Lindsay McKenna

by High Country Rebel

Talon grinned. He knew Cat wouldn’t sit around—she was too restless and active. “Can she ride a horse, Jordana?”

  Jordana laughed. “I’m sure after a week or so, Dr. Lyons will approve four legs for her to get around with.”

  “I’m feeling better already,” Cat murmured.

  “I’m going to get the crutches for you. I’ll be right back.”

  Cat pushed her fingers through her hair. It felt dirty. “I’m going to have to take a shower when you get me home.”

  “Let’s be sure to ask Dr. Lyons if that dressing around your knee is waterproof.”

  “Good idea,” Cat muttered, realizing her mind still wasn’t firing on all cylinders.

  “Miss Gus wants to talk to us about something she said that was important,” Talon said. “I told her once we got you stabilized that we’d drop over to the ranch and see her. That okay with you?”

  “Sure,” she murmured. Cat moved her right leg a little, testing it. She absorbed Talon’s quiet presence. “Are you really okay?” He looked fine.

  “I am now. Magee is in custody. And he’s not getting out again.”

  “Whoever put up his bail might try it again.”

  “Cade said that the manager over at Ace Trucking, Jenkins, had put up the bail. That fancy California lawyer admitted it to Cade.”

  “Is it drug money?”

  “Cade thinks so. Can’t prove it. But Magee is in jail and won’t be set free again. His trial will be in three months and you’ll be one of the people testifying against him.”

  Suddenly, Cat was worried. “But if Magee is part of a drug ring, will that set them against me, Talon?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t think so and neither does Cade. Right now, ATF and the FBI are telling the sheriff’s department that Garcia’s trying to remain low-key. Magee was a loose cannon in their organization. Cade doesn’t think they realized Magee was the sick bastard that he is, that he was obsessed with you. Otherwise, Cade says they probably wouldn’t have hired him. They don’t want their people causing waves or catching the attention of law enforcement.” He saw some of her worry recede.

  “All I want to do,” Cat whispered, reaching out for his hand, “is go home, sleep with you in our bed.”

  “You’ll get that,” Talon promised her thickly, holding her fingers. “And Zeke will be downstairs being our guard dog. He’s our first line of defense if anyone thinks they’ll come through either condo door, so stop worrying.”

  *

  IT WAS MIDNIGHT before Talon drove Cat to her condo. Zeke was in the rear seat, panting happily as Talon pulled into the driveway. Tapped into his SEAL training, he stayed alert as he held the door open for Cat, looking up and down the quiet, well-lit street. Above, the stars glimmered. It was chilly, near freezing. Zeke leaped out of the truck and stood by Talon’s side, watching Cat’s slow, awkward progress.

  “Good thing I don’t have to use these crutches long,” she growled unhappily, hobbling slowly up the concrete driveway.

  Talon grinned and shut the doors. “No, I don’t think you’re going to be friends with them.” He gave Zeke orders to remain at Cat’s side while he took the keys out of his pocket and opened the door to her condo and swung it open. Turning on the light, he went inside and cleared the place. Talon trusted no one. Magee worked for a drug cartel that was trying to get a toehold in the town. It was enough to put him on guard. The condo was empty and by the time Talon came out to the front door, Cat was hobbling up the two steps. He could see she was exhausted. It had been one hell of a day.

  Zeke patiently stood behind her as she made slow progress into the condo. Once Cat was in, the dog leaped across the threshold and then sat nearby, watching her. Talon closed the door and was grateful that Zeke was with them. The dog didn’t seem to be favoring his injured shoulder even after finding and taking Magee down. Still, tomorrow, Talon would take him to the vet to make sure.

  “I’m whipped,” Cat said.

  “I bet.” Talon took the crutches. “Hold on, I’m carrying you upstairs to the bathroom so you can have that shower.”

  Cat was going to protest but saw the very male smile lurking at the corners of his mouth. A mouth she wanted kissing her, loving her, once more. She’d come so close to losing her life, losing Talon. “Okay, I’m ready for a ride.”

  Talon deposited her in the bathroom. “Want some help undressing?” he said, and gave her a teasing look.

  Cat sat down on the chair. “Yes.” Talon shrugged out of his jacket and hat, setting them outside the bathroom. Zeke watched her from the doorway. He had saved her life, too. Tears burned in Cat’s eyes and she felt suddenly emotional. As Talon came in and knelt down in front of her, gently easing off one of her boots, she whispered, “I’m going to cry….”

