She had her fist raised at the ceiling, the very place where she was aiming all that profanity.
“Garrett,” she said on a rise of breath. Actually, her breath was gusting, and she was shaking. He peeled off his jacket and slipped it around her. “What are you doing here?”
Since that’d been what he was about to ask her, he just repeated her question. He also glanced around to see if Doris was hiding somewhere. She wasn’t. In fact, the only other signs of life he saw were two mice in the corner. He wasn’t sure mice could actually cower, but that was what they appeared to be doing.
Nicky didn’t cower, but she glanced away from him and relaxed her fists. “Cassie McCord said I should do this.”
All right. Cassie was a therapist so maybe this was some kind of tried-and-true approach to dealing with the past. “I didn’t know demons had assholes,” he mumbled because he wasn’t sure what else to say.
Her gaze slashed to his, and while she didn’t look ready to laugh just yet, she no longer seemed to be on the verge of internal combustion.
“Did it help?” he asked.
She lifted her shoulder. “It didn’t hurt.”
Well, that was a start. The fact that she was actually inside this place was a start, too. At least he hoped it was. Maybe he could try fixing a few demons of his own.
“Screw you!” he yelled at the ceiling. “And F-you and everything that’s ever taken a dump on us.”
“F-you?” Her mouth quivered a little.
“A tribute to the Ellery sisters and their G-rated profanity.”
“Yeah, I figured that out.” She paused while he shouted it again. “Did it help?”
He thought about it for a moment. “Actually, it did.” Though Garrett had no clue why it would.
The relief didn’t last, though, because there was a flash of lightning, and he saw Nicky’s wet face. He seriously doubted that was solely from the rain. No, she’d been crying.
“I’m sorry.” And Garrett would say it a thousand times more if it would help.
“F-you!” she shouted. Not at him but rather at the ceiling again. “That one was for Doris,” she added.
Yeah, he figured some of the cursing had been because of the woman. Some of the tears, too. But he’d also likely been responsible for some of those tears.
“Did you see her?” he asked.
Nicky shook her head, pushed her wet hair from her face and yelled out again. Garrett added his own round, aiming it at Meredith. Then, at himself.
This time, though, the ceiling responded.
There was a sharp groaning sound. Not human, thank God. But it wasn’t a good sound, either. Because the ceiling was collapsing and falling in chunks to the floor. One of those chunks nearly landed right on Nicky’s head, but Garrett pulled her out of the way in time.
He didn’t stop. Garrett hooked his arm around her waist and got them running. Not only to the porch since its roof was falling, too. He hurried Nicky out into the yard and to his truck. The moment they shut the truck doors, there was another loud groan, much louder than the first.
And the house disappeared.
It was like something right out of a horror movie, as if the fates had gobbled it up. One second it was there, and the next it wasn’t. All that was left was a pile of wood, shingles and glass.
“Shit,” Nicky said, staring out the window at the heap.
His sentiments exactly. “Maybe the demons took their assholes and left.” At least Garrett had managed to get them out of there in time. They could have been seriously hurt, or worse.
“Are you okay?” he asked. Nicky’s gaze was frozen on the remains of the house. Perhaps she was in shock, and while he considered taking her to the ER just to be checked out, he dismissed it when he saw her smile.
It wasn’t one of her dazzling smiles. This was more like one of relief. The kind of smile a person offered after completing a marathon and then puking.
She nodded. “I’m okay with this.”
This, being her past. Hell, if he’d known having the house gone would help, he would have bought it and burned it down years ago. Maybe, though, the timing had to be right for this sort of thing. Ironic that this would happen when the rest of her life was falling apart.
“I want you to know that I’ll do anything I can to help you with this,” he said. That applied not only to Doris but to everything else that crossed Nicky’s path.
She stared at him, and Garrett tried to prepare himself in case she started yelling those profanities at him. But she didn’t yell. Nicky moved across the seat, put her arm around him and kissed him.
For the past couple of hours, he’d been feeling like crap, and it had gotten progressively worse as the night unfolded. But that eased the feeling. Hell, it eased everything.
Garrett felt the punch of relief. Nicky didn’t hate him after all. She wasn’t so pissed off at him that she couldn’t kiss him. Well, unless she’d put on poison lipstick like in the spy movies. However, this didn’t feel like a get-revenge kiss. This felt more like a kiss of comfort.
And of attraction, too.
That was the next thing Garrett felt—the heat. Which was a good thing because he was wet and cold, and Nicky had his jacket. He wanted her to keep it on because she had to be cold, as well, but he welcomed the warmth from her body when she landed against him.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “I didn’t know money would cause this much trouble.”
She put her hand on his cheek, met his gaze. “Why did you pay her?”
Obvious question but he wasn’t sure there was an easy answer. “I didn’t want her anywhere near Kaylee.” There was more emotion in his voice than he wanted. More emotion inside him, too. “This doesn’t have anything to do with my daughter. It’s all about Kaylee. I just feel...protective of her.”
Nicky didn’t say anything for several long moments and then she nodded. He thought that might be the beginning of a much needed conversation, but Nicky did something else that was much needed instead.
