Midnight Thunder(INCR)

by Vicki Lewis Thompson

  “Wrong.”

  “What if you fall asleep at the wheel because you’re exhausted?” She was caretaking, but she couldn’t help it. If he pushed himself too far and something happened to him or the other two, then where would they be? The thought was unacceptable on so many levels, especially the deepest one, where Cade would live forever in her heart.

  “I won’t fall asleep at the wheel.” After hauling blankets out of the closet, he folded them over his arm.

  “Right. I keep forgetting that you’re Superman.”

  “I keep forgetting that you have a smart mouth.” He closed the closet doors and turned to her. “I’ll take the sheets now.”

  She held on to them and stepped back. “Look, I don’t want to tell you how to do this, but—”

  “But you’re about to.”

  “It’s just that the cabin should be vacuumed before you take these out there or they’ll get all dusty.”

  He paused. “Damn. You’re right. Okay, we’ll just pile this stuff on the couch until I’m ready for it. I wasn’t thinking.”

  “Which is why—”

  “Don’t start with me.” He glared at her as he walked back into the living room. “I’ll be fine as long as I keep moving. Where’s the vacuum cleaner?”

  “You have a headache.”

  He laid the blankets on the couch. “You don’t know that.”

  “Yes, I do. You have that squinty look.” She deposited the sheets on top of the blankets. “You should at least lie down for a while.”

  He turned to her with a sigh. “Let up on me, okay? I’m doing the best I can with a shitty situation.”

  Remorse hit her. She’d allowed fear for his safety to turn her into a nagging pest, which wasn’t getting either of them anywhere. “I’m sorry. I just—”

  “I know.” His voice gentled. “And you’re right about everything. I’m sure you’d be more efficient at getting the cabin ready. I should accept your generous offer and get some sleep. But I doubt I could sleep. I’m way too keyed up about Mom, and—” he paused “—about you.”

  She met his gaze. This might not be the time, but they wouldn’t be alone like this much longer. “Would you ever have come back?”

  “I don’t know.” He hesitated. “But I’m here now, and it’s like I never left. No, that’s not right. I want you as much as ever, even when you’re a pain in the ass. I think I want you even more than I did before, but what used to be simple...isn’t.”

  The heat in his eyes made her tremble. “It was never simple.”

  “Oh, sometimes it was. On a hot summer night when nothing mattered but taking off our clothes and losing ourselves in each other, it seemed pretty damned simple.”

  She was stunned into speechlessness. That brief, honest description hurled her back to those nights, and she ached for him as fiercely as she had then. In his mind, the sex had been fun and uncomplicated. She’d been the one who’d loaded down the relationship with expectations.

  He blew out a breath. “But obviously that’s not how you remember it. Let’s postpone this discussion, okay? Just point me in the direction of the vacuum cleaner so I can get started.”

  She should do that and go about her business. But there he stood, so jacked up with worry and sexual frustration that he couldn’t get the sleep he needed. She was pretty tense, too, but the few hours of rest she’d had meant her brain wasn’t completely fried. “I have an idea.”

  “What’s that?”

  “We’ll fix up the cabin together, so it’ll go twice as fast. Then you don’t have to feel guilty about me doing it while you’re lying in a guest room staring at the ceiling.”

  He looked unsure, but at last he nodded. “I guess that’ll be okay.”

  “I’ll get the vacuum cleaner and a laundry basket so we can carry everything at once. Oh, and you’ll need towels and washcloths, so pull some of those out of the closet. And bars of soap.”

  “Yeah, I forgot about that stuff.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I need to shower and get rid of this scruff before I go to the airport, or they’ll think I’ve turned into a vagrant.”

  “Then you might as well bring your duffel, too.”

  “Makes sense.”

  Wow, that part had been easy. Her plan could still fall apart at any point along the way, and if it did, oh, well. But so far, so good. Anticipation and a slight case of nerves made her shiver as she headed for the laundry room where Rosie kept her canister vacuum cleaner.

