She’d taken him at his word about bringing the coffee.
Rushing to answer the door, she stopped quickly to smooth back her hair, which she’d foolishly attempted to put into a ponytail, but which looked more like a cascade of curls on the back of her head. Even as she patted she realized that half a dozen curls around her face had already escaped the elastic.
“Right on time,” she said, swinging open the door to find his friendly face with an early-morning twinkle in his eyes.
He’d come dressed for riding in a pastel-blue long-sleeved shirt with thick navy vertical stripes, a larger-than-usual belt buckle and well-worn jeans highlighting his narrow waist and hips and extralong legs, and some really broken-in riding boots. And he stood like a man who knew how to ride the range.
Julie took a moment to catch her breath.
“Coffee’s in the car. Something smells great.”
“Oh, yeah, let me grab the burritos and my jacket and we can be on our way.”
On the drive out to school, they sipped their coffee and ate their food and enjoyed watching the sprawling landscape lighten up in shades of purple and gold to finally greet the day for miles and miles. She could live to be a hundred but would never get tired of looking at the majesty of Wyoming.
She liked that she didn’t feel pressured to always be on top form with Trevor. If she wanted to talk she could and if she wanted to keep her thoughts to herself, well, that seemed okay with him, too.
“The boy owns jeans, right? Not those shorts they wear for skateboarding.” Trevor broke into her thoughts.
“Yes. And I took the liberty to buy him a shirt this week. It’s in my purse.”
“You call that a purse?”
True, her big handbag could pass as carry-on luggage, but she swore she needed everything inside, which today included a Western-style shirt for her son to wear when riding with his father.
She inhaled a shaky breath and stared out the car window, hoping and praying for the right thing to happen today, even though she wasn’t sure what that might be.
Later, the signing-out process from school went like clockwork, and she promised to have him back by lights out, 10:00 p.m., that night. After the first six weeks in school, provided the boys kept their grades up, they’d be allowed to go home for the weekends. So far, James seemed to be on track. She’d been counting down the weeks since she’d first brought him to the school, for when she could have him at home again.
It was heartening to see how excited James seemed when he saw Trevor again.
“Hey, you ready for a long ride today?”
“Yeah. What’s my horse’s name?”
“I’ve been giving that some thought, and I think I might loan you Zebulon. He’s my horse, so I know he’ll treat you right.”
“Cool!”
Before long, they’d arrived back at Cattleman Bluff, and Trevor dropped Julie off at her house.
“Be careful today,” Julie said, grazing the top of her son’s head with a kiss. “I don’t want to find out about any broken bones.”
“I promise to set them straight, if that happens,” Trevor said, trying to keep things light, not all angsty the way Julie obviously felt about the day.
“Take good care of my son.”
“Ah, Mom!” James protested.
“I will. We’ll see you around five for dinner, okay?”
With one last raggedy breath, Julie got out of the car and nodded her head, thinking this would be the longest day of her life, waiting, wondering if they hit it off. Would her boy realize Trevor was his father today, or just a really great guy who bought him a skateboard?
Only time would tell.
*
Julie showed up for dinner exactly on time, and with a fresh-out-of-the-oven apple crumble. Gretchen escorted her in, and she found Monty sitting comfortably in his favorite chair in front of the fireplace. Trevor and James were nowhere in sight.
“Hi,” she said to Mr. Montgomery.
“Hello there, Julie. Come keep me company.”
Though well into his sixties, the man still had a lot of life in those sparkly green eyes. She wondered how Trevor would look as he got older, but decided it was a silly thought and pushed it aside.
“The guys not back from riding yet?” She tried to sound casual, but failed.
“They are. Trevor’s showing the boy how to remove the tack, brush the horse and pick out the hooves. All that good stuff.”
“That’s great. Did they have a good ride?”
“If I judge by the way the boy couldn’t shut up about it when they got home, I’d say yes.”
A smile stretched across Julie’s mouth, and her chest dropped with a sigh.
Monty reached for Julie’s hand, looked her straight in the eyes. “That boy looks an awful lot like Trevor. Is my hunch right?”
Just after she’d sighed with relief, her heart seemed to triple-flip and tumble down to her stomach. She broke eye contact and stared at her hands. What should she do now? Would Trevor be livid if she told the truth? Had Monty already questioned him? If so, had Trevor denied it and would her confession make him a liar? She pressed her lips together, trying to form the best and most diplomatic answer she could come up with.
Mr. Montgomery seemed to wait impatiently.
“Mom! You should’ve seen me on Zebulon. He’s so cool.”
Saved from answering Monty, who dropped his hand from hers, Julie quickly flicked her gaze over his knowing glance as she turned to greet her son. James grinned like an emu as he crossed the room. She stood and reached to hug him, grateful that he offered a half-second hug in return before backing off and hitching his thumbs in his jeans pockets. And looking so much like another cowboy standing in the room.
“Did you get any pictures?”
“Yeah, I took a selfie with Zebbie.”
“I snapped a few,” Trevor chimed in.
With Monty’s strong suspicions, her hunch was that Trevor hadn’t told his father yet. Now she was grateful her son had interrupted the conversation with him.
