He couldn’t read Kat’s face. She set her pencil down and folded her hands on the desk. Her eyes were guarded and her mouth set—but she was so damned beautiful that he almost lost his nerve. They had been at odd ends in the past few weeks, and this conversation wasn’t going to make anything better between them. Just the opposite.
“Sweetheart…” he started again.
“Oh, it’s sweetheart now, is it?” Kat’s voice held a touch of amusement in the steel.
“It seems,” Gunnar said cautiously, “that something very big is happening in your life this summer; in our lives. Looks like we got more than we bargained for when Sassy came to work at the ranch.”
Kat was silent as she watched him talk.
“That’s an understatement,” Kat said at last.
Gunnar was treading carefully.
“I hear you paid a visit to Rowdy up at the office, and I think you put him—put us all—in a sticky situation, between a rock and a hard place.”
“I disagree, Gunnar. Sweetheart.” As she spoke, Gunnar cringed. “The answer is very clear. I want Sassy Tate gone. Today. She’s not good for Ash. She’s not good for me. And I think we can agree that her presence hasn’t done much for our marriage.”
Gunnar regarded her words, and the way she spit out the word Tate, like venom from a snake bite. She sounded more like a prosecuting attorney than a medical doctor just now, and he wondered if she’d been reading his mother’s books.
He hadn’t seen his wife’s hard side since their ill-fated blind date, several years earlier. It was off-putting then, but he had the choice to walk away. Which he did. If they hadn’t been locked up together in a hospital quarantine for a week, he would never have seen her more vulnerable side and fallen in love.
But she had ghosts, Kat did.
She pushed them down, but they re-surfaced in ways Gunnar could see every now and then. In bad dreams and free-floating insecurities. It would be good to have them gone forever, and there was only one way that would happen. Kat needed to face Sassy and deal with the realities.
For that to happen, he would need to stand firm against his wife.
“Sorry, Kat,” Gunnar said, getting up to leave. “I don’t negotiate with bullies. Sassy stays.
Kat shot up from her chair in anger and surprise, but Gunnar stood his ground.
“She’s not leaving the ranch on my watch, Kat,” he said. “I can’t fire her just because she’s your long-lost sister.”
“There’s nothing lost about her… I was never looking for her. I didn’t know she existed.”
“But here she is. And she… this… isn’t going away, sweetheart, so I want… I need you to try and figure it out.”
“I’ll figure it out on my own terms.”
“Sometimes we don’t have that luxury,” he said. “If you recall, I was fighting mad when I got locked in the hospital with you during the quarantine.”
Kat looked up in surprise at his words.
“But it made me face some things I’d been running from,” he went on, “like how angry I was about my mother’s death.”
Kat was silent.
“That quarantine was a shortcut for me, painful though it was. It helped me move on. Sassy leaving now won’t help you move on, Kat. I didn’t engineer it, but here it is—here she is. I feel we ought to deal with what’s in front of us.”
“So that’s it then? You’re forcing me to face my past because you feel it’s time?”
Gunnar could see that his wife was angry with him.
“I’m your husband, Kat, not your enemy, and I love you. I’m the one who holds you at night when you have nightmares. I’m the one who reassures you when you have fears and doubts. And yes, I do feel it’s time,” he spoke steadily. “What you do is up to you. But Rowdy and I are not going to fire Sassy before her internship ends. She’s qualified to do her job, and it’s not a crime to be your sister. In fact, I like her all the more for it.”
“She deceived you, Gunnar—deceived us all.”
“Well true, she didn’t come to the ranch with guns blazing, declaring who she was. But can you blame her? Look at how you’re reacting?”
“What’s a normal reaction in this situation?” Kat spat at him. “I’d really like to know.”
“I guess I feel sorry for her. You’re practically the only family she has, since her… your… father died last year.”
At that, Kat’s head spun towards Gunnar and locked on his eyes.
“He what?”
“Wait…” he said carefully, “Sassy didn’t tell you?”
