Count on a Cowboy (17 page)

Rory turned back to her. “Just be careful from now on.” He tugged on the reins and his horse took off back to the herd. She fought hard to keep from calling after him, telling him who she was, but the words died in her throat. She doubted she’d ever get the chance to call him father.

* * *

S
HORTLY AFTER
B
ROOKE’S FALL
, the crew finally got the herd to the branding pens by early afternoon. Side by side, Brooke and Laurel finished off the drive by directing the last of the calves into a separate pen to be vaccinated, tagged, and the males castrated. The bawling intensified after the division of mamas and babies. It was heart-wrenching.

The men took a break for a quick lunch of sandwiches and drinks, then went right back to work. Brooke wanted nothing to do with this part of the roundup. She and Laurel tended to the horses and stayed out of the sun, letting the men handle the branding.

Of course, she enjoyed watching Trent. That seemed to be her favorite pastime these days. Astride his horse, lariat in hand and with only the flick of his wrist, he could rope the hind legs of a small calf. A thrill shot through her. It was a sight to see.

“He’s not hard on the eyes at all.” Laurel nodded toward the branding area, then continued to brush her horse, Starr.

Brooke looked up to see Laurel watching her. She just continued grooming Raven. She wasn’t going to get on the topic of Trent.

“It’s all fascinating,” she said. “I’ve never seen cattle getting branded. Does it hurt them?”

Laurel nodded. “It does, but not for long. I’m sure that you could ask Dad, or Trent would probably be happy to explain everything to you.”

“I don’t want to bother him.”

Laurel chuckled. “You’ve managed to do that already. The man can’t take his eyes off you. I’m a little jealous.”

Brooke froze. Laurel had feelings for Trent? “You and Trent? I mean, you were going to marry...”

Laurel walked around Starr toward Brooke. She absently stroked Raven’s rump as she grinned. “Stop looking so worried. I haven’t had a thing for Trent Landry since I was fourteen, and he came to visit his dad while in the army. Damn, he did look good in uniform.”

Brooke could imagine.

“As for Jack Aldrich, not my finest moment. Now I realize, I liked the idea of falling in love more than actually being in love. And when Jack came along, he knew the right things to say to me. He fed into my lifelong dream of raising and training quarter horses.” She shrugged. “In the end, I’m totally grateful that he couldn’t go through with marrying me. Too bad he had no problem taking Trent’s and Dad’s money.”

“You can’t blame yourself, Laurel. Men like Jack know exactly how to draw people in.” She knew that because Coralee found a lot of Jack Aldriches.

“Coralee didn’t have much luck with men, either.”

“What about Rory?”

Brooke wasn’t sure how much to tell her. “Honestly, I had never heard about Rory Quinn until about a month ago. Then at Trent’s house, I saw the picture of your father with Wade Landry. He was a good-looking man, and being a rodeo star was what probably attracted our mother to him.” Brooke saw the hopeful look in Laurel’s eyes. “The thing with Coralee, Laurel, she only wanted to have a career, to make it big as a singer. That’s probably the reason why she gave your father custody.”

“Did she?” Laurel asked. “I mean, did she ever have success at singing?”

Their time at the cabin the other night hadn’t covered much of this. Laurel had been more interested in Brooke.

Brooke glanced away, thinking about all the things her childhood lacked because of their mother’s obsession.

“Not really. She was a backup singer in her younger years, but as she got older, her voice became weaker, so she mostly worked as a waitress.”

Laurel paused a moment, then said, “Dad told me she wasn’t a nice person.”

Brooke knew Rory felt the same way about her, too. “Coralee needed to be the center of attention.” She shrugged. “I guess I’m just used to her that way.”

“That couldn’t have been easy on you.”

She didn’t want to talk about Coralee anymore. “Like I said, it’s what you get used to.” She glanced toward the pens. “Do you want to wander over and see if the guys are finished with the branding?”

Laurel nodded. “Sure. I’ll go.”

Together, they walked to the fence in time to see a calf being wrestled to the ground. One man shot the animal with a needle, another man tagged the ear, then the last one took the red-hot branding iron and pressed it to the calf’s hip. The smell of burning fur assaulted her nose. Finally the animal was released to go into the pen with its mama.

