Of The Cowboy's Own Accord (Double Dutch Ranch; Love At First Sight #3)

by Mary J. McCoy-Dressel

  “I see you’ve had a little to drink.” She drummed her fingers on his arm. “I’ll warm dinner. You must be starved.” She turned toward the steps a little embarrassed, but where Judy sat, she probably didn’t hear, but her husband caught her hand.

  “I am starved.” He put his sunglasses back on. “Feed me…you, woman.” Chuckling, he started the bike and eased out past Tristan’s barn toward the garage.

  How embarrassing. When she stepped up to the porch, she was almost too shy to make eye contact with Judy, but who knew Dane better. “You did most of the cooking, so take a break and enjoy the evening. I’ll get Dane’s dinner.”

  “I will, honey. Besides, Martyn will be over tonight. This is one of the nights we watch TV together. He hasn’t been around that much lately, so it’ll be great to see him.”

  “I’ll make sure the kitchen is cleaned up and the food put away. I can’t wait to hear about Dane’s ride.” Gracelyn went inside to the kitchen, rather enjoying the idea of being here to be a real wife. She set silverware at the table for him, even brought a beer glass, not sure he needed another beer.

  When he entered the back door, he tossed his jacket over the chair. At the kitchen sink, he washed his hands. Gracelyn went up behind him, her arms sliding around his waist, and she ran her fingers up his chest. The combination of sweat and leather smelled sexy mingled with his chemistry.

  He jerked to the side when her fingers pressed into his upper chest. “I have something to show you later.” He reached for the towel and snickered then pretended to swat her behind with the towel.

  Ah ha, she was on to him. “Oh, you do, eh? What do you want to show me? Something I’ve seen before?” He sure seemed in an ardent mood. The gleam in his eyes made her heart throb. Dane seemed truly happy now…or tipsy.

  “Nope, you’ve never seen this before.”

  An eyebrow lifted. “Now I’m curious. Show me right here if you dare. Something to do with your ride?”

  “Listen to you all bold. Let me eat first.” Dane got a beer out of the refrigerator and twisted the top off. He tipped it for a long drink. “What’s for dinner besides you?”

  At the microwave, she removed his plate. “Roast chicken, my special mashed potatoes with your mom’s homemade gravy, broccoli, and salad.” She set his plate in front of him when he took a seat, then removed biscuits from the oven. “Oh, biscuits with honey, too, honey.”

  “I didn’t mean to be gone so long.” Dane tipped the chair back to crank his neck toward the great room. “Mom stayed out?” He ran his hand over his chest and stretched his left shoulder back.

  “Martyn’s coming over.” She glanced around the kitchen, loving the large country style with a big sink in front of the window, and an antique looking china cabinet taking up half a wall. It made her look forward to huge family holidays here. Needing to stretch a little, she got up to lean against the counter. “Ack!” The baby pushed down hard enough to make her jerk and groan.

  Her hands immediately went around her belly. What was that? He glanced her way. “Baby boy made a big move downward.” Pointing to the bottom of her abdomen, she almost expected her water to break any minute because there was a lot of pressure down there. “Like way down low.”

  “But are you all right?” he asked, setting his fork down.

  “Things seem okay.” She gulped. How would she know what was right or wrong, this was a first at the whole experience? She went about wrapping the leftovers while waiting to see what happened next. Would today be their baby’s birthdate?

  Dane carried his plate to the sink when he finished. “I need to help Tristan feed the horses. If you’re okay, come out to the barn. I’m taking a quick ride. Maybe Tristan will go along. I won’t be long.” He embraced her. “Thanks for fixing dinner, or heating it for me. This is nice, you being here. Uh, honey… Try leaning your head on the other side.” Dane pressed his hands against her shoulders to move her back and patted his right pectoral muscle. “Right here.”

  “Did you spill on your bike?” Her eyes widened as she surveyed the front of him. His jeans weren’t dirty, no rips in his shirt. Shrugging, she went back to wiping down the counter.

  “No, I didn’t spill on my bike. I never have.” He lifted his t-shirt with a grin on his face bad enough to stop traffic. “I can’t uncover it, yet, especially if I’m working out in the barn. You’ll see it later.” Dane bent forward to kiss her. “I’ll be back in an hour, maybe a little longer.”

