Cowboy Honor--Includes a bonus novella

by Carolyn Brown

  “What are you doin’ out there?” she asked.

  “You said you wanted to spend time with me. Unlock the window.”

  She slid it up, and he slung a long leg over into the bathroom. His eyes scanned her body before he took her in his arms and kissed her, his tongue mating with hers and leaving her panting when he pulled away.

  “Sit down and I’ll wash your hair for you.” He dropped down on his knees and adjusted the flow of the water.

  She eased down into the tub. “Are you kiddin’ me?”

  “No, ma’am. You’ve been workin’ hard for three days. You need some pampering. Lean back a little.” He filled a plastic cup and poured warm water through her hair three times. When it was all wet, he lathered it, massaging her scalp with his fingertips.

  “That is amazing.” Surely all the heat in her body would make the bathwater begin to boil any minute.

  When he finished rinsing it, he brushed her wet hair to the side and kissed her on the soft, tender spot right under her ear. “Now sit up and I’ll work on those tight neck muscles a little before I have to leave.”

  Wet skin. His big hands. Kisses strung across her bare shoulders and neck. Pulse racing. She felt relaxed, and yet every nerve in her body begged for more. Then he changed positions, tipped her chin up, and his lips found hers in another series of searing-hot kisses.

  “Time’s up. Good night, darlin’,” he whispered, and then in an instant he was gone.

  Had she dreamed the whole thing? No I didn’t, because the air coming through that open window and cooling me down says that he was here. She stood up and closed the window, turned off the water, and sank down to her neck in the bathwater.

  “Aunt Claire, are you about done in there? Daddy wants to talk to you now,” Zaylie yelled from the living area.

  “Tell him five minutes.” She rose up out of the water and shivered from the instant chill. It would take at least ten minutes to warm up the room with the door open before she could let Zaylie have her bath.

  Wrapping a towel around her wet hair and slipping on a floor-length terry-cloth robe, she visualized a world where no little girl was in the house—one where Levi could strip out of his jeans and boots and join her in a shower or a bathtub.

  Zaylie handed off the phone to her when she reached the living room, gathered up her kittens, and carried them to her room. Claire curled up on the end of the sofa and saw that her brother was laughing.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You’re flushed like you used to be as a little girl when you’d done something you shouldn’t. Zaylie has that same look in her face sometimes,” he said.

  She took him off FaceTime and put the phone to her ear. “It was steamy in the bathroom. What’s going on?”

  “Angela and I got married today,” he blurted out.

  “Sweet Lord!” she gasped. “I thought you were waiting until you got home to see how the family blended together.”

  “We are home. Our mission was accomplished early, so they flew us back. We’re going to spend a week here in California, and then we’ll be at the ranch to get Zaylie. We wanted all of us to be together before Christmas, and we want to decorate our first tree together in Randlett,” he explained.

  “Congratulations, brother. I’m happy for both of you and for Zaylie and Teresa. She’s going to be over the moon. I’ve got news too. Levi and I are getting a little more serious,” she said.

  “Whoa! You’ve only known him a few weeks,” Grant fussed. “Just how far has this relationship gone?”

  “Well, neither of us is going to be dating anyone else, though we’re not planning a wedding or anything. Right now, we just want to see where it goes. He’s invited me to the ranch Christmas party,” she told him.

  “I trust you’ll use your good sense with this.” Grant’s happy tone changed to concerned in an instant.

  “Maybe I’ll throw common sense out the bathroom window and just let my heart lead me,” she said.

  “I’d like to see that in you.” Grant chuckled.

  “Are you saying that I’m too serious and don’t know how to have a good time?”

  “Something like that. If Levi makes you happy and a lot less staid, then I’ll be the first one to shake his hand.”

  “Staid!” Her voice went high and squeaky. “That’s a word you use for an old maid.”

  “Yep, it is. And now I’m changing the subject before that squeaky voice deafens me. Think you could stay at the ranch until I get there? Zaylie’s going to pitch a fit if you make her leave.”

