by Diana Palmer
“Can Will get out of jail do you think?” Bodie asked worriedly, because Will was vindictive. “Even if they put the bond high, he’s always got the house and land to put up for it....”
“No, he doesn’t,” Morie said. “I was going to call you tonight, anyway, because this is the most exciting thing that’s happened. When the sheriff’s investigator tossed Will’s house, he found a locked box and got a warrant to open it. Inside was your mother’s real will, leaving the house and the land and everything else to you. It’s in the hands of our lawyers and they’re challenging the fake will that was filed after your mother’s death. You’ll be a woman of property.”
Bodie sat down. “Gosh! How can I ever thank you? Ever?”
“You just graduate and come home, even if it’s just for a few weeks,” Morie said. She smiled secretly. “I’ve got some news, too.”
“What is it?”
She laughed. “I’m pregnant.”
“Morie! I’ll be an aunt!” She hesitated. “Well, Cane will be an uncle.”
“You’ll be an aunt…you’re still married to Cane. I’m so excited! The baby’s due in August.”
“I’m so, so happy for you.”
“We’re over the moon. They’ll be able to tell the sex soon, but Mal and I agreed that we don’t want to know. We want it to be a surprise.”
“Now, that’s restraint.” Bodie laughed. “Congratulations. I’ll bet your dad and mom are so excited they can’t stand it.”
“They are. Even Cort,” Morie said, shaking her head. “My brother is full of surprises.”
“How’s he doing with Odalie Everett?” Bodie asked curiously.
She sighed. “Odalie has a real superiority complex. She doesn’t want to go around with a man who, to use her words, smells like cow droppings.”
“Good Lord! Her mother’s not like that, is she?”
“No! Heather Everett is an angel. She could find one nice thing to say even about the devil himself. It’s sort of tragic. Cort’s mooning over Odalie, who’s off to Italy soon to study with a famous voice trainer, and there’s this sweet, cowgirlish sort of neighbor who’d die for him and he never sees her.” She frowned. “Well, that’s not quite true. He sees her every other day. He’s usually cussing when he sees her....”
“Why?” Bodie asked, fascinated.
“She’s got this pet rooster. Loves her. Hates men. Sort of like our big mean rooster out back, only worse. He goes over to my folks place where there are several hens but no rooster, to visit, you see. When he sees Cort in the yard, he goes at him, spurs and all. It’s sort of funny,” she said with a helpless laugh. “Cort can’t catch the rooster. He’s sort of a hit-and-run artist. So Cort’s yelling his head off, running after this big red rooster, and the rooster’s running around making that funny sound, like he’s laughing.”
Bodie burst out laughing. “Oh, my gosh!”
“It may end badly. Or in chicken soup. Or something. Anyway, you study hard and keep in touch. I’ll keep you posted on things around here.”
“Thanks, Morie. Congratulations again.” She hesitated. “If Cane’s sprucing himself up…is he seeing that girl in Jackson Hole, do you think?”
“He hasn’t left the ranch since you did. No. He’s not seeing anyone. Want my opinion? He’s waiting for his wife to come home.” She smiled gently.
Bodie caught her breath. Her pale brown eyes were sparkling. “Wow.”
“Yes. Surprising, isn’t it? Make us proud.”
“I’ll do my very best. I promise.”
* * *
THE WEEKS WENT BY IN A rush. Bodie was so busy studying that she lost track of time. She was determined to graduate. She had no social life, even though classmates invited her to musical concerts and special events around campus. She spent her nights in her hotel room studying.
There had been a major development in her life, though. She took her lucky rock to the geology department and was astonished to discover that it was part of a meteorite, and that it was worth almost a hundred thousand dollars.
“I know a collector who’d pay that or more,” the geology professor, Dr. Gandres, told her. “It’s quite unusual, and very well preserved. Do you want me to give you his number?”
She could only nod. She was almost in shock.
He smiled as he wrote it down.
“That’s more than gold is worth,” she stammered.
