Play It Safe

by Kristen Ashley

  He was back to rational and logical if not, from the burn in his eyes, easygoing.

  “People suck” I declared, Gray stared at me a second then grinned.

  There it was. The easygoing. Back quick as a flash.

  So Gray.

  “Yeah, they do,” he agreed.

  “Well, I didn’t tell you the good news and that is that your hard as nails, ex-Vegas showgirl kicked her ass verbally.”

  His grin became a smile.

  “Too bad I missed that.”

  “I was awesome,” I bragged.

  His smile became a chuckle through which he ordered, “Come here, Ivey.”

  I went there and he folded his arms around me as I curled mine around him.

  Then he tipped his chin down and caught my eyes.

  “Know somethin’?” he asked.

  “I know a lot of things, Gray, though one of them is not what you’re going to say.”

  Gray grinned again then his eyes got tender (he’d dispensed with the “near to” part of that about a week and a half ago, after I mourned for the loss of the Grandma Miriam I knew and now he just always went straight to tender).

  Then he said softly, “My Dad was right.”

  “About what?”

  “Good things come to those who wait.”

  My breath clean left me at the same time my nose started stinging.

  “Gray,” I whispered.

  Gray wasn’t in the mood to comfort a sobbing me and I knew this when he said, “Got work to do, baby, so say you love me.”

  I gave him that play.

  “I love you.”

  He grinned again before he dipped his head, touched his mouth to mine, doing so without cracking me with the bill of his baseball cap then he lifted his head, gave me a squeeze, turned around and walked out the backdoor of the kitchen to go off to do macho man rancher cowboy things.

  I sighed.

  Then I moved through the kitchen to do rancher cowboy’s stylish girlfriend things.

  * * * * *

  By the way, Gray had never had it but he loved bleu cheese crumbled on top of a broiled steak.

  See? I totally had this rancher’s girlfriend thing down.

  Totally.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Seven

  Four days later…

  “Come here,” Gray growled.

  I slid him out of my mouth but wrapped my hand around him and immediately started stroking as I turned my head, kissed the inside of his thigh before my eyes went to him and I whispered, “Not done, baby.”

  “You’re done.”

  “Give me a little while longer.”

  “You get longer, Ivey, I’ll come in your mouth. You know I come in you and by you I don’t mean your mouth. Now come here.”

  This was true. And at his words I suddenly wanted him in me.

  Therefore I started crawling up his body.

  The room was dark. I had no idea what time it was. Gray had woken me with his hands then added his mouth then I added my hands and mouth. Except for me and my fans and sequined panties, we’d never done this. I’d adjusted to Gray’s sleeping schedule just as easily as I adjusted to Mustang. A couple of days, I was there.

  But if this was an indication that Gray had sleepless nights, I wasn’t going to complain if this was how he worked through them.

  I made it up his body, he shifted his legs so they were between mine and I was straddling him. One of his arms curved around my waist, moving me down, the other hand drove into my hair, his hips bucked up, my mouth hit his, my tongue slid inside and he slid inside me.

  Oh yeah.

  Then he rolled us, mouths and bodies connected, and his hips started moving, fast, hard, driving deep.

  Oh yeah.

  He was nearly there and intent to take me with him. I loved it when he got this way, driven, on the edge of losing control and what I loved about it was that I made him that way.

  Then, from far off in the silence of the night I heard what sounded like a shotgun blast.

  Gray’s head shot up and he stilled a half a second then slid out, rolled and angled off the bed, clipping, “Fuck.”

  “What was that?” I whispered but I knew. Gray had told me about the shotgun rigged in the barn.

  “Dial nine-one-one, Ivey,” Gray ordered, tugging his jeans on.

  “What?”

  “Dial nine-one-one,” Gray repeated, bent over and snatched up his shirt. I saw his head turn toward me in the dark and he went on, “Now.”

  I jerked out of my surprised stupor, rolled to his nightstand and grabbed the phone.

  Gray tagged his boots and sprinted out the door.

