Oakley seemed to stretch out the closer they got to the ranch and Chad let him have his head. Jackson's big paint was not a follower though. Hooves pounded and dust flew as the horses drew neck and neck. The longer-legged paint edged out the colt as they skidded into the barn lot, kicking up the dust. Chad laughed as he circled his mount, adrenalin surging through him. Though he was tired as hell, he also felt energized and vital. He hadn't done so much physical work in a long time. When he peeled off the bloody glove he might change his mind, but he'd really enjoyed today.
There was a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee parked in front of the house. A blond in ass-hugging jeans and a sleeveless blue top stood in front of the vehicle, waving away the dust he and Jackson had kicked up. Chad stared, wondering why she seemed familiar. Damn, she had a bangin' bod.
"Chad! Why did you dust me like that!"
A two by four could have knocked him out of the saddle and he would not have been more stunned. "Lora?"
She grinned as she walked up to him, tilting the straw hat back on her head. Propping her hands on her hips, she lifted her eyebrows at him as if to say, Well? Chad scrambled out of the saddle, almost falling on his ass when his left knee gave out. Staggering, he lurched toward her.
The Lora that he had known and loved had disappeared. She'd always had a great body, but she'd never wanted to show it unless it was in the privacy of their bedroom. As his gaze wandered all the way down her shirt, her jeans, to her brand spankin' new blue boots, he could only shake his head.
The color had bloomed in Lora's cheeks, but she smiled for him. "Cheyenne took me shopping."
Chad snapped his mouth shut. "You were beautiful before, don't take this the wrong way, but you are stunning right now. Those jeans ..." he shook his head, tipping his hat back on his head. "Those jeans could not fit you any better."
Reaching out he started to touch her arm, then paused long enough to jerk his right glove off. One fingertip brushed along the outside edge of her arm, feeling the softness there. "Your skin is so pale and creamy you're really going to have to watch it in the sun. You'll burn to a crisp in no time."
Lora moved toward him like she wanted a kiss, but Chad backed away, hands held up to ward her off. "I'm pretty gross right now, baby. Let me shower first."
But she didn't listen to him, which he totally appreciated. Grabbing him by the shirt she tugged him in for a long, lingering, wet kiss.
"I'll take care of your horse tonight, Lowell. Go shower."
The rein he still held of the patient Oakley slipped through his grasp as Jackson took it from him. Chad barely spared him a glance. He was too enamored of his fiancée. There was a light in her bright green eyes that he'd never seen before, and he couldn't say exactly what it was. There was definitely excitement, but it was more than that. She enjoyed knowing that she excited him.
"Chad, look at me!"
He looked up at Mercy at the top of the porch steps. She'd gone through a similar transformation. There was a cream colored hat on her head, a smug smile on her face and she had bright purple cowgirl boots on her feet. With bling!
Chad laughed at the silly pose she made, but waved her down toward them. "You look fantastic, munchkin."
He staggered as she slammed into him, but recovered to hug her to him.
"We went shopping today to be cowgirls, but Mom got you some sexy stuff."
"Mercy!"
Chad looked up at Lora. Her cheeks were red again. "Oh, really? Like what?"
"Oh, some bras for her tatas and pretty panties. I think she got a nightgown too, but I'm not sure. It was kinda messy in the bag."
"Mercy, what did I tell you about getting into stuff when it's not yours?" Lora demanded, trying to pull away from Chad.
He tightened his grip on her hand. "It's cute," he whispered. "Don't yell at her."
"I was picking them up when the bag fell off the bed. Not my fault it was so stuffed."
Lora shook her head, looking down at the ground. Chad could see the flush in her cheeks. Tilting her chin up, he pressed a kiss to her lips. "Maybe you can give me a fashion show later."
He expected her to redden further, but instead she gave him a sexy smile. "Already planned on it."
When she pulled away that time he let her go, then he watched her ass as she swayed up the steps and into the house. Mercy took off after Jackson to see the horses.
Chad looked around, a little dazed. Cheyenne stood a few feet away, arms crossed, grinning at him. "You are so gone on her."
