by Cindi Myers
He put his hands on her hips, his penis nudging between her thighs. "Think you can wrap your legs around me like that again?"
She laughed. "I think I can manage."
The position didn't afford the opportunity for much movement, but that in itself gave the moment an added intensity. Facing each other in the moonlight, literally wrapped around each other, they looked into one another's eyes. She brushed the hair back from his forehead and kissed the bridge of his nose, thinking how she would never tire of looking at a man who gazed at her with such tenderness.
He clutched her bottom and fit himself deeper into her. Gentle waves lapped around them with each shallow thrust. From time to time they stilled and indulged in long, deep kisses, their tongues as entwined as their limbs. And then they would begin to move again. She felt the tension within her begin to build and saw the same urgency in his eyes.
He thrust deeper now, the water slapping against her back as he moved faster, harder. She dug her fingernails into the skin of his shoulder and closed her eyes against the heat spreading through her. The light that exploded behind her eyes as she came was very like stars, and when he shouted his release, she wondered if he'd felt the lightning.
Spent and shaky, he withdrew from her and helped her to stand. He kissed her forehead and then her eyes, like a benediction. "Thank you," he whispered.
"For what?" She smiled. "I ought to thank you for bringing me here. The water and the moonlight--it's like a dream."
"You're a dream," he said. "I--"
She put her fingers over his lips, silencing him. "Don't say anything. I don't want any words cluttering up the wonderful way this feels."
He hesitated, then nodded. "All right. No more talking. Not tonight. But we'll talk soon."
She turned away, heading for the bank. She would put off talking as long as she could. Talking could lead to discussing the different directions they were headed. She wanted to avoid that conversation as long as possible.
14
WHEN THERESA WOKE SUNDAY morning, she was startled to find it was after nine o'clock. The K clan would have finished breakfast hours ago. Yawning, she shoved herself into a sitting position and squinted in the bright light streaming through the window. Early to bed and early to rise might make these ranchers healthy and wise, but she'd settle for late nights and sleeping in any day. And with the barbecue today, she needed all the energy she could muster to meet Kyle's friends and neighbors.
She went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth and was standing in front of the mirror combing out her hair when she heard a knock on the door. She grabbed her robe from the hook behind the door and slipped into it, checked in the mirror to make sure she was presentable, then called, "Come in."The door creaked open and Kim entered carrying a tray in both hands. "Good morning," she said. "Mama thought you might want some coffee."
Steam curled from the oversize mug that sat next to a plate of the most delectable-looking coffee cake. A glass of orange juice completed the offerings. Guilt over every bitchy thought she'd had about Kyle's sister pinched at Theresa. "That looks wonderful," she said, hurrying to take the tray from the girl.
"I brought you these, too." Kim held up a pair of red high-heeled sandals.
Theresa blushed. "Where did she find those?" she asked, remembering how Kyle had hurled them into the darkness.
"They were in the front yard this morning when I went out to get the paper." Kim sat on the edge of the bed. "What were they doing out there?"
"When your uncle Kyle and I went for a walk, they were slowing me down, so he made me take them off and he tossed them on the grass. I guess we forgot to go back for them." She took a long drink of coffee, hoping the girl didn't notice how red her face was bound to be. After the creek, she'd been doing well to remember her name, much less a pair of uncomfortable shoes.
"They're really pretty shoes." Kim ran her finger over the ankle strap of one of them. "But they do look like they'd be hard to walk in."
"They are. Not very practical for the country." She took a bite of coffee cake and all but moaned. "Your mother sure is a good cook," she said.
"She's in the kitchen right now fixing all kinds of things for the barbecue."
Theresa's stomach gave a nervous flutter. "Do you know the people coming to this barbecue?" she asked.
Kim shrugged. "I know most of them. Most of the neighbors will be here and people from town. But it's not like at roundup, when a couple hundred folks might show up to help. There'll probably only be a few dozen today."
