His lips twitched and her heart gave a hard jolt.
Moving in closer to him, Shelby laid both hands on his chest and relished the heat when his hands cupped her shoulders. “My grandmother was Irish,” she said softly, staring up into those beautiful eyes of his. “She always told me, ‘If you worry, you die. If you don’t worry, you die. So why worry?’”
Caleb just stared at her and, slowly, another smile curved his mouth. “You always throw me for a loop, Shelby. Never sure just what you’re going to say next.”
“Well, then,” she said, sliding her arms around his waist, “brace yourself. What do you say we both go and take a shower?”
He cupped her face between his palms, bent his head and kissed her softly, gently. Everything inside Shelby fluttered back into life again and now that she knew just what he was capable of, she trembled with it.
“I think,” he said, “that’s a great idea. Plus, there’re condoms in the bathroom.”
She looked up at him and grinned. “How many?”
“Let’s find out.” Caleb picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder. Shelby’s laughter trailed behind them.
Eight
Mitch and Meg returned home the following morning and everything between Shelby and Caleb changed in a blink of time.
In the rush and noise of the family arriving, and the kids shrieking with joy to be home again, Shelby felt Caleb pull away from her. He distanced himself so easily it was almost scary to watch. It was as if, for him, the night they’d just shared had never happened.
Only that morning, she and Caleb had been wrapped together in his bed, after a long night of incredible sex and putting quite a dent in Caleb’s condom supply. They’d laughed and kissed and had a picnic in that bed in the middle of the night and yet, the minute Mitch and Meg had arrived, Caleb had shut down. He’d become cold. Distant.
With his family around, he was a different man. Except with the twins, she reminded herself. The two children had thrown themselves at Caleb and he’d held nothing back with them, smiling, laughing, swinging them around.
It was when he faced Mitch and Meg and Shelby that his features turned to stone. He’d introduced her to them and briefly explained why she was there, but beyond that, he’d hardly spoken to her since his family arrived. She had to wonder why. Was it her? Was he pulling back to remind her that there was nothing but sex between them? Was he making sure his family understood that Shelby was only there temporarily?
And if he was trying to shut her out, why was he being so cold to his brother and sister-in-law, too?
To be fair, though, she had to admit that Meg and Mitch weren’t exactly being warm and friendly toward Caleb, either. Families were complicated, she knew that, but there was more here than simple sibling issues. And she really wished she knew what exactly it was bubbling beneath the surface of the Mackenzie family. Maybe then she could find a way to reach Caleb.
She probably should have gone into the house and busied herself with the organizational job that wasn’t finished yet. But for two hours, she sat on the porch instead, watching the family she didn’t belong to. It was fascinating to watch the play of relationships and as she studied them all from the shade of the front porch, she tried to spot signs that might explain what was going on.
Mitch Mackenzie was a younger, shorter version of Caleb, but to her mind, Caleb was much better looking and she couldn’t help but notice that the brothers were cautious around each other. They kept a safe distance between them as they stood at the corral watching a few of the men work the horses. If body language could actually speak, theirs would be shouting. The two men couldn’t have been more ill at ease with each other.
Meg Mackenzie was tiny, just five feet or so, with short blond hair and big blue eyes. Her husband appeared to adore her, but Caleb barely acknowledged her existence. Caleb treated her with a cool detachment, hardly glancing her way. And Shelby wondered again just what was happening here. The Mackenzie family was simmering with tension.
Except when it came to the twins. At three years old, they looked like miniature Mackenzies. Jack and Julie were loud, adorable and seemed to have an infinite amount of energy. For a couple of hours, it was crazy while the kids ran around and Caleb and Mitch talked business. Meg was in and out of their house across the yard, settling in.
Shelby tried to stay out of the way because she could see there was friction between Caleb and his brother—not to mention Meg. She didn’t want to add to the problems, so she kept to herself in a rocking chair on the porch.
