“Where is her father now?”
God, she didn’t want to answer him, but she knew he wouldn’t let it go this time. The last thing she wanted was pity from Kale. After several hard swallows to clear the lump lodging itself in her throat, she whispered, “Dead.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t.”
He pulled away from her and she wiped angrily at the tears on her cheeks as she sat up and straightened her clothes. Crying for Dennis made her feel weak and used.
Kale leaned over and kissed her cheeks, taking the wetness away with his lips, but they kept falling. A broken sob escaped her mouth and he gathered her to his chest, rocking her back and forth. No words were spoken while he comforted her. She clung to his chest, wetting his shirt, for some time.
When there were no more tears, she sat up and sniffed. A tissue was thrust into her hand and she murmured a quiet thank you. She couldn’t meet his searching gaze—didn’t want to see the pity in his eyes, but one finger under her chin forced her face up.
“Tell me.”
Every minute detail of her time with Dennis from when they got together during her academy training, to the day he died, poured from her lips. Kale never said a word the whole time she talked. How he knew she needed to talk about it, she didn’t know, but she thanked her lucky stars for this proud, gorgeous cowboy with his soft side.
What will I do when it’s over and I go back to Los Angeles?
Chapter Six
Kale wiped at the remaining tears on Laurel’s face with his thumb, then tucked a stray strand of her red hair behind her ear while she gave him a watery chuckle.
“Better?”
A quick nod gave him his answer. “I’m sorry. I’ve known you a matter of days and here I am blubbering all over your shirt, asking you to watch my three-year-old daughter—”
“Hey, it’s what friends are for, right? Besides, my shirt needed to be laundered anyway.”
The chuckle spilling from her lips sounded like a choked sob.
“You didn’t bring me in here and worked half my clothes off so I could cry all over you.”
“Not exactly, no. I would rather be buried deep inside you right now, but I got the feeling you never took the time to grieve for him. You loved him, right?”
“Yes, I loved him and no, I didn’t grieve for him. After I found out about his wife at the funeral, I couldn’t do anything but bury my feelings—bury everything. Then when I found out about Kimmy, I didn’t know what else to do.”
“What about your parents?”
“They turned their back on me. Having a child out of wedlock was bad enough, but finding out the child I carried belonged to a married man…well let’s just say it wasn’t pleasant.”
“Your parents are very old-fashioned, I assume.”
“Very. My father is a minister. Good God, if he and my mother found out you and I had sex and barely knew each other?” An exaggerated shutter ran through her body.
“I tell you what. Why don’t we put this round of sex on hold? I don’t think you’re quite up to enjoying it right now and we should probably get out to Nat and Cade’s to pick up Kimmy. Otherwise, they might want to keep her permanently.”
“She kind of does that to a person,” she said with a sniff, a nod and a slight smile.
“Those dimples are what do it. I’m telling you, she can wrap anyone and everyone around her little finger with those.”
“You’re a goner, Kale Dunn. Caught by a blonde three year old.”
He liked her teasing him much better than hers tears. A woman crying about did him in. The heat of a blush crept up his neck and he dropped his gaze to her chest. He wasn’t about to tell her the facts. He wanted more from one saucy red-head than he’d ever wanted from any woman. “We should get going,” he said, standing and adjusting his still rock-hard erection behind his fly. It wouldn’t do to show up at Cade’s sportin’ wood.
“Yeah, you’re right,” she replied smoothing her hands down the thigh of her jeans.
“Did you eat?”
A wicked gleam sparkled in her eyes and he silently groaned.
“Food. You know, dinner?”
“Nope. I came right from the crime scene over here.”
“Crime scene?”
“I guess I can tell you a little. It will hit the papers tomorrow, I’m sure and it’ll be big news in a little town like Red Rock. I’ll tell you in the truck on our way over to get Kimmy.”
Several moments later, she sat on the passenger side of his pickup and explained.
