12-Alarm Cowboys

by Cora Seton

  Sophie breathed in the sweet scents in the night air. She resisted the temptation to find the honeysuckle and taste the nectar as she did when she was growing up. She wasn’t a child any longer and life wasn’t simple. The velvet blackness of the sky lay out endlessly above them.

  They reached their favorite spot and lay back on grass. The dew had already coated the blades, providing a cool bed beneath their backs. The stars twinkled above them, thousands upon thousands of pinholes in the darkness.

  An owl hooted nearby to accompany the night peepers filling the air with their song. Sophie hadn’t remembered what peace felt like. It came upon her in a slow wave, starting from her feet and sliding up her body. Goose bumps prickled her skin.

  “I forgot.” The words were a whisper on the night breeze. She wasn’t sure if he heard her.

  “Sometimes I forget too. I haven’t been out here in a long time.” His hand touched hers and she twined their fingers together.

  She couldn’t imagine a more perfect moment.

  Chapter Four

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  Sophie didn’t have a change of clothes or even a toothbrush. She found both sitting on the guest room bed. They had watched the stars in silence for an hour until sleep threatened to overtake her. The day had started with a hellacious morning commute and then the long drive to Tanger.

  She yawned widely against her hand. Hannah must’ve left her the necessities. Sophie wanted to thank her but she didn’t know which room was her former friend’s.

  Being beholden to others went against Sophie’s grain. She had done everything she could to be independent, to support herself, and rely only on her own wits, intelligence and skills. Now here she was stranded, without clothes or a place to sleep, or a car that ran.

  No matter what Tennessee Williams wrote, Sophie did not depend on the kindness of strangers. She didn’t know how to accept it.

  She took a long, hot shower, washing away the sweat, stink and soot that clung to her. The guest room at the Triple B had a lovely en suite bathroom that provided her with fluffy towels and everything she needed to get clean.

  When she pulled on the nightie, she remembered that Hannah was tiny in stature although big busted. Apparently Sophie was a foot taller and her boobs were twice as big because the damn nightie looked more like a hooker’s outfit when she put it on.

  She didn’t want to go work a corner and she couldn’t sleep in her dirty clothes so that left one option. Sophie crept beneath the covers naked as a jaybird. The sheets were the kind of cotton that had four-digit thread counts and was soft as a baby’s skin. She snuggled down into the pillowtop mattress and promptly passed out.

  Sophie awoke sometime later, the room dark and still. Something had brought her to full wakefulness in an instant. Shadows danced around the room as moonlight crept in through the sheer curtains.

  Dax stood in front of the window, wearing only his boxers. She tried not to react, but she wondered what the hell he was doing. At least he wasn’t standing over her. Yet he was in the room in which she slept.

  She must have made a noise to alert him because he started speaking as if picking up a conversation they’d been having.

  “You broke my heart, Soph. Big, strong football player and cowboy. Busted it into a thousand pieces.” He kept his voice in a hushed tone, but she could hear the real pain behind the words.

  Shock kept her immobile on the bed. That, and she didn’t want to prance around in front of him naked again. Skipping down that path was not on her agenda.

  “I broke your heart?” She sounded as confused as she felt. “You didn’t seem to want a girlfriend anymore. How many times did you visit me when I was in college?”

  “I was working. I couldn’t just go gallivanting off in Houston with you and your college friends. Ranches are twenty-four/seven operations.” He pressed his hands against the glass. “You had plenty of fun without me being there to spoil it.”

  “Fun?” Now she did sit up, her ire simmering to a boil at his assumption. “I worked my ass off at that school. I didn’t have a gaggle of friends. I was lonely every day and you never once visited me.” Emotion clogged her throat and her eyes stung. Here was the argument she’d dreaded. It was coming at them like a freight train. There was no stopping it now. “I needed you but you never came. You chose your friends, your horses and your damn cows over me.”

  The silence in the room was only broken by their breathing. She held the covers around her chest, unwilling to let go of the shield.