"A few dozen sounds like a lot of people to me." Thirty had sounded like a lot when Kristen had named the number last night. The guest list apparently kept growing. She took another drink of coffee. And what would they all think of Kyle's city girlfriend? It annoyed her that she even cared. After all, what did a bunch of strangers' opinions matter to her?
But Kyle's opinion did matter, and for his sake she wanted to make a good impression. "Where is your uncle right now?" she asked.
"He and Daddy are out by the cooker watching the brisket." Kim made a face. "It doesn't really need watching, but they stand out there and talk and pretend they're working. Mostly I think they do it so Mama won't think they're not busy and start bossing them around."
Theresa stifled laughter, imagining the two men hiding out from Kristen.
"So where did you and Uncle Kyle go on your walk last night?"
"Oh, we went down to the creek."
"Did you go swimming?"
Coffee sloshed in the cup as Theresa set it down hard on the dresser. "Wh-what makes you say that?"
Kim shrugged. "Nobody goes to the creek except to swim or fish, and I never heard of anybody fishing in the dark."
She laughed at the logic, but wasn't about to admit guilt. "Kyle wanted to show me the creek." That was no lie, at least. He'd shown her the creek and a lot more. She felt warm and dreamy at the memory.
"You have such cool clothes. What are you going to wear to the barbecue today?"
Kim's question snapped Theresa out of her daydream. "I don't know. What do you think I should wear?"
"Wear your leather pants. Nobody around here wears leather pants." Kim tilted her head to one side. "My dad sometimes wears leather chaps, but those don't really count." She giggled. "When he wears them, Mama tells him he has a cute butt."
Theresa remembered Kyle in his chaps. Yes, they did do a lot for a man's butt.... She shook her head. "I've already worn my leather pants twice this weekend. Besides, this barbecue is outside, isn't it? I need something cooler."
"You could wear jeans. That's what most people wear." Her expression became animated and she sat up straighter. "I know. Wear a dress. Some of the women wear sundresses. You'd be cool and I bet you'd look really pretty, too."
"I don't know. I don't usually wear dresses." She thought of the eyelet-lace number she'd packed on a whim. She'd never actually worn the dress. At least not in public.
"Did you bring a dress? Or maybe you could wear one of Mama's." She frowned at Theresa's chest. "Though you're bigger in front than she is, but maybe she has something stretchy."
"I brought one dress." She went over to her suitcase and unearthed the white dress.
"Wow! It's gorgeous!" Kim slid off the bed and stood close to Theresa, hands behind her back as if she was afraid of touching all that lace. "That would be perfect."
"You don't think it's too dressy?" Theresa frowned at the eyelet panels running under the arms and down the sides of the skirt.
"No, it looks really summery and pretty. You'd have to be careful not to get barbecue sauce on it, though."
"I think I could do that." For one thing, if she wore this dress, she'd be too nervous and self-conscious to eat. But it might be fun to show Kyle that she could be as feminine and frilly as the next gal--when she felt like it.
"You should wear it," Kim said.
She nodded. "All right, I think I will."
"Great. I'll go get the iron so you can touch it up. A
nd Mama has some white flowers in the back flower bed that would look awesome in your hair."
"I don't know about the flowers...." But the girl had already left the room, eager to help transform her own personal Cinderella. Theresa sat on the end of the bed and stared at the dress. She only hoped she didn't end up looking like a fool by the time the day was over.
WHEN THERESA DIDN'T COME down for breakfast, Kristen had wanted to send one of the girls upstairs to wake her, but Kyle had talked her out of it. "Let her sleep," he said. "This is supposed to be a vacation for her."
"I don't want her to miss breakfast," Kristen said."You can save something for her for later," he said. "It'll be all right."
Though he missed having her seated next to him, he welcomed the chance to finish the discussion he'd started yesterday with Ken about the ranch. Kristen would be fit to be tied when she found out what he'd been up to, but Ken had promised she'd come around. "I think it's a real good thing you're doing," he'd told Kyle yesterday. "It's a big step, but in the end, I think it'll be best for all of us."
