Forever Buckhorn

by Lori Foster

  “He has a temper?”

  “No, not really.”

  Honey choked, accidentally spraying iced tea across the table. Alarmed, Elizabeth quickly handed her a napkin. Biting back a laugh, Honey mumbled, “Sorry.”

  But Misty wasn’t offended. “You should talk,” she said primly. “Morgan is still bragging about that fight Sawyer had over you.”

  “What about Gabe?” Elizabeth asked. “Is he a hell-raiser?”

  “Gabe? Heck, no, Gabe’s a lover, not a fighter. Not that I doubt he could handle himself in any situation.”

  Elizabeth tried to sound only mildly curious as she pursued that topic. “He has himself something of a reputation, doesn’t he?”

  Misty shrugged. “I suppose, but it’s not a bad one. Folks around here just love him, that’s all.”

  “You know,” Elizabeth said thoughtfully as she set aside her pencil and propped her elbows on the table, “I think it’s amazing that he did something so heroic and yet he shrugs it off as nothing.”

  Honey waved her fork dismissively. “They’re all like that. They’re strong and capable and well-respected and they don’t really think a thing of it. To them, it’s just how things are—they’re nothing special. But I know not a one of them would sit on the sidelines if someone needed help. That’s just the way they are.”

  For over an hour, the women talked, and Elizabeth took page after page of background notes on the brothers, Gabe specifically. If some of her questions had nothing to do with her thesis…well, that was no one’s concern but her own.

  When the lunch ended and she was ready to go, Elizabeth thanked both women. Misty had her wide-awake daughter cradled in her arms, cooing to her, so it was Honey who touched Elizabeth’s arm and said, “I hope we’ve been some help.”

  Elizabeth could read the look in Honey’s eyes and understood her meaning. She smiled in acknowledgment. “You don’t have to worry. I know Gabe is still sowing his wild oats, so while I’m enjoying interviewing him, I’m not going to expect undying love. I’m a little more grounded in reality than that.”

  Honey bit her lip then shared a look with her sister. Misty sighed. “He really is a doll, isn’t he?”

  “Yes, he is. But he’s a rascal too, and I’m well aware of just how serious he is, which isn’t very. Besides, I’m only here for the summer. I have another semester of college to go and then job hunting before I can ever think of getting attached to anyone. Gabe is fun and exciting, but I know that’s where it ends.”

  Misty slid out of the booth to stand before Elizabeth, her brow drawn into a thoughtful frown. “Now, I’m not sure you should rule everything out.”

  Honey agreed. “He is acting darned strange about all this.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Elizabeth knew they wanted to be kind, to spare her. “I’m not letting anything or anyone get in the way of my goals.”

  “What are your goals? I know you said you’re doing your thesis on the mystique of heroes, but why?”

  “I’m hoping to go into counseling. Too often the ordinary person tries to compare herself to the true heroes of the world and only comes up lacking, which is damaging to self-esteem. I’d like to be able to prove that there are real, tangible differences to account for the heroes.”

  Before either sister could remark on that, Elizabeth asked for directions to Jordan’s veterinary office. He was the only brother she hadn’t spoken to yet. From what she’d heard, this particular brother was vastly different in many ways, but still enough to melt a woman’s heart.

  She looked forward to grilling him.

  GABE WRAPPED HIS ARM around Ceily from behind, then gave her a loud smooch on her nape. “Hey, doll,” he growled in a mock-hungry voice.

  Jumping, Ceily almost dropped the tray of dirty dishes loading her down, and would have if Gabe hadn’t caught it in time.

  Rounding on him, Ceily yelled, “Don’t do that, damn it! You about gave me a heart attack.”

  “Shh.” Gabe grinned at her. “I don’t want anyone to know I’m here.”

  Ceily seemed to think that was very funny, judging by her crooked grin. “If you’re looking for your newest girlfriend, she already left.”

  Disappointment struck him, and he muttered a low curse that made Ceily’s grin widen. “Do you know where she went?”

  She took the tray from him and set it in the sink. “Maybe.”