  “You chose college over me.”

  “Bullshit! I wanted to get my degree to get out of Tanger.”

  “Then you succeeded, didn’t you?” He shook his head. “Shook the shit right off your shoes from here.”

  “Nothing I did was to hurt you. I felt stifled in this small town. Nothing has changed in decades. It’s caught in the past and you’re following right along with Blackwood tradition. You have a mind of your own, Dax, but you chose instead to snuggle down at the homestead and ignore what you wanted.”

  A few beats passed. “What I wanted was my girlfriend to love me enough to stay here.”

  “What I wanted was a boyfriend who loved me enough to support me.”

  “Good thing we didn’t stay together then, huh?” He pushed away from the window and faced her, hands on his hips. “You would never be satisfied to live in a podunk down like Tanger with a backwoods cowboy who likes to lay out under the stars for fun.”

  He turned and left the room, his strides almost stomping. She leapt out of bed and chased after him. When she caught up to him, she remembered she was naked.

  Oh well.

  She thumped him on the back with both fists. “You never talked to me and you still don’t. You assume you know every thought in my brain and draw conclusions. This is the conversation we should have had five years ago, not now. The scars are too deep to repair them.”

  “Are you naked?”

  She waved her hand to dismiss his obvious question. “I loved you with every fiber of my being, Dax Gideon Blackwood, and you didn’t love me enough.”

  To her horror, a sob worked its way up her throat. She didn’t want to cry over him again. She’d made that promise to herself after months of depression and crushing sadness. He’d made his choice and it wasn’t her.

  “I loved you more than any human being on the planet.” His voice sounded sincere, but the words were years too late.

  “I don’t believe you. If you did, you would have come after me.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized what she said.

  Her heart slammed against her ribs as they faced each other in the weak moonlight. She’d wanted him to chase her, to demonstrate she was more important than his family ranch. After accusing him of not accepting herself, the opposite was true. She’d not accepted him and his choice to be a rancher.

  “Oh my God.” She turned and raced back to the room, ashamed and sick to her stomach. Had she been that shallow? What was wrong with her?

  She tried to close the door, but a large hand blocked her. “Let me alone, Dax. I can’t do this anymore.” Tears rolled down her cheeks and her throat tightened. “Please.”

  He scooped her up and carried her to the bed. Sophie was tired of trying to be so strong and independent. Tired of never having a single soul whose shoulder she could cry on.

  Dax sat on the bed and cradled her against him. Sophie let herself cry on the broadest shoulder in East Texas.

  The gray light of dawn slid through the curtains. Dax dozed with Sophie curled around him, her mahogany hair soft as a feather on his bare chest. She’d cried for both of them.

  The time he’d spent with Sophie the last day had been a maddening mixture of frustration, annoyance, anger, arousal, passion and sadness. A cocktail of ups and downs it would take at least a week to recover from. If ever.

  He forgot how she felt against him, her softness surrounding him, reminding him what he’d been missing. He was a fool to have had sex with her
and an even worse fool to allow the painful thoughts out of his heart.

  He’d kept the feelings hidden, crammed into dark recesses where he didn’t expect to let them out again. When he’d come into the room to check on her, she’d looked angelic, sleeping like a baby. She was so damn beautiful it made his eyes ache.

  Dax struggled to leave her then. He stood by the window, waiting for the urge to check on her to pass. His heart told him to take a chance. His head told him to run. Then she’d woken up and all hell had broken loose.

  Sharp words had been thrown, leaving wounds and ragged emotions. Dax sighed and wondered what would happen tomorrow when she was gone again. He had a full life. He didn’t need a woman, and he especially didn’t need Sophie.

  That didn’t mean he didn’t want her.

  If he were lucky, Myron would have towed her car and fixed it before Dax dropped her off. Then he could say goodbye and she would be on her way.

  “Is it tomorrow?” Her sleep-tinged voice stopped his musings and startled his dick awake.

