by Sable Hunter
He got them both a coffee and took a seat at the kitchen table to eat his toast.
There was a nervous energy about the man and Isabella smiled at him over the rim of her cup, choosing to stay silent and let him talk if he chose to. She did her best to hide it, but Isabella kept sneaking little glances at the stove to see the time. Bull asked her how she slept last night, just polite conversation, it was clear his mind was elsewhere.
Nine-fifteen came and went, then nine-thirty.
“Traffic,” Bull said nervously. The whip cream had fallen in its bowl and the bananas were visibly brown around the edges.
When the clock on the stove hit ten, they’d already finished their second cup of coffee.
“More coffee?” Bull asked.
“Maybe you should call her.” Bull got up from the table and walked to the window. “I don’t want to bug her.” The last thing Bull wanted to do was annoy Carol and give her another reason to not show up.
“Bull. Bull! Earth to Bull.” Isabella was at his side with his phone in her hand. “Call her.” He gave her an unsure look. “Fine. I’ll call her.”
“Jesus, woman!” He snatched he phone from her hand. “You’d worry the horns off a billy goat!” Dialing Carol’s number, he walked off and was back in a minute. “She said they were leaving in a few minutes.” The smile on his face was unmistakable. “They’ll be here shortly. I better go put everything in the fridge.”
Isabella helped. They stayed silent again, but when another half hour had passed, she spoke-up. “This is bullshit.”
“I know. This is just Carol being Carol. All I care about is that she shows up.”
Isabella wanted to say something further, but she bit her tongue. She loved this man and it killed her to see anyone mistreat him. She knew she should stay out of it, but damn it was hard.
“Where are you going?” he asked when he saw her head upstairs.
Isabella wheeled around, one hand clutching the banister. “I thought I’d go freshen up.” She was prepared to play nice, even make herself look anything but her best for the sake of peace, but Isabella was fuming. If the former Mrs. Redford wanted to mess around and play games with Bull’s heart, Isabella would play games also.
“Please don’t.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
He gave her a stern look. “You know exactly what I mean.”
Isabella crossed her arms over her chest. She’d purposely made herself look unattractive in front of the man who she wanted to see her as beautiful every second of the day and done it all to keep his bitch of an ex-wife happy. “Fine. But can I at least run a brush through my hair?”
“Well, I don’t think you need it, but sure. Just don’t go getting all spiffed up and putting my ex to shame like you do every other woman on the planet.”
His admiration sent a charge through her and Isabella leapt from the step she was on and into his arms. “Do we have time for a quickie?” She rubbed up against him, enjoying the heft of Bull’s thick cock in his jeans. His ex must’ve been crazy to willfully leave such a magnificent man.
The sound of gravel under tires behind them drew Bull’s attention. They both turned and peered out the front door. “Doesn’t look like it.” He placed her gently back down on the steps.
“Oh, my god,” Isabella murmured under her breath.
Bull was standing with the front door open. It didn’t matter if he heard Isabella or not, he was thinking the same thing.
Carol got out of the car and retrieved her young son from the back seat. She made her way up the front steps wearing a bright red dress that left little to the imagination up top. Her chest was plumped as high as possible. Bull knew it was all bra and he knew it was all for his benefit, but he didn’t care. All he saw was Luke as he ran up the last few steps, letting go of his mother’s hand.
“Daddy!”
Bull picked him up for a huge hug. “Hey, buddy. I missed you.” He kissed the little boy on both cheeks.
Carol didn’t bother to apologize for being late. She walked up the stairs with Luke’s backpack in her hand.
Bull took the torn pack from her. “I thought you were getting him a new one.”
Carol sneered at him. “Oh, for god’s sake, Bull, he’s only here a couple of days. I haven’t had time.” Her lipstick was almost as bright as her dress.
“Had time to get your hair cut, though, I see.”
She played with her recently trussed locks. “You like it?”