  “Ceily…”

  With a calculating look, she said over her shoulder, “I need a leaking faucet fixed. I can talk while you repair.”

  Gabe didn’t want to waste that much time, but he reluctantly agreed. Ceily was one of his best friends, and she made one hell of a spy. Though she didn’t gossip, she always seemed to know anything and everything that was said in her diner. “All right. Show me the sink.”

  Five minutes later Gabe was on his back, shirtless to keep from getting too dirty, trying to tighten a valve. The job was simple, but Ceily needed new plumbing in a bad way. “I can fix it for now, hon, but we’re going to need to make major repairs soon. When’s good for you?”

  Ceily was at his side on a stool, taking a quick break while business was slow. “You just give me the word and I’ll make the time.”

  Seconds later, Gabe shoved himself out from under the sink and sat up. “All done. So start talking.”

  Ceily checked the sink first, saw it was dry and nodded. “She went to see your brother Jordan, but she said she’s also going to do some shopping.” Ceily gave an impish smile. “She wants to dress more casual, like Misty and Honey.”

  Gabe groaned. Misty and Honey had chic comfort down to a fine art. The women could wear cutoffs and T-shirts and look like sex personified. “I’ll never live through it.”

  Ceily thought that was about the funniest thing she’d ever heard. Gabe used her knee for unnecessary leverage and came to his feet. “You care to share the joke?”

  “You don’t think it’s amusing that the mighty Gabe Kasper, womanizer and renowned playboy, is being struck down by a prim little red-haired wallflower?”

  Anger tightened his gut for an instant before Gabe hid it. He didn’t like anyone making fun of Lizzy, but he knew Ceily hadn’t meant to be nasty. She, like him, was merely surprised at his interest in a woman who was so different from his usual girlfriends.

  But then, that was precisely why he felt so drawn to her.

  He began lathering his hands in the sink while he gathered his thoughts. Ceily tilted her head at his silence, then let out a whistle.

  “Well, I’ll be. You really are smitten, aren’t you?”

  “Smitten is a stupid word, Ceily,” he groused. “Let’s just call it intrigued, okay?”

  “Intrigued, smitten…doesn’t matter what you call it, Gabe, you’ve still got it bad.” She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. “Care to tell me why?”

  Gabe lifted one shoulder in a shrug as he dried his hands on a frayed dish towel. “Lizzy is different.”

  “You’re telling me!”

  Gabe snapped her with the towel. “You are feeling sassy today, aren’t you?”

  She yelped, then rubbed her well-rounded hip. There was a time when Gabe would have helped her with that, but he had no real interest in touching any woman, even playfully, except Lizzy. She had invaded his brain, and it was taking a lot of getting used to.

  Ceily was still frowning when she said, “It’s not every day I get to witness the fall of the mighty Gabe.”

  Lifting one brow, Gabe announced, “I didn’t fall, I jumped.”

  “So it’s like that, huh?”

  Gabe propped one hip on the side of the sink and watched Ceily. She was his friend and he’d always been able to talk with her. He loved his brothers dearly, but he could just imagine how they’d react if he started confessing to them. He’d never hear the end of it.

  “It’s damn strange,” he admitted, “if you want the truth. One minute I didn’t like her at all, then I was noticing all these little things about h
er, then I was lusting after her….”

  “Uh, I hate to point this out, Gabe, but you tend to lust over every available, of-age woman you meet.”

  “Not like this.” He shook his head and considered all the differences. “You know as well as I do that most of the women have come pretty easy for me.”

  Her look was ironic. “I have firsthand knowledge of that fact.”

  Gabe looked up, startled. A slow flush crept up his neck. “I wasn’t talking about you, doll.” He reached out and flicked a long finger over her soft cheek. “We were both too young then to even know what we were doing.”

  Ceily’s smile was slow and taunting. Despite the fact they’d once experimented a little with each other, their friendship had grown. Gabe was eternally grateful for that.

  “As I recall,” she purred, teasing him, “you knew exactly what you were doing. And it was nice for my first time to be with someone I trusted and liked.”

