Texas Twist (Texas Montgomery Mavericks) (3 page)

God, he’d come to hate the smell of cattle, the sound of cattle…hell, everything about cattle except how they tasted. If he never had to be around cattle again, he’d be a happy man.

“Hello, little brother.”

Cash’s head snapped so quickly he banged into the booth wall. Travis stood there looking down at him, total disgust in reflected in his expression. Cash wasn’t surprised. Oh, he was surprised to see Travis in the bar, just not surprised to see the repugnance in Travis’s icy stare. Even his own brother recognized Cash as the failure he was.

Cash’s upper lip curled into a snarl. “What are you doing here?” He snapped his fingers. “Let me guess. Someone called you.”

Travis shrugged. “I think I might have used up all the allotted Montgomery drunk time when Susan died.”

Susan, Travis’s first wife, had died when she and Travis had been twenty-six. He’d spent the next year so deep in a drunken haze the family had feared they would lose him. But somehow, he made it back out and had been sober for almost ten years. Now married to Dr. Caroline Graham, they were expecting their first child soon.

“Shouldn’t you be home with your pregnant wife?”

Travis slid into the booth across from Cash. His expression changed as he watched Cash drink. Was that pity in his brother’s face? Shit. That’d be worse than revulsion. He’d rather be hated than pitied. “She’s fine. She’s worried about you, however.”

“I’m fine. Tell her not to worry. Now you can go home.”

Travis crossed his arms on the table. “Drinking isn’t going to help.”

“You’re just jealous because I can control my drinking while you never could.”

Cash made a show of downing a full glass of whiskey. When Travis smiled, fresh raw annoyance chewed at Cash’s patience.

“Just get out, Travis. It’s my life.”

“Nope. I’ll just sit here and wait until you pass out so I can drive you home.”

“You’re a bastard.”

Travis leaned back and stretched his arm along the back of the booth’s cushion. “I’m a drunk, Cash. I know what it is to want to drink more than to live. And I’m your brother. I’ll always be here for you.”

Cash glared at him. “You’re going to sit there and suck all the fun out of this, aren’t you?”

His brother lifted an eyebrow. “You didn’t look like you were having much fun…not this morning and not when I walked in tonight.”

“Fine. Let me pay my bill and get my keys.”

“Bill’s paid and I have your keys in my pocket.”

“Well, doesn’t big brother think of everything,” Cash said with a sneer. “Walk slow. You know I’m a crip.”

“Enough, Cash.” Travis glared across at him. “You’re not a cripple. Your life’s not over. So your career plans have taken a turn. So what? You make the turn and see what’s there. Life isn’t over just because one thing didn’t work out for you.”

Cash twisted the glass of whiskey around in circles. “You don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand? Bullshit.” Travis pointed toward his own chest with his thumb. “You think my life plan didn’t go down the toilet with Susan’s death? Hell, man, life is about all the curves.”

“I had a plan. It was a great plan.” He downed the booze in one swallow. “Now I don’t have shit. No life. A gimp leg. Hell, I don’t even have a house to call my own.” He refilled his glass and poured a little pity along with the liquor down his throat.

Travis leaned across the table. “Tell you what. Go see the parents tonight. If that’s intolerable for you, I know of somewhere else to crash for a while.”

“Fine.”

“C’mon. Let’s get going.”

The men stood, Cash weaving a little on his feet. “Still wish I could find that woman from last night,” he said.

Travis laughed and slung an arm around Cash’s shoulders. “Good luck, bro.”

As they zigzagged around dancing bar patrons, Cash thought he got a glimpse of long auburn hair behind the bar. His heart skipped a beat at the memory. He twisted around, tried to find the woman, but in the crush of bodies, it was impossible to see his own feet, much less a woman from his past.

Hell, what would she be doing here? What were the chances? Absolutely none.

He followed Travis out to a low-slung Porsche.

“Hey,” Cash said with a laugh. “How did you get this back from your wife?”

Travis grinned as the engine growled. “She’s too pregnant to get in and out. Had to buy her a new SUV.”

He pulled from Leo’s parking lot and headed out of Whispering Springs.

“I had an idea. Can I run something past you?” Cash asked.

“Sure.”

“What about the old Fitzgerald ranch?”

