Crime Tells: Cady's Cowboy

by Jory Strong

  “No. Heard the sirens, but I was in the grandstand. They have a cause?”

  “Not an official one, though I guess the consensus is that one of the grooms was cooking.” Her eyebrows drew together. “I heard someone say it’s the third fire since January. That seems like a lot of fires.”

  Kix shrugged. “Maybe. It would depend on what the grooms were cooking with. Hot plates or camp stoves wouldn’t be a good mix with hay and barns. I’ll ask Addy about it.”

  “Did you learn anything interesting when you were charming the ladies in the office?”

  “Nothing to share yet.”

  Cady frowned, not liking the sound of that. Did that mean she was good enough to sleep with, but not good enough to really partner up with on the case? Her heart took a step back. Maybe she should settle for one memorable night and leave it at that. She’d known that having sex with him would only complicate things.

  “I’ve got to head out to do some photo shoots. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Something was going on in his little darlin’s mind, but damned if Kix knew what to do about it right now. He had a couple of leads he wanted to explore but he didn’t want to draw her into it until he knew it was safe. Then after he checked those out, he had to get back to Adrienne’s place in order to get spiffed up for a fancy owner-trainer function up in San Francisco. It was just the kind of thing he hated going to, but he figured it would be a prime opportunity to meet, mingle, ask questions—and hopefully come up with a motive behind the drugging of Addy’s horses. But that didn’t mean he wanted to sleep alone tonight—or with anyone but Cady.

  He brushed the fingers of one hand through her wild curls. “I don’t know what time I’m going to get back from San Francisco, but if it’s not too late, I’d like to come by your place.”

  She hesitated for a minute, which got his heart to pounding a little harder than he felt comfortable with, but finally she said, “I’d like that, too.”

  * * * * *

  It was close to sunset by the time Cady got done with her scheduled photo shoots. She felt good about all of them, which was in sharp contrast to how she was feeling about the thing with Kix now that she had time to think about it again. Why had she told him that she’d like to see him tonight? What had happened to her resolve to take one great night of sex and call that good?

  A quiver in her cunt and a tightening of her nipples was answer enough. Okay, one great night of sex was about a million nights too few when it came to Kix. But that didn’t mean… Cady sighed, not willing to lie to herself. She had a bad feeling that when it came to the cowboy sheriff from Texas, she was already a lost cause.

  She’d just regroup a little. She’d concentrate on working the angles she came up with and she’d try to remember that her client, the Crime Tells’ client, was Alex Martin. If she kept that in mind then she wouldn’t feel compelled to tell Kix everything…not unless he was going to share information equally with her. And in the meantime, if they enjoyed each other’s company…well, that was fine. As far as she knew, there was no rule that said she couldn’t go for the gusto and work a case at the same time. Look at Lyric…

  Cady’s thoughts came to a screeching halt and she laughed. Maybe that wasn’t a good place to look. Lyric had ended up with Kieran when she’d mixed hot sex with one of her cases.

  Not that Cady didn’t absolutely adore her new brother-in-law, she did. The man was great for Lyric and a total stud muffin to boot. But he was not exactly easygoing. And if he had a sense of humor, then you’d have to dig through a lot of layers of testosterone and alpha-male dominance in order to find it.

  No thanks.

  Her fantasies did not run along the same lines as Lyric’s did… A shiver cut that lie off. Okay, so the thought of being handcuffed to the bed had entered her mind a time or two. And the thought of a spanking—not that she was sure she’d like it—but, yeah, she wouldn’t mind seeing what it was all about. And having a guy go in where no man was probably ever meant to go…

  So she was curious. Curiosity was a natural thing.

  And Lyric’s tales had only made it worse.

  Maybe next time she played cards with Lyric and Erin, and the losers had to tell their latest sexual exploit, then she’d actually have something to relate!

  Then again, was doing more with Kix really a smart thing?

  Cady pulled the truck into the gravel parking lot at Hermosa Ranch. What she needed was some horse time to clear her head.