Her hair has been halfway down to her ass the last time he’d seen her at the hospital, now it was all gone, cut up to barely under her chin. Bull was now sure they’d been late this morning because it must have taken his ex-wife a few hours to put herself together like this.
“Shows off the new earrings pretty well.”
Diamonds sparkled in her ears. “Oh, these old things?”
Old things?
Apparently, she’d forgotten they’d lived together as husband and wife for several years. In a desperate attempt to win her affections, he’d bought her many expensive gifts and these earrings were not on that list. He also knew there was no way a chump like Matt Lawton could afford something so nice. It was clear to Bull, that she’d spent some of the money he’d sent for Luke on herself. He seethed, but held his tongue. Now was not the time.
Carol stepped into the house as if she still lived there. Bull didn’t care. He didn’t care about her shocking new haircut, or even the fact that she’d jerked him around for over an hour waiting on them, all he cared about was that Luke was here.
“Traffic was heavy on the way over,” Carol said over her shoulder. She stopped and took her shoes off. “We got here as soon as we could.”
Bull followed her in and shut the door. “Uh-huh.” He wasn’t sure why she was taking her shoes off.
Turning to look into the house, Carol finally spotted Isabella standing on the steps. “Oh, hello.”
Isabella offered a big smile. “Hello.”
Bull placed his boy down on the ground. “Carol, this is Isabella.”
He hadn’t told his ex-wife about Isabella and he hadn’t told Isabella that he hadn’t told his ex-wife about her being there.
Now was the moment of truth.
Isabella stepped down off the steps. “How nice to meet you.” She extended her hand in greeting.
Carol looked her up and down. “I see you took my advice and hired a house cleaner, Bull,” she spoke to Bull as if Isabella weren’t even in the room. “Your first job, dear?” The dark-haired girl standing before her looked like she was entering her senior year in high school.
Luke took off into the kitchen and Bull went after him. “Get back here, you rascal.” He’d take any excuse available to get the hell out of there as soon as possible.
The truth dawned on Isabella about that time. Bull hadn’t told his ex about her. Maybe he had his reasons and Isabella even considered playing along for a second, but the only thing Isabella Carmen Cortez had ever hidden about herself was the fact that she was La Diosa. “Actually. I’m a friend of Benedict’s.”
It only took a moment for Carol to realize what this young girl was saying and the color drained out of Carol’s face. “Bull!”
Luke was jumping up and down on the couch with the man he knew as his father. “Uh-oh, buddy. Looks like Daddy is in trouble.” Bull tickled the youngster’s stomach.
When he came back into the foyer with Luke is his arms, both women were staring at him. “Oh, good. I see you ladies had a moment to get acquainted. Luke, this is Daddy’s friend, Isabella.” He used the child to gain him an extra second or two and possibly suppress some of the anger he imagined both women were feeling. “Can you say hi?”
The sandy-haired little boy tentatively reached his hand out for a shake. “Hi.” He buried his head in Bull’s chest.
“Awwww. Now, how adorable is he?” Bull put the question to both women. “How could anyone be mad after that?”
The proffered hand
shake had melted some of the ice around Isabella’s heart, but Carol’s remained at the Arctic Circle.
Carol placed her hands on her hips. “This is unacceptable, Bull. How old is this girl? Is she even old enough to drink?”
Bull tickled his little boy again. “Relax, Carol.” He kept his tone even, not wanting to frighten the child.
“Don’t tell me to relax. I’m taking him home.”
Bull looked his ex-wife right in the eye. They had engaged in some epic fights in the past, but Bull had never raised a hand to her and she knew he never would. But the look on his face stopped Carol dead in her tracks as she reached for Luke. Bull’s nostrils were flaring and she knew he meant business.
He placed Luke down on the step. “You remember where your room is, Son?” The boy nodded. “Why don’t you go upstairs and play for a bit. I’ll be up to check on you in a few minutes.” The boy turned to scamper up the steps, but Bull caught him by the arm. “Not so fast.” He kissed Luke on the top of the head. “Daddy, loves you, buddy. Now, you can go.”