"Of course I am," he agreed. "And?"
"And nothing. It's cute. She wasn't going to get anything until I told her you would think she was sexy."
Chad tipped back his head and laughed. "You were totally right. I can only imagine what else she got."
Cheyenne winked and patted him on the shoulder. "You'll love it, little brother. Talked to Mama earlier. Daddy is getting out tomorrow."
"Wow," Chad said, surprised. "I really didn't expect him to get out for a few days."
"I guess he's being a pistol," Cheyenne admitted. "Giving the nurses a hard time. I can't wait until he comes home." She rolled her eyes facetiously. "Too bad I don't have the excuse of my students to get back to."
"You're about done for the summer too, though, right?"
She scowled at him. "Yes, damn it. And you know I'll be here if I'm needed. Oh, Payton will be back in a bit. She ran dinner out to the crew watching the herd. And Emily called. She's staying with a friend from school tonight in Amarillo, then she’ll ride out with me and the parents tomorrow.”
Jackson was not going to be happy about that.
Circling the car, she gave him a final wave before taking off like a bat out of hell.
Cheyenne was a gem. She lived on the far side of the ranch in a small house with her three daughters, but she was over here helping out as much as possible. At least, when she wasn't teaching at the Honeywell Elementary school. Even before Dad had been hurt she'd helped Mama out cooking for the men and the like. She was more mobile than his parents, and the girls were good helpers, too.
Personally Chad thought she was trying to make it up to them for marrying the asshole she had. Wade had been a decent guy when they'd been growing up together, but he'd gone off the deep end after being gored at a rodeo. Chad thought he'd been addicted to more than painkillers when he'd beaten Cheyenne and raped her, then left her to be found in the front yard of the house they'd shared in town. It had had a devastating effect on his once friendly, outgoing sister. She acted fine with them but she was leery of other men. Some she just plain avoided, like Sheriff Sheridan Lane. In his heart, though, Chad thought maybe she avoided the big man for other reasons.
He watched her car bounce down the driveway. Maybe she was trying to get a ticket.
For a moment he debated going out to check on Oakley. The horses had been pretty lathered by the time they'd gotten home. Jackson would have cooled him off. And Mercy was out there too, so Jackson would be teaching her more about horsemanship. Too many people never learn that most of horsemanship takes place on the ground, not in the saddle — not on the Blue Star. Everyone who wanted to ride a horse learned how to care for horses, hot walking, grooming, feeding and mucking out stalls. Chad smiled, knowing that Mercy was having the time of her life and soaking it all in.
Feeling a little thrill run through his gut he stomped up into the house. Where had his woman gone?
For years his mother had made the cowboys come through the back mudroom and leave their dirty boots there, but she'd made an exception for him when he got the boot prosthetic. It wasn't convenient to remove it at the mudroom and bounce through the house to wherever he was going. So, Chad was the only one allowed to wear boots in the house. He tried to not make a mess, though. Maybe if he tiptoed he wouldn't leave a visible dust trail.
His parents' suite was on the bottom level and on the far end of the house. During the years they had four teenagers tripping over each other upstairs, his mother had mentioned somet
hing about a separate, private retreat, as far away from the noisy kids as possible. Dad had started work on the bedroom addition the next day. Chad thought he'd gotten too many earfuls of their music and fighting as well. Within a month of that little mention she'd had a brand new living area added onto the far side of the house. Dad had decorated it, which had taken them all off guard, but it had turned out nice. His mother had cried. A lot. And she and dad had immediately moved into that new bedroom suite, giggling like school children.
His parents had an incredible love that had lasted many years.
Tiptoeing up the stairs, Chad headed for his parents' old bedroom. It had been redecorated to house guests when they had them, and it was where his mother had requested they stay this time. Mercy was in Chad's old room. Maybe he'd stop in there later and see if she had room for everything.
For now, though, he wanted to find his fiancée.
Pushing open the bedroom door, he scanned the area. Not in here. He heard rustling from the walk-in closet on the far side of the room, next to the bathroom, and he caught a glimpse of Lora's arm. He paused in the doorway.