  She gasped. “I’m excited. Let me see your tattoo.” Her fingers went to his chest to smooth out the plastic covering but he caught her hand. His habit was to tell her about things, but not to show her until later. Damn him. “But I want to see it—”

  “Babe, you’ll have the rest of your life to look at it.” Dane left out the back door, yet stepped back inside. “I was thinking…since we don’t know anything about…Jamison, when you’re out, watch your back and be observant of your surroundings.” He nearly tripped off the threshold at the door but caught himself.

  “I do—”

  “No, you don’t. Say you will.” His hand on the doorknob to steady himself, he blinked twice, then put on his hat. “Say it.”

  The bunching around his eyes and a pained stare concerned her. “I will. What’s going on?” Had he discovered news he wasn’t telling her? “Have you heard—”

  “Just saying… Please, be careful because we don’t know where he is.” He went back down the stairs without another word.

  Don’t stumble down the steps, you sexy thing. This concerned her, and she wished he’d come out and tell her what he knew. With a big sigh, she watched him saunter toward the barn. He was distressed about the situation, but with good reason. Finishing in the kitchen, she focused on seeing his tattoo. One more step taken toward moving into the new person he had become…or the one he always had been. “Ouch.” Her gaze flicked around the kitchen. It was more than a kick. A literal pain, kind of like she had earlier this morning. “Uh-ooh.”

  ***

  Between their ride and watering the horses afterward, an hour and a half had gone by before Dane trudged in the back door, right away taking a cookie then got a glass of iced tea. Boston moseyed into the kitchen from the hallway. “Hey, boy, did you go check out the family?” Dane took a seat at the table to remove his boots, while the dog got comfortable beside his chair. The TV remained on in the family room. A smell of popcorn filled the house.

  With the dog at his heels on the way upstairs, it felt like he had a four-legged shadow. After a shower, Dane combed his hair and patted on a bit of cologne. Time to crawl in beside my honey. A slight buzz remained, but more importantly, his tattoo had remained dry.

  Turning off the bedside lamp in the bedroom, he pulled the covers down on his side of the bed and curled up next to her. Before settling, he slid hair back from her face to kiss her cheek.

  “Mmm, you smell so good.” She smiled while her eyes remained closed. “Did you stay on the horse or fall on your ass?”

  The bed was warm and her body was warmer. “Hmm, a bit of a smartass, eh. Do you think I forgot about that hot bike I had between my legs?”

  “I’m sure you didn’t.” An arm across her mouth didn’t block the sound of a yawn. Gracelyn moved to her other side to face him. “What about your tattoo? Let me see it, please.”

  Still talkative even if she was half asleep. “If you insist—”

  “Let me rush to the bathroom, first. I’ll be right back, tattoo man.”

  ***

  Once she returned and crawled back into bed, he patted her rear end. “Feels good, baby.”

  “Is it the same as you wanted? Rebel times three?” Gracelyn ignored his remark and went to her knees while waiting for him to remove his t-shirt. Before she committed to saying she’d get one identical to his, she’d have to see it—especially if he was drinking before he got it.

  “Haven’t you learned yet that my word is good? If I said it, I did it. Always.”

 
“Are you about to be a smartass now, biker boy?”

  “The tattoo’s the same but all fancied up a little.” With a head shake and a sigh, he muttered, “Please don’t call me tattoo man and biker boy.” He drew her close for a kiss. “You’ll like it. I told the tattoo artist you’d be getting one, so he made it fitting.” With the covering off, he pushed his chest out, pride showing in his demeanor as he read it, “Rebel times Three.”

  “It’s sexy. Can I touch it?” She gingerly ran her fingertip across the surface. “I love this so much.” A ribbon like scroll wrapped around a red, white, and blue elongated heart. Five white stars followed the shape of the heart at the widest part. Rebel was written on the first ribbon wrap then the word times. Below it on the second ribbon wrap was written the word Three. Dog tags hung from the R in Rebel. “I’m in awe.”

  Her posture straightened during another jab. “Ahh-ahh that one hurt.” Blowing out a slow breath afterward, she tilted her head and peered at him. “That one was harder than any others so far.”

