Live-In Mom

by Paige, Laurie

Ty patched the man up with antiseptic, horse liniment and butterfly bandages to hold a busted lip until it healed. “You’d better not do any lifting for a few weeks.”

  “I can work.”

  “No, you can’t. He can’t,” Carly appealed to Ty.

  He nodded. “He can help with the paperwork. With the situation at the office, we need all the help we can get.”

  Carly suppressed a laugh. She knew he was thinking of Alys and Rodrigo. When he turned a sharp eye on her, she straightened up and tried to look solemn.

  “Ready for bed?” Ty asked William.

  William nodded.

  “I’ll be back. Wait here.” Ty helped the cowboy limp into the other room, where only William and Rodrigo slept now that the other cowboys were gone. Soon Venita and William would also be gone for the winter. Venita was studying veterinary medicine. Carly didn’t know what William did during the off-season.

  When he was safely inside and in bed, Ty returned to her. They went outside and stood in the moonlight in the quadrangle between the office, the barn and stables and pasture.

  A short way through the trees, his house stood like a ghostly sentinel, outlined in silver by the thin moonlight.

  “How about something warm to drink?” Ty suggested, rubbing his arms as the chill seeped in.

  “Sounds good. Don’t you ever wear a coat?”

  “It’s in the truck. I’ll hold you instead.” He looped an arm around her and pulled her into his side. Hip to hip, they walked through the wooded path to his house.

  They entered through the back door. Ty flipped on lights as they went inside.

  “Where’s Jonathan?” She looked around as if expecting the child to materialize out of thin air.

  “Spending the night with a friend.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “We’re alone. I didn’t plan it. Things just worked out this way.”

  “So you were at loose ends when you called me.” She thought of the situation at his office and grinned.

  “What?” he asked. He got out a pan, a container of milk, then bread and margarine. After putting on the chocolate to heat, he made cinnamon toast.

  “I was thinking of Alys and Rodrigo. The office must be…”

  “It is,” he agreed when she broke off, not sure how to describe the torrid atmosphere that probably existed between the young lovers.

  “Serves you right for being such a cynic about love.”

  “What, catching them in a clench or having to watch them go all dumbstruck in each other’s presence?” Ty heaved an exasperated sigh and shook his head. “It isn’t safe to walk in the office. I make a lot of noise before I dare enter.”

  Laughing, Carly removed two mugs from the cabinet and poured cocoa for them. She set the table with napkins while Ty placed the toast slices on two plates.

  They ate quickly, not talking much until they were finished. Ty stuck the dishes in the dishwasher, then they went into his study with their mugs.

  “What do you think really happened to William?” she asked.

  “Well, he was definitely in a fight, no question about that.”

  “I’ll bet it was Hodkin and his friends who beat him up.”

  He gave her a speculative glance. “Aren’t you a bit prejudiced? You seem to think he’s the cause of all bad things.”

  “He usually is.”

  “I’ll check it out,” he promised. “Maybe William will tell me the story. It may have been a brawl, you know. They have them fairly regularly when the loggers and cowboys go into town.”

  “I’m probably paranoid about the man, but thanks for looking into it. I knew you would.” She beamed at him.

  “Did you?” he asked quietly.

  She returned his gaze levelly. “Yes.”

  He stood and came to her. Taking the mug from her, he placed it on the coffee table. When he held out a hand, she placed hers on his and rose at his gentle tug. He enclosed her in his arms.

  “What am I going to do about you?” he asked. He laid his head on hers and seemed to ponder the question.

  “Take me with a grain of salt?” she suggested, refusing to melt against him.

  “I’ll take you any way I can get you.”

  Lifting her, he placed her on the sofa and lay beside her. She felt the quick rise and fall of his chest against hers.

  “One day at a time, then,” she told him, voicing her own philosophy regarding them.

  “I’m a rancher. We have to plan ahead, season by season, for at least a year, usually longer.” He kissed along her temple, following a meandering path to the corner of her mouth. “A week,” he murmured. “That’s too long.”

