Taming Clay

by Raeann Blake

  Isobell’s heart went out to him. She didn’t know what had happened, but he was trying.

  “Hailey, are we on for Saturday?” she asked.

  Hailey’s head finally came up and she glanced at Clay. “I don’t know. I don’t think I know what days I’m off.”

  Clay blinked a couple of times then grunted. “Damn. I don’t guess we talked about that. As long as the work is done, you can take off whatever days you want to. If anything comes up that I need to find you for, I’ll call you but I won’t call unless I have to. Take off. Go downtown and explore. You’ll enjoy it.”

  She nodded and looked back down then right back up again. “You don’t have my number.”

  Laine immediately laughed in surprise and shoved Clay’s shoulder. “Goddamn, Clay. You didn’t have her fill out her paperwork? How is she gonna pay herself?”

  “Hell,” Clay muttered. “The papers are in your office somewhere. We’ll find them and get everything filled out this morning before we start on those bills. I just didn’t…think about it,” he said as he trailed off when he saw just the slightest twitch at the corner of her mouth and she finally lifted eyes to his that weren’t flat or emotionless.

  “I’m sorry. But that’s funny. It wouldn’t have been when I started payroll and found out I wasn’t on there, I’m sure, but it’s still funny. We’ve had a lot going on. I did the payroll at home and I knew we needed the information, but I didn’t think about it either.”

  “Does that mean you’re willing to work for free?” Clay asked quickly then smiled when she shot an answer right back.

  “Not a chance. Besides, how would I be able to afford to go downtown with Isobell when she swears I won’t be able to go without coming back home with something that I just have to have?”

  “I won’t argue with that. I know I seldom get down there without coming home with a new sculpture. Here. Put your number in there for me. Do you have ours?” he asked as he unclipped his cell phone and slid it across the counter to her.

  She took it and flipped it open as she nodded. “Yeah. Laine gave them to me the day after I had the run-in with that stupid truck. I don’t have yours though, Isobell,” she said as she entered the number then handed it back to Clay and took Laine’s and entered it there as well.

  “Here, give me yours and I’ll enter my number and you can put yours in mine. Does it feel like we’re back in school and trading notes to any of you?” she asked as she passed her cell phone to Hailey.

  The laughter that slipped out of Hailey’s throat was music to all of their ears. “A little. Or maybe we’re members of a special club. The Double-C Bar club. And…”

  They watched as her eyes shifted down to the bar with a little frown then right back up to Isobell. “Do they have a place down there that has belt buckles you can have personalized?”

  “A couple of them, why?”

  “I’d like…wait. Clay, would you mind if I had a belt buckle done with the Double-C Bar brand on it? It’s okay if you’d rather I didn’t. I’d just like to have it if you don’t mind.”

  He glanced at Laine in surprise then right back to her. “No, baby. I don’t mind. I think that would be nice to have. If you find a place that will do that, let me know. I’d like to get some for me, Laine, and Shack. And see if they have kid-sized buckles. I’d like to get some for the boys. What a great idea.”

  He didn’t see Laine or Isobell’s eyes meet or the surprised looks when he called her ‘baby’. When Isobell cleared her throat loudly he turned and met a steady stare from her then grinned.

  “Oh, and one for Isobell,” he said then laughed.

  “Now wait a minute. You’re gonna buy us all one but make her pay for hers?” Laine asked then let the wicked grin show when Hailey’s eyes narrowed and she turned to Clay with a steady gaze while she waited for an answer.

  Clay ran a quick hand down his face then shook his head. “Now would I do that? If you find it, you ladies go ahead and get yours. Bring me the receipt and I’ll pay you back.”

  The wide smile immediately shot across her face and she turned back to Laine. “I can see I’m going to like having you up here. Clay, what do I have to do to join the “Let’s Get Laine and Shack to Move In’ drive?”

  “Me, too,” Isobell chimed in.

  “I think you just did. Laine, I believe you boys are in trouble,” Clay said with a smile of his own. He knew nothing had been settled but he couldn’t help his heart flying over the wide smile on Hailey’s face. It was beautiful.

  He couldn’t keep the laughter inside when a sly smile showed up on Laine’s face as he looked from one woman to the other.

  “Well, now. Let’s talk about this. What’s it worth to both of you?”

  * * *

  “Hailey, this is all of the bills for this week?” Clay asked as he thumbed through them and frowned.

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Well when I’ve had to do it in between times, when I had somebody doing this job, and even when I was going over the daily detail of what they did when they were here, it just seemed like more.”

  “Yeah? Let me use your computer a minute,” she said as she came around the desk then waited for him to rise before she settled in the chair. He watched her as she opened the software application and printed out a report then glanced down at it then right back to her when she handed it to him.

  “What is this?”

  “That’s a list of all of the bills that have been paid for the last three months, grouped by month so that you can see whether or not we’re missing anything.”