“What about it?”

“Can I stay there for a while?” Cash’s heart clung to his ribs as he awaited his brother’s response. When he’d driven by Singing Springs Ranch today and seen the old house, the idea of living there had taken root in his head. If Travis said no, he wasn’t sure where he would end up.

“I don’t see why not.” Travis glanced at Cash. “You realize the place has been empty for almost a year, right? Probably dust and dirt an inch thick.”

“But it’s got furniture, right? And electricity and water?”

“Yes. It’s pretty much as Angus left it when he died.”

“And your wife won’t mind?”

Travis’s wife, Caroline, had inherited Singing Springs Ranch when her great-uncle Angus Fitzgerald had died.

“Doubt it. She’s got a soft spot in her heart for the old place. She’ll be glad to have someone in there. I’ll—”

Whatever Travis was going to say was cut off by the ringing of his cell phone. He fished his cell from his front jeans pocket and checked the caller ID.

“Hey, babe. I’m on my way. Need anything?”

Cash could hear his sister-in-law’s voice coming from Travis’s phone but couldn’t understand what she was saying. But he noticed the rising tension in Travis’s voice.

“When? Okay. Okay. I’m on my way. Hang on.” He slammed the accelerator to the floor. The sudden speed pressed Cash firmly into his seat back.

“What happened?”

“Caroline’s in labor. Her water broke.”

“Crap. Is that bad?”

Travis laughed. “I have no idea.” He took a corner sharply, throwing Cash into the passenger door. “But I don’t think so.”

Cash grinned. “Can’t believe you’re going to be a father.”

Travis let out a loud whoop. “Me neither.”

They made it to Halo M Ranch in record time, flying down the drive to come to an abrupt stop in front of the house. Caroline’s SUV was parked in front, her hospital bag on the porch. Travis slammed the car into park and jumped from the car like it was on fire.

“Caroline,” he shouted.

A very pregnant Caroline Graham waddled out the door. “Calm down, honey. We have plenty of time.”

Travis cleared the front steps in a hurdle. “Got everything?” he asked as he helped his wife down the stairs.

She smiled and patted his cheek. “I’ve got you. That’s all I need right now.”

Cash’s heart seized at the scene unfolding in front of him. His older, tougher, always-calm brother was totally losing his cool. He smiled. He’d never seen Travis so excited and scared at the same time. The only thing Cash could equate the feeling to was climbing on the back of a bull…adrenaline-driven fear. And damn if he didn’t miss it sometimes.

“What can I do to help?” he asked. Cash was totally out of his league.

“Hi, Cash,” Caroline said and headed in his direction.

“Where are you going?” Travis asked, his voice laced with anxiety. “We can’t take the Porsche.”

Caroline smiled and patted his arm. “I just wanted to give my brother-in-law a hug.”

“Make it snappy,” Travis growled. “I do not want to have these babies here.”

Caroline laughed and then hugged Cash. “So good to see you. I’ve been worried about you. You okay?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cash lied. “I’m doing just great.”

“Now can we go?” Travis snapped.

Caroline shook her head. “First-time deliveries take forever, Travis.” She turned to walk to her SUV then turned back to Cash. “Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“My brother. Can you get him to the hospital later?”

“Sure. No problem.”

“You might want to call Mom,” Travis said. “I’d tell you to call Olivia and Jason, but I suspect Mom’s dialing finger is much faster than yours.”

Cash chuckled. “Glad to help.”

A teenage boy with long brown hair stood on the porch watching all the activity in the drive. As soon as Travis and Caroline left, Cash walked up onto the porch.

“You must be Caroline’s brother,” he said with a grin. “Noah, if I remember correctly.”

The boy nodded. “Yep. And you’re Cash, the little brother.”

“Well, now that we both know who we are, we’d better get to those phone calls.” Cash moved toward the door and then noticed Noah hadn’t moved. “Problem?”

“No. Yes.”

Cash looked at the teen’s ashen face. “Worried about your sister?”

Noah let out a long breath of air. “Yes. What if something happens?”

Cash knew a little about Caroline and Noah’s history…that their parents lived in a third-world country on a missionary trip and that Caroline and Noah had been raised by their maternal grandmother who’d died last year.

