12-Alarm Cowboys (148 page)

Read 12-Alarm Cowboys Online

Authors: Cora Seton,Becky McGraw,Sable Hunter,Elle James,Cynthia D'Alba,Delilah Devlin,Donna Michaels,Randi Alexander,Beth Beth Williamson,Paige Tyler,Sabrina York,Lexi Post

Tags: #Fiction, #cowboy, #romance, #Anthology, #bundle

BOOK: 12-Alarm Cowboys
2.14Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

“So, basically, she thinks you’re her mother.” Makenna teased, admiring the gentle way he had with the animals.

“Yea,” Titan agreed. “They all want a hand-out.” He dug in his pocket and took out a few nuggets. “I’ve spoiled them.” In a few moments, two others had come forward for a snack. “What’s good about this is that Freight Train is the lead cow. When she comes, they all follow and I can get a good head-count and make sure no one is missing.”

Sure enough, Makenna looked up to see a line of cattle coming over the ridge. “I think you’re going to need more nuggets.”

Titan laughed, unlocking the cabin door. “If you’ll go on in and put up the food that needs refrigerating, I’ll scatter out a bag of nuggets and put out a little hay.”

Makenna liked the idea. Getting used to the animals would be easy, she supposed. It would just take a little time. Gathering up the items he’d placed on the porch, she opened the door and went in. Immediately, she was entranced. “Oh, Allie, wait till you see this,” she muttered. The inside of the cabin looked to be a photo straight from a magazine featuring romantic lodge getaways. There was a huge fireplace with a fluffy rug in front of it. A big leather couch sat nearby and a massive four-poster bed filled another corner. She dashed around and found a clawfoot tub and on the other side, a tiny kitchen with all the amenities. “This would be perfect for a honeymoon!”

“I agree,” Titan spoke behind her, causing her to jump.

“Oh, you startled me!” She held a hand over her heart, her cheeks flaming because he’d heard what she’d said.

“Sorry.” He drew her close, his eyes going from warm to hot. Sweeping his thumb over her cheek, Titan covered her lips with his. The kiss started slow and sweet, but his hand tightened at the back of her head and he moaned, kissing her as if this were their last moment on earth and he wanted to make the most of it.

Long, sweet, deep and wet.

Titan let his lips slide from hers, placing a few tender smooches on her neck. When he raised his head, she looked at him like she’d just experienced a fuckin’ miracle and he felt like all the pieces of his world were falling into place. “Let’s go before I make love to you.”

Makenna panted, every part of her was tingling. “Would that be a bad thing?”

“No, but I have plans for later,” Titan promised. “I want our first time to be special.”

“I wish it was my first time,” she said quietly.

Titan held her close. “Don’t worry. I’ll make you forget. We’ll replace all of those bad memories with good ones.” When she smiled, he captured her hand. “Come on.” He led Makenna out and helped her back up on the horse. This time she easily fitted herself to his body, loving the teasing touches and kisses Titan gave her as they made their way through the grazing cattle.

“Did you count the herd? Is there any missing?”

“Two, a cow and a calf.”

He didn’t sound too worried, so Makenna relaxed as they began their circuitous journey around his property. “I like that you still do this on horseback. So many ranchers have started using four-wheelers, haven’t they?”

“They have, but the topography out here on Devil’s Backbone is very rough and uneven. I’ve seen people flip those ATVs. It’s an easy way to get yourself killed. I responded to one call where a girl had half her face torn off after she was thrown off and slid on rock. She had plastic surgery, she’s fine now, but horses are much safer in my mind.”

“I’ll take your word for it, since I took a dive off of Luna earlier.”

He squeezed her tight. “I know, I wasn’t taking good care of my baby. I’ll do better. Promise.”

He was making light of it, but his sentiment warmed her. His attitude toward her was as different from Damien’s as night from day. But she’d known it would be. That was one of the reasons she’d be drawn to him.

Soon they arrived at the fence and began making their way beside it, as close as possible. At one point, she could see her own house. “Damien’s home.” Makenna pointed. “I wonder what he’s going to do. I wish he’d move away.”

“I checked. He didn’t lose his job, which is a crock of shit.” Titan couldn’t have kept the bitterness from his voice if he tried. At that moment, the ringtone on his phone sounded.