  The ranch was made up of two huge, hilly pastures, one for mares and one for geldings. Some days you could spend forty minutes just finding your horse. But today Cady was lucky. Joker was with a small band of ten horses all hanging around the gate.

  She grabbed a halter and rope from the back of the truck and went to catch the palomino gelding. He nickered and pushed his way through the other herd members in order to get to Cady. Warmth blossomed through her at the greeting.

  “There’s my beautiful guy.” She gave him a kiss on his forehead and scratched his neck before slipping the halter on him. “No time for a ride today, but I’ll give you a little grain and get the tangles out of your mane and tail.”

  Cady took another minute to scratch Dealer’s Call, a bay horse that belonged to her cousin Cole, and then Aces High, Erin’s chestnut gelding, before leading Joker out of the pasture and down to the tack shed that she shared with Erin and Cole. She tied him to the hitching post and opened the shed. He nickered again as soon as she poured some feed in a bucket.

  “Yeah, like you’re starving to death.” She hooked the bucket to a ring on the hitching post and got out her grooming supplies.

  Miguel Hermosa came by just as she was finishing up on Joker’s ground length tail. “Hi there, sweetie. You ready to sell that gelding yet?”

  Cady grinned, knowing that he was only half joking. Miguel was a horse collector. He couldn’t seem to help himself—not that she couldn’t understand why.

  Horses were beautiful to look at and relaxing to be around. They were less trouble than a boyfriend, and more loyal than one. Plus they were better than a shrink and a lot less expensive. That’s what she always told her cousin Braden when he teased her about riding horses instead of men.

  “Nope, not ready to sell him yet.” She positioned herself so she could comb out Joker’s mane, before adding, “There was a fire on the backside today.”

  “Anybody hurt?”

  “No.”

  “Whose barn?”

  Cady pulled the small notebook out of her back pocket. “Tony Silva, Jason Randal, Dennis Hess, Ed Patterson, Jamie Johnson and Alex Harrison. Do you know any of them?”

  Miguel snorted. “Only Jamie Johnson, and he’s crooked enough to set fire to the barn himself if there was something in it for him. I used to ride for him. Drunk half the time. Surprised he hasn’t killed himself with the booze yet.”

  “He’s one of the Johnsons who practically own the track?”

  “Yep. There’s Jamie and Luke, brothers though you wouldn’t know it by the way they hate each other.”

  “I heard about Luke. He’s supposed to be a popular trainer with the owners.”

  “Yeah. You run a string of forty horses and you’re bound to have some winners. But I’m telling you, sweetie, he’s a piss-poor trainer. Blows horses out like they’re not worth anything. But owners don’t see that. All they see is him standing in the winner’s circle night after night. So every time he ships a horse off the track ‘cause it’s broken down, he has some owner ready to fill the empty stall.”

  Miguel stopped long enough to roll himself a cigarette. “Jamie’s nothing to write home about either. He started out with some talent as a horse trainer—but he was never one to pay his dues. If there’s a shortcut, Jamie’ll knock you down to get to it first.”

  “How’s Tiny related to Luke and Jamie?”

  “Nephew. His mother passed away. Don’t know much about him. He was just a youngster when I stopped working at the track. But
the track’s full of Johnsons, a lot of them are second, third cousins.” Miguel shook his head. “Don’t know most of them anymore, don’t want to know them. Once I quit riding the horses, I promised myself two things—that I’d never go back to the track and I’d never take another drink.”

  Cady headed home a little while later, her thoughts on the Johnson family. It seemed like their name kept coming up over and over again and so far she hadn’t heard anything good about any of them. Was it possible that one or more of them didn’t like Adrienne McKay and this was their way of running her off the track? Adrienne was in San Francisco, so she couldn’t ask her. But there was always the Web. Cady grinned. How had people managed to live and get anything done without the Internet?

  * * * * *

  This was just the kind of get-together Kix hated. From the outside, it looked like a bunch of beautiful fish swimming around in an expensive aquarium. From the inside, it felt like a grotto full of sharks.