  Grabbing his head between his hands, he asked, “Others? Do we have to go to the hospital? Tell me now before I get settled in because I’ll need to make some coffee.”

  Her fingers wrapped around his forearm and she gave a sweet smile. “We’re okay. I’ll give you plenty of warning. Let’s see if it happens again. It’s ten past eleven. We’ll time it.” The frown on his face said it all, and she attempted to dissuade his concern. “I love your tattoo. If my stomach ever goes back to flat, I’ll have it where I mentioned before.” She reclined and patted the bed for him to lie beside her.

  Dane reached over her for the remote to turn off the TV. “Riding a bike and a horse in one day was awesome.”

  “I’m glad.” Gracelyn went over the pattern of the pains she’d been having. A couple hours would go by and then longer periods with nothing. William seemed quieter, too, compared to what he had been throughout the day. Had he been resting up for his journey into the world?

  A big yawn interrupted his kiss on her neck. “I’m tired tonight myself. I might have to turn into a morning person, if only for one morning…tomorrow. If you know what I mean. I know you like mornings.” A comical laugh came out in a roar. “What do you say about that?”

  “I say maybe you had one beer too many. How soon you forget that you have been since we met.” A sudden reminder of their morning escapades brought a smile, but this wasn’t the night to play around. “I admit I do. Hold me tonight. By the way, if everything is okay by morning, I’ll have an early lunch with Tammy tomorrow.” The way it seemed at this point, lunch would be debatable…

  Chapter 21

  Hesitant of her going to town by herself today, she reminded him that he wasn’t her bodyguard and insisted on going to meet Tammy for lunch, even after he had warned her that Houston hadn’t been seen or heard of since Vegas. Reiterating that information didn’t seem to matter, or even the fact he told her he learned of the idiot’s real name.

  Maybe he had overreacted, but he didn’t think so, and remained pissed. Less than ten minutes after she had left, he was about to follow her at a safe distance, but then she had called, saying she’d changed her mind and turned around. Even better. She would’ve been angry if he followed her but he didn’t care at this point.

  After finishing a chore in the barn, Dane came into the great room and expected to find Gracelyn back home. He sauntered out the door, peeked into the family room, kitchen, even headed upstairs to their room. “Gracelyn, where are you, baby? She wasn’t in the bathroom either. Rushing back downstairs he entered the great room again. Leaning against the doorjamb, he brushed his fingers over his stubble-laden jaw. Where the hell did she go?

  “What are you looking for, son?” asked Judy as she cleared the dining room table after lunch.

  “My wife. Her car is out by the office. I’ll check the barn again.” In their phone conversation earlier he had said he’d be out there when she arrived, since he needed to keep busy after what she told him.

  “Well, I haven’t seen her since she left.” Judy followed him into the kitchen. “I won’t be cooking that many more dinners here when you’re gone. I’m glad y’all will be here tonight.”

  “Heck, we aren’t going far. You can cook for us anytime you want. Come knock on the door down the hall. That door will always be open to you once our house is finished.”

  Tristan rammed in through the back door encountering Dane and the rest of the family who congregated in the kitchen. He looked back and forth at his brothers. “Well, you’re all here. Who the hell took my 4x4 parked out in front of the office?

  Jase looked up from the paper and set his glass down. “What do you mean?”

  Tristan got his .45 from the locked cabinet in the great room, shoved in the magazine, and chambered a round. “The damn thing’s gone. It was right there beside Grace’s car less than ten minutes ago.”

  “Now, son,” Judy said, “You’re overreacting. Put that gun away until you know what’s going on.”

  Blood about drained from Dane’s body. He glared out the back window toward the boarder barn. “I can’t find Gracelyn. Did you see her out there anywhere?”

  “Nope, but I don’t think she took it,” said Tristan, grabbing a quart bottle of water from the fridge. “What the hell’s going on? I don’t think one of the ranch hands would’ve taken it without saying something. I’ll check, but they never have before.”

  “Smith Jamison—Trevor Houston. Has to be the sonofabitch.” Dane rushed out the door without saying another word on his way to the barn. Boston ran out with him.

