“Hello?”
“Hi. Is this Elisabeth?” a woman asked.
“Yes.”
“This is Cherry Macomb. I live on the outskirts of town, and I heard that you pick up dogs for grooming. What do you charge for that?”
Her pulse quickened. “How did you hear about me?” She quickly tried to assess if she could commit to picking up any more dogs, and considered what a reasonable fee for Trusty versus Los Angeles might be.
“My neighbor Sally buys her vegetables from Wynchels’ and she said their dogs looked like brand-new dogs. Clean, fluffy, like they’d been to a salon, and Wren told her that you did it. Can I make the same arrangement?”
“Yes, absolutely.” She remembered what Wren had said about the bows. “How do you feel about bows?”
“I love them!”
They made arrangements for Elisabeth to pick up Contessa, a two-year-old shih tzu, on her way to the Wynchels’. As soon as she hung up the phone, Emily arrived.
Emily hugged her like they’d been friends forever. She’d come straight from the office and was wearing a nice pair of slacks with a low-cut white blouse and a pair of strappy black sandals. She looked fashionable, comfortable, and pretty, with just a hint of eyeliner and blush.
“Your house smells like a bakery.”
“That would be the banana-nut cookies I just made.” They headed into the kitchen.
Emily inhaled and sighed. “Do you need a taste tester?”
“They’re for you. I love to bake, and your visit was a great excuse.”
“Thank you.” She reached for a cookie.
“Wait. Those are puppy cookies. It’s this tray.” She pointed to the banana-nut cookies.
“I almost forgot you had a pet bakery.” Emily raised her brows. “No wonder my brother’s so into you.”
Elisabeth wasn’t sure how to respond.
Emily rolled her eyes. “Ross adores animals, and so do you. A match made in heaven.”
My feeling exactly. “We do have a lot in common.”
Emily surveyed the kitchen and her eyes landed on the beer cakes. “No wonder you said you needed more ovens. You must bake all the time. How can you stay so thin?”
“Oh, those aren’t for me.” Elisabeth laughed at the thought of eating three cakes by herself. “I was creating new recipes for cakes to sell at the county fair. Ross taste tested them for me. You can actually take one home with you if you want.”
“Really? Thank you. We’d better talk about your renovations or you’re going to think I came for free food.”
They went over Elisabeth’s ideas for the kitchen, and Emily took notes on the layout and sketched out ideas for moving counters and adding an island. Two hours later they had moved into the living room, taken their shoes off, and were sitting on the sofa with a sketch of the new layout and a plate of crumbs between them. And Elisabeth had a new friend.
Half an hour after Emily left, Elisabeth heard Ross’s truck in the driveway. She went to greet him. His steps were heavy, his eyes serious and pinned on the ground.
She stepped off the porch and hooked her finger in his pocket. “What’s wrong?” He shook his head, and her heart sank. “Ross? Did something happen to Storm?”
“No, he’s fine, sorry. Just thinking about Trout.” He raked his eyes down her body and smiled. “You look beautiful.” He leaned down and kissed her. “See? And your kisses wipe my worries away without a trace.”
“Fibber. I see that wrinkle on your forehead. What’s wrong with Trout?” She took his hand and they sat down on the porch step.
“I just can’t figure out how or why a guy who had a free ride to college and was a high school valedictorian would throw his life away.” He squeezed Elisabeth’s hand. “How does that happen? And more importantly, as a parent, how can you stop it from happening?”
“Didn’t you tell me that he killed the man who killed his mother?” She remembered the story Ross had told her, and she knew how much it had bothered him then, but she wondered why his worry had escalated.
“Yes, but I just don’t get it. He’d not only made it through ten years in the system, he beat it.” He shook his head. “Why on earth after ten years, and all that hard work, would he throw it all away?”
Ross shrugged and rose to his feet. “I don’t mean to be a downer. I’ve been thinking a lot about life and family lately, and when I was at the prison today, I saw him in a whole different light. I’ve seen him as an inmate all this time, but today I saw him as his mother’s son. Surely he wasn’t a monster at eight years old. He was a kid, Lis. A little boy who watched his mother die. God only knows what me or any of my brothers would have done if someone killed our mother. It could be any one of us in that jail.”
