The Rancher Who Took Her In (The Bachelors of Blackwater Lake)

by Teresa Southwick

  Then he turned his attention to the inside of her thigh. The featherlight touch sent a shaft of heat straight to her feminine core and he never stopped kissing her. Men were notorious for not multitasking well, but he seemed to be doing all right. His fingers inched higher, and anticipation flowed through her, waiting for him to touch the most sensitive of places. When he did, she nearly whimpered from the exquisite torture of it all.

  “You’re so soft,” he whispered against her neck. “And you smell good, like flowers.”

  He smelled good, too, and the strength in his arms and chest were undeniable, but he held her as if she were a delicate, pricey piece of porcelain. That was such a turn-on.

  “Cabot—” She arched her hips against his hand, letting him know without words what she craved.

  She was nearly to the point of begging when he shifted slightly and reached into the nightstand drawer to pull out a small, square packet. Later she would be grateful he’d remembered protection, but right this second, all she could say was “Hurry.”

  “Doing my best.” He sounded as if he were on mile twenty-six of a marathon.

  Moments later she had his full concentration again. He moved his hand over her abdomen, then lower, sliding one finger inside her. She’d anticipated the touch but not the reaction, as if a bolt of electricity had zapped her into another dimension. She pulled her heels high on the bed, nearly shattering with the power of it.

  Then he shifted, taking his weight on his forearms, and entered her—slow, smooth, steady.

  He stroked once, gently, letting her grow accustomed to him, then followed up with a hard thrust. His technique was flawless, delivering the maximum amount of attention until that pleasure was too much to take. Release exploded, creating a shuddering wave, and he held her until it had rolled all the way through her.

  Then he began to move again, once, twice and third time was the charm. He groaned and his body grew tense, then trembled as spasms of satisfaction exploded through him. And she held him close as feelings of exquisite tenderness welled inside her.

  She couldn’t move and dozed in his arms until he nudged her awake, vowing that he’d been in too big a hurry before, but this time it would be slower. It was until it wasn’t and neither of them could wait, but the thrill was no less than before.

  And somewhere in the middle of the night he made love to her again. It was without a doubt the best night of her life, and she promised herself that she’d hang on to the glow as long as possible because when morning came she would surely have regrets.

  Chapter Ten

  Cabot woke before dawn as usual, but having a soft, curvy, warm woman in his arms was definitely a different way to start out the day. And it was a little unsettling because of how easy it would be to get used to waking up like this with Kate every morning. For a short time in his life he’d had that. Then everything had changed.

  The thought of going to hell after he died didn’t bother him much since he’d spent quite a bit of time there while still on this earth. Putting himself in a situation where it could happen to him again wasn’t especially appealing. Although that wouldn’t be an issue because Kate’s mornings on the ranch were limited to the end of summer.

  He tried to move without waking her, but she stirred, then opened her eyes. He saw uncertainty at first. Then it cleared and the realization of where she was along with apparent memories of what they’d done last night made her full lips curve into a smile. His expectation had been that she would regret going to bed with him. He didn’t know whether or not to be relieved that she didn’t.

  “Good morning.” He raised up on his elbow.

  “Yes, it is.” She had the look of a thoroughly satisfied woman.

  But he still had to ask. “Are you okay?”

  “Fine.” Her forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Why?”

  “I just get the feeling you don’t do that sort of thing, so I wanted to check.”

  “You were wondering if I’d hate myself in the morning?”

  “Well...” He shrugged. “Yes.”

  “I don’t.”

  “To put a finer point on it...do you hate me?”

  “Of course not.” She reached out and put a hand on his arm. “I’m a consenting adult and I definitely consented to what we did.”

  Willing participant was more correct, he thought. “Okay.”

  “You don’t look convinced. Are you thinking this is a rebound move for me?”

  “Actually, that hadn’t crossed my mind.” Mostly because in the heat of the moment he’d lost his mind, what with blood flow diverted to points south of his belt. But he should have considered that. “Now that you mention it, is that what happened?”

  Without hesitation she emphatically said, “No. And I’ll tell you why I know that.”

  “I’m listening.” For some reason he really wanted to be convinced that she was telling the truth.

  “I had nothing to rebound from.” She raised up on one elbow, and when the sheet slipped, she pulled it back up to cover her bare breasts.

  “Oh?” Cabot forced himself to look into her eyes, even though every ounce of testosterone in his body was coaxing him to look lower.

  “I wasn’t in love with him.”

  He remembered her shell-shocked expression in the diner while still wearing the wrinkled wedding gown. The dress she’d put on to get married just a few weeks ago. “How can you be so sure?”

  “I know myself, Cabot. There were doubts that I ignored or was too crazy busy to deal with. Once I tried to discuss it with him, but he blew me off and said it was just wedding jitters. Maybe I wanted to believe that, but there’s something I’m quite sure of.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I didn’t miss him. What he did didn’t hurt me. If I’d been in love with him, no way would I be here in your bed right now.”

