12-Alarm Cowboys

by Cora Seton

  He wanted her back in his arms in the worst way. Part of him told him to lie, tell her he believed her, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t do it. Grabbing up his clothes, he strode into the living room. “If you want me out of your bed right now, fine. But I’m not leaving this house. There are some crazy-ass college students out there, and I’m not about to let them anywhere near you.”

  Something akin to a growl issued from her tiny body and then the bedroom door slammed shut, a small click making it clear it was locked.

  Shit, what the hell?

  He put his clothes back on except for his jacket and boots and eyed the love seat with the cactus-flower patterned pillows. The clock said 3:52 a.m. Two more hours before sunrise and three before he had to leave for a twenty-four-hour shift.

  He looked at Lacey’s door. Maybe in the morning she’d be more open to a discussion. He didn’t want to leave without them talking. She needed to know the fire in Orson didn’t matter anymore. He could see now, without his parents pressuring him, that there was no way she could have purposefully started that fire. It was his parents who made him dump Lacey in the first place. A hot mix of hurt from having to break off their relationship in the past and Lacey’s rejection of him now burned through his gut like a wildfire.

  He wouldn’t lose her again, no matter what. They had to come to an understanding that would mean they stayed in each other’s lives. He would accept nothing less.

  Glancing once more at the love seat, he swept up the pillows, pushed the coffee table aside and lay on the area rug. He probably wouldn’t sleep much, which was just as well. As soon as he heard Lacey come out, they would talk.

  Chapter Ten

  ‡

  Lacey tiptoed to her bedroom door and listened. Maybe Cole had left. She certainly hoped so. She’d been stupid to think he’d changed his mind about her guilt. Tears welled in her eyes as pain ripped through her wounded heart, but she brushed them away. She needed to focus on Cole and what an ass he was.

  Quietly, she turned the knob and peeked out. Her breath caught at the sight of him stretched out across her living room in blue jeans and dress shirt. He lay on his back, one hand resting on his stomach, the other thrown to the side, his face toward her. In his sleep, he appeared so approachable, reasonable and too darn handsome.

  She forced herself to look away and instead concentrated on slipping out of her room and toward the front door. She shook her head as the knob turned. They’d never even locked it last night. Not smart, but it made it easier to leave. Silently, she closed the door behind her and took a deep breath. Yeah, she was a chicken not to wake him, but her throat was too raw from crying and she promised herself she would focus on how mad she was at him, not on how he’d hurt her…again.

  She usually walked home, but because Cole was with her last night, she’d taken a golf cart, which would make her escape that much faster. Thankful the carts were so quiet, she stepped on the pedal and drove to the main building. It was only a bit past four thirty, but hopefully no one would be awake to notice when she arrived.

  That hope died as she pulled around front and found Hunter standing outside the lobby doors. Great, just what she needed, another cowboy to interfere in her life. After exiting her cart, she walked toward him, but couldn’t quite muster a smile. “Good morning, Hunter.”

  He pointedly scanned the eastern horizon before looking back at her and tipping his hat. “Not morning yet.”

  She laughed nervously. “I guess not, but I have some billing I need to catch up on.”

  He studied her. His gaze detached as if he were cataloging supplies instead of looking at a human being. She really needed to read his file. With that in mind, she reached for the door.

  “You couldn’t sleep.”

  She froze in mid-motion. “Why do you say that?”

  “You have nightmares and they wake you up, but even once awake you can’t shake the feelings they cause.”

  She stared at him in shock. He no longer looked at her, his eyes scanning the resort instead.

  She gave an uncomfortable chuckle. “I better get to work.” She grasped the door handle, anxious to go inside.

  “Might want to stop in the kitchen for some ice. It will help the swelling go down before anyone else comes in.” His gaze returned to her, his eyes hard. “Do you want me to take him down for you?”

  “No! I mean, no. I mean I…” She chickened out for the second time in less than thirty minutes and simply walked into the lobby, too shaken to answer him.

