West Texas Nights

by Sherryl Woods

  “Thought you’d want to know.” Harlan Patrick waited expectantly.

  “And now I do,” Slade said tersely.

  Harlan Patrick chuckled. “You are so pitiful. You know you want to ask why she’s coming back so fast.”

  Because he did, Slade continued to pretend indifference. “Do I?”

  “It’s because of Annie,” Harlan Patrick supplied.

  Slade’s gaze shot up. “Annie didn’t go calling her, did she?”

  “Nope, you can thank my wife for the phone call. She reported all the details about Annie’s accident, including the fact that your daughter is just fine. Val decided she needed to see for herself.”

  Slade wasn’t sure why that aggravated him, but it did. It was more proof that Val cared as deeply as a mother would about his little girl. Yet she refused to make the role official. That meant her rejection of his proposal had everything to do with him.

  But, dammit, if he didn’t measure up, why hadn’t she just said so? Why had she slept with him in the first place? It seemed to him the woman didn’t know her own mind. He could have worked up a pretty good head of steam on the subject, but the lady in question came wandering into the barn just then. His pulse started pounding as if he’d been wrestling a bull for an hour.

  “Speak of the devil,” Harlan Patrick said, sweeping Val off her feet and planting a kiss on her forehead. “Welcome home. We sure did miss you around here, didn’t we, Slade?”

  Slade grunted a noncommittal response that had Harlan Patrick grinning.

  “Guess I’ll go on up to the house and check on my wife, unless you two need me to stick around for some reason.” He regarded first Val and then Slade expectantly. “No? I didn’t think so. See you two. Play nice.”

  After he’d gone, Slade muttered, “He is a very annoying man.”

  “I think he’s wonderful,” Val said.

  “Something else we can fight about, I suppose.”

  Val sighed. “I didn’t come back to fight with you. How’s Annie?”

  “Annie is just fine. I’m surprised you’re not up at my place checking her for bumps and bruises.”

  She grinned. “I would have been, but she wasn’t around.” Her expression sobered. “How are you? You must have been terrified when the horse took off.”

  “I’ve had better moments,” Slade agreed. He sat back on his haunches and surveyed her as intently as if he hadn’t seen her in months, rather than days. “I see you’re back in your fancy shoes again. Must be the big-city influence. You never did seem real comfortable as a ranch girl.”

  “Are you deliberately trying to bait me?” she asked, sounding more curious than angry.

  “Why would I do that?”

  “I have to wonder the same thing. You didn’t, by any chance, miss me?”

  “Not me. Too much work to do.”

  “I missed you,” she said softly, her voice filled with what might have been regret.

  Slade fixed her with a steady gaze. “Is that so? You don’t seem especially happy about it.”

  “Why would I be? We’re on different wavelengths, that’s plain enough. You seem intent on keeping us that way.”

  His gaze shot up at the unreasonable accusation. “Not me. I wanted to marry you, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah, I remember. That proposal was one of the more memorable moments of my life,” she said with unmistakable sarcasm. She headed for the door. “I’d better go.”

  Slade stood up and took a step toward her. “Val?”

  She hesitated.

  “Don’t go.”

  She slowly turned back. “Why?”

  “Because I did miss you,” he confessed, unable to hide the bemusement he felt. It was ridiculous to miss a woman he considered to be little more than a thorn in his side. “And if I wouldn’t get a slap for it, I might show you just how much.”

  She seemed to be weighing that, but as his breath lodged in his throat, she took a step toward him, then halted. “Meet me halfway,” she taunted.

  Slade stepped closer and took her shoulders in his hands. She was so fragile he feared she’d break, but he knew deep down that she was tougher than he was by a long shot. Gazing into her eyes, he felt his senses spinning out of control. Desire slammed through him, unbidden. Mostly unwanted.

  Still, he couldn’t keep himself from lowering his head until his mouth found hers. Fire exploded through him at the first touch. To his amazement, she was trembling in his arms, and when he looked, there was a suspicious sheen to her eyes.

  “You aren’t about to cry, are you?” he asked worriedly.

  She blinked rapidly. Her chin jutted up. “Why would I cry over a silly kiss?”

  “That’s what I’d like to know.” He dismissed the fact that she’d just referred to the kiss as silly. Otherwise, he might have been insulted.

  “I’m not shedding any tears over you, Slade Sutton,” she said with a touch of defiance. “So you can keep that ego of yours in check.”

  This time when she whirled around to leave, Slade didn’t try to stop her. He just stood back and enjoyed the view of her sashaying along on those ridiculously high heels. He’d been telling himself for days now that he didn’t give a damn that she’d gone. Now he was forced to admit that he was very glad that she was back. For the last half hour or so, he’d finally felt whole again.

  * * *

  Blasted man, Val thought to herself as she wandered off in search of Annie, after stopping long enough to change back into boots and jeans. Telling her she belonged in the city, that she didn’t fit in on a ranch. Well, he could just go to blazes. She had as much right to be here as he did. She had a job here, just like he did. She had friends. She could even learn about cows, if she was of a mind to.