She kissed him again.
And again.
And she just kept on kissing him. Touching him, too—her hand landed on his chest, and her fingers began to play with the muscles there.
Now, his dick got involved, especially when Nicky pulled him closer and practically climbed into his lap. All in all, it was a good place to be.
Unlike the kissing session in town, there was no one else around. And with the rain sheeting down the windows, no one could see in, either. Still, he needed to make sure this wasn’t some kind of kneejerk reaction on her part. After all, she’d just had that F-ing yelling session, and the house had nearly fallen down on top of them.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
She huffed softly. “I’m not happy about the money you gave her, but that’s not something I can change. I can just go forward, now that’s finished.” Nicky tipped her head to the wrecked house. “There are a lot of things in my life that are up in the air right now, but how I feel about you isn’t one of those things.”
“It’s not?” Because he wasn’t totally certain as to how he felt about her.
“It’s not,” she confirmed. “Your first reaction when you saw me in the house was to give me your jacket. You tried to protect my daughter. That’s the man you are. A good one. And I’d be stupid and living in the past not to feel what I feel for you.”
He would have pressed her on that, but she continued to kiss him. “We don’t have much time,” she added. “I need to get back to check on Kaylee.”
So, this was a quickie. His dick liked that idea a lot, but he kept going back to the things that she’d just said. That probably would have stayed on his mind if she hadn’t lowered her hand to his zipper. It was a cliché, but a man couldn’t think with both his dick and br
ain at the same time, and his dick won out.
Garrett pulled her all the way onto his lap and did some touching of his own.
Sex in a truck posed some logistical problems. There were plenty of things to catch his knees and elbows. Plus, the seat size sucked. But since the first place they’d had sex was on that rickety chaise, he knew they could manage this.
Nicky managed it by dropping down onto the seat and pulling him on top of her. For once she was wearing a dress. Probably something she’d put on for the party, but it was much easier than jeans when it came to panty removal. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to get her totally naked, but he could maybe do that later after he got her back to Z.T.’s and kicked out the rest of the party guests.
Despite his urgency, Garrett took the time to kiss her neck and the tops of her breasts. He would have lingered a little longer if she hadn’t unzipped him.
“Please tell me you have a condom,” she said.
“I do. I put one in my wallet.”
Actually, he’d put two in there, which made his wallet so bulky that it’d barely fit in his jeans pocket. But he had wanted to be prepared when it came to Nicky. Garrett tugged and pulled at the wallet to get it out. He also felt something else in his front pocket. Easy to feel because it was now sandwiched between Nicky’s and his thighs.
It was his phone.
“By the way,” she whispered, her voice all breath and silk. “I’m in love with you.”
Part of him, not his dick part, realized this was not going to be the best response for him to say to Nicky. Not after she’d just told him she loved him. But it was a response that would make her life a whole lot better.
Garrett took out his phone and held it up for her to see. “I know how to fix this mess with Doris.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
NICKY PACED BECAUSE she couldn’t stop herself from moving. If she stopped, she might start crying again. It wasn’t every night a woman learned she might lose her daughter, got to confront her demons, told a man she was in love with him and then also found out that man might be the very one to prevent her from losing her child.
At least she wasn’t soaking wet as she paced in the Wrangler’s Creek Police Station while she waited for Clay to bring in Doris. That was the good news. The bad news was that the only spare clothes in the building had belonged to the deputy, Rowdy. They were baggy gray gym shorts and a T-shirt with the high school logo. Since Rowdy was in his thirties, these were no doubt relics from his days at Wrangler’s Creek High.
Judging from the smell of them, they hadn’t been washed in all that time.
But at least she was dry, and if what Clay told them was accurate, he’d be arriving soon with Doris. He’d tracked down the woman at the San Antonio PD where she’d gone to file a complaint against Nicky. Instead of that complaint, though, Doris would be facing her own charges.
Well, maybe.
Garrett had recorded her saying that she would accept money to leave Kaylee alone, but something like that might not hold up in court. Maybe, though, it would be enough to get the woman to back off.
Garrett came back into Clay’s office with yet another cup of coffee for her. Nicky took it, not because she needed the caffeine. She had already had enough that she could probably run on foot to San Antonio and get Doris. However, it was hot and gave her hands something to do other than tremble. She wasn’t cold, but the bone-deep emotion was catching up with her.
He kissed her forehead, eased her into his arms, mindful not to spill her coffee. Again, he was being nice. Garrett was indeed a good man, as she’d pointed out to him in the truck. She’d also mention the “I’m in love with you,” as well, but he hadn’t reacted to it. She doubted it was because he hadn’t heard her.
Maybe at that exact moment Garrett had remembered the recording on his phone. Or maybe it was a good time for him to remember it since he didn’t want to have to respond to what she’d said. Too bad. Because she wanted to know how he felt.
But she wasn’t sure her heart was strong enough right now if he gave it another stomping.
