Summer's Desire (21 page)

He let go
,
walked to the door
and gave her a searing look before he left. Rubbing the back of his neck he
went into Matt’s room. Tomorrow he needed to scour the area. Sheila had been
watching he just knew it. What was going on in that demented mind of hers?

Chapter
Eleven

The next day,
Holden stared at Rolly. “What do
you mean there
’
s no restraining order?”
Rolly sat behind his mahogany desk. It was
surprisingly bare. A computer and a phone were the only items on it. “You had a
protective order. In Texas that only lasts twenty days. You needed to go back
to court to get the restraining order.”

Holden
slapped his Stetson against his leg. “I got bad advice then. Oh hell, now what?
Can I get one here?”

“It’s
doubtful. She hasn’t done anything here and the courts won’t get involved in
the mess
from
Texas. I wish there was more I could do.”

Holden took a
deep breath and sighed. “It’s my own fault. I never thought she’d follow us
here. That woman is out of her mind and I’m concerned.”

Rolly nodded
and folded his hands on his desk. “From what you’ve told me she could be
dangerous.”

“Especially
since she looks and acts sane.”

“Where is she
staying?”

“At the
hotel.”

“Whatever you
do, don’t go there,” Rolly said, leaning forward. “She might try to pull the
same crap. Don’t allow anyone in your family to be alone with her.”

Holden stood
and leaned toward Rolly to shake his hand. “Thanks Rolly. Oh, any news about
Paul’s will?”

“Can’t tell
you. I’ll pay a visit to Summer later today. Don’t worry its good news.”

“We could use
some good news. See you later.” Holden couldn’t wait to get outside. He needed
fresh air. Damn Sheila
; s
he probably knew that it was only a protective order. Damn his
Texas lawyer for not telling him. He left his truck parked in front of Rolly’s
office and walked a half block to the clinic. He smiled at Mindy Sue and was
surprised that she didn’t smile back. Mindy Sue always smiled. “What’s up?”

“That woman
is in your office. I tried to get her to leave but she refused,” Mindy Sue told
him apologetically.

“It’s not
your fault
,
Mindy Sue. I guess I’d better go see what she wants.” He hesitated.
He wasn’t in the mood to play nice and he knew if he was too mean she’d lash
out in some unpredictable way. He opened the door to his office and his mouth
dropped open. Sheila was laid out on his desk in a red garter belt and black
stockings.

“Mindy Sue
,
could you come in
here?” He wasn’t going to let the door close. Mindy Sue walked in and froze.
Her surprised gaze met his.

“What the
hell are you doing lady?”

Sheila slowly
got up, displaying her body for both of them to see. Holden looked away but Mindy
Sue glared at her. Sheila grabbed her dress and put it on. “I don’t know what
all the fuss is about. I’m his fiancée and I’ve done this plenty of times
before. Right
,
darling?”

“Get out.” He
pointed to the door.

“Well, if now
isn’t a good time, I’ll catch you later.” She gave him a sugary smile and waved
to Mindy Sue before she left.

“So that’s
her. Matt told me the story. A real piece of work.” Mindy Sue shook her head.
“Next time I’ll call the police.”

“There’d
better not be a next time.” Holden frowned
.
Sheila was crazier than he thought. Actually
she was bat shit crazy and always had been. “If she shows up again call me.”

“Sure thing.
I hope for all your sakes she leaves town fast. Matt’s really upset. Can’t say
I blame him.”

“Matt’s not
to blame for any of it. I need to head over to Stone McCoy’s ranch. He took in
five of the horses we found at Jacob Ash’s place. I’d love to have
Jacob
thrown in jail
but the laws aren’t tough enough on animal abusers.”

“I hope you
find homes for them all.”

“Me too. See
ya later, Mindy Sue.” He turned to leave and turned back. “Thanks Mindy Sue
,
for all you do.” He
left before she had a chance to reply. If Shelia had been after money he’d
gladly pay her to stay away
, but m
oney
wasn’t her
motivator. She had it in her head that she wanted him
, and
i
t
creeped
him out. The audacity of lying
on his desk naked. The thought made him shudder. It would be too much to hope
that she’d just go away.

*
*
*
*

That afternoon,
Summer pressed down on the gas
pedal to her car. Damn, damn, double damn! She shouldn’t have come to town but
she thought with Brent behind bars things would be different. Apparently
,
Sheila had been in
town a day before she showed up at the ranch, telling the whole town that she
was Holden’s fiancée. Summer’s jaw hurt from grinding her teeth.

The cashier
at Ander’s food mart actual smirked at her and asked if she still planned to
live there after the wedding. Talk about humiliation. The topper was
s
eeing
Lizzie Hoff on
the
sidewalk.
. Lizzie sang Sheila’s praises. Summer had
even been treated to a wonderful story of how romantic Sheila was, with her
naked surprise in Holden’s office. She knew that she needed to just wipe it
from her mind and talk to Holden about it later but it still stung.

She did get
good news from Rolly.
Apparently,
Paul had considerable assets besides the
B
ar
and
G
rill and he left it all to her. She was a wealthy woman now. Paul
lived a very frugal existence yet he’d been rich. She’d ask Holden what he
thought about selling the
B
ar
and
G
rill. She wasn’t sure
what she wanted to do.