  “Shit, shit, fuck,” I whispered as I dialed in the dark then I jumped off the bed and started looking for my nightie and panties.

  “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

  “This is Ivey Larue. I’m at Cody Ranch off of fifty-seven west of Mustang. We have an intruder.”

  I had the phone tucked between my ear and shoulder and I was shimmying on my panties then awkwardly pulling my little, red satin nightie over my head, answering the operator’s questions when I saw it.

  A weird light dancing through the opened window.

  I blinked at it then it hit me what that hue and dance meant. I rushed to the window and saw the barn was on fire.

  “Oh my God!” I cried, cutting off whatever the operator was saying and dashing back across the room to my jeans. “Notify the Fire Department. Our barn’s on fire. We have twenty horses in there! Hurry!”

  Then I didn’t even bleep it off before I threw it on the bed, yanked up my jeans, zipped them and didn’t bother with the button. Then I raced out of the room, down the stairs, through to the kitchen and to the backdoor where I pulled on my wellies without socks. Then I dashed out the backdoor.

  I didn’t hesitate to dash across the back lawn to the burning fire even as I saw Gray leading out two horses, smacking one on its rump and both galloped toward the opened paddock.

  Gray saw me and, running back in, he shouted, “Get in the house!”

  Then he disappeared in our burning barn!

  Gray was in there.

  Our horses were in there.

  Horses I fed, horses I watered, some of them even nuzzled my neck with their nose.

  And the man I loved who for seven years had been taken from me was in there too.

  And again, I didn’t hesitate.

  I ran into the barn.

  Flames licked everywhere and if I gave them a chance, they would terrify me.

  So I didn’t.

  And it was hot, hotter than anything I’d ever experienced. The smoke was thick. And just the sound of the blaze burning was petrifying. That burn could burn me, that smoke could choke me and just thinking about it could paralyze me.

  So I didn’t.

  Gray, no longer leading horses out, just opening stalls, racing through them and shouting, “Heeyah!” saw me instantly.

  “Get outta here, Ivey!” he roared.

  I ignored him, rushed through the barn and did what he was doing. I opened an unopened stall and luckily the horse raced out toward safety without me having to prompt her. Then again to the next stall and again. The fourth stall the horse, one of the ones with foal, was backing against the wall, eyes wide and wheeling, front hooves making short, panicked hops. I remembered Gray telling me not to get behind a horse and there was no way I was getting in front of those hooves so I rushed cautiously to her side, put one hand to her ribs pressing in the direction of the exit, slapped her rump and shouted, “Heeyah!” like Gray.

  It took three slaps then she heeyahed.

  I got one more horse out before the horrifying sound of creaking wood and the terrified shrieks of penned horses penetrated my brain then, before I could locate Gray, he located me. His hand closed tight around mine and he dragged me toward the opened front doors.

  We weren’t out of the barn when the back collapsed and I couldn’t swallow m
y terrified scream at hearing the booming crash and feeling the force of the wave of air and blast of heat that blew my hair forward.

  But we weren’t back there. We were fifteen feet from the doors then ten then five then we were out. The much cooler summer air hit me like a slap and I sucked in its clean as Gray kept racing us away from the barn.

  Then he stopped me, yanked on my hand and I looked up at his soot-streaked face.

  “We need to get the horses in the paddock. They’re spooked. Be cautious. Don’t approach unless you get a good feeling. Guide them in, herd them in, chase them in, clapping and shouting, whatever you gotta do but stay away if they’re spooked. Yeah?”

  I nodded.

  He let my hand go and took off. I looked right and left seeing horses all around. I approached one then saw Gray with another one. It was the one he rode often, his horse, a stallion, white with big brown splotches called Answer. Then I watched in asstonishment as, bareback, he swung up then somehow wheeled Answer around and then started to race through the area, herding horses.

  I did my bit, dashing around and herding them toward him.

  My work was done, all of the horses near the house were in the paddock and Gray was galloping off toward a couple that were further away when I heard the sirens.