Her narrow back was to him, and she was hanging a pretty yellow shirt. Beside her on the shelf was a stack of jeans, tags removed, and in the bag at her feet he could see a glimpse of lace.
"If I take a quick shower will you model for me?"
She glanced at him over her shoulder, smiling slightly. "Maybe. You'd better hurry."
He turned and disappeared into the bathroom before she could say another word. It took him a minute to get the bloody glove off his left hand. He winced as he ran it under the sink faucet. The skin had split in several places and continued to seep blood.
Chad took the quickest shower he could, scrubbing from head to toe. He scrubbed the hell out of his leg stump even though it hurt like hell, then took care of his sleeve and prosthetic. Lora had unpacked his bag as well, it looked like. His toothbrush was in the holder next to the sink. He scrubbed his mouth and did a quick swipe of deodorant, then wrapped his left wrist in a swath of bandage and tied it off. Towel wrapped tight around his hips he hopped out to the bedroom, settling on the bed. Scooting back against the headboard, he waited, excited. Already his body was reacting, just at the mere thought of Lora in something so sexy as the lace confection he'd seen.
Lora leaned her head out of the closet, her long blond hair hanging free. There was trepidation in her expression, but excitement too. "Are you sure we have time to do this?"
Chad had no idea, but he nodded. "Jackson has Mercy and the others won't return until tomorrow, probably. We have a little while."
She disappeared back into the closet.
Chad tried to pace his breathing. Making love to Lora was unlike anything he'd ever done before. It was elemental, visceral. There was an attraction there that simply would not be curbed or dampened.
It was harder than hell waiting for her to reappear, but he made himself stay still. If she needed time he would allow her that.
When Lora did finally reappear, he lost his breath in a whoosh. She was ethereal. A classic centerfold come to life. Golden hair curled down over her shoulders and he realized suddenly how long it had gotten. She peered at him from beneath her bangs and gave him a sultry smile. "What do you think?"
"I think you're beautiful," he told her softly.
"About the underwear, silly," she laughed. "You didn't even look."
Chad glanced down. A pale yellow lace bra lifted her breasts up and out, barely covering her nipples. Actually, he could see the shadow of her areola through the fabric itself. He glanced down the long line of her lean tummy, to the tiny little scrap of lace and satin that covered the curls at her sex. Her legs looked a mile long the way she stood. He lifted his gaze. "Like I said. Beautiful, breathtaking. Glorious. Resplendent. I would change absolutely nothing about you. I love you exactly the way you are."
When she should have been beaming, a tear slipped down her cheek. Pushing up from the bed, Chad lifted a hand to her and she walked forward. He balanced on his good leg and looked down at her. "The underwear is awesome, but I love seeing that look in your eyes more than anything. That look that says you know you turn me on. That's what gets me hard."
She looked down at the towel around his hips. Reaching out she tugged and it fell to the floor. His dick sprang up against his stomach and she giggled, then sagged against him for a hug. "I love you so much, Chad. I was so lucky that you were assigned to watch us. I'm the same way, you know. I wouldn't change anything about you. Well, I'd take some of your pain away if I could." Her fingers danced over his bandaged arm, then away.
"It's all good, baby. I had fun today. It would have been too much for Jackson and Brock to do alone. I liked getting back in the saddle again."
That was an understatement. He'd loved it. Squinting through the dust to try to see what he was doing, feeling the surge of the horse beneath him. When they were done with the work they'd accomplished something that needed done. It fed his Texas boy soul.
"I could tell," she murmured. "I'd like to get back into the saddle again too."
Tipping back his head, he laughed. "Anything I can do to help you out with that?"
She nodded her chin toward the bed behind him. "Maybe you can let me practice on you."
Chad fell back to the bed, bouncing on the mattress. Lora followed him down and straddled his hips. When she reached behind her to take the bra off, he stopped her hands. "Leave it on and let me appreciate it."
Laughing lightly she shimmied down his legs and wrapped her fingers around his aching length.
