by Karen Kelley
“Mr. Braxton, did you need something?” Rhonda asked as she looked up from behind her desk.
“Celeste?”
“In the therapy room.”
He didn’t stop but walked right toward it and went inside. Celeste was putting clean sheets on the table but looked up when he entered. He shut the door behind him, hoping whatever was said would go no further than this room. He’d give her enough money to leave and he’d make up something to explain why she’d taken off.
But first, he had to know what was in the tea. “What did you give Ms. Darnell?”
“Katie?”
“That’s the only Ms. Darnell that I know, so yes, what did you give her?”
“A massage.” She tucked in a corner of the sheet.
“After that?”
“I had Betty send over some cookies.”
He counted to five. “The tea. What was in the tea?”
She was beginning to look a little worried, and so she should. He couldn’t have an employee drugging his guests.
“I’m not sure. It was your tea.”
“My tea?” Some of his anger began to dissipate.
She nodded, then reached behind her for a box. “Spicy chai tea.” She pointed to the words on the box. “Special blend. I thought it sounded good so I brewed us a cup. Is something wrong with Katie? I feel fine, and Rhonda had a cup.”
“My tea?”
“It was in the supply closet. Apparently, Amy ordered it but never used it. I thought Katie needed extraspecial attention because she seemed so frazzled. After the massage, I had Rhonda brew the tea and Betty send over a plate of cookies. I think Katie just needed some female conversation to feel like a woman again. I thought it had worked.” She worried her bottom lip.
“That’s all you did?”
She nodded. Man, how wrong could he have been?
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For thinking…” His brow creased.
Understanding slowly dawned on her face. “You thought I’d drugged her?”
But rather than being insulted, she was smiling, then laughing at his misconceptions about her. And why shouldn’t she? He’d made a total ass out of himself.
“Again, I apologize.”
“Apology accepted. It’s not like you know that much about me, so it’s okay that you’d be a little suspicious.”
“Not good enough.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Excuse me?”
“Have dinner with me this evening. I have a private dining area. I’d like it if you’d join me.”
“Do you think the boss would mind?”
Now she was teasing him. He guessed it was better than her throwing something at him.
“Please.”
“Okay,” she said as she smoothed her hand over the crisp white sheet and tucked it a little tighter at the corner. “I have a few ideas for the spa that I’d like to talk over with you. Nothing major. I asked Rhonda and she thought they were good ideas.”
“You have ideas already?”
“Oh, it’s a great spa. I just think if you added a few things it could be better.”
“Like tea and cookies?”
The warmth in her smile filled the room. “Yes, like tea and cookies…chocolates.”
“Then I’ll see you about six and we’ll discuss your ideas.”
“Six it is.”
There wasn’t any reason for him to hang around. He’d blundered and apologized. Then he’d invited her to dinner. Dumb excuse, but he did want to make it up to her.
And maybe he wanted to find out more about the woman who had made such a big difference in Katie Darnell’s day.
He left the spa area, his steps lighter than they had been in a long time. He glanced down at his watch as he walked inside the main building. He didn’t have that long to wait, either.
“You look like you’re in a good mood,” Cal said.
Brian looked up. “I’m always in a good mood.” His gaze swept over Cal. “Your hair’s wet.”
“I went swimming in the pond.”
“We have a pool.”
“I like the pond. Remember when we used to go there?”
Brian smiled. “I remember how we used to get in trouble for going there. Grandma was afraid we’d drown.”
“That’s three times.”
Cal had finally lost his marbles. “Huh?”
“You smiled the day I arrived, when we walked up from the barn and you were telling me about Wanda Jo, then just now. I was afraid you’d forgotten how.”
“Funny.”
“Seriously, you need to slow down a little and enjoy life.”
“You’re right,” Brian agreed.
“I am?”
“Yes, you are.” When Cal grinned, Brian remembered just how much his big brother meant to him. Speaking of which. “How’s it going with that reporter? I hate that you’re having to deal with all this crap. Say the word and I’ll toss her off the property.”
“I think I can handle her.”
“Good.”
“I’ll see you at dinner tonight.”
Brian could feel color flooding his face. “Actually, I have other plans.”
Cal gave him a questioning look.
“I’m having dinner with Celeste. She wants to discuss some ideas she thinks will improve the spa.”
“Ideas?”
Brian couldn’t stop his grin. “Yeah, ideas. Now go so I can finish my work.” But as Cal walked away, Brian heard his chuckle.
Brian found himself looking at his watch again and wondering why time was moving so slowly.
And then it was a quarter to six and he could feel his pulse speed up. When he stepped out of his office, Celeste was there, waiting for him.
“I would’ve come to your room,” he said.
“I didn’t know this was a date. I thought it was an apology, and so we could discuss some ideas.”
A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. She had him there. “You’re in Texas, ma’am. A gentleman always meets a lady at her door.”
“Is that right?” She still looked skeptical.
“Absolutely.”
“I’m from California.”