“I wondered if that was what you were worried about. Rossie, you’re not a killer.” She watched him pace. “You love your mom, but I think something has to go really wrong in someone’s brain to actually murder another person. I saw you when you had to put Gracie down. Your eyes were damp, and even if you don’t want to admit it, you were upset for a long time afterward. Your body was tense, and you could barely look at me.” She touched his arm to stop his pacing. “And if you’re worried about when you have children, I highly doubt you could raise a child who would kill another person.”
His eyes grew even more serious. “I know that. That’s not really what I meant. None of us—not me or any of my brothers—could actually kill a man, but the question running around my mind is this. Does the fact that he avenged his mother’s death make him a cold-blooded killer from birth, or did something snap when it happened?”
“I don’t know enough about that stuff to answer, but it makes me want to call my mom.”
He pulled her into a hug. “Sorry to unload on you. Go ahead and call your mom.” He kissed her again. “Did everything go okay with Em?”
“Yeah. I love her. She’s like the best friend I’ve always wanted.”
“Really? Well, that gets me a little jealous.”
Elisabeth looked into his seductive gaze and felt her heart opening even more to the man who wasn’t afraid to show her he was human. He had fears and worries just like she did, and he wasn’t embarrassed by them, which made her fall even harder than she realized she could.
Chapter Fifteen
WEDNESDAY EVENING, ELISABETH put on a pair of dangling silver earrings and slipped her feet into a pair of sandals. She looked way too sexy in a royal blue halter-top maxi dress that hugged every inch of her incredible body.
“You look like you stepped out of People magazine, and you should have Brad Pitt on your arm.” They’d spent the night at Ross’s house last night, and he was getting used to waking up with his sexy girlfriend wrapped around him and a dog at his feet. They’d made love that morning, and when Ross was helping her with the animals, they’d made out in the barn like teenagers. She’d left a note next to his keys when she left that morning. I’ll miss you today. Can’t wait to be in your arms again. Even when she wasn’t with him, she was present. And every time he was with Elisabeth, he noticed things he hadn’t before, like the way she crinkled her nose a little when she was reading, and at night, just before she fell asleep, she twisted the ends of her hair between her finger and thumb, the same way he’d seen her do when she was nervous, only at night she did it with a sleepy smile on her lips.
He folded her into his arms and kissed her neck. “Every guy in the restaurant will have their eyes on you.”
“Mm. Jealous?” She arched her neck back, giving him full access to her delicate, tasty skin, which he took full advantage of, trailing kisses up her neck, then sucking hard enough to make Elisabeth gasp a breath.
They were in her bedroom standing by the dresser, and Ross wanted to rip that dress off, lift her onto the dresser, and make love to her until she could barely breathe. But they were supposed to meet Rex and Jade for dinner in thirty minutes.
“Maybe a little jealous,” he admitted.
He gathered the s
kirt of her dress in his fist, then slid his hand beneath, along the back of her thigh, and took a handful of bare ass. He loved when she wore thongs. He was hard just thinking about ripping it off.
“Rossie,” she whispered. “The time…”
The seconds were ticking away, but he couldn’t stop, not now that he’d touched her. He wanted her too badly.
She spread her legs and he rubbed her through the thin material.
“You’re…unfair.” She clutched his shirt in her fists and snagged a few chest hairs along with it. “We can’t. I’ll have to shower again if you come in me.”
She panted out a few breaths, and he slid a finger beneath the damp material and stroked her slick skin.
“Oh God, yes,” she relented.
“I’ll just make you come,” he whispered as he slid his fingers inside her and furtively stroked her until she was so wet he had to have her.
“Ross,” she whispered, and spread her legs further. “Oh God. You. I want you.”