  “Okay.” He believed her and hoped like hell that wouldn’t prove to be a mistake.

  “In fact,” she said, “I think he did me a big favor by cheating on me.”

  “That needs some explaining. I know men and women process situations differently, but I don’t think I could be as philosophical if I caught my fiancée cheating.” He was pretty sure about that because there was every indication that his wife had been unfaithful before walking out, and he hadn’t been philosophical at all. Mad as hell more accurately described his reaction.

  Kate’s expression was still full of sunshine. “It was a favor because clearly I didn’t love him, and the marriage would have been a complicated, messy and costly mistake to undo.”

  “I know all about that,” he said.

  That comment took the sun out of her eyes and filled them with questions. “There was just enough passion in your voice to make it sound as if you still have feelings for your wife.”

  “Ex-wife.” He shook his head. There was no doubt in his mind that he was over her. And had been for a long time. “The fallout from what happened is something you never forget.”

  “I see.” She glanced at the clock. “I’d better get going. Caroline will be here and ready to cook pretty soon, and she’ll need the groceries.”

  They had just enough time for one more go-around, except his words had efficiently and effectively slammed that door shut. But maybe that was for the best. This thing between them had the potential to be complicated and messy—at least for him. Probably only for him. Which made it his problem and character flaw.

  “Okay,” he finally said.

  “I’ll go make coffee before I leave.”

  “That’s not necessary.”

  She shrugged. “It’s not a problem.”

  “Okay, then. Sounds good.”

  Cabot knew she could find her way around the kitchen without help. So he threw the covers back and walked into the bathroom for a
quick shower. Afterward he shaved and combed his hair, then went downstairs, fully expecting her to have left. But she was cooking potatoes, eggs and toast and looking very much at home doing it.

  Sliding his arm around her waist and pulling her in for a kiss would feel so natural, and it took every ounce of his willpower to resist the urge.

  Instead he said, “You didn’t have to go to all this trouble, but it sure smells good.”

  Apparently her earlier comment about messy, complicated mistakes was forgotten because she slid a sassy look over her shoulder. “Tastes even better than it smells.”

  His mouth was watering, but it had very little to do with food and a lot to do with her.

  Then the phone rang, loud, unexpected and startling. Calls this early weren’t unheard of but still unusual, and his first thought was that something had happened to Ty. He grabbed the phone from its charger on the counter and looked at the caller ID. The number wasn’t provided, which meant this had nothing to do with his son.

  He hit the talk button. “Hello?”

  The caller identified himself as a law-enforcement officer from Helena and he was sorry to inform him...Cabot heard the words, but they didn’t sink in. This was surreal. He took down a number in case he had further questions, then thanked the officer for letting him know and hung up.

  Kate was staring at him. “Who was that, Cabot? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

  If he’d been able to manage it, he would have laughed at that. The saying was so close to the truth. He met her gaze and thought how ironic that he’d just been remembering the cheating woman who’d run out on him.

  “My ex-wife is dead. She was killed in a car accident last night.”

  And he had to figure out a way to tell his son that there was now no hope of him ever meeting or having a relationship with his mother.

  * * *

  Kate had regrets about Cabot, but sleeping with him wasn’t one of them. She did regret learning that he still had feelings for his ex. He’d denied it, but she’d seen the look in his eyes when he’d told her the news.

  It was a very effective way to destroy the romantic buzz she’d had when she woke up in his bed. A horrible start to the morning after such a magical night.

  Because of that, Cabot had been on her mind ever since. Working with the camp kids had distracted her some, but now she was walking to the archery range for her prearranged practice session with Ty and had nothing but time to think. She’d wanted to stay with Cabot earlier, just in case he needed or wanted to talk, but both of them had responsibilities. If there was any good news, it was that Ty’s sleepover had allowed his dad some space to collect his thoughts. And Kate was sure there was more to what he was feeling than just concern for his son.

  From the compound of camp cabins she followed the dirt path around a curve by the lake and in the distance saw the bales of hay with targets tacked on. It surprised her that a man was standing beside one. The figure looked a lot like Cabot, but Tyler was nowhere in sight. She hadn’t seen him by the storage area retrieving his archery equipment, either.

  Kate hurried over to her boss and stopped in front of him. The brim of his Stetson shaded his eyes although not his face, but there wasn’t much to see. It was wiped clean of emotion.

  “Cabot,” she said. “What’s going on? Is Tyler coming to practice?”

  “In a few minutes.”

  “Have you told him yet...about the phone call?”

  He shook his head. “C.J.’s mom brought him home from the sleepover a little while ago. He was anxious to get back to practicing with his bow and arrow after being stuck inside, what with the rain yesterday. I gave him a couple of chores to do when he got home. I wanted to talk to you first.”

  “So he doesn’t know about his mother.” She nodded. “Don’t worry. I wouldn’t have said anything before you got a chance to tell him what happened.”