“I didn’t know you could get reception out here.”

“Yea, there’s a tower not far from here,” he said as he answered. “Sloan.”

Makenna could only hear part of the conversation, but it was enough to know the person was calling in connection to the latest fires.

“How did we miss that?” Titan asked, then he listened before responding. “Let me know what you find out.” Once he’d hung up, he cleared his throat, moving Makenna’s hair from off her shoulder. “That was the Fire Marshall. They think they’ve identified the source of the grass fires.”

“What was it?”

“Liquid paraffin, highly flammable.”

“I don’t really know what that is,” Makenna admitted.

“There are several uses, everything from lamp oil to an ingredient in make-up, but it burns with absolutely no smoke and no odor. The only way the forensic guys found it was noticing an odd residue on a rock at the origin of the fire.”

“That’s nothing like you expected, is it?” Makenna could tell Titan was disconcerted.

“No, and what’s really strange is that the same substance was found on the floor at Allie Langston’s. The reason the Fire Marshal didn’t note it before was because she had candles and one of those electric lamps that heated fragrance oils.”

“Yes, I gave her one when she moved into her house and the oils I bought for her were vanilla and jasmine scented.”

Titan nodded. “Since there were other things like that in the room, the significance of the paraffin didn’t hit Kirkland—until they found more at the grassfires.”

“So, the same person set all three fires,” Makenna said lowly.

“Yes, and we’ll find out who, I promise. When we get back tomorrow, I’m going to help him do some investigating. The sheriff is going to find out if any of the local stores sell anything like this.”

“I guess they can match the chemical compounds.”

“I’m sure they can, I’m not as up on this stuff as I should be. When you’re a volunteer, you just don’t get the in-depth training that firefighters have in the bigger places.”

“I hope you find whoever set them.” Makenna didn’t voice her suspicions about Damien again, but they were on her mind. “And I hope there are no more.”

“I know what you’re thinking and I believe you,” Titan whispered. “We won’t stop looking into this until we know the truth.”

Chapter Eight


T
hey rode on,
but Makenna’s eyes kept cutting toward the house she’d lived in with Damien. She knew how evil he could be and she put nothing past him.

“Look, there’s the gap,” Titan exclaimed, pointing. Dismounting, he walked through the brush to get to the fence. “This was no accident, the wire was cut.”

Makenna knew she might be paranoid, but she even suspected Damien of doing this. “Can you fix it?”

“Yea, whoever did it was an amateur. They cut it next to the post. I can pull the strand tight again. I just have to put a few fence staples in.” He returned to the saddle to get his hammer, the wire stretcher and the staples.

While he was turned to face the fence, Makenna decided to join him, which wasn’t as easy as she first thought. The tennis shoes she wore didn’t give her any grip on the stirrup and the top of Valiant’s back was a long, long way from the ground. Still…if she could just hold on to the saddle horn and swing her leg over… “Oh, crap…” she murmured as her foot slipped and down she went.

But this time she didn’t hit the ground. Strong arms caught her in mid-air. “I can see now that catching you when you fall is going to be a fulltime job.”

Makenna didn’t argue, she was just glad he was willing to take on the task. “Can I help?

“Sure.” He showed her how to hold the wire. “Watch your fingers, those barbs are sharp.” Before they were through, they found two more places where the wire had been cut. At the last one, Makenna saw the errant cow and calf wandering about fifty yards down a hill near a small stream. “There they are!”

Together they herded them back through the gap. It didn’t take Titan long to fix the fence, but it did take a couple more hours for them to ride about half the distance around. “I’m getting hungry, how about you?” he asked.

“I could eat a horse.” Makenna sighed, her stomach rumbling.

“Shhhh, you’ll make Valiant nervous.” He teased. “I propose we head back to the cabin. I still want to check the rest of the fence, but I’m ninety percent certain those are the only gaps. Most of the other borders the road and I drove around that part a couple of days ago.”

“I’m not tired, so don’t worry about me,” she assured him.

“Well, there’s still the matter of the surprise,” he reminded her.

“Okay. You convinced me.” She sighed happily.

As Valiant picked his way back down the trail toward the cabin, Titan talked to her about his life and asked questions about her own. Even though they’d known one another for some time, this was their first chance to really share. “What are some things you like to do for fun?”

