Live-In Mom

by Paige, Laurie

  “Yes.”

  His expression didn’t invite further discussion, but she was intrigued by his former marriage and what it had been like. “The way to a man’s heart and all that,” she murmured, lifting the coffee mug and taking a drink. She nearly choked.

  He raised one sardonic eyebrow and took another drink of the sludge that was supposed to be coffee. “Yes. She was good in the kitchen. Too bad we couldn’t stand each other any place else.”

  Carly wanted to ask about the bedroom, but even her boldness didn’t extend that far.

  “There, too,” he murmured with a wicked leer.

  Heat flooded her face. “What?”

  “You were wondering if she was good in the bedroom. She was. To a point.”

  She stared at him, her heart beating wildly, knowing she didn’t want to hear any more.

  “The point being that she gave or withheld her favors as she saw fit in order to get her way. After a while, a man finds he can live without them.”

  “Most women can’t separate their emotional needs from their physical ones the way most men seem able to do.”

  He pounced on that statement. “Can you?”

  “I… we’re not talking about me.”

  All at once, he was close to her, leaning across the breakfast bar until he was in her face. He caught a handful of her hair, which still tumbled around her like a tattered curtain. She thought he was going to kiss her.

  “Perhaps it’s time we did. Why are you here?” he demanded in a seductive murmur that almost took her off guard.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’re obviously not cut out for life in a ranch kitchen. Is this some kind of adventure for you? Are you doing research for a book or an article, perhaps an exposé on the Macklin family?”

  “No. None of the above,” she answered truthfully.

  “What, then?”

  She saw he wouldn’t be put off. “I wanted to get away, to go to a place I wasn’t known where I could…think over my life.”

  “Ah,” he mocked. “The great search for the true self.”

  “Not at all. I wanted to get away from a jerk.” She leaned forward and gave him a meaningful stare to indicate he might be included in the designation if he pushed too hard.

  He returned her glare for a few seconds, then the corners of his mouth curved upward in a sardonic grin. “You must have been pretty desperate. Who was he?”

  “My ex-fiancé. He thought, after trying and failing to get part of everything I owned by claiming to be a de facto business partner, he could step back into my life.”

  She knew her expression had gone “mulish,” as Aunt Essie would have said. She felt mulish when she thought of how gullible she’d been. She wanted to kick the jerk out of her life…or over the moon, whichever was furthest.

  “You’ve just had a humorous idea,” Ty remarked.

  Carly nearly spilled her coffee in surprise at his insight. “How did you know that?”

  “Your mouth indents at the corners when you mentally smile.”

  “Oh. Well, yes, I was thinking I’d like to kick him over the moon or someplace equally far.”

  “So what did you have that he wanted?”

  “A tiny gift boutique. Actually, three of them, in hotels in Chicago. I called them the Powder Box I, II and III.”

  He snapped his fingers. “That’s it. I saw you on TV, a show about women in business who made it without outside help. What happened to the stores?”

  “I sold them. I wanted a new life free of memories. I’m trying to decide where I want to settle. I’m checking into the resort near Ashland. It has a good tourist business, and I have a friend who lives there. If that doesn’t work out, I was happy with my grandfather in Arizona. I might go there.”

  He ignored the last part. “Ah, yes, the friend who caused so much speculation among the women. Elena said it was a woman.”

  She nodded, not taking her eyes from him. He was a more volatile person than his teasing had indicated when she’d first met him. And more complex, she decided, recalling his manner with his son. An interesting, complicated human being.

  “So why did you come to the ranch as a hired hand?”

  “Maybe I’m looking for a rich husband.” She gave him a once-over, then grinned at his irritated expression.

  “That you can take to the cleaners?” His laugh was cynical. “You’ve come to the wrong place, sweetheart. This sucker has been there, done that.”