Would Theresa think so, too? He'd wanted to tell her everything last night, but decided against it. She hadn't wanted to spoil their mood with words, and he'd told himself it would be better to wait until everything was settled before he made his big announcement. He still wasn't sure how she was going to take the news. And maybe he ought to tell Kristen first, anyway.
But when guests started arriving and he still hadn't seen Theresa, he began to get a little worried. He stopped Kim on her way up the stairs. "Maybe you'd better go check on Theresa for me," he said. "Make sure she isn't sick."
"She's fine." Kim held up the iron she was carrying. "I'm helping her get ready for the barbecue." She giggled. "Uncle Kyle, you just won't believe it when you see how pretty she is!"
"Why wouldn't I believe it? Theresa's always pretty."
"Yes, but now...she looks like a bride!"
The word sent shock waves through him. Bride and Theresa were not things he'd dared to link in his mind, but the two images together suddenly had a powerful appeal. He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. One big decision at a time, he told himself. Take care of business first, then worry about the rest.
He went outside and joined Ken by the barbecue pit, where two briskets were slowly smoking. Some of the neighbors joined them. They commiserated on Kyle's injury and asked about life in Austin. "I heard some political types are raising a big fuss about the goings-on on Sixth Street," one of his high school buddies, Larry Timmons, said. "To hear them talk, it's a regular den of iniquity down there."
"Don't believe everything you hear," he said. "There's nothing illegal or immoral going on. If some folks don't want to see tattoo parlors and lingerie stores, they should stay home or go someplace else."
"I wouldn't mind seeing one of those lingerie stores," a big man named Mike drawled. "Think I could meet one of them Victoria's Secret models if I went shopping there?"
They all laughed, but the laughter faded as one by one their attention shifted toward the house. "Speaking of models," Larry muttered.
"Kyle, is that the girlfriend I heard you brought with you this weekend?" Mike asked as they watched Theresa cross the yard toward them.
"That's her." He swallowed, his heart racing as he watched her pick her way across the grass. She was wearing a white dress with long sleeves and a full skirt trimmed in lace. With her dark hair flowing around her shoulders, she looked like an angel.
She stopped in front of him, smoothing down her skirt, her gaze darting from person to person. "What is everybody staring at?"
He stepped forward and took her hand. "Who wouldn't stare? You look gorgeous."
She tugged down her sleeve. "Do you like it?"
"I do." He caught and held her gaze, wanting her to know the sincerity behind his words. It was something, seeing a woman like her, who could brazenly wear the most provocative outfits, unsure of herself in a soft, sweet dress like this. "You look more beautiful than ever."
"Oh, stop with the mushy stuff. You're embarrassing me." Mike joined them and stuck out his hand. "Hi, I'm Mike Leggit and I've known this fellow since he ate mud pies for lunch and thought girls were icky."
She laughed and took his hand. "Pleased to meet you." She glanced at Kyle. "Did you really eat mud pies?"
"Once. And he won't ever let me forget it." He slipped his arm around her waist. "And I never really thought girls were icky, I just pretended to protect my image."
"That's right, Kyle's always fancied himself a ladies' man." Larry shook her hand. "I'm Larry Timmons and I own the ranch next to this one on the east side. We've been trying for years to get Kyle to come home and join the rest of us poor cattle folks, but I can see now he's got better reasons to stay in the city."
"Think you'd like to live on a ranch?" Mike asked.
She glanced at Kyle, then looked away. "I'm afraid I'm a real city girl," she said. "I wouldn't know the first thing about ranching."
"I'll bet you could learn," Mike said. "Kyle could teach you."
"I'm sure Theresa isn't interested in learning about ranching." Kristen must have been standing there listening for a while. When she joined them now, she smiled at Theresa. "That's a gorgeous dress."
"Thank you."
"Howdy, Kristen."
"Hey, Kristen, how are you?"
Once everyone had said hello, the conversation died. Kyle inwardly cringed. Kristen hadn't meant to put a damper on their fun, but that's exactly what she'd done. She was so different from Theresa--so proper and efficient. She was the epitome of what a ranch wife should be--what all their mothers had been. You couldn't joke about lingerie and city girls with the image of your mother standing there, could you?
