The Texan's Tennessee Romance

by Gina Wilkins

  Only then did she notice the stack of clothing neatly folded on the bench built into the deck railing. The expression in his eyes hidden in the shadows, he nodded to the space beside him and the extra glass of wine sitting on the built-in tray beside it. “This feels as good as I thought it would. Come on in. I saved a place for you.”

  Without looking away from his face, she dropped the towels onto the bench beside his clothes, then untied her kimono. The garment slithered to her feet. And suddenly Casey didn’t look nearly as relaxed.

  The hot water swirled around her ankle, her calf as she stepped into the tub. Very slowly, she submerged herself to her shoulders, sighing as the hidden jets gently pulsed against her weary muscles. “Oh, that does feel good,” she murmured, letting her head fall back against the cushioned rest.

  Stretching out very close to her, Casey reached over to take her hand beneath the water. She turned her head to smile at him. Taking their time and testing their patience, they lay there for several long, quiet minutes, their fingers laced, their wine-glasses held in their free hands as they sipped and gazed out at the clear, jeweled night sky. The mountains ahead of them were dark shapes against the slightly lighter sky, and a choir of night creatures softly serenaded them.

  “This is amazing,” she said on a sigh. “Wouldn’t it be lovely to sit out here and watch the snow fall?”

  “Yeah. That would be cool. Er, no pun intended.”

  She smiled. “I’ve got to admit, this spa was a good idea.”

  “A very good idea,” he murmured, leaning over to taste her bare shoulder. “Did I ever mention you look really good wet? I’ve thought so since the day I sprayed you down in your kitchen.”

  “You really shouldn’t remind me of that. I thought you were the worst handyman I’d ever met. And the sexiest,” she added with a low laugh.

  “Really?” His lips had moved to her throat.

  Tipping her head back, she closed her eyes. “Mmm-hmm.”

  “What do you think of me now?” he asked, taking the wine-glass from her hand and setting it aside.

  She wrapped her arms around him. “I think you’re a bit better handyman than I originally believed. But still the sexiest.”

  He smiled against her lips. “Thank you.”

  Pulling him closer, she murmured, “You’re welcome.”

  He slipped his wet fingers into her hair, bringing her face to his, nibbling a kiss against her lips. Beneath the water, she stroked her smooth calf against his hair-roughened one, loving the contrast.

  The kisses deepened, tongues exploring, tangling. He slid his hand to her breasts, cupping one at a time, his thumb making lazy circles until she was arching eagerly into him, groping for him. When she found him, hard and ready, he drew in a deep, sharp breath and shifted until she was partially beneath him, their bodies moving slickly, hungrily.

  From that first time she had seen him in his jeans and tool belt, his lazy smile lighting his fallen-angel face, she had wanted him. That desire had only grown as she’d gotten to know him better, watching him charm babies and stray animals, seeing the way he’d quietly fought his own inner battles, the way he was so willing to help fight hers.

  Casey Walker was a very special man, and she could think of no other way to tell him how much she admired him. How much she genuinely liked him. If there was more to it than that…well, she would deal with that later. Tonight was to relish, a perfect gem of a memory to be tucked away against whatever might happen between them later.

  His hand slid up her thigh to brush against her core and she gasped into his mouth. Moments later she nearly whimpered when he began to stroke and gently probe. She tried to draw him closer, but he resisted, his mouth at her breasts now, his fingers skillfully playing her until there wasn’t a rational thought left in her mind. She climaxed with a strangled cry, her body arching almost out of the water.

  Casey surged upward, carrying her with him as he climbed out of the tub. They toweled off hastily, just enough that they wouldn’t drip all over the cabin floors and then Casey snatched up his clothes and they moved inside. Buddy was curled into his usual spot on the hearth rug, giving them complete privacy as they headed for the bedroom, closing the door behind them.

