“Damn, Kale! Did you have to tell everyone?” she snapped, irritated with him for spilling her family secrets. If she wanted everyone in the county to know, she’d tell them herself.
“I heard it from more than just Kale, Laurel, so don’t be upset with him. This is a very small town and gossip spreads fast.”
She glanced at Kale and then ducked her head to hide the embarrassing blush on her cheeks. Getting mad at him didn’t serve a purpose except keeping her from giving into her attraction to him. The soft trail of fingers brought her attention back to the disturbing presence beside her. He could tie her into knots with nothing more than a brush of his fingers. She would have to apologize to him when they got back to his place.
“Oh, by the way, Laurel. Thank you for what you did for my nephew the other night.”
“Your nephew?”
“Yes. Matt Weston with the firecracker?”
“I knew your name sounded familiar. How’s he doing?”
“He’ll be fine, but he won’t be sittin’ on his ass for a while. His momma tanned his hide good. Not to mention what his daddy done.”
The image his words put into her mind, made her smile. Small town ranch America, had very basic ideas on how to raise a family. Tight reins on their children came natural for the ranch owner and his family. It was the reason she’d been surprised those kids were hanging around so late in the evening.
“He won’t be hangin’ with his friends for a while either. I think his parents grounded him for about a year or so.”
The three of them chuckled and Laurel shook her head.
Natalie returned to the living room and took a seat on her husband’s lap. “Have you two been boring poor Laurel with your stories again?”
“Us? Boring? Never.” Kale snickered.
One eyebrow shot up over Natalie’s left eye when she leveled her gaze on Kale and Laurel couldn’t help but laugh.
“You can’t believe a word these two say, Laurel. Trust me. I’ve known both of them way too long.”
“You believe I love you, right?” Cade asked, his eyes wide with feigned shock.
“Okay. There is one thing I believe, but that’s about it. You two love to embellish things.”
“Wait a minute, woman. You were gone for several years. You don’t know everything,” Cade protested even though his fingers caressed her arm from shoulder to elbow and back.
“And I’ve got both of you two pegged. Don’t forget, husband of mine, I’ve been around you two for the last couple of years and you haven’t changed since high school. I could tell Laurel all kinds of stories about you two.”
Both she and Natalie laughed at the look on Cade and Kale’s faces. The little boy pout on both of their mouths was just too cute.
Kimberly came over and climbed up in Laurel’s lap, stuck her thumb into her mouth and laid her head on her shoulder. “I think we should probably go, Kale. Kimmy’s getting tired.”
“No problem, darlin’,” he replied, coming to his feet.
“Thank you again for watching her for me, Natalie. How much do I owe you?”
Natalie looked at Cade and then Kale before she answered, “Owe me? You don’t owe me anything, Laurel. I was just helping out a friend.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course.”
“Thanks again then. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”
“We should get these two to watch the kids one day so you and I can hit the spa and do lunch. It would be great. I haven’t had a chance for a girl’s only day since Alan was born,” Natalie said as she stood and Cade came to his feet too.
“Um. Sure,” Laurel replied, not quite sure what to make of Natalie’s overtures of friendship. Women in Los Angeles didn’t do those kinds of things unless they’d known each other for years.
“Great. Call me when you get a day off and we’ll head into Billings before the snow hits. Trust me, after winter gets here, you don’t want to go anywhere.”
“I can imagine.”
“Do you want me to take Kimmy?” Kale asked.
Laurel wasn’t sure what to make of the homey, family feelings she got when Kale acted so much like a father, it scared her. “No, it’s fine. I’ve got her.” She turned to Natalie and Cade and said, “Thank you again.”
“You are more than welcome, Laurel. Come out anytime and if you are in a spot without a sitter, call me,” Natalie replied, slipping her arm around Cade’s waist. “We’re on summer break at school so I’m free.”
“I will.”
When they reached the side of Kale’s truck, he opened the door and Laurel slipped Kimmy into her car seat sitting behind the passenger seat. Within moments, they were on the highway headed back for town. The radio played a soft country tune she hadn’t heard before. In Los Angeles, she heard everything from punk rock, to hip-hop, to rap. She wondered if anyone in Montana listened to anything besides country, although, she kind of liked the change. Country had a much nicer sound and you could at least understand the words. She tapped her foot to the beat of the music and saw Kale shift his glance down to the floorboard and a small smile spread across his face.
“What?”
“Do you want me to turn it up?”
“No. I can hear it and…” She looked back at Kimmy who had fallen sound asleep in her car seat. “Kimmy’s asleep. I don’t want to wake her. She can be a bear when she’s woken up.”
Kale laughed and she smiled. She liked his laugh, almost as much as his kiss and she really liked his kisses. His touch did wonderful things to her, too.
All right! Enough of those thoughts.
A few minutes later, they pulled down the long dirt road leading to his house and she sighed, wanting to escape his disturbing presence, but then again, she wanted him to hold her like he had earlier.
“I probably have something in the house we can whip up to eat. I’m gettin’ kind of hungry. How about you?” he asked as he stopped the truck.
“Yeah, I’m hungry, too, but I really should get Kimmy home. We’ve been out all day.”