  Once in the backroom, she checked her face in the mirror. Sugar, her eyes were even more puffy than back at her place. She looked like she had two black eyes, only without the black. No wonder Hunter told her about the ice and offered to go after Cole. That was a fight she hoped never happened. Cole had a lot more muscle, at least it appeared that way, but Hunter was like a cross bow, pulled tight and held back by the smallest of mechanisms.

  Torn between her curiosity about their new security guard and a need to make her face presentable, she chose the latter and headed for the kitchen. Grabbing a couple ice cubes and a towel, she placed it over her puffy eyes.

  She didn’t understand it. How could Cole believe her about the Poker Flat fire yet not in regards to her parents’ carriage house? And then to make love to her still believing her guilty? It didn’t make any sense. More importantly, knowing he still felt that way, what was she to do? She felt as if her heart held on to a tiny mesquite branch while the flood of a monsoon pulled at it, threatening to rip it away. She had to find dry ground somewhere.

  Her stomach growled, reminding her she was technically on dry ground at the moment and it needed sustenance. She lowered the ice, but didn’t move to find something to eat. She had quite a workout last night. He’d been so focused on her, making her feel sensations she hadn’t felt before, even when they were together in the past. They’d been so young back then and very inexperienced. Was she expecting too much from him?

  The batwing doors to the kitchen swung open and Adriana sauntered in. Her hair, usually beautifully straight, was a mess and her blouse was held closed by only two buttons. “Honey, what are you doing here this late?”

  “Late? It’s almost morning.”

  Adriana brushed by her and opened the refrigerator. “Crap, I lost track of time.”

  Lacey studied her coworker. Her skirt was on backward. “Was he good?”

  “You mean were they good?” The woman turned around, the leftover Sopapilla Cheesecake in her hands.

  “More than one?” Her face heated at the idea.

  The smile that curved Adriana’s lips was sultry with a capital S. “Three. It was supposed to be four, but the fourth found action elsewhere.”

  Lacey swallowed as she envisioned three Coles making love to her. There was no way the men Adriana had sex with could have been as good as Cole last night or the woman wouldn’t be able to walk.

  “Do you want some?” Adriana had cut herself a large piece of the cheesy cinnamon dessert.

  Lacey had planned on her usual bagel, but after the night she’d had, she deserved a little extra sugar. “Sure.”

  The woman’s head snapped up. “Really?” She studied her then looked at the towel with ice on the counter. “What happened? And don’t tell me ‘nothing’.”

  She squirmed. The problem with a small staff was they all knew one another’s business. “Why don’t you ask Hunter? He seems to have figured everything out.”

  “Hunter? I haven’t seen him since the morning the deputy sheriff was here. I mean the last morning the deputy sheriff was here, yesterday I think it was. Besides, why would I ask him? I don’t know him, but I know you.”

  She looked away, not sure where to start.

  “Do you want me to shoot him for you?” Adriana’s free hand found her hip, a sure sign she was dead serious.

  “No. Please don’t.”

  “But he hurt you again.”

  Lacey shrugged. “Yes and no. It’s the s
ame old hurt. I thought he’d changed his mind, but I was wrong. Instead he rubbed salt in the wound.”

  “You slept with him.”

  She nodded, blinking back a new round of tears. She clasped her hands in front of her. She was so stupid.

  “Was he good?”

  She snapped her gaze to Adriana’s face in surprise. “What?”

  The woman wiggled her brows. “Was he good in bed?”

  Heat built in her cheeks as she looked away. He’d been amazing. His hands, his lips, his tongue, his….

  “Ah, he was.” Adriana leaned her elbows on the counter and rested her chin on her hands. “He made you hot and ready and brought you to the best orgasm you’ve ever had, right?”

  Lacey sighed. “Yes.”

  “He is a big man and you are so small.” Adriana smiled knowingly. “That’s one perfect combination.”

  Lacey felt heat rise in her cheeks. “Weren’t you getting breakfast or something?”