  But I didn’t look to the sirens. I looked to the still burning barn, the flames dancing high, licking the air. Another section had collapsed.

  Then I looked to the paddock and counted.

  Ten horses.

  Numbly, my head turned and I watched Gray driving the two other horses toward the paddock.

  With his horse and those two, that made thirteen.

  Thirteen.

  Thirteen.

  Listlessly, I turned back to the barn.

  Seven horses were dying in there or already dead.

  Seven.

  The sirens got closer, I heard shouts, men working and the red, blue and white of emergency vehicle lights flashed through the dancing light of the flames.

  “Ivey!” I heard my name shouted but I stared at Gray’s barn burning knowing which horses were in those back stalls, stalls Gray and I didn’t have time to get to. I’d fed them. I’d moved them to the paddocks. I’d even ridden two of them.

  Two hands clasped my arms and pulled me away ten feet but I didn’t tear my eyes from the barn.

  Then I was shaken and heard, “Talk to me, Ivey. Gray’s seein’ to business and I gotta know what went down.”

  I turned and looked up at Captain Lenny.

  Then I told him everything he needed to know.

  “Gray’s shotgun blasted.”

  Lenny’s entire face went hard in a way that if I wasn’t numb with shock and sadness would have scared me.

  Then his eyes shifted to the dancing flames.

  * * * * *

  One hour, forty-five minutes later…

  “I know what I saw, Len,” Gray rumbled and Lenny stared at him as uniformed officers shuffled around and, far away, in the smoldering remains of the decimated barn, firefighters cautiously circled, beat out, stomped out and sprayed their hoses to dampen the embers and keep any sparks from catching something else.

  I knew this was happening but I only had eyes for Lenny and Gray.

  And this was because Gray had seen something this time.

  And what he’d seen was Lenny’s nephew Pete running to his pickup and racing away.

  “You saw him get in it?” Lenny asked quietly.

  “Saw him runnin’ to the lane and jumpin’ in the truck,” Gray confirmed.

  “You sure it was Pete?”

  “Went to grade school with him, Len. Shared first grade, fourth grade and I reckon two dozen classes all through high school with him. Seen him in that truck at least a hundred times in the three years he’s had it.” Gray’s voice was low, rough and really, really pissed. “I know Pete when I see him, Lenny.”

  “Fuck,” Lenny whispered.

  “He burned down my barn and killed seven of my horses,” Gray stated, his voice starting with the same qualities but degenerating with every word. “Ivey didn’t help, twelve horses would have gone down. And, I’ll add, my woman was in there helpin’.”

  Gray paused and a muscle jumped in Lenny’s cheek.

  “You bring his ass in,” Gray whispered. “You get him in the tank, Len. You know what I’m sayin’ to you.”

  Lenny stared at Gray and he knew what Gray was saying. The safest place for Pete to be was in jail.

  Lenny turned his head to an officer and jerked up his chin.

  That officer jogged to a cruiser.

  Then Lenny avoided Gray’s eyes and mine as his went to the smoldering destruction.

  Then he whispered, “Christ, boy’s got shit for brains. Always has.”

  “This isn’t shit for brains,” Gray ground out and Lenny flinched. “Ivey was in that barn with me and I got seven horses down. Me and my woman are breathin’ but half the fuckin’ thing collapsed while we were in it.” Lenny looked back at Gray. “This shit’s gotta stop, Len. You got this one last chance to make it stop. You don’t, I’m takin’ measures.”

  “Keep calm, Gray,” Lenny whispered.

  “Fuck calm!” Gray suddenly exploded and I got closer to him as Lenny’s officers got closer to Lenny. “Did you not fuckin’ hear me?” Gray asked. “Half the goddamned barn collapsed with me and Ivey in it!”

  “I hear you son, but let me do my work,” Lenny replied.

  “Yeah, you do your work,” Gray shot back. “You got one last fuckin’ chance to do your fuckin’ work.”

  As he was saying this, headlights bounced up the drive and all eyes turned to look.

