Round-the-Clock Temptation

by Michelle Celmer

  “What’s the matter with you?”

  She pointed at the paper. “You want to explain to me why there’s no ad in this paper for a housekeeper when you assured me that you were going to take care of it.”

  He looked away, but not before she saw the guilt in his eyes. “Musta forgot.”

  Forgot my foot. “You haven’t noticed the house is falling apart? Daddy, I am only one woman. I can’t do it all. You, of all people, should know that.”

  “I’ll start helpin’ out then,” he grumbled.

  She doubted that. All he’d done since the hospital was sit on his duff and mope. Between him and Connor—who had grown even more withdrawn and cranky since their talk the other night—she was beginning to believe both men had developed some sort of weird, male PMS.

  And even if her daddy did get off his behind and lend a hand, which at this point didn’t look promising, he was limited as to what he could do in a cast.

  It was time she put her foot down.

  “That’s not good enough,” she told him. “We have to hire someone.”

  “It just… I can’t do that.”

  “But we need a housekeeper!”

  “It feels wrong to bring a new housekeeper in. This is Jane’s house.”

  “Jane’s house? I thought you built this house for Momma?”

  If she’d been trying to push a button, she’d apparently hit the right one. He looked crestfallen. And for the first time since Jane left she realized he wasn’t just being stubborn. He was genuinely hurt and lonely and confused.

  “I never realized how much I would miss Jane,” he said.

  Nita knelt on the floor by his chair. “Then you have to tell her how you feel.”

  “When she comes back, I will.”

  “Comes back? Daddy, she isn’t coming back.”

  He turned back toward the television. “She will, when she cools off, then I’ll talk to her.”

  Nita groaned and let her head drop to the arm of the chair. So much for him not being stubborn. And here she’d actually felt sorry for him. The man obviously knew nothing about the inner workings of the female mind. If he thought Jane was going to come crawling back to him, he was in for a surprise.

  If Will wouldn’t go after Jane, maybe Nita should. Maybe Jane would swallow her pride, come back and listen to what Nita’s daddy had to say. Short of hogtying her daddy, throwing him in the truck and taking him to Odessa against his will, she didn’t see a solution to this.

  Something had to be done.

  She left her daddy sulking in front of the television and set out to find Connor. He’d been outside talking with Jimmy when she went inside with the paper, so she headed through the kitchen to the back door.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Connor snapped from behind her.

  She turned to find him standing in the mudroom doorway, arms folded over his chest, face pinched with irritation.

  “I was coming out to look for you,” she said.

  “Uh-huh. Sure you were.”

  She felt like smacking him upside the head. “What, you think I’m lying?”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time you tried to sneak away from me.”

  “I thought you were still outside, and I was coming to talk to you.”

  The look of accusation didn’t waver, nor did his aggravated tone. “Whatever you say.”

  No doubt about it, male PMS. That’s what she got for trying to help him the other night. Silly her, she’d thought he would be grateful, or at least start acting human. And she was going to spend an hour in the car with him driving to Odessa?

  Don’t think so.

  If he was so determined to believe the worst, that’s exactly what she would give him. When the opportunity presented itself.

  She folded her arms over her chest, imitating his stubborn stance. “Well, Mr. Crabby Pants, if you’d like, you could put a collar and a leash on me. Or how about an electronic ankle tether? Then you would always know where I am.”

  Connor tried to work up the will to be angry at her, since that seemed to be what she was aiming for, but all he felt was tired and frustrated. He knew he’d been difficult the past couple of days, and he had no right to take it out on her. Kind of like shooting the messenger considering, thanks to her, he’d come to realize his life was total crap.

  Well, not total crap. He had the Cattleman’s Club, and a brother who, despite Connor’s persistent bad attitude and bitterness, still loved him and wanted what was best for him. And he had Nita—a woman he was falling hard for. But she didn’t want a relationship. She only wanted him for sex.

  Great.

