Renegade Cowboy

by Sara Richardson

  “What’re you doing?” Cass wandered in behind him.

  “Find it. All of it.” He snagged a bottle of wine from behind a stack of bowls in a lower cabinet and set it on the kitchen table. “We’ll find every bottle she’s stashed in the house.”

  Cassidy watched warily while he went through the kitchen. She’d gotten so good at hiding her emotions, but they were there, they were weighing her down. He could see it, and he knew how to help her process them.

  After searching the last cabinet, he found an empty box in the pantry and loaded up three bottles of wine, a brand-new bottle of vodka, and a half-empty bottle of gin. He carried the box out the front door with Cassidy following close behind.

  “I’m telling you, she’ll find it in the trash. She always finds it.”

  “It’s not going in the trash.” He carted the box to the sidewalk and set it at the edge of the street.

  Cassidy watched him with a curious frown.

  Levi selected the large bottle of vodka and held it out to her. “Smash it,” he said. “Throw it in the street.”

  “What?” She stared at him, her jaw hinged open. “I can’t throw it in the street. That’ll make a huge mess.”

  “I’ll clean it up. Every tiny piece,” he promised. “So it’s okay. You can smash it.”

  She looked at the bottle and then back at him.

  “You know you want to.”

  A slow smile reached her eyes. She took the bottle out of his hands and raised it in the air and then hesitated. He slipped behind her, his chest to her back, and held his hand over hers against the bottle.

  “One, two, three,” he murmured, and jerked his arm down. They both let go, and the bottle shattered against the asphalt.

  Cassidy stared down at the mess, her eyes wide.

  Levi eased closer to her, unable to stay away. He’d been away from her for too long.

  “I can’t believe I did that.” She turned her face to his.

  He grinned. “It felt good, didn’t it?”

  She nodded slowly, as though it stunned her.

  He picked up one of the wine bottles and pressed it into her hands. “Smash it. As hard as you can.”

  She looked at it for a second as though reading the label and then raised it into the air. With a scream, she let that thing fly into the street. “I hate it! I hate this stuff!” Cass frantically snatched another bottle from the box. “And I hate that I have to babysit my mother!” She slammed the gin down, the sound of shattering glass echoing around them. “I hate that Dad left me to deal with all of this!” She marched right through the broken glass on her way back to the box.

  “Whoa. Careful.” Levi reached to steer her around the glass, but she jerked away and grabbed another bottle. “And I hate that Cash died!” Crash. Another wave of glass scattered across the street. “He didn’t have to die!” She turned to Levi then, her eyes wild with rage as she grabbed the last bottle. Violent breaths raised her shoulders. “You’re just like him,” she said, pointing the bottle in Levi’s direction.

  “What?” Oh shit, he was in her line of fire.

  “You’re just like him,” she yelled, raising the bottle higher. She sounded mad as hell, but tears streamed down her cheeks. “You’re just like Cash!” She took a step closer, as though she didn’t want to miss when she chucked the bottle at his head. “You’re reckless and you’re selfish and you have no right to make me care about you!”

  Her pain—pain he’d caused—drove straight into him. “I’m not like him, Cass.” His boots crunched through the glass until he got close enough that she could see into his eyes. She couldn’t scare him off with a bottle. She could hit him with it, knock him down, and he’d get right back up, ready to take another blow if that’s what she needed from him. “Maybe I was once. Maybe I was reckless and stupid and too blind to see what was right in front of me, but I’m not that kid anymore.” He’d grown up. And he knew what he wanted.

  She cried harder, the bottle still raised above her head, shaking in her hand.

  “You don’t have to care about me.” He closed the distance between them and carefully took the bottle away to toss it aside. Then he lifted her chin and stared deeply into her eyes so she’d know the truth. “But I will always care about you.”

  Cassidy collapsed against him with a sob, and he closed his arms around her. She felt warm in his embrace. Warm and soft and perfect.

  “I’m so tired,” she cried, resting her forehead against his shoulder.

  “I know.” He wrapped her as tightly as he could, wanting to be the one who held her together.

  She moved to glance up at him, her forehead grazing his chin on the way. “Why are you here?” she whispered again.