She’d brought out a pitcher of iced tea, four glasses and a plate of homemade cookies. But so far, she was snacking all by herself. Still, she was in the shade and had a bird’s-eye view of the Mackenzie family. But for the first time since coming to the ranch, she felt exactly what she was—an outsider.
With her gaze locked on Caleb, Shelby wished she could see what he was thinking. Feeling.
“Sometimes,” she murmured, “stoic is just annoying.”
Still, she couldn’t look away from him. He and his brother both stood, one booted foot on the bottom rung of the corral fence, their arms resting on the top rung. Did they even realize how alike they were? Or was that lost in whatever it was that was keeping them divided? She’d like to talk to Caleb, see what was driving the coolness that had dropped onto him like a shroud. But that wouldn’t happen until he stopped shutting her out.
She took a sip of her tea then set her glass down on the table beside her. A hot wind bustled across the ranch, lifting her hair from the back of her neck and stirring the dust in the yard into a mini cyclone that dissipated as quickly as it rose up. The steady, pounding clop from the horses running in circles around the corral was like the heartbeat of the ranch. Shelby took a deep breath and let it slide from her lungs again.
Strange how much she’d come to love this place. The wide sky, the openness of the land, the horses... Caleb. And now she was forced to acknowledge that as much as she liked being there, she didn’t belong. That admission hurt more than she would have expected and she wondered when this place, and this man, had become more than a port in the storm.
Then the twins spotted her and bulleted across the yard, headed right for her. Shelby smiled, watching their shining faces and those eyes, as bright a blue as the sky.
The little girl beat her brother by a couple of steps, climbed up onto Shelby’s lap and grinned. Her soft brown hair was pulled into two impossibly short pigtails and she had a dimple in her right cheek. “Daddy says you live here. You do? Can I have a cookie?”
Hmm. Problem. How did she give them cookies without asking their mother first? Then Jack scrambled over, shouted “I like cookies!” and grabbed one, stuffing half of it into his mouth.
Not to be outdone, Julie squirmed on Shelby’s lap until she could grab one, too. With crumbs on her cheek, Julie said, “Uncle Caleb lives here.”
“Yes, he does.”
“You like Uncle Caleb?” Jack demanded.
Danger zone, she thought and then dismissed it. The children were too young to read anything into her answers, so she kept it simple. “Yes, I do. Do you?”
“Uh-huh,” Jack said. “He’s funny.”
“Uncle Caleb is crabby sometimes,” Julie told her thoughtfully. “Can you make him not crabby?”
Out of the mouths of babes. Laughing, Shelby dusted the crumbs off the girl’s face. “Well, I don’t know, but I can try.”
“I ride horsies,” Jack announced.
“Ponies,” Julie corrected, with a sisterly sneer.
“He’s a big pony,” her brother argued back.
“Okay, you two, take a hike.”
Shelby hadn’t even seen their mother arriving; she’d been too busy fielding questions and being entertained. Now Meg climbed the steps, sat down in the chair beside Shelby and sent both kids off with a cheerful, “Go bu
g your daddy for a while.”
Both of them took off at a dead run toward the spot where Mitch and Caleb still stood side by side, yet separate, at the corral fence. Little Jack’s small cowboy hat flew off and he circled back to snatch it out of the dirt. When Julie came up on her father, he swung her up to his shoulders. Then Caleb did the same for Jack when the boy tugged at his jeans.
The summer sun was blazing out of a bright blue sky with only a few meager white clouds to mar the perfection of it. Shelby watched Caleb with the kids and everything inside her melted.
“Sorry,” Meg said, “the kids are so glad to be out of the car, they’re a little more excitable than usual.”
“Oh, they’re wonderful. And adorable, too.”
“Well, you do know how to make points with mothers,” Meg said with a grin.