Her attention went to Trent on his horse as he swung his rope overhead, then he let the lasso fly and caught another calf’s hind legs. Tying his end of the rope to the saddle horn, he dragged the animal into the branding area.

“Now there’s a man worth taking a risk on. Trent’s a little rough around the edges from all the years in the military, but he’s a good guy. It’s sad about his dad. I think they left a lot of things unsaid, and never had the chance to fix their relationship. A lot of that had to do with Chris dying. It tore the family apart.” Laurel looked at her. “I bet a good woman in his life could make all the difference.”

“What are you trying to say?” Brooke asked.

“Just saying that you should explore your opportunities during the short time you’re here.”

Brooke knew she was developing feelings for Trent already. Dear Lord, she hadn’t even known the man a week. “I like him, but I’m not the-spur-of-the-moment-fling type.”

Laurel arched an eyebrow. “Maybe you should consider changing that. I haven’t seen Trent date any woman in a long time. And I’ve seen the looks he gives you, like he wants to devour you. And today when you fell, he couldn’t get to you fast enough.”

“He was so angry.”

Laurel smiled. “No, he was afraid that you were hurt.”

Suddenly a funny feeling settled in Brooke’s stomach. Trent was worried about her?

“Seriously, you need to pay attention,” Laurel said shaking her head. “I wonder how many good guys you let get away?”

They both laughed, then Laurel suddenly hugged Brooke. “I know Mom and Dad are upset you’re here, but I’m glad you came to find me.” Laurel pulled back. “It’s crazy, isn’t it? You’re my sister.”

Brooke didn’t expect to feel these emotions, but then she realized it wasn’t only her and Coralee anymore, now she had Laurel, too. Of course that didn’t stop the longing for the two men she couldn’t have in her life.

* * *

T
HAT EVENING AFTER
a long shower, Trent dressed in an old army T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. He came downstairs barefoot and dropped into his dad’s overstuffed chair. He wasn’t moving from this spot for the next few hours, then he’d head back to the cabin. The hot spray had helped his sore shoulders, but he had another day of roundup. They’d gotten Rory’s branding done, and tomorrow it was his turn. He was glad that his herd was smaller.

He’d made sure that his ranch hands were ready for tomorrow. Ricky promised an early night, and he’d have the horses saddled and ready by dawn.

His thoughts turned to Brooke. It was difficult leaving her alone today, especially after her tumble off Raven. She had to be sore. He thought about inviting her to use the Jacuzzi, but immediately nixed the idea. She’d be too tempting. He hoped she’d gone back at the cabin at least, and was in bed. He groaned. He didn’t need to think about her there, either, not if he wanted any sleep tonight.

His cell rang. Seeing the ID, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to answer tonight. Finally he pressed the button and said, “Hey, Swamp Man, it’s about time you called me.”

“I texted you,” Cody said. “But I had to go back out on surveillance, and I only have a few minutes now to talk, so here’s the scoop. I finished your reports on Coralee and Brooke Harper. The info isn’t bad, but you might find the facts interesting. Also, my guy found out a little more on Aldrich. Not much, but maybe enough to help in the search to find him.”

Trent wasn’t as interested in the runaway contractor as he was in Brooke. “I can’t thank you enough, Cody.”

“Not a problem, Rocky. How do you want it? Email okay?”

“Sounds great. Send it my way.”

“Okay, you got it. Talk to you later, Rocky.”

“Thanks, Swamp Man.”

Pocketing his phone, Trent got out of the chair and headed to retrieve another beer from the refrigerator. He took a drink as he passed the doors leading to the deck and the empty Jacuzzi. He immediately thought of the night he’d spent with Brooke. He closed his eyes and relived the feel of holding her, touching her heated skin. His body tensed with desire. He’d never wanted a woman this badly. If Rory hadn’t burst in on them, would they have made love? He shook those wayward thoughts from his head and walked back to the office.

He was anxious to say the least as he brought up his emails and opened the file. He wasn’t sure what he’d find out on Brooke, but he had to read it. He pushed Print and sat back.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. He glanced at the clock to see it was eight o’clock. He guessed it was probably one of his men. He got up and walked through the kitchen to the back door. The porch light showed the small silhouette of Brooke.