  The answer had become so simple. “Because I need to be.” If he’d known how it felt to hold her in his arms, he would’ve been here his whole life. But she’d always been off-limits. Cash had warned him once that he would no longer be a part of their family if Levi ever touched his sister. But his friend was gone now and Levi had to believe he’d be glad someone wanted to take care of her.

  “You needed me to be here a long time ago but I wasn’t. I let you down.” Seeing just how much he’d let her down dealt a crushing blow. “I’m here now though,” he murmured, lowering his face to hers. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  Her eyes still glistened from the earlier tears. And hell, she was striking, those blue eyes and her flawless skin.

  A breath eased out of him, leaving behind a stark emptiness only she could fill. He clasped his hands at the small of her back and pressed her into him.

  She gasped when he covered her lips with his, and for a second, he thought she would pull back, but she didn’t. Her arms reached up and wrapped around his neck, drawing him closer. Together, their lips found a rhythm he’d never experienced with anyone else, savoring and sensual.

  Cass inched closer, fitting her curves tightly against him.

  Red-hot lust curled through him, waking his body. He glided his hands up her back and held her head in place as his tongue swept through her mouth.

  A faint whimper came from her throat.

  “I can’t believe I’ve never kissed you before,” he uttered between tastes of her. Had he ever been this turned on by a kiss?

  “Cash would’ve killed you,” she panted, sliding her hands into his hair.

  “Would’ve been worth the risk.” He dragged his lips over to her neck and traced his tongue down her soft skin. He wanted to keep going, all the way down her chest, but there were so many clothes…

  And they were standing in the street. “We should go inside,” he murmured, finding her lips again. Straight to her bedroom so he could take her away from the stress and complications of her life.

  “We can’t go inside.” She brushed soft kisses across his jaw. “My mom is in there.”

  “Right.” He groaned. His lips grazed hers. They didn’t need to go inside. They had his truck. The backseat was pretty big…

  Closing his arms around her, he hoisted her against him, still kissing the hell out of her, and danced her toward the truck. With one hand, he groped the door until he found the handle and threw the thing open. As she climbed in, his hands wandered, caressing the sexy curves of her body.

  “What about your head injury?” she gasped between staccato breaths.

  “What injury?” There was nothing. No pain. Only a deepening ache to feel her against him.

  As she lay down on the backseat, Levi climbed in and straddled her waist, catching her hands to pin them against the seat cushion just above her head. Before kissing her again, he stared down at her, at the shine of her blue eyes, at her wild blond hair. “You’re a beautiful woman, Cass.” But it was her heart and strength that made her perfect for him.

  Why the hell had this just now occurred to him? He could’ve been kissing her—making love to her—for years.

  “What are we doing?” she asked him, still breathless from all the kissing. Or maybe breathless
with the same anticipation that pounded through him.

  “We’re making out in my truck.” He couldn’t wait. Not when he’d already wasted so much time. He bent and lowered his lips to hers.

  She sighed as she kissed him back, tugging on his shoulders until he was lying on top of her.

  Easing to his side, he turned her body to his, sealing her lips in a long, hot kiss. Her mouth was so insistent.

  Pulling back, he traced his finger along her jaw and then her neck, until he could unbutton her shirt. He kissed his way down, his chin grazing the edge of her bra.

  “God, Levi,” she murmured as he slipped his fingers beneath the lace.

  “Just wait.” He brought his lips back to her neck. Her soft skin smelled like some kind of succulent flower. He reached around her back to pop the clasp of her bra, but a clink against the window hijacked his focus. The beam of a high-powered flashlight cut into his vision.

  “Hey,” he growled, shielding his eyes.

  “Sorry,” Dev called from outside the window.

  “Dev!” Cass scrambled to sit up, fumbling with the buttons on her shirt. “Oh great. Just great. What are the cops doing here?”

  “Don’t know, but I’ll get rid of him.” Levi cranked open the door. “Can I help you?”

  The deputy cleared his throat like he was trying not to laugh. “Got reports of someone breaking glass in the street. There’s quite a mess over there.”

  “Yeah. I was gonna clean that up.” But he’d gotten distracted in the best way.

