by Jo Leigh
She swatted him on the arm. “But you had fun, huh?”
“A lot. Although I rarely get to use my dazzling skills,” he confessed.
“What else have you done?”
He laughed, looked up to the loft, then back at her. “That seems like a pretty broad question. Can you narrow it down just a smidge?”
“Classes. Courses. Languages on tape. What have you done?” She knew she was talking wildly, flinging her hands about, but dammit, this was important.
“You know, we’ve talked about this stuff before. Remember? In the wee hours?”
“I need more, okay?”
“You got it,” he said, sounding very serious. He crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve taken refresher courses in French and German.”
“Cool.”
“I took a cooking class once. Thai food,” he added.
“Do you cook?”
“Rarely. But I don’t hate it. I just don’t seem to have a lot of time for it. You should see my collection of takeout menus. Extensive.”
“Where have you been? Traveled?” she asked, leading him to the bed. She sat down on the edge and he joined her, never once breaking their eye contact.
“Let’s see. I’ve been to a lot of Europe. All work related. Hawaii. South Africa, also work related.”
“And just for pleasure?”
“I went to Camp Winnatonka when I was eleven.”
“Good experience?”
“I got a rash. Poison ivy. I also kissed Lisa Jackson, but then she told on me and I had to wash pots in the commissary.”
Meg grinned. “Was it worth it?”
“It didn’t become worth it for a couple more years,” he confessed.
“When did you first do it?”
“Do it?” Alex asked, wide eyed. “Wait, is this Camp Winnatonka?”
“Don’t make me pinch you.”
“When I was sixteen. She was eighteen. It was in a very small car at a disreputable carnival. I was worried for a long time that my dick would fall off from some horrible disease. Now, may I ask a question?”
She shook her head. “Not yet. First let me finish.”
“Fair enough,” he said.
“What do you want to do?”
“When?”
“After you leave Washington. Aside from writing, what do you want to do? In Colorado, or wherever you end up,” she added.
“Ah. I haven’t spent too much time thinking about that because I was so busy with the career suicide and all, but I do like fishing. Trout fishing. And kayaking. I’d like to do more of that,” he said.
“What else?” she asked, scooting closer to him. She felt as if her heart would beat out of her chest.
“Uh, well, now that you mention it, dancing would be good. Take time to listen to my records. Write letters to people. Not e-mail. Letters on stationery with my initials embossed. I’d like to read fiction.” His voice quickened and she knew he was getting it. Feeling this connection that was beyond electric. “You know how hard it is for me to find time to read fiction? Damn, I want a library. A whole room, like something out of Sherlock Holmes, complete with a roaring fireplace, wing chairs and one of those ladders so I can reach the hardbacks on the top shelf.”
Meg closed her eyes for a minute, letting it all sink in. He liked to kayak. She did, too. A lot. And whitewater rafting, which she’d only done once, but it was a major rush.
“My turn yet?” he asked.
“One more. What are you like in the morning?”
“Before coffee?”
She nodded.
“Not pretty. But you wouldn’t have to run for cover.”
“After coffee?” she asked.
“Much better.”
She smiled. Swallowed as the pieces came together like the most perfect puzzle, creating a new picture she’d never even dreamed before.
“Now?” he said.
She nodded.
“What the hell’s going on?”
Laughter bubbled up, and it took her a minute to chill. “I figured out I’m scared to death.”
“Of?”
“Every damn thing you can think of. Quitting. Leaving the mountain. Loving someone. Loving you.”
He nodded, staring at her as if it would help. “And?”
“I just watched one of the most courageous things I’ve ever seen. The way you talked to Charlie. But that isn’t even the important part. You did this all so quietly. I’m a little pissed that you didn’t tell me, but I’m also awed that you made this huge, life-changing decision on your own. With no fanfare, no whining. And then you just did it. You don’t know the outcome, you’re not hedging your bets. You just walked right into your new life. Dammit, you are a hero. And here I am, terrified to leave the mountain I was born on. Terrified. But all of a sudden I’m excited, too. You know, I’ve never been overseas. Never. I love the water and I love to read, but I’m so tired, I can’t get past page ten of anything before I fall asleep. And yes, I know you know that, but it doesn’t matter, because you’re here now, and you’re real now, and I need to say it out loud. I don’t want to end up on that mountain for the rest of my life. I just don’t.”
“What would you like to do?”
God, the way he looked at her. As if he could barely contain himself. “I want to have options. I want to think things through so I don’t run off half-cocked. And then I want to try things that scare the bejesus out of me.”
“Wow.”
“And I’d really like to explore the whole notion of doing this with you.”
His smile came slowly, but it was worth it. “You would?”
“Yeah.”
“Cool.”
She put her hands on her hips. “Cool? That’s it?”
“Not even close. But if I show you how happy I am right now, we probably won’t be able to continue the discussion.”
“We have three more days to talk,” she said.
