Once and for All

by Jeannie Watt

  She ran a hand over the length of him and felt him throb in response. “I like this look. You should consider making it part of your personal style.”

  Sam reached down and caught her hands as he stepped out of the jeans, then used his feet to peel off his wool socks. And there he stood. Male, totally gorgeous. Better than her imagination, which had been pretty good.

  “I cannot believe the women of this town are not all over you,” she said.

  “There’s only one woman I want all over me,” Sam growled, “and I’d like her a lot more naked than she is now.”

  “Okay,” Jodie said simply, spreading her arms, inviting him to take charge, which he did.

  “Is this a component of the ‘or what’ you were talking about?”

  Jodie laughed and shrugged out of her coat, which she tossed on the heap she’d made of Sam’s clothes. “It can be.”

  She didn’t laugh after that. She gasped a few times as Sam slowly undressed her, following his hands with his lips, and she moaned when he took off her panties and his finger strayed exactly where she wanted it. But she definitely wanted more than a finger, and Sam was happy to oblige.

  His comment about experiencing “or what” shot through her brain as he entered her. Oh. My. Gosh. This was definitely “or what.” She couldn’t come up with adequate words to describe how it felt having him inside of her.

  He seemed to feel the same about her. His expression was one of awe as he pushed himself in to the hilt. And then he started to move.

  Maybe she hadn’t had sex in a while, but she had never had sex like this. She would have remembered.

  Sam covered her mouth with his and Jodie pushed her hands up into his thick blond hair, holding him as he plunged into her. When she came, she cried out against his lips, arching and throbbing. He was only seconds behind her.

  After he’d collapsed, Jodie ran her hands lightly over his broad back, trying desperately to catch her breath. She felt him smile against her shoulder.

  “Was it good for you?” he asked whimsically. He’d have to be dense to have thought otherwise, and Sam was not dense.

  “Not bad.”

  He raised his head, smiling at her, looking more relaxed than she’d ever seen him. With his longish blond hair falling down on his forehead, he looked almost like a beach bum. A very delicious beach bum.

  “Can you do better?” he asked.

  “Give me a few minutes and I’ll show you.”

  JODIE’S PARENTS WERE DUE home in a week and a half. She planned to spend a few days with them, then drive back to Vegas just before her sabbatical officially ended. Sam had no idea what would ultimately happen between the two of them—whether short-term and physical would evolve into something else—but for now he was going to make the most of this small window of time he had with Jodie. She was of the same mind.

  “Sam,” Beau called. “Emergency.”

  He went into the living room where Beau was holding the phone out. “Yeah,” Sam said into the receiver.

  “Margarite is gone for the evening and I have the place to myself. This may not happen again before my folks come back.”

  “Be right there,” Sam said, wondering how Jodie had talked Margarite into leaving for a night. All expenses paid weekend in Elko, perhaps? He put the phone back in the cradle, then went into the mudroom to grab his canvas coat and shove his feet into his barn boots.

  “Barton ranch?” Tyler asked when Sam went for his keys.

  Sam did a quick double take. “Yeah.”

  Without another word, Tyler turned back to the pizza he was cutting, but Sam saw that the kid was smiling. There was no way the boys could be aware of what had happened between him and Jodie, but somehow they were.

  Perhaps because he was ridiculously cheerful. Vets were not cheerful during calving season. They were tired. He was that, too, but not necessarily because of late night emergencies.

  “I’ll be home by midnight,” he said, still playing the game even if he wasn’t fooling anyone. And he would be home by midnight, even if it killed him.

  Forty minutes later, Jodie met him at the ranch house door, pulling his mouth down to meet hers before he was all the way inside. Sam wrapped his arms around her, lifting her feet off the ground, his lips staying on hers, kissing her deeply as he kicked the door shut behind him. Once he put her back on the ground, they made their way to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing that Margarite was going to find rather interesting if they didn’t retrieve them before she got home.