  Cassidy poked her head over Levi’s shoulder. “Sorry, Dev. I was having a moment. Found a bunch of alcohol in the house and wanted to get rid of it.”

  “I could see how that would be romantic,” he teased, eyeing Levi.

  He had half a mind to slam the door shut on Dev’s arm. “I’ll clean it up. Promise.” Now get out of here…

  But Dev was obviously enjoying himself too much to leave. Humor glimmered in his dark eyes. “Usually when I bust a couple for making out in a car, they’re sixteen.”

  “Yeah, well neither of us have our own place.” He had to fix that. Soon.

  “There’s always the inn,” Dev suggested. “I bet Lucas and Naomi would give you a sweet discount.”

  “That’s okay.” Cass patted her hair back into place. “It’s getting late anyway. I need to get back inside.” She scooted past Levi and hopped out of the truck. She didn’t even glance over her shoulder on her way into the house.

  Dev seemed to take that as his cue to leave. “Have a good night.” He shot a stern look at Levi. “Make sure you clean up the glass.”

  “I’m on it,” Levi muttered, his lips still burning. He headed toward the garage to look for a broom. Just his luck Dev would interrupt and give Cassidy an excuse to run away from him. He wouldn’t let that happen again.

  The next time he kissed her, he’d make sure he had plenty of time to prove how much he wanted her.

  Chapter Seven

  Come on, Mom. Hurry!” Cassidy hustled Lulu past the corral fence toward the entrance to Jessa’s Helping Paws Animal Shelter, keeping an eye out for a certain Cortez brother.

  Her mother continued to mosey as though they were out for a stroll in a rose garden. “I don’t see why I should have to run just because you won’t return Levi’s calls.” Lulu sure had a lot of opinions now that she’d quit drinking.

  Cassidy waited for her to catch up. “I haven’t had time to return his calls.” She’d been too busy babysitting her mother 24/7 to make sure she didn’t restock her secret supply. Hence the reason she’d had to bring Lulu with her to the book club meeting at the shelter this evening. She still didn’t trust her.

  “A polite phone call takes five minutes,” her mother reminded her. Back in the day, Lulu Greer had been a stickler for good manners.

  “I’ll get around to it. Promise.” She took her mother’s arm and urged her on. First, she had to figure out what she wanted to say to Levi about that kiss. Then she had to figure out how to make sure a kiss like that didn’t happen again. It was just her luck that Jessa had moved their meeting from Darla’s place to the shelter tonight.

  Under normal circumstances, Cassidy loved visiting her friend here. A few years back, Lance had converted an old barn into an animal shelter to surprise Jessa. The structure still had that old charm—barn-red siding with crisp white trim—but inside it was stocked with all of the modern equipment and supplies Jessa needed to rehabilitate animals and find them homes. Over the years, Cassidy had helped out at the shelter as much as she could, so, in some ways, if felt like a second home to her. It didn’t matter how stressed she was or how bad things were with Lulu, the animals never failed to cheer her up.

  But that was before. Before Levi had been around the ranch so much. Before he’d turned all sweet on her. Before The Kiss—a story-changing chapter in her life. The knowledge that Levi lurked somewhere nearby right now made Cassidy want to put her Nikes to full use.

  Finally, she got her mother to the door without any cowboy sightings. Before she could knock, it swung open. “I have puppies!” Jessa held up a basket of six teeny-tiny squirming fuzz balls.

  “Puppies!” Cassidy nudged her mother inside and quickly shut the door behind them. When she looked up and saw Darla and Naomi already sitting on the leather loveseats in the waiting area, she locked the deadbolt for good measure.

  “Aren’t they darling?” Lulu peered into the basket.

  Yes, they were. All of them were a beautiful chestnut color, so fluffy and new. It was almost enough to distract Cassidy from her worry about running into Levi.

  “I’m estimating they’re about four weeks old. Cocker spaniel mixes.” Jessa set the basket on the coffee table. “Someone found them abandoned near the campground outside of town, along with the momma.” She pointed to a dog bed that lay in the corner across the room. A matted, pathetic-looking dog barely raised her head, even with all the visitors.