She tore at the button on his jeans and he had them off in seconds. He pulled her dress over her head and tore her thong from her body—literally shredding the seam. They fell to the bed and he drove into her hard and deep. Their lips met in a passionate, hungry kiss as deep and urgent as his thrusts.
“Jesus, Lis. You’re so hot. So wet.”
She moaned at his words.
“Come for me, baby.”
She wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her hips. He grabbed her ass and helped her efforts, angling her back so he could push in deeper. Her inner muscles clenched around him as she cried out, a loud, indiscernible sound that shot fire through his body. He started to pull out so he didn’t come inside her and she clutched his hips.
“Don’t.”
“Lis.”
“Don’t pull out.” She pressed on his hips, squeezing her legs tighter around his waist.
Two deep thrusts took him over the edge, and his muscles corded tight as he pumped her full of his love. They were both breathing hard as they rolled onto their sides.
“Lis, you said not to come inside you.”
She smiled, eyes still closed. “I couldn’t help it. I wanted you in me.”
Still in a foggy haze of lust, they forced themselves to get up and showered together. Even if he hadn’t been able to see Elisabeth’s gorgeous body beneath the spray of the shower, her nipples hard and the sensual look in her eyes, he would still have had a hard time keeping his eyes off of her. There was an energy between them that heated the air and drew him to her like metal to magnet.
“You’re like a drug. How am I supposed to shower with you and not want to make love to you again?”
Elisabeth washed up as quickly as she could and smiled at the sight of his formidable erection, eagerly pointing upward again.
“Good, then I can count on a little loving later on.” She brushed her fingers along his balls as she stepped out of the shower.
“I’ll just stand under the cold water for a minute.” Holy Christ. Where had she been all his life?
VOODOO WAS A popular restaurant located at the north end of Trusty. The interior was decorated with a plethora of odd paraphernalia ranging from old-fashioned bicycles to trombones that hung on the walls like pictures. The hardwood floor was shiny and dark, as were the tables and booths. Music filtered in from the bar located down a wide hallway in the back of the restaurant. They waited in the lobby for Rex and Jade. At least they hadn’t been late. Elisabeth had visions of running in with flushed cheeks and Rex and Jade shaking their heads at them. Her insides were still reeling from the intensity of the orgasm she’d had. She was sure his cousin would know exactly what they’d done.
Ross’s hand clutched her waist, and she felt a heavy hand land on her shoulder. She and Ross both turned.
“Hey, cuz.” Rex stood eye to eye with Ross, with shoulders as wide as a linebacker, dark eyes that had to be a Braden trait, and thick black hair that hung over the top of his collar. He took his Stetson off and set his boots hip width apart. His thighs strained against a pair of faded Levi’s. “I’m sorry we’re late. We…uh…” He glanced at Jade, whose cheeks pinked up.
“Had trouble getting out of the house.” Jade raised her brows at Elisabeth and flashed a knowing smile.
Elisabeth breathed a sigh of relief, feeling a little less nervous and wondering if there was an aphrodisiac in the Colorado air.
Rex embraced Ross, then opened his arms to Elisabeth. “And you must be Elisabeth. Nice to meet you.” He squeezed her tight against his rock-hard chest, then settled a hand on Jade’s back.
“This is my fiancée, Jade.”
Jade’s long hair was as dark as Rex’s. She wore skinny jeans tucked into cowgirl boots and a black form-fitting tank top. She was built like Scarlett Johansson, but she was ten times prettier with almond-shaped eyes and higher cheekbones. She and Rex were the epitome of a beautiful Western couple. Hot cowboy, gorgeous cowgirl, and the way Rex looked at her was the same heated way Ross looked at Elisabeth. The whole scene was so different from LA that she wondered how she’d stayed there for so long. She’d seen more love pass between Ross and his family in just a few weeks than she ever had anywhere else.
Jade hugged Elisabeth. “It’s nice to meet you. Emily has told me a lot about you.”
“Emily was over last night. She’s designing my kitchen renovations.”
“She’s weaseling her way into Elisabeth’s life and eating all her baked goods,” Ross teased.
“Sounds like Em,” Jade said.