“I wasn’t—” Shelby stopped herself and smiled. “Sorry about the cookies. I should have asked you, but they just—”
“Swarmed you?” Meg nodded in understanding. “They double-team you and you don’t stand a chance. Trust me. I know.”
“They’re so cute.”
“And busy.” She patted her flat belly. “Hopefully this next one will be a single.”
“You’re pregnant?” Her voice sounded a little wistful even to herself. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.” Meg tipped her head to one side and studied Shelby for a couple of seconds. “You’re staring.”
Shelby jumped, startled away from looking at Caleb. “Yeah. I guess I was.”
Meg mused, “Handsome, aren’t they?”
“Hard to argue with that.”
“Of course,” Meg said, “I’m partial to Mitch, but Caleb’s not bad...” She slid a glance at Shelby and seemed to like what she saw because her smile widened. Then she poured a glass of tea, took a long drink and went on to say, “Bless you for this. Honestly, visiting my folks in Oregon, I forgot just how hot it was going to be when we got home.”
“It really is awful, isn’t it?”
“Summer in Texas,” Meg said on a sigh, “the devil’s vacation spot. And, now that we’ve talked about the weather, why don’t you tell me how you’re doing after escaping your wedding and all?”
She blinked and swallowed hard. Just how much did Meg know? “What?”
“I heard about what happened.”
“Caleb told you?”
“Oh, no.” Meg shrugged and waved one hand at her. “You must have heard about the gossip chain in Royal.”
“Yes, but you weren’t here.”
“Doesn’t seem to matter,” the other woman said and grabbed a cookie. “I love chocolate chip. Anyway, I called my friend Amanda—the sheriff’s wife—to tell her she wasn’t the only one pregnant, and she told me what happened at the wedding.”
“Oh, God.” Shelby covered her eyes with one hand as if she could simply hide from everyone with that one gesture. “This is so embarrassing.”
Meg reached out and patted her hand. “Believe me when I say you don’t have to be embarrassed.”
“Well, I am,” Shelby muttered, smoothing her palms across her khaki shorts.
“Why? Because you were strong enough to walk out of a marriage you knew would be a disaster?” Meg shook her head firmly. “As hard as it was, it was the right thing to do. Jared Goodman? No.”
“That’s embarrassing, too.” Shelby looked at the woman next to her. It seemed weird to be talking about such private things with someone she’d only just met, but Meg had an open, friendly air that was hard to resist. “Why I didn’t see what clearly everyone in Royal already knew.”
Meg sighed and turned her gaze back to her husband and his brother. “I don’t know. Sometimes I think we’re deliberately blind to things we’d rather not admit.”
Shelby wondered what Meg was thinking, but then, all of the Mackenzies seemed to have secrets and no outsider would breach the walls containing them.
* * *
Several hours later, Caleb told himself that this was the first time in memory he’d been glad to have a TCC meeting to attend. But he’d never needed to get away from the ranch more than he had today. With Mitch and Meg and Shelby all there, he felt like he had one foot caught in a damn bear trap.
He was glad his brother was back home, if only to share the burden of running the ranch. But things had been strained between them since Meg had walked out on Caleb to marry Mitch. He’d tried to get past it, but damn it, he was faced with the reality of what had happened every day.
It wasn’t that he was still in love with Meg. Hell, that had faded faster than he’d thought possible and maybe every now and then he’d admitted to himself that it was possible his ex-fiancée had done the right thing—though she’d gone about it the wrong way.
Then there was Shelby. He’d gotten too close to her last night. Sex was one thing, but laughing and talking during and after that sex was another. Sure, being with her had been spectacular, better than anything he’d ever known before. But it wasn’t the great sex that worried him.
It was sleeping with her in his bed. Waking up with her legs tangled with his. Staring down at her, waiting for her to open those beautiful green eyes and smile up at him.
Came too damn close to caring and he wasn’t going to risk that again. Especially with a woman who’d done to another man exactly what Meg had done to him.
