Destiny Wears Spurs

by Harmon, Kari Lee

“All right.” She took his hand, letting him pull her into a fierce embrace. Rubbing his back, she tried to comfort him.

  Over his shoulder, she saw Wendell staring at her with a knowing smile on his face. She didn’t care. Let him think what he wanted. He couldn’t prove anything. Even if he could, she still wouldn’t let it stop her. It was time she did something for herself for a change.

  After a moment, Cody relaxed and began to move her to the rhythm of the music. This was more like it. Before long, she became swept away in the rowdy atmosphere.

  Sometime later, Cody stood at the bar watching Monica and Cassie chat in front of the campfire when Jake approached.

  “Good to see you here, son.” Jake gave his back a smack. “I gotta say you surprised me, though. Given what happened last week’n’all, I didn’t think you two were on the friendliest of terms.” He rubbed his whiskered face and glanced up at Cody with one wiry brow raised.

  “Let’s just say we’ve come to an agreement of sorts.”

  “An agreement, you say?” Jake smirked, but let it go. “Well, you couldn’t have picked a nicer gal. I like her.”

  “Monica’s quite a woman,” Cody said with a slight smile. He couldn’t stop looking again and again to where she sat.

  “Monica, is it? Looks to me like you finally opened your stubborn eyes to the best dang thing that’s happened to you in a coon’s age.” Jake slapped him on the back again, nodding his approval. “Must’ve done some smooth talkin’ that night.”

  “Actually, we didn’t talk much at all,” Cody replied, still watching Monica.

  “Who-wee. You don’t say.” Jake snickered.

  Cody loosened the knot on his tie, feeling warm as he realized he’d spoken his thoughts aloud. Christ, he was turning into her. “Now, don’t go getting all worked up. We’re only on a date.”

  “A word of advice, boy. Don’t try and fight it.” Jake shook his head. “Mo ain’t a bit like Barbara, if that’s what yer thinkin’. She might actually wanna stay, if you’d grow the balls to ask her.” He walked away shaking his gray head.

  Cody contemplated Jake’s words. Yes, he cared about Monica, but that was all. He couldn’t change who he was, or what had happened to him. And he couldn’t change her. He’d begun to realize she wouldn’t cheat on him like his ex-wife had, but that didn’t mean she would stay. He could tell how much her father and his company meant to her.

  Even if Cody and Monica had something more than a fling, it could never last because Monica’s future was with her company. None of it mattered anyway. Once she found out he didn’t really need a campaign, that he had knowingly deceived her, she’d kick his sorry-ass with those damn purple boots of hers.

  Making her put up with Wendell didn’t help matters either, but Cody had to play along. After Wendell had shown up, Cody had called her father, but her old man wanted Wendell out of the way. This whole damn phony campaign was a set-up to force Wendell’s hand and give Stanley a chance to gather evidence on the scumbag. Monica had no idea her father was well-aware of the danger his company was in.

  Cody’s eyes were drawn to her once again, and he watched her glance in his direction and give him a tender smile. His heart bucked. Monica had proved she was a strong and capable woman. She was more like him than Cody cared to admit. She wanted to help her dad keep his legacy, just as Cody wanted to keep his dad’s ranch around for generations to come.

  Once this was over, would she choose to live her own life? Cody had seen her sketching when she thought he wasn’t looking. She seemed most at ease when she could tuck her feet under her butt, lean up against a tree with a sketch pad and pencil in hand, and draw away. Maybe she could do something else like make a go of her art. She could do that from anywhere, right? Maybe he was full of shit, but maybe it was time to find out.

  Hell of a lot of maybes.

  He swallowed hard, and his stomach twisted. His father had told him that if a man never risked a thing, he’d never know what kind of man he truly was. Monica’s father had once risked something, and that something had given Cody his father, so Cody could become his father’s son. Something he was damn proud of.

  Maybe Monica was worth that risk, too.

  Taking a deep breath, he strode to where she sat in front of the fire. He squatted down in front of her and rested his arm on the back of her lawn chair. “Ready?”