  Moments later they left the house with Cade lugging an oversize laundry basket full of linens and the vacuum. Lexi carried his duffel. Too bad she didn’t have X-ray vision so she could see what was inside. When they’d been dating he’d always carried condoms, but that didn’t mean he had any with him now.

  He paused to gaze at the rugged Bighorn range, still dusted with snow above the tree line. “I’ve missed those mountains.”

  “So you didn’t get attached to the ones in Colorado?”

  “Oh, they’re pretty enough, but these feel like home.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if that meant he might be moving back. But that was a loaded question. Instead, she resorted to a weather comment, always a safe topic. “It’s a beautiful day.”

  He glanced up at the blue sky dotted here and there with white puffy clouds. “It is. Good weather seems weird when you have a crisis. Seems like it ought to be raining.”

  “I’m glad it’s not, with sleepy people driving around.”

  “I know you’re worried about that, but don’t be.” He started off toward the cabins again. “I’ll be okay from here to the airport, and I can always put Damon behind the wheel once he gets here.”

  “You should definitely do that.” She fell into step beside him. “Unless he’s been up all night, too. Maybe I should drive you.”

  “No. Much as I appreciate the offer, I’m not being chauffeured to the airport to pick up my bro. That would be lame.”

  “Okay.” She doubted he’d ask Damon to drive, either, but at least having a passenger should help keep him alert. Cade liked to think he didn’t need any help, ever. That had been part of the problem when she’d been focused on wringing a commitment out of him.

  They approached three tidy log cabins grouped in a partial semicircle in a meadow about thirty yards from the main house. In the center a ring of wooden benches surrounded a fire pit that had seen many cookouts. A shared washhouse behind the cabins had kept the plumbing costs down, although Lexi hadn’t envied those boys having to go out there in the winter. But all the boys had acted as if trudging through the snow to wash up had been a test of their manhood.

  “Sure brings back memories.” Cade paused again to look around. “It’s too quiet, though.”

  “I know what you mean.” She fished the key out of her pocket and walked over to the first cabin in the row, the one Cade, Damon and Finn had claimed soon after it had been built. “I asked Herb and Rosie if they’d ever thought of renting these so they wouldn’t sit empty, but they didn’t seem interested.”

  “They might reconsider. Apparently they took in those other horses because they hated to see the stalls unused.”

  “So do you think they’re finding retirement too tame?”

  “Could be.”

  “Knowing them, that’s not so surprising.” She left his duffel outside and opened the door. The air was a little musty but not bad. The amenities consisted of two sets of bunk beds, four built-in desks, each with a lamp, two dressers and one closet. Cowboy-themed curtains hung at each of the four windows, but otherwise the room had no decorations.

  Lexi opened a window and let in some fresh air. The last time she’d been in here, a couple of weeks before she and Cade had had their epic fight, the walls had been covered with posters, framed photographs and a non
working neon Budweiser sign Finn had found at a yard sale.

  The Thunder Mountain Brotherhood, as they’d dubbed themselves, had stayed on at the ranch after graduating from high school. They’d realized how much Herb and Rosie needed them to work with the younger kids. Cade had taken courses in equine behavior at Sheridan’s community college, while Damon had apprenticed with a local carpenter and Finn had enrolled in online business classes until he was old enough to train as a bartender. But most of their free time had been devoted to helping Rosie and Herb.

  Cade left the basket of linens on the front stoop next to his duffel and brought in the vacuum cleaner. “It’s a little stark, isn’t it?”

  “Well, nobody’s lived here for years.”

  Cade gazed around at the bare walls. “Even though I knew it would be like this, I somehow expected to come in and find everything the way it used to be.”

  “I could loan you a couple of my Remington prints for the time you’re here.”