  “I’m going outside to work,” Nita told him. “Is that okay with you?”

  Since he didn’t figure she expected a reply, he didn’t bother to give her one. He just followed her as she stormed out the back door, contemplating the irony of the situation. Because of her, he could finally see the mistake he’d made living his life to please everyone else, and he was ready to take something for himself. Yet, once again, happiness evaded him. He’d spent the better part of his life distancing himself from women, taking only what he wanted and never letting anyone too close. Now the tables had turned on him. Apparently he was getting his just deserts. And he couldn’t deny he deserved it.

  That didn’t make it any easier though.

  Nita disappeared into the stable and Connor leaned against the fence. He closed his eyes and turned his face up into the sun, absorbing its heat, contemplating his next move. The one thing he knew he had to do, the thing that would be the most difficult, would be telling his father he was leaving the engineering firm permanently. He wasn’t sure how the old man would take it. He was used to Connor doing what was expected of him. There would be shouting and disappointment. Nothing Connor hadn’t heard before, and nothing he couldn’t handle.

  Short of that, he wasn’t sure what he planned to do with the rest of his life. But of one thing he was certain, he wouldn’t be making a decision until he was damned sure he was doing it for himself.

  He heard a loud curse from the stable and snapped to attention. That was definitely Nita, and something was wrong, he could hear it in her voice. He broke into a run and reached the stable door just as she was limping out, her face a pale mask of pain.

  He caught her under one arm. “What happened.”

  “Adonis got spooked and stomped on my foot.” She cringed. “Damn it all, that smarts.”

  “Let me take a look.” He knelt down beside her and gently pulled on her boot.

  She gasped and yanked her foot away. “Hurts too much.”

  “Can you walk at all?”

  She tried to put weight on her foot and shrieked in pain. She shook her head.

  “Sounds like it’s broken. I’d better get you to the hospital.”

  “I can’t have a broken foot,” she wailed. “Who’s going to run the farm?”

  “Until you’re back on your feet, I will.” The words came out before he had a chance to think it through, but he realized, he didn’t mind. And not because it was the right thing to do. He really enjoyed working the farm. Working with the horses. It was…fun.

  “I can’t ask you to do that,” Nita said.

  “You didn’t ask me. Let’s worry about it after we get you taken care of.” Connor lifted her as though she weighed nothing at all and Nita wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder as he carried her to his car.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, feeling only slightly guilty as his strong arms cradled her. He was being a lot sweeter about this than she’d anticipated. It would be a whole lot easier if he was annoyed with her. If he didn’t smell so good.

  “No need to apologize.” He pulled his keys from his jeans pocket and unlocked the car door, then he opened it and sat her gently on the seat. When she was settled in, he jogged around and climbed in, starting the car.

  “Wait!” she said. “My insurance card. I have to have it.”

  “Te
ll me where it is and I’ll go grab it.”

  “Upstairs in my room, on my dresser. And we have to tell Daddy what happened. He’ll be worried.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  Nita waited until Connor had entered the house, then she tore the keys from the ignition, flung the car door open and ran like the devil was after her to the truck. She tossed Connor’s keys on the front seat and yanked hers from her pocket, then she hopped in, shoved the key in the ignition and gunned the engine. She’d just like to see him catch her this time.

  Spraying gravel and dust, she took off, glancing in the rearview mirror just in time to see Connor emerge from the house. She couldn’t see his face, but she knew he had to be furious.

  Somebody give the girl an Academy Award because she’d sure fooled him. She hoped he was kicking himself for falling for her phony broken foot routine.

  She took a sharp right onto the road and floored it, buried the needle at seventy, giving herself a nice long head start. That’s what he got for thinking he could outsmart her. By the time he found Jimmy, got the keys for the other truck then figured out where she was headed, she would be halfway to Odessa.

  Grinning to herself, she hummed along to the song playing on the radio. She reached the first in a series of curves in the road and hit the brake, but the pedal felt soft, as though she’d lowered her foot into a damp sponge.

