“Nope.” Dalton looked down at his wet clothes. “I went for a swim in the lake.”
His brother looked up at him with one of those ‘have you gone nuts’ kind of looks. And the answer to his unspoken question would be a resounding yes. He was. Nuts about Caitlin.
Brandon’s eyes raked over him. “You went for a swim in your clothes?”
He wasn’t about to explain his reason for jumping into the lake. The boys had pulled a real good one on him. But he knew Brandon and his brother would turn it around to his and Caitlin not having control over the teens. So he settled for, “It wasn’t planned.”
Brandon eyed the puddle of water pooling at Dalton’s feet. “Why do I get the feeling this has something to do with Miss Myers?”
He frowned at the assumption. Just because she’d taken down the trellis.
His brother gave a husky laugh. “You can’t blame me for wondering. Things tend to happen when she’s around. And how do you, of all people, just happen to fall into a lake? You don’t even fall off stomping, snorting bulls.”
“Ah, hell,” he muttered. “So I didn’t fall. I went in on purpose.”
“Alone?”
“Caitlin and the kids went in, too.”
“All fully clothed?”
“Damn it, Brandon, let it go.”
His brother tucked his hands behind his head with a widening grin. “Is there something going on between you and Miss Myers?”
“We work together.”
“Beyond work,” he prompted.
His brother was like a dog with a bone. And why was he grinning? This was no joke. The relationship he had with Caitlin was real.
“Oh, hell,” Brandon groaned. “Another female seduced by Dalton Barnes’ charm. Not that I should be surprised. You’ve always liked females with a little sass. And she’s pretty easy on the eyes if a man has a thing for petite little firecrackers.”
“You just keep your eyes off her,” Dalton ground out.
A slight smile edged his brother’s lips. “You really like this woman.”
“What’s not to like?”
“Other than she tends to wreak havoc wherever she goes?”
“It keeps things interesting,” he said, his smile returning. “And before we get into this any further, I need to go peel outta these wet clothes before I chafe. Are you gonna be here for a while?”
His brother nodded. “For the rest of the afternoon.”
“Good, because there’s something I wanted to talk to you about before heading back out to the retreat.”
“Sounds serious.”
He had no idea.
*
“Here’s the insurance information you needed filled out.” Dalton tossed the envelope Alan had given him onto his brother’s desk. After he’d showered and changed, he’d taken a few minutes to go over the paperwork. The sooner Caitlin had coverage the better with her penchant for risking life and limb for causes near and dear to her heart.
His brother reached for the envelope. “You do realize Miss Myers will have to agree to remain under our employ even after the summer session at the retreat is over for us to be able to offer her coverage.”
“She will,” Dalton said, having no doubt. “Once she hears about the plan I ran by you to hold several smaller retreats throughout the year you can bet she’ll be on board.”
“Before you put this all in motion, you’d best think long and hard.”
“I’ve thought about this – a lot,” he told Brandon.
His brother didn’t look convinced. “I mean it, Dalton. I know you. As soon as something else lights a fire under your ass, you’ll be off chasing after it.”
“The man I used to be would have,” he admitted. But then that was the only man his brother had ever known. “I’m not that man anymore.”
His brother leaned forward in his chair, absently fingering the clasp on the back of the envelope. “I’ve spent years shouldering your responsibilities here. I’ll be damn if I’m gonna step in when you get bored and take off in search of your next adventure. You start this, you’re gonna see it through.”
He nodded, determined. “I intend to. What man in his right mind would go off chasing after meaningless dreams when he’s found the real thing here?”
“Caitlin?”
He nodded, unable to keep the grin from his face. “She’s a very big part of my decision to stick around and put down roots.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” His brother’s voice held the gravelly pitch of a man fighting off a sudden onslaught of emotion. “I never thought I’d hear those words from you.”
Dalton chuckled. “You and me both.” Somewhere along the way that summer things had begun to change between him and his brother. Their ability to communicate openly and respect each other’s opinions, even when they disagreed, the biggest part of that change. That wasn’t saying there still weren’t fences to mend between them. He’d have to work hard to prove himself and earn his brother’s trust. Caitlin’s as well. Failure was not an option.
“I’m glad you finally found someone who truly makes you happy.”
Caitlin did more than that. She kept him on his toes. Made him feel alive. He met his brother’s gaze. “She makes me wanna be a better man.”
“It seems to be working,” Brandon acknowledged with a grin.
“You should give it a try.”
“I did,” his brother said, his smile fading. “It didn’t work out.”
Brandon had never spoken of it, but word of his ex’s sleeping around was general knowledge in a town the size of Stoney Brook. “Not all women are like Alexandra.”
Brandon turned and walked over to the window to look out. “I’ve got enough on my plate right now between the ranch and outside investments. I don’t have the time or energy to put into another relationship and everything it entails.”
That might be true with a woman like Alexandra who could suck the life outta a man. But if his brother found someone like Caitlin…
“When the right woman comes along, you won’t have a choice in the matter,” he told his brother. “Your heart will make the decision for you.” Just as his had with Caitlin.