He slung his arm around Noah. “She’ll be fine. And hey, we’re both going to be uncles.”

Noah looked at him, his nostrils flaring. “Are you drunk? You smell like it.”

“I’ve had a drink or two,” Cash lied. “No biggie.”

“Well, I’m going to the hospital and one of us has to drive.” He shook off Cash’s arm. “And I’m not riding with a drunk driver. I’ll take my chances driving myself.”

“No way, pal. I can drive. Let’s go make those phone calls.”

By the time Cash had poured a couple of cups of coffee down his throat and called his parents and siblings, it was close to ten p.m. The effects of the alcohol were waning, but he decided Travis’s truck might be the safest vehicle to borrow should he bump the fender or something.

When Noah flashed his restricted driver’s license, which gave him the right to drive with a licensed adult driver in the car, Cash handed over the keys with unexpressed relief. When they got to the hospital maternity waiting room, his entire family had already beaten them there.

He hugged his sister. “Who’s got the kids?”

“Magda. And I’m more than a little pissed at you. You haven’t even been by to see Eliza Grace.”

Cash felt the flush as it climbed up his neck. He hung his head. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“Cash.” His mother hugged him. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Have you heard anything?”

“Hi, Noah,” Jackie Montgomery said. “No, nothing yet. Travis came out a couple of minutes ago to say everything was going fine.” She put her arm around the teen. “Come sit with me. I’m a nervous wreck. You can keep me company.”

Jackie hauled Noah over to some chairs where her husband sat.

“Where’s Lydia?” Cash asked his brother, Jason.

Dr. Lydia Henson was Caroline Graham’s medical-practice partner and his brother’s long-term fiancée.

Jason pointed with his chin toward a couple of doors. “In the back. We just got here and she wanted to check in with Olivia.”

The Montgomery clan filled most of the chairs in the small waiting room, individual conversations floating around the room. Cash observed his family. He’d been on the rodeo road for years. Even his teenage years had been one junior rodeo after another. He’d loved his life, even though he now realized how much he’d missed.

He’d made Olivia and Mitch’s wedding but only for the day, having to fly back to catch up with the PBR circuit. As his sister had pointed out, he hadn’t met his new niece yet, and Adam, Olivia and Mitch’s son, changed every time he saw the kid.

The alcohol buzz was gone, leaving a pounding headache in its place. Resting his head on the wall, Cash shut his eyes and remembered the only girl who’d looked at him the way Caroline looked at Travis, or Mitch looked at Olivia. All that love displayed for the world to see.

But she’d been too young. Hell, he’d been too young and too full of himself to admit how deeply she’d crawled into his soul. One night together and he’d run.

No, what he’d done had been much worse than that. He squeezed his eyes tight as if that could dim the memory, but nothing could blunt the shame he still felt.

The reality was he hadn’t run. Instead, he had treated her like every other buckle bunny on the circuit with flippant comments and a pat on the ass the next morning. He’d made sure never to find himself alone with her, always using one woman or another to serve as a buffer. He’d been overwhelmed by his feelings. He couldn’t face her or his damn reactions to that night together.

But she’d been far from a woman who considered fucking a cowboy another notch on her belt. She’d been a beautiful young woman just reaching her maturity.

Paige Ryan. The rodeo vet’s daughter. He’d watched Paige grow from gangly teen to a mature, stunning woman. Tall. Auburn hair. Piercing green eyes. A mouth made for kissing and a body made for sex.

Cash had been her first lover. He hadn’t known that when they’d hit the sheets on her eighteen birthday. That’d been only the first shock of the evening.

The second shock had been the feelings she’d evoked from him. An urge to protect her from the world and its ugliness. A rightness he’d never felt with another woman. A yearning to make her his. All that had scared him shitless and he’d bolted.

His heart had skipped a beat when he’d thought he’d seen her tonight at Leo’s. He scoffed. Maybe Travis was right. Maybe the whiskey had dulled his head and his vision.

The electronic swish of mechanical doors opening brought Cash back to the maternity delivery room. All gazes shot to Lydia when she walked through from the birthing suite doors.

“What’s going on?” Jackie asked, springing from her chair.

Lydia smiled. “She’s making progress. Probably won’t be long now. She was pushing when I left.”