  “Yes.” She ran her hands over his chest, then opened his shirt and slipped them inside, loving the pure sensuality of touching him.

  “I want to look at you.” He slipped his hands under her cotton knit sweater.

  She sat up and let him take it off. Under it, she wore a teddy rather than her usual underclothes.

  “Who did you wear this for?” he asked in thickened tones.

  “The tooth fairy.”

  He chuckled softly, then became serious as he rubbed a knuckle over the silky material until her nipple stood out against it.

  She closed her eyes when his lips moved down her throat. He pressed her into the cushions, then ravished her breasts until she moaned and writhed helplessly against him.

  When he carried her up the steps and down the hall to his bedroom, she couldn’t deny what her heart and body had known for ages. She was in love, foolishly, totally in love with this man.

  They had waffles for breakfast. Ty made them while she sat on a bar stool and watched. She stretched, feeling as contented as a cat in the sun. Their lovemaking had been wild last night, gentle this morning.

  When the meal was ready, she helped carry it to the table. Once seated, she took a bite and chewed thoughtfully, her gaze on the mountains that rose to the north of them.

  Ty finished first. He stretched his long legs to the side and took a sip of coffee, his eyes on her. When he propped the mug on his abdomen, he continued his study.

  “Do I have syrup on my chin?” she at last asked, growing self-conscious under his scrutiny.

  “No. You look beautiful.” He smiled when she looked away. “A woman who’s embarrassed when she’s paid a compliment,” he mused. “How extraordinary.”

  She gave her head a little toss. “I’m not embarrassed,” she denied. “I was merely wondering why you said it. I know perfectly well that I’m not beautiful.”

  Finished with the meal, she gathered the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. When she returned to the table, he hooked an arm around her waist and settled her on his lap.

  “You are to me,” he murmured. He ran one hand up and down her back as if to soothe her.

  His gentleness caused an ache to start inside. She tried to ignore it and the yearning that stirred in her. It was foolish to attach any importance to words spoken in sexual gratification.

  “Watch it,” she warned. “I might start to believe you, then I’d become vain and flirt like Alys—”

  He groaned in dismay and cut her off with a kiss. At that moment, the back door opened. They whipped around.

  “Ah, excuse me,” Shane said. He came in and closed the door. Going to the counter, he poured a cup of coffee and joined them at the table.

  “Make yourself at home,” Ty suggested wryly.

  Carly was seated in her own chair again by this time. She kept her gaze demurely on her hands, which were clasped around her coffee cup.

  “Sorry. This is important. Sheriff Keeler was put out of action last night.”

  “Oh, no!” Carly leaned forward. “Is he…was he—?”

  “Killed? No, nothing like that. He was whacked on the head pretty hard and is in the hospital for observation. He probably has a concussion. When he was hit, just before he passed out, he heard someone mention Carly as next on the list-”

  Ty mutter
ed a harsh curse.

  “I checked your place at the resort. Your car was there, but you weren’t. Bill said he saw you and Ty at dinner last night, so I traced you to here. I wanted to warn you to watch yourself.”

  “I’ll see that she does,” Ty volunteered.

  Shane ignored him. His gaze was on Carly’s shocked face. “I think you should be extracareful. Don’t go anywhere alone.”

  “She’ll be careful,” Ty interjected. “She can stay here.”

  She gasped in astonishment. “I can’t stay with you. I travel a lot, looking for gift ideas. It would interfere with my work.”

  He gave her a determined glare. “No, it won’t. Things have slacked off here. I’ll drive while you do your errands each day and bring you home when you’re through. No one will hurt you.” It was a promise.

  It gave her a strange feeling, to know he was willing to protect her. “Your life could be in danger if I stay with you,” she reminded him. “You have a son who needs you.”

  “Jonathan will be okay. So will I. And you. Bullies don’t show themselves if there’s a chance the odds aren’t in their favor.” His smile was definitely threatening toward anyone who hurt those who were under his care.

