by Debra Webb
Marriage was just like family—overrated.
More greetings were exchanged before Court made his way to the man he needed to see. Daniel Austin, head of operations, stood at the far end of the porch looking out over the ranch. The place was shaping up rather well, Court had to admit. And Austin was the driving force behind the evolution. A former dude ranch, the Lonesome Pony had every amenity one could wish for in the wilds of horse country, including a fancy pool and private cabins. Austin had done a good job pulling this setup together in a short period of time.
Court wondered, though, as he came up next to Austin, if this would ever be enough for the man. Court had the distinct impression that something was missing. Maybe Austin was another victim of the wedding bell blues. The man was obviously still in love with his ex-wife, and missed his son immensely.
Just another reason, Court mused, to steer clear of the troubling entanglement of marriage. He didn’t want to know the kind of regrets and pain being separated from a child could bring.
Austin met Court’s gaze then, and studied him a moment before he spoke. “What went wrong?”
Before Court even opened his mouth, the man knew. He was smart, and too wise for Court’s comfort. Of course, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that Court wouldn’t have bothered stopping by so early in the operation unless he felt it absolutely necessary. “I ran into an old friend,” he admitted quietly.
“I thought you didn’t have any connections here.”
Court heard the concern in the older man’s voice. Both knew just how risky this business could be. There was no room for guesswork.
“Just one.” One he had banished from his mind two years ago, Court didn’t add. One he should have forgotten, but hadn’t really—at least not on the level he needed to. And he’d definitely tried.
“Give me his name and I’ll have Kyle or Frank take care of it.”
“Her name is Sabrina Korbett.” Court let go a weary breath. “And I can take care of her myself. She won’t give me up.”
Surprise evident in his expression, Austin asked, “You’re sure about that?”
Court nodded. “She’s the only one who knows. She wouldn’t purposely put me in danger, but…” He took a moment to consider his words. “But she might not understand, so I’ll have to talk to her.” He shrugged. “Make up some kind of acceptable excuse.”
Austin rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “She’s that kind of connection, huh?”
“She used to be.” Court pretended to survey the landscape he’d just as soon not lay eyes on again. Austin was studying him, attempting to read his thoughts. Measuring the risk.
“I’ve met Sabrina, even bought some mares from her,” Austin told him. “She seems nice enough.” He leveled his too-knowing gaze on Court’s. “But watch your step,” he advised sagely. “A woman can be your best friend, or your worst enemy. Even one as sweet as Sabrina.”
Court suffered his own little jolt of surprise at the knowledge that Austin knew Sabrina. Just another possibility he hadn’t considered. It seemed his old life was determined to get all twisted up with his new one. And he didn’t want that to happen.
“I just came by to let you know that I’m in,” Court said abruptly, effectively changing the subject. “They’re going to make it official at the rally tonight.”
“Let’s take a walk,” Austin suggested.
Court followed Austin across the porch and to the steps. Before he could get away completely, C.J.’s English-accented voice stopped him. “Whitney and Kyle are laying odds on who will walk down the aisle next. What’s your opinion, Agent Brody?” she asked.
Deliberately, Court turned back to face both the question and the lady. Her cheeks darkened as if she’d only just realized how forward her question sounded. “I wouldn’t dream of speculating, Mrs. Connolly, but I can guarantee you it won’t be me.”
A knowing smile tilted the lovely scientist’s mouth. “Never say never, Agent Brody,” she warned.
“When my daddy gets married, I’m gonna be the f’ower girl,” Molly, Kyle Foster’s daughter, announced in her most enthusiastic three-year-old voice, from her position in her daddy’s lap. Kyle only shook his head in dismay.
Court gifted the little girl with a smile and quickly turned away from the other speculative gazes. He didn’t care what they laid odds on as long as they left him out of it. Kyle, the second agent assigned to support Montana Confidential, should have learned his lesson as well. Court had heard the rumors about how the guy’s ex-wife had dumped him and the kid. Court shook his head as he followed Austin away from the house. Walking away from a defunct marriage was one thing, but leaving a kid was unspeakable.
Just another reason that “never” was exactly when Court planned to marry. The image of Sabrina suddenly loomed large in his mind, but he pushed it away. Whatever they had once shared, it was long gone now. There was nothing between them anymore but his guilt, her hurt and a lingering spark of leftover physical attraction.
“The vet stopped by yesterday,” Austin said, drawing Court’s wayward attention back to him. “That prizewinning mare we were lucky enough to purchase was successfully bred with the new stallion.”
Court glanced at the pasture beyond the corral where the stallion grazed. The animal was a beauty. A dark bay with a white blanket and spots. Court propped one arm on the top rail of the corral and surveyed the other mares scattered about beyond the stallion. Mostly quarter horses and Appaloosas, he noted, remembering that the Double K, Sabrina’s ranch, had specialized in Appys. The thought was accompanied by another image of Sabrina and those long, tanned legs. His mouth went dust dry.
Blinking away the image, he snagged his gaze on the one horse that didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the herd. An old gelding—Silver, if he remembered right. A mottled white horse, the color of stonework. The bony old fella wasn’t good for much other than keeping the McMurtys’ granddaughter happy. The girl did love that old horse.
