by R. C. Ryan
“You’re crazy.”
“That’s me. Now come here, woman.” He dragged her into his arms, and the two of them stood under the warm spray, laughing and rubbing soap on each other.
Within minutes the soap was forgotten as, with bodies tingling, hearts suddenly pounding, they came together flesh to flesh in a steamy tangle of arms and legs, while water cascaded over them.
Ally woke from a nap to find Reed lying beside her, watching her.
She stretched. “How did we end up in my bed?”
“Your fault.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “You were shampooing my hair. You have the most amazing fingers, by the way. I’ve never had my hair and scalp massaged by a woman, so I was really into it. And the next thing I knew, we were tumbling into bed.”
“We got the pillows wet.”
“And the sheets. Don’t worry. I’ll toss them in the washer later.” He gathered her close. “I can’t get enough of you.”
“I should feel guilty, having so much fun while everyone’s away.”
“There’s that old guilt thing again.” He kissed her, long and slow and deep. “When will you accept the fact that we deserve to have fun?” He chuckled. “Hell, we waited long enough.”
“You didn’t make it easy.”
He gave her a steady look. “You mean you were tempted?”
“You know I was. In fact, I think you liked pushing all my buttons and watching me squirm, knowing I was trying to do the sensible thing.”
“You do look cute when you squirm, Red. In fact, you look so cute right now, I think I’m going to have to ask for thirds. Or is it fourths?”
She shook her head and struggled to hold back the laugh that bubbled up. “Reed Malloy, you’re a glutton.”
“Yes, ma’am, I am. Lucky for you.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her mouth to his. “Mmm, I’m so lucky.”
And then there were no words as they took each other on a slow, delicious ride to paradise.
“Come on.” Reed caught Ally’s hand and together they walked down the stairs. “I’ve worked up a powerful appetite.” He paused to brush a kiss over her lips. “Not just for loving, though I do believe I could live on that alone.”
She laughed. “Loving’s fine, but you need to feed me.”
“I intend to. My last meal was around dawn.” In the kitchen he glanced out the window to see the sun casting long shadows on the distant hills. “It’s past suppertime, and I need some fuel if we’re going to keep on doing what we’ve been doing all day.”
“Are we?” She looked suddenly shy. “Are we going to keep on doing what we’ve been doing?”
“Red.” He cupped her face in his hands and stared into her eyes with a blazing look. “If you don’t want to stop my heart, don’t even suggest we go back to the old ways of nothing more than a good night kiss.”
She stood on tiptoe to brush his mouth with hers. “Trust me, cowboy. Now that I’ve found out just how good you are”—she wrapped her arms around his waist—“let’s hurry and eat and get back to it.”
He dug his hands into her hair and kissed her until they were both sighing.
When he finally turned away, he called, “If you get us two longnecks, I’ll handle the food.”
“You’re really going to feed me?”
“Think of it as a reward for some really good loving.” He crossed to the stove and turned on the grill.
Soon the kitchen was filled with the wonderful fragrance of chicken and steak grilling on a bed of onions and peppers.
When the fajitas were ready, he filled two plates and turned. “You bring the beer, I’ll bring the food.”
“Where are we taking this?”
He winked. “I thought, since we have the house to ourselves, we’d take it to my bedroom. That way we get to eat and play all at the same time.”
“Very sensible.”
They were laughing like two kids let out of school early as they made their way upstairs and into his bedroom.
Once there, he closed the door before turning toward her. “Eat first and then play? Or would you rather play first? Your call.”
She was laughing so hard, she could barely get the words out. “Let’s get some fuel. Then playtime will be even better.”
He shot her a dangerous look. “I like the way you think, Red. Okay. Let’s eat. Then we’ll move on to the good stuff.”
“I’m still really mad at myself for leaving you to deal with that creepy stalker alone.”
Reed and Ally lay together in his bed, voices muted after long, lazy hours of loving.
She put a finger over his mouth. “Let it go now. It’s over, and Glen won’t be bothering me again.”
He caught her wrist and pressed a kiss to her palm. “You’ve had to deal with so much in your life. And always alone.”
She shook her head. “Not always. My mom and I were close. Closer than a lot of mothers and daughters. Having lost her own mother at such a young age, she said she was so grateful to have me in her life.” Her smile was wistful. “I just wish she’d lived long enough to get to know her grandson.”
“He’s a great kid.” Reed put a hand beneath his head and grinned. “He’s really smart. And funny. I see those eyes behind the big glasses and I can almost see the wheels turning in that little brain.”
“He’s getting to you, isn’t he?”
He gave a grunt of agreement. “He got to me the first time I met him, wearing his Super Kid cape and running into the street.”
“I was absolutely terrified of you when I saw that scowl. I was really afraid you’d report me for being a bad mother.”
“I considered it. Until I met you. Then”—he gathered her close and pressed his lips to a tangle of hair at her temple—“you got to me too, Red.”
Reed sat up, causing Ally to wake. She yawned, stretched, before sitting up beside him.
He tugged on a lock of her hair. “You were smiling in your sleep.”
“Was I? I was having the nicest dream.”