She just
wished for once things would go her way. She wanted a life with Holden. Every
time they got close something came up to keep them apart. Enough was enough.
She wanted to tell him how she felt before another day went by. Too bad for
Sheila. Why she thought she’d be welcomed by the O’Leary
’
s Summer couldn’t fathom.
In only two days that woman had made quite the impression on the town’s people.
They appeared to have welcomed Sheila and frankly it hurt.

Mindy Sue’s
car was parked in the driveway. Summer wasn’t up to a lot of questions. Hopefully
Mindy Sue and Matt would have a nice visit.
W
hat Sheila did to Matt made her seethe.
T
urn
ing
brother against
brother and cr
ying
rape. Definitely a screw loose.

Mark came out
of the barn and ambled her way. “Let me help with those packages.”

“Thanks, Mark
,
that would be great.”

He stared at
her and his eyebrows rose. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I
guess I thought when the truth about Brent and the murder came out people would
be nicer to me.”

He gave her a
sympathetic smile. “Give it time. It’s still new to them.”

Summer pasted
on
one of her
smile
s
. “You’re right. Better get this food in the house.” As soon as he
left, she took a deep breath, mentally shaking herself to get it together. The
boys had been
th
r
ough
enough and they didn’t need to see her melt down. It
took more than one deep breath but finally she felt calm.
Grabbing
a bag of groceries she headed for the house.

Mark was on
his way out to get the rest
and
Mindy Sue was at his side. She waved at Summer and got into her car.

Summer walked into the house and was
Matt
sitting
on the couch
appearing dejected. “Matt
,
is something wrong?”

“No
.
Y
es
.
I don’t know. Mindy Sue’s acting a bit
strange toward me. I think that she can’t stomach the truth about me and
Sheila. I don’t blame her. She told me it wasn’t my fault, yet she made excuses
for not
staying
.”

She put the
food on the counter and returned to Matt. Sitting next to him she put her hand on
his arm. “It’s not you, Matt. Apparently Sheila showed up at the clinic and
made a big scene. Mindy Sue might be trying to keep it quiet. The truth is.
It’s all over town and Sheila has people believing she is so romantic.”

“What
happened?” He sounded frantic.

“I don’t know
the whole story. That’s for Holden to tell you. Mindy Sue’s not like that. She
wouldn’t judge you. I saw the way she looked at you even after she knew about
Texas. Give her a break. I bet she thinks she’s protecting your brother.”

Matt ginned
until his dimples appeared. “You think?”

Summer stood
and started into the kitchen. “I know.”

Hopefully
,
Matt felt a bit better.
Damn Sheila and her shenanigans. It was one thing to mess with her, but messing
with the O’Leary boys was asking for trouble. Poor Holden he had enough going
on
and
he
didn’t need a naked Sheila. No wonder Mindy Sue acted funny
. S
he probably didn’t
want to spill the beans. Mark came back in with the last of the packages. He
seemed troubled too.

“Mark
,
what ever happened
to Sheila’s grandmother?”

He shrugged
his shoulders. His shoulders had broadened in the little
ti
m
e she’d known him.
“Rose? I have no idea. Why?”

“I was just
wondering. Since Sheila is here, who is looking after Rose?”

“She’s a nice
lady, I hope she’s okay. Well, back to the horses. Luke and John are practicing
to be horse whisperers. The thing is that they are actually going from stall to
stall whispering to the horses. Funniest thing I ever saw.” He laughed.

“You’re not
going to tell them?”

“No, you only
get to be a kid once.”

“You are a
very wise man, Mark.”

He blushed
and quickly went on his way. He was wise beyond his years. Maybe because he had
to grow up so fast. School would be starting in a few weeks. Where did the summer
go? Back to school shopping was needed. Those boys grew like weeds. At least
they were well nurtured weeds.

Holden raced
into the house. His hair looked as though he’d run his fingers though it the
whole ride home. “You’ve been to town.”

“Yes, I have.
It was a very interesting visit to say the least.”

“She was
already naked before I entered my office. I was never alone with her. Mindy Sue
was with me.
”

“Hold on, cowboy.
I believe you.”

His eyes
widened. “You do? Lizzie Hoff repeated what she told you. Oh
,
good God. You really
believe me?”

She wouldn’t
have been able to stop the
genuine
smile that spread across her face. His astonishment
stuck her as funny. “Of course I believe you. Maybe you could tell Matt why Mindy
Sue is reluctant to talk to him.”

He leaned in
and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “Thanks for the heads up. Mindy Sue must
be trying to keep it a secret.”

Her heart
lightened considerably as she watched the two brothers talking. No more poor
me, now everything had to be for the boys. She and Holden would be just fine.
Matt, Mark, Luke and John needed her attention now. She loved them all. She
finally got the analogy of the she
-
bear and her cubs. She felt it soul deep, the need to protect them.

Matt
grabbed
the phone and
made a call. Holden came and stood next to her
and t
he heat of his body did things to her
insides. Hopefully
,
tonight they’d get a chance for some privacy.

“What are you
smiling about?” he asked drawing her into the circle of his arms.

“You.”

“What about
me?”

She glanced
at Matt to be sure that he couldn’t hear them. “I was thinking about you and
how well you use it.”

His eyes
twinkled with amusement. “What would
“it”
be?”