Cowboy Games

by Wendi Darlin

  Melinda was silent on the other end of the line. This was more than a little spat with Scott.

  “Mel?”

  Melinda sniffled.

  “I’m sorry,” Rebecca said quickly. “What happened?”

  “Scott left.”

  “What do you mean he left?”

  Melinda’s husband, Scott, had gotten caught having an affair again, this time it was his secretary. Last time it was a stripper. The time before that it was either the cashier at the dry cleaners or the waitress from Chili’s, Rebecca couldn’t keep them straight anymore. It didn’t matter anyway because Melinda had forgiven him again.

  How could that jerk have the nerve to walk out after crying for years that he couldn’t live without her and swearing he would change if she’d just give him another chance, and then when he blew that chance, another? A man that dishonest should never be trusted with a badge and a gun. Apparently the city of Charleston didn’t feel the same.

  “Says he’s in love with Sheryl.” Melinda’s voice cracked and she failed to muffle her sobs.

  “His fricken’ partner?” Rebecca exploded. The man should arrest himself. He was worse than half the people he put behind bars.

  Melinda lost her battle with the tears and cried openly.

  “So where did he go?” Rebecca took a deep breath and calmed herself. Melinda didn’t need to hear her anger.

  “Her place, I guess. I don’t really give a damn.” She said the right words, but the way she said them didn’t hide her lie.

  “I’m sorry I’m not there.” Rebecca loosened the knot at the back of her head and leaned back against the birch headboard.

  “You’re in a better place.” Melinda attempted a laugh.

  “There are so many men who would actually treat you right.” Rebecca said. “I just wish you could see that.”

  “There was only one Todd in the world,” Melinda said evenly. “The rest of them are lying, cheating assholes. Now go have fun with your cowboy. Real men aren’t worth the effort.”

  “Love you. Call me if you need to,” Rebecca said before hanging up. She pulled Gavin’s sweatshirt over her head, stepped out of her dress and put on a robe she found hanging in the bathroom. Nothing dampened her sexual appetite faster than the heartbreak in her sister’s voice. She’d be fine without her luggage tonight, unless she started thinking about Todd.

  * * * *

  Gavin deposited the plates, glasses and the rest of their dinner implements into a basket. The loft was cleaned, but he wasn’t ready to leave. He sat back against the stacked hay and stared off into the sky.

  He’d been a walking hard-on since he picked Rebecca Ryder up at the airport. It was a wonder he had enough blood flowing to his brain to speak coherently. He had to get it together. He’d almost kissed her. What in the hell was he thinking? Thank God she had the sense to back off.

  Tomorrow would be better. She would be more settled in. He could use his standard pattern of flattery and questions and more flattery, let her do most of the talking. Find out just how screwed up she was. Whatever happened, he’d keep his personal life to himself. There were reasons they didn’t talk about themselves. Good reasons. He’d just shut up and try like hell to keep his hands off of her. At least she didn’t seem to mind that he was pawing her. She didn’t seem to mind his hands at all, and he definitely didn’t mind hers. She touched him like it was the most natural thing in the world, like he had wrapped her in his arms a thousand times. That alone should have been enough to scare some sense into him.

  She undoubtedly just missed her husband, not enough to cry about him yet, but that would come. She’d loved the guy enough to marry him, memories of him had to still hurt sometimes. Marriage and memories were not always a good combination. He didn’t need the women who came to the ranch to teach him that.

  Footsteps on the deck surrounding the hot tub carried up to the loft. Gavin immediately formed an image of Rebecca stepping into the water, and his hard-on sprang up even faster than the picture in his mind. He should just be glad the damned thing worked as well as it did, but that wasn’t going to make this week any easier. He threw his head back on the hay and stayed there until he was sure she’d had plenty of time to submerge herself. Then he crawled forward and peered down from the open shutters to say hello.

  “What are you doing up there?” Garrett asked. His head was back against the side of the tub, his eyes open wide.

  “Thinking.”

  “Not about your job, I hope,” Garrett said.