At three a.m., Travis strode through the doors carrying two wrapped bundles.

“I would like for you all to meet Austin and Britney Montgomery.”

Chapter Three

It was close to three in the morning by the time Paige finished work at Leo’s bar. Every muscle in her body screamed in exhausted agony. Her eyes felt like someone had sucked out all the moisture and replaced it with sand. Her feet and hands cramped. She knew she’d be making drinks all night long in her dreams.

She let herself in and headed straight for the shower to wash away the smell of booze and sweat. It’d been a rough night, but then Thursday nights were usually cram packed with partiers and tonight had been no exception.

Giving Leo a hand when he was short-staffed or busy wasn’t a problem. She’d do just about anything for her older brother. Besides, it wasn’t as if her social life was booked solid. She didn’t date. Didn’t belong to social clubs. Wasn’t part of the Whispering Springs Junior League. Wasn’t involved in the women’s groups at church. Crap. Now that she allowed herself to think about it, she didn’t much of a life at all. How pitiful. She really needed to do something about that.

Bending at the waist, she slid her soapy cloth down her legs and for some reason the image of a couple of cowboy hats passing through the crowd flashed before her. A definite tingle hit the area between her thighs. When she’d gotten a fast glimpse of Cash walking alongside his brother, a punch to her chest had slammed the air from her lungs. Damn Cash Montgomery. She hated that he could still make her breathless with need.

She dragged the wash cloth up her leg. Part of her had been disappointed that he was on the way out. Mostly, however, she’d been glad to see him leave. If last night was any indication of how much he was drinking these days, he didn’t need to be in Leo’s, or any bar. He’d been a party hound back when she’d known him better. She’d hoped he’d outgrown some of that. Sadly, it seemed he’d only gotten worse.

She stepped from the shower and snagged a towel from the linen storage. Her arms were almost too tired to rub the water off. Thank goodness, she had Friday off. Her to-do list was almost as long as her arm.

After putting on her favorite sleep shirt, she headed for her bed. Of course, Ruby had beaten her there and was curled into a tight ball on one of the pillows. Paige took the other one and crashed.

Friday passed in a blur of errands. She spent the evening at Leo’s Bar and Grill, another nail in her I-have-no-life coffin. When she got home at midnight, she scooted her bed-hog kitten over and climbed under the covers.

That was the last thing she knew until the Saturday morning sun burned into her eyelids. Paige moaned and rolled away from the window, trying desperately to get back into her dream involving a cowboy, some rope and a feather bed. After noticing the small movement from her owner, Ruby wrapped her tiny fur body around Paige’s head and turned on the purr machine.

Paige shoved Ruby off her head with a laugh. “I’m up. I’m up,” she said, swinging her bare feet to the floor. She stretched her arms toward the ceiling and looked around her room and smiled. Her own room in her own house. No sharing the hot water with anyone. No dirty dishes in the sink that didn’t belong to her. No bra required if she didn’t feel like putting one on. In fact, she could walk around in nothing but her extra-large T-shirt that read
Rope Me, Cowboy
and a pair of panties. No robe needed. Freedom to do whatever she wanted.

Staying at her Uncle James’s house for these past ten months had been great, but she’d never forgotten she was a guest, even when she’d been there alone. But this place? This was
her
place. Caroline had told her to make herself at home, and Paige intended to do just that.

After sliding her feet into a pair of scuffs, she headed for the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. She’d make a list of things she still needed to do and supplies she needed to buy while she got her morning caffeine fix. As the coffee dripped, she turned the oven on to preheat and started bacon frying in a large skillet.

She stole the first cup of java before the pot finished filling. Her eyebrows shot up with the first sip. Stout, to say the least. She added a little water to the coffee maker’s reservoir then cracked open a can of biscuits. When the preheat bell chimed, she slid a cookie sheet loaded with biscuit dough into the hot oven.

She flipped the bacon and then sat at the table with a notepad and pencil. Other than the sizzle from the bacon and the slight tick of the coffee maker, the peace was comfortable. Leaning back in the high-backed kitchen chair, she stretched out her legs and took a long sip of black coffee.