  That wasn’t good.

  “Yep.”

  Oh hell, she was naked too. The blanket slipped off her shoulder and he remembered how she looked last night, punching him, her face full of fire. Her soft, curvy body bared for his view.

  Shitfire.

  “We should get up.”

  “Ah, yeah, we should.” Parts of his anatomy were already up, like, really up.

  “You’re comfortable.”

  A strangled sound came out of his throat.

  A few moments passed before she came into full wakefulness. Then she must’ve realized exactly what was poking her in the hip.

  “It’s morning.”

  “We already covered that.” He didn’t know whether to move and allow her to keep her dignity, or let her escape to keep his dignity.

  “This is awkward.”

  “We’ve had a few of those moments since yesterday.”

  She tried to wiggle off his lap and instead managed to turn herself until his dick ended up between her thighs. He sucked in a breath, tortured by the soft trap.

  “And a few more ahead apparently.” She glanced up at him, her dark eyes a mixture of arousal and confusion. He had to pull back and save both of them. A gentleman would.

  “We shouldn’t have done what we did yesterday.”

  “Bareback no less.”

  “I’m clean.”

  “So am I, but that doesn’t prevent pregnancy.”

  His gut slammed up to his throat then back down to his feet. “What was that?”

  “That’s how babies are made, Dax. I thought for sure you’d taken sex ed in high school.” She sighed. The very thought of a baby made Dax want to jump out of the bed and run like hell. It also made him imagine what a baby would look like, half Sophie, half himself.

  What in the ever-loving hell was he doing?

  “I, uh, should’ve thought of that.” His lame excuse was met with silence.

  “There’s no help for it. I’m gonna have to bare my boobs to get out of this,” she finally said.

  He tried to stop her. He truly did, but she rolled onto her back, baring those beautiful orbs to his view. The dark pink nipples hardened as the cool air hit them.

  His mouth watered. “Damn, woman. You are hot as hell.”

  She blinked. “Really?”

  “God, yes.” He leaned down and pulled one nipple into his mouth. His hard-on did a happy dance.

  She groaned and tugged at his hair. “Jeeezus.”

  He suckled, nibbled and laved at the turgid peaks, her skin as sweet as honey. His pulse notched up with each suck, his heart beating a faster rhythm.

  Thump-thump-thump.

  “We can’t do this again, cowboy.” She ran her hands up and down his back, a purring emanating from her throat. “Not after all we said.”

  He didn’t stop. Didn’t even consider stopping. Nope. Too lost in the delicious breasts in his mouth. He moved to the other breast and his hand crept down her belly. Her pussy called to his fingers, the scent of her arousal teasing his nostrils.

  Good God, she was all sweet, wet heat.

  He slid through her silken folds until he reached her clit. She arched her back, pushing her nipple farther into his mouth. As he pleasured her, his own body throbbed with need. He wanted to plunge into the heated depths, to bring both of them to the ultimate release.

  “We should stop.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Right there. Harder. Harder.”

  He continued to pluck and circle her hot button. She started to make chuffing noises and he knew she was close. He bit her nipple and she screamed as an orgasm ripped through her.

  “Do you have protection?” Her voice was husky and sliced through his self-control.

  He jumped to his feet and raced to the bathroom, hoping his stash was still in the drawer. “Bingo!” He snagged a condom and made quick work of putting it on before returning to the soft, sexy woman on the bed.

  He rose up on his knees, the head of his cock poised at the entrance to heaven. “Still want to stop?”

  Her eyes fluttered open and a slow, lazy smile spread across her face.

  “I think I can stand a little more fun.”

  He thrust into her depths and spots danced in front of his eyes from the sheer ecstasy of entering her. It was paradise on earth. After he slid his cock almost all the way out, he paused to tease both of them. A lazy smile crossed her face.

  Knock, knock, knock.

  “Fuck,” he whispered. Dax scowled at the door, willing away whoever was interrupting their sex.