Brandon turned from the window, his expression hard. “Don’t you have a retreat to run?”
Clearly his brother’s love life, or lack of, was a subject he preferred to steer clear of. “I do, but there’s one last thing before I go and it has to do with Martinson.”
“Alan?”
Dalton nodded. “You need to shorten your leash on him before he hangs himself with it.”
Brandon’s dark brow drew together. “What are you talking about?”
“Caitlin’s trying her damnedest to get those kids at Stoney Brook on track and keep them there so they don’t end up in detention homes or worse. The last thing she needs is your flunky showing up and calling them a bunch of juvenile delinquents to their face.”
“Alan did what?”
“When he brought that paperwork out to me,” Dalton explained, nodding toward the manila envelope on the desk, “he started spouting off with that big mouth of his. That retreat is supposed to be a safe zone for those kids. Shut your man up before I take care of it myself.”
His brother’s lips thinned in anger. A look Dalton had been on the receiving end of more often than not in the past. “I’ll have a word with him. It won’t happen again.”
One thing he knew for sure was that his brother was a man of his word. There would be no more disrespect from Alan toward the teens. Not if Alan knew what was good for him.
Dalton’s gaze shifted to the mantle clock across the room. He’d been away from the retreat far longer than he’d intended. “I’ll see you tonight.” He started for the door.
“Dalton…”
Pausing, he glanced back at his brother. “Yeah?”
“About those messages and letters I never received from Miss Myers…”
Dalton tensed. Why would Brandon bring that up again? “She wouldn’
t lie-”
Brandon held up a hand. “I don’t think she did.”
“What?”
“I’m not accusing her of lying. In fact, I think I know now why I never received them.”
As his brother’s words sank in, realization dawned, making Dalton scowl. “Martinson?”
His brother nodded. “Alan’s been riding me hard on the financial benefits of turning Stoney Brook into a resort, even offering to run it for me in exchange for a piece of the investment. An offer I was seriously considering.”
It was all starting to makes sense. Dalton’s jaw tightened. “He must have been intercepting Caitlin’s attempts to reach you to keep you from veering away from his plan.”
“It appears that way,” his brother admitted. “Alan screens incoming calls for me when I’m in the middle of something else. And he has access to my mail.” Brandon shook his head. “I never thought he’d do something like this, but it’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“When I get my hands on—”
“No,” his brother said, cutting him off. “Alan took advantage of the position I gave him in my company. A very big mistake on his part. I’ll handle him. You go do what you need to do at the retreat.”
With a nod, he walked out. Trust was a two way street. He would trust Brandon to handle Alan Martinson. His focus right now had to be on Caitlin and winning her heart.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Caitlin glanced around the kitchen where Leah, Kelly and their groups of girls were busy preparing that afternoon’s lunch. The boys were outside with Dalton working on the new corral Dalton had decided would be a good project for them to do together.
She had to admit she’d had some doubts where the teens were concerned in the beginning. These were the angriest bunch of kids ever to come to the retreat. But, with her counseling and Dalton’s patient coaxing, the teens had finally come around. They were getting along and working together to get tasks done. She couldn’t ask for more.
The aroma of tomatoes and peppers filled the room as spaghetti sauce gurgled in a pot on the stove. Kelly and two of the girls were busily adding butter and garlic to the loaves of Italian bread Caitlin had made earlier that morning. Several other girls were rolling a hamburger mixture up into balls and placing them onto cookie sheets to be baked.
The girls seemed to have everything under control. Unlike the boys who always left the kitchen looking like a war zone whenever they cooked. They couldn’t just use a spatula to flip pancakes. They had to use the pan to do it. A method courtesy of Dalton. Needless to say, more pancakes ended up stuck to the ceiling than in the teen’s bellies.
The thought of Dalton had her glancing toward the window. How long could she keep avoiding him? Making him pay for what she’d always known to be true. He was who he was and he’d been honest about it. It was her own fault for allowing her emotions to get involved.
She walked over to Leah who was standing by the sink, chopping up tomatoes for the tossed salad. “Think you and Kelly can handle things here? I’d like to go look in on Dalton and the boys.”
Leah glanced back at her with a smile. “Don’t worry about us. We’re doing fine in here. I’ll send Kylie out to get you when lunch is ready.”
“Thanks, Leah.” Plucking a chunk of tomato up from the cutting board, she popped it into her mouth and headed for the door. It wasn’t so much curiosity about the new corral the boys were building that had her heading in that direction, but a need to see Dalton.
She felt a huge swell of pride as she neared the work area for the new corral. The boys had done it. All thanks to Dalton. He planned to use it for the greased pig competition at the end of summer and then hoped to convince his brother to add horses to the camp program the following summer. Not that he would be there to see it happen.
Don’t think about that. Dwelling on Dalton’s leaving at the end of summer wouldn’t change anything. She had to stay strong. Had to stop wishing for more. One of the reasons she had taken a step back since Alan Martinson’s visit, distancing herself from what she could never have.