  The bartender laughed and straightened. “Yes, I was and here’s yours.” She handed over a plate with a large piece of cheesecake on it. “Honey, just remember sex and love are two different things. Sex I know,” she winked, “very well, but I haven’t a clue what love feels like, so if you need advice about sex, I’m your go-to person. But if your heart is involved, you better find someone else to talk to.”

  She wasn’t sure there was anyone who could really help with the mess she’d made of her heart.

  Adriana picked up her plate and sauntered toward the exit. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. “By the way, if you dump your firefighter, I know a couple deputy sheriffs who would love to meet you.”

  Lacey scowled and the woman let out another laugh before pushing through the batwing doors.

  Picking up her cheesecake, she headed to her office to start the coffee. There was a good chance Cole Hatcher would stop by on his way out this morning and she had to decide what she would say to him besides goodbye.

  As the clock on her desk ticked and the time for Cole to be at work had passed, she felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment. Relief because she still didn’t know what to do about him and disappointment for the same reason.

  The thought of Cole gone from her life forever made her heart hitch, a sure sign she loved him. But that was a given. The question was, could she forgive him for not believing her? He believed her about the most recent fire. Was that enough? The adult in her said she’d be a fool not to forgive him, but the child in her stamped her feet and demanded Cole believe her out of love. She was probably being too idealistic.

  The door to the resort opened and hope surged through her chest, but the clothed man who walked across the lobby wasn’t Cole. It was John.

  She forced herself to smile and approached the counter. “Good morning. What a pleasant surprise. Are you coming to spend the day nude?” She doubted he was since he had his bike gear on, but she was hoping he’d come for any reason but her.

  “No. Thanks anyway. I prefer to be naked in private or with a special someone.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

  Uh, that wasn’t going to happen. If she’d had any thoughts about dating John, her heart nixed them. He was not an option.

  “I came to see if you’d like to go for a ride. I always ride on Sundays. Then I thought we could go to that pizza place I talked about. What do you think?”

  “What a lovely invitation. Unfortunately, I’m working today.”

  His disappoint was obvious as his smile disappeared. “Do you ever get a day off?”

  She shook her head. “Not really.” Of course she’d never asked for one since she had no life. “The resort is so new, Kendra really needs me until it’s stable enough to hire more employees. You know how that is. You did say Price Construction was hanging on by a thread as well, right? So you must understand.”

  John’s emotions played across his face. Anger, frustration and finally acceptance that he was beat. “Yeah, I do. We all have to make a living, right?” His smile was wan.

  She nodded. “At least until I have a husband who will let me stay home while he works. Until then, I’m kind of stuck.”

  John literally stepped back and she had to swallow her laugh.

  “Right, well, I better get going. Meeting some of my buddies out at Lake Pleasant before we head north.”

  “Of course. Have a great ride.”

  He backed away. “I plan on it.” Then he swiftly turned and strode out of the lobby.

  She chuckled at how quickly marriage could scare most men away. Would Cole feel the same way? She sobered and her belly flipped. Memories of writing Mrs. Lacey Hatcher in her notebooks at school flooded her. She’d always dreamed about them getting married.

  How did she feel about it now?

  *

  After three hours of driving, Cole exited his truck and stretched his legs. He missed Lacey, but coming to Orson was the right thing to do.

  When he’d woken on the floor of Lacey’s casita, he’d been shocked to find her gone. That and the fact he was in serious danger of being late for his shift. After catching a ride with Wade to the garage and speaking to him about keeping Lacey safe, he’d barely made it to work. They had one kitchen fire and two ambulance calls, but other than that he’d had all day to think.

  By time he’d made it back to Last Chance Ranch, Angel required his undivided attention. He even slept in the barn, not an unknown occurrence for him, which is why he had a cot set up out there. Luckily, her fever broke in the early morning hours.

  After calling the vet and getting his visit confirmed, Cole left for Orson. It was time to learn the facts. Lacey insisted she was innocent. The town thought she’d set the fire and his parents said the Town Manager had the charges dropped, but he’d never talked to the fire department directly.