  “I have to be home by midnight…one o’clock at the latest,” he said as they fell naked into Jodie’s bed.

  She didn’t answer, but instead dropped kisses over his chest, her clever hands doing things that made him believe time would not be an issue. If she continued what she was doing right now, their evening would soon be over.

  So he reached down for her, dragged her up the length of his body until he could kiss her. She smiled and shook her head. This time Sam surrendered, lying back and letting her have her way with him. And she was better than he’d thought, stopping at just the right moment when he was on the brink.

  “Your turn,” she said with a wicked smile.

  He obliged and discovered that Jodie didn’t have his self-control—or perhaps he didn’t have her timing. Regardless, she didn’t seem at all repentant about letting go when she did; she laughed and pushed her hair back from her forehead when Sam growled something about leaving him in the dust. He rolled over onto his back and positioned her on top of him, enjoying the way her eyes first widened and then drifted shut as he lowered her onto him. He made himself last as long as he could, really wanting her to come again. Jodie obliged, letting out a gasp that caught in her throat just before Sam emptied himself into her.

  She stretched out on top of his damp body, tucking her head under his chin, and he closed his arms around her. “Are you surprised at how good this is?” she asked.

  “A little. But I’m not going to question it.” He ran a hand over her back, loving the feel of her silky skin. This was more than just sex, more than something short-term and physical—at least at his end. Jodie…it was hard to read her.

  She nodded at his response, but offered no reply. Sam was okay with that.

  “My folks will be home soon.”

  Sam let out a breath. “Yeah.”

  Jodie rolled off him, onto her back, dropping her arm over her forehead. “I must confess I am not looking forward to giving my father the ranch report.”

  Sam turned his head to glance at her profile, or what he could see of it. “What’s the deal with your dad, Jodie? It sounds like you’re afraid of him.”

  Her half-shut eyes snapped open. “No. It’s just that he’s a perfectionist and he expects people to live up to his standards. When they don’t, well, he can be kind of unforgiving.”

  “Even with you?” Sam’s parents had set standards for him and Dave, but he couldn’t remember a time when they’d been unforgiving.

  “It’s just the way he is,” Jodie said, shifting to her side so she could look into Sam’s eyes. “It’ll pass.” He frowned and she explained, “My father has always wanted me to be the best. When I make the grade, he’s in the front of the cheering section. When I don’t…well, he pretty much withdraws until I do something up to par to make up for it.”

  “So in other words,” Sam said coolly, “your father is big into emotional blackmail.”

  Jodie pushed up onto her elbow. “That is not what I said.”

  Sam tucked her hair behind her ears. “It’s what it sounds like.”

  She let out a sigh. “I guess you have to be part of the family to understand, but it worked for me. I was always striving to be the best because of my father, and it’s served me well in life. Toughened me up. Prepared me for the real world and all that.”

  It sounded sick to Sam, but right now he wasn’t going to waste time on psychoanalysis. He wrapped his arms around Jodie and pulled her against him, kissing her d
eeply and trying to convey that no matter what, he liked her just the way she was.

  JODIE LAY STILL as Sam slipped out of bed at eleven-thirty. Knowing he had to get back to town, she closed her eyes, drawing in his scent from the sheets and very much wanting to drag him back to bed for another round.

  He dressed in the dark, his movements quick and sure, making Jodie wonder how many times in his life he’d been called out of bed for a veterinary emergency. After his boots were on, he came over to her side. Jodie rolled languidly onto her back.

  “I wish I could stay.”

  “I know,” she agreed. “And I’m fighting the urge to pull you back down here with me.” She could see from the way he was looking at her that he was tempted. “Have I mentioned that it turns me on making love to guys who are almost dressed?”

  “Good thing I’m entirely dressed.”

  “Yeah.”

  He sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on either side of her face, leaning in for a long, deep kiss.

  “Keep that up and you won’t be entirely dressed for long,” she murmured against his lips. “You’d better get out of here while you can.”

  He laughed softly, kissed her again and then stood.