  Gabe felt as though he was choking. Ceily hadn’t mentioned that little episode in many years. And never would he point out to her exactly how inept he’d been back then. When she found the right guy, she’d realize it on her own. Curious, since she had brought it up, he asked, “Did you ever tell anyone?”

  “Nope. And I know for a fact you haven’t, so don’t get all flustered. Besides, I’m not carrying a torch for you, Gabe. It was fun, but I want more.”

  Gabe slid off the sink to give her a bear hug. Ceily was a very special person. “I know. And you’ll find it. You deserve the very best.”

  She returned his hug and said with a hoity-toity accent, “I tend to think so.” Then she shoved him back a bit. “But I know what you mean. All the women for miles around come running when you crook your little finger.”

  “Not all.” Gabe almost chuckled at the image she described, but felt forced to admit the truth. “I have been turned down a time or two, you know.”

  Ceily scoffed. “Never with anyone who mattered.”

  Gabe stared at her, and her eyes widened. “Oh, wait! Are you telling me Elizabeth Parks turned you down?”

  Scowling, Gabe shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m not telling you anything about Elizabeth. My point was just that most women want me because of my reputation, because they think I’m good-looking or sexy—”

  Ceily bent double laughing.

  Gabe glared. “Oh, to hell with it. There’s no talking to you today.”

  He started to skirt around her, but she caught him from behind and held on to his belt loops, getting dragged two feet before he finally stopped. Still chuckling, she gasped, “No, wait! I want to hear what it is that she wants from you.”

  Gabe heaved a deep sigh, then without turning to look at her, he admitted, “She thinks I’m some kind of damn hero and she wants to learn more about me, about my character and my family. She looks at me with this strange kind of excitement and…almost awe. Not for what we might do, or for what I might do to her, but for who she thinks I am. Damn, Ceily, no woman has ever done that before. And she hasn’t pursued me at all for anything else. If I’d be willing to go on answering her damn questions, she’d be happy as a lark to leave it at that.”

  Last night, Gabe reminded himself, she’d been more than willing to do other things. But she hadn’t come to him, he’d gone to her. He’d set about seducing her when he hadn’t found it necessary to seduce a woman in ages.

  And even then, he had the feeling that if he’d stuck her damn pencil in her hand, she’d have stopped cold in the middle of his sensual ministrations to start taking notes on his character. Now that he knew why it was so important to her, he not only felt turned on by her physically, he felt touched by her emotionally.

  Seduction was a damn arousing business.

  Ceily let go of his belt loops and smoothed her hand over the breadth of his back. “Poor Gabe. You really are adrift, huh?”

  “I’m gonna turn you over my knee, Ceily.”

  She laughed at such a ridiculous threat. “No, you won’t. Because I can give you some valuable advice.”

  Very slowly Gabe turned to face her. “Is that right?”

  “Yep. You see, I heard Elizabeth tell your sisters-in-law that she has no intention of hanging around here once school starts. She’s an academic sort and she has big plans for her life. If you hope to be part of those plans, you’d better get cracking, because I got the feeling that once she’s gone, she won’t be coming back.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  WHEN GABE let himself in through the back entrance of Jordan’s veterinary clinic, he found Elizabeth and Jordan leaning over an examination table. Their backs were to him, but he could see that Lizzy was cuddled close to Jordan’s side, Jordan’s arm was around her shoulders, and they were in intimate conversation.

  Gabe saw red.

  “Am I interrupting?” He had meant to ask that question with cold indifference, but even to his ears it had sounded like a raw challenge.

  Jordan looked at him over his shoulder; he was smiling. “Come here, Gabe. Take a look.” Then he added, “But be very quiet.”

  His brother’s voice had that peculiar soothing quality he used when treating frightened or injured animals. It was hypnotic and, according to all the women, sexy as hell.

  Gabe barely stifled a growl. If Jordan was using that voice on Lizzy, he’d—

  A very fat, bedraggled feline lay on the exam table, licking a new batch of tiny mewling kittens. Gabe glanced up at the look on Lizzy’s face and promptly melted.

  Big tears glistened in her vivid blue eyes and spiked her lashes. As Gabe watched, she gave a watery smile and sniffed, then gently rubbed the battered cat behind what was left of an ear.