The waitress seated them in a booth. They looked over the menu and ordered a round of drinks.
“Emily said you moved from Los Angeles. Are you still in culture shock?” Jade asked.
“It’s definitely different, but I spent time here in the summers when I was younger, so I knew what I was getting into.”
Ross pulled her against him. “Well, mostly, anyway.”
Elisabeth’s insides warmed. She had hoped and dreamed of meeting a man like Ross, but being with him was so much better than those dreams ever were.
“You can’t elude fate.” Jade gazed up at Rex with eyes full of adoration. “Look at us. Our families feuded for forty years before our love conquered it.” She looked at Ross and Elisabeth. “True love can’t be stopped, and when it touches you, you’re flooded with so much emotion that you don’t know whether you’re sinking or swimming, or floating. I know this sounds corny, but I swear it’s true. I was in love with Rex for fifteen years before we finally got together, and still, to this very day, when I look at him he takes my breath away.”
Rex brought a big, strong hand to her cheek and gazed into her eyes. “I’ll always breathe for you.” He pressed a loving kiss to her lips and Elisabeth felt her insides melt.
She glanced at Ross and saw every bit as much love as she felt in her heart.
Their dinner came, and the conversation shifted to the Braden ranch and Rex’s brother Treat’s baby, Adriana, who was named for their mother. Rex’s mother, Adriana, had passed away when her children were young, and as Rex spoke of her, it was clear his love for her still flourished.
“I want to be next,” Jade said.
“Next?” Ross asked.
“A baby. I want to be the next one to have a baby. I’m so ready, and Rexy isn’t getting any younger.”
“Hey. We’ve got to get married first.” Rex’s smile told Elisabeth that a baby was not a bone of contention between them. He shifted his eyes to Ross. “You’re coming to Josh and Riley’s wedding, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Ross turned his attention to Elisabeth. “Josh is Rex’s younger brother. He’s a fashion designer in New York, and he’s marrying Riley Banks, his business partner and childhood crush. The wedding is in New York in the spring. We’ll get someone to watch the boys and your animals and make a vacation of it.”
Elisabeth felt her eyes widen and tried to quell her excitement. Spring was months aw
ay. Ross was planning a future with her. She realized that she hadn’t even considered if they stayed together. She assumed they would. With the few other men she’d dated, she was constantly battling the things she didn’t feel comfortable with about them. With Ross, that hadn’t happened even once.
“Elisabeth, you’ll love Riley,” Jade said. “She’s my best friend in the world, and you’ll meet all the girls. I can’t wait!”
“Do you two have a date for your wedding yet?” Ross arched a brow at Rex.
Rex tightened his grip on Jade. “We’re deciding on the location first. I wanted to plan the whole thing and surprise Jade, but so far she’s not going for it.”
Jade rolled her eyes. “He’s the most romantic man on earth, isn’t he?”
“I think you should let him,” Elisabeth said. “He knows you, and he loves you. Who better to plan your big day?”
Jade’s gaze softened. “I hadn’t thought of it in those terms. Maybe so. Hm.”
“Not to change the subject or anything, although I am…” Elisabeth was itching to ask about the business opportunity Jade wanted to talk about. “Ross said you wanted to talk about my pet-pampering business.”
“Yes. Tell me about what you do. I do horse massage, and a lot of my clients have cats and dogs and have asked about my doing massages for them. I can, and I have, but horses are really my specialty—”
“And cowboys,” Rex added with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“Only one cowboy.” Jade touched his cheek. “Anyway, I thought maybe we could discuss referrals and maybe share client lists, that sort of thing.”
“Gosh, I’d love that if I had a client list. Unfortunately, I’m so new to the town that I don’t think many people here trust me yet, and they don’t seem that interested in grooming their pets. Although I did get a call from someone named Cherry about grooming her shih tzu.”
“Cherry Macomb. She’s a client of Ross’s, but I know of her.” Jade laughed. “She acts like she’s some kind of movie star and dresses like she’s Peg Bundy, but she’s really good to her animals.”
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