“Kimmy and I were at the park earlier and she ran ahead of me down the back path through the woods that comes out near the parking lot. When I caught up with her, she was standing off the side looking at something.”
“What was it?”
“A body.”
“Like someone sleeping or something?”
“No, Kale, a dead body. A young woman actually. Kimberly didn’t see the whole thing, thank goodness. She only saw a foot and part of the woman’s leg before I got her out of there and called it in.”
“Wow. That's weird. Did they tell you I found a woman’s body up on the rise on my property?”
“No, they didn’t mention it to me, but I haven’t received the whole briefing yet. I’ll have to check with the chief and find out what’s up.”
“I’m sure they think I’m a suspect. The body was on my land after all.”
“Yeah, not good.” She shook her head. “Since I did homicide investigations in Los Angeles, the chief of police asked if I would work on the investigation. Of course, I jumped at the chance. But I didn't have anyone to watch Kimmy since Teresa had an appointment.” She reached over and squeezed his thigh. “Thank you for coming to my rescue. I didn’t know what to do.”
“You’re welcome, but you really need to thank Natalie.”
Laurel frowned, turned her head and gazed out the windshield. Even in the darkness of the truck, he could see worry lines around her mouth as her lips pulled down at the edges.
“Somethin’ wrong?”
A sharp shake of her head told him no, but he’d come to read her to some degree and he wasn’t about to take no for an answer—not from her and not when she seemed upset.
“Come on, Laurel. There’s somethin’ on your mind, so spill it.”
Several moments of uncomfortable silence stretched between them and he wasn’t sure she would answer until she faced him again.
“All right. I overheard a conversation at the playground between some women and I need to know if what they said is true.”
“Shoot.”
“Have you had sex with Natalie?”
She couldn’t have shocked him more if she’d asked him if he liked men. “Well, I…mmm.”
“Never mind, Kale. You answered my question.”
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’m not holding anything against you or Natalie. I mean we don’t have anything going on between us besides friends. I needed to know so I knew how to take her when I see her.”
He pulled the truck over on the side of the road, put it in park and shut off the engine. “Listen, Laurel. I suppose since we are spendin’ time together and gettin’ to know each other, you have a right to know. Yes, I had sex with Natalie once over two years ago. It’s never mentioned between me, Cade or Natalie. It’s somethin’ that happened, but it’s in our past.”
“What happened?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
Unsnapping his seatbelt, he shifted around so he faced her. “You have to understand somethin’. The three of us had a past. Nat went to school with me and Cade until her family moved when she was fifteen. She came back to Red Rock to help her grandmother right after her grandfather passed away. Originally, the plan was for her to get her Gram to go back to Oregon, but Mrs. Oliver wasn’t about to move from her home. Cade and I were both attracted to Nat when we saw her again, so she dated us both for a few weeks. Cade said somethin’ stupid in fron
t of a bunch of people at the diner and she got really mad. She called me and told me she wanted to have sex with me.”
“Seriously?”
“Well, she and I had gone out once or twice and Cade pissed her off. He’d told her before he didn’t care whether she dated me or even had sex with me, which wasn’t the truth. The poor sap had already pretty much fallen in love with her.”
“But you weren’t?”
He shook his head. “Not even close. Yes, I was attracted to her, but Cade fell head-over-heels fast. Anyway, I made a date with her for the sex romp she wanted, but when I got off the phone, I called Cade and told him what she’d said. We came up with a plan to kidnap her and bring her out here to my place so he could talk to her.”
“And you ended up having sex with her?”
Silence stretch for several uncomfortable seconds before he continued, “Cade and I have shared women in the past. Natalie knew that and she was intrigued, I guess. I’m not quite sure how it all started, but we ended up sharin’ her.”
“Mmm.”
“What?”
She tilted her head to the side as a wicked little grin spread across her face. “A ménage huh.”