  Casey fumbled in the pocket of his jeans, then threw them recklessly aside to take her in his arms again. His mouth covered hers even before her back hit the mattress. His patience was obviously completely gone now, but he managed to slow down long enough to bring her to a new peak of pleasure again before he sought his own release.

  Buried deeply inside her, he shuddered and murmured her name against her lips, the broken tenderness of his tone bringing tears to her eyes. She blinked them back and held him fiercely, willing the clock to slow down so she could savor every moment of this night with him.

  Natalie’s cell phone rang Monday morning, startling her awake. After a night of very little sleep, she and Casey had slept in. She gave herself just a moment to look at him blinking himself awake on the pillow next to her before pushing herself upright and snatching the phone off the nightstand.She checked the caller ID. “It’s Beecham,” she said and lifted the phone to her ear. “Hello.”

  “Who the hell is this Walker guy?” Beecham demanded angrily. “He visited me this morning, said he’s from some big, hotshot investigation and security firm in Dallas and that he’s taking over your case.”

  “Yes, Andrew Walker is working for me,” she replied smoothly. “Send me your final bill, Mr. Beecham, and I’ll call you to settle on a final accounting of what, if anything, I owe you.”

  “You’re firing me?”

  “I’m terminating our professional relationship,” she answered evenly. “I’ll expect you to maintain our confidentiality agreement, of course.”

  Beecham argued with her a bit longer, but she remained steadfast that his services were no longer needed. He was still sputtering when she disconnected the call.

  “You handled that very smoothly,” Casey said, kissing the back of her bare shoulder. “You didn’t sound like someone I’d want to argue with.”

  “I hope you’re right about how good your cousin is at his job,” she replied a bit shakily. “By firing Beecham, I’ve put my future career in Andrew’s hands.”

  “You won’t be sorry.”

  “I hope you’re right,” she repeated, and then tried to push her fears aside, since worrying about it wasn’t accomplishing anything.

  After a late, leisurely breakfast, she and Casey stopped by his cabin for him to change clothes and then went for a drive through Cades Cove, a lush valley tucked into the mountains not far from Gatlinburg. The cove had once been a thriving pioneer settlement, now converted into a national park. An eleven-mile road wound through pastureland and woods. Historic buildings—hand-hewn log homes with rock chimneys, barns and outbuildings—were scattered through the park along the road and were open to exploration. Three churches still stood, their quiet interiors haunted by the echoes of psalms and sermons, their grounds the final resting place for generations of settlers.

  The drive was Casey’s idea. Natalie suspected that he was trying to keep her busy so she wouldn’t worry so much about what was going on in Nashville. And it did help—to an extent.

  After their drive, they returned to her cabin. Neither wanted to spend time with other people just then. Though they monitored their calls, they let most of them go to voice mail, not wanting anyone else to intrude on this precious time together.

  “I like being with you,” Casey murmured much later that day as they sprawled against her pillows, sated and happily exhausted.

  Snuggling into his bare shoulder, she closed her eyes. “I like being with you, too.”

  “When this is over—when Andrew finds what he’s looking for—”

  Without opening her eyes, she frowned. “No,” she said, cutting in before he could say anything else. “Let’s not talk about that tonight. Let’s just enjoy being together for now.”

  There was a ta
ut moment of silence and she could tell he wanted to argue, but to her relief, he let it go. His arm tightened around her. “All right. We won’t talk about it tonight. We’ll wait.”

  A tense moment averted, she relaxed into his embrace again.

  The call came late Tuesday as Casey and Natalie lingered over hamburgers he had cooked on the barbecue grill outside her cabin. Casey watched as Natalie checked the screen on her beeping cell phone, went very still for a moment, then lifted the phone to her ear. “Hello, Andrew.”Casey made no pretense of not listening to her side of the call, though she didn’t say much. Andrew did most of the talking. It was obvious from Natalie’s expression that she was shocked by whatever his cousin was saying to her.

  “Are you sure?” she asked at one point. “Absolutely sure?”

  Andrew must have answered affirmatively.