Isabella’s eyes followed Luke up the stairs. She intended to go check on him in a little while.
“Is there a problem, Carol?” Bull asked.
“Your goddamn right there’s a problem. This was just the kind of thing I was worried about. This is exactly what I said to the judge, you maintain an unfit environment for Luke.”
“Ha! I present an unfit environment? That’s absurd, Carol. You were the one who cheated on me.”
“And you lost it on poor Matt and beat the crap out of him.”
“He’s lucky I took it easy on him.”
Isabella just watched the back and forth. She wanted to jump in and defend Bull, say how he was the best man she’d ever known.
“You cheated on me when you were out on the circuit.” Carol fired back.
Now Bull’s voice finally raised. “I never cheated on you once! And you know that.”
“Matt told me you did.”
Bull walked off a few steps. “Oh, come on now, you know better.” He’d known Carol long enough to know that even she didn’t believe what she was saying was true. “Is that what you had to tell yourself to try and justify your own behavior in your head, Carol? I gave you everything. There was nothing I didn’t do to try and make you happy. You never wanted for anything. I indulged your every whim and want. Oh, Jesus.” Luke was standing at the top of the steps looking down on the scene. “It’s okay, buddy. Go back to your room. We’re just talking.”
Isabella walked up the steps and took the little boy by the hand. “Do you want to show me your room, Luke?”
The boy’s mother watched the young woman take her son by the hand and once he was out of sight, she launched in on Bull. Accusing him of everything from secret affairs, to hiding money from her and having a drug problem.
“Wow, that is so cool,” Isabella said when the shy boy handed over his favorite stuffed toy.
She did her best to keep Luke preoccupied. Not quite four years old, he probably wasn’t even sure why Mommy and Daddy were yelling at each other, but that didn’t mean he needed to hear it. Isabella knelt on the floor, playing with the child and listening to the fight downstairs. Carol had said more than once that she was leaving and Luke was coming with her, but each time Bull stood his ground, threatening legal action if she did.
“And now you have some teenager here with you?” Venom dripped from his ex-wife’s teeth.
“She’s not a teenager, she’s twenty-one. She may be young, but she’s wiser and more mature than you will ever be, Carol.”
“Even if that were true, I won’t allow my son to be around random girls you bring home from the bar each night.”
Isabella came down the steps. She’d had enough. It was time to put the woman in her place. “I’m not some random girl he brought home from the bar. Benedict and I have been together for some time now. I asked him not to mention me to you.” He and Carol both looked at her with shock. “My name is Carmen Isabella Mercedes Cortez. My family owns one of the largest ranches in Mexico. My grandfather was a nephew to the King of Spain. I have a royal title, but I don’t use it. I do have a college education and I speak six languages. I am also a matador. I face down angry bulls for fun.” She stared daggers at Carol, draping an arm over Bull’s shoulder. “I know it’s sudden, but Benedict and I are engaged. He is the most wonderful man on the face of the earth and I am lucky that he has asked me to be his wife.”
“Engaged?” Carol asked with her mouth open.
“Yes. He has asked me to marry him and I have said yes.”
Bull bit his cheek. He didn’t know what had floored Carol more, the fact that he was engaged, or the fact that she was rich and royal. Hell, he was pretty flabbergasted himself. Either way, Carol seemed to have lost her ability to speak. At least, she wouldn’t be able to use the argument of an unsafe environment against Bull.
“Well, I should have been informed,” she finally said.
Bull spoke up quickly, “You’re right, I should have told you.”
Then Carol did something Bull had never seen her do before, she stopped fighting. “I guess I’ll be going then. I’ll be back to get him on Sunday around noon.”
With that she was gone, racing down the driveway in a car Bull had paid for, leaving an angry cloud of dust behind her.
Bull dry-scrubbed his face and laughed, dumbstruck that Carol had just walked away in a daze. “You’re something else, did you know that?” He picked Isabella up by the waist and spun her around. “You shocked the shit out of her.”
