“Don’t bet on it. I haven’t been married or had a child with someone—both things that I am guessing lead to greater intimacy and satisfaction.”
Lainey didn’t want to admit how lacking her previous marriage had been in that regard. She paused, worrying her lower lip with her teeth and looked deep into his eyes, finding all the understanding—and respect—she ever could have wished for. “But I don’t mess around for sport,” she noted softly. “When I kiss someone it means something.”
Too late, she realized how insulting that sounded.
To her surprise, Brad didn’t seem to mind. Or even disagree.
He leaned toward her intimately, looking sexy as hell. Every bit the intimidating bachelor he had been on TV. “Maybe that’s the problem,” he said, grasping her by the shoulders. “Whenever I’ve kissed someone, prior to you, anyway, it’s never once meant anything close to what it should.”
The gentle warmth of his fingers penetrated her skin. “What are you trying to say?” she murmured, wishing she didn’t recall quite so vividly how passionately he’d kissed, or how tenderly he’d held her in his arms.
His gaze drifted over her as he favored her with a rakish smile. “It’s high time my kisses did mean something.” He took her all the way into his arms and tilted his head over hers. “It’s high time,” he told her, mouth lowering, “I felt something more than simple desire.”
He gave her an instant to pull away if that was what she wanted. When she went toward him instead, he murmured a soft sound of approval and took her mouth deliberately, kissing her deeply. She clung to him, kissing him back, savoring the scent and feel and taste of him. Sensations swirled through her. His hands moved down her spine, working their magic.
“It’s time I let myself feel what you and I were both meant to feel about each other,” he whispered, probing her mouth with evocative thrusts of his tongue.
The kiss turned sweeter, more tender. “Brad, I—we—really shouldn’t do…” Her will faltered.
“Do what?” he prompted lazily, kissing her again and again and again.
“This,” she said, kissing him back.
When he finally let her go, she was so dizzy she could barely stand. Her insides were humming.
Brad smiled as he stroked his hands through her hair, caressed her face. “I know we have to say good night,” he told her reluctantly. “I know Petey is sleeping inside and we have to set an example, but something is happening here, Lainey. Something good.”
As much as she wanted to, Lainey could not deny it.
“I NEED TO KNOW you’re making progress,” Sybil said, early the next morning.
Lainey was certainly trying. She wanted nothing more than to get this assignment behind her. She had been up half the night, researching Yvonne Rathbone and Brad McCabe and everything she could find that had been written about the Bachelor Bliss episodes starring them. The Internet was full of previously published articles about the couple. But no one knew even a smidgen of the truth about what had happened to break them up—except Lainey. And unfortunately, Brad had not yet consented to tell Lainey everything or let anyone else, even his family, in on the secret.
Lainey still hoped that would change.
The secrets were eating him alive.
In the meantime, she was between a rock and a hard place, trapped between a man who was quickly becoming very important to her, and the job she had been contracted to do.
Aware her boss was waiting, Lainey briefed Sybil on the telephone interview with the Hollywood producer who had hired Yvonne to guest-star in two prime-time dramas.
“She certainly hasn’t lost out on anything since Brad McCabe broke up with her on national TV.”
Sybil was right, Lainey thought. Brad had been the one who had done all the losing, who’d had his reputation trashed. The unfairness of it all bothered her immensely. “I tracked down the phone numbers of the other female contestants on the show. I’ve been talking to them one by one.”
“And?”
“Let’s just say Yvonne was not well liked by the others,” Lainey said.
“That could be shrugged off as jealousy, since Yvonne won more time alone with Brad and the chance to win his heart.”
Which Yvonne hadn’t. “Somehow, I think it’s more than that.”
“But no one’s told you why Brad McCabe pulled the Jekyll and Hyde act,” Sybil said.
