“Awww, Mom!” he squealed with indignation. “You know I’m not old enough to have a girlfriend! And even if I was, I don’t want one! Girls are silly and scared of their own shadows. I doubt I’ll ever like one.”
Totally amused by her son’s attitude, she couldn’t let it drop. “You like me, don’t you?”
To her surprise he scurried into the room and wrapped his arms around her neck in a tight hug. “You’re different, Mom. I love you.”
For the past year Marti had considered himself too grown-up to show displays of affection toward his mother. She couldn’t figure what had gotten into him this evening, but his sweet response choked her with emotions.
Swallowing, she patted his back. “I love you, too, honey.”
Just as quickly as the hug had started, Marti jumped from his mother and with an impish grin raced toward the door. “I’d better get over to the big house before Uncle Matt leaves without me!”
As his boots echoed through the hallway, Lucita called out after him, “Behave, Marti. And don’t wander away from your aunt and uncle.”
“I won’t, Mom.”
“Have a good time.”
“I will!”
After that she could hear the back door open and close with a rapid bang. With a wistful sigh, she immediately reached for the phone and dialed her brother’s number.
Thankfully, Matt answered on the second ring.
“Marti is on his way over,” she said to him. “Please, Matt, keep an eye on him. If something happened I—”
“Stop,” he firmly interrupted. “Just stop all this worrying, Luci. Between me and Juliet and Gracia we’ll keep a close eye on him. Besides, I don’t think Derek has the nerve to try anything. I think he sees that the law is watching him like a hound after a squirrel.”
Lucita rolled her eyes. She still wasn’t convinced that Derek had any part of her car accident or the threatening note, but now wasn’t the time to argue with her brother. “Okay. I won’t worry. We have to go on living our lives, don’t we?”
“There’s never been a Saddler or Sanchez to run and hide from trouble. We’re not about to start now.”
He was right. She wasn’t a coward. And she couldn’t make Marti live in seclusion. “You’re right. And thanks, Matt, for inviting him. He needs this sort of normal fun.”
“Yeah. And so do you. Are you sure you don’t want to come along, too? There’s still time for you to get changed or whatever you need to do to get ready.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got plenty here to keep me busy. And besides, it will make Marti feel grown-up to be on an outing without his mother along.”
“Marti’s here,” Matt announced. “I’ll talk to you later. And it will probably be late when we get home so I’ll keep Marti for the night. He likes to sleep in the nursery with Jess. I think he’s trying to tell us he’d like a sibling, Luci.”
Trying to take his comment as a joke, she laughed lightly. “Well, that would be a miracle, now wouldn’t it?”
“Not really,” he said, then before she could make any sort of reply, he added, “Good night, Luci.”
Thirty minutes later, Lucita had finished her lesson plans and was trying to get interested in a comedy on the television. But her wandering mind couldn’t focus on the plot.
She hadn’t seen Ripp since Wednesday evening when they’d shared that torrid embrace, but she had spoken to him yesterday afternoon.
The call had been quick and professional; a few words to assure her that Sheriff Travers was continuing to keep her case on the front burner. She’d been grateful for the update, but she’d been even happier to hear his voice, which had been soft and husky, hinting but not confessing outright that his thoughts had been on her, too.
Letting Ripp consume her mind was ridiculous, she told herself as she reached for the remote control and punched the off button. But his company made her happy. Very happy.
On that light note, she walked over to the telephone and picked up the little book where she’d stored his cell phone number.
Ripp was a few minutes away from the Dry Gulch Saloon on the outskirts of Goliad when his cell phone shrilled above the country music playing on the radio.
Expecting that his time off and the beer he’d been planning on having would have to be put on hold, he pulled the instrument from his pocket and quickly flipped it open.
Not bothering to look at the ID, he reached to turn down the radio at the same time as he said, “McCleod here.”
“Ripp. This is Lucita. Have I caught you at a bad time?”