  “Hailey, I didn’t mean to imply…”

  “Clay, I didn’t take it that way. It was a perfectly legitimate question. This is something that you can use to set your mind at ease and a way for you to ensure that we’re not missing anything. Just a tool for you to use until you don’t think you need it anymore,” she said easily as she went back around the desk.

  “Okay. Yeah, okay. That’s smart I guess. But can I tell you what I really meant?” he said quietly.

  “Sure,” she said then waited.

  “What I meant was that you have this so much more organized than it ever has been before that it doesn’t seem to be nearly the chore that it was before you came here,” he said without dropping his eyes from hers. He saw the slight flash of surprise cross her face before she hid it and knew where it came from. She fully expected him not to trust anything she did or said and it surprised her to think now that he might.

  “Oh. Thank you. Uh—I have a couple of months’ worth of detail on all of those in now. When you get time, we should sit down and let you run the reports yourself so that you can check them whenever you want, not just when I print out reports and give to you. You may not want some of them printed at all. Or you may decide you want certain ones printed at certain times every month. Once I get more of the detail in it will give you a better picture of what’s happened over the last year or two years. But it’s a start and not too much information for you to have to decipher at first to decide which reports you like best. Later on, after you’re comfortable with them and decide what you want we can settle into a routine where I can print the ones you want printed and you’ll know how to run and view any others you want to on the computer, too.”

  She was trying desperately to keep everything on a business level. As long as she stayed on business she was able to keep her mind focused and on track. Any time she stepped off that path, she could feel the ache inside of her. She’d known better than to let the things happen between them that had. But she hadn’t really been able to stop them. And probably still wouldn’t. Now she had an ache inside that was for something that was so close and yet so far. It was for that one piece of him that she wanted so badly but knew that he would probably never let her have. His heart.

  “Hailey?”

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “I said that’s fine. Maybe we can do that Friday afternoon or next week if you have time.” He watched her fa
ce as she pulled that business mask back down over the sad look that had been on her face and he had to wonder if that was a sign he’d been right all along. Maybe she was as good at playing games as he thought and had just fooled both Laine and Shack because she was so good at it.

  “Yeah, Friday afternoon should be fine. Okay, if these look okay, I’ll get those printed and ready to go out next week. Oh, I added a couple of bottles of bourbon to the supply list. With both of us drinking it, I thought we should double what you usually buy,” she said as she rose and waited for him to say the bills were okay.

  Clay studied her for several seconds then nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. And these are fine. Go ahead and run those. You should camp out with us tonight.”

  His mouth quickly snapped shut. That hadn’t even been a conscious thought. How had it come out?

  Hailey looked up at him in surprise then right back down to the bills in her hands. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Clay. I mean with the boys there and…”

  “I wasn’t asking you to have sex on the ground in front of the kids, Hailey. I just meant to sleep under the stars…with me,” he said quietly.

  “I…I’ll think about it. But this should be a time for you and Laine and Shack to share with the boys. But I’ll think about it. I should get these entered,” she said and quickly turned away, starting for the door.

  “Hailey, wait. Just give me a minute. I just want to make sure that I really say this right. I mean I just don’t want this to come out wrong. I…whether you decide to or not, maybe…”

  He stopped and took a deep breath and said, “Could we maybe camp out one night, just the two of us? Could we sleep under the stars one night where we can be together without Laine between us?”

  Of all the things she might have thought he was going to say, that was the last. She only hesitated for just a second then nodded.

  “Yes. I’d like that, Clay. We could do that?” she asked softly.

  “I own this damn place. We can do anything we want to do. Hailey, I’d…God,” he said trailing off. He knew he was saying far too much, telling her what he was feeling without really saying the words. But he couldn’t seem to stop those things from coming out of his mouth.

  “I’d really, really like for us to do that,” he finally said after he took a deep breath.

  “Okay. I’d very much like to do that. Could we go back to where we stayed the second night? Could we sit beside that pond? You were going to kiss me that night. Could you not stop this time?” she said with her breath growing fainter the longer she talked and the closer he got.

  He didn’t remember even getting up, but he was standing in front of her now. “Yes. We can do all of those things. And I won’t stop,” he whispered then brushed the backs of his fingers up the side of her cheek. He dropped his head just as his hand slipped behind her neck and he brushed his lips against hers then settled them there in a soft kiss.

  He had just lifted his head to gaze down at her when the front door opened and he heard Laine call out. “Hey, Clay. They’re here.”

  “You should go,” Hailey whispered hoarsely.

  “Think about sleeping out there tonight. Go put those bills away and come help us welcome them.”

  “Okay. Go ahead.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Clay had just stepped off the porch when Kathy set Timothy down on one side of the car and he looked up to see Taylor rounding the car from the opposite direction, both of them running straight at him and squealing.