“Why don’t we put her down on the couch, grab some food and then you can run home? She probably won’t even wake up when you take her out of the car seat.”
“Maybe. Sometimes she sleeps so sound, an atomic bomb could go off and she wouldn’t wake up, but other times, she wakes up at the slightest noise.”
He squeezed her fingers and brought them to his lips for a light kiss, before he said, “Good. It’s settled then. A little food will do us both good.”
“I’m sure I could do without a meal or two. My activity level hasn’t been what it should be.”
One dark eyebrow shot up and a sexy little grin spread across his lips. “You look fabulous, but I’m sure I could help with a little exercise if you’d like.”
“Do you think of anything beside sex, horses, cattle, and sex?” she asked, scooping Kimberly up in her arms and walking toward his house.
“Not when you’re close by,” he replied, placing his hand at the small of her back and brushing his lips against her cheek.
The gentlemanly contact of his palm radiated heat through her middle and down her legs. Damn, the man’s touch had her thinking about hot sweaty sex and he did nothing more than guide her into the house.
Kale flipped on the lights and walked into the kitchen while she placed Kimberly on the couch. A handmade quilt lay over the back of the leather sofa. Laurel lifted it with one hand and softly spread it over her daughter. The multiple-colored pattern caught her eye as she smoothed her hand over the material, imagining someone so lovingly stitching it together.
“My grandmother made it,” Kale murmured, coming to her side.
“It’s beautiful, Kale. I can’t imagine the time and care she put into sewing it together.”
With a simple shrug of his shoulder, he said, “It’s something she loves doing.”
“I’ve never learned,” she replied in a hushed tone, damning her upbringing that never included tho
se small, domestic things. She could cook some, sew small things like buttons on, keep her house semi-clean, but she didn’t bake unless it came from a box, didn’t quilt or crochet and all of the sudden, felt completely useless as a woman.
“I’m sure she would teach you if you’d like to learn.”
“She lives here?”
“In Red Rock, yes. She lives with my parents on their place outside of town.”
Grasping her hand in his, he lifted it to his lips and brushed a kissed over her palm. All ten toes curled in her shoes and the errant organ lying deep inside her chest, sped up to a pounding rhythm. The dark chocolate of his eyes looked straight into her soul and she wondered what he saw, the worthless woman when it came to anything domestic or the loving mother and good friend she tried so hard to be. Several black curls fell over his forehead and she couldn’t resist the urge to push them back into place. She lifted the hand he didn’t have in his grasp and pushed the hair back. The silky strand slipped through her fingers, tickling her hand.
His lips lifted in a small smile against her palm and his warmth of his breath over her skin, sent goose bumps flittering up her arms.
“Cold?” he whispered.
“No.”
With a small tug, he pulled her into his arms and wrapped them around her like he’d never let go, if she’d only ask, but she couldn’t—wouldn’t.
“Have I told you how much I love all this red hair?” he asked, entwining his fingers in the strands lying over her shoulder.
Her lips parted but she shook her head.
He lifted a handful of her hair to his nose and inhaled. “Sweet pea.”
“How’d you know?”
“It’s one of my favorite fragrances. I have some planted on the side of the house.”
The question rolled off her tongue in an awed murmur. “You garden?”
“A little,” he replied in a low whisper. “I do plant flowers in the spring.”
“You’ll have to show me.”
“Anytime, Red.” He stepped back, took her hand and led her into the kitchen. Both of his hands grasped her by the hips and hoisted her up onto the granite countertop of the island. After a quick kiss to her lips, he said, “What would you like to eat?”
I know what I want him to eat.
She roughly cleared her throat, trying without success to block the racing thoughts in her mind. “A sandwich is fine.”
“Okay. I’ve got ham, roast beef and turkey.”
“Roast beef would be great.”
“Beer or soda?”
“A beer would be good right now, but I probably should drink soda or whatever since I have to drive home.”
One dark eyebrow shot up as the words rolled from his perfectly kissable lips. “You can always stay here.” He stepped between her splayed thighs, bringing his erection in hot contact with her already weeping pussy, even though their clothing still separated skin from skin. “You know I want you, don’t you?”
Every muscle in her body went on high alert when his hands grasped her hips and pulled her closer, centimeter by agonizing centimeter.
Kale wasn’t a small man by any means and with her sitting on the countertop; they were in perfect alignment for some soul-shattering, orgasmic sex if she would just say yes.
Talking became impossible between her now parched lips. Her tongue swept out and attempted to wet the surface.
The scorching heat coming from his eyes did nothing to cool her off. When his head dipped and he captured her lips in a spell-binding melt-your-panties-kiss, she was lost. His tongue swept along the seam of her lips asking for her to open herself to him, give herself to him and ride the wave of desire he created every time she stood within a hundred yards of the devilishly handsome cowboy. With a tortured sigh, she complied and then whimpered when his tongue dove between her lips.
Tongues explored each other’s mouths with each sweeping touch—stabbing and retreating, dancing together like they’d done it their whole lives.
One palm cupped her right breast and she moaned into his mouth. His thumb rasped over the hardened nub and even through her shirt, she could feel the pressure of his finger.