“Yeah, but like I said, it only happened the one time. He asked her to marry him shortly afterward. It wasn’t like we wanted to try to make it a permanent thing.”
Laurel grasped his hand and squeezed. “Thank you for telling me. I appreciate your honesty.”
“I’ll never be anythin’ but honest with you, Laurel. I think it is one of the paramount things in a relationship.”
“We aren’t in a relationship, Kale.”
“Do you want to be?”
* * * *
Do I want to be in a relationship with him? I can’t! I’m not staying here. Plus, he's a suspect in a murder investigation. This is too strange and something I shouldn't be getting into. What if he’s the killer? This could be like a Ted Bundy thing and I could be next on the list. Her heart thumped hard but her cop instincts started to kick in. No. That’s just ridiculous. I don't believe he's a killer. I'll just have to set out to prove it. I can't seriously be attracted to a serial killer.
“I like you, Kale.”
“But.”
“I don’t plan on staying in Red Rock. Can we scratch an itch once in a while? Sure. I’m good with that. Besides, I can’t see myself with anyone on a permanent basis. I’ve tried it and it doesn’t work.”
“Let’s just take things one day at a time and see what happens. Shall we?”
She shrugged and looked out the windshield at the dark night. Stars twinkled above them like diamonds on black velvet. The sky in Montana was so clear, you could see for miles and miles. The air, even at night, held a crispness you couldn’t find anywhere else.
The engine roared to life and they pulled back out onto the road. Within minutes, they turned down a dirt lane and she could see glowing lights of a house in the distance.
“Cade built this place with his bare hands. He works construction, but not so much anymore. With Natalie and their son, it keeps him busy running the home place, too.”
“Wow. It’s beautiful.”
“Thanks,” he replied with a small grin. “I drew the plans for him.”
“Really? You’re an architect on top of running a successful cattle and horse ranch?”
He shrugged. “It’s what I went to school for to start with. Becomin’ an architect was my ticket out of Red Rock.”
“So what brought you back?”
“All of this,” he replied with a sweep of his hand. “The openness of Montana. The beautiful mountains. The winter air that nips at your nose with the cold. The prairies in the summer with all the wildflowers in bloom. Nothing can compare. I tried the city life with the wife and two point five kids. It didn’t work for me.”
“You had a wife and kids?”
“Yes to the wife, no to the kids, until the wife decided she’d rather be with someone else. Turned out the someone else was Cade’s first wife, Cynthia.”
Whoa! “She turned into a lesbian?”
“Yeah. Great for a guy’s ego, huh?”
“She’s an idiot to give you up.”
A sexy little smile lit up his face and she mentally kicked herself for saying the thought running through her head.
“Thank you.”
“Well, I—”
The light on the porch flipped on and a tall, handsome blond guy, stepped out. “Are you coming in or are you going to sit out there all night?”
“I guess that’s our queue,” Kale replied, opening his door.
The warmth of his hand at the small of her back felt comforting and right for some reason, as they made their way up to the house.
“Hi, there. You must be Laurel,” Cade said holding out his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
She glanced at Kale and the deep blush staining his cheeks, told her he’d probably spilled every detail to his friend.
“Cade, this is Laurel. Laurel this is my best friend, Cade.”
“Nice to meet you finally,” Cade replied.
“You too. I’ve heard a lot about you and your wife, too.”
“All good, I hope.”
“Of course. I don’t think Kale can say a bad thing about anyone.”
“You haven’t heard him talk about his ex then,” Cade said with a chuckle. “Come on in and meet Nat and our son. She’s watching television with Kimberly and Alan.”
The first step into the two story ranch made Laurel suck in a sharp breath. The interior of the house was gorgeous. Huge window in the front, let in the natural sunlight during the daylight hours, but also gave them an unobstructed view of the pastures. The western motif of the furniture and accents, gave it a homey feel—a welcoming feel. The open floor plan allowed entertaining in the living room while cooking in the kitchen. Solid granite countertops and solid oak cabinets with beautiful brass handles and pulls complimented the layout of the kitchen to perfection.
