A Real Cowboy

by Carla Cassidy

  “The Cowboy Inn.” Jeff didn’t look at Lucas, as if he could feel the animus radiating from him and didn’t want to do anything to cause an explosion that might wind up causing him bodily harm.

  “That’s a cheap motel almost halfway between here and Oklahoma City,” Lucas said to Nicolette.

  “And what restaurant were you supposed to meet him at?” Dillon asked.

  “Darryl’s Diner. Look, I had no intention of hurting the kid. The man told me he didn’t want the kid harmed.” Jeff looked at Nicolette and then back to the chief. “I thought maybe it was some sort of an ugly custody issue of some kind. You hear about this stuff on television all the time.”

  “There is no custody issue,” Nicolette said, her voice strained with barely suppressed emotion.

  “Where did you get that horse and how was it that you just happened to be at the side of the house at a time when Sammy was vulnerable?” Dillon asked.

  “The horse belongs to Bill Janko over at the Breckenridge Ranch. Bill and I are friends and I asked him if I could borrow his horse for a little while this morning. I’d been hiding out around the side of the house for a couple of hours before I saw the kid standing next to his mother and nobody else around.”

  Jeff sighed. “I’ve told you everything I know. Can’t we just chalk this up to one of my boneheaded mistakes and forget about it?” For the first time his voice held no belligerence, but rather a pleading.

  “I know what I think we should do,” Lucas said before Dillon could respond. “I think we should put Jeff behind bars until tomorrow night and then I think he should make the phone call and meet this guy at the restaurant.”

  “And we’ll all be waiting,” Dillon replied, his eyes lighting with the shine of a hunter smelling prey.

  “Why stop with the bonehead when we can get the man behind the plot?” Lucas asked rhetorically.

  “But Sammy wouldn’t be there,” Nicolette said. “I don’t want him anywhere around any of this. He’s been through enough already.”

  “Sammy stays here. Jeff can tell the man that he’s asleep in the back of his car. If it gets that far we’ll make sure we’ve got a lump of blankets there that appears to be a sleeping child.” Dillon turned his attention back to Jeff. “How are you supposed to identify this man when you get to the diner?”

  “He’s going to be wearing a black-and-red shirt,” Jeff replied. He bowed his head, as if a confession had been beaten out of him.

  “At that time of night in that dive, I’d be surprised if there was anyone else in the place,” Lucas said.

  “You’d be surprised at how many drunks and lowlifes wind up there in the middle of the night,” Dillon replied. He rose from his chair. “Why don’t I get this creep out of here and we’ll talk tomorrow about specific plans for tomorrow night.”

  Minutes later Nicolette and Lucas were alone. The only sound in the house was Sammy’s giggles and Cassie’s laughter drifting down the stairs.

  “You know Sammy is probably the least traumatized of all of us about this,” Lucas said softly.

  “I know.” She unclasped her hands and instead reached two fingers to the center of her forehead and lightly rubbed.

  “Headache?” he asked. She looked achingly vulnerable, as if she might shatter to pieces if she moved wrong, if he said the wrong thing.

  To his surprise she straightened her shoulders and gave him a small smile. “Life ache would be more like it.”

  He took one of her hands in his, marveling at how small, how delicate it was against his own and yet how much inner strength she possessed. “Hopefully by tomorrow night we’ll have all the answers to satisfy us and the bad guy will be in custody.”

  She squeezed his hand. “I hope you’re right. I just want all of this to be over.” She released his hand and stood. “It’s late. I need to get Sammy into the bathtub and into bed.”

  “I’ll make sure the house is locked up tight,” Lucas said and got up from the sofa, as well.

  What he wanted to do was wrap his arms around her and hold her tight against him, hold her until the simmer of fear no longer darkened the beauty of her eyes. He’d like to kiss her long and deep, until he banished every thought of what had happened, what might have happened, and instead filled her head with hot, sweet desire.