  “I’m ready for dessert,” she whispered so only he could hear, wiggling her eyebrows and holding out her hand.

  He chuckled as he took it, choosing the path that led to her cabin. Somewhere along the trail, his arm found its way around her shoulders. She snuggled in close. When they reached her cabin, he stopped and turned her to face him.

  God, he couldn’t seem to get enough of her. He didn’t know if he ever would. Staring at her, he let all his longing burn hot in his eyes, and the next instant she was in his arms. Sweeping her up before him, he carried her through the door and kicked it closed with his boot heel, like he’d done when he’d first met her a few short weeks ago.

  Only this time, he wasn’t leaving.

  * * *

  Monica looked out her window at the mountains in the distance and watched the sun rise. It took her breath away. This place took her breath away. And the man who lived here made her stop breathing completely. She pictured a quaint little cabin in the woods with a spectacular view and a cool mountain lake nearby.

  This week would be just Cody, her, and the mountain. Oh, and the cattle, but how much work could they be? All they did was munch on grass and sleep. Piece of cake. She and Cody would have all week to spend alone together. Then she would have to go home.

  Back to her life in the city, back to convincing her father not to appoint Wendell as CEO, back to reality. She took a deep breath, refusing to think about that right now. After last night, she didn’t know how she would leave Cody if he didn’t ask her to stay.

  He’d let down his guard a lot, and they’d grown close, but she still didn’t think he had it in him to ask her to stay. And she still wasn’t sure she had the guts to make it out here. Everything she loved existed in the city. Everything except Cody. Monica decided to concentrate on him, the time they had left together, and her work. She’d pulled together a pretty decent campaign and some really great brochures, but she still had to come up with a slogan that worked.

  Glancing at her luggage, she frowned. Where was he? He’d asked her to go to the mountains with him, but he hadn’t said how she was supposed to get her luggage down to the barn. No matter where she went, she always over-packed, but she was smart. She’d figure it out herself.

  Stacking her smaller suitcase on top of her larger one, she pulled out the handle. It had wheels, so it shouldn’t be too troublesome to simply roll down the hill. As she rolled it out her cabin door, she came to a dead stop. Wendell.

  Monica could only imagine what he wanted. He hadn’t forgiven her for “barn duty,” and had made no bones about the fact that he’d find a way to get even with her. “Haven’t you left yet?” she asked, walking past him.

  “I thought I’d say good-bye first and congratulate you.” He matched his stride to hers. “I gotta hand it to you. I didn’t think you could pull this off, but it looks like you’re pretty close to doing just that.”

  What the hell was he up to? “You’re serious? You’re going to give up just like that?”

  He held his hands in the air. “It looks like I have no choice. I heard Mr. Rafferty asked you to go with him for his week in the mountains, yet he didn’t ask me. So I guess that means I’m out of the picture. He chose you, Monica. You win.”

  Could it be that easy? No. Nothing worth having was easy. She’d learned that lesson all too well. “Good-bye, then. Have a nice flight.”

  “Oh, I plan to.” He had a gleam in his eye that she didn’t like. “But let me help you first. It looks like you over-packed again, darling. That’s a lot of luggage for the mountains, don’t you think?” He grabbed her bags from her and picked up his
pace.

  She hurried to catch up. “What do you care what I packed? Let me have my stuff back. Wendell, I said I can manage.” Dammit, he wouldn’t stop. In fact, he marched even faster.

  “I insist. This is too heavy for you. That hill is steep, you know.” He reached the top of the hill and started to climb down, yanking the luggage behind him.

  “I know it’s steep, so slow down. Wendell, stop. You’re going to--”

  “Whoa, whoa, I think you’re right,” he said with a mocking tone. “This hill’s way too steep.” Then he stepped off the path and turned her luggage loose, sending it spiraling down the hill. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s going to have a nice flight.”

  “You bastard,” she screamed and ran after him. So help her God, if she caught him, she would kill him.