  His not-so-subtle hint hit home. Gavin held his tongue and waited. There would be more to come.

  “I didn’t see you at dinner.”

  “We dined al fresco. My guest needed the air.” She had, hadn’t she? Or was it him who needed the air, or needed to be alone with her?

  “I noticed she needed your clothes too.” Garrett adjusted himself in the water and closed his eyes.

  “Would you rather let her wear yours?”

  “You could have given her one of the souvenir logo shirts.”

  Gavin didn’t have a ready answer. He had gone straight to his closet. It never crossed his mind to go anywhere else.

  “What’s going on here, Gav?” Garrett opened his eyes and stared up at his brother.

  “Just another week at the office.”

  “You sure?”

  “What else would it be?” Gavin rubbed the back of his neck.

  “That’s a good question. Especially with the eggshells we’re walking on right now.”

  “Well, when you figure out the answer, I’m sure you’ll let me know.” He wasn’t kidding Garrett anymore than he was kidding himself, but maybe he could figure his way around this attraction to Rebecca before he did anything too stupid. It didn’t help that she curled into him like she belonged there. Or that he wanted to keep her as close to him as he could.

  Garrett sighed. “We’ve got a problem.”

  “Rebecca’s not a problem.”

  “Don’t bet on it. I ran into Alvie at the theatre. He’s got it on pretty good authority there’s an undercover out here this week.”

  “Let them send out the whole damn department. There’s nothing to uncover.”

  Garrett grunted and trailed his fingers over the surface of the roiling water. “The camera repairman didn’t make it out today. He’s coming tomorrow afternoon. You probably should take Ms. Ryder out on a ride so she won’t see him. I don’t want to take any chances. And watch yourself.” Garrett closed his eyes again. “You looked a little cozy.”

  The surveillance system in Rebecca’s cabin was only recording intermittently. It had seemed like a smart decision to put his guest in the cabin that wasn’t adequately monitored. That was before he had initiated the ‘bring your dick to work’ policy.

  Chapter 3

  Rebecca sipped her coffee on the porch and watched Gavin leave the big house and head over to her cabin. Before he was within three feet of her, she had almost completely forgotten he could possibly be like every other man her sister had described. A lying, cheating asshole. A gorgeous, lying, cheating asshole. The worst kind.

  “You’re up early,” he said.

  “Couldn’t sleep.” She dipped her face in the steam of her coffee. The warmth soothed her tired eyes almost as much as the sight of him did.

  “Must be contagious.” Gavin sat down on the porch rail facing her.

  “What keeps a cowboy up at night?”

  “Don’t you watch the movies?” His smile came to life at its usual speed. “It’s a lonely life out on the range, coyotes howling, a hard ground to sleep on.”

  “Your range has a bed.”

  “It’s still lonely.”

  Rebecca sipped from her mug and wondered if that was a come on or a simple admission of truth. Whatever it was, it painted a picture in her head that didn’t have him very lonely at all. He was dangerous. That beautiful façade and smooth tongue could have a woman naked and doing his bidding faster than he could change h
is underwear. Another visual. Shit.

  “I’m glad to see you in jeans,” he said. “Ready for a riding lesson?”

  She followed him to the corral where a dark brown horse with an even darker mane was saddled and waiting.

  “This is Pilgrim. He’s a good starter horse. Nothing to be worried about. If you’re comfortable enough we can go on a trail ride after lunch,” he said.

  “I’d be up for that.” She rubbed Pilgrim’s jaw and patted him on the neck.

  “A lady with confidence. I like that, and I’m glad you’re not afraid. A horse can sense fear.”

  “Pilgrim’s gentle as a lamb. You can see it in his eyes.”

  “Lesson number one and you’re already the horse whisperer.” Gavin laughed and took Pilgrim’s reins.

  “Just like with people,” she said. “Eyes don’t lie.”

  “I’ll bet some do.” He led Pilgrim in a half-turn, bringing the saddle alongside Rebecca. The smell of horse and damp leather blended with the morning air.