  He smiled at that. “Thanks, but we’ll survive without art on the walls.” He turned and reached up over the door to the beam above it. “This is still here. That’s good.” He traced the logo they’d created and carved into the wood. A stylized TMB was tucked under the outline of a jagged mountain peak.

  “It’s not as if Herb and Rosie would ever sand it off. I’m sure they love knowing it’s there.”

  “They probably do.” Cade stepped back and gazed up at the logo. Then he turned around. “I’m a jerk—you know that?”

  “There have been times I would have agreed with you, but this isn’t one of them.”

  “No, seriously. Just because I got spooked by the idea of tying myself down, I pulled away from all the important people in my life.”

  “While I’m flattered if you put me in that category—”

  “I do.”

  “That’s nice to hear, but even if you’d stayed, Damon and Finn would have left. You were the first to go, but Damon always intended to go to California for the real estate opportunities, and Finn’s research told him Seattle was his best bet for the microbrewery.”

  “Once again, you’re right.” He shook his head. “God knows I should have learned that nothing stays the same.”

  “Some things do.” Like my love for you. She wouldn’t drop that bombshell now. She might never drop it. He was tired, and his emotions were frayed. Tomorrow he might not be nearly as susceptible to the nostalgia swamping him today.

  “Like what?”

  “Dust.” She glanced at the vacuum cleaner in his hand. “Ready to activate that bad boy?”

  “Absolutely. What’s the plan?”

  Somehow she kept from smiling. If he only knew. “I like to vacuum top to bottom, so if you start with your bunk, I can come behind you and put on the sheets while you vacuum Damon and Finn’s bunks. I’ll make up those while you take care of the other surfaces, and then we’ll finish with the floor.”

  “Excellent.” He walked over to his bunk. “Should I mess with the top part since nobody will be up there?”

  “I’d say give it a once-over, so dust doesn’t filter down on you.”

  “Good thinking. I’m on it.” He located a plug and fired up the vacuum cleaner.

  She allowed herself a moment to watch his back muscles flexing under his Western shirt as he wielded the vacuum. A video would go viral in seconds, especially if it included the part where he leaned over to reach the far corner of the bottom bunk and stretched the denim covering his mighty fine ass.

  Damn, but he looked good. Five years had only added to his considerable sex appeal. He’d had girlfriends—of course he had—but she didn’t want to think about him getting naked with anyone else.

  “Are you ogling me?” he asked as he continued to work. Laughter rippled in his voice.

  “Absolutely not.” She spun around and stepped outside where they’d left the laundry basket full of linens.

  “I do believe you were, Lexi Ann,” he called over the noise of the vacuum.

  “That’s because you’re so full of yourself,” she called back as she fanned herself. Whew. She’d have to concentrate on her bed-making task or she was liable to jump him before they finished cleaning the place.

  And they did need to finish, because he felt responsible for doing it. If her plan worked, she’d leave him sleeping like a baby in a nice clean cabin that was ready for his buddies. She’d wake him in time to get dressed and drive to the airport.

  His voice rose over the whine of the vacuum. “My bunk’s ready for you!”

  Laughing, she scooped a set of sheets and a blanket out of the laundry basket. He had no idea how true that was.

  5

  CADE FOCUSED ON the job at hand as best he could with Lexi over there making up his bed. They’d never had sex on it because they could easily have been interrupted. Back then the cabin hadn’t been a particularly private spot.

  Today, though, it was extremely private. Plus, earlier she’d been ogling his butt. The vacuum made a fair amount of noise, but even so he would have heard the floorboards creak if she’d stepped outside to get the sheets. Those boards were loud, always had been. He and his brothers used to amuse themselves by dancing around the cabin playing those boards like a xylophone.

  But he hadn’t needed the lack of creaking boards to know she’d been standing there motionless while she watched him clean. He’d been able to sense her gaze on him from the first time they’d met. When he’d leaned over to get the far corner of the mattress, he’d picked up on her little gasp of pleasure, even with the vacuum going.