Pulse pounding, he opened the door and motioned for her to come inside. “Brooke, what are you doing here?

Silently she walked past him, and he inhaled that soft citrus scent of her hair. She had on the long skirt and sweater from the other night. She mesmerized him with those big eyes. She bit down on her lower lip nervously. “I came to see you.”

She hesitated, and swallowed hard. “Do you still want me?”

Chapter Fourteen

Brooke couldn’t breathe. How was she supposed to seduce this man if she couldn’t draw air into her lungs? Instead she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to meet her gaze.

“I asked, do you still want me, Trent Landry?”

His eyes darkened to a rich chocolate, and she was getting hungrier waiting for him to decide. Luckily she didn’t have to wait long.

“Yes. Hell, yes, I want you. But you better be damn sure this is what you want, too.”

She wanted this night with him so badly she pushed her fear aside. “I’m sure.”

Trent released a sigh. His hands cupped her face as the pad of his thumb touched her lower lip, then brushed back and forth. “This mouth of yours has been driving me crazy since I met you.”

“Only my mouth?” she asked bravely. Where did that come from?

His breath mingled with hers and her pulse quickened. He rewarded her with a cocky smile and he moved closer. “Do you want me to name all the other parts, or just show you?”

He brushed his mouth against hers and there was a faint taste of beer. She was the one getting intoxicated. “Show me,” she whispered.

He rewarded her when he leaned down and nipped at her lips, letting his nose drag against hers. Her eyes drifted shut as he kissed her again. This time, his tongue moved along her lips, then dipped inside, causing an erotic friction she’d never experienced before. She’d never experienced a lot of things, and hoped Trent would show her what she’d been missing.

Trent’s arms tightened around her waist, bringing her against his arousal. She whimpered, and his tongue delved inside once again. Another shudder ran through her and she moaned softly.

He pulled back. “I don’t know why you showed up at my door, but damn, I’m glad you’re here.”

She linked her arms around his neck. “Good. I was beginning to wonder if you were upset that I just showed up.”

“Babe, don’t ever doubt that I want you. I want you anywhere I can have you.” He reached down and swung her up into his arms. “I better keep my promise to let you know how glad I am you stopped by.”

Trent somehow managed to carry her through the house and up the stairs to his room.

“No one has ever carried me before...you,” she whispered against his ear as her arms wrapped around his neck. “Only you.” Her soft hair tickled, raising his desire a notch higher.

He kicked open the bedroom door and crossed the carpeted floor to the king-size bed. He sucked in a breath as he lowered her to the floor, feeling every one of her luscious curves sliding against him. Once she was standing, he took her mouth in another heated kiss. Then another, and they were both breathless.

“You’re wearing too much for what I have in mind.”

Filtered light came into the room from the hallway, making the space seem more intimate. That was enough for now, but he swore that soon, he would see her in the morning light. He took the edge of her sweater and pulled it off over her head and tossed it aside. His gaze met hers. He searched for any doubt, but only found desire in those incredible emerald depths.

He touched her through her lace bra and sampled the weight in his palms. “You are beautiful, Brooke.”

She closed her eyes and gasped. “That feels...wonderful.”

Her praise spurred him on and he unlatched the clasp, allowing her breasts to spill out. “Let’s see if I can do better than wonderful.”

Her fingers gripped his arms. “Oh, Trent...”

He took her mouth again in another searing kiss. His hands went to her skirt and tugged it down over her hips, then he slipped off her short boots. He stood and took the time to examine her dressed in only a pair of panties.

He wanted to yank those off, too. Instead, he removed his T-shirt, and pulled her against his body as his mouth came down and captured hers. The kiss nearly consumed him. Still it wasn’t enough, he had to have all of her. “I want you, Brooke.”

“I want you, too. Make love to me. Please.”

“Darlin’, I plan to.” He guided her to sit down on the bed. He covered her mouth with his, pressing her back onto the mattress and came down beside her. He raised himself up and looked at her. “Tell me you’re sure, Brooke. We can stop if you...”
It would kill me.
“I don’t want you to have any regrets.”

Her hand touched his face and he turned, placing a tender kiss against her palm.

“I would never regret making love with you, Trent. I want you.”