  But he did neither of those things. He watched her walk up the stairs and then he went around the house, locking doors and checking windows.

  His mind whirled with the events of the day. The fact that Jeff had been lured to commit such an act wasn’t a huge surprise. The man was an addict who had no moral compass when it came to getting the funds to get his fixes. The real question was who was behind the kidnapping attempt. Who had paid Jeff to do the job?

  He lingered at the kitchen door, reliving the moment he’d heard Nicolette’s terrified scream. He never wanted to hear that kind of sound from her again.

  Thank God for the resilience of children, he thought. Sammy was young enough not to fully process the real danger he’d been in, and from the giggles Lucas had heard from the upstairs bedroom throughout the interrogation of Jeff, Sammy had already put most of the trauma behind him.

  It was the adults who would not be able to just make a tent of bed sheets and forget the whole thing. This would haunt Nicolette and him until they had all the answers they needed to stamp the case closed in their minds.

  He was just about to leave the back door when a soft knock fell. He peered out to see Nick standing on the back porch. Lucas opened the door and Nick stepped just inside.

  “I just wanted to let you know that a couple of the other guys and me are going to take turns guarding the outside of the house for the night.”

  “I appreciate it,” Lucas replied. He knew that Nick had problems of his own. When the waitress Wendy Bailey had initially gone missing, Nick had been under scrutiny for her disappearance.

  “I just wanted to let you know we’re out here so if you see us you don’t think we’re the bad guys and decide to shoot us,” Nick replied with a wry smile.

  “I’ll keep that in mind. I’d hate to shoot one of the good guys.”

  Nick left and once again Lucas locked up the back door. By the time he climbed the stairs, his bunk buddy was already bathed and in bed with Nicolette seated on the twin bed beside him.

  She stood as he entered the room and Sammy gave him a sleepy smile. “I was just telling him to have sweet dreams,” Nicolette said.

  “Cowboys always have sweet dreams,” Lucas replied.

  “And I’m a real cowboy.” The words slurred from Sammy and then it was obvious he was asleep.

  Lucas walked with Nicolette out into the hallway. She looked up at him, her eyes shimmering in the faint light spilling from Cassie’s bedroom.

  “I don’t think I really thanked you enough for saving him,” she said. Her lower lip trembled slightly. “He’s my world, you know. I can’t imagine what my life would be like without him.”

  Lucas couldn’t stand it any longer. He had to touch her in some way, somehow. He raised a hand and stroked it softly down her cheek, and before he realized how it happened, she was in his embrace.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and he took her by the waist and held her tight, breathing in the scent of her hair and the soft floral and slightly fruity perfume that muddied his head.

  He rubbed his hands up and down her back as he felt her shivering despite the fact that the hallway was warm. Fear was a terrible place to dwell. He knew that more than most people.

  He remembered the fear of sleeping beneath a highway overpass or in the back of a dark alley, terrified that somebody would sneak up on him in the middle of the night and slit his throat and steal what meager items he’d managed to collect.

  “It’s going to be all right,” he murmured against her ear. “We aren’t going to let anything happen to Sammy.”

  She raised her head to gaze up at him and her beautiful eyes swam with so many emotions he couldn’t begin to discern a
ny one in particular.

  All he knew was that she looked as if she needed to be kissed...badly. And he wanted to kiss her...badly. He recognized that they’d both been on an emotional roller coaster and the ride hadn’t stopped.

  Following instincts alone, he lowered his lips to hers, stunned when she tightened her grip around his neck and pressed closer against him.

  She tasted of sweetness and heat. She opened her mouth to allow him to deepen what he’d intended simply as a kiss of compassion, of support. The kiss became so much more complicated than that as their tongues swirled together and a fire in his veins flamed hot. The kiss stole his breath away and finally he broke it and instead slid his lips down her jaw and under her chin.