“She tried to, I think.”
“Your mama didn’t tell you? Surely word made its way…”
“I haven’t been… returning her calls.” Kat’s words came out in a hoarse whisper.
Gunnar nodded in stunned silence.
Good Lord.
Chapter 40
“Shhh, we don’t want to wake anybody,” Ash tugged on Sassy’s hand while holding a finger to his lips. They spent the full day at the river, followed by dinner at a popular restaurant located by the trail head. The two had to wait a long time for their table, since a large wedding party occupied half the dining room.
No matter, Ash and Sassy lost track of time as they talked about all manner of subjects, such as school and work. Both avoided talk of family, for their own reasons. And food was always a safe topic—which is how they ended up in the ranch kitchen. Ash insisted Sassy try Liu’s spring rolls before she let another day pass her by.
The two, who had been laughing loudly just moments ago while driving down the dark ranch road, now tried to contain their volume as they walked into the kitchen.
The only light was a soft glow illuminating the counter tops.
“Why are we here again?” Sassy giggled into Ash’s shoulder.
“Spring rolls, remember? You said you were starving, and couldn’t wait ‘til we got back to town.”
“Oh yeah,” she said, in a close to normal voice.
“Shhh, you’ve got to keep your voice down, Sassy.”
“But don’t you live here?”
“Yes, I do.”
Ash thought about that. He’d always have a home at the ranch, the family made that clear. But he’d been living at the bungalow in town this summer. And just like Colton, Pike, and even Ridge, it was only a matter of time before he’d find his own place.
The home on the ranch, the Big House, as the Wests called it, was becoming his home away from home, and part of him felt he was trespassing on Kat and Gunnar—especially, though he didn’t know why, with Sassy in his arms.
Ash could never remember a time when his older brothers brought girls to the ranch, until they were practically wives, that is. It made him feel guilty, and he wanted to get out of there. He only hoped Sassy wouldn’t ask to see his rooms, or get a grand tour in the dark. But it was exciting having her with him. It made him feel very grown up, as if he too was bringing the woman he might marry.
“I found the fridge,” Sassy whispered, and tugged his hand.
Silently, the door on the sub-zero opened to reveal a platter of Liu’s famous delicacies. Ash put four in his hand and turned to smile at Sassy in the dark. Her lovely features were lit by the refrigerator, and he was drawn to her smile.
“Kiss me,” he whispered.
“But I’m starving,” she whispered back.
“Me too,” he said, quietly closing the door of the appliance.
In the dark, they drew close until her body was pressed against his own, and they held each other tight. Ash’s arms wrapped around Sassy’s small waist as he caressed her back.
“One spring roll for every kiss,” he said, nuzzling her warm neck.
“That’s bribery, but okay,” she said with a gasp, as he brought his lips to her jawline and worked his way along her cheek.
Sassy inhaled sharply as she pulled him closer, hungrily searching for his mouth in the dark. When they met, Ash and Sassy were barely breathing as th
e sensation overtook them both. In the dark, everything around them melted away. They could only sense the warmth and taste of each other in a new and deeper way than before.
Without thought, both held each other tighter, their bodies swaying almost imperceptibly.
Nighttime kisses, they were learning, had more meaning. More power. More depth than sunlight kisses. It both intrigued and frightened them as they began to understand where kisses in the dark could lead. The tighter she gripped his shoulders, the harder Ash held onto her. His hands kneaded the muscles on Sassy’s back and worked their way downward. He fairly gasped as he felt just a hint of the curves that waited below—a place his hands had no right to be, he knew.
Flashes of his room began playing in his mind, as he wondered if Sassy would go there with him. But he shook his thoughts clear, knowing what a betrayal the mere suggestion would be to Sassy. She’d told him not to make assumptions.
“We’d… better get out of here,” Ash said, catching his breath, though it was hard to pull back from their embrace.
Nodding and loosening her grip, she exhaled a trembling breath, making Ash want to start all over again. He willed himself to move away.