  “See you around, Sam.”

  “Get some sleep,” he said before he started for the door.

  Jodie curled onto her side, flexing her tired muscles. Yes. Sleep. The next time she opened her eyes, gray light was coming in through the windows and she could hear Margarite out in the kitchen. Margarite, who must have come home instead of staying in town with her sister after the movie as she’d planned.

  “I passed Sam as I was driving home last night. Did he have an emergency here?” the housekeeper asked when Jodie came into the kitchen.

  “Yes.”

  “I guess that’s why your panties are under the coffee table?” Margarite gave Jodie an arch look, then disappeared into the pantry.

  Jodie clapped a hand to her forehead and went into the living room, where her panties were indeed under the coffee table. Time for damage control.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  JODIE WAITED UNTIL Margarite had done the few dishes and was settled with her crossword puzzle book and coffee before she opened the lines of communication.

  “Margarite? I have a favor to ask.” She spoke in her brisk lawyer voice and Margarite’s eyebrows rose at her tone. Jodie immediately shifted gears.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that. Anyway, as you’ve figured out, Sam and I are…” Wow. Sam and I are lovers? That sounded dumb. Seeing each other? Naked, maybe. They weren’t dating. They were sleeping together. “We’re…”

  “No kidding,” Margarite said bluntly.

  “Anyway, I would appreciate it if you didn’t give my dad a heart attack by telling him about us.”

  That honor was reserved for her. Or maybe this was another secret she’d keep. The one she was keeping now was still pushing its way into her conscience, nagging at her. No matter how she tried to beat it into submission, it popped up, telling her that she was making love to Sam under false pretenses.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Margarite said. Then she picked up her pencil and started working on the puzzle. When she didn’t look up for several minutes, Jodie decided to make a retreat.

  “See what you can do to keep Lucas on, would you?”

  Jodie turned back at Margarite’s unexpected request, her heartbeat doing an odd skip when she saw the worried expression on the housekeeper’s face. “You bet. And if Dad won’t listen to reason, Sam can help Lucas get on somewhere else.”

  Margarite gave a quick smile. “Thanks, Jodie. I’d appreciate it.”

  JODIE AND SAM GOT together two more times before her parents came home, and both occasions ended with veterinary emergencies. Sam assured her this wasn’t the norm, but Jodie, in an odd way, felt it was no more than she deserved—maybe because she loved making love to Sam, yet knew it couldn’t develop into anything else. Not without her confessing her part in his brother’s death, and she couldn’t handle doing that. When she thought back to the celebration she’d had after getting Craig off, she felt queasy. To tell Sam about what she’d done… She couldn’t do it, and the crazy thing was, it was more for his sake than for hers.

  Margarite put a prime rib in the oven the morning of Joe and Nadine Barton’s return to the ranch. The housekeeper was worried about Lucas, Jodie was worried about bringing her father up to speed. All in all it was a tense morning for both of them. Only Lucas seemed to have a come-what-may attitude. He serenely went about his business, fueling up the tractor and feeding the herd. Jodie watched him roll back in from the pasture as she pulled the ranch Suburban out of the garage to pick up her parents. She hoped Lucas would be driving the tractor in from the field tomorrow. With Joe there was no telling.

  Jodie obsessed the entire way to Elko, and was terrifically relieved to see her father actually smiling when he entered the waiting area at the Elko airport. He also had that spring-loaded look that meant he was ready to get to work. Now.

  “Jodie!” Nadine Barton launched herself at her daughter, catching her in a huge hug that left Jodie breathless and laughing.

  “I’m so glad you’re back,” Jodie said when her mom released her. “What a great haircut.”

  Nadine put a hand up to her pale blond hair. “The stylist’s name is Fabio and he’s stunning. I wish I could go back for a trim, but your father says it isn’t practical.” Her eyes were brimming with humor.

  Joe looked heavenward, but smiled instead of scowling. Apparently, time away had done him some good. “I missed you. Dad, you look great.” Jodie gave him a quick hug.