  He had a very specific reason for going in person. Sean had called and said all the frat boys they’d caught denied building any campfires even though they copped to the theft charge. Since there was more than one campfire, the chances it was Price Construction making it look like it was someone else was very slim. That left Lacey as a prime suspect.

  Striding into the firehouse, he followed the directions to the chief’s office upstairs. He knocked on the door and entered when told to.

  Cole slowed as he approached the desk. The man who rose from the chair didn’t have enough stripes for a chief.

  “Hi, I’m Lieutenant Hatcher.”

  “The chief is off today, I’m Deputy Chief Reynolds. I can see you’re far from your station district. Please, have a seat. How can I help you?”

  He glanced down at his firehouse t-shirt, glad he’d worn it. It just might help him obtain the information he needed. “Yes, I have family in town, but thought I’d stop by and see if I could get a little information to help the detective working on a case in my district.”

  The deputy chief leaned back in his chair. “He could have called. I would have been happy to tell him what we know, or sent him the file if it’s recent information. We just started computerizing our cases a couple years ago. Getting the older ones into the system isn’t a big priority.”

  Cole was ready for that. “I wasn’t sure if my memory was even worth him making the call. I worked a fire about a week ago and there was a woman there who I remembered being accused of setting a fire here about eight years ago. I thought I’d see if my memory was correct before sending Detective Anderson in the wrong direction.”

  The deputy stroked his mustache. “That was a while back. Which fire was it?”

  “It was the old carriage house at the Winters’ place.”

  “Oh I remember that one. I worked it.” The deputy nodded. “Yes, wasn’t the daughter accused of setting the fire?”

  Cole studied the deputy, trying to place him at the fire, but that evening he’d been too focused on Lacey to notice much else. When he’d arrived, she and her dad had been wrapped in blankets by the emergency crew. He was told they both suffered from smoke inhal
ation after trying to put the fire out. “That’s what I remembered, but for some reason the charges were dropped.” It would be like Lacey to try to fight a fire she accidently set. It had to be an accident.

  The deputy walked to a door to his left and opened it. A small room filled with a dozen or so file cabinets was visible. “Do you remember when that fire was?”

  The day before he broke it off with the woman he loved? He’d never forget it, April 29th. “I know it was in April. It was after Easter but before prom.”

  The deputy raised a brow. “Interesting what’s important when we’re young, huh?”

  Cole nodded.

  “That narrows it down though.”

  Cole heard the drawer of a cabinet open and then the man came out, a file in his hand. It took all of Cole’s willpower not to jump up and snatch it from him. Instead, he leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, and forced himself to remain seated.

  The deputy sat behind the desk and opened the file. “Hmmm, oh yes, I remember, we let the building burn to the ground. Had a couple explosions and the captain didn’t want to risk anyone. Luckily, the girl got out before we arrived.”

  Cole’s heart froze. Lacey was inside? “Do you mean the woman accused of the fire was in the building when it started?”

  The deputy nodded absently as he perused the paperwork. “It says here that the father and daughter were treated for smoke inhalation. Apparently, he saw the flames and knew she was inside. He couldn’t get to her, but told her to wrap herself in a blanket and brave the doorway. That’s not an easy feat for a civilian. The father was trying to soak the door from the outside with his garden hose and the smoke got to him.”

  His chest tightened. He’d almost lost her that night and didn’t even know it. Why didn’t she say anything? The answer came as quickly as the question. He never let her. He just broke her heart, never even asking her if she started the fire. He was such an idiot. “If she was inside then why was she charged with arson?”

  “Good question.” The deputy chief turned a couple pages in the file. “It looks like those charges were originally based upon a witness. The neighbor had been driving into town and said she saw the girl spreading gasoline around the outside of the building.” The deputy looked up and shook his head. “Charges wouldn’t be made based solely on a witness today. If I remember correctly, the nearest neighbor was at least a mile away. She would have had to be driving pretty slow to see a gasoline can specifically.”