“Why, Dr. Becker. Are you suggesting we do something carnal?”
“If you’re up for it.”
He chuckled. “Considering all we’ve been through in the last twenty-four hours, I’m damn proud it didn’t fall off. In other words, not yet.”
“It’s okay. I don’t care.”
“You mean, you don’t love me for my sexual prowess?” he teased.
“I don’t hate you for it.”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure if I should be pleased or insulted.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and they both fell back on the bed. He felt so good against her. “Pleased. Trust me.”
“I can’t deny you anything. But you already knew that.”
“Yeah. I did. Which, by the way, I won’t hold you to, but I love the sentiment.”
“Good.”
“But that’s not the important part, either.”
He ran his hand down her arm, then pulled her closer. “What’s the important part?”
“I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you,” Meg confessed.
He inhaled a little faster, his hands gripped her a bit tighter, but other than that, he held it together well. “Pretty sure?”
She nodded. “You still have all that mess back in Washington. I still have to figure out how I’m going to leave the mountain. There are money issues, and where to go, and—oh, crap, I just assumed you wanted to do all that with me, and if you don’t that’s okay, because—”
He put two fingers on her lips. “Yes. I want to do all that with you.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s not going to be easy,” she murmured.
“Nothing worthwhile ever is.”
She put her head on his shoulder. “I eat Oreos in bed.”
“Do you share?” he joked.
“With you? Something could be arranged.”
“I talk to myself when I write,” he admitted.
“Are you funny?”
“I have no idea. But I seriously doubt it. Usu
ally, a great many curse words are involved.”
“I can handle that.”
“So I take it you’re pleased?” he asked. “About coming here?”
She looked up into his eyes. “Best gift ever.”
He kissed her then. A sweet, deep, loving kiss that gave her goose bumps. That gave her strength.
“We’re gonna be great together,” he whispered.
She believed him.
Epilogue
One year later…
[DCWatcher] First, don’t be mad, Meg.
[MtnVet] Don’t be mad? What’s going on, Alex?
[DCWatcher] Just…don’t be mad. And go to the door.
[MtnVet] What door?
[DCWatcher] The front door.
[MtnVet] K. Be right back.
[MtnVet] Alex?
[DCWatcher] Took you long enough.
[MtnVet] What have you done? And the flowers are gorgeous, thank you.
[DCWatcher] You’re welcome. Open the envelope.
[MtnVet] Alex!!!!
[DCWatcher] Yes?
[MtnVet] Escapades?
[DCWatcher] It was pretty good last time, wasn’t it?
[MtnVet] Best vacation ever, but how can you?
[DCWatcher] I have my ways.
[MtnVet] What’s your editor going to say? The book is due next week.
[DCWatcher] It’ll be done.
[MtnVet] So you took solitaire off your laptop?
[DCWatcher] Ha! You’re so funny.
[MtnVet] Not to mention my work.
[DCWatcher] You can take some time off.
[MtnVet] I’ve only been working there four months. What are they going to think?
[DCWatcher] Who cares? They love you. They want you. They need you. Oh, wait. Maybe that’s me.
[MtnVet] Well, that’s not playing fair.
[DCWatcher] It’s just the facts, ma’am.
[MtnVet] Five days, four nights. The same bungalow.
[DCWatcher] So???
[MtnVet] I can’t say no to you.
[DCWatcher] Then my plan worked.
[MtnVet] Maybe I can…
[DCWatcher] No, you can’t. Besides, the reservation is in, the plane tickets purchased, so you must say yes.
[MtnVet] Of course I’m going to say yes.
[DCWatcher] Excellent. Now, one last instruction.
[MtnVet] I’m not taking off any clothes.
[DCWatcher] No, I want you to turn around.
[MtnVet]???
[DCWatcher] Just do it!
Meg turned slowly, not sure what to expect. She was in their kitchen, having her coffee before she had to go to the clinic. She knew Alex was at the library, where he was doing some research on the book. So what could he have done now?
“You sneaky bastard.”
Alex stood at the kitchen door, his laptop still in his hand. His grin warmed her all the way to her toes. “Surprise.”
“You’re supposed to be working,” she accused.
“I took a break,” he said.
“So I see.”
He put the computer on the counter as she stood up. They met in the middle. He pulled her close and kissed her, as always, curling her toes.
“Yes,” she whispered, when she could speak again.
“I thought you might say that. And I’m hoping you’ll say it again, when I tell you I’ve made arrangements for us to get married, right there on the island.”
She laughed and at the very same time her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, my God. Alex.”
“Is that a yes?”
She kissed him on the lips, on the cheeks, all over his face. “Yes, that’s a yes. A hundred times yes.”
He laughed, too. “That’s good, because I already sent in the deposit.”
“So we’re really gonna go the whole nine yards, huh?”
He nodded. “So far, so good.”