  “I think that might be doable,” she said. “I can’t wait to see you. One week from today?”

  “From tomorrow. We’ll be there the fifteenth before supper time. Can you have Zaylie’s things packed, and will those kittens be ready to go? I’ll bring a carrier if they are.”

  “It’ll take some work to get her ready without her nosiness getting in the way, but I’ll do my best, and, yes, the kittens are ready now. They’re eating real food and they’re litter trained,” she said.

  “Okay, then. I’ll call again tomorrow evening,” he said.

  “Make it early. The party starts at six.”

  “Got it. Thanks for all you’ve done, sis.” His tone softened.

  “It was all out of love.” Tears ran down her cheeks.

  “Love you.” His voice cracked, and the call ended.

  Her mind went into high gear as she paced the floor. It would be easy to get the rest of her personal things out of the master bedroom at the house in Randlett the next time she went back there. Zaylie wouldn’t think a thing of that since she’d taken a suitcase full back to the ranch the two times they’d gone there. But the room she’d used as a quilting room needed to be ready for Teresa, and she couldn’t figure out a way to take care of that before Grant arrived.

  She’d always been super organized. When they moved from one state or country to another, she’d been the one who’d made lists, marked boxes, and gotten everything put together for the moves. But she needed help, even if it was tough to admit it.

  She whipped the towel from her head and got dressed in a worn sweat suit. And then she called Levi. Surely, if he could walk on water, he could help with a plan that wouldn’t spoil the surprise for Zaylie.

  “Do you have a few minutes to talk?” she said the minute he answered.

  “I’ll be there soon as I can get my boots on,” he told her.

  She hit the end button and yelled at Zaylie. “Time for your bath, sweetheart. Kiss the kitties good night, and toss your clothes by the washer.”

  Zaylie tiptoed out of her bedroom with her finger over her lips. “Shhh. They’re sleepin’. I read a book to them.” She dropped her things on the tiny kitchen floor and beat Claire to the bathroom. She got her bath time Barbie out of a basket along with some ABC blocks that stuck to the side of the tub, and then she crawled right into the bathwater. The poor doll’s blond hair looked like a mop that had been hung upside down in a windstorm, but Zaylie loved her as much as her other dolls.

  When Claire got back to the living area, Levi was sitting on the sofa. He handed her a cold bottle of beer and nodded toward the place right next to him. “Are we in trouble? Are you having second thoughts about us?”

  “No, nothing like that. I need help, and this is me asking for it.” She tipped up the beer and swallowed several times before she told him the news.

  He set his beer on the coffee table and drew her into his arms. “It’s simple, darlin’. We’ll get the bedroom all ready for the newlyweds while we’re there on Sunday. Then on Monday I’ll take the truck back up there and bring all those boxes and your sewing stuff to the boys’ bunkhouse. It’ll be out of Zaylie’s sight and will be right here if you need it.”

  “Zaylie’s right. You are able to walk on water.” Claire pulled his face to hers and kissed him.

  “Don’t know about that, but as the foreman, sometimes I have to get things organized around here.” He wrapped her up int
o his arms, tipped up her chin, and followed her single kiss with a dozen more, each hotter than the last. His thumb made lazy circles right below her ear as his other hand found its way under her sweatshirt to cup a breast.

  “Aunt Claire!” Zaylie yelled from the bathroom.

  She jumped, and instantly her cheeks were scarlet and burning like fire. Levi let go of her and scooted a few inches away.

  “Aunt Claire, I’m ready to get out now!” Zaylie hollered again.

  “I’m on my way,” she called out.

  “Need a cold rag for your face?” Levi asked.

  “No, I need a cup of ice to eat to cool my insides,” she answered.

  “I’m going to sneak out and go home to take my second cold shower of the evening,” he whispered. “See you at breakfast.” He brushed a sweet kiss across her lips and let himself out the door.