  She glanced at the sheriff, who observed them without comment. There was a wealth of knowledge in his blue eyes, and she knew the situation between her and Ty was obvious to him. A blush started in her chest and went right to her hairline.

  “What do you think I should do?” she asked him, desperate for a sensible reason why she couldn’t stay here.

  “Stay,” he said. “It’s a good idea. Ty can keep on eye on you after hours. You should be safe enough at the resort. I’ll alert the resort security to watch things. I don’t think Jonathan will be in danger, but he can stay at our place for a while.”

  “Good,” Ty said as if it were all settled. “I’ll take Jonathan to school each morning, then drop you off at work. I’ll pick you up at night. You can stay here.”

  “No,” she objected, her head swimming at the thought.

  “That’s an excellent plan,” Shane confirmed. His eyes seemed to gleam with some secret amusement of his own. He drank down the rest of the coffee and rose. “I’m going over to talk to Keeler. I’ll see if he can remember anything else.”

  “I’ll ask around, too,” Carly volunteered.

  “The hell you will,” Ty said with ominous quiet.

  “If I’m going to be here, I may as well be useful. Venita might decide to talk—”

  “No.”

  Shane grinned, tipped his head to them and left.

  “I’ll talk to the waitress.” She gave Ty a defiant stare.

  He glared at her for a long second, then smiled. “Now, where was I? Oh, yes, I was about to…”

  He refilled their coffee mugs and came back for her. Lifting her in his arms, he finished the sentence. “I was about to kiss you senseless.” He didn’t give her time to think beyond that.

  “And so I’m staying here for now,” Carly finished up. She paused for comment, but there was silence on the other end of the line. “Brody?” she said to her foster brother.

  “Let me speak to this guy Macklin,” he said.

  “Why?” she asked, alarmed by his tone. Brody was not known as a mincer of words.

  “I want to ask him a few questions.”

  “Well, he’s not at the house right now.” Through the kitchen window, she could see Ty approaching at a fast clip. “Listen, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Be careful,” he ordered.

  “I will. Bye for now.” She hung up just as Ty walked in the back door.

  He glanced at the telephone, then at her. “I’ll take a quick shower, then we’ll go.”

  “Fine. I’m ready.”

  He looked her over. “Pretty.” He bounded up the stairs in two steps. In a minute, she heard the shower come on. Glancing at the calendar, she realized it was fast closing on Christmas. She wondered what the holiday would bring.

  It had been a little over seven weeks since she’d arrived to start her new job as a cook’s helper. At the time, she’d romanticized the idea of living on a ranch. Now she loved it, being here with Ty, watching the season slowly change, playing in the fallen leaves with his son, riding, laughing, loving…

  It was almost as if they were married. Worse, she knew Jonathan wanted them to be. He was such a loving child.

  She pondered the idea of marriage and sharing a lifetime with Ty. He was neat around the house. He made up the bed in his room each morning. He was protective but not smothering as she’d feared. He and Shane had decided she could drive herself to the resort, but Ty would go with her on shopping trips.

  Standing at the window, she wondered if she could really be in danger. Sheriff Keeler thought she was. That was enough for the Macklin brothers. Bossy, protective men…

  Her musing was interrupted by the sight of Martha and her niece heading for the ranch office. They were laughing and talking with great animation. A sense of isolation swept over her. She’d hardly seen Isa since she’d started on this venture. She missed her friend.

  “Ready?”

  Spinning around, she caught her breath at how incredibly handsome Ty was. In fresh navy slacks and a white shirt, he looked like every girl’s dream of a hometown sweetheart—handsome, athletic and intelligent.

  He crossed the room and tilted her chin up with one finger. “Keep looking at me like that,” he warned huskily, “and you’ll never get to your shop.”

  “Ha, so you’ve said before.” She wrinkled her nose at him and pushed him to arm’s length.