  ***

  Tristan came out a few minutes later. “Ranch hands don’t have it. There’s tracks going out around the office toward the mountain road. You think it’s him?”

  “One-hundred percent. I’ve been waiting for him to make his appearance, but I didn’t think it’d be at my own home. Gracelyn is ready to have the baby. Earlier she called, sure she’s in labor. She had minimal pains last evening but nothing regular. Today, she’s pretty sure—so sure she skipped lunch to come home.” Dane faced Tristan. “I’ll kill that bastard.”

  “Stand in line,” Tristan said. “Let’s check for tracks and if we have to, trailer the horses up to the trailhead and ride from there. He can only get so far in the vehicle. Let’s get Roark in the trailer.”

  “Well, if you’re going, I’ll ride up with you but I’m going on foot into the mountains. I can move faster alone.”

  Jase came through the barn door. “I’m going with you guys. Drive over to my place on the way out and I’ll grab my horse. I’ll saddle it once we get to the trailhead, but I need a minute to go home to get things together and make sure the kids are okay with Chloe. She isn’t answering the phone. They’re off school today, but Brenna had to be at work.”

  “I’ll check her car then I need to go inside and gear up, get my supplies, NODs, more weapons, blade, body armor…” He paused and glanced up at his brothers who stared at him as if his hair had turned blue. “Guess I’ll pass on the body armor.”

  “Go ahead,” said Jase. “I’ll get your horse in the trailer.”

  “I’m not taking my horse. Get him in the trailer for yourself before you go home instead of trying to get Warrior loaded. I’m going to check her car first.” He jogged over to her car. Her cell phone, jacket, and purse were on the seat. Tracks outside the door showed what could have been a scuffle, like she put up a fight. “I’m killing his ass.” Boston sniffed around the vehicle but it was obvious she was dragged into Tristan’s 4x4 by the way the tracks ended abruptly. Dane took her items from the car and pivoted. He plowed through the back door at the house.

  Upstairs, a glare caught his attention out the window a ways into the desert, and he peered out to see what it was. “Shit, that about sums it up.” He removed his personal gear from a locked trunk in his closet—donning camouflage pants, shirt, belt with supplies, even an IFAK bag. The bastard finally came out of his hole.

&n
bsp; He checked his 9mm and ambidextrous .45. “Sonofabitch. He needs to call himself dead. Dead.” He knelt in front of the dog. “You know what this means, don’t you? You have to do this, Boston.” Dane grabbed one of Gracelyn’s shirts from the laundry basket. “We have to find her, boy.”

  “Dane?”

  His heart raced as he rushed around. “Mom, I don’t have time to talk about it.” He got Boston’s harness and put it on him then took the leash.

  “Think about what you’re doing?” Judy said.

  “I am. The bastard has my wife. What do you expect me to do? She’s in labor, about to have the baby.” He took his sat-phone from the drawer, checking the battery power, yet he made a point to keep it charged. “Who can blame me for shooting his ass? He’s using her to get back at her dad. I’ve been waiting for him to show his damn face. Well, he has…”

  “How do you know that’s where she is, or even if he has her.”

  “Look out the window. His cars parked in the desert. Must’ve grabbed her when she pulled up, followed her back or something. He’s a sick bastard…a dead, sick bastard.”

  “Dear God. That must be why Boston went crazy a little while ago. My mind was fixed on him wanting to get out to you. But—”

  Dane huffed, “He’s a watch dog for a reason.” He moved past her as she waited in the doorway, but stopped. “I’m sorry, but you’d do the same thing if it was one of us or a grandchild. It is a grandchild.” Dane, with the dog on his heels, ran down the stairs dressed for combat, Gracelyn’s shirt tucked over his belt.

  Tristan and Jase waited in Tristan’s truck outside the barn. He opened the door, pointing for Boston to jump in first. Dane hopped inside and leaned the butt of his Browning 30-06 rifle on the floor and held it between his legs. “Hit the road, I’m ready.” His chest heaved as he settled into the backseat. His foot jittered against the floor. “The sonofabitch is dead. He’s dead. Call him dead.” He stretched over to peer out the front window. “See any tracks anywhere, Jase.”