  He ran away, coward that he was, and yelled back, “I wouldn’t worry about me, darling, I’d worry more about the scene unfolding behind you.”

  Monica stopped chasing him and stared down the hill. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening to her. She ran down the hill as fast as her legs would carry her. Hopefully, it would be fast enough.

  The grazing herd had been moved to the lower part of the mountain range in early July, where the weather was cooler and the food plentiful. Now that it was August, the cattle had been moved higher up. Each man took turns watching over the herd for a week. Damned if it wasn’t Cody’s week.

  It was also Monica’s last week on the ranch, but he wasn’t about to let her spend it alone. Not after last night. He’d decided to see how she handled roughing it. See if she could make it in his world, without all the glamour and the glitz.

  She’d surprised the hell out of him when she said yes. The mountains were dangerous and rustic. He hadn’t expected a city chick to want to go, but he hadn’t expected a city chick to do half the things Monica managed to do. Despite their differences, he found himself rooting for her. He didn’t want to be away from her. Not after what they’d experienced. Their fling hadn’t banished her from his mind one damn bit. If anything, it had made the bond between them even stronger.

  Cody slapped his Stetson on his head and walked into the barn to check his gear while he waited for her to show up. When he was done, he wandered back out to the barnyard and scanned the area. The wind picked up, blowing his hat off his head. He snatched it up and wondered what was taking her so long, beginning to second guess his decision to bring her along.

  Watching cattle wasn’t an easy job. They spooked often and constantly wandered, getting themselves into the most precarious situations. Not unlike Monica. Though he had to admit, she’d begun to fit in. Her work had improved a great deal, and she hadn’t come up with any more ridiculous slogans. Though her new ones were a bit too sentimental for his taste, but there were a few he thought she could work with. Maybe find one strong enough for her father to be satisfied. Cody chuckled to himself as he started running some of those ideas in his head. His weren’t much better.

  He glanced up and stared at where the land reached the sky and frowned. Still, the mountains were wild and untamed. “You’re an idiot, Rafferty.” He cursed under his breath. The mountains were no place for a city girl like her, yet he’d just spent the most incredible week of his life with this amazing woman. He couldn’t help it that he didn’t want it to end.

  “What in the Sam Hill?” Jake interrupted his thoughts. “What kind of bird do ya reckon that is, Hank?”

  “Well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those. And let me tell you, it wasn’t covering a bird when I saw it.” Hank flashed his dimples and wagged his eyebrows as he caught the black and red-feathered teddy floating down the hill. “Hot mama. I’d like to see more of this kind of bird any day, know what I’m saying?”

  “Now’s your chance. Here comes a whole flock of them.” Rusty’s curious gaze shot to Cody.

  “Dammit.” Cody chewed the inside of his cheek as he watched Monica’s suitcase do cartwheels down the hill. There was no mistaking the hot pink bags he’d seen in her cabin. At least seven negligees of different colors and styles whipped about in an aerial dance of seduction on the wind.

  What the hell was she thinking, packing that way? Didn’t she know where they were going? Christ, they weren’t going to the Hilton. More like a home-on-the-range hotel.

  Monica ran as fast as she could, trying not to break her neck. I’m going to kill Wendell. All week he’d been sending her worried glances every time she came up with a new slogan. She should’ve known he was up to something when he offered to carry her suitcase down the hill.

  ‘Congratulations, you won.’ Ha. He didn’t want her spending time alone with Cody because her slogans were getting better, and he couldn’t take the chance of her beating him. She’d beat him, all right, beat him senseless. This was his version of payback for barn duty, no doubt. Jerk.

  Skidding downhill as she attempted to catch her negligees was not an easy task with grass and brambles tangling in her feet. Every time she got close, the wind whipped one just out of reach. She gripped three in her hands and chased the other seven, until the barn appeared before her. Looked like she hadn’t been quick enough, after all.

  Sliding to a stop, she froze and clutched her colorful lingerie to her chest. The rest of the proof of her and Cody’s fling scattered around the barnyard at the feet of Cody, Jake, Hank, Rusty and even young Bobby.