Court snapped his thoughts back to the assignment. Horses weren’t his business anymore. Neither were ranches. Hell, he didn’t even like being here.
“Is there something else you wanted to say, Austin?” Court knew the man hadn’t dragged him away from the others to brag about his breeding expertise. Court already knew more than he wanted to about what people did for a living in Montana. He could teach Austin a thing or two. Including how that fancy helicopter Austin had insisted the Confidential crew needed for rapid deployment could be used for herding horses.
Austin fixed his steady brown gaze on Court’s. “I know you think you’re not one of us, Court, but you are.” He held up his hand when Court would have protested the “teamwork” talk again. “Right now you’re assigned to Confidential, and I expect you to remember that.”
“I don’t think there’s much chance I could forget it,” Court returned curtly.
“You’re a good man, Court, a top-notch agent, but don’t think that will keep me from jerking your butt off this assignment if you ignore my orders.”
Court gritted his teeth against the instant response that wanted to form on his lips. He knew his job…and he knew the chain of command. Austin didn’t need to remind him of either.
“Don’t even think about leaving me out of the loop. We’re a team. Frank and Kyle are part of that team as well.”
“You’ll know everything I know,” Court assured him patiently. “I’ll keep you fully informed.”
“Good.” Austin’s gaze returned to the stallion. “Since I know you’re a man of your word, I won’t worry about that anymore.”
“I’ll check in with you as soon as I have anything to pass along.”
Court turned and strode toward his truck. He would keep Austin informed…that was his job. But if Austin thought Court was going to follow anybody else’s time clock, he had another thought coming.
“Court.”
Reluctantly, Court stopped and turned back to the man in charge. “Yeah?”
; “Don’t forget what I said about women. You can’t ever be sure.”
Court nodded thoughtfully, then continued toward his destination. Hell, he supposed his next stop should be the Double K. He had to set Sabrina straight right from the start. And he had every intention of finding out what she’d been doing at the militia compound.
Maybe that way she wouldn’t haunt his dreams again tonight. Hell, if he’d known that last night’s dream of seeing her again was going to be prophetic he’d have avoided today’s confrontation. But he hadn’t known, and today’s little tête-à-tête had proved one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt. He would have to be very, very careful where Sabrina was concerned.
COURT BRAKED TO A STOP in front of the Korbett house and shoved the gearshift into Park. The paint on the looming two-story house was blistered and peeling. A frown tugged at his mouth. He couldn’t remember ever seeing the place in this kind of shape. His father had been handy with a paintbrush and he’d spent a lifetime taking care of the Double K. Court blinked away the memories that immediately surfaced from his childhood here. The old man had been handy with a liquor bottle as well. It dawned on Court then that the house probably hadn’t been painted since his father died fourteen years ago. His frown deepened again as his gaze shifted to the barn, then the fenced pastures. The whole place was in pretty sad shape.
Where were the horses? He surveyed the empty pastures again. The place had a definite empty feel to it.
The driver’s side door groaned as he pushed it open. Court slid from behind the wheel and pushed the door shut amid the sound of another rusty grumble. Sabrina’s father had died about five years back, if memory served him right. But Sabrina had seemed fine when Court returned a couple of years ago for his mother’s funeral. But then she hadn’t done much talking about the ranch or her family. And that was the extent of what he knew regarding the Korbetts these days. Discounting the unexpected way his body still longed for hers.
But that wasn’t going to happen.
He and Sabrina had been down that road, and Court felt relatively certain she didn’t want to go that route again any more than he did. I want you to stay away from me. Her warning had been pretty clear, he decided when the memory pricked his ego.
The house where he’d lived the first nineteen years of his life abruptly caught his eye. As if marching the last mile to his execution, Court headed in that direction. The place was set against the foot of the mountain and nestled in the trees. The Korbetts had called it the springhouse, since a wide spring ran between it and the main house and barn. This time of year the flow of water wouldn’t be much more than a trickle. But he remembered vividly the rocks that lay beneath the water. Collecting them had been one of his favorite hobbies as a kid.
Amazingly, the old log-and-chink house had withstood the elements and time far better, it seemed, than the main house.
Court hesitated halfway to the barn. He supposed he should knock on Sabrina’s door and let her know he was here. Judging by yesterday’s reception, he was likely trespassing at the moment as far as she would be concerned. She wouldn’t welcome his presence. Not relishing what he was about to do, Court started toward the porch. He could count on her having questions. Sabrina Korbett had never been the type to let anything go easily—except him. She hadn’t once tried to talk him into staying. His sudden appearance now under what could only be called questionable circumstances would pique her natural curiosity.
But somehow he had to make sure she understood where he stood in spite of the fact that he couldn’t tell her a single thing.
SABRINA DROPPED the feed buckets near the supply room door and wiped the perspiration from her forehead with her sleeve. She dusted her hands on her faded jeans and sighed with satisfaction. It wasn’t much, but it was a start. Both the mares would foal soon. Then she would have four horses rather than two. She wished her father was still alive to give her some badly needed advice. No matter how many years passed, she still missed him…missed the way things used to be when she’d been a skinny kid with nothing to worry about except chasing Court Brody.