“No, so far everyone has been very diplomatic,” Lainey admitted reluctantly. “But I watched the DVDs of the show on my laptop again last night.” After Brad had left and she was sure Petey was sound asleep. “And I zeroed in on the three most emotional women of the group. I’m hoping one of them will tell me something everyone else has been too discreet to say.”
“You know you’ve got less than a week left to pull this off.”
Lainey did not need reminding.
“I’m counting on you, Lainey,” she persisted, sounding every bit as determined to succeed as she had been in college. “My winning the top slot at Personalities depends on my being able to pull this off. A lot is riding on my all-Texas issue,” Sybil finished emphatically.
Including, Lainey thought, her own future.
“CAN I, MOM? PLEASE?” Petey asked over breakfast that morning. “It’s my big chance to be a real cowboy, just like Brad.”
Lainey grinned at the exuberance in her son’s voice. How long since he had shown such enthusiasm for anything? Months, she knew.
Lainey looked at Brad. “You’re sure you want to take Petey with you to pick up the heifers this morning?”
He nodded. “The Triple T isn’t that far. Only about an hour from here.”
“You’re sure he won’t be in the way when you’re loading the animals?”
“The cowboys at the Triple T will be putting them on the truck. All Petey and I will be doing is making sure that the animals they are loading are the ones I bought last week.”
“How are you going to do that?” Lainey put platters of scrambled eggs, crisp apple-wood-smoked bacon and piping hot blueberry muffins on the table. “Don’t they all sort of look alike?” They did to her, anyway.
“The animals are tagged with numbers on their ears,” Petey explained. “Brad says it’s sort of like cattle earrings.”
“Good thing they’re female, then,” Lewis teased.
“Steers have ’em, too,” Petey explained importantly. “That way the cowboys can tell ’em apart when they get to the rodeo.”
Lainey looked at Brad in surprise. She knew she should be accustomed by now, but she couldn’t get over how ruggedly handsome Brad looked in the morning, even with rumpled hair and in need of a shave, as he was right now. She’d been around long enough to know that he showered twice a day but used his razor only once, in the evening after work. He wore nicer clothes in the evening. The jeans and shirts he wore during his ranching hours were worn and clung to the muscled contours of his tall body.
When he had come into the kitchen, she’d caught a whiff of soap and man and cool mint mouthwash. Just that easily, her motor began to race. Doing her best to ignore her awareness of Brad, Lainey asked, “These animals are slated for the rodeo?”
He nodded, digging into his breakfast with enthusiasm while Petey watched and followed suit. “The steers we get from the breeding operation will be sold to the rodeo when they’re fully grown. I’m keeping the female cattle for breeding more rodeo stock.”
“And that means nearly every year the size of Brad’s herd will practically double,” Petey explained. He looked at his mother seriously. “You hafta know your math, if you want to be a rancher.”
Lainey smiled, glad Brad was having such a positive influence on her son. “When will you be back?” she asked.
Brad shrugged. “Noon, probably.” He paused. “Sure you don’t want to go? We’ve got room in the truck.”
Lainey was tempted. “I’ve got work to do here.” Reporting work. And because she was uncomfortable doing it, she’d just as soon get i
t over with. The sooner she got this writing assignment over, the better, as far as she was concerned. Never again was she going to sign a contract to clandestinely investigate anyone she knew, or had personal ties with on any level. It was just too darn hard. But she had sworn she would do this one article, so she had to follow through. Because she owed it to herself—her friend Sybil, too.
“Next time,” Lainey promised. If you still want me to go. There was no guarantee that would be the case after the Personalities story came out.
As soon as the men cleared out, Lainey got right down to work doing the sleuthing that would allow her to expose the truth of what had really happened between Brad and Yvonne to the public without ever involving Brad.
First up was Susie, a bubbly brunette from Kansas City. The charming elementary-school teacher had been fourth from the last in the elimination, and had struck Lainey as being a very pragmatic, as well as beautiful, woman. “Are you asking me to be honest?” Susie asked.
“Nothing but,” Lainey replied, holding the phone closer to her ear.