  Huh, that was weird.

  She let up and tried again, and this time her foot went straight to the floor. Even worse, the truck didn’t appear to be slowing down.

  Oh, this was not good.

  She stomped harder on the brake and nothing happened. The truck didn’t stop.

  Her heart stalled in her chest.

  “Stay calm,” she told herself, gripping the wheel, fighting to keep the truck on the road through the curve. When she was back on straight even road, she tried the brake again, sure it was some temporary malfunction, and still nothing. Fear gripped her when she realized she really had no brakes. She had no way to stop, and in another few miles she would run out of road. She would either have to turn right, or left, which would be virtually impossible at this speed. She had to try to slow down. She had to calm down and think.

  The ignition! She fumbled for the key, but at the last second hesitated. With the car off, would she lose steering? If she couldn’t stop or steer she’d really be in trouble. Instead, she grabbed the gearshift and popped it into neutral. The truck instantly began to slow, but at this rate she still wouldn’t stop soon enough. Fences spanned either side of the road so running off into a field and coasting to a stop wouldn’t work.

  She knew that whatever she did, she could not let herself panic.

  On her belt, her phone started ringing. Probably Connor, calling to chew her a new one. She wasn’t exactly in the mood to chat so she let it go to voice mail. Less than a minute later, as she was scrambling to decided what to do next, it rang again.

  She tore it from the case and flipped it open, telling him, “Now’s really not a good time.”

  “Put the truck in neutral.”

  It was Connor. What the—? “How did you know—?”

  “Just do it. Now.”

  “I did already. Where are you?”

  “Behind you. Now, pull on the parking brake.”

  She looked in the rearview mirror, stunned to see Connor’s car. How the heck did he—

  “Nita! Listen to me. You are running out of road.”

  She looked out the windshield and could see the intersection where she would have to turn looming ahead. At the speed she was going she would flip the truck. If she went straight, through the fence, she would mow down a couple of grazing horses. Definitely not an option.

  “Use the parking brake. You’re going to have to pull hard, and don’t let go.”

  She dropped the phone on the seat and grabbed the lever for the brake, pulling with all her strength. The truck began to slow in short, jerky spurts. She saw Connor zip past her, then pull in front of the truck.

  Was he nuts? She was going to run right into him!

  Nita pulled harder on the brake, until her arm began to tremble. In front of her Connor gradually slowed until she felt her bumper tap the back of his car, then he applied his own brakes. She realized, he was helping her stop. She watched the needle on the speedometer gradually fall. It seemed to happen in slow motion, but they finally rolled to a complete stop about a hundred feet from the intersection.

  Talk about cutting it close.

  With a trembling hand, she put the truck in Park and killed the engine. The reality of what just happened hit her like a horse kick to the belly. She leaned back against the headrest and tried to tame her wildly pounding heart.

  Connor’s car door flew open and he got out. The second she saw him she knew he was furious. Radical plastic surgery couldn’t make the lines in his face any tauter. She could just imagine the lecture she was going to get from this one. Not that she didn’t deserve it. She’d been dumb with a capital D.

  He stalked to the truck and yanked the door open. She braced herself for the explosion, for the reaming she knew was coming. The one she’d more than earned. Instead Connor just looked at her for a second, then he grabbed her and pulled her from the seat and straight into his arms.

  Ten

  When her boots hit the road Nita’s legs buckled underneath her but Connor caught her and lifted her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging to him, and he hugged her tight against his chest. He carried her away from the truck and sat on the hood of his car with her still wrapped around him. Now that it was over, and she was safe, her entire body began to tremble and she felt dizzy and fuzzy-headed, as if she might pass out.

  Adrenaline.

  This had happened once before when she’d been thrown by a stallion and almost trampled. Afterward she’d felt weak and shaky. But not like this.

  Connor stroked her back, her hair. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded against his shoulder.