“Mommy!” Kimberly screamed, running toward her with her arms outstretched.
Laurel bent down and scooped Kimberly up in her arms, while she peppered kisses over her daughter’s face and neck. “Were you a good girl?”
Blonde curls bobbed with her nod, but Laurel glanced at over her shoulder to lock her gaze on Natalie. It’s no wonder Kale had been attracted to the other woman. She was stunning. Her green eyes sparkled with life and love when they stopped on her husband. Her blonde hair floated around her shoulders in waves and shimmered with a life of its own, when the light in the room bounced off the curls. Laurel cursed the red mop of hair on her head as she tucked an unruly curl behind her ear.
“You must be, Laurel. I’m Natalie.”
“Nice to meet you,” Laurel replied, holding out her hand. “I can’t thank you enough for watching Kimberly for me.”
“Oh, nonsense. She’s a doll. I had a couple of friends bring their kids over for her to play with. Alan wouldn’t be much fun since he’s only a few months old.” The bundle in her arms started to squirm and make squeaking noises. “That’s my alarm. I think it’s time for little man here, to go to bed. Have a seat you two. I’m sure my neglectful husband can find a beer or something in the fridge while I put him down.”
The issues she had with Kale and Natalie almost vanished the moment Natalie’s gaze stopped on Cade. The love between the two people shone bright for anyone to see if they bothered to look. Laurel still felt a bit self-conscious, knowing she wasn’t a skinny woman. Muscle she’d built on her body from the constant demands of her job, turned off a lot of men, but the wide hips and small belly from Kimberly’s birth, she just couldn’t get rid of. It didn’t matter. Being model thin and gorgeous wasn’t in her jeans.
“Of course. Sorry, darlin’,” Cade replied and then kissed her.
The kiss went on for several moments and Laurel felt heat crawling up her neck watching them getting lost in each other.
“All right, you two. You do have c
ompany,” Kale teased, nudging Cade.
Natalie smirked when she and Cade parted. “You’re just jealous, Kale, but I’m sure Laurel could help you out. You have to be nice to her and show her how much of a gentleman you can be. Otherwise, she might kick your butt to the curb.”
Laurel couldn’t help but smile. Even though she wanted to hate Natalie for her relationship with Kale, she really liked her quick wit and sassy mouth. The comfort level Natalie had with both men made Laurel a little jealous and she wondered if she would ever find a relationship like the three of them shared. Do I even want a friendship like they have?
“You okay?” Kale whispered next to her ear while she watched Nat head down the hall.
Shivers skittered down her arms as the warmth of his breath heated her sensitive skin. “Yeah. We probably shouldn’t stay long. I’m not sure how long Kimmy will behave.”
“We’ll stay until you say it’s time to go.”
“Have a seat you two,” Cade said, nodding toward the couch.
She walked to the couch and sat with Kimberly on her lap. Kale took the seat next to her and pressed his hard thigh against hers. A moment later, Kimmy wiggled down and went back to watching cartoons on the television, leaving her sitting alone with Kale’s warmth seeping through her jeans. His arm snaked behind her and when his fingers started dancing along her shoulder, she bit the inside of her lip to keep the moan trapped in her throat from spilling out.
“Kale said you are a police officer, Laurel,” Cade said handing them each a beer and taking a seat across from them.
“Yeah. I did several years in Los Angeles before moving here.”
“I bet Red Rock is pretty borin’ compared to the craziness of the west coast.”
“It’s quite a bit slower, true, but I like it.”
“Do you plan to settle here permanently?” Cade asked before he took a sip of his beer.
“I’m not sure. I moved here to help my sister, but she’s not taking my advice on getting rid of her no good husband.”
A soft chuckle came from Cade’s lips. “I heard about you deckin’ the guy in the bar.”
Before The Night Is Over Page 9