“I think the outcome was rigged from the first.”
Lainey scribbled down Susie’s exact words. “What makes you think that?”
“The rest of us had to make do with the outfits we brought with us, or what was on the wardrobe racks. Yvonne Rathbone came in with a whole suitcase full of designer clothing. And you can’t tell me she could afford Prada and Marc Jacobs on a copier sales rep’s salary.”
Interesting, Lainey thought. “Did anyone ever ask Yvonne where she got her clothes?”
“Oh, yes. She just smiled and said it was all in who you knew.”
Lainey paused, her pen resting just above the paper. “Are you saying that the Bachelor Bliss producers gave her this clothing, and didn’t make similar accommodations for the rest of you?”
“All I know is that when Yvonne didn’t like the way she looked in something, another designer garment magically appeared for her to wear,” Susie concluded. “It was always found on the wardrobe rack. Yvonne always waltzed in just in time to claim it as her own, before anyone else ever even knew it was there.”
Up next was Abigail, a ski instructor from Idaho. Abigail also felt Yvonne Rathbone had received special treatment from the beginning. “Several times during the filming of the show, there was a shortage of rooms where all the contestants were quartered and she got bumped to another hotel.”
Lainey wrote furiously. “Were the accommodations the same quality?”
“Are you kidding? The room she was moved to was much nicer!”
Lainey followed the lead. “Was anyone else from the show staying there?”
“Yes, the producers, and the show’s creator, Gil Hewitt.”
“But no other contestants.”
“No. Just Yvonne.”
Last on Lainey’s list to telephone was Shelley. The gregarious travel agent was even more direct when asked if she thought Yvonne Rathbone had ever been given special advantage over the other contestants. “I just found it odd how Yvonne always seemed to know stuff about Brad—like which type of rodeo contests he did—before Brad even told us. Yvonne said it was because she followed the sport. She even claimed to have seen one of his events in Wyoming a few years ago.”
Lainey zeroed in on the skepticism in Shelley’s voice as she continued taking notes. “But you didn’t buy it.”
“No.”
“Any reason why?”
“Yes!” Shelly replied emphatically. “Yvonne had a real aversion to stable smells. She almost threw up the day Brad took us all riding, on that first group date. I just couldn’t see her willingly sitting in the stands in the heat and the dust, the smell of manure wafting up around her.”
Lainey smiled as the pieces began to come together. From what she had seen on TV, she couldn’t see Yvonne doing that of her own volition, either. “Mind if I quote you on that?” she asked Shelley.
“Sure. Why not? It’s not as if the outcome of the contest for Brad’s heart is still in question.”
But it had been then. And it was becoming more and more clear that Yvonne had cheated to win. The question was, who had helped her get the edge? And what had that person stood to gain?
“DID YOU SEE ME ON THE HORSE, Mom? I was up in the saddle and everything!”
“I did see.” Lainey smiled down at her son. Petey’s day “helping” Brad had obviously thrilled him to no end. “You looked great!” She gave Petey a big hug, then looked over at Brad. “Thanks for giving Petey his first riding lesson,” she said sincerely.
Brad radiated contentment, too. “Glad to do it.”
Lainey led her son over to the kitchen sink. She handed him the soap and watched as he washed his hands. Petey babbled on in excitement. “Brad is teaching me how to be a cowboy. Cowboys are the strongest, smartest kind of grown-up guys, right, Mom? I mean, cowboys always know what to do in every situation. That’s what Tyler, Trevor and Teddy McCabe said.”
“Not surprising since they’re all cowboys,” Brad said with a patient smile. When Petey had finished, Brad went to the sink.
Lainey worried what would happen if Petey got too attached to Brad and then things did not work out between Brad and her. Momentarily distracted, she watched as Brad rolled up his sleeves. His forearms were muscular, feathered with sable-brown hair. She knew…from some of the swimming and beach shots done on Bachelor Bliss…that the rest of him was just as beautiful.