Across the table and directly in front of her, the door to the back bedroom banged open and a half-dressed man ran out, a tennis racket raised high above his head, all while he yelled, “What the hell are you doing in this house?”

Paige jumped from her chair, sending it over backwards. She spat the coffee in her mouth across the table while at the same time tossing the mug of hot liquid at her attacker. The man leapt to the side, avoiding most of the scalding java.

“What are you doing here?” she gasped out, barely able to catch her breath from the sudden adrenaline jolt, not to mention the masculine sight standing in front of her. Her heart grabbed her ribs and rattled. She struggled to focus as her mind refused to accept what she was seeing.

Cash Montgomery wore only a pair of white boxer briefs. Angry long scars crisscrossed his chest, abdomen and arms. But even those couldn’t diminish the impact of his naked, chiseled six-pack. Paige swallowed hard against the rising lust.

“I live here,” he answered, lowering his impromptu weapon to his side. Confusion covered his face and his brow furrowed. “Paige? Paige Ryan?”

She nodded. “That’d be me.”

His gaze roved down her body and back up to her face. “Why are you in my house? And why don’t you have on clothes? Not that I’m complaining, mind you.” A wolfish grin spread across his mouth. “Nice T-shirt slogan.”

Paige looked down and felt the flush of embarrassment as it climbed her neck and face. Both nipples protruded through the thin material far enough to be used as hat pegs. Her gaze flew back to him. “I’ll be right back.”

She hurried from the kitchen, tugging down the hem of her T-shirt over her purple panties. She could barely think about the need for a robe when her mind swirled like a blender, mixing her thoughts and emotions like a smoothie.

What was Cash Montgomery doing in her house?

And more importantly, why was she kind of excited to see him? The man had practically ruined her life. Well, maybe not ruined as much as shoved her onto a new life path. Still, he’d let her fall in love with him, taken her virginity and then treated her like she had meant nothing to him. He’d broken her heart and hadn’t seemed to care one whit.

Of course, she’d felt sorry for him passed out in the bar, just like she’d feel sympathy for any injured animal. And of course, she’d been crushed when she’d heard about his accident, but that didn’t mean she wanted to be in close proximity to him.

Cash Montgomery was a dangerous man. Dangerous to her positive self-esteem, which she needed to prosper in the intensive graduate nursing program she’d be starting in three months. Dangerous to her plans to stay focused only on her career for now. And dangerous to her self-preservation, as her heart tended to overrule her mind when it came to Cash. Nothing good could come of him being here.

She’d thought she would be able to handle seeing him, but she’d possibly misjudged. He had to go before any decisions were made by her heart and not her head.

After grabbing her chenille robe off the bathroom door, she stood in her bedroom collecting herself before walking calmly back to the kitchen. The coffee spewed and thrown at him had been cleaned up. Her overturned chair was back upright and in its place. Cash had put on a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt that stretched to cover his broad shoulders. She’d been wrong when she’d thought he’d looked emaciated the other night. Must have been positional, because every movement had another muscle popping out somewhere new on his body.

He sat at the table, his legs stretched out in front of him, his bare feet crossed at the ankles. He nursed a cup of black coffee like it was any morning in any town, USA. She clutched both sides of her robe, pulling them together like a virginal prude.

A battle raged in her mind.

Don’t pull that robe together like you’ve never been with a man before. You’re being ridiculous. He’s seen everything you’ve got.

True
, the opposition retorted,
but he was pretty drunk that night and seven years have passed since then. And he took your heart and stomped on it with his size-fourteen cowboy boots.

“Are you just going to stand there and stare at me?” Cash asked with a lift of an eyebrow.

Paige whipped around to get another mug from the cabinet. After pouring her second cup of the day, she sat down.

“Let’s get one thing straight,” she said, sounding all the world like a school teacher reprimanding a student. “This is my house. Caroline rented it to me on Monday.”

“Travis told me I could stay here for a while.”

“Well, this isn’t going to work at all,” she said in a stiff voice that would have made a nun proud. “You’ll have to make other arrangements.”

He sat his cup on the table and leaned toward her. If he meant to intimidate her, it wasn’t going to work. She held her position and returned his stare with one she hoped conveyed her determination to stay put in this house.

“
You’ll
have to make other arrangements,” he said. “My brother owns this house and he gave it to me to live in as long as I want.”