  “Val, you’re back!”

  Annie came racing toward her and all but threw herself into Val’s arms. Val stumbled back at the impact, but she couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face at the exuberant welcome. At least one member of the Sutton family knew her own heart and wasn’t afraid to let her emotions show.

  “Hold still and let me get a good look at you,” Val instructed.

  “I almost got thrown from a horse,” Annie said proudly. “Did you hear?”

  “I heard.”

  “Harlan Patrick saved me.”

  “I heard that, too.”

  “Daddy looked like he was going to faint. He was real scared.”

  “I’m sure he was.”

  “You know what, though?”

  “What?”

  “He said it was okay for me to ride again. He’s going to give me another lesson this afternoon. Want to watch?” she demanded excitedly. “I’m going to star in a rodeo just like Daddy one day.”

  Val winced. She doubted Slade was privy to that particular bit of career planning on his daughter’s part. “Have you mentioned that to your father yet?”

  “Not exactly. I figured I’d better get really good before I tell him. Otherwise, he’ll just say no.”

  “A few weeks ago you wanted to be an Olympic diver. What happened to that?”

  “I’m still diving,” Annie said, clearly perplexed. “Why can’t I do both?”

  Val laughed. “I suppose you can, if that’s what you want. Of course, you’ve only been on a horse once. What makes you think you’ll really like being in the rodeo?”

  “Because Daddy did,” she said simply.

  “You know, kiddo, you don’t have to do everything your dad did.”

  “But I want to,” Annie protested.

  “Because you really enjoy it, or because you think it will make him love you more?”

  She could see from the look on Annie’s face that she hadn’t expected anyone else to understand her motivations. Maybe she hadn’t even recognized them herself until Val put it into words.
<
br />   “I want him to see that I’m really like him, not like my mom,” Annie said.

  “The point is to be Annie,” Val said. “That’s what he’ll love you for. Not for trying to be someone else.”

  Annie didn’t seem convinced by the logic. “Will you come watch me ride or not?”

  “I’ll come,” Val said. That way there’d be two people standing by the corral railing with their hearts in their throats. “What time?”

  “Not till five, ’cause Daddy has to finish work first.” She bounced up and down excitedly. “That means there’s time for us to go into town and have pizza, if you want to. Zack and Josh could meet us, maybe.”

  “Why not?” Val agreed. “Check with your father first.”

  Annie ran off, then came back waving money. “He said okay, but he’s paying.”

  Since he wasn’t there to argue with, Val nodded. “Let’s go, then. Where are Zack and Josh?”

  “At the vet clinic with Dani. She’s paying them to help out.”

  “Then we’ll go by there.”

  “Or I could call them on your cell phone,” Annie suggested. “I’ve never used one before.”

  Val grinned at her enthusiasm. “It’s in my purse.”

  Annie dragged out the phone, followed Val’s instructions, then beamed when the call went through. “Hey, Zack, guess what? I’m on Val’s cell phone and we’re in the car.”

  Val couldn’t hear the boy’s response, but assumed from Annie’s expression that he was duly impressed. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if life could always be so uncomplicated? she thought to herself, listening to one side of the conversation. Instead, grown-ups carried all sorts of baggage that interfered with taking pleasure in the simple things.

  Take Slade, for instance. He would never in a million years admit that being dumped by his ex-wife had scarred him so deeply he was afraid to love again, but that was exactly what was going on. If asked, he’d probably just say Suzanne had been a jerk and that their split had been for the best. Val thought she knew better. He’d really loved her. Otherwise her leaving wouldn’t have bothered him half as much as it clearly did after all this time. It wouldn’t have left him incapable of admitting how he felt about another woman. The idea that he had been capable of loving so deeply once gave her hope for their own future.

  “Hey, Val,” Annie said, poking her sharply in the ribs.

  “What?” she murmured.

  “You just drove past the clinic.”

  Dragging her attention back to the present, Val realized she’d driven halfway through Los Piños without even noticing. Thinking about Slade had a way of distracting her. She glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the twins standing on the sidewalk in front of the clinic, looking baffled over being passed by.

  “Sorry,” she murmured, going around the next block and heading back.

  “You were thinking about Daddy, weren’t you?” Annie inquired, her expression smug.

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Because you looked all dreamy one minute and mad the next.”

  Out of the mouths of babes, Val thought wryly. The child had nailed it. That was exactly the way Slade made her feel.

  “You know what I think?” Annie asked.

  Val was afraid to ask. “What?” she inquired cautiously.

  “Since you said you wouldn’t adopt me, I think that you and Daddy should get married. Then you could be my mom. It would be great,” Annie enthused, obviously sold on the idea. “We get along great and you almost never yell at me. You said you’d like to have a little girl just like me, so why not me, right?”

  What was it with the Suttons? Val thought. They both seemed to think marriage was about instant motherhood. Fortunately, she was in front of the clinic and Josh and Zack were scrambling into the back seat.

  “We’ll discuss it another time,” she told Annie firmly.

  “But you do think it’s a good idea, don’t you?” the girl persisted.