“Mr. Montgomery tells me you had a great day riding.”
“It was so cool. You should see how big their property is, Mom.”
She relaxed and started smiling again, getting lost in her son’s enthusiasm.
“He’s a natural. You’d think riding was in his blood,” Trevor added, taunting her. She flashed him a look, and the corner of his mouth turned up.
“Montgomery said I can come and ride anytime I want.”
“That’s awfully nice of him.”
“Dinner’s ready.” Gretchen appeared at the wide arch separating the living room from the dining room. “And Ms. Sterling brought dessert.”
“Do you need to wash your hands?” she asked James.
“Nah, Montgomery made me before we came in the house.”
She glanced at Trevor, who wore a silly grin. Over the hand-washing, or the fact she’d brought dessert?
Julie waited and helped Monty stand, then walked slowly with him to the table. Before they reached his chair at the head, Trevor rushed to pull it out for his father. While the man sat, using his quad cane for balance, Trevor’s fingers brushed the back of Julie’s waist.
“You brought dessert?”
She tossed him a quick glance. “Apple crumble.”
A slow smile spread from one side of his mouth to the other, completely replacing that silly grin. “You hitting on my father?” he mumbled, close to her ear.
Julie gave him a “whatever” stare and let Trevor pull out the chair for her, closest to his dad.
Forty minutes later, after another wonderful Gretchen meal had been devoured along with way too many compliments about Julie’s apple crumble, she glanced at her watch and decided to be the bearer of bad news.
“You know, we’re going to have to hit the road pretty soon to get you back to school in plenty of time for curfew.”
“I know.” James sounded dejected, as if he thought he was going back
to jail or something.
“Mind if I tag along?” Trevor asked. “I’d be glad to drive.”
“I’ve got my car here.”
“I’ll follow you to your house and we can leave from there.”
It seemed like he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
“Do we have time for me to see what my room looks like, Mom?”
With all the activity and hectic visits, she hadn’t once thought about showing James the room he could call his own whenever he came on the weekends. “Sure. I guess that settles that, then.”
Once they arrived at her house, James rushed down the hall. “Which one is it?” he called.
“The last one on the left.”
The boy disappeared inside. “I’m going to change before I go back to school,” he said. “Real quick, I promise.”
Trevor shook his head and smiled. “I guess he doesn’t want to be caught dead in cowboy riding gear.”
“He was born and raised in California, you know.” She got serious, quickly, not knowing how long she’d have to ask what had been heaviest on her mind all day and evening. “So things really went well?”
Trevor made a decisive nod. “He really took to riding. I had him loping and he even galloped like a natural.”
“That’s wonderful. Listen, I have to tell you, your father hinted that he knew James was—”
“I was what, Mom?”
Her heart nearly stopped beating as her mind worked like a madwoman to find something to say. “He said he knew you’d be a good rider. He could tell just from looking at you.” Fingers crossed he’d buy her lame answer, and she’d try to forgive herself for not being completely honest with her son.
“Really? Cool.”
“You do have a knack,” Trevor said. “Maybe because you have good balance from all the skateboarding you do.”
“You think?”
“I know. Had proof today.” Trevor gave him one pat on the shoulder, and they headed toward the door. The shock of seeing the two of them standing in her parents’ house—her house now—nearly did her in. James truly was the younger version of Trevor, and if anyone would know that, Monty would.
She wondered how Monty and Trevor’s conversation would go later tonight. Maybe, the older man would already be in bed to spare Trevor the cross-examination, but she knew in her bones that a father-son talk about the boy would be inevitable.
And in that case it was time to tell James who his father was.
*
An hour and a half later, they pulled into the military academy’s parking lot with a half hour to spare. As James jumped out of the car, resigned to spending the rest of the semester at the school, Trevor stopped him.
“Hey, wait a sec. I have something for you.” He walked around the car to the trunk and popped it, then removed his gift. “I know you’re going to keep up on your schoolwork, so I wanted you to have a new skateboard for that hour of free time every day.”
James’s eyes grew as wide as they could go. “Seriously? Wow.” He took the skateboard and looked it over. “It’s a Landshark!”
“I’m told that’s one of the best.”
“I’ve wanted one of these for years,” James said, joy bubbling out of him. “Thanks so much.” It seemed he wanted to hug Trevor, but didn’t know how to start it.
The thing that surprised Julie was that Trevor seemed just as awkward about hugging or not hugging James. They settled on a knuckle knock and skipped any expression of affection, which disappointed Julie. But at least James had thanked him.
“We better get you checked in.” Always the bearer of practicality, Julie led the way inside the school.
*
The drive home zipped by, what with Trevor telling her everything about his day with James. He laughed and smiled, and she believed with all her heart that he liked James.
“So who did you bring that apple crumble for, me or my dad?” His rakish smile made her laugh.
“Your father, of course.” She couldn’t resist teasing, and the playful look she got in return was totally worth it.
He pulled into her driveway and parked, then reached across the car and took her hand. “One thing I want you to know for sure. I like our kid. In time, I know I’ll love him.”
His words wrapped around her like hope and promises, and they warmed her right down to her toes. “I hope that day comes soon.”