“Want to share?”
“We were watching cattle on a grassy hillside. And you were so happy and proud. And you were telling me you’d waited years for this, and now it was all happening.”
“What was?”
She shrugged. “I haven’t a clue. But you were incredibly happy.”
“Maybe we just made love under the stars. That would make me a very happy guy.”
“Oh, you.” She nudged his arm. “Is that all you can think of?”
“Can you blame me? You made me wait so long, I was one big hunka burning love.”
They both laughed at his poor imitation of Elvis.
“Want some coffee?”
“Oh, I’d love some. Come on. I’ll make it.”
As she started to scramble out of bed, he caught her hand. “Slow down, Red. We’ve got all the time in the world.”
He pulled on his jeans while she slipped into a T-shirt and jeans.
Barefoot, they walked hand in hand down the stairs and headed to the kitchen.
The minute they shoved open the door, they froze.
Nelson was seated at the kitchen table, sipping a brandy.
“Hey, Great One.” Reed led Ally inside and closed the door. “How was the movie marathon in Glacier Ridge?”
“A smashing success, sonny boy.” If he noticed that Reed and Ally were holding hands, he made no comment about it. “The good citizens kept me there for hours signing their programs. One rancher had an old movie poster he wanted signed. He found it in his father’s barn. Can you imagine?”
“You never know what you’ll find in those old barns. Sometimes a movie poster. Sometimes a hot city girl.”
While Ally blushed, Reed moved easily around the kitchen, filling a coffeemaker with water and ground coffee, turning it on, before taking a seat beside Ally. “You make a lot of folks happy by attending those events, Great One.”
“It makes me happy, too.” Nelson set down
his brandy snifter and stretched out his legs. “My life in Hollywood seems like a lifetime ago.”
Reed grinned. “It was.”
“But the moment I’m around old movie buffs, it’s all so familiar. I can recall how many takes we had to go through before I got exactly what I wanted in that particular scene. I’m reminded of all the old feuds, the friendships”—he stared directly at Reed and Ally—“the number of love affairs that began on the set.”
While Ally’s cheeks colored, Reed merely chuckled. “Yeah. As I recall, you’ve admitted to being the matchmaker to a lot of the stars.”
“Just one of my many gifts, sonny boy. I’ve always been able to spot two people fighting to keep their hands off each other.” Nelson gave a satisfied smile as the coffeemaker indicated the brew was ready. “I’ll say good night now. Enjoy your late-night après drink.”
When he was gone, Reed let out a belly laugh.
Ally arched a brow.
“That sly old dog.” Reed chuckled again. “That last dig was Great One’s way of letting me know he was on to us.”
She thought over the words. “I don’t understand. He just told us to enjoy our coffee.”
“He told us to enjoy our après drink. Our ‘after’ drink. And that old man knows exactly what went on before.”
He filled two cups with steaming coffee, and the two sat in companionable silence, basking in the afterglow of a day and night of carefree loving, while laughing about Great One’s sense of humor.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was barely dawn when Reed sat on the edge of the bed, pulling on his boots.
“I wish you didn’t have to leave.” Ally knelt up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, kissing the back of his neck.
He turned and gathered her close. “I’d give anything to stay and keep on doing what we did all yesterday and last night. But the roundup…”
She touched a hand to his mouth to still his words. “I know how important this herd is to your future, Reed. And I’m not complaining. I realize you have to go. I just wish I could do something to help.”
“What you gave me is more than I could have hoped for, Red.” He stood and helped her up with him, drawing her into his arms. Against her temple he murmured, “And in a few days, when I’ve brought my herd down from the hills, I hope to heaven we can slip away from the crowd and have another day like yesterday.”
“Kyle will be back from his grand adventure, and your family will be eager to spend time with you.”
“Kyle has to sleep at some point.” He wiggled his brows like a mock villain. “And my rowdy family will have to get in line, woman. You and I have some serious lovin’ time to make up.”
Her laughter was cut off by his kiss.
For long minutes they clung, until Reed gave a moan of pure misery. “Okay. I’m going to try to walk away, Red. If I make it to the door, I’m not turning around to look at you, or I’ll never be able to go.”
She stood very still and watched as he strode to the bedroom door and stepped out before closing it.
She listened to the sound of his footsteps as he descended the stairs. Then she hurried to the window to watch as he climbed into his truck. He lowered the window and looked up. Seeing her outlined in the spill of lamplight, he lifted a hand in a salute and drove off in a cloud of dust.
Wrapped in a warm glow, she gathered up her belongings and returned to her own room.
Once in the shower, she let the warm water spill over her, remembering their laughter as they’d shared this space the day before.
As she dressed, she thought about their brief time together. Everything they did, though nothing more than simple, everyday activities, had been so much fun. Because of Reed. He was sexy, funny, and a caring, thoughtful lover. Loving him seemed so easy and natural.
Loving him.
Her fingers paused over a button on her shirt.
Though neither of them had talked about any deep feelings, she knew in her heart she loved him.
She sank down on the edge of the bed and drew in a deep breath. There. She’d admitted it. No more doubts. No need to second-guess. She loved Reed Malloy.