  Earlier, even though they had motion sensors, I had run into the house to turn on all the outside lights. We were on a ranch in the middle of nowhere but Cody men weren’t stupid. The middle of nowhere could still hold dangers, evidenced by a now destroyed barn. There were a lot of outside lights that shown all around the house so the space close to the house and then some was brightly illuminated. Therefore, as the shiny, long-cab pickup stopped close and the engine died, I saw it.

  I also saw a man get out of it and I knew instantly he was a rancher seeing as it was the dead of night and he was still in a western-style shirt, Wranglers, cowboy boots with his own tattered baseball hat on his head.

  “Fuck me,” Lenny muttered and the officers and him all moved fast as I belatedly felt the vibes rolling off Gray.

  Really bad vibes had been rolling off him but now they burned so hot they scorched.

  I got closer, took his hand and the minute I did his fingers closed around mine tight. It could be they did this because he was glad I had fingers to hold onto. It could be, from what I was getting from him, he did this because he needed to hold onto me so he didn’t wail on the newcomer.

  “Who’s that?” I whispered, getting closer and pressing to his side.

  “Jeb Sharp,” Gray answered tersely, I sucked in breath and I saw Lenny get up close to Jeb Sharp as the remaining three officers staggered themselves between Sharp and Gray, preparing, should Gray lose it, to lock him down.

  Lenny and Sharp had words I couldn’t hear even if they weren’t that far away. Lenny shook his head then moved his body as if to block Sharp but Sharp shook his head too and rounded Lenny.

  “Not a good idea, Jeb,” Lenny called after him as Sharp approached Gray and me.

  Gray, already tense, went so solid I feared touching him would make him shatter. Still, I curled into him and put my other hand on his abs.

  Sharp, astutely, stopped outside arm’s reach.

  He was like his son, good-looking. But he was that way in the way Gray was. He’d be that way until he died. There were lines on his face that came from hard work in the sun and hard laughing often in his life. There was a burn in his eyes that came from not a small amount of anger and a hint of shame he couldn’t quite hide but he was trying. I knew he was Buddy’s Dad and, one look at him, I still couldn’t help bu
t like him.

  Then he announced, “I’ll deal with this, son.”

  “Time for that’s passed, Jeb. Got seven dead horses and no barn,” Gray returned.

  “You’re smart, you’ll let me take care ‘a this,” Jeb said quietly.

  “He’s been gunnin’ for me since junior high and tonight he put my woman in danger. Not feelin’ like bein’ smart right about now,” Gray replied.

  Jeb’s eyes came to me, his hand went to the bill of his baseball cap for a second before it dropped and he muttered, “Ma’am.”

  I lifted my chin to him but no more and he looked back at Gray.

  “Ask you one more time, Grayson, let me deal with this.”

  “You do what you gotta do. Len’ll do what he’s gotta do. And I’ll do what I gotta do,” Gray stated.

  Jeb Sharp held my man’s eyes.

  Then he whispered, “Fair enough.” Then his eyes went to the barn and he kept whispering when he said, “Cryin’ shame.”

  He was not wrong about that.

  I pressed closer to Gray and Gray’s hand squeezed mine tighter.

  Sharp looked through me and back to Gray.

  “You need help cleanin’ up and buildin’, you call on me. I’ll send some boys,” he offered.

  When Gray made no reply, I had a mind to suggest he didn’t hold his breath but I kept my tongue.

  “Right,” Sharp muttered, knowing exactly what Gray’s non-response meant then he looked to me. “Mizz Larue, wish we’d met under more auspicious circumstances.”

  “Me too,” I whispered.

  He nodded. Then he looked at Gray. Then he sighed deeply. Finally he turned and walked away.

  That was when I sighed.

  Jeb Sharp got in his truck, turned it around and drove down the lane.

  I felt some of the tension leave Gray’s body and he turned us to face the destruction.

  Wood barn, it went up like tinder, came down in no time flat.

  “I’m gonna go make coffee for the firemen, honey,” I whispered.