  That little gasp had sent a message straight to his groin. He had a whole slew of mental images that fit that sound, and in all of them she was naked. He’d nearly said to hell with the vacuuming. Now in addition to having a killer headache, his balls ached. If Lexi wanted to, she could help him with both issues, but several things had kept him from asking.

  First of all, he was supposed to be thinking about Rosie lying in the hospital. That was his whole reason for being here. Making love to Lexi would make him forget that, which seemed wrong.

  Also, he was beyond scruffy. He’d kissed Lexi once with this beard, and he didn’t plan to kiss her again until he’d shaved and showered. He was also worried that she’d reject him, and he wasn’t mentally in shape for that right now.

  Last of all, they had a job to do. Damon and Finn would be here in a few short hours, and he wanted the cabin to be ready.

  So instead of trying to seduce her, he’d settled for teasing her. She’d denied ogling him, of course, but they both knew the truth. He could still get her attention. He could build on that, and eventually maybe...No, he wouldn’t plan that far ahead and risk jinxing the whole program.

  They worked well together, but that was to be expected. They’d shared chores like this for years. When they’d been young teens, their cooperative efforts hadn’t been very smooth, but then they’d grown up a little. And he’d kissed her.

  From their first kiss on prom night, everything had changed. Suddenly they’d known what to do and how to be with each other. Even though they’d been virgins, sex had been amazing from the beginning. He hadn’t appreciated how rare that was until he’d slept with someone else.

  He shouldn’t be thinking about sex at all with Rosie in the hospital and no word yet about what was wrong with her. But Lexi was right here, her scent swirling in the air as she tucked in sheets and arranged blankets. He’d always felt nothing bad could happen when he was holding her. Good thing they’d never made love in this cabin or he’d be dealing with those memories, too.

  She had to stand on a desk chair to make the top bunk, the one Finn would use. Cade kept vacuuming, making sure he got all the nooks and crannies of the windowsills. But he sneaked glances over at her while he worked because she was too beautiful to i
gnore. She had cut her hair. It was a cap of curls instead of hanging down past her shoulders, but at least she hadn’t colored it.

  And boy, did she look terrific in jeans. She also looked great out of them. He’d spent many a night admiring the sleek curve of her hips as they tapered to silken thighs. And between those thighs... Ah, he’d spent many happy hours there, too.

  He’d loved everything about her—her sharp mind, her bossiness, her laugh, her sentimental streak and her lusty appreciation of sex. He still loved her.

  Giving her up had been the toughest choice he’d ever made, but he hadn’t been able to provide what she’d wanted. Staying had seemed unfair to both of them. He’d been a little surprised that she hadn’t found someone else to fulfill that dream of marriage, a home and kids. He’d braced himself for that eventuality.

  Yet here she was, still single. He didn’t know what to make of that. Right now his head hurt too damn much to make sense of anything. Thinking about Lexi’s hot body probably wasn’t helping.

  He’d never told another woman that sex could cure his headaches. He didn’t know if it would work with anyone besides Lexi because he’d never tested it, as if doing that would be disloyal. Pretty stupid.

  He had discovered that solo sex didn’t help much at all. Timing his orgasm to match Lexi’s, something he’d become fairly good at, had always eliminated his headache completely. Today he’d have to hope that aspirin would do the trick, although he didn’t have any. Maybe Lexi could scare up a couple of tablets for him.

  “That’s it for the beds.” She glanced around. “Looking good in here. Want me to vacuum the floor?”

  “I can do it.”

  “I know, but I’ll bet you’re dying for a shower, and you can take one while I finish up. It’ll also give you a chance to see if the washhouse is fit for Damon and Finn.”

  He grinned. “Don’t be so diplomatic. If I stink, just say so.”

  That made her laugh. “Hit the showers, Gallagher.”

  “Point taken. So will you still be here when I get back?”