  “Uncle Clay. We’re gonna camp out, Uncle Clay.”

  Clay dropped down to his knees and caught them both. The laughter rang out first and then he pressed a kiss to each boy’s head before he held them back and looked at them.

  “Yes, we are. And I can’t wait. I’m so glad you’re here,” he said as he hugged them back to him. He finally turned his head and looked up at Laine and grinned at the man who was patiently waiting for Clay to let the boys go.

  “I think Uncle Laine wants a hug, too,” he said as he let them go and stood up then laughed when Laine’s face lit up and he pulled both boys into a big hug.

  Clay turned and faced Kathy and Gage in front of him. He leaned down and kissed Kathy on the cheek then held his hand out to Gage.

  “Welcome, to both of you. Gage, thank you for doing this. I can’t tell you what this means to us,” he said earnestly.

  “Thanks for inviting us out, Clay. I’m really looking forward to it. Maybe almost as much as the two of them. They’ve been bouncing off the walls ever since they found out,” Gage said as he shook his hand then glanced over Clay’s shoulder.

  Clay turned to see what he was looking at then smiled and motioned for Hailey to come off of the porch. “Hailey, you know Kathy. This is my brother-in-law, Gage. Gage this is Hailey Lambert, my business manager.”

  He didn’t hear Kathy’s breath suck in sharply, but Hailey did. She glanced at her then right back to Gage as she held out her hand with a friendly smile.

  “Gage, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope you enjoy your stay here. I just saw Isobell inside and she said she’d be right out,” she said then had to stop and laugh when she heard two simultaneous voices squeal as Isobell rushed down the steps and hugged the boys to her tightly with tears in her eyes.

  “Oh, Kathy. They’ve grown so much,” she said tearfully.

  “It’s so good to see all of you. Boys, look. Here comes Grandpa Shack,” she said then pointed across the yard. Both boys started running then skidded to a stop and looked back at Clay silently.

  He nodded and said, “Go ahead. It’s okay.”

  “What was that?” Hailey asked.

  “They know that they’re not supposed to run around out here in the front alone unless I tell them it’s okay. Just to be safe in case any of the guys are headed in or out on horses or even in one of the jeeps. They’re good kids.”

  “Gage, how are you? Kathy, don’t you look beautiful?” Isobell said as she hugged both Kathy and Gage.

  Hailey didn’t miss the surprise that went across Gage’s face when Clay burst out laughing as he watched Shack get tackled by the two boys and they nearly knocked him down. She watched Kathy as she looked up at Clay in slight wonder then looked back at Gage and mouthed four words. I told you so.

  “Can I help you get anything out of the car?” Hailey asked.

  “You ladies go ahead. We’ll get it,” Clay said as he laid one hand on Gage’s shoulder and another on Laine’s before they all started for the car.

  “My God,” Kathy whispered then glanced at Hailey then Isobell and followed them inside.

  “He’s changed even more. He’s never introduced Gage as his brother-in-law before. He’s always introduced him as my husband. And he’s certainly never put a hand on his shoulder,” Kathy said quietly after they were inside.

  “You bringing the boys out here and staying is something really special for him, Kathy. I hope you’ll be able to do it more often,” Hailey said quietly.

  “I hope so, too. I usually have this smothering feeling that sort of settles around me when I start this way. And the closer I get, the worse it gets. But not so much this time. I’m not sure why, but I know it feels different,” Kathy admitted.

  Isobell linked her arm through hers and started for the stairs. “Well we’ll just cross our fingers that it stays that way and gets even better. He’d like nothing more than for you and Gage to bring the boys out every chance you get. Come on upstairs and you can decide which rooms you want.”

  Kathy laughed and said, “You mean which room. I doubt seriously that either one of those boys will be still long enough to be in a bedroom. They got so excited when we first told them we were coming that we couldn’t understand one word they said for about an hour.”

  Hailey and Isobell both laughed and turned when the front door opened. Both boys barreled in ahead of Shack with the other three men following them. Shack stopped long enough to kiss Kathy on the cheek before the boys pulled h
im farther into the living room.

  They carried the bags upstairs and then Clay smiled at Hailey then Laine and said, “I’ll be right back. Gotta get something out of my room.”

  Hailey nudged Kathy’s arm and whispered, “Do you have a camera?”

  “Yeah. I wanted to get some pictures of the boys on the horses. Why?”

  “You should get it and come downstairs. You don’t want to miss this,” she whispered then went down the stairs without saying anything else.

  Shack and Laine were on the floor with the boys sitting between them, peppering them with questions about camping out and sleeping under the stars. Hailey slipped over to the side of the room beside Isobell and waited. She didn’t want to miss this either. She glanced up at the stairs when she heard Clay’s bedroom door and saw Gage and Kathy coming down the stairs with the camera.