“You’re sure you’re up to facing Doris tonight?” Garrett asked. “It’s late, and Clay could hold her until morning. You could talk to her after you’ve gotten some sleep.”
“I won’t get any sleep.”
Since he made a quick sound of agreement, that was possibly true for him, too. Nicky wanted to be there not only when Clay questioned Doris but when he brought her in, as well.
Garrett brushed another kiss on her forehead. “How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”
“Over a year. Before that she would call several times a week, and a couple of times she actually came to my house and tried to see Kaylee. That’s when I moved.”
“A year,” Garrett repeated. “Considering how much she claims to want and love her granddaughter, that’s a long time to go without any contact.”
“Well, she wasn’t in jail or anything like that. I did internet searches,” she added.
“Is she the sort to have gotten involved with a man who could have, well, distracted her from all that grandmotherly love?”
Nicky had to shrug. “Shanda did tell Patrick she didn’t want her mother to get her hands on Kaylee, so you might be onto something.”
Her phone rang, the sound shooting through the room. Nicky realized just how on edge she was when she gasped. She wanted to gasp again when she saw Gina’s name on the screen. Since it was close to midnight, Nicky prayed that nothing was wrong.
“Everything’s fine here,” Gina said right off the bat. That took Nicky’s heart out of her throat. “Kaylee is sacked out, and the guests who couldn’t make it out are all settled in. Ruby even caught the crab. She named him Herman and made a box for her new pet.”
Nicky had to smile. “Did you mention to Ruby that she’d eaten some of Herman’s friends?”
“No. She seemed eager to have something to take care of. So, how are you?”
Garrett stepped out, maybe to give her some privacy, and that’s when Nicky spilled it. “I told Garrett that I loved him.”
Silence on the other end of the line. “And?” Gina said a moment later.
“And nothing. We ended up here so we could tell Clay about Doris.” Nicky paused. “Maybe that’s for the best. I mean, how do I know that it wasn’t just the emotion talking?”
“It was the emotion. That’s what love is. And you’re not the sort of woman to say that just for the sake of saying it.”
No, she wasn’t. And it was true. Damn it. While she was F-wording all those demons at the old house, she should have added some F-yous for love. Because love didn’t make things better. It complicated everything and made your heart hurt.
Though the heart pain could be indigestion from the party food she’d sampled.
Still, there was a metaphorical hurt, too.
“So, what are you going to do about Garrett?” Gina asked.
She hadn’t really thought about it, but this seemed the safe thing to do. “I’ll give him some space, some time to figure out if he wants to date me or something.”
“Date you? Date you!” Judging from the way Gina howled that twice, she thought dating was a bad idea. “He’s had sex with you. You’re well past the dating stage.”
It certainly didn’t feel like it. Not on Garrett’s part anyway.
Nicky heard the voices in the squad room, and one of those voices belonged to Clay. “I have to go. I’ll be back in touch as soon as I can,” she added and ended the call.
She put her coffee on Clay’s desk and hurried out into the squad room. With the way her day had gone, Nicky half expected for Doris not to be with him. But she was.
Doris hadn’t fared much better with the storm than Nicky had. The woman’s hair was wet and stuck to her head. Her mascara
had run down her face all the way to her mouth. And her clothes were clinging to her body. Nicky smirked at her.
Doris smirked back, and that’s when Nicky remembered she was wearing Rowdy’s gym uniform. But at least it wasn’t wet and clinging to her.
“You sent your lackey cowboy cop friend to bring me in?” Doris snarled.
“Last I heard that’s what we lackeys do,” Clay grumbled. His sour expression said it all. This had not been a pleasant drive from San Antonio. “Come on back to my office,” he instructed.
“I don’t want to go to your office. I want you to take these cuffs off me now so I can call my lawyer.”
Nicky hadn’t noticed the cuffs, but she looked at Clay for an explanation. “She didn’t cooperate when I asked her to come with me. It’s illegal not to cooperate with someone in law enforcement.”
“Because you’re a lackey!” Doris yelled.
“You’ve already established that. Now, cooperate and walk to my office. Then, I’ll consider removing the cuffs. But I have to tell you that we lackeys sometimes lose cuff keys.”
Doris gave him a you-wouldn’t-dare glare, but she did go with Clay to his office. Nicky and Garrett followed them in.
Clay took the key from his pocket and held it up for Doris to see. “Here’s the one and only warning you’ll get. If you try to assault anyone or if you even look as if that’s what you’re going to do, then the cuffs go back on.”
He waited until Doris gave a crisp nod before he took off the cuffs. In the same motion, he turned his phone in her direction. “You can call your lawyer now.”
Doris’s jaw tightened. “I don’t have one yet, but I will first thing in the morning. That local yokel lackey lawyer you’ve got here refused to take my case.”
Nicky wanted to cheer. Seth hadn’t taken the case, which meant there hadn’t been any paperwork filed.
“Sit,” Clay told the woman. “I’ll get you a phone book so you can look up numbers for a whole bunch of lawyers.”
He went back into the squad room but not before giving Doris another warning glare. He was good at them, too.
No Getting Over a Cowboy Page 26