His lips moved from her mouth, across her cheek and stopped at her ear. Rasping breaths and wicked slide of his tongue sent shivers down her spine and fire through her belly.
“Please stay, Laurel,” he murmured against her neck.
Sinful nips of his teeth soothed by the hot, wet licks and the scrape of his whiskers over her flesh left her barely able to think past the rush of desire in her ears.
“Food?” she asked, pulling herself together for a split second to try to bring the situation back under control.
He pulled away from her to stare into her eyes as longing raged in his gaze and confusion rippled across his face with a dip of his dark eyebrows.
“Huh?”
“Roast beef sandwich?”
The rush of need cooled slightly when his lips lifted into a devilish grin and he stepped back. “All right. I’ll feed you,” he replied, with a small chuckle.
Remaining on her perch, she watched while Kale whistled a soft tune and made sandwiches like a pro. Roast beef piled high, lettuce, tomato, cheese on a hoagie roll, completed the delicious looking delicacy of dinner he prepared.
“Your food awaits m’lady.”
“Oh, aren’t we the gallant one,” she replied, taking the hand he offered to help her down.
With plates in hand, he indicated with a nod of his dark head to the dining room table. After they had taken seats across from each other, they ate in comfortable silence, which astonished Laurel. The feelings this amazing man stirred, made her think of hearth and home, two kids, maybe three, a dog and a white picket fence. Something totally foreign to the liberated woman she thought herself to be.
Moments later, her cell phone vibrated and she wondered who it could be. There weren’t too many people who had her phone number.
“Sorry,” she murmured, pulling her phone from her pocket and moving toward the window for some privacy.
“It’s fine,” Kale replied, taking another bite of his sandwich.
“Hello?”
“Officer Hayes? This is central dispatch. The chief needs to speak to you immediately.”
“All right. Can you put him on?”
“Yes, ma’am. Hold the line.”
After several seconds of silence, a deep, rugged voice said, “Officer Hayes, this is the chief. We have a problem.”
“Problem, sir?”
“We’ve found another victim.”
Chapter Seven
Kale watched Laurel snap the phone shut and rub her hand across her face. “Somethin’ wrong, darlin’?”
“Yeah. I have to go out again.”
“What’s goin’ on?”
“I can’t say specifically, but it’s police business and it has to do with the woman we found earlier.” She glanced at Kimmy still asleep on the couch. “God, I hate waking her up.”
“Leave her here. She’ll be fine.”
“I can’t expect you to watch her for the night, Kale. I should take her home since I have no idea when I’ll be back.”
He stopped in front of her and took her face between his hands. “She probably won’t even wake up, Laurel.” Brushing his lips across hers, he groaned as she leaned into his embrace and he wrapped his hands around her back to deepen the kiss. His tongue swept inside her mouth and she brought her hands up around his neck. Her breast pressed into his chest and his cock tightened painfully behind the fly of his jeans. This wanting her and not having her was getting to him.
Pulling his mouth from hers, he whispered, “Go on and do what you need to do. We’ll be here waiting for you.”
The blue of her eyes softened and darkened to a deep sea blue. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. Call me later if you can. If not, I’ll see you whenever they let you go for the night.” A frown pulled down the corners of her mouth and he fought the urge to kiss
her again. “Don’t let them work you all night, sweetheart. You need sleep, too.”
“I know, but this kind of stuff gets my adrenaline rushing. I’ll be wide awake for hours now.”
“Maybe when you come back, we can put some of it to good use in my big bed.”
A small grin little the corners of her lips. “Maybe.” She picked up her purse and pulled out her keys. “Call my cell if you have any problems. If she wakes up or you need me for anything.”
“We’ll be fine until you get back.”
Laurel glanced once more at her daughter and the love in her eyes made his chest ache.
“Come on. I’ll walk you out to your car.”
She shook her head and smiled. “Bad idea. You would probably kiss me again and it would take me another ten minutes to get out of here.”
Her fingertips brushed over his lips. The groan rumbling in his chest slipped free, much to hear amusement. “You do that on purpose.”
“Not me.” Reaching behind him, she wrapped her hands in his hair and pulled his head down to meet her lips. Long before he was ready for it to be, the kiss ended and she slipped out the door.
“There isn’t any way in hell I’m going to get some sleep now. I might as well get some work done,” he said out loud, raking his hand through his hair. Letting his hand drifted down to his cock, he pressed hard against the erection, hoping to calm it down.
Cold shower?
“I can’t do that. If Kimmy wakes up she’ll be scared enough already being in a strange house.”
Shaking his head and cussing under his breath about one fiery red-head and her too damned kissable lips, he walked down the hall to his office to grab something to work on while he waited. Hopefully, she wouldn’t be too long. Otherwise it would be a long night.
* * * *
Sweat dripped in Laurel’s eyes as she bent over the prone body of a young, twenty-something woman lying under a tree and half covered with compost. She wiped her forehead with the back of her arm and grumbled under her breath at the stifling heat, thinking she shouldn’t be this uncomfortable since she used to live in Los Angeles and the summers there sucked.
Before The Night Is Over Page 10