She really had to stop watching those DVDs….
Petey wrinkled his nose as Lainey handed him a towel. “Huh?”
“There are other jobs, too, like Lewis’s,” Lainey explained. “You think Lewis’s job is a good one, don’t you? And the one your father had?”
“Daddy mostly got on airplanes.”
“He traveled a lot for business,” Lainey explained to Brad.
“I don’t think Daddy’s job was a lot of fun, at least he didn’t act like it. What I want to be when I grow up is a cowboy who makes up computer games.”
“Could happen,” Brad allowed with an admiring smile, as his brother Lewis strolled into the house via the back door, the canvas carryall containing his laptop computer slung over one shoulder.
“Something smells good in here,” Lewis said.
“Dinner will be ready in about thirty minutes.”
“I have a new prototype of the game you tested the other day,” Lewis said to Petey. “Want to take a look at it and tell me if you think it is any better?”
Petey looked at Lainey. “Can I, Mom?”
“Sure.”
They ambled off, chattering all the while.
Brad remained. Feeling far too aware of him for comfort, Lainey went back to cooking dinner. “Thanks for letting Petey hang out with you today.”
Brad came up behind her. Placing one hand on her shoulder, he took the lid off a saucepan. “I enjoyed it. He’s a great kid.”
Warmth swept through Lainey in undulating waves. She knew he was not thinking about the food she was preparing. He was thinking about the way he had been kissing her the evening before. An embrace she was still reeling from. Something is happening here, Lainey. Something good.
Lainey gave the spicy shredded chicken a stir. “I also noticed you put the heifers in the barn instead of in the pasture with the bull. Is that so Petey wouldn’t see, um, you know…”
Brad leaned in closer, the front of his thighs pressing the backs of hers as he lifted yet another lid. “Any mating going on?”
Lainey swung around quickly, as the steamy aroma of Mexican rice filled the air. She pressed her index finger to his lips. “Shhh. I don’t want him to hear.”
Brad grinned down at her, eyes twinkling. “He’s going to figure it out sooner or later.”
Feeling warmth everywhere their bodies touched, as well as where they didn’t, Lainey flushed. “Do you really have to let them do it before we leave?” she whispered, embarrassed. “We’re only going to be here another week.” She slipped by him and went to
the cutting board next to the sink. She lifted the serving dishes of chopped tomatoes and shredded lettuce and put them on the table.
Brad trailed after her. “Relax,” he told her. “The heifers are getting hormones to synchronize when they will stand in heat.”
Oh. “Is that why you put them in the barn?” Lainey asked curiously.
“Traveling is hard on them. It’ll be easier to keep them cool in there and let them recover from being jostled around, before we put them out to pasture and let Tabasco Red do his stuff.”
Lainey blinked as she picked up blocks of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese. “One bull is going to service all those heifers?”
Brad took both cheeses from her and lent a hand with the grater. “One male to every twenty-four to thirty cows is considered normal.”
“Or in other words,” Lainey said dryly, as she added flour tortillas to a skillet, “every male’s dream.”
Brad made a dissenting face. “More like nightmare if you’re talking about humans, and I’d guess—from your tone—you are.”
Time to proceed with her reporting again. “You’re telling me you didn’t enjoy yourself on Bachelor Bliss.”
“All those women vying for my attention at once?”
He hadn’t earned his Casanova rep sitting home alone every Saturday night. “It was what you seemed to want back in high school,” she pointed out.
Brad finished his task and lounged against the counter. “That was only because I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I was the new kid in town—at least in the junior class at Laramie High—and it seemed like every female my age wanted to date me. I’d never had that before and I didn’t know how to say no. So—” he shrugged affably, taking a bite of the cheese he had just shredded “—I started stacking dates one on top of the other.”
“I remember.” Lainey gave the salsa a taste and added another sprinkling of cilantro and a tad more red onion.
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