  Softly, Jordan explained, “She got into a tussle with a neighboring dog and lost. No sooner did she get dropped off than she started birthing. Eight kittens.” Jordan shook his head. “She’s a trooper, aren’t you, old girl?” Jordan stroked his hand down the cat’s back, earning a throaty purr.

  Lizzy sniffed again. “She’s a stray. Jordan says she’s undernourished, so we didn’t know if the kittens would be all right or not.” She peered at Gabe with a worried expression. “They are awfully small, aren’t they?”

  Gabe smiled. “Most kittens are that tiny.”

  “And how…yucky they look?”

  Jordan chuckled. “She’ll have them all cleaned up and cozy in no time. The problem now is getting her into a pen. I hate to move her after she’s just given birth, but I can hardly leave her and the babies here on the table.”

  Lizzy seemed to be considering that. “Do the pens open from the top or the front?”

  “Both.”

  “Then… Well, maybe we could just take the table cover and all, and put her in the pen. I mean, if you hold the two top corners, and Gabe holds the two bottom corners, and I sort of guide it in and make sure no babies tumble out… Would that work do you think?”

  To Gabe’s annoyance, Jordan smiled and kissed Lizzy’s cheek. “I think that’s a brilliant idea. Gabe, keep an eye on this batch while I go find a big-enough pen. I’ll be right back.”

  Gabe stepped next to Lizzy. “You’ve been crying.” Just being close to her made him feel funny—adrift, as Ceily had said. He didn’t know himself when he was this close to her, and he sure as hell didn’t recognize all the things she made him feel.

  Lizzy bit her lip, which looked extremely provocative to Gabe. “I’ve never seen babies born before. It’s amazing.”

  Gabe slipped his arm around her and nuzzled her ear. Keeping his hands, or his mouth, to himself was out of the question. “Did you help Jordan?”

  She laughed softly. “Mostly I just tried to stay out of his way.”

  Jordan said from behind them, “I couldn’t have done it without her. She has the touch, Gabe. No sooner did she stroke that old cat than she settled down and relaxed some. I was afraid I was going to have to sedate her, but Elizabeth’s touch was better than any shot I could give.”

  Gabe made a noncommi
ttal sound. He knew firsthand just how special Lizzy’s touch was.

  Within minutes they had the mother and all her babies cozied up in the pen and set in a warm corner where there was plenty of sunshine and quiet. The mother cat, exhausted after her ordeal, dozed off.

  “Will she be all right?” Gabe asked.

  Elizabeth answered him. “Jordan said none of her injuries from the dog are significant. He cleaned up some scrapes and scratches, one not too horrible bite, and then she started birthing.” Laughing at herself, Lizzy admitted, “When she let out that first screeching roar, I thought she was dying. Jordan explained to me that she was just a mama in labor.”

  Jordan, trying to slip clean dry bedding in around the mewling kittens, said, “Gabe, why don’t you show Elizabeth around the rest of the clinic?”

  Lizzy’s eyes widened. “Could you? I’d love to see it.”

  Since Gabe would love to get her alone, he agreed.

  Everything about Elizabeth Parks fascinated him—her softness, her freckles, her temper, her awe at the sight of a yapping puppy or a sleeping bird. She was complex in many ways, crystal clear in others. By the time they were done looking around, Jordan had finished with the kittens and he showed no hesitation in embracing Lizzy again.

  Gabe wanted to flatten him.

  “Come back any time, Elizabeth.” He glanced at Gabe. “We can talk more.”

  “I’d like that. Thank you.”

  Gabe knew his ears were turning red, but damn it, he didn’t want her hanging around Jordan. He didn’t want her hanging around any man except himself.

  And he still wasn’t too keen on her discussing him with everyone. God only knew what she might hear!

  She finally stepped away from Jordan and faced both men. “I have to run off now. I have more errands to get through.”

  She backed to the door as she said it, keeping a close watch on Gabe.

  “What errands?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Oh, the usual.” She reached for the doorknob and opened the door. “The library, the grocery store…a visit with Casey.”