“I know it will.”
“I had a lot of time to think today.” Why bandy about the main topic in their lives? She took a breath and went for it. “What do you think about us telling him next weekend? We can take him for a horseback ride, the three of us.”
“I’ve got the perfect spot to take him. It’s by a waterfall. We can bring some snacks, then sit him down and tell him who I am.”
His sincerity did her in. She almost gushed, I love you, Trevor Montgomery, but thankfully got a hold of herself before she did. “You really want this, don’t you?”
“More than I’ve ever wanted anything.” He shifted toward her and his lips covered hers in a hot and greedy way. This time, instead of letting practicality step in, she sunk into and savored his hungry kisses, which quickly put a stop to any thinking at all.
Somehow they made it into her house with one thought shared between them—how quickly they could get each other out of their clothes.
Maybe it was the secret they shared or the fact that Trevor hadn’t once tried to shirk his responsibility as the boy’s father since he’d found out. Not that she’d asked him for anything, but that he’d willingly offered to become a part of her and James’s lives. Or maybe it was because he was still the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on, and she couldn’t believe her good fortune that he seemed to see something in her he liked, too.
But most of all, as they grappled with buttons and zippers, kicking off her shoes and pulling off his boots, the real draw between them was because of a long history going all the way back to one night in a barn on a warm summer night.
He pulled her onto the bed, her mattress feeling so much softer than the itchy straw in the loft of that barn thirteen years ago, and peeled off the one remaining item separating them, her lacy underpants.
Once they were naked, everything seemed to slide into slow motion. Trevor clearly knew how to please a woman, and right this moment all his attention was on Julie.
His hand slipped underneath her hair, cupping her nape, drawing her close for tender kisses, and in between, his gaze worshiping every corner of her body.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered, kissing her cheek, then her neck, releasing a rush of tingles and chill bumps across her chest. He dipped his head and kissed her breast, lifting it, running his tongue over the tip. When he gently sucked, her head dug into the pillow and she lost her breath.
How long had it been since a man had made love to her like this? Making her feel she was the center of the universe, his only wish to please her? She reached for his head and kissed the crown, the other hand tracing the breadth of his shoulder. His back was strong, his torso long and muscular, his hips narrow, leading to powerful thighs. She ran her hands over the rock-hard mounds of his glutes when he got up on his knees, then down the backs of his legs.
Longing burned bright in his midnight eyes as he laid her back and skimmed her sides with his fingertips, tracing along her hips and legs and inner thighs, releasing chills from his touch and giving her that look of wonder. Before long her knees were over his shoulders, his head at her center, and he kissed the tender folds between her thighs, igniting a shock of sensations. She had to work to settle down, to get used to being kissed there, to being stroked by his tongue. First flicks and swirls, then probes, forcing tension and longing and crazy thrills spiraling throughout her body. He wouldn’t let up, and she could hardly take his unstoppable touch as she clutched the sheets to anchor herself. The room shimmered as his tongue caused an explosion deep inside, undoing her, sending her mind flying, her body blissfully tingling and vibrating.
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She was lost to him.
He’d been frantic and intent the first time they’d made love when she’d been a virgin. Now they were both experienced at lovemaking and he’d matured, knowing how to treat a woman, how to please and how to drive her wild. She was the lucky recipient of his attention tonight. She wouldn’t waste it.
Once she’d recovered from her orgasm, she gently moved his shoulders away, got up on her knees and pushed him back to the mattress. She crawled over him, straddling his hips, pretending to be unaware of his full and throbbing arousal, choosing to kiss him deeply, mouth to mouth. He shared her taste as their tongues tangled in messy, sexy kisses. She sat up and her hands skimmed the muscles on his chest. Working on the ranch kept him in tip-top condition. Lucky her.
Scooting down his legs, while still tingling between her thighs, she focused on him, and his long, strong erection. She wrapped her fingers around him, enjoying how hard he was; her thumb ran from tip to base and back. He moaned his pleasure. Still holding him, she leaned forward and kissed his chest, teasing his small tight buds, then running her tongue the length of his torso, enjoying his slightly salty taste. She inhaled his musky male scent and reached between his legs to cup all of him, then shimmied down further to taste him, to kiss his ridge, to run her tongue over the length of him.
He liked it.
She glanced up at him, loving the view from down there, his chin jutting ceilingward, every muscle on his chest and shoulders taut. “If you keep that up,” he said in a rough whisper, “this party will be over before it starts.”
She’d sworn years ago she’d never let this happen again, yet here she was wanting nothing else.
“I hope you brought a condom because I don’t have anything here,” she said, afraid the answer would be no.
His head shot up. “Well, I hope you don’t get the wrong impression, but I sure as hell did.”
His candid answer made her laugh as she eased up on her hold and let him find his wallet. He was a grown eligible man—of course he’d be prepared. She loved seeing him stand, proudly naked, his muscled thighs looking powerful, his stomach showing the results of crunches at the gym beyond working the ranch. She couldn’t wait to be wrapped in those strong arms again, to be devoured by his mouth.
Hot-Shot Doc, Secret Dad (Cowboys, Doctors...Daddies) Page 12