Well, hell, he told himself as his thoughts circled crazily, he hadn’t gotten away from a damn thing. He’d dragged them all here to town with him. He forced thoughts of his family and the woman to the back of his mind and concentrated on the meeting.
Caleb sat in the back of the room, listening to everyone talking about the upcoming elections. Hell, he didn’t have time to serve on the board, so he had to admire those who were willing to not only put in the time, but put up with the constant stream of complaints from the members.
The meeting was in the main dining room, mostly because it was big enough for everyone to be comfortable. And, you could get something to eat or drink if you felt like it. The TCC was a legend in Royal. The building itself had taken a beating over the years, but the club had been undergoing some renovations recently.
The dining room was big, with dozens of tables covered in white linen. There was a fireplace, empty now, since even a summer night in Texas was hotter than hell. The walls were dotted with framed photos of members through the years. There were historical documents—including a signed letter from Sam Houston himself and even the original plans for the club, drawn up more than a hundred years ago.
Tradition ruled the TCC and every member there had a long history with the place, through family or marriage. Caleb’s father had been a member, and so were the Goodmans. Simon was at the meeting tonight, too, shooting glares at Caleb from across the room. He really had to fire that man.
“So, thinking about running for president?”
Laughing, Caleb slid a look at Nathan Battle sitting beside him. They both had a beer in front of them but they’d been nursing the drinks all night since they both had to drive home.
“Yeah,” Caleb said, “right after I run naked down Main Street.”
Nathan grinned, leaned back in his chair and shook his head. “Feel the same. Man, you couldn’t pay me to be on the board and put up with all the politics and the fights.”
Caleb shook his head and watched James Harris break up a heated argument that probably would have become a fight in a few more minutes. A rancher and horse breeder, James was tall, African American and gravitated toward calm, which served him well as president of the TCC. Caleb was pretty sure the man actually enjoyed being in charge of the club.
“Look at that, how he can calm folks down without breaking a sweat. I swear, if James wasn’t glued to his ranch, I’d hire him as a deputy.” Nathan sighed. “My new deputy could learn a few things.”
“Well,�
�� Caleb said, “now that James has got his nephew to raise, I think he’s stepped up his patience game.”
True. James had been named guardian of his eighteen-month-old nephew and Caleb admired how he’d stepped up to the new challenge. Couldn’t be easy, ranching and being a single father to a baby.
“Simon Goodman’s giving you looks that could kill,” Nathan pointed out.
“Yeah, I know,” Caleb said. “I’m ignoring him.”
“Good luck with that.” Nathan leaned closer to whisper, “Tell Shelby I’ll be going to see Simon tomorrow about getting her money back. I wanted to give him some time to cool off.”
“Yeah, I don’t think that’s happening.” Caleb told his friend about Jared’s visit to the ranch the day before.
“Damn it, Caleb.” Nathan took a swig of his beer and winced as if it tasted bad. “You realize you just made this worse by lying about you and Shelby...”
Caleb thought about yesterday with Shelby. And last night. And this morning. He scrubbed one hand across his face, but it didn’t do much to wipe away the mental images that were burned into his brain. Shelby naked in his bed. Shelby crying his name as an orgasm rocked her. Shelby rising up over him as she took him into her body, bowing her back, her long, thick hair falling across pale, smooth skin.
“You were lying, right?”
“What?” He looked at his friend and saw suspicion on Nate’s features. “Sure. Of course.”
His eyebrows lifted.
“All right, I don’t know,” Caleb said. He took a sip of his own beer. “There’s something there. I just don’t know what it is.”
“I hate complications,” Nate muttered.
“You’re telling me,” Caleb agreed.
Then James called the meeting to order. “All right everybody,” he said, “if you’ll settle down, we’ve got a few things to discuss tonight, but first, Gus Slade wants the floor. He’s come up with a fund-raising idea that I think is interesting. I hope you all agree to take part—I sure as hell am.”
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