  “Do yours?” She tilted her chin to get a better look at him.

  “What do you think?” He turned them on her then, green as the sage blowing in the meadow, and warm as the morning sun.

  Her stomach twisted like a pretzel, but she let his stare sink into her, wanting to hold it for as long as she could. “I think you and Pilgrim have a lot in common,” she said when her body screamed uncle.

  His eyes creased in the corners. “You ready to learn how to ride?”

  She listened patiently while he explained the importance of approaching and mounting a horse only on its left side. He demonstrated how to put one foot in the stirrup, grab hold of the saddle horn and swing her right leg over the saddle. Rebecca watched him rather than the technique and kept her smile under wraps as much as possible. He was a good teacher, patient, thorough and pumping every instruction full of smooth confidence that would rub off on even the most timid student.

  She was careful who she surrounded herself with, but he was someone she could see in her life. He was a good guy. Probably a loyal friend, someone who could be counted on. The gentleness wasn’t an act. Eyes don’t lie.

  And if it was possible for a man to become more attractive by the minute, Gavin Carter had that gift. Everything about him sent her nerve endings into overdrive, his deep melodic voice, his perfect backside. She was getting turned on by the roundness of his wrist bone. The man was impossibly gorgeous, but he had a way of setting her at ease, even when he was completely stirring her up. She hadn’t had to remind herself to breathe all morning. Well, maybe once. He lowered himself to the ground.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  “Ready as ever.”

  He held the stirrup in place until her foot was securely inside then put his hands on her hips to guide her up and over Pilgrim’s back. The ripples of his touch traveled all the way to her toes.

  “Not bad,” he said as she held herself in the saddle.

  He stood ready to catch her when she dismounted. She stood in the stirrup and moved her leg slowly over the saddle, then just so he wouldn’t have to stand around empty handed, she stumbled when she hit the ground. She could have melted into his arms, and probably would have if he hadn’t dropped them to his sides and gotten back to the business at hand.

  “You did great. Want to try again?” he asked.

  “Like this?” She stepped up and seated herself effortlessly in the saddle.

  “Either you’re a natural…” He took his hat off and set it back down on his head. “Or you’ve done this before.”

  She shrugged, not committing either way. “So what do we do now?”

  “We can round the corral a couple of times, until you’re comfortable up there.”

  “You’re the cowboy. Whatever you say.”

  He led the horse twice around the corral, walking close enough to her side that his shoulder brushed against her leg, which made it very hard to concentrate on anything else. Good thing she didn’t need to. Just breathe.

  “When you want to stop,” he said. “You just pull straight back on the reins, like this. Think you’ve got it?”

  “I think so.” Rebecca bit her lip in contrived worry.

  “Want to give it a try on your own?”

  “You sure I’m ready?” She really just wanted to keep him talking, keep those lips moving, so she could watch them.

  “Only one way to find out.” He patted her thigh, sending another wave of heat through her.

  “Where will you be?”

  “I’ll wait for you right over here.” He motioned to the fence.

  “Alright, I’ll try.” She sat motionless and watched him cross the corral. Jeans had never fit a man that well before, and she was starting to really like that slow Western gait that gave her even more time to enjoy the view.

  He hefted himself onto the fence and balanced his heels on the crossbeam, his arms relaxed at his sides.

  “When you’re ready, just loosen up on the reins, and shift your weight forward a little. The horse will do the rest.”

  “Like this?” She repositioned herself in the saddle and nudged Pilgrim with her heel. The horse took off at a trot. Gavin jumped off the fence and started after her, then stopped, a look of recognition crossed his features. Obviously, he knew the posture of an experienced rider and if he hadn’t, the grin on Rebecca’s face would have given her away. She rounded the corral twice and reined the horse in next to where he stood.

  “I’m thinking maybe you’ve done this before.” He stared up at her, light dancing in his green eyes and a smile playing on his lips.

  “Maybe.”

  “I don’t suppose you need me to help you down.”