“I won’t hold it against you. I’m sure you got to Texas as quickly as you could.”
She cocked an eyebrow. “That’s so not funny.”
“Then I’ll just hope you’re hungry.”
“Starved.”
“Good.” He led the way to the secluded alcove away from the dining room. This was his private spot. The bay windows looked out onto the back pasture, reminding him of what it had been like years ago, before he’d opened the ranch to the public. French doors led to a private patio.
There was no more spectacular view than when the sun was setting as it was now. Soft oranges blended into a darker red, then spread across into a wide open deep blue sky with threads of a light gray weaving through the palette of magnificent colors.
“You really love it here, don’t you?” she said.
“Does it show that much?”
“And then some.”
“I grew up here—me and Cal. It was our grandparents’ place. Our parents were killed in an accident and they raised us.”
“I’m sorry about your parents.”
“I didn’t really know them.”
“Then I’m doubly sorry.”
For a moment, he saw pain etched on her face and he wondered if she was remembering something from her own past, but he didn’t press because one of the young men who helped serve in the kitchen arrived with glasses and a bottle of wine that Brian had arranged for earlier.
“I took the liberty of asking Betty to fix us something special. I hope you enjoy the meal.”
She smiled and again he marveled at how she seemed to brighten the room.
“I’m sure I will.”
The waiter returned a few minutes later with salads and a basket of bread. For the first time in his life, Brian didn’t know
what to talk about with a woman. Celeste saved him from stuttering like a fool.
“Tell me about life on the ranch.”
Okay, that was a safe topic as long as he didn’t mention Wanda Jo. “We have a ghost.” Oh, that was smart. Now she’d think she was having dinner with a lunatic.
“Really? I thought you didn’t believe in them.”
He shrugged, feeling the heat move up his face and was glad they were eating by candlelight. “I’ve never seen it or anything.”
“Sometimes you don’t have to. You can sense they’re there. Is it the person who smoked the pipe?”
“No, that was Grandfather. He loved his pipe.” He cleared his throat. “The ghost is at the old homestead. My grandmother said a young woman died there.”
“Oh, how sad that her spirit is trapped.”
He frowned. “I never thought about it like that.” He took a drink of his wine. “We have a guest staying there.”
“Will she free the ghost’s spirit?”
He laughed outright at that. “I don’t think so. She’s a reporter trying to get a story.”
“What kind of story?”
“About Cal.” When she still looked confused, he continued, “My brother plays professional football.”
“Yes, I know, and he does it very well.”
“She’s trying to dig up some dirt on him.”
Celeste frowned. “I hope she doesn’t print anything that will hurt his career. This reporter doesn’t sound like a very nice person.”
“I don’t think she is. Cal said Ms. Scott looks like an old nag our grandfather used to have.” He laughed and shook his head at the description Cal had used. That had been a really ugly horse.
“So why does he let her stay? I would think you’d throw her off the property.”
They stopped talking when the server brought their main course. As soon as he was gone, Brian continued.
“If it had been up to me, the reporter would already be gone.” He shrugged. “I think he wants to teach her a lesson about messing with other people’s lives.”
“I hope he does.”
He studied her. “Do you really like football?”
“I love it.”
An amazing woman. He nodded toward her plate. “How’s the steak?”
“Perfect.”
They finished eating and both declined dessert. He refilled her glass and they stepped to the terrace. A fountain bubbled in the background.
“It’s so tranquil here.” She looked up at the sky. “And so many stars. They seem so bright and so close I could almost imagine that I could reach up and grab a handful.”
He followed her to the edge of the patio, and when she turned to look up at him, he could only stare.
“What?” she asked.
“You’re so beautiful.”
She raised her glass to her lips and took a drink. He could handle that, but when she ran her tongue across her lips to catch that last drop of wine, he couldn’t resist leaning forward and brushing his lips across hers.
“Sweet,” he said, stroking her neck.
She took a step back. “I’m…I’m sorry if I gave the impression that there would be more to this than…than sharing a meal and discussing the spa. Maybe we should leave our talk until tomorrow.” She hurried away before he could stop her.
“No, I’m sorry,” he muttered. Why the hell had he kissed her? But, then, he thought he knew the answer. She was young and beautiful and like no one he’d ever met.
And he’d ruined it by acting like a fool.
Or maybe not. For just a second he was almost certain she’d returned his kiss.
Chapter 18
Nikki dragged her eyelids open and stared at the clock as she waited for her eyes to adjust so she could read the numbers. It was seven. Something was different about this morning. But what?
She shoved the cover back and forced herself to sit on the side of the bed. Oh, Lord, every muscle in her body ached. Who knew riding a horse could make a person this sore. She’d only thought milking and churning butter was bad. Okay, churning butter was still a horrible memory.
It suddenly occurred to her what was different. The rooster hadn’t crowed. She came wide awake.
Oh no, what if it had died during the night? Guilt washed over her as she hobbled out of bed and stumbled to the front door, sighing with relief when she saw the bird.