It hadn’t been easy for either of them, but they’d come so far in the last year. They’d both left their old lives behind and started out fresh and new. His writing was going well, and she loved her new job at the Boulder animal hospital. Living together had been an incredible joy from day one, but getting married? It was the icing on a very incredible cake.
Alex bent his head and nibbled on the sensitive skin of her neck. “Are you sure that you don’t want to take off any of those clothes?”
There was only one thing she could do. She pinched him. Right on his sexy butt. And then she walked him out of the kitchen, straight up to the bedroom.
TALL, TANNED & TEXAN
Kimberly Raye
TORONTO • NEW YORK • LONDON
AMSTERDAM • PARIS • SYDNEY • HAMBURG
STOCKHOLM • ATHENS • TOKYO • MILAN • MADRID
PRAGUE • WARSAW • BUDAPEST • AUCKLAND
This book is dedicated to the
wonderfully talented Nina Bangs.
Thanks for being such a great writer
and an even better friend!
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
1
DEANIE CODGE had been waiting her entire adult life to experience really great sex.
Sex that included lots of slow, deep kisses and long, lingering touches. Sex that stole her breath away and zapped her common sense. Sex that made her toes tingle and her skin prickle and her body actually throb.
Sex that didn’t involve a sleeping bag, a can of insect repellant and the bed of a beat-up pickup truck.
Now, after twenty-nine years and one too many mosquito bites, she was this close.
Deanie stowed her purse beneath the seat in front of her and her hand paused on the side pocket where she’d tucked her cell phone. She slid it free and noted the flashing message light before powering it off. She had five messages. Probably one from each of her older brothers. Or maybe they were all from Clay. He wasn’t the oldest, but he was the only one who’d settled down and found the right woman. His wife, Helen, was pregnant with their first child, which was due any day now. Since Clay had taken over the family’s cattle ranch—their father suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and had handed over the workload to his most responsible son and the only one who’d stuck around Romeo—he now considered himself the head of the family. While their dad spent his time playing bingo and gossiping down at the Fat Cow Diner, Clay kept track of ten thousand cattle and his baby sister. She could only imagine the fit he was throwing after discovering that she was missing in action.
Technically, she wasn’t missing. She’d left a letter clearly explaining what she was doing. At the same time, while the letter was meant to inform, she knew its contents would make her overprotective brother worry that much more.
It wasn’t every day that his baby sister signed up for boot camp.
A sexual boot camp, that is.
She ignored the small spiral of guilt, stowed her cell phone and fastened her seat belt. She lifted the oval window shade and stared at the hustle and bustle. Beyond the glass, she could see the white and gray building that housed the terminals for San Antonio International Airport. A cart overflowing with luggage, her new white and pink flowered canvas bags balanced on top, rolled toward the turquoise-and-white 747. The gray tunnel she’d just walked through still sat attached to the doorway of the plane. The last few passengers filed inside, twisting this way and that to make it down the narrow aisle that separated pairs of seats.
Excitement zipped up her spine and her hands trembled. This was it. The second step in transforming her ho-hum, going-absolutely-nowhere life.
The first had involved the purchase of the pair of three inch stilettos currently cutting off the blood supply to her toes and the cotton sundress that clu
ng to her as if it were hanging on for dear life.
She drew a deep breath and tried to ignore the way her chest pressed against the low-cut halter top.
So what if it was skimpy? And pink? It was feminine. Trendy. Sexy. There would be no mistaking Deanie Codge for one of the boys in this get-up.
She looked one hundred percent female.
As for feeling like one…Okay, so it wasn’t quite happening.
Yet.
Growing up the youngest of five brothers, she hadn’t had much of an opportunity to explore her feminine side. Her mother had passed away right after giving birth to Deanie, and so she’d been raised by her father and brothers on a small cattle ranch in the middle of Nowhere, Texas aka Romeo.
It had been survival of the fittest in the Codge household, complete with wrestling matches to determine who used the bathroom first and shooting competitions to decide who did what chores. Being the youngest and the smallest, she’d ended up pitching hay and cleaning out stalls more times than she could count. She’d also been extremely lucky to get a full five minutes in front of the mirror every morning. Not nearly enough time to primp her way to womanhood, even if she’d wanted to. Overall, she’d grown up feeling like one of the boys.
Oddly enough, it had never really bothered her. Deanie had always been happy with herself. Content.
Until six weeks ago when Harwin Mulligan—the low-down, sneaky rat bastard—had stolen her promotion and cheated on her with Dora Mae Shriver.
She’d realized then and there that she would never be taken seriously as a mechanic. While her customers—namely the entire Senior Women’s Rotary Club—trusted her with their Cadillacs and Bonnevilles, Big Daddy, the owner of Romeo’s largest auto shop where she’d worked for the past ten years, obviously did not. Otherwise, he would never have left his brake specialist—aka Harwin aka the low-down, sneaky rat bastard—in charge while he raced off to Mexico on a fishing trip.