"We were just telling Kyle how much we missed seeing him around the ranch," Larry said.
"I tell him that all the time." Kristen smiled at him. "I'm sure he'll get tired of Austin and decide to come home one day soon."
"Ranching kind of gets in your blood, I guess," Mike said. "You can't help it, really."
If that's what they all wanted to believe, fine, but that wasn't how Kyle felt. "I like it fine in the city," he said. "I think I'll be settling down there."
Kristen laughed. "That's what he says now, but in a few years he'll be changing his mind."
She talked as though he was still a child who couldn't make up his mind between a red bicycle and a blue one. "No, I won't change my mind," he said firmly.
Her smile faded. "I didn't mean to upset you. We can talk about it later."
"No, I think we'd better talk now." He took Kristen's arm and led her away from the cooker. "Excuse us just a minute, fellows."
"Kyle, what are you doing? I have guests to see to." She tried to pull away from him.
"This won't take a minute. Ken, Theresa, you come, too."
"I don't think..." Theresa took a step back.
"Aw, come on, you might as well hear this, too." Ken took her arm and escorted her across the yard behind Kyle and Kristen.
Kyle stopped in a secluded corner between the kids' sandbox and the fountain Ken had given Kristen for her birthday two years before. Kristen pulled away from him and crossed her arms over her chest. "What has gotten into you?" she asked.
"I've asked Ken to buy out my share of the ranch."
It took a moment for this bombshell to register. Kristen went pale and stared at her husband. "What did you say?"
"I told him I thought it was a good idea." His mouth was set in a grim line. "For everybody."
"I can't believe you agreed to such a crazy idea!" She turned to Kyle. "This ranch is half yours. Daddy left it to both of us in his will."
He shook his head. "It makes no sense for me to own half of something when I'm not here to do any of the work or make any of the decisions. You and Ken are the ones who are doing all the work--you deserve all the reward, too."
"But what will you do with yourself?"
"I'm going to use the money to build a
house on my land in Austin, and to start a business."
"Doing what? You don't know how to do anything but ride horses and ranch."
He shifted his weight to one hip. So what if he didn't know anything else? He could learn, couldn't he? "I'm not sure what kind of business yet, but I'm looking into a few things."
She shook her head. "I can't let you make a crazy mistake like this."
All the sympathy he'd been feeling for her fled. "You're not my mother. And I'm not some stupid kid who needs looking after. I can make my own decisions. And if I screw up, then it's my life I'm messing up, not yours."
"How can you say that? I care what happens to you."
"I know." He stared at the ground. Why did she have to make this so hard? If she loved him so much, why couldn't she abide by his decision, wish him well and leave it at that? But then, she wouldn't be his sister if she caved that easily. "I'm going to do this. So make your peace with it."
She glared at him, then charged past them, toward the house. She brushed against Theresa and stepped back. "This is all your fault," she said. "He was never like this before he met you."
Theresa looked stunned as Kristen hurried across the yard in a stiff-legged gait that was almost but not quite at the pace of a run.
"I'm sorry," Kyle said to Theresa. "She shouldn't have said that."
She looked at him, eyes questioning. "You really are selling your half of the ranch?"
He nodded. "I finally figured out it was the only way I could really break the ties, plus get a stake for a fresh start."
"Are you sure you want to do that? I mean...this is your home."
"It's still his home," Ken said. He clapped Kyle on the back. "That hasn't changed. He's welcome here anytime."
Kyle nodded. "This will be best for everybody." He looked toward the house, where Kristen had fled. "I hope she'll see that one day."
"I'll talk to her," Ken said. "It'll be all right."
Ken left them and Kyle turned back to Theresa. "I'd planned to tell you later, after I'd talked it over with Kristen." He looked around at the crowd of people. "Now wasn't exactly the best timing, but I couldn't stand her thinking she could keep planning my future the way she always has."
