by Various
Cade
I have to go to work, but I couldn’t leave without telling you how much last night meant to me. Thank you so much. I will cherish the memory for as long as I live. Please forgive me for my weird requests, and believe me, you don’t want to know all of my issues. Ha! But, thank you. Maybe, if you’re not busy, we could go hunt a Christmas tree together when I get home. If nothing else, I’d like to see us become the friends we used to be.
I offer an olive branch and a white flag. How about it?
Have a good morning. There’s plenty of breakfast food for you in the fridge.
See you later
Abby
Propping the note up on the bar, she grabbed her coat and hurried off to help a new life into the world.
* * * *
Friends? Friends? Cade didn’t feel like a damn friend. Folding the note and jamming it into his pocket, he poured a cup of coffee. He’d slept better last night than he could ever remember. The only problem had been waking up alone. Several times during the night he’d stolen a kiss. When she was sleeping, Abby was as cuddly as a kitten. And when he’d woke up with morning wood, he’d reached for the woman he’d dreamed of having in his bed for years and had come up empty handed. Now, he was determined to find out what the hell was going on, if he could.
To get his blood pumping, Cade had hiked the distance from Abby’s cottage to the main house. Walking up to the massive lodge, he kept his hands in his pockets. It was warmer than the day he’d taken a dip in the pond, but the weather was still dang cold. His breath made a fleeting cloud as he moved over the frost covered ground. A whooping rumble announced a helicopter was landing. Cade knew the closer it got to the wedding, the more guests would begin flying in from all over. As he neared the big entrance gate, he saw people milling around like bees. The ceremony itself would be held in the lake pavilion, a large guest house with massive windows facing the chain of three lakes which decorated the expansive grazing lands where some of the finest bred horses in Texas roamed free.
"Cade! Over here!"
Looking over, he saw Jase and Justice standing at the entrance to one of the big barns with an attached stable. "Are you two hiding?" He angled his path and met them outside the corral gate.
"How did you guess?" Jase grinned. "Come in here. I got some coffee strong enough to float a pistol."
"Sounds good." He stepped into the warmth. This was one of his favorite places on the property. When he’d first come to El Camino, he’d done a lot of hiding out in here with his Dad’s horse, Whiskey. He remembered Jase and Justice sleeping out here with him and the horse, doing their best to make him feel less alone. Of course, it had all been redone after the fire. "I need to talk to you two."
"If it’s about your tuxedo, don’t even start. I know we’re all gonna look like western penguins, but I can’t help it. This wedding isn’t exactly going my way. I have to write vows." Jase made a face. He sat down on a bale of hay, and pointed to another for Cade to sit on.
"Plus, Scout lost out on his ring bearer position." Justice laughed and Scout ‘woofed’ when he heard his name called. Cade held out his hand and the ancient German Shepherd came to greet him.
"Yea." Jase sighed. "We’d already rehearsed and everything. He got his feelings hurt." He knelt down by his dog.
"Are you sure you’re ready to get married? You don’t exactly strike me as an eager bridegroom."
"Hell." Jase stood up. "I have to take the plunge sometimes and Pam is hot as hell."
Justice took his hat off and ran a hand through his hair. "I’m gonna bite my tongue, since I’m the best man and all."
Cade decided not to voice his opinion either. ‘Hot’ was important, but there had to be more to a relationship than sex. He had to grin. He and Abby had more than sex—they wrangled, locked horns—hell, it was exciting and thrilling. Plus, he respected her, a lot. Life with Abby would never be boring. "I wish you all the best, Jase. You know that."
"Thanks, now what did you want to talk about?"
"Abby."
Jase guffawed. "We can’t be held responsible if she accosted you or performed any type of Chinese water torture."
Cade didn’t say anything and Justice tensed, eyes narrowing. "What’s going on?"
"Well, I—"
"Hold on." Jase checked his phone. "Damn, I’m being paged. I’ll catch you two later. I have to greet Great Uncle Felix, whoever he is." With a frown, he hurried off.