Chapter 12
They'd just gotten cleaned up again and semi-dressed when they heard a vehicle pull into the drive. Lora smacked Chad's hand away from her breast and finished buttoning the shirt, hurrying to the window. "It's a dirty blue truck."
"That's Payton, Cheyenne's best friend. She ran food out to the people working the herd."
Lora finished getting dressed and waited for Chad to get presentable. "I've never met her so you can introduce me."
They headed down the stairs and toward the front door. Payton was stomping up the front steps, her arms loaded with something bulky. Chad opened the door for her and stood ready to take whatever she handed over to him.
"Hey, Chad, you pretty little thing. Good to see you, sweet cheeks."
The woman with long black hair leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek. Lora felt her brows raise but didn't say anything as she waited for the woman to spot her. Instead the woman turned in the opposite direction, passed through the front entry and headed straight for the kitchen. Two giant roaster pans in her arms obstructed her view. Chad reached to take one but the woman moved away quickly. "I've got it."
Chad closed the door and they headed to the kitchen. The woman set the pans on the counter, then turned to face them.
She was stunning, Lora thought in amazement. Thick, straight black hair hung to her curvy waist. For some reason she expected brown eyes, but they were a startling, clear green. And they were the most expressive eyes she'd ever seen. When the woman smiled her cheeks moved up, narrowing her eyes becomingly. Lora wanted to return her smile, so she did, and held out a hand. "You must be Payton. Cheyenne told us to expect you."
Payton grinned, looking back and forth between the two of them and Lora fought not to shift guiltily. It was obvious they'd just showered. Lora thought she would choke on her embarrassment, but she took a deep breath to ease it.
Payton took her hand and shook. "I am indeed. And you must be Lora. I've heard a lot about you, as well. Not sure why we never met in person before, though. Welcome to the round-up."
Turning, the woman scraped out one of the roasting pans into the garbage disposal. "I took fajita mix and tortillas out to the crew. Breakfast is covered tomorrow but they're only a few miles away now. They'll be here by lunchtime. I'll try to get up in time to be here when they get here, but I'm tired." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "I have just enough time to get hom
e, shower and go into work."
"Are you okay to do that?" Lora asked.
Payton shrugged. "I've done it before. I'll catch up on sleep in the morning. Or maybe next week when the round-up is done," she laughed. Rinsing the pan, she set it on a dish-towel to dry, then moved to the second, but Lora waved her away.
"I can do this. Go do what you need to do."
Grinning, the shorter woman gave her a mock salute. "Yes, ma’am. It was nice meeting you, Lora. I always wondered what kind of woman it would take to rope a Lowell brother. Night guys."
"You better give that mouth a rest, girl," Chad growled.
Giggling, Payton headed for the front door. "Whatever, Lowell. Maybe I’ll go harass your brother."
After she was gone, the kitchen turned quiet. Lora looked around. It was obvious Payton had cooked a lot of food to take out to the crew. The food wrappers were gone but there were still a few dishes. She began running soapy water into the heavy kitchen sink. "What does Payton do?"
"You mean other than be a pain in my ass?" Chad snorted. "We always thought she was going to run her father's breeding operation across the county, but she went on to school and is a paramedic for the local squad. She's been Cheyenne's best friend forever and they're thick as thieves. She's also Cheyenne's girls' godmother."
"Did you and she ever..."
Chad's eyes bulged. "Seriously? Hell, no. She's like my sister. Besides, I think Brock is kind of attached to her. Or wants to be. They've been dancing around each other for years."
Lora's brows rose. Brock was so forbidding and Payton seemed engaging. That could be an interesting relationship to watch.
Lora cleaned the kitchen and poured a glass of ice tea from the fridge, then followed Chad to the porch. Jackson seemed to have been waiting for them because he walked Mercy toward the house, long strides shortened so that he wouldn't leave her in the dust. Mercy peppered him with questions until she caught sight of her mother. "Mom, we trimmed hooves and braided tails and manes and stuff. That was interesting."
Forget Me Not Page 9