StudinTexas

by Calista Fox

  “Hey, now,” Caleb said as he shot to his feet. “Don’t go getting any ideas, Rambo. I know you have a gun.”

  “And a woman I want to protect.”

  “I know you care about her and you’re worried about her. Probably pissed to high hell too that something this awful has happened to her. But you’re also fueled by the fact that you have something to prove.”

  Because he’d failed to protect Charlotte, even though it was in an entirely different capacity?

  “Look,” Caleb continued. “I know you wouldn’t go off half-cocked, but I’m fairly certain that if you were the one to find this prick, you’d be tempted to take justice into your own hands. I’m saying this because I’d feel the same way if someone hurt Reese. But it’s not necessarily the right thing.”

  Sam grunted. “I know that.”

  “All right, then. Let the sheriff’s office handle this. And just continue to be there for Sky.”

  “Yeah, about that…” He uncrossed his ankles and shoved away from the door. He raked a hand through his hair and said, “She needs to tell Reese. It’ll be the hardest damn thing for her, but she doesn’t want her best friend to hear from someone else. You know the rumor mill in this town. There really are no secrets in Wilder. So just keep this under your hat until she’s made her confession.”

  “Agreed.”

  “She’s going to have to tell her dad, her sisters. Ruby and Mike. Ginger, Jack and Jess. The Bains. Shit.”

  Caleb gripped Sam’s shoulder and said, “They’ll all be supportive. And that just might help her through this.”

  “Once they locate Willet and press charges, it’ll be in the papers. Given her name, we’re not just talking about the newspapers in Hill Country. This sort of thing will make national headlines.”

  “She’s weathered the worst of it, Sam. She survived the assault. She wasn’t in the trailer when it burned. She knows she’s safe with you—with all of us here at the ranch.”

  “So you don’t mind her staying?”

  “Did you think for a second I would?”

  “No.”

  Caleb nodded. “Nothing to discuss as far as that goes.”

  “Except I want to double the security guards.”

  “That’s fine by me. She can give them a description and they can keep their eye out for anything suspicious.”

  “Can’t imagine he’d be dumb enough to come here.”

  Caleb rubbed his jaw. “That’s probably true, but we’ll be on-guard, anyway. Doesn’t hurt to err on the side of cautious.” His brother regarded him a moment, his brow furrowed. Then he said, “Something else is bugging you.”

  He sighed. “Sky, in general. She’s been distant today.”

  “This is a very touchy situation, Sam. And she’s probably terrified about what happened to her trailer. If she’s anything like Reese, she’s putting on the tough-girl face. Reese wanted to handle the situation with her ex-husband all on her own, not get me involved. That’s the kind of women they are, and I respect that they want to save themselves. But sometimes, that’s not possible. There’s no shame in needing help from time to time. I’m sure you’ve mentioned that to Sky, but it might be difficult for her to reconcile it in her mind, which is why she’s distant.”

  Sam paced the office. Then he said, “Thing is, I can’t stand the thought of losing her.”

  “No one says you’re losing her. She’s going through a horrific ordeal and needs to work through it. Hell, I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She’s as crazy about you as you are her. Don’t start doubting that just because she’s in her head a bit more than usual today. Perfectly natural. Ask Dalton. He’ll tell you the same.”

  Sam groaned. “This relationship happened pretty quick. Caught us both by surprise. I won’t discount the bond between us, but let’s face facts. There’s nothing to hold her to me.”

  “Sure there is,” Caleb said with a grin. “She agreed to stay at the cottage. She wants to be with you, Sam.”

  He wanted to believe in that.

  “Let her take the time she needs,” his brother said. “But show her that you’re there for her. No matter what.”

  Sage advice, he conceded, but none of the tension in his shoulders loosened. Nor did he expect it to, until Mac Willet was behind bars and Sky could get on with her life.

  He left Caleb and returned to the inn. Sky stood at the wall of windows, staring out at the wedding taking place on the event lawn.