  She dropped her head back and pressed her hips more firmly against his. You’ve got to stop, a little voice whispered inside his head.

  It was as if she heard the little voice. She suddenly stepped back from him, her green eyes glowing and her breathing labored.

  Before he could mutter an apology, she grabbed his hand, hers feeling hot and fevered. “Come to my room, Lucas. Come and make love to me.”

  It never entered his mind to deny her. After all, a real cowboy never turned down a lady’s request.

  Chapter 9

  Nicolette knew she was all kinds of fool, but at the moment she didn’t care. She’d deal with the morning-after issues when they’d shared their night before.

  She could pretend to herself that she was out of her mind, that Sammy’s near abduction was the reason for the bad decision she was about to make.

  The truth of the matter was she wanted to make love with Lucas. She thought she’d wanted him since the moment she’d gotten out of the car and saw him standing so tall, so confident and sexy, by the front porch.

  The minute she closed her bedroom door behind them, she was in his arms once again and his lips claimed hers in a kiss that torched fire through her from head to toe.

  She didn’t want to think anymore, and being in Lucas’s arms brought not just a welcomed sense of security, but a desire that overrode anything else.

  Sammy was safe and she wanted Lucas. It was as simple and as complicated as that. As their lips remained locked, he grabbed the bottom of her T-shirt and broke the kiss only long enough to pull it over her head and toss it aside.

  The only light in the room was the soft glow from the bedside lamp on the nightstand that cast the room in hazy gold and shadows.

  He pulled his own T-shirt off and then reached for her again. She loved the feel of his bare, muscled chest against her. She nestled her face into the hollow of his throat, breathing in the scent of sunshine and a fresh, clean cologne.

  Their hips moved against each other, friction from their jeans creating a new well of heat inside her. She knew he wasn’t her happily-ever-after, but he was her happy for tonight and that was enough.

  She broke away from him and moved toward the queen-size bed. Shoes and socks disappeared and she unfastened her jeans and wiggled out of them. A glance at him showed that he was doing the same thing.

  As he stood before her in only a pair of navy briefs, her breath caught in her chest at his physical perfection. Lean muscles rode his body in every place they belonged, and she couldn’t wait to feel all those muscles against her. The faint illumination appeared to play and dance on his perfect physique.

  She quickly unfastened her bra and allowed it to fall off her, unashamed as she once again stood to face him clad only in a wispy pair of white lace underpants.

  “You are so beautiful,” he said, his voice lower...deeper than she’d ever heard it before. He reached up and tangled his hands in her hair, as if wanting to touch each and every strand.

  “I was just thinking the same thing about you,” she replied. She stepped away from him and moved to the bed and pulled down the quilt that covered it, exposing pale blue sheets that beckoned them.

  She slid beneath the sheets and he followed. He immediately placed his hands on each side of her face. “I’ve dreamed of this since the moment I first saw you when you got out of that rental car,” he said softly.

  “I’ve had the same dream,” she confessed. His lips took hers in a soft, gentle kiss that stirred her on all levels. Gone momentarily was the stress, the horror of the day. She knew it all would eventually return, but for right now Lucas’s kisses, his caresses, provided a temporary respite from her worries.

  Their kisses grew deeper, longer, and at the same time his hands found her breasts, cupping them, his fingers sliding over her nipples and forcing a gasp of pleasure to escape her as they tautened to meet his touch.

  Her hands played down the length of his back, loving the feel of moving muscles beneath his sleek, smooth skin. They were close enough that she could tell he was fully aroused, and that only drove her desire for him higher.

  It wasn’t long before their underwear was gone and their naked bodies slid against each other as if needing to make up for days of sensory deprivation.

  She wanted to touch him everywhere, and at the same time he explored her intimately, touching...tasting her as if she was a delectable dessert he couldn’t resist.

  She was wet and ready for him as his fingers slid into her and then out. He focused on the core nub to bring her to climax.