Totally surprised by the sound of Lucita’s voice, he whipped the truck onto the shoulder of the highway. “Lucita. Is anything wrong?”
“No.”
She let out a short laugh that sounded oddly nervous, but before he could ask her what the call was about, she spoke again. “The house is empty. Marti went to a rodeo with Matt and his family. Now I’m wandering through the rooms wondering what I’m going to do for the rest of the evening. I thought I’d call and see if—if you’re not busy maybe you’d like to come over. If you haven’t eaten anything we could grill something. I have wieners and ground chuck in the fridge. I might even be able to scrounge up a beer or two.”
Ripp was fairly stunned by her invitation. Even though she had given him that mind-blowing kiss in the gazebo, he’d left the Sandbur Wednesday night certain that she would never allow anything personal to grow between them. Had he misread her subtle signals, or did she simply want to talk to him about the department’s work on the extortion note?
Hell, it didn’t matter why she was inviting him. He was glad. Damn glad.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” he said, then ended the call and made a quick U-turn in the middle of the highway.
Thirty minutes later, he was sitting with Lucita beneath the shade of a Mexican palm, drinking a beer and waiting for the charcoal to burn to a nice bed of coals.
Twilight had fallen and Lucita had lit several bamboo torches to ward away the mosquitoes flying around the yard. As Ripp watched the flickering fingers of light dance upon her lovely face, he wondered if he should pinch himself to make sure he was awake.
Maybe he was really at the Dry Gulch and had fallen asleep at the bar, because this was more like a pleasant dream than Ripp’s day-to-day reality.
“I’ve got to admit your call really surprised me, Lucita. But I’m very glad you made it.”
She glanced at him and then quickly turned her gaze away as though she was still a bit embarrassed by the whole thing. Sighing, she said, “I hope you don’t think…well, I’m not in the habit of calling a man…not for any reason. And I wouldn’t have called you tonight but—” She broke off awkwardly as she turned her gaze back to him. “I like being with you, Ripp. And I think you like being with me. I hope you didn’t come tonight just out of a sense of duty…or because my brother is one of your best friends.”
Even before she finished speaking, Ripp was out of his chair and squatting next to hers. Taking her hand in his, he squeezed it gently. “Lucita, I’m here because of you. Only you. I think…the other night when we kissed I thought…I was trying to tell you then how I felt about you.”
She released a shaky breath and her fingers curled tightly around his. “I’ve tried not to think too much about that kiss, Ripp.”
Tonight she was wearing a sundress printed in big blue-and-white flowers. Skinny straps held up the top while the neck dipped low enough to expose a smooth slope of cleavage. His eyes could hardly stay off her honey-brown skin and now he had to fight to keep his hands from touching her.
“Why?”
Bending her head, she murmured, “Because it makes me think about things that—well, that I shouldn’t be thinking about.”
“Like making love?” he asked huskily. Just saying the words out loud to her was enough to send a rush of desire straight to his loins. What would it do to him if he actually went to bed with her, he wondered wildly.
“Yes,” she sa
id in a voice so low he could hardly hear it.
Drawing in a deep breath, he allowed his hand to glide up her arm until he reached a strand of her light brown hair. As he twisted the silky lock around his finger, he moved his face closer to hers.
The scent of jasmine and some other sweet-smelling flower emanated from her skin and swirled around his already-scattered senses. In response, his eyelids drifted downward, but he stopped them short of closing. There was too much beauty in front of him and he didn’t want to miss seeing any of it.
“Lucita, this thing between us—it scares me, too. I never expected some woman to come along and shake me up the way you have.”
Lifting her head, she gazed at him in a troubled, almost resigned way. “I never thought I’d want another man. Ever.”
Her voice was strained and edged with longing. The sound of it pushed Ripp’s heart into quick, hard thuds.
“Do you want me, Lucita?”
Closing her eyes, she leaned her face toward his. “More than I can tell you.”
