Stay (13 page)

“Why not? Because I have to know if it’s possible to repair the trail and the sooner I get a look at it the sooner I can decide what to do.

“Stop worrying. I won’t do anything stupid. I’ll take a look from my end. If I can’t get there from my end I’ll drive over to Craig’s side.”

Impatient, Syd tapped her fingers against the countertop. “No problem, I plan to wait until morning anyway. It’s raining too hard right now.

“Yeah, I’ll call you.

“Cass… Thanks.”

Syd hung up the phone. “Of all the times for this to happen…”

She knew the exact stretch of the trail Craig Anderson was referring to. It was only fifty yards long, but it was a critical fifty yards. It was unthinkable. There had to be a way to reinforce it or dig it out. If the slide trail had really washed away she was screwed.

Well, it wasn’t called the slide trail for nothing. Her father had dug his way through mud and rocks more than once. If he could do it then by god, so could she.

The unexpected sound of an engine set her heart to pounding. A surge of hope drew her to the kitchen window, but it was Chuck and Ryan, her two ranch hands, returning from town. She watched the men disappear into the bunkhouse with their bags of groceries. Pale yellow light spilled from their window. It reminded her of Wolf and Lucas.

Syd’s roving eyes came to rest on the second cabin, the one Lucas had vacated so precipitously. It sat like a black hole in the gloomy afternoon. Just the sight of it sucked all the energy right out of her.

“Stop it, Syd. You’ll drive yourself crazy. He’s not coming back. And don’t you dare call him.”

Begging… Reduced to begging, how demeaning
.

The truth was she’d happily beg if she thought it would do any good, but the odds weren’t in her favor. Lucas had made it clear he needed to get away from her, put some distance between them so he could work through this, figure out what he was.

Not that Syd gave a lick what he was. She’d take him any way she could get him.

The baby kicked again, reminding her to eat. He was active today. She caressed the foot or the elbow, whatever it was poking against her side.

This is what hurts the most
.

It was one thing to abandon her; it was another thing entirely to abandon his son.

Syd felt a familiar lump in her throat, but she gritted her teeth, refusing to burst into tears. Instead she opened the refrigerator door to grab a gallon of milk and a carton of eggs.

She’d cried enough over both Wolf and Lucas to fill a rain barrel. Screw them. First thing tomorrow she’d check out the slide trail and as soon as she got back she’d start searching for a new manager.

By god she would make do. What other choice did she have?

Lucas drove as fast as he dared. If the wind hadn’t been so fierce he would have driven through. Instead he was forced to wait out the storm at a truck stop. He would have arrived at the Triple Creek last night. But he couldn’t risk his horse.

A man may be in a rush to hold the woman he loved, but first he had to see to the safety of his horse.

In a way it was funny. Oh, Lucas was certain the archangel would be laughing his ass off if the motion wouldn’t crack his marble face.

When he’d come before as Wolf he’d wanted to be a cowboy. He’d wanted to be a real partner to Sydney. Now he could be. Everything he’d needed to learn about ranching then was second nature to him now.

He was a cowboy, born and bred. Working a ranch was his life’s blood. Hell, it was his blood.

But so was Sydney Blake. She pounded through his veins with every beat of his heart. He hoped to god he hadn’t lost her.

Wouldn’t that be a cruel joke? Lucas wouldn’t put it past the archangel to pull something like that. There was no love lost between the two of them. Never had been, never would be.

But the archangel and his kind didn’t matter anymore. Syd did. His own son did. And the other children he planned to have with her if, and it was a big if, she was willing to take him back.

Groveling might do him some good. Lucas gave a self-deprecating snort. Guardians and cowboys had that in common. Neither relished the idea of bowing and scraping to anyone.

But that was in the past and this was now and now his pride no longer mattered. He’d happily crawl through a big fat pile of steaming manure if that’s what Sydney demanded of him.

Jesus, he wanted to hold her close. See her smile. Inhale the scent of her hair, kiss her sweet lips. Listen to her moans of pleasure.

He was eager to see how she looked. She’d be showing more now, ripe and round. He planned to howl the news from the mountain tops. She carried his baby boy, his baby. No more living in the land of denial. He felt incredibly free.