  “I didn’t think you would. That’s not what I was going to say.”

  If that wasn’t it, then what in the world? Another thought came to her. “You don’t want me around him.” She met his gaze. “I’ve explained to him that I’m not staying after the summer.”

  “That’s not it, either.” For the first time a corner of his mouth quirked up. “You can keep guessing why I’m here if you want. Far be it from me to stifle that fertile imagination of yours, but I’d really like to have this conversation with you before he gets here. And it might be a little quicker if you just let me tell you.”

  “Okay.” More words wanted to come out, but she forced them back.

  “I can’t decide whether or not to tell him.” He rubbed a hand over his neck. “Since you already know about it, I thought—”

  “You could use me as a sounding board.”

  “Yes.”

  “Anytime you’re ready,” she encouraged him.

  “The thing is, Ty doesn’t have any memory of his mother. He’s seen pictures of her, but he’s only in one of them—she’s holding him when he was an infant. On a day-to-day basis, she’s had no influence on him whatsoever, good or bad.”

  “I see.”

  “If I tell him the news, there’s no way it could have a good impact.”

  Kate figured he was making a case for not saying anything. “What about the emotional ramifications?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well...” She thought carefully about how to phrase this. “He’s talked to me about his friend C.J.’s family, the fact that his mom’s husband adopted him.”

  “And you’re interpreting that to mean that he misses his mom?”

  “It’s hard to miss what you never had. So maybe not her exactly, but the idea of having a mom.”

  Cabot folded his arms over his chest. “Are you saying you think I should tell him?”

  “I would never presume to tell you how to raise your son. No one can make that decision but you.” When he shifted, the sun hit her in the eyes and she put a hand up to shade them. “But let me play devil’s advocate.”

  “Okay.”

  “Let’s say you keep this information to yourself. What if Ty is somehow holding out hope of his mom coming back? And what if next year, or the year after, or when he’s eighteen or twenty-one, he brings up the subject of looking for her? If you don’t say anything and he finds out she’s been gone for years and you let him believe, by omission, that there was a chance she’d return—” She just looked at him, letting him draw his own conclusions about the consequences.

  Cabot’s mouth pulled tight for a moment. “Neither of my choices is very good.”

  “I know.” He could turn his son’s world upside down now or risk Ty finding out later and lose his trust.

  “And she continues to be a thorn in my side—”

  That could mean a lot of things, but when Kate felt her chest tighten, it was clear that she was putting a deeply personal spin on the words. It never would affect her one way or the other; she knew that. But she had to ask anyway.

  “Were you hoping that she would come back?”

  He looked completely disgusted with himself. “A part of me wanted to put the family back together, give Tyler a traditional home.”

  Was that all about having a family, or did it mean he was still in love with his ex? Again it was none of her business, but what was the harm in asking? He’d get mad? She’d lose his friendship? He’d never kiss her again? Soon she would go back to Los Angeles and wouldn’t see him at all, mad or not. And as far as friendship? That shelf life was limited to however many days she had left on the ranch.

  So she had very little to lose if she took her curiosity out for a spin. “Cabot, can I ask you a question?”

  “What if I say no?”

  She shrugged. “I’ll ask anyway. You don’t have to answer.”

 
“Fair enough.”

  “Here goes.” She blew out a breath. “Were you still in love with your ex-wife?”

  “You asked me that earlier.”

  In his bed. She remembered. “You didn’t really give me an answer. Were you?”

  Before he could respond, the sound of running feet drifted to them, quickly followed by Ty’s voice.

  “Kate? Here I come.” Excitement and boyish exuberance filled his tone as he rounded the curve.

  Cabot’s expression turned somewhere in the tortured range when he saw his son. He still hadn’t said what he planned to tell the child.

  “Hi, Kate. Dad! Are you here to watch me practice?” He had a quiver of arrows on his back and the bow in his hand.

  “Ty—” The man took a knee in front of his son.

  The little boy frowned. “But what about the cows you were supposed to move ’cause they ate up all their food? Are they gonna be hungry?”

  “No.” Cabot smiled. “The other hands can do it without me this one time.”

  “Because you wanted to see me shoot my bow?”

  Kate watched expressions chase across Cabot’s face and knew he was reading the same feelings into the boy’s words that she was. His son was feeling the downside of being raised by a busy, hardworking single dad.

  “I’d really like to see you shoot.” He braced a forearm on his knee and met his child’s gaze. “But first there’s something I have to tell you.”

  “What?” Ty’s anxious tone said he was getting a serious vibe.

  Kate was glad Cabot had decided to tell his son, but maybe he wanted to do it alone. “I’ll just go back and see if Caroline needs any help.”

  Cabot glanced up. “If it’s all the same to you, Kate, I’d appreciate it if you’d stay.”

  “All right.” She stood a little to the side, giving father and son some space. If there was anything she could do to make this easier, she’d do it in a heartbeat.