He needed to breathe, to suck in enough oxygen to clear his head. But as his lips met hers, he realized he didn’t care if he was thinking or not. Kissing her, touching her, was all that mattered.
Above the roar of hot blood rushing through his ears, he could hear her groan of surrender. A burst of incredible triumph shot through him as her arms wrapped around his neck and her mouth opened beneath his.
He kissed her hungrily, thoroughly, until the burning in his legs forced him to break contact with her and rise from his squatting position.
With her head tilted at a provocative angle, she looked up at him questioningly and he offered his hand to her.
Wordlessly she allowed him to draw her out of the wicker chair and into his arms. After another slow kiss that had his insides burning, she pulled away.
“Let’s go to the porch,” she whispered.
If necessary, Ripp would have followed her through a hoop of fire. And maybe he was doing just that, he thought. He certainly felt as though every inch of him was smoldering as she led him into the dark shadows beneath the overhang of the porch.
Moments later they reached a cushioned lounge positioned at the far end of the porch and she quickly tugged him down beside her.
Stirred even more by her boldness, Ripp wrapped her close to him and his fingers began a slow dance over the skin of her shoulders.
“Are you sure no one will be coming around?” He mouthed the question against her cheek.
“Dad is over at Geraldine’s and everyone else is gone,” she said in a husky rush. “There’s no one to interrupt us.”
The idea was enough to cause his hand to tremble as he pushed a wave of tumbled hair off her forehead. “Lucita, I—” He swallowed as he tried to gather himself together enough to speak all the things that were clamoring to get out of his heart. “I never dreamed I would ever be here with you like this. I never thought that you…well, that you could ever want someone like me.”
Even though it was too dark to clearly see the expression on her face, he could hear a puzzled note in her words. “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t I want someone like you?” Then her soft hands clasped his cheeks, touching him as though he were precious.
Slowly his hands met at the small of her back, then glided upward until his fingers were touching the exposed skin along her shoulder blades. She was as soft as butter on a hot afternoon.
“Why?” he repeated wryly. “Lucita, you belong to a rich, notable family. That pretty much says it all.”
With a short shake of her head, she said, “Having money in the bank or nice clothes doesn’t make me any different from other women. I have the same needs and wants, Ripp.”
He rubbed his cheek against hers. “You can have the best of everything, Lucita.”
Her hands tightened along his back as a sigh slipped past her lips and skittered across his ear. “Have you ever stopped to think that I might have the best right here next to me?”
A rough chuckle rumbled in his throat. “I didn’t know you were such a flatterer, Lucita. And you don’t have to be, you know,” he murmured. “You and me like this is enough.”
“Ripp, you—”
He interrupted with a hungry growl. “We’ve got better things to do than talk, Lucita.”
To prove it, he eased them both down on the cushioned lounge and began to kiss her. This time he didn’t hold back in showing her exactly how much he wanted her.
His fingers plowed into her hair and cradled the back of her head while his tongue plunged into her welcoming mouth. The helpless moan that sounded in her throat fueled his need to get even closer.
Without breaking the kiss, his hands spread against her back and urged her to lie on her side facing him. Once the front of her body was pressing against his, he lost all sense of their surroundings and the long, long minutes ticking by.
The only thing Ripp knew was that her soft mouth was nibbling at his; her hands were exploring his arms, chest and face. Along the length of him, he could feel her breasts pressing into his arm and a part of his chest, her hips pushing against the aching bulge behind the fly of his jeans. Heat spiraled through him and sent gray smoke curling around his senses, obscuring everything but the urgent need to make love to her.
At some point the contact of their lips was broken and he used the moment to allow his mouth to explore the tender curve of her throat, the velvety smooth skin sloping to her breast.
His fingers were pulling the strap of her sundress down on her arm, his mouth seeking the ripe center of one breast, when the faint sound of his cell phone punctured the quietness of the night.