  “No, but I’ll let you,” she said.

  He caught her at the waist as soon as her boots hit the dirt.

  “Now what?” she asked twisting her head to look up at him. His hands didn’t move and she didn’t either, nor did she break eye contact, wondering what he would do next, if anything. Finally, he cleared his throat.

  “There’s somewhere I want to take you,” he said.

  * * * *

  “Look how cute he is.” Clayton was kneeling with his arm stuck between the fence beams. “All innocence and expectation.”

  Marge’s hands were clenched in fists at her sides, she was trembling like a leaf, but the cowboy had a point. The dark brown foal licked feed out of his hand and stared up at them with trusting eyes.

  “Go ahead,” Clayton said. “He won’t bite. He’s practically been hand raised.”

  Her fingers uncurled slowly, but her arm wouldn’t move. “I can’t. I want to, but I just can’t.”

  He rubbed the horse and smiled up at her. “Ever been this close to a horse before?”

  She shook her head, and the realization of how much she had accomplished spread across her face in a smile.

  “I’m proud of you,” he said.

  She gauged the two feet between her and the animal. “I am really close aren’t I?”

  “Within reach.” He squeezed her hand. “What part scares you the most?”

  “The hooves.”

  “Makes sense.” He reached for the young horse’s leg and gave it a gentle tug. The animal bent his knee and danced to keep his balance. Clayton ran his hand over the hoof then back up the leg as the horse settled back on all fours.

  “And the teeth.” She grimaced. “Long and yellow and big enough to hurt.”

  He nodded. “Some horses bite. Hard.” He stood and leaned against the fence next to her. “The animals we keep around here have pretty good manners. Garrett and Gavin don’t take chances when it comes to safety.”

  Marge shifted. Her bunion had started to ache and as much as she wanted to overcome her fear the horse was making her nervous.

  “Want to sit down for a while?” He gestured toward a bench tucked into the shade of the barn.

  “Good morning.” A nice-looking man who resembled Gavin hefted himself over the fence. The foal loped o
ver to him.

  Clayton’s response held a note of something that had Marge turning to catch his expression. The young man’s emotions were written clearly across his face.

  She cleared her throat. “Very handsome isn’t he?”

  “Garrett? Yeah.” He turned away quickly, taking her arm as he led her toward the bench.

  For several minutes neither of them spoke. They both watched Garrett with the young horse. It was no wonder the animal was gentle, he was handled with such affection and respect.

  “I dated the same man for thirty years,” she said, surprised at how easily the words had rolled off her tongue.

  Clayton shifted next to her. “You never got married?”

  She shook her head. “He was my boss.”

  “There’s got to be more to it than that.” He had turned most of his attention to her, but glimpsed one last time at Garrett before he turned his back to him completely.

  She released a heavy breath. “He was already married.”

  Clayton whistled. “This sounds juicy. You have to spill it now.” Then as if catching himself, he grinned. “I mean, do you want to tell me about it?”

  She laughed at his eagerness and her own nerves. “I’ve never told anyone. Not even my priest.” She twisted her hands in her lap. “I kind of figured maybe forgiveness wasn’t something I should ask for if I wasn’t willing to give him up, and if all I planned to do was wait until I could have him all to myself.”

  “Thirty years? That’s a long time to wait. Why did you finally end it?”

  “It hasn’t ended. He’d be more than a little jealous if he knew I was here. I told him I was visiting my nephew.” She frowned. “Which isn’t entirely untrue. I’ll see him before I go home.”

  “Why are you telling me?”

  “I guess it’s the horse. The two things I’ve always been most afraid of are horses and someone finding out my secret.”

  “So now you’ve faced both fears. All in a matter of minutes.”

  “Thanks to you.” She squeezed his wrist. “Turnabout’s fair play. What are you most afraid of?”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Same as you. Someone finding out my secret.” He grinned from ear to ear. “We’re a lot alike, you and me. Let’s go get some iced tea before we discover we’re soul mates and the stars have conspired against us.”