Brett pushed open the unlatched office door, but Hannah had the radio on, tuned to a country station, and she didn’t seem to hear him. She was sitting at the desk just as he’d imagined, with those glasses on her nose, her lips silently mouthing the numbers she was reading, and her hair wound around a pencil to form a disheveled bun on her head. He leaned his weight against the door frame and drank her in.
“I take it back,” he murmured.
She startled just a little, dropping her pencil as her face shot up. When she realized it was only him, she smiled in a way that hit him straight in the heart. “Take what back?”
“There is such a thing that’s prettier than an Oklahoma sunset.”
Her expression turned demure at the compliment. “You’ve got to stop that.”
He made some room on the desk, then set the tray down. “Why?”
She removed her reading glasses, looking bashful. “Because I don’t know what to do with it.”
He leaned over the desk and cupped her cheek in his hand. “I’d take a smile in response in the future, but right now, I’m going to go crazy if I can’t kiss you.”
He leaned across the desk and angled his lips over hers. He kept it tender and light and full of love. When the kiss ended, he stroked his thumb along her cheekbone. “That’s what I’ve been looking forward to all day.”
Hannah rose from her chair and licked her lips, her eyes appraising his belt buckle. “Really? Because that’s not what I’ve been looking forward to.”
Her gaze was hungry, as if he hadn’t wrung several epic orgasms from her body the night before.
He eyed the room. There was a lock on the door, curtains on the windows and plenty of options on where to get comfortable while he satisfied her. Besides, what kind of decent provider would he be if he didn’t give his woman what she needed? “You want to eat first, while it’s hot.”
She walked around the desk and hooked her hand down the front of his pants. “Unless that’s a euphemism, then no.”
He laughed out loud at that. “Let me lock the door.”
“I’ll close the curtains.”
They came together again in the middle of the room, their kisses desperate. This was going to have to be a quickie because Ryan was waiting, but with the way she was ripping at his clothes right now, she wasn’t interested in taking her time.
He smoothed a hand over her breasts. “You are so sexy.”
“I was just thinking the same about you.”
He cleared off the desk, stacking files and papers onto chairs, returning pens to their holder.
“You know,” he said as he removed the last of the items from the desktop. “I was born a cowboy. Never been much into staying indoors or being fenced in, and office work, that’s my idea of hell, but tonight, I’m suddenly inspired to perform some desk work.”
He wrapped his arms around her. His hands grabbing hold of her backside, he lifted her onto the desk.
“Is that so?” she purred, onto his game. “You’re going to put in a little overtime on the job?”
He stripped her shirt off over her head, then laid her back like an offering on an altar. “You see, I have a very demanding boss with a lot of desperate needs that are my duty to address.”
The leggings she wore pulled off easily. He added them to the chair where he’d tossed her shirt. It’d been too dark last night for him to see much of her body, but tonight he drank his fill of her in the full light of the office. Beyond lust and the urgency to brand her body with his touch, the sight of her belly swollen with his child brought forth a surge of possessiveness and ego. He was a modern guy, but damn, it brought out the inner caveman in him to see his beautiful, brilliant Hannah pregnant with his child.
“What a burden, to be so needed,” she said. “Maybe she’s just trying to help you live up to your full potential on the job.”
With a wry huff of laughter at her words, he brought her ankle to his mouth. He dragged his lips and tongue along her leg, reveling in the scent and taste of her skin and the way her breath hitched when he reached her inner thigh.
If his true potential as her man was to screw her brains out whenever need took a hold of her, then that was one element of his job description that he was fully on board with now. He pulled the nearest chair toward the desk, right between her legs, and propped her feet on the chair arms. With his arms wrapped around her hips, he scooted her backside to the edge. She squirmed and whimpered at the first gentle swipe of his tongue.
“You drive me crazy, Brett.”
He slid his hand up her side until he found her hand and twined his fingers with hers. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
Then he put his lips and tongue to work, feasting on her wet, hot flesh until her cries bounced off the office walls and her thighs tightened around his head.
When her release had subsided, she sat and stroked her hands over his hair. Her cheeks were flushed and she wore a languid smile. “My turn now. You want to get up on the desk or stay in the chair?”
He swiped his thumb over his mouth, then kissed her. “I’m going to take a rain check on that until tonight, after patrol. Knowing I get to come home to you is going to keep me going tonight while we’re on the range.”
He helped her off the desk and back into her clothes. In his periphery, he caught sight of the tray of food. “I’m afraid dinner’s cold. Sorry.”