  Her breath came in quick pants as his fingers worked faster, his gaze locked with hers as if he wanted to see the moment that utter, mindless passion swept her completely away.

  And then she was there, rolling waves of pleasure drowning her. He moved between her thighs and entered her. The waves continued to overwhelm her.

  She gasped his name and clutched his back, wanting him closer and deeper, wanting to keep him with her not just for this single night, but for forever.

  He pulled back and then stroked into her once again. The waves of pleasure intensified their frenzied movements.

  He had already taken her to a place she’d never been before, even in all the years of her marriage, and he was sweeping her away once again.

  She clung to him as he took her over the edge yet again and cried out his name. He stiffened against her, finding his own release.

  They remained locked together, his weight on top of her lightened by him holding himself up on his elbows. He gazed down at her, his eyes filled with a tenderness, a softness that almost pulled tears to her eyes.

  “That was nothing short of amazing,” he said.

  “You’ll get no argument from me,” she replied.

  He rolled to the side of her and propped himself up on one elbow, his eyes glowing in the illumination from the lamp on the nightstand. “So, should we have the morning-after talk now or tomorrow?”

  “Do we need to have a morning-after talk?”

  “I don’t know. You tell me,” he replied. “I figured after you had a little bit of time to think about it you would have all kinds of regrets and get all weird on me.”

  She released a small laugh. “Get all weird on you? Is that normally how women react after you’ve been intimate with them?”

  “I don’t get intimate with anyone very often. I just don’t want you to wake up tomorrow morning and have regrets about this...about us.”

  “No regrets, I promise,” she replied, and meant it. No matter what happened between them, she would never regret this night with Lucas. Her body still hummed with pleasure she’d never known before.

  “Cassie is going to sell the place, isn’t she?” His gaze didn’t leave hers.

  She couldn’t lie to him, not here with him so close to her and not now, with the memory of his body still burned into hers. Besides, he had to already suspect.

  “That’s her plan right now, but she didn’t want any of you men to know.”

  “Why?”

  She sat up and pulled the sheet up to hide her bare breasts. Despite what they’d just shared she felt more naked now than she had before as his gaze remained on her. This was not a conversation she wanted to have with him.

  “She was afraid
if you all knew then you’d leave and she’d have nobody to get the work done that needs to be done before she can get the place on the market.” She frowned. “Do the others know that she plans to sell?”

  “No, at least not that I know about. Adam certainly believes she plans to stay on. Otherwise he wouldn’t be spending so much time trying to teach her about management of the ranch.”

  “Are you going to tell them?”

  He was silent for a long moment. “No, I’ll keep Cassie’s secret, but eventually she’s going to have to let everyone know her true intentions. We all have our own lives to think about.”

  He rolled out of the bed and grabbed his underwear from the floor and stepped into them. “I’d better get back to my little roommate.” He put on his shirt and then pulled on his jeans.

  “Lucas...” She called his name as he was about to step out into the hallway. It all felt suddenly awkward, as if he’d slammed a door between them. He turned back to look at her.

  “Are we okay?” she asked, her heart beating an unsteady rhythm. She hadn’t realized until this moment how much she’d come to depend on Lucas’s strength and support. She hadn’t realized until now how much she’d come to care about him.

  “We’re okay, Nicolette. You just reminded me that city girls like to play for a little while in the country, but the city always calls them back.”

  He didn’t wait for her reply, but left the bedroom and disappeared down the hallway. Nicolette rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling.

  What should have been a magnificent end to a dreadful day had taken a sour turn, and she didn’t understand exactly what had happened.

  Had he gotten angry because she’d merely confirmed Cassie’s plan to sell, when he’d admitted that he’d already figured that out? But his coolness didn’t make sense if he’d already known about Cassie’s plans.

  His last comment played and replayed in her head. City girls like to play in the country for a while, but the city always calls them back.

  Had that been some sort of indictment against Cassie, or had it been directed at her?