  By the time Levi walked back to the house in the cold night air, he didn’t need that second cold shower, and it had dawned on him that Claire had asked for his help.

  “You look like the cat that just found a way to open the canary cage door,” Retta said.

  “Maybe so.” He hung up his coat and sank down on the sofa. “I need a big favor on Monday.” He told her about the plan.

  “Yes.” She nodded. “If it’ll help Claire out I’ll do it.”

  “Why are you so determined to keep her around?” Cade asked from across the room.

  “Your parents are coming for the week of Christmas. I’m nervous about that, and Claire and I’ve become really good friends in this short time. Besides I’ll babysit Zaylie anytime I get the chance.”

  Levi yawned. “I’m going to bed now. Lots of last-minute stuff to get ready for the party tomorrow.”

  “Good night,” Cade and Retta said at the same time.

  Levi flipped on the light in his bedroom and took stock of the room that had been his for the past ten years. A queen-size bed, dresser, chest of drawers, and a recliner. And even those things weren’t really his. They were part of the ranch and the house. He had a pretty good chunk of money in the bank, maybe enough for a small down payment on five or ten acres if Justin and Cade would sell him a little parcel to get a start.

  Serious meant that he’d have to live up to the cowboy honor code and be faithful to one woman for the rest of his life. He’d never be able to walk into the Rusty Spur and hit on a woman with hopes of sweet talking a tall blonde into spending the night with him. The excitement of discovering all the things that made a woman scream his name—gone. He snapped his fingers and stretched out on his bed.

  “Gone!” he said aloud. “But the tradeoff would be that I could come home every evening to Claire, that we could grow old together and raise a family.”

  Is that enough?

  He thought about it for a few seconds and then nodded.

  If it doesn’t work out and she breaks it off?

  He remembered a story that Skip told him years ago about an old Indian who talked about two spirits in a man. One only wanted to be free and wild. The other wanted to put down roots.

  “Which one won?” he asked Skip.

  “The one that the man fed,” Skip answered.

  It made a hell of a lot more sense that cold winter night in December than it had when Skip told him the story in the heat of summer between his junior and senior year. Levi just had to be absolutely sure which one he wanted to feed because he didn’t want to ever cause Claire even a tiny bit of pain.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Claire worried that she’d be underdressed for the ranch party when she took a simple little dark green dress from the closet, but it was the fanciest thing that she’d brought with her from Randlett so it would have to do. It skimmed her knees and had a scooped neckline, so she added a necklace with red and green stones. Then she slipped on a pair of red high heels and took a final look in the mirror. It looked like Christmas, but she would have far rather worn her jeans and a sweatshirt with Rudolph on the front.

  Zaylie was already dressed in the red dress that Claire had designed and sewn for her to wear to the church Christmas dinner. She twirled around several times to show off how the full skirt swirled out to show the gathered tulle petticoat underneath.

  “We look like Christmas,” she declared when she stopped and plopped down on the sofa and watched Claire put on red stud earrings. “I love parties. When can I have pierced ears like you do?”

  “When your daddy says you can. Maybe when you are thirteen or maybe thirty,” Claire told her.

  “That’s forever and ever.” Zaylie sighed.

  “Yes it is, but time goes by fast.” Claire didn’t know if she was talking to Zaylie or to herself. She wondered where she’d be and if she’d have children of her own when Zaylie was thirteen. That was eight years down the road, and a lot could change in the course of a single day. She’d proven that when she lost control of the car and wound up on the Longhorn Canyon Ranch for the past few weeks.

  She thought that she was early, but the house was already full when she arrived. The caterers had charge of the kitchen, and the dining room table was full of finger foods, eggnog—both with and without rum—and platters of homemade cookies. Zaylie zeroed in on a gaggle of little girls that she’d sung with at the nursing home and joined them.