  “It’s good to be home,” he said, returning the embrace quickly and self-consciously. “How’s the ranch?”

  It was Jodie’s turn to roll her eyes. “It’s still there. I want to hear about your trip first.” Her strategy was to wait until they were home and Joe had bourbon in his hand before discussing what had happened at the ranch. That way, instead of chomping at the bit to get home and see what kind of imagined devastation awaited, he could immediately see that everything was indeed fine. Maybe not as fine as when he’d left, but acceptable.

  Joe did his best to derail her plan, peppering her with questions before they reached the parking lot, but fortunately Nadine wanted to talk about the trip, and told him that Mike could fill him in when they got to the ranch. He’d know more than Jodie.

  “I have a lot to tell you,” Jodie agreed. You have no idea how much. “We’ll have a sitdown right after lunch. Margarite has really outdone herself cooking for your return.”

  “Will Mike be around when we get back?” her father asked.

  “No, but I can fill you in.”

  Nadine took over the conversation then and Jodie listened to her talk about Greece and southern Italy with half an ear, while she reviewed her battle strategy. She had two objectives—to keep her dad calm and to keep Lucas at the ranch. It was simply a matter of presentation.

  Of course, Joe wanted to take a ranch tour as soon as he set foot on the property, but Jodie managed to get him into the office while Margarite put lunch on the table and her mother freshened up. Joe poured a glass of bourbon, neat, and held up the bottle. As much as she could use a shot of courage, Jodie shook her head.

  “Some things happened on the ranch while you were gone.”

  Instant frown.

  “First of all,” Jodie continued coolly, “Mike went to visit his family and didn’t come back.”

  The frown deepened, but Joe appeared remarkably calm when he said, “How did you handle that?”

  “Lucas Reynolds finished rehab and was looking for a job. I hired him out of desperation.”

  “I guess you must have been desperate,” Joe growled as all signs of calm acceptance evaporated. “Lucas Reynolds!”

  “Dad. He’s done a fine job. He’s helped me through some tight spots.”

  Joe appeared unconvinced as he considered his
drink for a moment. “What tight spots?”

  “Does Mom know you’re still drinking bourbon?” Jodie asked, instead of answering his question.

  He glanced up at her. “I keep it to one a day.” He gestured with the glass. “This is my one.”

  “Which is more than Lucas has. He goes to AA meetings in Wesley every Tuesday night, but other than that, he rarely leaves the ranch.” Jodie paused for a moment. “I want you to keep him on, Dad.”

  “What tight spots?”

  “Feeding, calving. We lost part of the herd when a culvert drifted shut, and he knew exactly why they were missing, and found them. He’s barely taken a day off and he’s never taken a day off from feeding.”

  “When exactly did Mike quit?”

  “A week after you left. He found a job in Idaho.”

  “Then he knew he was going to quit before I left.”

  “Probably.”

  “That son of a bitch.”

  “Will you keep Lucas?” When he didn’t answer immediately, Jodie played her trump. “He and Margarite may be…involved. I think if you lose one, you’ll lose both. I’m not positive, but…” She shrugged.

  Joe let out an exasperated breath. “Okay, I’ll give him a trial. That’s as much as I can promise, since he screwed up the last time he was here. Anything else I need to know about?”

  One down, and her father was once again relatively calm. Would her luck hold?

  “Bronson got out of the pasture shortly after you left, and was spooked into a piece of farm equipment. He was badly cut.”

  “What?!” The drink slammed down on the mahogany desk. “Why didn’t you—”

  Jodie cut him off, her voice rising for the first time. “I think you know why. What good would it have done? You would have driven Mom crazy and there wasn’t a thing you could do about it. He’ll have some scarring on his chest, but if you had seen his injury, you’d appreciate just how well he’s healed.”

  Joe took a couple paces to the window and stared out. “I’ll take a look after lunch.” His relaxed expression was long gone. “Anything else?” he demanded grimly.