  She glanced over her shoulder as he approached, his boot heels on the hardwood floor alerting her of his presence.

  “How you feeling, darlin’?,” he asked as he slipped his arms around her waist and held her with his chest pressed to her back.

  “I know I should never doubt Reese’s devotion to me for a moment.”

  “But you still haven’t told her?”

  “Wedding mayhem. I’m just waiting for it to die down around here before I spring this on her.”

  “Don’t stall,” he said in a quiet voice. “You know she’ll be there for you through thick and thin.”

  “I know.”

  “She loves you.”

  Sky nodded. In the reflection in the glass panes, he saw a few tears tumble down her cheeks. “I pick really good friends. I can’t imagine why I end up with the wrong men.”

  His gut twisted, but he managed to keep his tone causal. “’Cept for me, right?”

  “You already know the answer to that, cowboy.”

  Chapter Ten

  The next morning, Sky rapped lightly on the doorframe to Reese’s office before stepping inside.

  “Hey,” Reese said as she glanced up from her computer monitor. “How about that wedding reception last night? Good Lord, could they have gone through more champagne?”

  With a soft laugh, Sky said, “At least there were enough teenagers with driver’s licenses to make sure everyone got home okay.”

  “Well, I am all for a wild celebration, but I had a few moments of panic that those bridesmaids might start dancing on top of my tables.”

  “Oh I saw it in their eyes,” Sky agreed. “I’m happy they kept their feet on the ground, that’s for sure.”

  “I do like how lively it all was. This really is such a great venue for parties.”

  “Without doubt.” Sky paused, her stomach suddenly churning with dread. “You got a couple minutes to spare?”

  “Sure.” Concern crossed Reese’s delicate features. “What’s up?”

  “I have something to tell you that won’t be any easier for you to hear than it will be for me to say.”

  Concerned morphed into panic. “You’re not leaving, are you?”

  “No. I mean…not at the moment. I don’t know.” She shook her head. Moving toward the chair on the opposite side of Reese’s desk, she was about to sit, but realized she’d do this better standing. She gripped the back of the chair for support, though.

  “Sky?”

  The churning in her stomach turned into a raw clenching that actually hurt.

  “It’s about Nashville, Reese. I need to tell you what went down there.”

  “Okay.”

  Jesus, where to start?

  She wasn’t sure she’d be able to get through the whole story of what had led up to Mac attacking her, so she jumped in with what had happened at the studio when she’d refused to give him the sixty grand.

  Reese sat quietly as she listened, her expression giving away the pain she felt for her best friend over hearing such shocking details, but not once did a look of fault flit over her face. She clearly didn’t believe Sky had knowingly invited or welcomed all of this trouble into her life, and that was a huge relief.

  She ended the sordid tale with, “So he’s still after the money, and he burned down my trailer in Luckenbach yesterday morning.”

  Reese gasped. “Oh my God. You loved that trailer!”

  She nodded.

  Realization must have slammed into Reese, because she was suddenly horror-stricken. “Sk
y! You could have been in there at the time! You could have been—”

  “I wasn’t though,” she was quick to say as a chill crawled under her skin. “I was with Sam. I spent the night at his cottage. Obviously, I was there last night too. I really couldn’t think of where else to go at the time. He’s been extremely understanding and supportive.”

  Reese jumped to her feet and rounded the desk. She pulled Sky into a tight hug and it caused fat drops to pool in her eyes. She squeezed them shut and let Reese console her.

  “I am so, so sorry this happened to you,” Reese said. “My God, I can’t believe this has happened to you.”

  “I’m okay now,” she choked out as emotion swelled in her throat. “Well, not totally okay. I am really, really mad. Like I need to kick Mac in the balls for the pure satisfaction of it mad. But I don’t even know where the hell he is.”

  Reese pulled away suddenly. Gripping Sky’s biceps, she said, “You have to tell the sheriff. Mac is still out there and something else could happen. Something could happen to you.”