Makenna thought about her answer. “It’s been a long time since I was able to do a lot of the things I used to enjoy.” As she spoke, she held his big hand in her own, rubbing the veins on the back, rubbing his strong fingers, tracing the lifeline in his palm. “Years ago, I used to run, I enjoyed getting out in the fresh morning air. I also played guitar.”

“I want you to play for me.”

Titan’s immediate request made her laugh. “Oh, I’m pitifully out of practice. How about you? What do you do when you’re not riding the range or heroically saving lives?”

“Well…” Titan’s hesitation had Makenna looking over her shoulder. “You’re blushing! What do you do?” she asked with a giggle.

“Well, I have two things I like to do. One goes along with my macho image and one doesn’t.”

“Tell me.” She smiled. “I want to know the non-macho first.”

“Okay, okay, it’s not that bad. I study and collect wine. The local vineyards in this part of Texas inspired me to learn as much as I could.” Titan gave her a sheepish smile. “I’d like to think I’ve become an expert of sorts.”

Makenna was impressed. “I think that’s great. You’re a connoisseur. I’d love to know more about wine. Will you teach me?”

Feeling inspired, Titan had an idea. “I’ll take you out to one of the vineyards soon, introduce you to my friend and we’ll have dinner at his restaurant.”

A thrill shot through Makenna. This is what life and love should be like. “I can’t wait. So, what’s the macho hobby?”

“I’m a blacksmith.”

He didn’t have to say more. “Of course you are, I can see it.” Now she knew where he got all of those muscles. “I can just see you swinging a big hammer, hitting an anvil, sparks flying.”

He couldn’t help teasing her. “Do you have any interest in seeing what I can do with my big hammer?”

More than he realized. Makenna blushed. “I’m sure you’re very talented.” If she just wasn’t so nervous. “I’m getting hungry.” Like a coward she changed topics.

“So am I, baby, so am I.”

Makenna was almost certain he wasn’t referring to food. But she didn’t ask.

When they returned to the cabin, Titan threw a couple of steaks on the outside grill while Makenna prepared a salad with the ingredients he’d packed. Wine wasn’t the only thing he knew, she was impressed with the food choices he’d made. There were cherry tomatoes, arugula, even those tiny ears of corn she loved. He’d also packed potato salad and cheesecake. They had an amazing meal. And as soon as it was done, he took her by the hand. “Now for the surprise.”

“Oh, you mean the meal wasn’t it?” She was only halfway teasing, the meal would’ve been plenty. What she was interested in was more of what he’d shown her on horseback. It was as if Titan had flipped a switch, opened a floodgate of emotions and needs that only he could fill.

“No, go slip on your swimsuit. We’re going swimming.”

She remembered the spring he’d mentioned. Makenna had no idea what it would be like. She kept picturing a stream of water shooting up out of a few rocks like a water sprinkler. As much as she was anticipating the scenery, the prospect of seeing Titan skinny-dip was a bigger draw. Digging in the bag of clothing he’d brought along, she was dismayed to find out he’d left off the scarf-like cover-up Allie had loaned her. The bathing suit wasn’t the most revealing she’d ever seen, but there would be an awful lot more of Makenna showing than she was used to. “You can do it,” she encouraged herself. “This isn’t Damien, this is Titan.”

Changing clothes in the comfortable bathroom, she recalled his hands on her breasts. He’d said he couldn’t wait to get his mouth on her. She shivered in anticipation. When he smiled, her world lit up and the way he looked at her made her feel so special, which unfortunately reminded her of all the ways she wasn’t. When he’d asked about the intimate relationship she’d shared with Damien, Makenna had told him she couldn’t speak of it. Damien’s sexual pleasure had been tied directly to her pain. What he’d done, the methods of his satisfaction, Makenna pushed to the far reaches of her mind. She wanted to forget, she wanted to begin anew with Titan. She wanted to know what it was like to be with him.

Other books

Here Today, Gone Tamale by Rebecca Adler
Evan's Addiction by Sara Hess
Dreaming Anastasia by Joy Preble
Crave by Jordan Sweet
Murder Queen High by Bob Wade
tilwemeetagain by Stacey Kennedy