  He put the boot aside. “You’ve been through a lot,” Talon said, seeing the moisture in her eyes. “Want me to hold you?” Because he wanted to. Needed to. He saw her nod once, fighting to keep from crying. Talon stood and gently helped her stand. He wrapped his arms around Cat. He felt her arms slide around his waist, pressing her face against his shoulder and neck. “It’s going to be all right, babe,” he rasped, kissing her temple, easing his hand across her back. “I know you’ve been through hell….”

  Cat let her tears flow. She wasn’t one to cry often, but when she did, it felt like a flood. And Talon held her gently in his arms, grazing her hair, whispering words of comfort to her. Finally, the tears passed and Cat eased back just enough to look up at Talon. His stormy gray eyes were brighter than usual. Was he crying, too? Cat wasn’t sure because she saw the tears disappear as quickly as she’d seen them. His mouth was tight, as if he were holding back a barrage of feelings.

  Lifting her hand, she muttered thickly, “Thanks… I needed to get that out of my system.”

  “I always want to hold you when you cry,” Talon told her, his voice low and thick with feelings. Grazing her wet cheek, he looked deeply into her exhausted eyes. “Come on, let’s get you that shower and then I want to hold you all night….”

  *

  CAT DROWSILY AWOKE the next morning, the sun peeking around the edges of the drawn curtain. She rubbed her eyes, slowly rolling from her side to her back. Feeling the pinch of her injured knee, she grimaced. There wasn’t much pain, just a lot of swelling from the surgery.

  She heard a dog whining nearby.

  As she opened her eyes, Cat saw Zeke sitting expectedly at the side of her bed. When she smiled at him, he thumped his tail and started to pant.

  “Hey, big guy,” she murmured, putting out her hand and petting his head. “How are you this morning?”

  Zeke whined, the tail thumping even harder and faster.

  Cat smiled and slowly sat up, being careful with her knee. Where was Talon? And what time was it? Groggy, she looked up at the clock on the dresser opposite her bed. It was ten o’clock? Gasping, Cat couldn’t believe she’d slept ten hours. Looking around, she didn’t see or hear Talon. The condo was quiet. Was Talon gone? If so, where had he gone? Cat saw her crutches leaning against the wall within her reach. There was a hand-scrawled note on the bed stand next to the crutches. “Babe, left to go to the bakery in town to get you some of your favorite cinnamon rolls. Be back soon. Love, T.”

  Cat held the paper, feeling her heart swell with a fierce love. She set the paper down on the surface and brought the crutches over. She wore a pink knee-length cotton nightgown and carefully got out of bed. First, the bathroom and then she’d get dressed. Just in time for Talon to return with those delicious cinnamon rolls.

  Zeke followed her to the door of the bathroom.

  “No, you can stay outside,” she told him with a smile. “I don’t need guard dogging in here….”

  Cat had just struggled into a pair of loose white linen slacks, put on her new knee brace and hobbled downstairs when Talon arrived. She smiled at the bottom of the stairs.

  “Cinnamon rolls?”

  Talon grinned, a sack of groceries in his hand
. “You’re up. Yeah, got your favorites.” He saw she’d brushed her hair and it lay like an ebony cloak around her shoulders. Cat’s eyes were clear and her smile went straight to his heart. As Talon shut the door, Zeke came up, whining and wagging his tail hello at him.

  Patting his dog, he took the sack to the granite island. He walked over to Cat, who was walking without the aid of the crutches but with the serious knee brace on instead. Resting his hands on the shoulders of her dark yellow tee, Talon leaned down, claiming her smiling mouth. Holding her last night had been a special hell all its own. The only comfortable position for Cat’s knee was on a pillow between her legs to keep the knee in a position that didn’t cause her aggravation. She lay on her left side with the pillow and he’d slid in behind her, curving his body around hers. It had been sweet to slide his arm beneath her neck and wrap his other arm around her waist and hold her against him. He didn’t know who had fallen asleep first.

  Cat moaned softly, putting her arms around Talon’s broad shoulders as he kissed her long and deeply. Her breasts were pressed to his chest, the black T-shirt fitting him like a second skin, emphasizing his breadth and power. Threading her fingers into his hair, she kissed him hungrily, feeling his moist breath along her cheek, inhaling his special scent that drove heat quickly into her lower body. She could feel Talon being careful with her, not wanting to cause her knee any pain. As he eased from her mouth, she whispered, “That’s even better than a cinnamon roll.”