  “Another time,” she repeated.

  “What are you talking about?” Zack demanded, his freckled face alight with curiosity.

  “And how come you drove right past us before?” Josh asked.

  “She was distracted,” Annie confided. “She was thinking about Daddy.”

  Heat flooded Val’s face. If she didn’t change the subject and fast, this story was going to spread through the Adams clan with the speed and intensity of a wildfire.

  “What do you guys want on your pizza?” she asked, figuring that most little boys would rather discuss food than mushy stuff any day. She hadn’t counted on the Adams penchant for matchmaking. Obviously it took hold at a very early age and even influenced those connected to the family only by marriage.

  “You’re in love with Slade?” Josh asked.

  “Uh-huh,” Annie answered for her.

  “Wow, that’s neat,” Zack said. “You’d be, like, Annie’s mom then, huh?”

  “Okay, enough,” Val said, pulling into a parking space in front of the Italian restaurant. “This is not open for discussion.” She scowled first at Annie, then at both boys. “Are we clear?”

  Zack looked knowingly at Josh. “She’s got it bad, all right. Remember when Dad used that exact same voice to tell us to keep our noses out of his relationship with Dani?”

  “That’s right,” Josh said. “He was always telling us to mind our own business. It was a good thing we didn’t, though. Otherwise, they might never had gotten married.” He looked at Annie. “Sometimes grown-ups are real slow about stuff like this. You gotta give ’em a push.”

  Val moaned. “There will be no pushing, no meddling, no discussion,” she said flatly. “Otherwise, there will be no pizza.”

  That finally shut them up. But she could tell from the grins they exchanged that as far as they were concerned, the matter was far from ended.

  Thirteen

  Val the cowgirl was back with a vengeance. Slade watched her heading toward the corral with a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach. Her snug jeans gave him almost as many ideas as those heels she’d abandoned in favor of more practical boots. Still feminine to the core, though, she’d knotted her Western-style shirt at the waist. He knew from past observation that if she lifted her arms just a little, the hem of that shirt would glide up and expose a tantalizing few inches of silky skin. His body tightened just anticipating it.

  “What bee have you got in your bonnet?” he asked when she neared.

  “We have to talk,” she declared, in the kind of no-nonsense tone that always had the contradictory effect of making him think of everything except the business that was clearly on her mind.

  “About?”

  “Annie.”

  Val began striding up and down in front of him at a dizzying pace. Slade reached out and snagged her arm in an attempt to get her attention.

  “Whoa now! Why is it that when I want to talk about what’s best for Annie, you act like I’m insulting you? Now you can’t wait to bring up the subject.”

  Val frowned. “There’s a problem. Do you want to hear about it or not?” She took up pacing again.

  “Experience tells me I’d be better off not knowing, but go ahead.”

  She paused briefly and declared, “Annie’s decided she wants me for a mother.”

  “No news there,” he said. “She wanted you to adopt her not so long ago.”

  “Are you going to listen or not?”

  He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “Okay. I’ll be quiet as a mouse. Just be sure to cue me when it’s my turn. Otherwise I might miss it.”

  She frowned at his attempt at humor. “Very funny. Now here’s what we’re up against. She has gotten Josh and Zack on her side. I wouldn’t be one bit surprised if they weren’t up at the main house plotting with Harlan.”

  That was actually t
he best news Slade had had in weeks, but he could see that Val wasn’t overjoyed about it. She’d gone back to her agitated pacing.

  “And the problem is?” he inquired, just to rile her. He knew perfectly well what the problem was. She was tempted and she really hated it that she was. She’d vowed to resist him till doomsday and she was scared spitless that she was going to cave in long before that.

  “She’s going to be disappointed,” she declared, chin jutted up.

  “Is she?”

  “You know she is,” Val said, scowling at him. “We’ve already decided it won’t work between us. You need to stop her before she has her hopes dashed.”

  Slade gave her a pitying look. “You know, for a woman who claims to know my daughter better than I do, you really don’t have a clue what she’s like, do you? She’s not going to be put off by anything I say.” He paused thoughtfully, then gave Val a pointed look. “She’s a lot like you in that respect. She’ll pester us both until she gets her way. I say we give in and save ourselves the trouble.”

  “She is not going to get her way,” Val said grimly. “We decided—”

  Slade cut her off. “You decided.”

  “Same difference.”

  “No, sweetheart, it is not the same difference. You have your agenda. I have mine. Much as I hate to disappoint you, I’m on Annie’s side on this one.”

  She stopped her pacing and stared at him. “You are?”

  “Oh, yes.”

  “But why? We agreed—”

  “No,” he corrected again. “You refused my proposal. We didn’t agree about anything. Of course, there’s no news there, either. We haven’t agreed about much since the day we met. Keeps things interesting.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sakes, we’re playing word games,” she snapped irritably. “The point is we’re not getting married. Annie shouldn’t get her hopes up.”

  Slade shrugged. “Why not? I have.”

  Her gaze narrowed. “You have?”

  “Sure. In fact, I’ve found the past few minutes very encouraging.”