  She poured out part of her coffee and added water to dilute the strong brew. “All right, I did have a reason,” she confessed. “My ex-fiancé was calling daily. My friend had her own problems. When I saw the ad in the paper, I realized it would provide a nice, quiet hideaway. Besides, it sounded like fun.”

  That sounded like the most idiotic excuse in the world.

  “The great American myth of the West.” He pushed his cup toward her. “Add some water to this mud,” he requested.

  She did and handed the cup back. He took a drink while he considered. “All right,” he finally said. “As long as you behave yourself, you can stay. One more incident and you’re out of here.”

  “Behave,” she echoed. “I haven’t done a darned thing but wash dishes and peel potatoes since I came to the blasted ranch. Hodkin wasn’t after me.“

  “Yeah, but you stepped in and wounded his dignity. The man could be a serious enemy. His truck was gone when I went to meet Jonathan. I forgot to have Buck put a tail on him to see where he went.” He flicked her a glance that singed her insides.

  Carly knew quite well why he’d forgotten. Those few minutes in the bedroom had driven every thought from her head, too. “He wouldn’t dare hurt me.” She gave a disdainful sniff. “Like most bullies, he’s probably a coward, too.”

  “Right. That’s why he’d watch and wait for a chance to get you alone. He also has friends who might be willing to take part in the fun.”

  “Yes.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You’ve already thought of that. Any clues as to who?”

  She shook her head. “He was with two men at Smitty’s a couple of weeks ago. I saw him when I went through town.”

  “Would you recognize them if you saw them again?”

  “No.”

  He drank the diluted coffee while studying her with his cool, calculating gaze. “I wonder if you’re telling the truth. You didn’t hesitate to use the outcome of your episode with Hodkin to your advantage.”

  That statement baffled her. “What do you mean?”

  “You’re in my home,” he said. “My son has seen you in my bedroom and thinks you’re going to be his new mom—”

  “That was your doing, not mine,” she said hotly. “I don’t have designs on your virtue, if that’s what you’re insinuating. You dragged me into your home and bedroom, playing the Good Samaritan until we were alone, then you kissed me when my guard was down.”

  “You didn’t exactly fight me off.”

  She was furious that he would remind her of her conduct. “That was not a gentlemanly thing to say. I was hurt and dazed, probably in shock. A lot you cared—”

  He dared to laugh. “Tell me another one before that one gets cold,” he scoffed.

  “I would really like to hit you,” she growled at him. A pain flashed through her head, and she became aware of a headache. “You made my head hurt,” she accused, pressing against her temples.

  “Yeah, well, you make me hurt in a couple of places, too. My head is just one of them.” He stood and paced the imitation-marble floor irritably.

  After a tense, silent two minutes, he gave her an amused perusal, once more in control of his temper. She wasn’t going to confess that he made her ache, too.

  “Are you working with the police?” he asked suddenly.

  She gave him a blank stare.

  He correctly read her confusion. “I can see you’re not.”

  “Is the sheriff investigating Hodkin? Perhaps I can talk Venita into pressing charge
s.”

  Ty gave her an exasperated frown. “Stay out of it. There’s been some thieving on both sides of the state line the last few months. A couple of ranchers have been hurt. Fortunately, no one’s been killed. Yet. My brother is working with the local sheriff to try to break the case.”

  Carly mulled this over. She was willing to bet Hodkin was in on any scams. “Elena said Hodkin had only been working here for about six months.”

  “What’s going on in that busy little brain of yours?” Ty glared into her eyes as if he could read her every thought.

  “Nothing. I have to get back to the house. Elena has probably returned and is wondering where I am.”

  “What is she, your watchdog?”

  “My friend. That’s something you should cultivate more of, instead of cows,” she suggested sweetly. She stood, eased around him and headed for the door. She didn’t make it.

  His big hand closed over her shoulder, forcing her to face him. “Not so fast. I’m not sure it’s safe. Until I know Hodkin is out of the vicinity, I want you where I can keep an eye on you.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “The women think you’re a runaway heiress. Hodkin might get ideas along the same lines.”