  His mouth moved into a faint smile and Talon released her. He kept his arm beneath her elbow as she walked slowly to the stool and sat down. “I like kissing you.” He moved around the island and took the groceries out of the bag. Pushing the white sack toward her, he said, “And, trust me, last night I wanted to do a whole lot more than just hold you.”

  Groaning, Cat opened the sack and inhaled the scent of cinnamon. The huge rolls were thickly slathered with white frosting, making her mouth water. “I know,” she lamented. “The doctor said it would be at least a week before I can start bending that knee again.”

  “And you’ll be getting physical therapy for it,” Talon reminded her, putting the boxes and cans into the cabinets above the sink. He pulled out two iron skillets and put half a pound of bacon in one of them to fry. “Hungry?”

  “For you.” Cat saw him cast her a warning look over his shoulder.

  “Don’t be a tease.”

  “Since when is being honest being a tease?” Incredible happiness threaded through her. Talon was dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt that made her salivate. She had run her hands over this man’s body, felt his muscles tighten beneath her fingertips as she’d explored him. She had felt his love for her in so many different ways. Cat knew she’d been given a second chance. No longer was she going to self-censor anything about her feelings toward Talon. Every day was precious. A gift.

  Talon took eggs over to the skillet. As he looked at Cat, he noticed her cheeks were flushed. He felt himself hardening with need of her. “Want some breakfast?”

  “Coffee?”

  Talon moved to the counter and poured her a cup, sliding it into her hands. “Anything else?” A wicked look came to her face.

  “You?”

  Shaking his head, Talon muttered, “I’m in such a hurt locker. I’m going to count each of those seven days,” he promised her with a growl, returning to the stove.

  Laughing, Cat pulled a chunk off the cinnamon roll and savored it. “You look kind of nice in my kitchen. I’d like to wake up every morning and see you in there.”

  Talon grinned and broke half-a-dozen eggs into the heated skillet. “My cooking abilities are limited,” he warned her. “However, my ability to love you isn’t.”

  Cat sighed and gave him a warm smile. She pulled out a roll and set it on top of the sack. “Want a bite?”

  “Of you, yeah.”

  She snorted. “Is this going to be the limit of our conversations? That we have to keep a distance and can’t do much about it?”

  “Most likely,” Talon murmured, smiling.

  She watched him cook up the eggs. Talon placed slices of bread into the toaster and put the butter and strawberry jam on the island in front of her. “You’re really good at multitasking.”

  “A SEAL habit,” Talon informed her. He put the eggs on a plate and set them on the island. In no time, he had plates and flatware for them. He found some pink linen napkins in another drawer and added them. “Can you divvy up the eggs?”

  Cat nodded and gave him four while she took two. He brought over the bacon in a small plastic bowl lined with paper towels. She took them and he came around the island and sat down next to her.

  Zeke came closer, looking up at Cat, thumping his tail.

  “Uh-oh,” Cat murmured, picking up a piece of bacon. “I’ve got a beggar over here. What do I do?”

  Talon looked around Cat and saw his dog. “A dog always knows who to hit on,” he muttered casually, grinning.

  Cat gave him a dark look. “What? You’re saying he thinks I’m easy?”

  Talon’s mouth pulled into a full grin. “Something like that. He knows something sweet when he sees it.”

  “Well,” Cat pouted, tearing the bacon in two, “he did save my life. Don’t you think he deserves some kind of a reward?”

  “When you put it that way,” Talon agreed, “yes.”

  Zeke daintily took the proffered bacon from Cat’s hand, his eyes glistening with happiness. Cat smiled. “Thank you, Zeke. You saved me. You’re such a good friend to have.” She patted the dog’s broad head.

  Zeke quickly finished off the bacon and looked pleadingly up at her again.

  “No,” Cat said, “lie down, Zeke,” and she pointed toward the floor.

  The dog whined.

  “Zeke.” Talon’s voice was firm.

  Zeke instantly went over toward the stairs and lay down.

  “You’re tough,” Cat said, grinning over at him.

  “And you’re such a marshmallow, Ms. Edwin.”