For long moments, Ripp ignored the ring, his mind and his body refusing to relinquish the paradise of her embrace. But as the caller persisted, he could sense Lucita stilling beneath him. Finally she asked in a thick voice, “Should you answer that?”
Wiping a hand over his face, he eased away from her and pulled the phone from his jean pocket.
“I’m off duty right now. But that doesn’t mean a hill of beans if something has happened and the sheriff needs me,” he said to her as he quickly flipped open the cell phone and answered, “McCleod here.”
“Ripp, where are you?”
Instantly identifying Matt’s voice, Ripp rose to his feet as though his friend could see just how close he was to his sister.
“I’m—uh—actually, I’m here at Lucita’s house. Is something wrong?”
“Hell yeah, something’s wrong!” he practically shouted back. “Marti is missing! We think someone took him! He and Gracia went to the concession stand for something to eat. Marti waited in line while Gracia went to the restroom. When she got back, he wasn’t anywhere to be found.”
Icy fear plummeted through Ripp as he glanced at Lucita. If anything happened to Marti, her life would be totally devastated.
“Where are you now?”
“Still at the rodeo—the old arena—at the river park.”
“Have you called the police? Has Sheriff Travers been notified?”
“I called the police, they’re all over the rodeo grounds and the rest of the park. They’re not letting anyone enter or leave. But this is Victoria County, Ripp. Travers—”
“Knows the case,” Ripp quickly interrupted. “I—we’ll be there shortly, Matt.”
He snapped the phone shut, then drawing in a bracing breath looked over at Lucita who, at some point during the call, had risen from the lounge and was now standing at his side.
“It’s Marti, isn’t it?”
Even in the shadows, her oval face was deathly pale and utterly still except for her trembling lips. He desperately wanted to take her into his arms and reassure her, but there wasn’t time for anything except the truth.
“Yes. They can’t find him and Matt thinks someone has taken him.”
“Oh God,” she whispered starkly. Then grabbing his arm, she shook it almost violently. “Ripp, that can’t be! Tell me you’re lying!”
Wrapping his arm around her shoulders, he urged her toward the back entrance of the house. “I wish I were, Lucita. Right now, you need to gather your purse or whatever you need with you. I told Matt we were on our way.”
The urgency in his voice seemed to get through to her, but as they reached the door, she paused and with a muffled cry, buried her face in his chest and began to sob.
“Ripp! You’ve got to get my son back,” she cried. “Promise me!”
Choking down the emotions in his throat, he soothed a hand over the top of her head. “I promise to get your son back, Lucita. Or die trying.”
Chapter Eight
The thirty-minute drive into Victoria passed in a nightmarish daze for Lucita. It only got worse when they entered the southeastern side of the city and began to encounter roadblocks and jammed lines of traffic.
Once Ripp flashed his badge, a path was made for them to pass, but the going was slow. As the truck inched its way through the stalled traffic, Lucita had to fight to keep from bursting into sobs and screaming at the top of her lungs.
“I…can’t think that someone—someone evil has my boy,” Lucita choked out for the third time since they’d entered the city. “I’m trying not to let myself imagine what he might be going through right now. But I—I can’t stop myself, Ripp! Oh, God,” she prayed aloud, “Please let him be found safe and sound.”
Reaching over, Ripp gripped her hand. “Try not to think the worst, Lucita. I know that’s a damn lame thing to say, but you can’t let your imagination take over.”
Wiping at her tears, she swallowed and nodded. “You’re right. Yes, you’re right. I’ll try.”
The sight of her so crushed and distraught was like a sledgehammer hitting him right in the heart. He didn’t want her to hurt for one second, for any reason. But he feared she was going to have to endure even more pain before Marti was found.
When they finally reached the rodeo grounds they discovered police, deputies, sheriffs from two counties and even a pair of Texas Rangers, who happened to be in the area, had swarmed all over the river park and the arena.
Her Texas Lawman Page 10
