The Cowboy's Mail Order Bride (17 page)

Would it be a total sin to stay in the attic and live there forever with him, doing nothing but making love like that until she died? She had never felt such raw passion in her entire life.

“I’ve never…” he said.

“Never what?” She inhaled deeply and straightened her legs.

He pulled the edge of the quilt around them, making a tight-fitting cocoon. She thought that she’d burned up every nerve in her body, but when he kissed her inside that quilt, desire shot through her like white lightning through an IV.

She buried her face into his neck and whispered, “I still want you.”

“Good, because it’s a long time until daylight.”

***

Dotty met Clarice in the kitchen the next morning. The coffee was already made and Clarice had turned on the oven for biscuits. She poured two cups and handed one to Dotty.

“We’d best make a big breakfast. They’ll be starving.”

“Already planned on it. They came in the back door quiet as mice about an hour ago. She was carrying her dress because I heard him say something about not getting it all dirty. It was well worth the money, wasn’t it?”

Clarice giggled. “Now, Dotty, you know that dress was payment for a favor.”

“Yes, and I know that favor was paid back ten years ago and the diamond studs in Emily’s ears are the payment. I was there when Tressa handed them to you and told you how much she appreciated you bankrolling her.”

Clarice carried her coffee to the kitchen table. “You got the memory of a damned elephant.”

“Long as I don’t get the elephant’s big nose or big gut to go with it, I ain’t complainin’. Van or truck?”

“Attic,” Clarice said.

“Shit! I forgot all about the attic.”

“Lots of memories up in that attic.”

Dotty pulled a package of bacon from the fridge. “Want to share?”

“Now, Dotty, you know I never was one to kiss and tell.”

“You ain’t no fun at all. Won’t let me read them damned letters and won’t tell me about the attic. Is that pretty log cabin quilt still on the twin-sized bed up there?”

“How’d you know about that?” Clarice asked.

“I don’t kiss and tell neither.” Dotty giggled.

“You didn’t!”

“I did. Remember, darlin’, I was here in Ravenna a month before I got married. I met you right here on this ranch at a picnic. Johnny was working for Lester’s folks back then.”

Bocephus was curled up on her fancy dress, and Simba was sleeping soundly on her coat when Emily awoke the next morning. She picked up the gray cat first and brushed a couple of hairs from the dress before hanging it inside the special garment bag in her closet.

“You are a good boy, yes you are. You didn’t even snag my gorgeous dress.” She crooned as she set him on the bathroom vanity and brushed her teeth. He swatted at the water then shook his foot so hard that droplets landed on the front of her faded chambray work shirt.

“Good boy just ended,” she said. “But if you had to be a bad boy like the singer you were named for, I’m glad it was in the bathroom and not tearing my dress. I had the most amazing night, Bo. We danced and danced and we…” She blushed at the memories.

Bocephus looked up at her and meowed.

“I can’t wipe this grin off my face. That should tell you something, but I’m not telling you what happened. You are much too young to hear such things said out loud.”

The kitten flopped back like a baby when she picked him up, purring and blinking at her as if begging for more of the story. She laid him on the chair and he flipped over, jumped down, and attacked Simba, biting his ears and tail until the yellow kitten woke up.

It wasn’t until she was getting dressed that she saw the envelope with the scratch marks and frayed edges tucked under her coat on the floor. The smile got bigger when she picked it up and wider yet when she opened it to read one word.

Amazing.

She put the letter back into the envelope and pulled open the drawer of her nightstand where she’d stored the other two, and there was the little red velvet box that held Clarice’s diamond studs. Emily touched her ears and groaned as she removed the earrings and put them into the box.

Dammit it all to hell on a splintery old shovel handle. She had to face Dotty and Clarice that morning, and she had less than two hours of sleep and a grin that she couldn’t erase. What in the hell was she going to do? They’d know the minute they looked at her that she’d had sex. It was written all over her face. She’d hock her pickup truck for a lemon to suck on right then.

The kittens bounded out of the room the minute the door was opened and chased each other down the stairs, rolling and tumbling from one step to the other. Emily’s feet were like lead. She couldn’t face them and yet she had no choice. It was worse than the time she came home from college after her first experience with sex. She had dreaded facing Gramps, but all he talked about that weekend was the big cattle sale.

Too bad there wasn’t a cattle sale going on at Lightning Ridge.

She went straight to the table where Clarice was sitting. “Thank you so much for loaning these to me. Tressa was right. They were the perfect jewelry.”

“Good morning. Clarice says that the dance was a big success,” Dotty said.

“Well, look here. The boys are joining us this morning. Good morning, Bocephus and Simba. I bet Dotty has enough bacon fried up that you could share a piece this morning.”

“I’m not sure those two get bacon this morning.” Dotty pointed at the refrigerator. “I think they punished you for leaving them last night.”