Her heart dropped into her gut. The boa-constrictor-like squeeze around her chest pulled tight. Drawing in air was an effort, as was forming coherent sentences in his presence.

“Sorry, cowboy. I’m here to stay. You’re the one who has to go,” she finally managed to squeak out. “You have family you could stay with until you buy yourself somewhere else to live. Use some of that butt load of money you made riding those damn bulls to get your own place instead of trying to steal mine.”

“Steal? Yours?” He gave her a derisive snort. Using his cup, he pointed around the room. “This house doesn’t belong to you. It’s Montgomery property.”

Shoving her chair back with a loud scrape on the hardwood, she stood. “I’m going to get dressed and run some errands. When I get back, I expect you to be gone. And you can rest assured that I’ll be calling Caroline today.” She turned and marched out of the room.

“One of your errands should be finding another place to live,” he shouted at her back. “I’m not leaving. And don’t call Caroline. She had twins early yesterday morning. Don’t bother them today.”

Paige leaned against her closed bedroom door, her hand pressed to her chest, her heart in a runaway gallop. Crap. Surely one phone call to Caroline or Travis would clear this mess up. But that wasn’t going to happen. How could she dump her Cash problem on Caroline with her still in the hospital after delivery…at least she assumed Caroline was still there. Today it seemed like new mothers and babies were punted out the door fairly quickly.

Then Cash’s words registered. Caroline had delivered twins.

She stepped away from the door and began sliding hangers in the closet. She was going baby-clothes shopping.

Cash hadn’t said if the twins were boys or girls or one of each and she certainly couldn’t go ask him. She’d just decided she wasn’t speaking to him.

She pulled a tan skirt off its hanger and found a simple white blouse to go with it. Throw on a pair of sandals and some light make-up and she’d be ready to face the world…or Cash, if she had to.

Lucky for her, she didn’t see her uninvited roommate when she left the house. After a stop to get flowers for the new mother and receiving blankets and sleepers—in green and yellow since she still didn’t know the sex of the newborns—Paige headed for the small local hospital.

Caroline was sitting up in the bed, one baby at her breast and the other fussing in a bedside bassinet.

“Knock, knock. Am I intruding?” Paige asked from the door. “I can come back later.”

Caroline looked toward her. Her smile was almost beatific. Her face radiated pure joy.

“Don’t go. Come on in. Your timing is perfect. Travis left to go home and change clothes and I’m here by myself.”

Paige stepped into the room carrying the two gift bags and the vase of flowers. She set the big bouquet of flowers on the window ledge with quite a few others. “Looks like my flower idea isn’t that original.” She held up the gift bags. “These aren’t either, but you’ll need lots of them,” She placed the bags on the bedside table. “You can look at those later.” She put her hands on her hips and grinned. “By yourself, huh? I’d say it’ll be years before you’ll be by yourself again.”

Stroking her newborn’s downy head, Caroline nodded. “And I’ll love every minute of those years.” She kissed the baby’s head.

“Looks like you’ve got an unhappy one over here,” Paige said walking to the squirming baby. “Hey, precious,” she cooed. “What’s the problem?” She stroked the baby’s head. “Can I pick him up? Or is it her? I didn’t even know you were having twins. You sure do know how to keep a secret.”

Caroline chuckled. “Let me introduce you. In my lap is Mr. Austin Montgomery. Wiggling under your hand is Ms. Britney Montgomery. And, yes, please pick her up but you might want to check her diaper first.”

“Hello, Britney,” Paige said in a soothing voice. “Let’s check that diaper.” Finding Britney’s diaper wet, Paige put on a fresh one before pressing the tiny infant against her chest. “Oh, she’s so pretty,” she said as she nuzzled Britney’s head. “I love the smell of newborns. I think they smell like innocence.”

Caroline chuckled again. “Yeah, well, if you’d pushed these two out, you wouldn’t think them so innocent.”

“That’s okay,” she cooed to the baby tucked under her chin. “Your momma doesn’t mean it.” She made her way to the room’s rocking chair and sat. “God, I love babies,” Paige said after setting the chair moving with her foot. “Especially those I can play with and give back.”

Caroline giggled. “Did you get into the house okay?”