  “Dax, are you in there?” Hannah spoke through the door. “Your phone’s been ringing off the hook and Clint just called me. There’s a fire.”

  His responsibility as volunteer fire chief trumped some morning delight with Sophie, no matter how much he wanted to push himself back inside her.

  “Yeah, I’m here. Be there in a minute.” He saw the regret in her eyes. “I’m sorry, Soph.”

  She didn’t speak as he rolled off and pulled on his clothes as fast as he could. There weren’t many fires in Tanger and to have two so close together was suspicious.

  “It could turn out to be someone’s trash burning.” He yanked on his shirt. When he popped his head through he found Sophie almost dressed. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m not staying here with Hannah. I’m coming with you.”

  “I can’t think about you right now. I’ll have Myron come by to pick you up.” He jogged out of the guest room and down to his own. Snatching up his boots, he turned and ran straight into Sophie.

  “There’s not a chance you’re going to leave here without me.” She had already dressed and pulled on her own boots. Hell, she had her damn messenger bag on her shoulder and was currently twisting her hair into some intricate knot.

  Instead of answering, he ran down the stairs. That’s when he heard the siren from the firehouse wailing in the distance. How could he have missed it?

  Easy answer. He was busy sticking his dick where he shouldn’t be. Sophie was beautiful, smart and intelligent, but she was his past. She made it very clear there was no future. It was a quick fuck. Or two. He shouldn’t be disappointed and he damn sure shouldn’t be feeling a pain in his heart.

  He grabbed his replacement phone from the charging station by the door and slammed outside, Sophie hot on his heels. She definitely had the speed required to keep up with him.

  He wasn’t sure if he should be impressed or pissed.

  They reached the truck and he threw himself in, starting the truck even as he closed the door. He flipped on the flashing lights in the back and front windows. Sophie didn’t miss a beat, climbing in like an acrobat. He continued to ignore her and dialed Clint from the phone. Thank God he’d picked up a burner at Madison’s yesterday or he’d have had to ask Sophie to use hers. It only took half a ring before his cousin picked up.

  “Where the fuck are you?” His angry voice almost busted Dax’s eardrum.
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  “On my way. What’s going on?”

  “Fire out behind the jail in the old building. Kyle’s fixing to have kittens.” A few shouts and the sound of the pumper truck siren sounded in the background. “Get your ass over here. I’ve got your shit with me.”

  Clint hung up and Dax grimaced at the phone. “That’s not a coincidence.”

  “What’s going on?”

  Should he tell her? She was an insurance investigator and had no personal stake in Tanger or its residents. He should thank her for the memories and tell her to go home.

  Dax opened his mouth to say just that, but the words didn’t come out. Not the words he should have said anyway.

  “The old jail is burning. A week after the restaurant burned.”

  She didn’t say anything for a few beats. “Someone is burning the older buildings in town.”

  “That’s what I thought too. Then I took into account the structures are also old so the wood is drier and they burn faster. But I also know we had new insulation put in about fifteen years ago and a state of the art sprinkler system and fire alarm put in the restaurant.” He blew through a stop sign, counting on everyone in town knowing his vehicle and heeding the flashing lights on his truck.

  “Your receipts—”

  “Yes, the fucking receipts are in the file I gave you.” He was too worked up to worry about her feelings. Anger and frustration bubbled in his gut. He wished he’d had a chance to grab coffee because it would give him something to do besides snarl at Sophie.

  She remained silent as he drove like a madman, swerving around a few cars and one foolish dog. It took less than ten minutes but it felt more like an hour. Sphincter factor of ten.

  He stopped his truck on the seat and jumped out of the truck. The acrid stench of smoke filled his nose. He needed to get to the pumper, parked sideways in front of the newer jail and assess the situation.

  Flames flickered in the early-morning sky, angry red and orange against the blue. He grabbed his gear and started pulling it on, hoping his daybreak foolishness didn’t cost the town more of its soul.