  “All right,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you, Andrew.”

  She closed her phone and looked rather blankly across the table at Casey.

  “He solved your case?” Casey asked. “After only three days?”

  He hoped it was true, of course. He wanted Natalie to be cleared as soon as possible. But after spending almost every minute of the past three days with her while she’d waited for a report from Andrew, Casey wasn’t looking forward to saying goodbye to her when she went back to her own life.

  She nodded, and he told himself he was glad.

  “He said it wasn’t really that difficult to solve. He said if the upper management of my firm had been more interested in finding out the truth than in covering up the potential scandal, they’d have hired someone themselves to look beyond the so-called evidence provided by their anonymous source. And he said Beecham was obviously milking me for every penny he could get without working all that hard on my behalf, or he would have come up with a name himself.”

  Casey could almost hear the tone of disgust in which Andrew had probably said those things. “Was it that Linski person? The one who’s been spending all the money lately?”

  She shook her head. “Andrew checked her out first thing. He said she’s got a boyfriend. Older. Married. Willing to pay quite generously for a hot young woman to spend time with him while his wife takes regular trips to Europe and Las Vegas. A very obvious explanation, actually, and one Beecham should have easily found. Andrew thinks Beecham had a pretty good idea of where Cathy’s money was coming from, but by keeping me focused on her, it made him look like he was making progress on my investigation.”

  He almost hated to ask the next question. “Was it your friend Amber?”

  “No.” There was both relief and lingering shock in her expression. “It was Thad.”

  “Thad? The guy you dated?”

  Natalie nodded slowly. “He wanted money to keep up the extravagant lifestyle he’s been living. He was approached by someone from the tabloids about one of the clients, a country music star in the middle of an ugly divorce, and he thought he could make a little extra cash by leaking some juicy information about the confidential terms of the divorce. He was so successful getting away with it that time that he became a regular source for the so-called reporter. And he found it easy enough to set me up to take the fall if someone figured out what was going on.”

  Casey wished he had the bastard in front of him now. His hands itched to do some damage to the jerk’s probably pretty face. “How stupid was he to think he could get away with doing that to you?”

  “He almost did get away with it,” she pointed out, a glint of anger slowly replacing the shock in her eyes. “I can’t imagine that he’d be stupid enough to try it again after letting me take the blame.”

  “How did Andrew find out it was him?”

  “He didn’t tell me the details—said he’d fill us in tomorrow when he brings the evidence I need to prove my innocence. But he tracked down the reporter and managed to ‘persuade’ him to give him Thad’s name. Beecham had talked to the guy, but he wasn’t as successful as Andrew at convincing him to reveal his source.”

  “Andrew does have his ways,” Casey murmured. “What else did he find?”

  “The reporter admitted that the checks were made out to me, but given to Thad. Andrew followed Thad around for a few hours and took some pictures of him with a woman who’s apparently living with him now. Andrew thinks the woman probably posed as me and cashed the checks at various local banks. He said he could probably find at least one teller who remembers her. He has all the evidence I need to convince the senior partners that I have a very good case if I decide to make this fight messy and public. Thad’s been caught. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

  “Congratulations, Natalie. I’m glad it worked out for you.”

  She still looked a little dazed. “I just wanted to clear my name.”

  “I know. Once you’re back in your old job and Thad’s gone, I’m sure everyone will realize that you were accused unfairly.”

  “I don’t even know if I’ll get my old job back. Herb and the other partners will probably still want me to quietly disappear.”

  “Yes, well, you have a little leverage on your side,” he pointed out. “You have the means to embarrass them pretty thoroughly. Not to mention grounds for a lawsuit.”

  “So I should use extortion to get my job back?”

  He shrugged. “Extortion. Justice. Call it what you wish.”

  She bit her lip, looking down at the half-eaten burger going cold on her plate. He figured she had lost her appetite. He knew he had.

  “You said Andrew’s coming tomorrow?”