“Let’s go,” Sassy whispered in his neck as she slipped her hand in his.
Quietly, they moved as one to the door to slide back under the Wyoming stars then towards their homes. Neither saw the third person in their presence; someone watching with great interest from a darkened corner of the adjacent great room.
After she was certain the pair had left, Kat exhaled raggedly, boiling with anger.
Chapter 41
If she’s not leaving then I’m going.
Kat tried to go about her business as usual the next day, but remained red hot with rage over the continued presence of Sassy. That Gunnar and Rowdy wouldn’t cut her loose from the ranch was a slap in the face, and it burned. And hurt. The ranch had become her sanctuary—her home. A place where she could put the past behind her at last and focus on what she could control, and that was her little family.
But even that didn’t feel safe any longer, in light of…
The presence of Sassy on the ranch made it feel like four walls were closing in on her, even though there were thousands of acres and miles of wide-open spaces.
In blind anger, Kat stomped into her suite and threw a suitcase on the bed.
“I’ve got to get out of here,” she said as she threw odd bits of clothing into the open bag without stopping to fold or organize anything. It didn’t matter—she’d buy what she needed when she got to… where? Where was she going?
That didn’t matter either.
Kat was distraught and didn’t see or hear Willow enter the room. The child was half cowering by the wall, looking at her mother with what could only be fear in her eyes.
“Mommy?” The small girl spoke tentatively, but it cut through the tension like a sharp knife. Kat looked over, wild eyed, which only frightened the girl. In her six years, Willow had never seen her mother as anything but calm and in control.
“Are we going somewhere Mommy?” Willow spoke again with an unmistakable tremble in her voice. “Should I get my suitcase, too?”
Kat took a sharp intake of breath at the question, blinking hard as she struggled to focus on her daughter, and her next words. Her eyes stung as she blinked away hot tears that felt salty and sharp. For a minute, she was a young girl again, watching her father pack his bags—wondering if she and her mom and dad were finally taking a family vacation, the one that had been promised for years.
Are we going somewhere, Daddy? Should I pack?
“Yes, sweetie, we’re all going up to Yellowstone for a few days.”
It was a deep voice. Gunnar was in the room, assessing Kat and Willow and answering.
“Willow, why don’t you go pack a few toys and books, and your favorite PJs. I’ll come help with the rest in a little while, after I help mommy pack.”
He kissed the girl on the top of her head, and hugged her until she exhaled her fears and rewarded him with a smile and laugh. When she left, Gunnar softly closed the door.
“Where are you going, Kat?”
Gunnar was standing next to her, with concern in his eyes. He reached his hands up to her, but then dropped them again.
As in a dream, Kat shook her head. “I just have to get away. Go somewhere else.”
“Do you?”
Do I?
Looking up at her husband and suddenly feeling uncertain, her anger melted and her legs gave way as she crumpled onto the edge of the bed. Gunnar fell to the carpet, kneeling next to her. He reached up again but this time he pulled her to him in a hard embrace.
Kat resisted at first, but then dropped her head onto his shoulders and cried like she hadn’t in many years. Waves of pain poured from her as Gunnar simply held on, stroking her hair and holding his wife in his arms. They sat like this for a long time, Gunnar eventually reaching into his pocket to hand Kat a clean handkerchief.
At last, he pulled away to gaze into her face—red and swollen from the tears. But more appealing and beautiful than ever to him in her vulnerability.
“I promised on our wedding day that I would never leave you, nor forsake you. And I’m keeping that promise, Kat, and asking the same in return.”
She regarded him thoughtfully.
Before she could speak, he went on.
“If you need to get away, then let’s all go. We’ll take Willow right now and leave everything for a few days—the ranch, the hospital and Sassy. But we won’t leave each other. Okay? That’s not who we are.”
It would have been easy to say no; that it wasn’t necessary to leave.
Only, it so was.
As she was debating their little trip, the rational and irrational warring inside her head, the door opened and Willow ran into the room, holding her small pink duffel bag.