What she’d done in the past, or what would happen in the future, no longer mattered.
She would simply hug the knowledge to her heart and enjoy the fact that, though she had come to care for the entire Malloy family, she loved Reed in a way she’d never believed possible.
Ally stood on the back porch, hoping for better cell phone service, and spoke with handyman Darnell Thornton. “It sounds as though things are moving along smoothly, Thorny.”
“So smoothly, if there aren’t any bumps in the road, you should be able to open your shop in less than a week.”
“So soon?” She touched a hand to her heart.
“I don’t see why not. But it will take longer to repair all the damage to your apartment upstairs. I need to replace just about everything. What wasn’t ruined by the fire was so waterlogged from the fire hoses, we need to replace the drywall, the wood flooring, probably the subfloor, and even the stairway.”
“But the important thing is the shop.” She thought a moment. “I can be there in an hour or so.”
“Great. My crew and I will be here working.”
They rang off, and Ally floated inside on a cloud.
Finding the kitchen empty, she wandered into the great room, where the blinds had been drawn against the morning sunlight.
Yancy and Nelson were staring, transfixed, at images flashing across a big screen.
Fascinated, Ally remained in the doorway and watched an eerie scene unfold. A snow-covered road. A car, smashed against a huge, unforgiving tree. And then a close-up of a man’s blood-spattered body behind the wheel, one hand against the passenger window, as though waving, or trying to smash the glass. The other hand cradling his face, slumped over the steering wheel. The camera panned to a woman lying in a snowbank, looking as though she were sleeping. Her long, dark hair a stark contrast to the whiteness of the snow. Her hands folded across her waist as though she’d been posed.
The next scene, jerky and slightly blurred, showed several vehicles, a mixture of cars and trucks, and a series of tire tracks in the snow, along with dozens of footprints.
There was sound, as well. Voices cursing. A woman crying. The wail of a distant siren.
She’d heard enough of the death of Reed’s parents on a snow-covered road that she realized what she was seeing. Though she wanted to look away, she stared transfixed at the screen until the reel had run its course.
Yancy clicked on a light and caught sight of Ally.
“How long have you been here?”
“A few minutes.” She walked over to sit beside Great One. “You filmed the scene of the accident.”
“I did.” He nodded. “Filming has always been second nature to me. When we got the call, I picked up my camera and Yancy drove. I wanted to record everything, so I could look at it later when my mind wasn’t clouded with grief.”
“Doesn’t it break your heart to watch this?”
“It does. Every time.”
“Then why keep looking at it?”
He patted her hand. “Yancy shares my conviction that it was no accident that took the lives of Patrick and Bernie and changed this family forever.”
Ally sucked in a breath at his remark. “But there’s no other car. Just that tree. Reed said it was a one-car accident, caused by a snowstorm.”
“That’s what the sheriff and the state police declared when they closed the book on their investigation.”
“But all these years later you still believe otherwise?”
“I do.” He looked at Yancy, who nodded in agreement. “We do.”
“And does your video prove it?”
He looked down at his clenched fist resting on the arm of his chair. “We’ve studied it a hundred times. A thousand. But it’s too blurred to give us a clear image of what we saw.”
“And what did you see,
Great One?”
“When we first got there, I swear I saw two sets of tire tracks that at one point intersected, as well as skid marks. But within minutes there had been too many vehicles pulling up, and too many feet walking around the scene destroying evidence.”
“What did the sheriff say?”
“Eugene believed it was an accident, plain and simple. Patrick and Bernadette had been at Clay’s Pig Sty, celebrating their anniversary. The skid was caused when Patrick realized he was sliding into the tree. And the state police who arrived several hours later agreed with his findings.” He shook his head. “And the case has been considered closed ever since. The official report is an accident, caused by an unusually heavy snowfall and fueled by alcohol consumption.”
“Then why do you keep torturing yourself like this?”
“Because I can’t let it go, girl.” He pressed a fist to his chest. “I feel it in my heart. In my soul. In my gut. Something happened the night of this crash. Something we haven’t yet learned. But I know it’s so.”
Yancy had listened in silence. Now he added, “This past year, when we were being held at gunpoint by a crazy cowboy named Lonny Wardell, he told Luke he knew a secret he’d been sworn to keep. A secret about Patrick’s death.”
Ally’s eyes went wide. “Ingrid told me about being terrorized by a wrangler who’d been seeing her mother.”
Yancy’s voice was low with fury. “Lon Wardell. He grew up around here and worked on most every ranch in the area. He was a drinker and a drifter.”
“What did he know?”
“He was shot dead before he could tell us.”
She sucked in a breath. “Who shot him?”
“A dozen different rifles. The state police sharpshooters had surrounded him, and when they got their chance, they opened fire.”
Ally closed a hand over Nelson’s. “Oh, Great One. What a terrible thing to live with.” She sighed. “I wish I had the technical equipment I used to work with in Virginia.”
At his questioning look, she explained. “I worked in security. My specific job training was enlarging and enhancing security videos to identify the persons caught on camera.”