  His mother would love it. But then she’d been raised a Nicholson and they damn near owned as many oil fields as the Branamans did. Kix took a sip of whiskey and silently toasted his ancestors. To the Kicking A Ranch. Home of fine horses, fine cattle, fine men and some mighty fine oil wells. Now if only he could wrap this thing up with Addy’s horses and somehow convince Cady that she had a hankering to see Texas.

  His cock jumped at the thought of his little darlin’ and he pushed away from the bar. The sooner he got to investigating, the faster he could get back to Cady. That look on her face and that small hesitation before inviting him over after he’d finished up here still had him worried.

  Prickly as a hedgehog and as skittish as a filly that hadn’t been completely gentled yet—damned if that didn’t make a near impossible combination to resist. And the fact that she didn’t see the oil wells or the badge when she looked at him, well, no wonder he’d practically handed her the rope to tie him with—not that he was some fancy reining horse or trick pony. But there was no point in showing the bronc right out of the chute. His little darlin’ needed to know it was safe to get in the saddle before she got the full ride.

  Kix angled toward their host, Andy Barwig, the owner of a horse named Expansion. Adrienne had known more about the horse than the owner, but that was no surprise.

  Barwig was surrounded by beautiful women and well-dressed men all hanging on his words. “Let’s face it,” Barwig was saying as Kix slid next to a sleek woman who sent him a look that would do a piranha justice. “We don’t have the tradition that goes along with Louisville Downs and the Kentucky Derby. We don’t even have the name recognition of Del Mar or Santa Anita. The only way horseracing is going to thrive here is if we start seeing it for what it is, a gambling sport, not a spectator sport. Big pots, big name horses, showcase barns for big-time trainers, and simulcast betting around the world, that’s where the action and the money is. We can’t compete against the card rooms and Indian gaming if we don’t make some changes. We’ve got to wake up or die out.”

  A couple of the men and women nodded in agreement. The piranha next to Kix used the break in conversation to wet her lips and say, “You don’t look like Alex Martin, but I thought I saw you come in with Adrienne.” There was just a hint of a pout at the mention of Adrienne’s name.

  Kix could feel the attention shift to him and decided to go ahead and lay his cards on the table. After the trip to the racing office, he figured there wasn’t any point in trying to hide who he was and why he was in town. Smiling genially, he introduced himself and said, “I’m sure you know about Adrienne’s little difficulty at the track. Well I’m here to get it straightened out for her.”

  One of the women tittered behind her hand. “Why, aren’t you confident!”

  Kix flashed his teeth at her, though anyone with half a brain could see that the smile didn’t go near his eyes. “Comes with being a sheriff, a Texan and a Branaman, ma’am.”

  That brought another round of titters and a rub of a breast against his shoulder from the female piranha next to him. A man to the right of Barwig, Luke Johnson, if Kix wasn’t mistaken, nodded. “Well, good luck. I don’t think anyone in this room really believes that Adrienne had anything to do with drugging her horses. Still…the rules are important. We’re in a tough, competitive environment these days. We’ve got to keep the sport honest.”

  Kix’s eyes were every bit has hard as his voice. “I couldn’t agree more. Keeping things honest is important. That’s why I’ve made a career out of enforcing the law and seeing lawbreakers brought to justice.”

  * * * * *

  Cady’s heart jumped when the doorbell sounded. And even though she was happy to see Erin with the roll of film that she’d shot at the anti-fur protest, Cady couldn’t hide a flutter of disappointment that it wasn’t Kix.

  Erin’s eyebrows shot up. “Guess you were expecting someone else, huh? I take it he didn’t leave last night after Lyric and I did?”

  “As if you don’t know.”

  “Well, kind of hard to be sure since you brought him home in your truck.” Erin laughed. “Hey, maybe that’s where I’m going wrong. Next time I go out with a guy, I’ll do the driving, then I can just bring my victim…I mean date, back here…kind of like having a captive audience. They’re stuck unless they want to shell out money for a cab or embarrass themselves by calling someone to come pick them up.”