Sabrina shook the thought away. She would not think about him right now. She had too much on her plate already.
This spring had been the hardest. With the property taxes due and no money to live on, she had come dangerously close to losing the ranch, but Daniel Austin had saved her. He had bought her entire herd save for the two mares. He’d even purchased a small portion of her land to go along with the Lonesome Pony since the two properties bordered each other. Though Sabrina hated to start from scratch, and even worse, she hated to part with any of the land, it was the only way to save the ranch. Austin had paid her top dollar, too.
Sabrina smiled. If she were completely honest with herself, she would admit that he paid her more than the goods she sold him were worth. Either the man seemed to sense her desperation or he didn’t really know the depressed value of things. Now she had the taxes and insurance paid, and she had enough money in the bank to survive on for a little while. She’d even put back a little something toward college for Charlie. She wouldn’t touch that money for anything other than an outright medical emergency. If worse came to worst at this point, she would have to consider a mortgage, and that was assuming she could get approved for a loan. She had nothing left of value to sell.
Except the land, and she wouldn’t sell another square foot of the land her father had passed on to her and her brother Charlie.
They would make it.
Somehow.
Sabrina reached up to turn off the baby monitor just as her fifteen-month-old son let out a sleepy sigh. Emotion constricted her throat as her firm resolve not to think about Court crumbled. If he discovered her secret, what would he say? More important, what would he do? He wanted no part of life here. Hadn’t for years. Would he be determined to take his son from the only home he had ever known?
Fear slid through her veins. She moistened her lips and forced herself to breathe. She couldn’t let that happen. But all it would take was one look. Ryan looked so much like his father. Brown hair streaked with golden highlights. Same gray eyes. Her pulse reacted at the memory of Court’s kiss this morning. What in the world was he doing back here? Why would he come back after all this time? Her lips dipped into a frown. Hanging out with men like Raymond Green and Joshua Neely wasn’t Court’s style. He was smarter than that.
Two years ago when he’d come home for his mother’s funeral, Court had been an agent with the FBI. He’d told Sabrina everything about his new life that night, his enthusiasm had been impossible to contain. She swallowed tightly. The night Ryan had been conceived.
His presence at the militia compound just didn’t add up. Nor did Charlie’s, Sabrina ruminated. Somehow she had to get her brother away from those men. He was only fourteen, too young to understand the evil that men like Neely could do in the name of God and country.
If only her mother hadn’t deserted them three years ago. Sabrina shook her head sadly. Like Court, her mother had been only too happy to leave Montana and start a new life. Too bad she left her old one in an uproar, and Sabrina to raise the son she had no time or patience to deal with. It seemed everyone Sabrina loved was destined to leave her one way or the other. But she could count on Ryan. He loved her no matter what.
Heaving a beleaguered sigh, Sabrina snagged the monitor from its shelf, turned it off and strode out of the barn. She couldn’t change the past. She thought of Ryan, the only part of the past she didn’t want to change. But she could do her best to survive, and to create a good life for her son and her brother.
Sabrina stretched her neck and rolled her shoulders to loosen them up after her barn-cleaning frenzy as she headed back toward the house. She had needed a way to release the pent-up stress related to Court’s kiss. The house sparkled after the scrubbing she’d given the place, leaving her no option but to turn her attention to the barn. With Ryan asleep, leaving the house would have been impossible if not for the handy monitor. Thank God for
that invention. She couldn’t survive without the gadget. She had received it as a shower gift. At first she had been reluctant to use it, but that didn’t last long.
Anytime Ryan was asleep, she could do chores and still know that he was sleeping safely in his crib. The monitor was so sensitive she could hear even the slightest change in his breathing. If he woke up, she would know immediately. Her little cleaning venture was just what she had needed to work off some steam this afternoon.
Swiping back a wisp of hair that had escaped her ponytail, Sabrina smoothed a hand down the front of her dusty shirt. Still too flat-chested to worry with a bra, she wondered if Court found her in any way attractive. He’d kissed her. But that was probably nothing more than a spontaneous reaction to seeing her after all this time. She was too tall and too skinny. Court probably had a whole harem of voluptuous blondes back in D.C. She hadn’t been woman enough to keep him. Not even after she’d given him her innocence. Her enthusiasm had pushed him away. He’d wanted to get away for as long as she could remember. She shouldn’t have been surprised.
Her gaze suddenly lit on an unfamiliar truck parked next to her own. She squinted and tried to make out more details about the beat-up old jalopy. The thing looked worse than hers, and that was saying something. As she neared the house she heard several raps against her front door. Sabrina hastened her step, all but running around the corner of the house. She didn’t get many callers these days, and she didn’t want this one to inadvertently wake up her sleeping child. She still had more outside work to do.
Who would be dropping by this time of day, anyway? Most folks she knew were busy working until dusk. God, she hoped nothing had happened to Charlie.
A tall, broad-shouldered man, his back turned to her, stood at her front door.
“Can I help you?” she called hesitantly as she neared the porch. There was something familiar about his stance, she decided just as he turned around.