“Yes. Collectors will pay anything for a superior specimen. Bodie, you really shouldn’t be carrying it around in your pocket, though. It’s too valuable.”
She laughed hollowly. “Oh, yes, I do realize that now. Thank you!”
“My pleasure.”
* * *
SHE WENT BACK TO HER hotel room in shock. That little rock would have spared her all the turmoil of the past weeks. It might have saved her grandfather’s life. It would certainly have spared them so many upsets. But she hadn’t realized it was valuable. She’d always carried it around, without knowing what sort of rock it really was. Now that she knew, she almost didn’t want to part with it. But it would pay for college, a good vehicle of her own, graduate school—even, if necessary, a divorce. It would make her financially independent. So, yes, she had to sell it. She picked up the phone and called the collector.
* * *
A WEEK LATER SHE HAD A formidable check in her bank account. She paid her hotel bill and moved into a modest apartment near campus that was in a private home with an elderly couple. She had Darby come and get the ranch truck because she had a small, good used car of her own now.
“What’s going on?” Morie asked that evening.
Bodie laughed as she saw her friend’s face on Skype. “Remember my lucky rock, the one I always carried around in my pocket?”
“Yes. It was very unusual.”
“It was part of a meteorite and I just sold it for a small fortune to a collector.”
“Heavens! There’s this show on TV about people who hunt those for a living.”
“I don’t watch TV—no time. I’ll have to look that one up, though.”
“You should. It’s fascinating. These two guys go all over the world looking for fragments.” She hesitated. “You still have your mother’s property, you know, the deeds will be in your hands in a few weeks according to the attorneys.”
“They were in touch with me,” Bodie replied. “But I’m not selling the house and land, not for anything.”
“I don’t blame you. A home should stay in the family, if possible.”
“So I’d still have been short of cash. I want to pay you all back for all you’ve done for me....”
“If you even try, there will be a big scene. I promise,” Morie assured her.
She grimaced. “Well, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She pursed her lips. “You’re going to have company Friday night.”
Bodie blinked. “What?”
“I heard from a reputable source that someone’s driving up to Billings Friday to pay you a visit. Someone tall, dark, handsome and determined.”
“Cane?” Bodie gasped.
“I do believe that was his name....” Morie laughed.
Bodie almost dropped the cell phone in her excitement. “Friday? He’s coming here?”
“Yes, he is.”
“He didn’t call me or anything,” Bodie faltered.
Morie laughed again. “He thinks he’s going to surprise you. So this call is a heads-up.”
“Thanks a million, Morie. I’ll put on my best dress....”
“No, no. You don’t know he’s coming. Or he’ll know who told you.”
“Wasn’t thinking, sorry. Darn! What will I wear? What will I say? What will I do?”
“Calm down, take a deep breath and just let life happen.”
Bodie took a deep breath. She didn’t calm down. She was flushed and nervous and more excited than she’d been since Cane proposed. He was coming to see her. Wait…he’d said he didn’t want a divorce. But what if he
really did? What if he was coming to ask her for one, what if that beautiful blonde woman was back in his life…?
“Don’t,” Morie said after the long silence. “Stop tormenting yourself. You have to meet things head-on, sweetheart. Just wait until he gets there and talk to him.”
“Sounds simple.”
“It is simple.”
Bodie took another deep breath. “Okay,” she said finally. “I’ll pretend I don’t know a thing.”
“Good girl. And good luck.”
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”
“Thanks. Same here. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
“Okay.”
Bodie hung up. She went to bed that night, but she didn’t sleep until it was almost dawn. When the alarm clock woke her, she had circles under her eyes and she had to run to make it to her early class on time.
* * *
ALL WEEK SHE THOUGHT about what Cane would look like, what he’d say to her, what they’d do when he showed up at her apartment. She went through every single scenario she could imagine. And she could think up lots. But her supposing caused more worry than ever. She was convinced that he wanted to end their rocky relationship. He’d always said he didn’t want any part of marriage, but Bodie had come up on his blind side. He’d married her to keep Tank from asking her. It had been a brotherly competition with Bodie as the prize in Cane’s eyes. She was sure of it.