  Cady shook her head. “If you’re trying to make me feel sorry for you so that I’ll let you win a hand of poker, forget it. You know you could have any guy you want. I mean, what guy doesn’t want someone who looks like a California beach babe. If you would just…”

  Erin held up her hand, flashing the film roll in the process. “One more word and I’m not going to give you this.”

  Cady gave in. When it came to advice on men, anything she could say to Erin, Erin could say right back to her. Between working for Bulldog and trying to build reputations as professional photographers, plus sometimes helping Lyric with her cases, plus doing horse activities…well, it’s not like either of them had a ton of opportunity or time for a love life…and then there was the small fact that they were both cautious when it came to the opposite sex. How could they not be after watching their male cousins in action? Fuck ’em and forget ’em seemed to be the motto of the unmarried Maguire and Montgomery men.

  “My lips are sealed,” Cady said and Erin handed her the roll of film.

  “Sorry I didn’t have time to develop it. I just got in and I’m beat. It’s bedtime for me.”

  A dark gray Chevy dually pulled up in front of Cady’s house. Erin grinned. “Looks like it’s bedtime for you, too. I think this is my exit cue.” But she lingered and watched as Kix unfolded himself from the truck. “Now if I could find someone like him, except maybe a school teacher instead of a lawman…” She leaned over and gave Cady a hug. “See you tomorrow. I won’t bother saying sweet dreams—who needs ‘em with a man like that around.”

  Cady’s laugh followed Erin down the driveway.

  Kix’s heart expanded with pleasure at the sight of Cady. Damn, a man could get used to this—coming home to find his woman waiting for him, all soft and happy—though he figured her laugher probably came from something Erin had said, most likely about him showing up so late. But even that was heartwarming. He liked the way family was important to Cady. It was important to him. He didn’t get around to see his brothers and parents as much as he’d like to, but it was a given in their family. Help was just a phone call away if anyone needed it.

  Kix pulled Cady into a hug as soon as he got close enough. Damn, it felt good to hold her, to feel her body soften and mold itself to his.

  She brushed a kiss against his mouth and he moaned, folding her in closer as his lips chased hers and demanded a more thorough greeting. When she whimpered, low and needy, his cock threatened to bust through his pants. Pulling back slightly, Kix whispered against her neck, “Darlin’, maybe we better take this inside.” When a wash of heat flooded her face, Kix f
elt an answering rush in the vicinity of his heart. Damned if she wasn’t just plain adorable.

  They made it to the living room before he tumbled her onto the couch and came down on top of her. His tongue went back to twining with hers while his hands worked the buttons of her shirt and released the front catch of her bra.

  When his palms covered her breasts with their tight little pointed nipples, his pelvis jammed hard against hers in reaction. Panting, he raised himself so that he could look at what his hands were touching.

  “Damn Cady, you’ve got the prettiest breasts. And your nipples…” He leaned down, licking over first one puckered areola, and then the other. “I could suck on them all day and still not get near enough.”

  Cady shivered and arched toward him, offering a glistening nipple and Kix groaned, latching on, sucking and tonguing the sensitive nub until she was whimpering and writhing underneath him, feverishly clawing at their clothing in an effort to feel skin on skin.

  Ice-hot desire whipped down Kix’s spine and more blood pulsed into his cock as his zipper gave and her hands slid into his jockeys. “Oh god, darlin’, keep that up and I’m not going to be responsible for what happens,” he panted when she cupped his balls with one hand and pumped his shaft with the other.

  His penis grew harder and wetter in her hand and he shivered as feverish need built until the only thought in his mind was to put her on her hands and knees and take her like a stallion takes his mare.

  “Darlin’,” he groaned against her breast, “I’ve got to get inside you pretty damn quick here or I’m going to go all over your hot little cunt.”

  When his hand moved toward his back pocket, she stilled it with hers. He lifted his head and saw the delicate blush wash across her face. “I’m on the Pill,” she whispered and his cock just about leaped out of her hand at the thought of plowing into her wet, tight sheath with no barriers between them.

  “Damn Cady, you’re just about to unman me.” He got to his feet and scrambled out of his clothes, the thought of flesh-in-flesh making his cock leak and ache and need like it had never done before.