Suited to be a Cowboy

by Lorraine Nelson

  He crossed to the door. “Need help?” he asked as he slipped outside and headed her way.

  “Yes! Get me to the bathroom…fast.” She smiled at him. “I fell asleep out here and have to pee, but couldn’t get up out of this chair.”

  He chuckled as he lifted her. “Your room or mine?” he asked facetiously.

  “Mine, and don’t you dare make me laugh.”

  “Party pooper.” He carried her to the patio door, set her on her feet to open it, then followed as she moved as fast as she could toward the bathroom. “Need my help in there?”

  “No.” She smiled and promptly closed the door in his face.

  “Well, that’s a fine howdy do.” He chuckled and waited. She seemed to take an inordinately long time, but she emerged with her hair brushed and her nose shiny. She’d obviously taken pains with her appearance. For him?

  “Where to next, m’lady?” He performed a sweeping bow.

  She giggled. “Could you fetch Aaron and meet me in the living room? Maybe he’ll want to watch a movie with me.”

  “Can do.”

  “Um, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what is Facebook?” She wore a puzzled frown.

  “It’s a social media site online where you can post links and pictures, play games, and chat with friends.”

  “How did his father know to find him there?”

  “That’s a good question. One we’ll likely never have an answer to, unless Aaron knows.”

  “He might, but I’m not going to ask him. He’s been through enough for one day. I never did call my lawyer. I’ll detour by the office and call him now.”

  “If his being here was a bail breach, they’ll lock him up again.”

  “Good! Maybe he’ll get the message and not come back.”

  He left her at the office. “I’ll get Aaron.”

  Jimmy found him in the kitchen. “Hey, buddy. I’ve been looking for you.”

  Aaron’s eyes lit up. “I’m here.”

  “So I see. Want a piggyback ride to the living room? Your mom wants to watch a movie.”

  “Sure!” He wolfed down the last of his cookie and milk, then stood on the chair, ready to climb on.

  “All aboard. Chug-a-chug-a-chug-a-chug-a, whoo-whoo,” Jimmy chanted as he left the kitchen with a laughing Aaron on his back. When they reached the living room he lowered Aaron to the sofa. “Your mother had to make a phone call, but she’ll be right out.”

  “Okay. That was fun. Mom used to give me piggyback rides but I’m too big for her now. Can we do it again?”

  “Maybe later. Now what movie do you want to watch?”

  “Spiderman,” said Aaron.

  “Really? That’s a cartoon,” Jimmy said.

  “No, it’s a movie. Ain’t it, Mom?” he asked as she entered the room.

  “Isn’t it, and yes, the movie came out a few years ago. You haven’t seen it?” she asked.

  “No, can’t say that I have,” Jimmy went to the shelf to find the movie—an easy task since Melissa kept the DVDs in alphabetical order. He loaded it in the machine and turned on the TV.

  “You’re welcome to stay and watch it with us,” Melissa said.

  “Thanks. I think I will. Just let me lock up the office first. I left everything on and I need to back up the files before I shut down the computer. It should only take a minute or two.”

  “We’ll wait for you,” she said.

  Jimmy entered the office to see the patio doors wide open. Had he forgotten to close them in his rush to get to Melissa? He didn’t think so, but he closed and locked them now before going to the computer. He moved the mouse to bring up the screen and slumped into the chair with a groan. Someone had closed the accounting program. An entire day’s work…gone. He shut down the computer, becoming more alert. Was that person still in the house?

  Chapter Nine

  He called the foreman’s office. “Brian, have you seen anyone sneaking around the house this afternoon?”

  “Not that I’m aware of.”

  “Okay. Can you bring a few men with you and come up here? Make sure they’re armed.”

  “You got an intruder up there?”

  “Yes, someone’s been in the office and we need to search the house, but I don’t want to leave the family unprotected while I do it myself.”

  “No problem. Scott and Jake are here. I’ll find Tippy and we’ll be right up.”