“I’m ready for Yellowstone, Mommy,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve got my bathing suit and five books, two stuffed bears and sunglasses. Oh, and a nightlight. And some candy I found from Christmas. Let’s go.”
Gunnar smiled and laughed, and so did Kat, he was glad to see.
“Let’s go,” Kat smiled as she pulled Willow into a hug. “Give me ten minutes to finish my packing and I’ll be ready.”
The three looked over at Kat’s open suitcase, spilling over with an angry hodgepodge of wool slacks, still on the hanger, tee shirts, a pearl-buttoned riding shirt, and running shorts.
“I’ll give you twenty,” Gunnar said.
Chapter 42
“Hmm, somehow I pictured the ranch being much bigger than this.”
Erik Olsen got out of Ash’s Jeep and looked at the little bungalow in town. Ash tossed Erik his duffel bag and smiled. “After we drop off your things, I’ll take you out to the ranch and the gorge. But you and I will bunk here,” he said. “I guarantee, the view is prettier.”
Just then, Sassy and Freda pulled into the driveway next door and got out to carry in the bags from their Saturday morning grocery run.
“I see what you mean,” Erik said with a smile to Ash.
“Ladies,” Ash called over, “need a hand?”
“Oh, if we can clear trees from the creek and help the heifers birth their calves, I think we can manage a bag or two of noodles and bananas,” Freda said with a smile in Erik’s direction. She was wearing one of her roommate’s sundresses with her river sandals, and a single silver bangle gleamed against the tan of her skin.
Sassy thought her roomie was looking at Ash’s friend a little too long, and gave her a slight nudge with the gallon of milk in her hand.
“Move along, Freda,” she said under her breath.
Ignoring her, Freda smiled even bigger, which was returned by the young man neither had met. He was as tall as Ash, with blonde wavy hair and bright blue eyes, and a deep tan of his own.
“Where are your manners, Ash?” Freda spoke.
Dropping his shoulders in resignation, Ash walked around t
o where Freda and Erik were standing.
“Sassy and Freda,” he said, “this is Erik—my friend from Michigan. I invited him to come to the big West Ranch cookout tomorrow night, and get a taste of ranch life.”
“And barbecue,” Erik said. “Ash promised me dinner at a place called Red’s tonight. Which sounds a whole lot better than noodles and bananas, if you two would join us.”
“We’d love to,” Freda spoke up. “We have no previous engagements, do we Sassy?”
Sassy looked over at Ash, who had his mouth hanging open in surprise, but not disappointment. He and Sassy shrugged and smiled at each other. They both knew his friend was expected, and figured they wouldn’t see each other very much. But Erik and Freda changed all that. Their attraction to each other was immediate, and concerning, Sassy thought. Even though she’d never met the elusive Jim Tim, she thought he and Freda were a serious item. In fact, every Sunday, when Freda returned from Lander, Sassy surveyed her friend’s hand for a sparkling diamond.
“Well that’s settled,” Ash said. “We will pick you up at six, so be hungry.”
“Starving,” Freda and Erik said in unison, and then laughed.
“Well, look at you, all flushed from flirting and gawking at Ash’s friend,” Sassy said to Freda as they walked into the house. “Truth be told, I’ve never seen you look more radiant.”
Sassy began putting groceries away while grilling her friend.
Freda merely shrugged, but retained a private smile.
“Come on, Sassy, he’s gorgeous,” Freda said at last.
“So are you, Freda,” Sassy countered, “but I was under the impression that you were spoken for. You weren’t acting like a future missus lawyer just now.”
That did it—Freda’s face turned into a frown as she tossed the milk in the fridge with all the delicacy of a baseball pitch.
“James Timothy Freemont has allowed me to shlepp my sore, aching body all the way to Lander every weekend this summer,” Freda said, “without making special plans for us, or welcoming me with open arms.”
Sassy Cowgirl Kisses: A Sweet Romance (A West Brothers Romance Book 5) Page 11