Isabella didn’t know what to say. “I had to do something, I didn’t like the way she was treating you. She needed to be put in her place.”
Bull kissed her. “Was all of that true?”
“All of it, except the proposal part.”
“What’s your title, Miss Royalty?”
“Duchess.”
He kissed her hard. “Guess what? I’m going to be sharing a bed with a Duchess tonight.”
“Oh, really?” Isabella laughed. “We’ll see.
Bull headed for the stairs. “If I know my ex, she won’t stay shell-shocked for long. I’d better go enjoy the time I have with Luke while I can.”
When he was halfway up the steps, she called, “Have fun.”
“Aren’t you coming?”
“I’m sure you want some alone time with the little angel.”
He came back down the steps to her. “Let’s play a bit, then we’ll have breakfast. I want you to share everything with us. You are a part of my world now.” He tugged on her hand. “After all, we’re engaged.”
CHAPTER
TEN
Isabella was falling in love for the second time.
The last names of her heartthrobs were the same, but the new Redford in question was a mite shorter than the first.
“I’ve got you. I’ve got you.” She wrestled Luke down on the bed to blow bubbles on his tummy. The giggles bursting from his lips were music to her ears.
Luke was an absolute delight.
Isabella hadn’t been around many children in her life, she hadn’t really known if she could relate to a child. After spending a few hours with him, her reticence melted away. Luke soaked up the attention they gave him like a sponge.
“What’s going on in here?” Bull asked from the door, his hands full of snacks.
“We’re playing, Daddy!” Luke announced as he squirmed out of Isabella’s arms and made a mad dash from the room, right between Bull’s legs.
“Catch him!” Isabella yelled as they both took out after him. Luke was as cute as a button, but he was also a little hell-raiser.
“Gotcha!” Bull threw his Fruit-Rollups into the air and just managed to get to Luke before he went tumbling down the stairs. “I knew I should’ve kept those damn baby gates,” he fussed when the boy was safe again.
“Give him to me.” Isabella held out her arms. “I think he’s tired.”
Luke went right to her. “I
is tired.”
“Do you want to take a nap with me?” she asked the baby as he laid his head on her shoulder.
“Yeth.”
Bull was just about to suggest that he join them when his phone rang. “Dammit!”
“We’ll wait for you in the bed. I’ll tell him a story.” Isabella mouthed to Bull as he answered his phone.
“Redford.” As he listened to the caller, his ire grew. He’d made it abundantly clear that business was off the table while Luke was there, but emergencies have no respect for boundaries. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just try to keep them off the highway.”
“What’s wrong?” Isabella asked when she saw Bull come to the bedroom door.
“One of my rigs has wrecked over near Bastrop. No one’s hurt, but I’ve got to take another trailer over and round the stock up.”
She could see the disappointment in his eyes. This was Saturday afternoon and he didn’t want to miss a minute with his little boy. “I’m so sorry.”
“Will you two be okay while I’m gone?” He changed shirts and gathered up his keys.
“We’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“Are you sure?” He looked worried and frustrated.
“Yes of course. We’ll go for a walk or play games after our nap.”
“Okay. Okay. Be careful with him. If you go down around the animals, watch him. He likes to go after the bulls.”
“Like father, like son.” Isabella kissed Luke on the cheek. Bull’s words didn’t insult her, she understood his concern. Parents worry.
“I like de bulls.” Luke put his hands on his head as Bull had showed him, miming horns.
“You’re funny, bud.” Bull kissed his boy, then Isabella. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Dax will be with me. Probably Armando too, if this is his day off.” Laughing as he went down the stairs, he placed his Stetson on his head. “I’m beginning to think we’ve got a little case of Brokeback Mountain going on here. Those two are together every chance they get.”
Isabella followed him, carrying Luke on her hip. “I didn’t know Dax was gay.”
Bull shrugged. “I don’t think Dax knew he was gay.”