She wondered how his ribs were doing. It had been long enough that they should be completely healed by now. If she passed all her courses, she’d graduate in less than a month. That brought another worry. Where would she go when she got home? Then she remembered. She would have her house, the one she’d shared with Granddaddy, the one her mother had left her that Will had stolen.
Will was in jail with Larry. That meant a little less trouble for Bodie, a little less fear that she might run into her stepfather at a local store and have to deal with him. She still bristled at her own actions. Posing for a teasing photo. It was so out of character for her. But she’d done it to save her grandfather. It had been useless. She could have saved herself the anguish of the consequences. But she’d done what she thought she had to do, at the time. She’d have done anything for her grandfather, within limits. She still missed him, very much. She always would.
* * *
FRIDAY AFTERNOON, Bodie finished her last class and drove back to her apartment. She looked around for a car, or a ranch truck from Wyoming, but she didn’t see a soul anywhere. She let out a sigh of relief. At least she had a little time to freshen up, tidy the apartment, maybe cook a few things to heat up later if Cane decided to stay for supper. Whatever he had to say, they could have a meal first.
She had it all planned out in her mind. She put her key in the lock and frowned when she found the door already unlocked. She must have forgotten to lock it when she went to her classes. Stupid mistake. Of course, the sweet elderly couple she lived with wouldn’t have let anybody into her apartment. She knew that for a fact. They were very protective of her.
So she went into her apartment, hung up her sweater coat, humming a soundtrack from a new movie she liked, tossed her purse into a chair, went into her small kitchen unit—and came face-to-face with a man in jeans and a chambray shirt cooking steaks on her stove.
She caught her breath and almost passed out.
Cane turned his head and grinned at her. He was so handsome that he made her heart stop. It had been so long since those black eyes had twinkled at her, since he’d smiled at all. He smelled of spice and soap and his shirt was faultlessly pressed—Mavie’s work, no doubt. He looked like every woman’s dream of the perfect man. She couldn’t stop staring. Her eyes were starved for him.
“I thought you might be hungry. Those late classes are hard to get through. What was it, physical anthropology?”
She nodded. Words wouldn’t form correctly in her mouth.
He turned the steaks one last time, cut off the stove and forked them onto a large platter. Nearby was a bowl full of hash brown potatoes that smelled lovely, and a bowl of Brussels sprouts. All of that together made up Bodie’s favorite meal, and he knew it.
“Surprised to see me?” he murmured, coming closer.
She nodded again.
He cupped her face in his hands. One of them was a prosthesis so cleverly constructed that it actually felt real on her skin.
“It won’t fool anyone up close,” he whispered, looking at her mouth. “But it’s not bad at a distance. It works like a real one. Lots of levers and pulleys and things.... Oh, God, I’ll die if I can’t kiss you!”
His mouth hit hers like a storm, furiously hungry, intense, his lips crushing hers apart as his arm swallowed her whole and riveted her to the length of his powerful body.
She whimpered at the anguish of passion he incited in her. She reached around him and pressed even closer, her lips opening to meet the feverish crush of his in the apartment where nothing felt real anymore except Cane in her arms.
He groaned. The robot arm held her while the other one found its way surely under her blouse and bra, and onto soft, firm flesh. He kissed her with pure intent, his lips teasing, provoking, while his fingers brushed lightly over a nub that grew hard and almost painful with the sweet torment. She lifted toward his hand, her eyes closed, her mouth clinging.
“Too many…clothes,” he whispered roughly. “I’m starving to death!”
He tugged her into her bedroom, closed the door and piled down onto the unmade bed with her, struggling to get her shirt off. In the end, she helped him, stripping down to soft, flushed skin while he watched, his eyes intent, hungry.
She lay back on the pillow. He hung above her, looking at the soft pink beauty of her body.