Justice stood and walked up next to Cade. "Talk to me, Tallbull."
Crossing his arms, Cade leaned back against the wall. "I need to understand why Abby has this stupid idea she’s not appealing to men." He thought it might be a good idea if he didn’t admit they’d slept in the same bed the night before. Justice, however, was more on the ball than Cade gave him credit for.
The big King squared his shoulders and put his hands on his hips. "I knew it was a mistake for you to stay at her house."
"Before we go any further, let me assure you that I hold Abby in the highest of esteem and my intentions…" He paused and locked gazes with his friend. "...are entirely honorable."
"If you hurt her, I swear I’ll—"
"I would cut off my arm before I hurt her. You know that." Cade didn’t blink. He’d never been more serious about anything in his life.
Justice relaxed a bit and Cade wondered at his own admission. Funny, he had no qualms. He’d set his heart on Abby Grace King a long time ago, and now he felt he had a shot—if he didn’t blow it.
"What do you want to know?"
By his friend’s resigned expression, Cade realized that whatever there was to reveal was fairly serious. He was almost nervous, but he needed to understand. He weighed his words carefully, not wanting to embarrass Abby or offend her brother. "Did something happen to Abby? To be as beautiful and perfect as she is, Abby is very shy and insecure."
Justice scrubbed his face. "I don’t want to know any details of whatever you two have been doing or not doing," he growled.
"Has she been hurt? Perhaps in that fire you all told me was so inconsequential?"
Shaking his head, Justice let out a long breath. "You mean the fire that broke out right about the time you left for the NFR rodeo, the day you went into the barn for your daddy’s spurs?"
Cade was shocked. "Are you saying I started the fire?"
"No, no." Justice paced back and forth on the hay covered floor. "Damn! I don’t know if it’s my place to tell you. I begged her to tell you then, but she was adamant you must never know."
"Talk to me, King." A tense, uneasy feeling swept over Cade.
"Remember, I was on the phone with Dad when he told you to go get your father’s spurs. Right after that, Mom wanted to talk to Abby and I went to take a shower. When Abby got off the phone, she went back outside to say goodbye to you. As soon as she got on the porch, she heard the horses whinnying and smelled smoke. Cade, Abby went crazy. She ran right into that burning barn."
"Damn! How bad was she hurt? I never knew! I know she loves those horses, but—" He didn’t get to finish.
"Of course she loves the horses, but it wasn’t the horses she went in to save."
Dead silence for a moment.
"What do you mean?"
"She thought you were in the barn, Cade. Abby ran into a blazing structure to find you. True, the horses were all saved, but I couldn’t stop her. She tore out of my grasp and started up the stairs to the attic when the ceiling collapsed. A beam knocked her to the floor. By the time I could get it off of her she had been hurt pretty badly. "
From the look on his face, the memory was painful for Justice to relate, but every word was like a knife in Cade’s heart. "She was burned." He didn’t have to ask where. He knew.
Justice cursed. "It wasn’t fuckin’ fair. No one should have to suffer as she did, but for a woman to be—" He stopped, cleared his throat and continued. "She begged us not to tell anyone, especially not you. Abby changed that day. She went from being a girl filled
with hope in her future to a woman with no faith in her own worth."
"It doesn’t matter." Cade shook his head.
"Yes, by God, it matters! Don’t you see?" Justice hit the wall of the barn with his fist. "She pushed you away because she thought you wouldn’t want her anymore. She’s been pushing you away ever since. And you let her!" He looked at Cade accusingly.
"Fuck!" Cade stood up and began stalking back and forth across the room like a caged panther. "I thought she pushed me away because she changed her mind! People used to judge me by the color of my skin—"
Justice interrupted him. "Not Abby. Never Abby, you know that." He was yelling.
"Why didn’t you tell me this ten damn years ago? Don’t you know I love her?" Cade’s anguished voice filled the room.
"I wanted to, but she made me promise. But the way you two carried on, hell, I thought you hated one another."