Lucas didn’t even mind driving the speed limit as he passed through town. He glanced at the sign; thirty miles to go. Thirty miles was nothing when he considered the distance he’d already traveled. Down from heaven on a lightning bolt and back up, down to earth again. The notion brought a smile to his face.

Heaven wasn’t up there. Heaven waited thirty miles down the road. And Lucas knew she would be a glorious sight.

Stay

yd stood at the edge of the mudslide, staring down at the rushing river. The drop was only thirty feet or so, but it might as well be an abyss. The cattle couldn’t get through this area and there was no going around it. She would have to bring heavy equipment up, dig it out, and reinforce the side of the hill, something that probably should have been done years ago.

Could be worse. If this was national forest land she’d be screwed. She’d have to leave it and haul her cattle around the mudslide, but this was her land so she could mitigate the damage.

Guess the gold will come in handy after all
.

At least it was hers free and clear. Aside from the few pieces she’d donated, the university had returned every ounce.

Syd studied the exposed granite face. A few huge boulders had come down with the mud, but the rock wall remained intact. She’d hire an engineer to help stabilize the slope. It could be done.

A project like this would take the remainder of the summer and the entire fall, maybe longer. Damn. She’d waited one week too long to move the herd. Cass was right. She’d have to haul her cattle up to the summer pastures this year.

It would be a hell of a lot easier if she had someone by her side, as in someone like Lucas.

Yeah, and maybe a naked man would fall from the sky; land right at her feet. When pigs fly.

Syd shook her head. “Who did you think you were fooling? You hoped he’d feel sorry for you and come back, even if it was for a single week. Idiot, you’re such an idiot.” She spun on her heels, intending to hike back to the truck. As she did, movement caught her eye. A dark shape, no, two dark shapes moved across the top of the hill and vanished from view.

“What the hell?” Syd recognized the animals. It wasn’t a bear and her cub, which is what she would expect to see up here. It was that bitch cow, seven-eighty-one, and her bull calf.

“What on earth is she doing up here?”

Syd hurried to the pickup. She tossed her cell phone onto the console. There was no service up in the high country anyway and she didn’t want to lose it.

She set off in the direction of the hill, tracking the cow. If that cow could find a way up and over the hill so could she. It might be possible to drive the herd around the backside. Besides, she had to know where that cow had got to. Somebody was going to have to come get her and haul her back to the ranch.

Chasing after seven-eighty-one again… How ironic. Syd felt a stab of regret deep in her soul. She should have accepted Lucas as he was, forgotten about Wolf. He’d left because of her unreasonable expectations.

Seven-eighty-one… What a bittersweet
déjà vu
this quest was turning out to be.

Eager as a kid in a candy store, Lucas leapt over the three steps and threw open the front door. “Syd, Syd, you here?” He ripped his hat from his head and strode through the house, his boots clomping on the hardwood floor. “Syd?” He could tell by the way his voice bounced back there was no other living presence in the house.

He glanced out the kitchen window. Her truck was gone. Shit. He’d missed her. She’d probably gone into town now that the storms had passed.

Damn, man, you’re late. You should have been here last night
. Lucas grinned.
And if you had been you’d still be in bed with her. If she isn’t too pissed off, that is
.

It was one thing to know Sydney Blake from his perspective as Lucas; it was another thing entirely to see her through Wolf’s eyes. He remembered the way he’d used his brand new body to make love with her for the first time.

It made him hungry as a bear.

“So you’ve come back, huh.”

Lucas spun on his heels. It was Cass. “I’m back.”

“You here to stay?” The sheriff might seem gruff, but Lucas knew the man looked after Syd as if she was his own daughter.

“I’m here to stay, if she’ll have me.”

“If she’ll have you, eh? Good. Then do your job. These heavy rains caused some problems. Syd’s up at the start of the slide trail right now assessing the damage.”

Alarm bells sounded in Lucas’s head. “By herself? You let her drive up there by herself?”

Cass shrugged. “It’s her ranch. She refused to wait for me, but she’s been up there a long time and there’s no cell phone service.”

“Why the hell aren’t you up there now?”

Cass grinned. “Because you’re here. Get going, asshole.”

Lucas pushed past him. “Give me a hand, then. I need to get my horse unloaded and unhitch the trailer. That fool woman’s already in trouble. Of that I have no doubt.”