  “Don’t you ever, ever pull a stunt like that again, you hear me?” Intermingled with the anger in his voice, she could swear she heard fear. Which meant he still cared about her, despite how he’d been acting lately. Nothing like a near-death experience to make someone admit he liked you.

  Well, hell, if she’d known this was all it would take, she’d have staged her near-death weeks ago.

  She heard another vehicle approaching, knew from the squeal of the brakes as it slid to a stop that it was the other farm truck. For the first time in her life she didn’t care what the boys would think seeing her this way. She didn’t care about being in control. She didn’t even care if she looked weak. She just wanted Connor to hold her.

  She heard doors open and slam shut, then Jimmy’s voice. “She okay?”

  “Yeah,” Connor said. “Just scared.”

  “I called the sheriff like you asked. He’s on his way.”

  “Thanks, Jimmy. Make sure the boys know not to touch anything.”

  “Will do. If you don’t need us here, I’m gonna get back. Her daddy is worried something fierce. I want to let him know she’s okay.”

  “We’re going to wait here for the sheriff,” Connor said, still rubbing her back in slow, soothing circles.

  She heard the scuffle of boots, then the truck doors opened and closed. The engine roared to life and she heard them pull away in the opposite direction.

  “You okay now?” Connor asked.

  “I’m okay,” she said, but he didn’t let go, didn’t even loosen his grip on her.

  “How did you know about the brakes?”

  “There was brake fluid all over the driveway where the truck was sitting.”

  “But your car? I took your keys.”

  “I keep a spare in my wallet.”

  She gave a shaky laugh. “Not much of an escape artist, am I?”

  And thank God for that. Connor didn’t even want to consider what might have happened had he not gotten to her in time. He
never would have forgiven himself if she’d been hurt.

  He closed his eyes and breathed in her scent, felt her warm, moist breath caressing the side of his neck. He was so relieved, so grateful she was safe, he felt weak-kneed. And he wanted to get his hands on whoever had done this. He wanted to rip them to pieces.

  “Did I hurt your car?” she asked.

  “I don’t give a damn about the car.” He’d have happily totaled it if it meant she was okay.

  “I really screwed up.” Her voice sounded stronger now and she’d stopped trembling.

  “Yep.”

  “I thought you would be mad at me.”

  He had been. As soon as his car came to a stop his mind had gone into overload thinking of a million different ways he could punish her for being so foolish, for scaring the holy hell out of him. He’d yanked open the truck door, ready to lay into her.

  Until he’d seen her face.

  He’d seen corpses with more color. He knew right then, if there was a lesson to be learned, she’d learned it, and all the yelling and cursing he could do wouldn’t compare to the scare she’d just had. All she’d needed was someone to hold her.

  When he’d pulled her out of the truck and she’d clung to him, her arms so tight around his neck he could barely breathe, her legs clamped like a vise around his waist, whatever was left of his anger dissolved into the cool, dusty air. To see her so scared, so vulnerable, made him sick in his soul.

  He tried to imagine what would have happened if he hadn’t gotten to her in time, if she’d been hurt, and his chest clenched so tightly he could hardly draw a breath. He didn’t know what happened to him in those minutes between the time that he saw the brake fluid on the driveway, and the point when he’d opened the truck door, but he felt irrevocably changed.

  All he knew, the only thing he was certain of, was now that he had her in his arms, he didn’t ever want to let go.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said softly and he had to swallow the lump forming in his throat.

  “Not as sorry as I would be if I’d let something happen to you.” He stroked her back, tunneled his fingers through her hair, let himself really feel her—the long length of her body curled around him, the heat of her skin radiating through her shirt, the softness of her breasts against his chest. Her pulse vibrated through him like an electric charge, jump-starting the heart that had lain dormant inside him for so long. He could feel his body waking to her touch, his resolve weakening, and he let it happen. He’d been fighting so long and hard, he was too tired to do it another second. It was a relief to finally let go. To give in.