Her convictions sounded good in her head. But the second she caught sight of Dalton, bending over one of the newly erected fence rungs, her pulse quickened and her steps grew embarrassingly eager. So much for staying strong.
His discarded t-shirt fluttered in the breeze from where it hung from his truck’s passenger mirror a short distance behind him. Her gaze shifted back to the broad expanse of his bare shoulders, to the corded muscles bunching and flexing beneath the sun-browned flesh as he worked. Her fingers flexed with the need to touch.
Muffled laughter pulled her from her Dalton-induced daze. Cheeks-warming at having been caught ogling him, she pressed a finger to her lips, silencing the boys who were spread out around the corral, watching her arrival with widening grins.
Dalton was so intent on the rail he was nailing to the post he never heard her step up behind him.
She bent to pluck a nail from an open box on the ground and then leaned forward, dangling it over his shoulder. “Nail?”
He jumped at the sound of her voice, the hammer in his hand missing its intended target. Instead, it landed square on his thumb and brought about a string of muttered curses.
Dropping the hammer, he shot to his feet, holding his injured hand and spun around. “Caitlin?”
“Sorry,” she replied with a guilty shrug. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” Her gaze slid downward, taking in the crisp, dark hair sprinkled across his bare chest and then further down to where it tapered into a thin dark line, disappearing beneath the waistband of his jeans. His damp skin glistened under the hot afternoon sun. Skin she’d run her fingers over. Wanted to again.
He caught her by the arm, taking her by surprise, and led her away from the corral. “What are you doing out here?”
“Trying to help?” she muttered, still distracted by the sight of his bare chest.
“Just a tip,” he said, his voice low and husky. “Looking at me the way you are is not helping matters.”
She quickly averted her gaze to the boys who were still hard at work. Or at least pretending to be if you considered the curious glances they were casting toward the truck she and Dalton were standing next to.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she whispered back, hating the telltale warmth she felt settling into her cheeks. “I wasn’t looking at you in any particular way.”
He removed his hat, dragging an arm across his sweat-dampened brow. “Well, stop looking at me in that not-so-particular way before I’m tempted to carry you off somewhere a little more private where you can look your fill.”
Excitement curled in her stomach with his warning and then spiraled downward to settle between her thighs. “Dalton,” she murmured, intending to scold, but the half-groan that followed lessened its effectiveness.
“Considering tempting me some more?” he asked with a devilish grin.
She smacked his arm. “Behave yourself! There are children around.”
He chuckled. “Want me to send them to their room?”
No, I want you to take me to mine. Keeping that thought to herself, she walked over to inspect the fence, away from the temptation Dalton offered. “I can’t believe you and the boys got this up so fast.”
“They’re hard workers,” he said, stepping up alongside her.
“I can see that.”
“We even built a pen for Squealer,” he said, pointing toward a newly erected pig pen.
“He’s gonna love having so much room,” she said. Just as the kids loved that silly pig Dalton had brought into their lives. Her gaze dropped down to his hand and her smile faded. “How’s your finger?”
“Still attached,” he said, flexing his thumb in demonstration. “But I’m thinking a kiss might make it feel a whole lot better.”
“A kiss?”
He nodded, his grin widening.
“Kiss him!” several of the boys called out, reminding her that they weren’t alone.
Dalton lowered his head and closed his eyes, an exaggerated pucker pursing his lips.
She glanced toward the eager young spectators and then back to Dalton whose awaiting mouth hovered just inches above her face. “Well, if you think it’ll help,” she replied. But instead of pressing her lips to his, she took his hand in hers and brought it to her mouth, pressing a butterfly kiss on the tip of his thumb.
He opened his eyes, humor lighting his eyes as he looked down at her. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.”
The boys groaned and booed, hollering that she shouldn’t leave Dalton hanging that way.
He turned to the boys, clearly fighting the urge to grin. “You done cleaning up?”
Jimmy walked over and held out a bucket filled halfway to the top with bent nails. “I think we got’em all.”
Dalton glanced into the bucket, then back up with an approving nod. “Good job. Now gather up the tools and leftover posts and load the truck. I need to have a word with Miss Myers in private.”
“He’s still hoping for that kiss on the lip!” one of the boys called out, eliciting more comments from the others.
“Boys,” Dalton warned.
After a few playful nudges amongst each other, the boys stopped their heckling and began carrying tools and spare fence posts back to the truck.
She turned to Dalton when their audience moved away. “I’m not gonna kiss you.”
“Oh, you will,” he said confidently and then added, “When you’re done running from me.”
She stiffened. “I’m not running. I’m trying to keep things professional between us.”
“Because of what Alan said the other day?”
“You didn’t deny it?”
“I didn’t think I had to.”
No, he didn’t. She already knew he’d be leaving when the summer was over. “You never did say what Mr. Martinson wanted when he stopped by the other day?” she said, needing to change the subject before her emotions got the better of her.
“Kind of hard to discuss things with you avoiding me.”
He was right. She’d let her emotions get the better of her. “It won’t happen again.”
KIDNAPPED COWBOY Page 18