  Leading the way, she went out to the truck and climbed in. He joined her. Sliding one more glance over her that made every cell in her body hum with tension, he headed for the highway. After picking up an order from Elena, they went to the resort.

  Ty went in with her and watched her open the gate. He wondered that she didn’t feel claustrophobic in the tiny room, but it was clearly something she loved.

  She smiled and murmured a soft goodbye. His cue to leave. Still he lingered, watching her go through a book of sample fabric swatches, holding various squares up to the finished wall.

  Three teenage girls stopped by. They asked her about her store and looked at the items she’d selected for the grand opening.

  One of them flirted boldly with him, which made him smile. Carly gave him an oblique glance. She was probably wondering what he was doing still hanging around.

  She was friendly with the girls, but soon sent them on their way, saying she had a ton of work to do. She handled it well.

  For a moment, pride swelled his chest. As if she were his woman, he wanted to brag about her to other guys and point out that this female was his. It was a crazy notion.

  But when she glanced his way, her eyes dark and rich with amusement and warmth, it seemed real.

  He waved and left, wondering how he was going to control the mad impulses he got when they were together. That morning, on the way to school, Jonathan had asked him if Carly could live with them “for all time.”

  Ty had explained that she was visiting with them for a while.

  “But are we gonna many her? I’d like to, Dad. She’s neat.”

  “That’s something only grown-ups can decide,” he’d said with a casualness he was far from feeling.

  Jonathan had worried about the situation on the way to the elementary school in town. “You’ll be nice to Carly, won’t you? Sometimes you get mad and say things. I know you don’t mean them, or not the way it sounds like you mean them, but she might not.”

  “I’ll watch my temper,” he’d promised.

  “Gee, I wish I hadn’t promised Aunt Tina I’d help with the baby this week. I could explain to Carly about when you get mad.”

  “It’s all right, son. I can manage to be civil for a week.”

  During the rest of the day, the situation between the three of them lingered in his mind. He wondered if he was as hard
to live with as his son’s worry had implied.

  Well, he’d watch his temper and his tongue and try not to hurt his guest’s feelings, which Jonathan had thought was a definite possibility when he’d left the boy at the school gate.

  “Be careful, Dad, will you?” he’d asked.

  “Right. I’ll weigh every word before I say it.”

  “Good.”

  That evening, playing a game of catch with Jonathan on Shane’s lawn, he couldn’t help but smile as he recalled his son’s relief that he was going to try to act right and talk nice to Carly. The smile disappeared as he thought of how much Jonathan wanted Carly to live with them on a permanent basis. He’d fallen hard for her.

  Like his old man had?

  A lump settled in Ty’s chest. He pulled into the parking lot at the resort and stayed in the truck, watching the skiers depart.

  Was he in love with Carly Lightfoot?

  That wasn’t even the most important question, he realized. If his first wife hadn’t been able to stand the life associated with being a rancher’s wife, what chance would marriage have with a career-minded woman like Carly?

  “She’s good,” Bill Johnson, the building manager, remarked, stopping beside Ty in the resort hallway.

  “Yes, she is.” Ty propped a shoulder against the cool surface of the wall and waited for her to finish with her last supplier.

  “She has a good eye for merchandise. She could move up to a bigger store any time she wanted. She says she likes it fine right here and that her store is the perfect size. Her marketing niche, she called it.” Bill shrugged, grinned, then hurried on as if late for an appointment.

  The metal gate creaked as it lowered. Carly locked it, then turned to him, taking off her earrings as she did.

  “Be with you in a minute,” she told him. She hurried down the hall in the opposite direction.

  He watched her appreciatively, liking the provocative sway of her hips under a knit skirt. She stopped by a doorway. A man, good-looking in a tough kind of way, came into the hall. He wore the uniform of a security guard for the resort.

  Ty frowned as a tightness entered his chest. He wasn’t jealous, not at all, but he didn’t like the way the man’s eyes roamed her figure while they talked. Once she laughed, and they both glanced down to where Ty stood waiting for her.