  “Thanks.” He replaced the receiver and crossed the courtyard to his room, where he removed his revolver from the suitcase. Back in the office, he locked the outside door again and began a methodical search of the room. Nothing seemed to be missing. He opened the door to the storage closet, gun in hand, but found no one. He left the office and locked the door, then heard Brian in the kitchen.

  “Hi, thanks for coming. The office is clear and locked up tight. While you search the house, I’ll be with Melissa and Aaron in the front room.”

  “We’ll split into two teams, start in the middle and work our way out, locking outside doors and windows as we go,” Brian said. “I’ll find you when we’ve finished.”

  “Good.” Jimmy witnessed Sheila’s curious glance. “Sheila, you’d better come with me until the men finish searching the house.”

  “Why? What happened?”

  “Someone’s been in the office. Have you noticed anyone around?” Jimmy asked her.

  “Not a soul,” she said, drying her hands on a towel. “Let’s go check on the young ’uns.”

  She headed across the kitchen at a fast clip.

  “Hey, not so fast. Me first,” said Jimmy.

  “Oh! I never thought.” Sheila let him pass, then followed close behind as they made their way cautiously down the hall. Jimmy hoped whoever it was would be long gone, but was afraid that person might have gotten to Melissa. He wanted to run, and burst into the room with gun drawn, but he had to be careful. When he rounded the corner and spotted Melissa and Aaron just as he’d left them, he breathed a sigh of relief. If anything had happened to those two…

  “Jimmy, get in here. We waited forever,” said Aaron.

  “Not quite forever, but it was longer than I expected. Sheila came along to watch the movie with us.” Aaron had moved to lie on the floor in front of the television, and Sheila claimed the recliner, so Jimmy sat next to Melissa on the sofa.

  “What’s going on?” she whispered. “I saw the gun sticking out of your waistband.”

  “Someone was in the office and erased the entire day’s work. Since Aaron was already accounted for, I called Brian. He and a few of the men are searching the house. They’ll lock everything up tight as they go.”

  “Who would bother? Do you think Marcus is still around?”

  “Maybe. Does that sound like something he would do?”

  “After the way you threw him out, yeah. He’d want his revenge.”

  “Well, he won’t get the chance to do it again, guaranteed.”

  Aaron started the movie and they quieted down to watch, but Jimmy kept an eye on the door for Brian. When he appeared, Jimmy said, “Be right back.”

  “There’s no one in the house. The men are searching the grounds, but whoever it was is probably long gone by now.”

  “And good riddance.”

  “How did you know someone had been in here?” Brian asked.

  “They closed the computer program I’d been working on.”

  “Oh. Well, the boys and I will keep our eyes open. Do you think it was the guy who was here earlier?”

  “Could be. We don’t know. What kind of security is installed here?”

  “None. Old Bill didn’t believe in modern technology much, except for his computer. He always said guns worked better to discourage trespassers, and he was just crazy enough to meet the few odd strangers on the porch while carrying one.”

  Jimmy chuckled as he envisioned the old man greeting trespassers with a loaded gun. “I’ll check with Melissa. See about having something installed. Better to be safe than sorry.”r />
  “True enough. In the meantime, anytime you need us, give a yell.”

  “Will do, and thanks again.”

  Brian nodded and left, and Jimmy returned to sit beside Melissa. “Sheila, Brian is finished in the kitchen.”

  “Good, but there’s nothing out there that can’t wait until the movie’s finished,” she said.

  Melissa giggled softly and then whispered, “She likes TV.”

  “So I see.” He settled in to watch the movie, finally able to concentrate on the story as long as he kept his mind off the woman at his side. Something he found hard to do.

  Where their legs touched, her warmth penetrated through his jeans. The flowery scent she wore wafted to his nostrils. Her soft chuckles during the movie sounded sexy to his love-starved ears and her beauty still enthralled him. He wanted to reach out, touch her, haul her closer to his side, but he didn’t have that right. With a little help, his arm found its way to the back of the sofa, capturing a few strands of her long hair and rubbing the silky softness through his fingers. So close and yet he might as well be miles away for all the notice she paid him.