  “An heiress! Why would they think that?”

  “Designer jeans. A fancy car. You figure it out.”

  She sighed. “I thought I was doing so well.”

  “You are,” he said on a quieter note. “You’re a good worker.”

  “Well… thanks.” She was inordinately pleased at the compliment. “It’s hard, but kind of fun, being with the other women and talking to them.”

  “Not to mention Rodrigo,” Ty said dryly.

  “He’s cute, but not my type.”

  “Hmm,” Ty said.

  She realized how close they were. His eyes bored into hers. The yearning grew inside her until she had only one thought—she wanted to be in his arms again. His gaze was open to her all at once. She saw hunger and need and desire. For her. Just for her.

  “Damn you,” he said.

  She thought the two words were the loveliest ones she’d ever heard. From some deep well of understanding, she knew exactly what he meant. They were a recognition of the feelings between them, feelings that couldn’t be suppressed.

  When he swept her against him, she didn’t resist. It was an impossibility. The need was too great.

  She realized she’d never been in love before. Whatever she’d felt in the past had been a girl’s crush compared to the welter of emotion she experienced with this man. She wanted to entwine herself in him until neither could tell where the other started or ended. It scared her to want someone this much.

  His mouth sought hers. She felt a shudder run through him, but he was gentle when he touched her lips. He examined her injury with his tongue, running over her swollen lip and the teeth marks inside it so very carefully.

  When he left her mouth, she gave a little cry of frustration. He swooped down and pressed his mouth to her neck, laving her with hot, hot kisses that increased in ardor with each one.

  She ran her fingers into his tawny locks and clutched him to her, her heart beating so wildly she feared it would never find its rhythm again. His hands ran down her back and over her hips. With perfect ease, be lifted her to fit against his tall, strong frame.

  Whimpers of need filled her. She could never have imagined feeling this way, not in a hundred years. It was magic.

  When he placed her on the counter of the breakfast bar, she opened her thighs and felt him step close, their bodies touching intimately. The hard ridge of his desire pressed against her. She felt the softening within herself as her body made ready to receive him. She longed to feel him inside….

  “Dear heavens,” she whispered, shocked by the force of this terrifying longing.

  His mouth ravaged her throat, her face. “You go soft in my arms,” he murmured, more to himself than her. “And I go up in smoke when I touch you.”

  “I know. I know,” she crooned incoherently.

  He lifted his head, his eyes glittering like melted glass. “Yeah. It isn’t something a man can hide.”

  “Neither can I,” she retorted, feeling a reprimand in his confession. “It’s… unreal.”

  “It’s that, all right,” he agreed with a grimness that stung. He stepped away from her, running a hand through his hair in a resentful gesture. “I have no place for this in my life.”

  “You think I do?” She leapt off the counter to the floor and grimaced when the bounce made the blood pound in her lip.

  “I’ll get your shoes.” Whirling, he walked out.

  She gripped the counter with both hands, willing the faint trembling to leave her body. If she had any sense, she’d leave. Except she didn’t want to. She wanted to stay and play out this strange drama to the very end.

  “Here.” Ty entered the kitchen and thrust her sneakers at her. He gave the holes in the shoes a sardonic glance.

  She leaned against the cabinets to pull the comfortable old shoes on. “I have a hard time throwing out old things. They seem a part of me,” she explained defensively.

  He merely cocked one eyebrow. “What’s next on your agenda?” he demanded. He folded his arms across his chest, his expression as remote as the face of the man in the moon.

  “I don’t know,” she said truthfully.

  “I want you out of here.”

  “You want me to quit?”

  “Yes.”

  “No.”

  His eyes went as dark as a thundercloud.

  “You have no reason to get rid of me. I didn’t do anything wrong. I want to finish out the month.”

  He drew in a deep breath and let it out in a loud sigh. “You’d probably find another job nearby just to drive me crazy.”