  She swallowed down a huge lump of fear. “I know. I already told him my story. Yesterday morning. Sam took me. Which I clearly shouldn’t have allowed…” She blew out a long breath and shook her head. “He was upset to begin with, but now—”

  “Wait. He knew?”

  Sky cringed. “I told him after that dinner at Pietro’s. He kissed me and I just wanted it to go on and on. But I knew I’d have to tell him so that if I had any sort of adverse reaction as a residual effect from what Mac did to me, he’d understand that it wasn’t his fault. That it didn’t have anything to do with him. That I just might need more time.” She smiled suddenly. “I really didn’t need that much more time.” She whistled under her breath. “That man’s quite the miracle worker. Sort of a savior of lost souls, equine and human.”

  Whatever dismay Reese might have felt over Sky having told Sam about Nashville before she’d told her best friend, she seemed to get over it. Fast.

  She told Sky, “I’m glad he knows. I’m glad you felt comfortable enough with him to tell him, so that you no longer had this all bottled up inside. And so that maybe he could help you through it.”

  “He’s a peach.”

  “So are you.” Reese hugged her again. Then she asked, “What can I do to help?”

  No pity. None at all. Sky breathed a sigh of relief.

  “You still being my best friend works just fine,” she said.

  “As if I wouldn’t be.”

  Tears prickled her eyes. “I know. I just didn’t want to upset you. Or make you feel differently about me.”

  “You know I’d never feel differently about you over something like this.”

  Sky nodded. “In my heart, yes. But I did worry a little.”

  “Don’t ever second-guess our friendship,” Reese said in a serious tone. “I mean it. And I also do want to know what I can do to help. Caleb will want to help too.”

  With a shrug, Sky said, “Nothing to do, really. It’s pretty much in the sheriff’s hands. He and his deputies are on the lookout for Mac and they’re going to meet with the authorities in Fredericksburg.”

  “You can’t go back to Luckenbach.”

  She let out a hollow laugh. Swiped at her tears. “What’s to go back to? My trailer’s gone. All I own now is a bunch of scorched dirt and trees.”

  “This is so awful,” Reese said. “But you can stay here. You know that, right? With Sam, or upstairs or even with Caleb and me, if that makes you feel safe. Whatever makes you feel safe, Sky.”

  “Thank you.” She hugged Reese. “I appreciate it. You know I do. I just need a little time to get my feet steady on the ground again. I could do without that asshole ripping the rug out from underneath me every time I turn around.”

  “I hear that.”

  They talked some more, then Sky left the office and headed to her dessert station. She baked more muffins to keep her mind occupied. She dropped off a basket at the med facility and then delivered another one to the stable.

  Dalton said, “I’m glad you stopped by. Think Sam could use the company.”

  She looked around his shoulder and found Sam standing at a stall midway down the wide aisle, one forearm resting on the ledge of the gate, his jaw clenched.

  He looked miserable. Her heart sank.

  Dalton told her, “I’m heading over to talk with Caleb, if you need me.”

  “Thanks.”

  He left and she joined Sam. The air between them crackled with tension. They hadn’t spoken much the previous evening. He’d held her in bed last night, but he hadn’t made love to her. And Sky had been quiet over breakfast, barely making eye contact with him. Too much stood between them, stemming from her situation with Mac.

  She placed a hand on his shoulder and asked, “Something wrong?” Her gaze followed his to the empty stall. Her stomach plummeted. “Oh, Sam. The new horse?”

  “Caleb put him down first thing this morning. He had no choice.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Had to be done.”

  She sighed. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Nothing to say.” He pinched the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb, then told her, “I’ve got an empty stall to fill. I need to get on the phone and make some arrangements for a horse in New Mexico that I want to pick up.”

  “Maybe you should take the morning off. Give yourself a break.”

  With a shake of his head, he said, “I don’t want to waste any time. It’ll take a couple days to get everything lined up, paperwork done.”

  “You want me to go with you?”