Cade walked right up to him. He was so hurt and so angry. "I have loved her every damn day since I was sixteen years old! Do you think a few stupid little scars would change the way I feel?"
Justice smiled. "Well, then what are you going to do about it?"
* * * *
Twin girls had been born to Queen B this morning. The birth had been difficult. Beefmaster calves were always good size, but these two had been overly so. They had been backward in the birth canal and Abby had tried to turn them, but she’d been unsuccessful. So in order to save mama and babes alike, she’d performed a C-section. This had only been her third one and she was exhausted, but they’d all survived and Ridge had given her a bonus check and asked her out on a date. She’d taken the money and turned down his invitation. The only man she had any desire to date was Cade. But she’d already experienced a miracle, so she couldn’t expect another one.
Bubbles tickled Abby’s nose. Relaxing, she yawned and rubbed bath gel down her neck and over her breasts. The soothing bath salts were doing their job. When her hand slipped down to the area where she’d been hurt, she closed her eyes, skating her fingertips over the place of her shame. It was obvious where the skin grafts had been applied. The feel, texture and color were a little different than the rest of her body. For the first few years the color had been darker, finally fading from purple to red, to mauve and finally to pink. Abby had trained herself not to look at it. She could actually get dressed in front of a full length mirror and her gaze never settled below her waist. Wax jobs were useless for her, she had no down or fuzz to remove. Yet, she’d been able to make love with Cade. Being in his arms had been a dream come true.
Oh, well. Finishing up her bath, she stood up and reached for her towel. Time to quit daydreaming. She had a wedding and a holiday to get through.
"Abby! Where are you? I have a surprise for you!"
"I’ll be out in a second!"
The shock of hearing his voice made Abby lose her footing and she sloshed a big wave of water out on the floor as she sat back down with a giant splash, just as he walked into the bathroom.
Kersplat!
"Good Lord! Are you all right?" He’d heard her say something, but he hadn’t realized she would be all wet and soft and naked. "Talk about a surprise!"
He reached down in the water to fish her out and she came up sputtering and fussing. "Put me down, you big moose!"
Cade laughed. If he thought their nighttime peace talks had changed their normal razzing routine he was wrong. "Are you squeaky clean?" She was iced with bubbles and foam like a delicious sweet confection, but she still scrambled for the half-soaked towel like it was her soul’s salvation. Lord Have Mercy! He got an eyeful of curves and dips and valleys, smooth white skin and pink tipped breasts. There was nothing in the world wrong with this woman and he was going to tell her so. "Abby—"
"Why would you come in on me while I’m taking a bath?" she yelled.
"Because I got—"
"I’m a lady, Cade! We aren’t married! We had sex…" She was yammering. Blushing. Embarrassed, trying to cover up what needed covering up without him seeing.
"And it was very good." He interjected. "I want to do it again."
"But that doesn’t give you the right—" What did he say? "What did you say?" She had been talking so hard that she might have missed something important.
She looked up at him and he looked down at her. He couldn’t resist. Cade hauled her up to him, all wet and wiggly and kissed her till she was trembling with need and gasping for breath. Now, that was the way to control a woman. When she was quiet, he answered her question. "I said I wanted to make love to you again."
"That’s what I thought you said." Abby was dazed. She stood there with a towel covering up the important parts and looked at Cade, whose shirt was now wetter than she was. "I messed you up." She patted the damp material.
"Turn about’s fair play." He winked at her. "You made me wet now, and I’ll make you wet later."
Chapter Seven
She couldn’t believe it. While a dusting of snow on the East Texas ground was something to get excited about, what amazed Abby even more was Cade Tallbull holding out his hand to help her up into a festive horse drawn carriage. There wasn’t enough snow for a sleigh, but this was dang close. Two of El Camino’s proudest quarter horses were bedecked to match the carriage in garlands of evergreens, bright red bows and clusters of jingle bells. "Are you ready to go hunt a Christmas tree?"