  Sliding her hand across his shoulders, she laughed. “But you love me anyway?”

  Talon turned and cupped her cheek. “Yes,” he rasped, kissing her lightly on the nose, “I love you anyway.”

  Heat moved through Talon as he saw her expression turn somber. No doubt, she was cycling emotionally from nearly dying. He caught her hand, kissed her palm and allowed her to take it back. “I have a feeling you’re not only going to spoil my dog, but you’re going to spoil me, too.”

  Cat nodded, her voice strained. “You both saved me. Why wouldn’t I?”

  Talon put his fork down and turned on the stool, cupping her face. “Babe, you saved my life first. Remember? And I’m going to take the rest of my life and spoil you rotten. Okay?”

  Tears stung Cat’s eyes. She heard the barely held emotions in his voice. “Okay, can we agree we’ll do our best to spoil one another so long as we live?”

  He leaned down and brushed her mouth, feeling her warmth, the lushness that was only her. “You got it,” he whispered against her lips.

  *

  CAT WAS RESTING on the couch in the early afternoon when her cell phone rang. She picked it up from the coffee table and answered it.

  “Cat?”

  “Hey, Miss Gus. How are you?”

  “I should be asking you that!”

  Cat grinned and slowly sat up, maneuvering her knee into a comfortable position. “I’m fine. Happy to be alive. Happy to have Talon here with me. Life doesn’t get much better than that.”

  “That’s true. Listen, I just got done talkin’ with Sandy. Val, Griff and me want to go up to visit her tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock. Do you think you and Talon can make it? Are you able to walk at all?”

  “Sure, we can make it. What’s up?”

  “Oh, not much,” Gus hedged. “But it’ll give us a chance to not only see Sandy, but to see how you’re doing.”

  “I’m okay. I was never so grateful as yesterday when Zeke charged tha
t grizzly that was coming after me.”

  “Talon told us about it. That dog’s a real hero, but so is Talon. And you should be proud of yourself, Cat. You escaped and ran. Good for you!”

  Wryly, Cat muttered, “Yeah, but in escaping, I took that hill the wrong way and screwed up my knee but good.”

  “Val was talkin’ with Jordana today. They met over at the grocery store earlier. She said that you’re on six weeks’ medical leave from the fire department because of it?”

  “Yeah,” Cat said glumly. “I’ll go crazy not working.”

  “Well, Jordana said that in a week, you’ll be up to doing light ranch work. Are you interested? Work for us full-time for the next five weeks? It’ll keep you busy and out of trouble.”

  Laughing, Cat said, “I’d love to, Miss Gus. Count me in. It will give me something to look forward to.”

  “Well,” Gus said, “I’ve got a very special project in mind and I think it’s a perfect fit for you. Won’t cause you a lot of knee pain or anything. How about we talk more tomorrow when we visit Sandy?”

  “Great,” Cat said, relieved. “Whatever it is, I can do.”

  “Oh, I know. You’re a real handy gal to have around. By any chance do you feel like comin’ out here for dinner tonight? We really miss you and Talon. I’m makin’ my world-famous spaghetti and meatballs. I’ve already made the French bread and it’s risin’ right now. There’ll be plenty for the two of you.”

  Cat felt such love for Gus. “Talon’s out in the garage. Can I call you back and let you know? I love your spaghetti and, besides that, it will get him out of making me dinner tonight.”

  Gus laughed heartily. “I’ll betcha he’ll be more than ready to run you down here for dinner, then.”

  “I think so,” Cat said, “but I’ll call you back in about ten minutes.”

  “Sounds good. Oh, did I tell you? My strawberries are ripe? I’m makin’ strawberry shortcake for dessert.”

  Groaning, Cat muttered, “Well, even if Talon doesn’t want to come, I’ll be there one way or another!”

  Cat sat on the couch after the call, feeling such hope. There was soft music playing from the radio in the corner and Zeke was lying at her feet. Every time she moved, his head would pop up like the guard dog he was. She petted him. “Strawberry shortcake, Zeke. I’m hungry already.” She slowly stood, carefully putting weight on her injured knee. The brace was state-of-art and allowed Cat to walk without much of a limp as she headed to the side door that led to the garage. Zeke got up and followed at her side. “I don’t know if Talon wants to bring you down there or not. You’ll probably be expecting Miss Gus to feed you a meatball or something….”