  She nodded. “He said he’d be here by noon. And he’s bringing the report for me to take back to my firm.”

  “You’ll want to do that soon, I assume.”

  “The sooner the better.”

  It was what he had expected her to say, but it still stung. “I don’t blame you. I’d want my name cleared, too.”

  “I’m glad you understand.”

  “So we have one more night together.”

  A muscle jumped in her cheek, as if she had tightened her jaw. “Yes.”

  “Then we should make the most of it, shouldn’t we? Are you through with your dinner?”

  His matter-of-fact tone must have surprised her. “Um. Yes, I’m finished.”

  “Then how about we go enjoy that hot tub again?” he asked, beginning to clear the table.

  She looked at him a moment, then gave him a misty smile. “I’ll pour the wine.”

  Natalie watched as Casey put her suitcase in the trunk of her car and closed the lid. “Thanks,” she said, tightening her fingers around the keys gripped in her hand.“You’re welcome. Are you sure you have everything?”

  “Yes. I’ve been through the cabin three times. There’s nothing left of mine in there.”

  She watched him swallow as he nodded. “Okay then.”

  She had already said her goodbyes to her aunt and uncle and to Molly and Kyle. She’d done so that morning before she’d returned to the cabin to load the car and say a more private farewell to Casey.

  Putting that moment off just a bit longer, she knelt to pet the dog who sat at Casey’s side, gazing up at her in what she would have sworn was anxious confusion. “You’re going to be fine, Buddy,” she said, her voice thick. “Casey’s going to take care of you until he leaves and then you’re going to live in Kyle and Molly’s backyard. You’ll like it there. The kids will love you and play with you. You’ll probably even like playing with Poppy.”

  Buddy whined, sensing something in her voice he didn’t like. She rested her cheek on his head for a moment, then rose, ordering herself not to cry over parting with a dog. She wasn’t even a dog person, she reminded herself.

  “You’re sure he’ll be okay?” she asked Casey.

  He nodded, his face grim. “I’ll make sure that he is. I’m taking him to the vet tomorrow for his shots and then I’ll introduce him to Kyle’s family. You know they’ll love him. He and Kyle already get along very well.”

&n
bsp; “I know. I just…”

  “He’ll be fine, Natalie.”

  She forced a smile. “Yes, of course he will be. Much better than living in the woods this winter, scrounging for a meal.”

  “Definitely better. Kyle and Molly have that big, fenced backyard and I’ll buy a comfy, warm doghouse before I leave. He’ll probably become Kyle’s dog, since Kyle’s never really bonded with Poppy.”

  She assured herself that was the best thing that could happen for Buddy. Kyle would take excellent care of the dog.

  “I guess I’d better go, then,” she said, shifting the keys again. She had a little over a four-hour drive ahead of her. She wanted to unpack, get a good night’s sleep, and be prepared to stalk into Herb Schroeder’s office first thing in the morning with the evidence that he had allowed himself to be thoroughly fooled.

  She couldn’t say she was looking forward to that confrontation, but she did anticipate seeing the look in his eyes when she presented him with the excellently documented evidence Andrew had put together for her. And when she left Herb’s office, she intended to head straight for Thad’s.

  “You’ll call me after you talk to them, right? I want to know everything they say.”

  She nodded. “I’ll call you.”

  She had offered to pay Andrew for his services at the going rate for a private investigator, but he’d refused, telling her he owed her this for his earlier, unauthorized invasion of her privacy. It wasn’t even as if it had been all that difficult a case to solve, he’d added bluntly, making her feel a little stupid for letting Beecham dupe her for so long.

  Like Casey, Andrew had expressed curiosity about what Herb said when she showed him what Andrew had found. He had also offered to talk to Herb personally if Natalie had any problems convincing the senior partner of the validity of her evidence. The reputation of his family firm back in Dallas was impeccable, and nationally respected, he’d added. He didn’t expect any trouble from her bosses once they heard who she’d had on her side.