  Claire recognized a few of the hired hands she’d seen on the ranch and some of the folks she’d met at church. Then she saw Levi standing over by the Christmas tree, and everyone else disappeared. His green western shirt hugged his broad chest, and his jeans had been pressed and creased. Black boots were almost as shiny as his silver belt buckle. His eyes drew her to him like a magnet, and she wasn’t aware of anyone as she made her way around the perimeter of the living room to stand beside him.

  He slipped her hand into his and said, “You are gorgeous.”

  “You clean up pretty good yourself, cowboy,” she told him.

  “I do the best I can with the little I have to work with.” He kissed her on the forehead.

  “Don’t give me that line. Modesty doesn’t fit you,” she told him.

  “Well, beautiful sure does fit you, darlin’. Shall we go get some eggnog?”

  “Love some,” she said.

  He led her to the table. “Spiked or plain?”

  “You better give me some with high octane. With all these people around me, I need a little liquid courage,” she answered.

  “Don’t give me that line.” He poured two cups and handed one to her. “You’d take on a crowd twice this size and never break a nervous sweat.”

  “How did you figure me out so quickly in only a few weeks?” The eggnog had just the right amount of kick for her taste.

  “Honey, I figured you out the first five minutes I was in the cabin. You had a pistol pointed at my heart, and I’ve never doubted you for a second since then,” he said. “I’d rather spend this evening in the tack room with just you as around all these people.”

  “You don’t share well with others?” she teased.

  “Not when it comes to you.” He led her by the hand across the foyer into the office. He kicked the door shut and set their cups on the end of the desk. Then he picked her up and set her on the other end. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and his lips found hers in a series of searing-hot kisses. His fingertips trailed up the inside of her leg to the rim of her lacy bikinis.

  Her hands splayed out on his chest to feel his heart go from first to second gear and then kick it right up to third. They were both panting when they heard a knock on the office door. She hurriedly slid off onto the floor.

  “Who is it?” Levi called out.

  “Me,” Zaylie’s little voice said. “Is Aunt Claire in there? I can’t find her.”

  Claire covered the distance from the desk to the door in a split second. “What’s the matter, baby girl?”

  “Benjy is going to the barn to see Little Bit. Can me and the girls go?” she asked.

  “I don’t think so. Not in your fancy dress.
You can go see him tomorrow.” Claire slipped through the door, leaving it ajar. “Does Mavis know that Benjy is going to the barn?”

  Zaylie folded her arms over her chest. “Skip is goin’ with him.”

  “And you are wearing your pretty dress that has to be nice for the Christmas program in Randlett. The answer is no.”

  Zaylie stomped her foot.

  Levi’s soft whisper came through the open space. “What if I went with her? I can’t stand to see her disappointed.”

  “What does no mean, Miss Priss?” Claire asked.

  “When you say no it means no, but sometimes Daddy changes his mind.” She grinned. “Can I have some chocolate milk? I don’t like that stuff in the punch bowl.”

  Levi stepped out into the light. “I’d kind of like some chocolate milk too. I could mix us both up one if it’s all right with Claire.”

  “That will be fine,” Claire said. “Mix three and I’ll have one too. Nothing like chocolate milk with Christmas cookies. You think your little friends would like some too?”

  “I’ll ask them.” She took off for the living room.

  Levi slipped his arms around Claire’s waist from behind and kissed the top of her head. “You’re going to make a wonderful mother.”

  “You’re goin’ to make a horrible father, especially if you have daughters.” She put her hands on his.

  “Probably so.” He chuckled.

  Levi brought out a pitcher of chocolate milk, and immediately Zaylie and her little friends surrounded him, holding up empty cups. He poured for all of them and then filled a plate with a variety of cookies. Five cute little girls of varying looks and sizes were all lined up against the wall in the foyer, pretending to have a tea party when he left them.

  Justin caught up with him and pulled him to the side. “You’d better get in there and protect your interests. Buddy is about to make off with your woman.” He nodded toward the other side of the room where Buddy had a hand on a wall and the other one on Claire’s shoulder.