“All of it,” he said roughly.
She swallowed uneasily.
“All of yours,” he said. “Then all of mine. You’ll have to help me, Bodie,” he said in a soft, tender tone. “I don’t know if I can do this....”
“Of course you can do this,” she whispered. His insecurity made her bold. Without thinking about her modesty, which tormented her, she stripped off her jeans and then went to undress him. It was exciting to take off his shirt, button by button, to see the thick hair that covered his chest, see the muscles rippling as she pulled it off his arms.
The prosthesis was held on with a harness. She learned to unfasten it, and noticed his hesitation.
“I’m not sure…” he began heavily.
“Men have lost limbs in wars since wars began,” she said tenderly. “And women have coped. I’ll cope. You wait and see. You can teach me.”
“Teach you.” He laughed huskily as her hands went to his belt. “Yes,” he murmured, bending to her mouth. “I can do that.”
It was difficult at first. She’d never even seen a man without his clothes, except in some furtively concealed magazines a girl had brought to high school once. She didn’t watch foreign films or hang out on porn sites, so she was somewhat lacking in what seemed to be common knowledge for most modern women.
“You are a trip, honey,” he mused as she fumbled off the last things that covered them both. “What an education this has been.”
She swallowed and tried not to look at the obvious place. “Well, I’m repressed…”
“Not for long. I promise you.” He eased her back on the sheets, one long leg sweeping between both of hers while he propped himself on what was left of his injured arm. He did it gracefully, without clumsiness, and his other hand went to a place that lifted her right off the bed with mingled embarrassment and pleasure.
“Don’t panic,” he whispered against her lips. “This is to get you ready for me. It’s sweet and sexy and very exciting. Don’t think. Just relax and let me touch you.”
She hadn’t planned to be so enthusiastic. It seemed to come naturally when he found a spot that made her mind explode with pleasure. She arched up to his hand, her eyes wide and shocked as she moved in ways she’d never dreamed she would
. She wasn’t thinking any longer. She was all sensation, bursting with pleasure, writhing on the clean sheets as he brought her to a sudden, shocking climax and looked into her eyes while it happened.
His face was flushed with pleasure. “You’ve never felt that,” he said, surprised.
“No,” she choked out.
“Then this,” he murmured, easing down between her legs, “is really going to blow your mind. Move your legs around my hips. Let me show you how to love.”
She followed his lead, her body protesting only a little as he began to penetrate it with slow, steady movements of his hips. All the time, he looked straight into her eyes. Once, embarrassed as the pleasure grew, she tried to close them.
“No,” he whispered firmly. “Look at me. Let me watch.”
“It’s…so intimate…” she whispered brokenly.
“You’re my wife,” he whispered back, moving deeper inside her with every long, slow thrust. “You’re everything. Share this with me. Share every second of it with me…!”
She choked back a scream. Suddenly it was urgent. So urgent. She gasped as her hips leaped up to meet the downward thrust of his, she felt him growing, swelling inside her. His teeth clenched as his hips ground down into hers.
“So…sweet,” he bit off. “So sweet, Bodie, so sweet, so sweet… God!”
He shot down inside her like a gun going off, and she pushed up against him as hard, as fast, as she could, driving for the rhythm that would end the anguish of tension that was building, building, building…!
“Cane!” Her voice didn’t even sound like her voice. It was so alien that she didn’t recognize it.
“Look…at…me!” he managed to say in the last few seconds.
She saw his black eyes dilate even more as he began to convulse above her in rhythmic jerks that echoed the pistollike movement of his hips. When he climaxed, she felt him burst inside her, felt the heat of it, felt him become hers even as her own body fell and fell through endless layers of pleasure that almost sent her unconscious. Whatever her dreams of intimacy had been, the reality was so far beyond them that she couldn’t believe the difference.
He collapsed on top of her, sweating, shivering, his mouth on her taut breasts. “Never in my life,” he said. “Not like this.”