Sticky notes had been shredded up as far as two little kittens’ paws could reach. The little rascals had no sense of conscience because Simba crouched like a big yellow lion, wiggled a few times, and made a dive for a flapping note that still hung on to the refrigerator door. He reminded Emily of a squirrel bouncing from one tree limb to the other as he used the sticky notes to claw his way to the cabinet top. He snagged a piece of bacon, landed on his feet when he jumped off, and growled at Bocephus.

Emily slapped a hand over her mouth. “Oh, no!”

Clarice reached down and grabbed an end of the bacon and played tug-of-war with the kitten until she’d broken a chunk off. “Now, Bo baby, this is for you. Simba has to learn to share.”

“I’m so sorry,” Emily said.

“It’s time to clean them off and start all over anyway,” Dotty said. “But we’ve got to work on training the boys to stay off my cabinet.”

“Yes, ma’am. I don’t think they’re going to get bacon for a week, and they have to stay in my room for a week too. Come on, boys, you are in big trouble,” Emily agreed.

“That’s too harsh,” Clarice said. “No bacon tomorrow, but you’ll be punishing me and Dotty if you don’t let them come out and play.”

“I’m making ham and eggs tomorrow,” Dotty said.

“Shhh! They don’t know that.” Clarice giggled.

Max stopped in the middle of the kitchen floor. “Looks like a tornado hit y’all’s refrigerator.”

“Hurricane Simba and Tornado Bocephus,” Emily said.

“Give them an extra piece of bacon. They deserve it after demolishing that ugly thing.”

That tingly, breathless feeling told Emily that Greg was close.

“Your boys had a party last night, Greg. Dotty cleaned up the mess on the floor, but she left the rest for y’all to see,” Clarice told him.

“Want me to peel them all off and wash down the front of the fridge?” he asked.

“Hell, no! I’ve saved all the little pieces and I’ll put those,” she nodded toward the refrigerator, “in the shoebox with them. We’ve already written the date on the outside and Simba and Bocephus’s names. When the future generations come upon them, they’ll know what year the boys came to live with us.”

“Did you punish them, Emily?” Greg grinned.

“They don’t get bacon tomorrow,” she answered.

“You hear that, boys? Enjoy that treat this morning because you don’t get any tomorrow. Hey, big news isn’t the cats trying to shred the sticky notes. Louis left me a text message,” Greg changed the subject.

“Is he sick? Do I get to help with the horses this morning?” Emily asked.

“No, he’s on his way right now. But Prissy and Tommy eloped to Las Vegas. Her grandpa is having a double-wide hauled in for them to live in, and Prissy will be living on the ranch. Guess that she figured out that she was about to lose the best thing ever.”

Dotty shook her head from side to side. “The heart will have what it wants or else it will wither up and die.”

“Speaking from experience?” Max asked.

Dotty pointed to the food on the bar. “Damn straight, I am. Now fix plates and eat. This ranch don’t run itself, and you got to make hay or plow or whatever the hell needs done while the sun shines and all that shit.”

“What are my jobs today?” Emily looked at Clarice.

“You are working with Greg this morning. We’re going to work on bazaar things. Come Monday morning we’ll start getting the barn ready for the big affair, so this is our last weekend to work on our projects, and this afternoon we’ve got to get things caught up in that office. Payroll and important business things.” Clarice winked.

Greg brushed past her on the way to the coffeepot and for just a brief second, his fingers touched hers. When she glanced his way, he mouthed the word, “Amazing.”

***

Emily really wanted to ride bareback with the brisk pre-spring wind blowing her ponytail and the sunrays warming her face, but Albert and Louis were already out in the stables. That left two jobs: walking the fence row on the back side of the ranch or running errands in Bonham.

Max handed her a piece of paper. “Here’s the list. I’m glad Clarice hired you, Emily. I hate running errands like this.”

Greg blew her a kiss from behind Max’s back, and a vision of the two of them in the attic room materialized so real in her head that her cheeks started to burn. She whipped around and made a trip back through the house to ask Clarice and Dotty if they needed anything from town before she left.

Clarice nodded. “I need another package of buttons or charms if you can find them from the craft section at Walmart. Anything that has to do with cowboys—boots, hats, lassos, or horseshoes. And we also need twenty pounds of sugar. That way we can get busy on the banana bread and pumpkin bread on Monday without fear of running out of sugar,” Clarice said. “Oh, and this afternoon we really will work on the payroll. Boys like their money on Saturday night. Then you need to catch up on the entries for the past week, both for the incoming bills and the cow information. They’ve been doing all kinds of vet work this past week, so there’s a stack an inch thick on the cows. And then I want you to look at the four ladies I’ve picked out to invite to the auction and get your opinion on them.”

“Looks like I’ve got a full day.” Emily’s cheeks were no longer fire-engine red, but now her soul had turned bullfrog green with jealousy.

Dammit! In the haze of long-lasting afterglow, she’d forgotten about all the women who thought they were talking to Greg Adams on the dating sites.

