reproduction of hardwoods and all that." He took a swig of lager and glanced out over the dance floor, watching his brother mince around beneath Ginny's wild undulations. He caught the young blonde glaring at him from an alcove near the bar, and quickly looked away.

"Go on," Alex prodded.

"You're really interested?"

He looked pointedly into her hazel eyes, and she grinned with amusement. "I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't," she chastised.

Jamie chuckled. "I received a grant from Cornell University last year to begin work on the re-vegetation of disturbed lands. I found the perfect area on an old, reclaimed strip mine from years ago. The soils had been damaged by acid and erosion to some degree, so the study is really dealing with remediation. I'm working with genetics and breeding issues best suited for disturbed areas."

She took a sip and looked at him over the rim of her mug. He ran a hand through his sandy hair, and his blue eyes were suddenly thoughtful. The project was on his mind. Forester, farmer, and scientist, she wondered. And he still found time for his friends and family. Why was this man not married?

"This all sounds fairly complicated," she observed, bringing him out of his reverie.

"Terribly so," he agreed with a laugh. "It's difficult to keep track and analyze all the different parameters - stream flow fluctuation, erosion, plant diversity, vegetative growth measurements, and the impact of animal life. I could really use about twenty research assistants."

She shook her head. "Sounds like it. Plus, you have all your normal forestry duties, right?"

"Right."

"How is it that the state allows for your time in this project?"

"Oh, the state and Cornell are working together, believe it or not. It's tricky - Cornell granting money for studies in Pennsylvania, which was difficult for me to finagle. But I had some connections, and the state snapped up the opportunity."

"Did you attend Cornell?"

He nodded. "For my graduate degree. Forest Biology. I got my undergrad at Penn State."

Alex stared at him. There was always something new and unusual to learn about Jamie Sheldon. "And yet you're here... Nowhere, PA."

"Wouldn't be anywhere else."

She laughed. "It does have a certain charm, I have to admit."

He sat back, heaving an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Finally, the lady confesses."

Smiling, Alex glanced at her watch. "Wow. It's one o'-clock."

"Getting late. So what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Oh, work of course. What's new, huh? But I've got to give Bold Venture some exercise. He's ready to explode," she explained.

"Well, I have to check a few stream flow measurements tomorrow afternoon. I'd actually prefer to ride in, if you'd like to go along."

Alex hesitated, and thought briefly of refusing his offer, due to the long list of cons that went off like bells in her brain. It just didn't work.

"I think I would," she grinned slowly, "and I know Bold would love it."

"Great." Jamie stood, stretching. "I'm actually pretty beat. I have to deliver a load of hay first thing in the morning. If I don't get some sleep, I'll be taking cat naps on horseback tomorrow afternoon. Head lolling, drooling, and all. I'd be boring company."

Alex looked at the lean, muscled body standing in front of her, and remembered his heat, and his hardness, when she so brazenly pressed herself into him. "I don't think so," she mumbled without thinking. He gave her a funny look.

"How are your mares doing?"

"What?"

"Your broodmares?"

"Oh. Great, actually. Echo is definitely pregnant; the vet confirmed it this morning. I won't know about the other for a couple days."

He was staring at her intently, and she felt heat rising to her cheeks. They both were remembering what had happened after the breeding.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then." He broke the contact of their eyes, and headed for the dance floor to disentangle his brother from Ginny's lusty grip.

Alex looked down into her mug. Bubbles gone, the brew looked flat and tasteless. Tomorrow. Her stomach churned instinctively, knowing she was headed for trouble with James Sheldon, yet again.

But for some reason, she was beginning to crave that certain kind of trouble.

The silence in the truck's interior was thick and oppressing. Jamie rolled down his window an additional inch, but the extra lift of night air was not much relief. He sighed. "It's real humid out there. Summer's got her hooks into the mountains now."

Aaron issued a noncommittal grunt and stared out of his window.

"All right. Out with it little brother."

"Out with what, the same old same old? Like...my big brother's a tool?"

"And I'm sure you'll hold that opinion until your dying day. No use trying to change it." Jamie struggled to keep his voice casual, but the undercurrent of irritation was unmistakable.

"Yeah, well."

Jamie thumped his hands on the steering wheel in exasperation. The truck swerved slightly, and then returned to his command. "Look, your concern for my welfare is touching. But as I've always said, mind your own goddamn affairs. I know they're plenty in number."

Aaron laughed shortly. "Yeah, I had a hell of a role model."

Feeling the tightness increase along his jaw line, Jamie gripped the steering wheel, and struggled to keep driving in something resembling a straight line. He held himself silent, and waited. Aaron would never drop it, he thought spitefully, and I'll be damned if I'll feed him and opening.

The minutes drifted by and they neared the farm. Aaron shifted in his seat. "You know, I kind of like Alex. She's got city ways, but my bug's really not with her."

"Of course not, it's with me," Jamie added dryly.

"You're damn right! Did you take my advice about Tracey? No."

"Actually, I did, little brother."

Aaron stared. "Repeat that."

"We... had it out, I guess you'd say. Earlier this evening, as a matter of fact." A giant luna moth hit the windshield and fluttered there before being sucked away into the smothering forest around them. It was beautiful, a transient glow as it whirled away swiftly into the blackness.

"So what happened?" Aaron prodded.

"Tracy reacted how Tracey always reacts. Scream, curse, cry... I got the full gambit."

Aaron looked away guiltily. "Sorry, Jamie. I know how that is."

"Yeah." He managed a laugh. "Anyway, she took off, to her old man's she said. Until Monday morning. She has an afternoon shift then."

Aaron sighed, but said nothing more as they pulled into the driveway. Jamie knew what he was thinking. Tracey's father would provide no support, no shoulder to cry on. A maintenance man at the cement factory in Roulette, he was a habitual after-work drinker. When scotch flowed freely through his veins, he tended to use his fists first and his head later.

Oh, he always apologized, even cried at times for forgiveness, but the end result was always the same. It happened again and again. It tore Jamie's heart out. And obviously, Aaron's too.