  She grinned, knowing he was relenting. “I would. I’m thinking of opening a boutique at the ski resort. Working here gives me a chance to scout around without any complications—“

  His snort of scornful laughter stopped her protest.

  “Well, except for us… for this.” She indicated the passion that bloomed between them at any opportune moment. Like whenever they saw each other.

  “All right,” he said, coming to a decision. “Don’t try any of your feminine wiles on me or anyone else. I may lose my head when I touch you, but I am capable of rational thought otherwise. Give me any trouble, and I’ll have you off the place faster than you can spit.”

  “You won’t know I’m around.” She knew she was in the clear. He was going to let her stay. What was more troubling was the fact that she wanted to. She wasn’t ready to walk away from him. “So, what are we going to do about Hodkin?”

  “You’re not going to do anything. I’ll take care of him.”

  “How?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Maybe I’ll get it out of you at a weak moment,” she suggested wickedly, then nearly choked on laughter at the look on his face.

  He stepped closer, forcing her to move back or have to crane her neck to peer up at him. “I just may let you try it,” he muttered, a definite threat in his manner.

  “Promises, promises,” she quipped gaily, then sprang back out of his reach.

  She knew she was teasing a tiger, but she’d discovered early in life that a smart mouth could cover a lot of uncertainty, especially when cousins taunted an unwanted rela tive. Around Ty Macklin, she was anything but confident.

  “You do like to live dangerously.” He moved with lightning speed. Before she could do more than grasp the fact, he had her in his arms. “Now what are you going to do?”

  “Shout for help?”

  He shook his head. “That isn’t your style.” He moved his hands restlessly in her hair, entangling the long strands in his fingers as he slid them upward along her back.

  She tried to hold his gaze to prove to him she wasn’t afraid, but her lashes kept dragging her eyelids downward. She knew she should fight him, but the will to do so
wasn’t there. She sighed, a shuddery sound of indecision.

  His breath flowed softly over her lips as he bent toward her. “You confuse the hell out of me, too. I want you, but I know better than to get involved. You’re like a rose patch, with pretty flowers on the surface but with long, dangerous thorns hidden in those bright trappings to ensnare the unwary.”

  “I’m not trying to ensnare anyone,” she denied, coming out of the sensual trance he induced.

  He released her abruptly. “Good. Because it won’t work on me. I’ve been led down that path. Believe me, once was enough.”

  “I’m not like your wife.” She was insulted that he’d compare the two.

  “Ex-wife,” he corrected. He walked over and held open the kitchen door. “Let’s go.”

  She knew it was useless to protest his walking her to the house. No one was on the place, not on Saturday night. Even Elena had gone to town this time.

  However, when they arrived at the edge of the trees, Ty stopped and let her go on by herself. It was a good thing. A lone figure sat on the stoop to the women’s quarters. Carly recognized Elena’s familiar form in the deepening shades of twilight.

  “You’re home early,” she said to her friend, crossing the small clearing.

  Elena rose and came to her. Laying a finger across her lips to indicate silence, her friend drew her back into the shadow of the oak trees. Carly felt a stir of foreboding at this secretive behavior. It wasn’t her usual manner.

  “You must go away from here,” Elena said in a nearwhisper.

  “Why?” Carly asked.

  “There was talk tonight at Smitty’s. Hodkin and a couple of his friends were drinking. They got to talking about what should be done about a woman who didn’t mind her own business. You should leave here.”

  “She is,” a masculine voice spoke from the dark. Ty stalked from the shadows in the woods and joined them.

  “I’m not afraid of him. I’ve had self-defense courses,” she protested. “I’ll not be run off by a bully.”

  Elena gave an exasperated snort and turned to Ty. “You made it worse by taking her to your house.”

  He stuck his hands on his hips in a belligerent pose. “She was hurt. Surely the word has spread about Hodkin hitting her.”