  Jessa sighed. “Haven’t gotten her to perk up yet. Can’t find anything wrong with her, but all she wants to do is lie around.”

  “Poor, sweet thing.” Lulu wandered over and knelt, slowly reaching out her hand so the dog could sniff it.

  The dog took her time nosing Lulu’s hand before sitting up and licking her.

  “She likes you,” Jessa said with a wink at Cass.

  Her mother smiled. “I like her too.”

  “Would you like to take her out?” Jessa walked over and took a leash off a hook on the wall. “She hasn’t been out for a while. It would do her good.”

  Joy pinged around Cassidy’s chest at the way Lulu’s face lit up. It was such a rare sight.

  “I’d love to.”

  “You can walk her down to the meadow.” Jessa hurried over to the dog and clipped on the leash before handing it over.

  “The meadow?” Cassidy sat straighter. “Like outside?” Where Levi might see her? The whole reason she’d parked her car down the hill was so he wouldn’t see it if he happened to go out to the corral.

  “Yes, outside.” Confusion furrowed Jessa’s forehead. “Where else would the dog go potty?”

  Cassidy didn’t have a good answer.

  “Does she have a name?” Lulu asked, already leading the dog toward the door.

  “No. I didn’t find a collar or anything.” Jessa unlocked the deadbolt and shot Cassidy a questioning glance.

  She occupied herself with lifting a puppy out of the basket and cuddling it against her chest.

  “I’ll call her Sweetie then,” Lulu said as though she’d made up her mind. “Come on, Sweetie. Let’s go out for a walk.”

  “Don’t go too far, Mom,” Cassidy called as Lulu stepped out the door. And don’t go find Levi and drag him up here.

  Her mother waved and then disappeared.

  Jessa closed the door before coming over to join Cassidy on the loveseat. “Is there a reason you locked the deadbolt?” she asked pointedly.

  The three women looked at her as thoug
h they knew something was up, so what was the point in denying it? “Levi kissed me,” she blurted. “Like really kissed me.” If Dev hadn’t interrupted, she was almost positive things would’ve happened in the backseat of Levi’s truck. Big things. Things that couldn’t be undone.

  “Well, that sounds a hell of a lot more interesting than this.” Darla slipped her paperback into her purse.

  Naomi clasped her hands under her chin with a smirk. “I knew your cheeks were glowing.”

  All of her was glowing. Every neglected nook and cranny of her body. The longing he’d stirred up still burned through her pulse points. “I can’t believe I let it happen.” She was still trying to understand it. When she’d seen him standing on her lawn, emotions had clashed—anger and curiosity and fear. So much fear. She didn’t like the way her body reacted to him. Didn’t like the way every part of her seemed to come alive when she saw him.

  And before that…he’d been so sweet to her mom, so careful with her as he helped her down from the tree. Cassidy wasn’t sure how she would’ve made it through that whole horrible scene without him. And then shattering those bottles in the street had been the best therapy she’d ever experienced…

  “Hell, I’d let it happen,” Darla said with a smirk. “Levi is hotter than sin.”

  Jessa and Naomi shared grossed-out looks. Being married to his brothers obviously cast him in a different light.

  “Why can’t you believe it?” Jessa asked as though Cassidy’s naïveté amused her. “You’re single, he’s single. You two have known each other for years…”

  “I’m sure not surprised,” Naomi chimed in, rubbing her baby bump. “I think it’s fabulous.”

  “It’s not.” Cassidy nuzzled her nose into the puppy’s soft fur, smelling that skunky, new puppy-breath scent. “This is Levi. He’s a total Casanova.” At least that’s what she’d heard when he’d been out on the circuit. That was a problem because, when he’d taken her face in his hands and kissed her, her heart had opened, responding to him in a way she never had to anyone else.

  She didn’t want to love someone. She couldn’t let herself. When she’d lost Cash, the grief had almost killed her. And there were plenty of other reasons it would be a bad idea. “He’s not serious about anything except for getting a woman into bed.” Or into the backseat of his truck, apparently. She cuddled the puppy into her lap. “Besides that, I interviewed for a residency program in Denver.”