Romeo strutted back and forth in front of Bessie Two’s pen. Well, as much as he could since he still listed to the side. But he was alive, and that’s what counted.
She stepped to the front porch. The fresh air was crisp and there was even a clean freshness carried on the light breeze.
Birds were singing and a squirrel jumped from tree to tree. Warmth spread through her. So maybe the country wasn’t so bad after all.
Yeah, as if she didn’t know the real reason why she felt as if she were walking on clouds: Cal. He’d brought something new and wonderful to her life.
Fantastic orgasms!
No, no it was more than that.
She closed her eyes for a moment and remembered how it felt to have him hold her close, brush his lips across hers, and make sweet love to her while skinny dipping in the pond.
Life was suddenly very, very good. More than reporting the news, more than going after the story. More than the cutthroat world. Excitement bubbled inside her and she just couldn’t keep it bottled up a second longer.
She swung her arms wide and welcomed this new day with joy. “Good morning, world!”
The rooster jumped three feet off the ground, turned and saw her, then began to squawk in his soprano crow.
“Cock! Cock! Cock!”
Wings flapping he made a beeline around the side of the barn.
“Moooooo,” Bessie Two reprimanded.
The birds grew silent and the squirrel stopped to look at her as though she’d lost her mind.
Nikki slunk back inside the house. Okay, so maybe she’d been a little too energetic in her appreciation of the start of a new day. It was all Cal’s fault that she was so giddy. He’d cast some kind of spell over her.
She wouldn’t let the way he made her feel sway her from the reason she was here. Maybe she was just discovering there was more to life than her job. She could have both. Couldn’t she—relaxation and work? Yes, of course she could.
She quickly pulled on clothes and made a fast trip to the outhouse. She was back in the cabin and just finishing off a soda and a Danish when she heard Cal’s pickup. She quickly shoved the last bite in her mouth and downed the rest of her drink before throwing her trash into a bag and hiding it in the cabinet.
She was just too damned good, although she was starting to get tired of ham sandwiches for lunch and dinner, and pastry for breakfast.
She grabbed the bucket and went to the front porch. “I was just going to start the milking,” she lied. “Isn’t it a beautiful day?” And it was, so she really wasn’t lying about that.
But she couldn’t help thinking somebody somewhere was sipping a latte in a tiny bistro watching the traffic whizz by and thinking the same thing about it being a beautiful day.
He grinned and they walked toward the barn. “Yeah, it is,” he said.
But that person in the city wasn’t with Cal. Had she ever met a man more handsome? She didn’t think so. And he was so nice to show her everything there was to know about a long-ago era. If she had wanted to know about it, this would be the ideal situation.
“I didn’t ask—how long will you be visiting your brother?”
“Who knows? Maybe longer than I thought.”
“Don’t you have to get back? Isn’t there some kind of football training you have to go to?”
Silence.
She stopped and looked at him. “You’re still on the team, aren’t you?” He stopped walking, but didn’t answer. “I mean, you didn’t quit or anything, did you?” What if Cynthia’s father had gotten him fired? Her daddy was a powerful man.
“I’ve been thinking about retiring, taking things a little easier. A person can get knocked around only so many times before the body begins to protest.”
Now that was a juicy tidbit for her article.
“Any thoughts about marriage and kids?”
He started walking again, so she was forced to keep up with his longer strides. “Are you applying for the position?”
She laughed. “No. Like I said, that’s on the bottom of my list of things to do in this lifetime.”
They walked inside the barn and toward the back.
“No, just curious.” She smiled, sure she presented the picture of innocence. But when he looked at her, for just a brief second, she felt a pinch of guilt.
“Tell you what, you get the feed and I’ll start the milking,” he said.
He didn’t have to twist her arm. Besides, she needed to put a little space between them. She couldn’t feel guilty. That emotion was not allowed in her line of work. She was here to do a job, to get a story. If she started feeling guilty about what she needed to write, her career would soon be down the tube.
She took a deep, steady breath, trying to regroup her feelings. “You’re sure you want to do the milking?”
“Yeah.” Cal scooped some water in the bucket and squatted beside Bessie and began to wash her udders.
There was something different about Nikki but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. She was still probing for answers, but that was nothing new. There for just a brief second, she’d looked a little…guilty?
Yeah, sure, he needed his eyes checked. Jeff was right about her being good, and Cal was seeing firsthand just how good.
But when they made love, he could forget all about why she was here. He had a feeling she did, too. He knew damned well she wasn’t faking her responses to his touch.
But what the hell was he doing offering to milk the blasted cow?
As though he didn’t know the answer to that one. When she’d walked out on the porch and the sun had bathed her in morning light, it had been all he could do to breathe. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
And for that moment in time, he’d pushed away the truth. That she was only here for a story and as soon as she got it, she’d leave in a flash. All the time they’d spent with each other would mean absolutely nothing to her. He was only a means to an end. The sex was great, but bye-bye, adios, so long. Just like all the other women he’d dated.