  “I’m going to die,” she whispered and then plopped down hard on the ground. What other choice did she have?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Monica watched Cody glance up at her and then bark a command to his men, who turned grinning faces away and got to work. He gathered her clothes as he climbed the hill. She couldn’t look at him, so she stared at the ground until a pair of beat-up black leather boots stopped in front of her crossed legs.

  He didn’t say a word. All at once she felt the heat creep up her face and over her ears to her hairline as he let her naughty little secrets slip through his fingers to land in a silky pool on her lap.

  Why’d she have to choose bright colors instead of pastels? “Don’t say it.” She let out a groan of mortification.

  “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  She peeked up at him, and his eyes were soft and sympathetic, but the corners of his mouth twitched.

  “Oh, just say it, so we can get this humiliating moment over with.” She scooped up her intimate apparel, holding it in front of her like a shield, and stood with her chin held high.

  “I see my little peacock’s back in full bloom.” He touched the tip of her nose.

  Monica rolled her eyes, and he chuckled softly. Okay, her ego felt a little better, but she still felt pretty stupid. Now everyone knew what she had on her mind, and work wasn’t it. Not unless they were talking about the work she planned to do between the sheets in that quaint little cabin, if she ever got over her humiliation.

  “You did this for me?” he asked, all traces of humor gone.

  Her eyes widened over the wonder in his voice, and she took a small step toward him. Okay, she felt better by the minute.

  “No one’s ever tried to please me like this.” He stared, reaching out a tentative hand to stroke the fine cloth.

  Bingo. He’d hit the jackpot. She felt wonderful now. His eyes met hers with a mixture of tenderness and passion, making the entire fiasco worth every ounce of embarrassment.

  “Sorry. I seem to be saying that a lot lately.”

  “It’s okay. It’s not your fault my suitcase tried to fly.” She laughed without humor. “It’s Wendell’s.”

  Cody raised his eyes in question.

  “Payback for barn duty.”

  “Ah. Now can I send him packing?”

  “Too late. He ran away like the weasel he is before I could get my hands on him. Let’s just forget him. Ready?”

  Cody put both hands on her shoulders, his features pinched. “Honey, are you sure you want to do this?”

  She frowned, so he hastened to e
xplain. “It’s not that I don’t want you with me, but I sleep in a tent. I never got around to fixing the old cabin. There’s no plumbing or electricity. I use a campfire to cook and the lake to bathe.”

  Monica blinked. A tent? She knew they were going upcountry, but for some reason she’d pictured a quaint little cabin with a spectacular view. Just the two of them on a honeymoon they’d never get to take in real life.

  She’d never been an outdoorsy kind of girl, but she couldn’t wimp out now. After all, she couldn’t let him think she was like his ex-wife. “I’m sure,” she said, then added in a terrible western accent, “Now let’s move it on out, cowboy. Daylight’s a-wastin’.”

  He winked. “Atta girl.”

  Carrying her suitcase down to the barn, he helped her repack only the essentials in a small duffle bag but insisted her “bird” collection was essential. Her cheeks ached from smiling so wide. Knowing he wanted her was enough for now.

  He had his men store the duffle on the plane as he went over the upcoming workload with Jake. A few minutes later, Cody and Monica were off.

  * * *

  Circling high above the Triple R, Cody did one last aerial check before heading to the mountains in his Cessna 150. The single-engine, high wing was a small four-seater, light and fast, just the way he liked it. One side of his lip crept up. His father had preferred the powerful but slow, low-flying crop duster. He’d loved the feeling of being only three feet off the ground when he sprayed his crops.

  Cody glanced beside him and watched Monica as she snoozed in the passenger seat. He hadn’t let her get much sleep lately. His half-smile faded away as he thought he could be making the biggest mistake of his life, taking a chance on her.

  Usually when he flew he did barrel rolls, hammerhead dives into free falls, stalling out the engine, then restarting her, and pulling her up in the nick of time to buzz the barn. Then again, he usually flew alone. Not today.