"Yes!" Abby was enchanted. Her heart pounded with love for Cade. Placing a gloved hand in his, she allowed him to seat her, wrap her legs in a blanket and pour her a cup of hot chocolate from a thermos. "I can’t believe you did all of this for me."
"That’s not all." He took her travel cup from her hand and placed it in a cup holder. "Hold your arms up and close your eyes. We need to look as festive as the horses."
"Last week at this time, if you would’ve told me to close my eyes and hold up my hands, I’d be expecting you to slip a garter snake down my britches."
"Ha! I’m gonna put something down your britches, but it’s a little bigger than a garter snake."
He was pulling something soft and warm over her head. "You are pretty big."
Her voice was muffled in the material. As soon as he pulled the garment over her head, he stole a kiss before she could open her eyes. "You’re adorable, that’s what you are."
Abby opened her eyes and laughed with delight. She was wearing a bright red poncho with white fur trim. It was beautiful! But even better was what Cade had on. "You are hot! You’re a Santa with spurs!" He was wearing a cowboy duster, but it was made to look like part of a Santa Claus costume—bright red with white fur trim and black leather buttons and buckles. "We’re quite a pair."
"That we are, darlin’, that we are." He joined her in the carriage, clasped the black leather reins in his hands and steered the horses toward the more wooded part of El Camino. "I’m going down by the creek where the evergreens are."
"Thank you." She leaned near, threw her arms around his neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. "I have never had such a wonderful time in my life!"
Her surprised appreciation made his heart hurt. Abby deserved attention like this from a man on a daily basis, and he wanted to be that man. "I’m glad, Abby." He shifted the reins to his left hand and grasped her gloved one with his right. "I need to talk to you about last night." He’d thought about his next step carefully. More than anything, Cade wanted to make her his, but he didn’t want to scare her off.
At the mention of their time together, Abby grew still, steeling herself for whatever he had to say. "Last night was wonderful. I know it was just for fun. You don’t have to explain." She took a sip of cocoa to settle her nerves. "I’m just glad we’re getting along."
"Me too. I don’t want to go back to the way we were. This is much better. Look..." He directed her attention to a pair of whitetail deer who had stepped out of the tree line.
"Beautiful," she whispered. "I told you in the letter this morning that I wanted to be friends like we used to be."
&n
bsp; Cade pulled the reins and stopped the horses near a grove of cedars and pines. "Abby, we’ve never been just friends. Even when we’ve been at odds, it’s always been more than friendship." She was up and on the ground before he knew it. All he could do was grab the hatchet and follow her. "Hey, wait up."
He was making her nervous. He was making her want things she couldn’t have "Come on, slow poke." Making light of things was the only line of defense she had remaining. "There are some good ones down here by the water."
"Don’t slip down, the ground’s slick. You’ll think those boots you have on are a pair of skates." Dang, she was fast. He took off after her. If she had on anything other than bright red, he would’ve lost her in the trees. Finally, he caught up with her. She flashed him a huge smile that didn’t quite make it to those big blue eyes of hers.
"I want one that will reach the ceiling."
He made a show of looking at all the trees. "I like this one."
She came to see what he’d found. It was a good one, a stately cedar. Walking around it, she noticed it was symmetrical with no holes or broken branches. "It’s perfect. A little too perfect if you ask me."
"Too perfect?" What the hey? "Can a Christmas tree be too perfect?"
Abby nodded solemnly. "I like one with character. One that’s survived a storm or high winds. A couple of broken branches or a scar or two shows that it’s withstood adversity and lived to tell about it."
"Only to fall victim to holiday spirit?" He teased. Cade knew what she was saying. She was comparing the damn tree to herself. So be it. "Okay, let’s find a brave tree, one that’s beautiful despite its imperfections."
Her face lit up like he’d given her a bouquet of flowers. "Good!" She grabbed him by the hand and they wove their way through the trees, looking for just the right one. "Every tree dreams of being chosen, Cade."