  Resigned, he got the message. He sat back and watched the movie, surprised to find it was quite entertaining.

  Melissa was glad he’d stopped playing with her hair. His touch had sent delicious little tingles of awareness up and down her spine. To be sitting this close, touching yet not touching, was pure torture. The musky, manly scent he wore acted as an aphrodisiac, making her want him more with every minute that passed.

  How could she desire him when she was in such excruciating pain? Bedroom acrobatics were beyond her resourcefulness at the moment. She giggled as vivid imagery came to mind, but stopped short as pain radiated through her chest. Darn those busted ribs. They hurt like a son of a bitch. Especially when she laughed—she couldn’t even enjoy a good naughty thought. She bit back a smile, wondering if that was a proper sentence. Can good and naughty be used together? Ha! Didn’t matter. It sounded good to her.

  Aware of Jimmy’s scrutiny, she kept her focus on the movie, but oh, how she’d love to move closer and turn her lips up for his kiss. Well, not with her son and Sheila in the same room, but it was another good naughty thought. She was getting pretty good at those.

  Finally, the movie ended. Sheila went to the kitchen to cook dinner, Aaron rushed back to his game, and she was alone with Jimmy.

  “I should go try to recover those files,” he said, but didn’t make any move to leave.

  “Stay and talk to me a while.”

  “Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

  “Anything. Just talk. You said you owned an accounting firm in Missouri. Who’s running it in your absence?”

  “My assistant is buying me out. I’m enjoying the private accounting much more than I ever did corporate. Marla’s an excellent accountant and has been wanting to start her own firm, so it’s a win-win situation.”

  “Where did you live? You must have been in the country since you had a horse already.”

  “Yes, I own a small two-bedroom cottage on the edge of town, very little acreage, so I had an excuse to ride daily.” He smiled and turned toward her. “It’s for sale, but in the meantime I’ve rented it out to a young family with two small boys. They love it.”

  “Maybe they’ll buy it.”

  He nodded. “Yes, I think that’s their plan when the listing runs out. They were disappointed when they saw it was up for sale.”

  She picked at the cast on her arm. “Sounds as if you have all your ducks in a row. Will you miss it? City life?”

  “Not a bit. Your ad appeared at an opportune time for me. I may miss the convenience of everything being handy, but I don’t miss the noise and congestion. Country life is what I’ve always wanted. What I’ve strived to attain. I realized I’d had enough when I rounded up your horses that day in town.”

  “How close are you to making your dream a reality?” She really didn’t want to think of a time when he wouldn’t be here, but she needed to know, to prepare.

  “I have enough with the sale of the firm to make a purchase, but I’m in no hurry. I’m thinking of checking property for sale in this area. Anything with a decent acreage would suffice.”

  “If you could find a ranch for sale, it would be even better. You wouldn’t have the expense of building and running fence lines.”

  “True, but I’m prepared to go either way. I worked my way through college as a carpenter. To build my ranch from scratch makes it all mine. You know?”

  “To buy one makes it yours, but yes, I understand what you’re saying. When will you start training the Mustangs?”

  “Tippy has trained a few, but with the eighteen added, I’ve put that on hold for a few days to allow them to settle in the pasture. Once you’re on your feet again there’ll be time enough for me to get back in the saddle, although Sherry must be feeling neglected.” He frowned. “Maybe I’ll ride out and check on the Mustangs after dinner. Is it all right if I take Aaron with me?”

  “Sure, if he wants to go. My accident sure messed up our plans for today. I hope my fall doesn’t discourage him from riding.”

  “I don’t think so. He comes from pretty stubborn stock. It didn’t bother him to ride home for help. He’ll be fine. And plans can always be changed. No worries.”

  “Did you talk to Brian about that gunshot I heard?”

  “Not yet, but I’ll find him when I saddle up Sherry. Surely, he’d know if the wranglers were hunting coyotes.”

  “Let’s hope so. Remember to take your rifle with you, riding that far away from the ranch house. Just last week some of the men spotted a mama bear with her two cubs. You wouldn’t want to find yourself between them with no means of protection.”