“She’s a slave driver, I tell you, she is,” Dotty said. “I have to cook and crochet until my hands bleed, and then I have to be Greg and talk to the women like a man.”

“Oh, hush; it’s better than drinking yourself to death,” Clarice said. “Take the van, Emily.”

The door up to the attic beckoned to her when she was in the garage. She eased it open and tiptoed up the steps. Maybe she’d dreamed the whole evening. Maybe it hadn’t happened at all and all that dancing had made it very vivid. Maybe the single word on the letter from Greg that morning had been concerning the good time they’d had at the Angus party.

When she reached the top, there was Greg stretched out on the bed.

“Good morning, beautiful,” he said.

“It was real, wasn’t it? It was so wonderful I thought it might be a dream.”

He patted the bed. “I know exactly what you mean, darlin’. I couldn’t resist coming back to make sure when Max said we needed to take a roll of barbed wire in case we see a break. We’ve got about ten minutes.”

“With or without clothes?” she asked.

He popped up off the bed and shucked out of his coat and boots so fast that it was a blur. “Damn, it’s cold up here. We really should get us one of those little space heaters.”

“It’ll be warm in a few seconds,” she said as her jeans, shirt, boots, and underwear all joined his in a pile beside the bed.

He grabbed her around the waist and fell onto the bed with her in his arms. She grabbed a handful of hair and brought his mouth to hers. “Don’t waste time on foreplay. I’ve been hot since you walked into the kitchen this morning.”

He propped up on an elbow and kissed her long and lingering, and yet gentleness and sweetness were mixed in with the passion. “I hate that this has to be a quickie. I like to play and cuddle afterward.”

She rolled over on top of him and in one swift motion and wiggle of the hips planted him inside her. “Me too, but if you don’t put this fire out, I’m going to be real bitchy all day.”

He flipped her over so that he was on top. “Well, darlin’, we can’t have a bitchy woman on Lightning Ridge, can we? After curfew tonight, we’ll meet here again for the real thing.”

“Yes, sir.”

***

“Is the van backing out of the garage yet?” Clarice asked.

Dotty leaned closer to the kitchen window. “It’s Greg’s truck, and now it’s the van.”

“Fate brought her to Lightning Ridge and that’s the whole reason that Marvin and I ever wrote to each other in the first place. The stars weren’t lining up for us but for our grandkids,” Clarice said.

“All that fate stuff is a load of shit, Clarice Adams. What would you have said about any other girl who went to the attic with Greg last year? Anyone who he’s dated in the past seven years he’s been on this ranch?”

Clarice’s eyes twinkled. “I might have nailed that door shut and booted her off the ranch. But that was last year and this is different. He’s been here seven years.” She clapped her hands. “That’s my lucky number, Dotty. I swear, it’s the stars all getting lined up perfect.”

“Don’t matter who all is convinced. What matters is if he is, and it has to go beyond what’s going on in that attic, don’t it?”

***

Greg was running on less than two hours’ sleep, but he couldn’t force the grin off his face. Emily was amazing both on the ranch and in bed, and just thinking about her kept him in semi-arousal all morning. That night he planned to take candles to the attic and maybe a couple of beers.

“For a man who danced until midnight, you sure got lots of energy this morning. I figured you’d come up with something that would put you in the house so you could sneak a nap this morning,” Max said.

Greg slapped his thigh. “Must be too tired from partying all night for my mind to be working. You said the fence needed checking and I just did what you said without even asking questions.”

“We’ll be done by noon. Clarice mentioned yesterday that she and Emily would be working on the computer this afternoon. I guess they could probably use your help.”

Greg shrugged. It was too new, too raw, and too passionate for him to talk about, even to Max, who’d been like a second father to him.

Father!

Greg’s dad had said not to tell Nana he and his mother were coming to the bazaar because it was a surprise, so there hadn’t been any talk about it and in all the excitement he’d forgotten to even mention it to Emily.

His
parents
would
meet
Emily!

His hands were suddenly sweaty inside his leather work gloves. His mother wouldn’t like Emily because she was a ranching woman. Nancy Adams had held out hope ever since her son moved to Lightning Ridge that he’d get his fill of dirt and cows and move back to Houston.

Greg wiped sweat from his forehead.

“It’s not that warm. You must’ve drunk a lot at the party and it’s working its way out of your system.” Max chuckled.

“Guess so,” Greg said.

“You didn’t answer me about Emily. You like her or not?”

“I do,” Greg answered. “But she’s determined to go back to Happy. If she had a lick of business sense, she’d realize that she can’t do the impossible.”

“Like what? I thought she could move mountains and walk on water,” Max said.

“It’s not possible to run enough cows to make a living on a ranch the size of hers, especially out in west Texas,” Greg answered.

“You don’t believe that, and that’s what makes you so mad. If she set her head to do it, she could turn a garden plot into a profitable ranch.”