  His shoulders bunched. “Well, I certainly don’t want to leave you alone, if Willet isn’t hauled in by then.”

  Sam’s gaze finally slid to her. His emerald eyes were clouded and his jaw was still set in a hard line. Sky’s heart wrenched.

  “What’s going on inside of that head of yours?” she asked in a low tone.

  “More than just thoughts of a dead horse and another one to try to rescue.”

  She pulled in a long breath. “Care to elaborate?”

  He shifted away from her.

  “Sam.”

  Glancing at her over a broad shoulder, he said, “I was able to block from my mind what happened to you in Nashville, but yesterday…when you went into the office with the sheriff and Ryan, the reality of it hit me. And it nearly knocked me off my feet.”

  She stared up at him, seeing the torment in his eyes. “That’s why you didn’t make love to me last night.”

  “It’s not that I didn’t want to. Just didn’t seem right.”

  Stepping around him so they faced each other, she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “You’ve got to let this go. What happened was a nightmare for me, yes, but it was months and months ago. I survived it. I’m okay. Pissed off, sure. And wary about what might be his next move, but I’m all right.”

  He held her tight. But didn’t say anything.

  “Sam,” she repeated. “Don’t think about that night. This will all be over soon.”

  “It’ll never go away, darlin’. Because you and I know about it.”

  “Stop torturing yourself.”

  He released her, kissed her on the cheek and said, “Why don’t you go back up to the inn? I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  Dread seeped through her veins, but she nodded and did as he asked.

  Doing whatever she could to fill her time, she scrubbed her workstation until every inch of it sparkled, then found other chores around the inn. The day’s festivities were held in the dining room and, when the anniversary party was over, she pitched in with the other staff to clean up.

  By the time Sam came to get her and take her back to the cottage, she was exhausted. He’d stayed in the stable or his office the whole evening and he didn’t appear to be in any better of a mood.

  They climbed into bed and he spooned her, surrounding her with his strength and heat, the way she liked. Though
disappointment consumed her. He clearly didn’t intend to make love to her. When, exactly, was that going to end? Or had the intimacy between them been broken when she went to the sheriff’s office? Were they in a tailspin she couldn’t get control of?

  On Sunday morning, Sky made up her mind about what to do with Mac Willet.

  She’d offer herself up as bait. Since Mac had disappeared following his torching of her trailer, she suspected the old-school detective move was her best bet. She had what he wanted, after all. Sixty-thousand dollars.

  However, Sky wasn’t fool enough to go it alone. She went straight to Sheriff Johnson. She’d taken off while Sam was in the stable, knowing if she told him her plan, he’d try to talk her out of it. Say it was too dangerous. And maybe it was. But she’d reached the end of the line with the situation.

  The strain on her relationship with Sam propelled her into action. Not to mention the way his shoulders had turned into mountains of rigid muscle, all tight and bunched from his tension. Not only was she suffering from Mac’s evil ways, so was Sam.

  In addition, every hour that passed made her more anxious about being at the ranch when something horrible might happen at any moment. The bastard had burned her trailer, hadn’t he? What else was he capable of?

  She gripped the steering wheel firmly as she drove into town, wishing like hell she’d never laid eyes on Mac Willet. But she had to concede that he’d been a different person when she’d met him while performing in Vegas.

  Mac hadn’t been a smooth talker. Hadn’t fed her slick lines or tried to immediately win her over with false flattery. He’d proposed the Casey James audition in a businesslike manner. He’d been on-point and professional. And the gig had been an honest one. Couldn’t get much more on the up-and-up than that. In addition, while she’d toured, Mac had been supportive and had had a few other legitimate prospects for her career.

  Maybe it’d been cliché to get involved with him, since she’d hired him as her manager. But he’d really been the prominent person in her life and yeah, he’d hooked her with his clean-cut image following all that time she’d spent in Vegas, with some very unseemly characters hitting on her. Mac had been a welcomed change of pace.