  “Nope, that wouldn’t be my idea of a fun ride, especially with Aaron along. I’ll keep a sharp eye out and return well before dark.”

  Sheila appeared in the doorway. “Dinner’s ready.”

  Jimmy rubbed his stomach. “Good. I’m starved. What’s on the menu?”

  “I cooked a ham and reheated last night’s casserole. Can’t waste food.”

  Melissa moved to stand and sat back with a groan. “I’ll be glad when these ribs heal. There are times when I almost pass out from the pain.”

  His grin was distinctly lascivious as he stood and picked her up. “I’m always glad to help. There’s nothing like having a beautiful woman in his arms to make a man feel like a man.”

  “From where I’m at, you’re all man. Well, what are you waiting for? Carry me away…or at least to the bathroom so I can wash up.”

  Jimmy chuckled, his breath warm on her cheek as he carried her to the half bath down the hall. He set her on her feet and waited to assist her the rest of the way to the kitchen. Jimmy was such a considerate and compassionate man. She liked the way he jumped in with both feet and took charge today, with Marcus and with the breakin. On a good day, she could handle those things herself, but being in constant pain made her feel quite vulnerable, an experience she could do without.

  Sometimes it helped to have a man around, depending on the man of course. She’d expected him to walk her the rest of the way and, unprepared, she shrieked as he scooped her up and carried her. “I’m getting much too used to this.”

  Jimmy’s husky chuckle sounded choked with emotion. “I’m enjoying the experience. Been a while since I had a woman in my arms…especially one so gorgeous.”

  Melissa felt a blush warm her cheeks at the compliment. Unsure of what to say, she remained mute. Her cast felt heavy as Jimmy sat her down. The extra weight played havoc with her shoulder, so she rested her arm on the table. Might not be very mannerly, but it was more comfortable. Aaron joined them just before Sheila served their dinner.

  All was silent as they demolished the food set before them. They were having their coffee when a brief knock sounded on the kitchen door. Sheila went to answer it. Melissa heard a man’s voice that seemed slightly familiar, but when he stepped into the
kitchen, he was a stranger to her.

  “Missy, this man says he’s looking for you.”

  “I’m Melissa Dehavilland. What can I do for you?”

  “John Coates. We spoke on the phone.”

  “Yes, Mr. Coates.” She nodded and waved her good arm toward a chair. “Have you brought the papers with you?”

  He smiled uncertainly as he sat down across from her. “Yes, I have them right here.” He patted his shirt pocket.

  “Have you had your dinner?” Sheila asked.

  “No, but don’t go to any bother. I’d love a coffee though.”

  Sheila set a steaming mug of coffee in front of him then returned with a filled plate. “No one leaves my kitchen hungry. Eat up.”

  Melissa had to smile at Sheila’s mothering tendencies toward everyone, whether they be friends or strangers. If a meal was being served and someone showed up, they ate too.

  “Thank you.” John added sugar and cream to his coffee, took a sip, and set the cup down. “Excellent coffee.” He picked up his fork, hesitating to glance Melissa’s way.

  “Go ahead,” Melissa said. “We can talk after you’ve eaten.”

  He nodded and began to eat. “I hope you don’t mind me showing up like this.”

  “Not at all. I was going to invite you, but you didn’t leave a call back number.”

  A perplexed look marred his features. “I didn’t?”

  Melissa shook her head and winced as it started pounding again.

  “Sorry. I intended to. When I didn’t hear from you, I decided to come and show you the papers I found.”

  “I’d be interested in seeing them. I thought my father, Aaron and I were the only Dehavillands left.”

  John shook his head and started to dig in his pocket.

  “Eat first. Where do you live? Was it a long drive?” asked Melissa.

  “San Diego, California. Long enough. I stopped the first night in Nevada and then drove straight through. Almost changed my mind a dozen times.” He finished eating and produced the papers, passing them to her to read before sitting back to drink his coffee.

  “Well, this certainly looks official. Do you mind if I have my lawyer check into it? A woman in my position can’t be too careful.”