She straightened her shirt. “Worth it and then some.”
“Agreed.”
He slid the tray back onto her desk, then reached for the papers he’d cleared from it. Now that he wasn’t distracted by lusty thoughts, he realized that the paperwork she’d been poring over had been the previous year’s ledgers as well as a stack of check stubs and invoices. “What’re you doing with these invoices? They’re dated last November.”
She eased the stack of papers from his hands. “It’s nothing.”
She set the stack off to the side on the far end of the desk as though she didn’t want him looking too closely at them.
“You’re not acting like it’s nothing. Is everything all right?”
“Yes.” She worried her lower lip and sank into her desk chair. “No, actually. I wasn’t going to say anything to you until I was sure there’s an issue, but the truth is that I can’t get the monthly balances right, not for any month in the past year.”
He pulled his face in surprise. His dad was a great businessman with a head for numbers. Then again... “My dad’s mind is going. Could he have done the math wrong?”
“That was my hunch, too. At first look, the numbers that were incorrect looked like easy mistakes, numbers transposed and things like that. Except that the weekly totals are off by about the same amount every time. Five hundred dollars, give or take some change. So far the account seems to be short about twenty-three thousand dollars.”
Brett cursed. “That’s a lot of money to go unnoticed.”
“It is. I wasn’t going to say anything to you until I was sure, but I think somebody’s skimming money from the Lucky C.”
Brett walked to the window and flipped the curtain open, looking outside. He wished he didn’t have to go on patrol that night. His instincts were telling him that something bad was brewing, and Ryan’s ambiguous reasons for being on the ranch early weren’t helping him feel secure about leaving Hannah alone.
“That’s a serious allegation.”
“Which is why I hadn’t said anything to you yet.” She touched his shoulder. “Don’t worry yet and don’t mention the discrepancies to anyone, okay? Let me triple-check my math first. There’s no need in upsetting your dad and brothers unnecessarily.”
Before anything else happened, he needed to talk to Ryan. They’d stick close to the homestead tonight, but there was no way he was leaving her alone and vulnerable in the office.
“I have to go. Ryan’s waiting on me. But I’d feel better if you were safe and sound inside with Dad and Edith.”
“That’s fine with me. I’m not crazy about the idea of working here after dark, either. Rafe stops by the office sometimes, especially if you’re not around, and every time he does, he makes me feel a little uncomfortable. Okay, a lot uncomfortable.”
Okay, that was a name he hadn’t expected to hear tonight. “Wait. Rafe comes by the office to see you?”
“Almost every time I’m alone.”
“For what purpose?”
Hannah shrugged. “I’m not sure. He’s flirty and... I don’t know. I get a weird vibe from him, but it’s nothing to worry about, especially right now. I’m going to pack up and get to the Big House.”
He rubbed his temple, his head spinning with all these new revelations. “How long has that been happening?”
“Since the afternoon I arrived, but it’s just a gut feeling. He hasn’t done anything, really. Just hangs around too much, stands too close, looks at me a little too intensely, and he’s always slipping sexist remarks into the conversation. He’s a bit of an ass, honestly. I’m not a fan.”
“You should have told me.”
She wrapped her arms around him again. “You’ve had enough on your mind, and there really isn’t anything specific to tell.”
“Hannah, you can tell me anything. Especially if a man is making you feel uncomfortable.”
“You really are my hero, you know that?”
He kissed her head. “I’m trying. How about you let me walk you home?”
“Not necessary. I’ll finish eating and get my stuff together so I can work in my room. I promise to be in the Big House by dark.”
He tipped her chin up and gave her a lingering kiss. “Good. Thank you. That’ll be a load off my mind. You and I can talk more tomorrow about the discrepancies with the books. I’ll help you get to the bottom of it. And I’ll be paying Rafe a visit, too. You won’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“Thank you.” She walked him to the door. “Stay safe out there. I couldn’t bear it if something happened to you.”
“I will. Same goes with you, okay?”
A rumble of thunder caught him off guard as he stepped outside. He’d forgotten about the weatherman’s prediction of a storm that night. Wouldn’t be the first time he and Outlaw had been out in weather. He pulled the brim of his hat lower, his eyes scanning the ranch grounds for any sign of Rafe. Not seeing any, he looked toward the bunkhouse. The light in Rafe’s corner bedroom was on.
He had half a mind to go give the man a dressing-down right then and there—and half a mind to fire his sorry ass—but Ryan was waiting. After one last look, he turned away from the bunkhouses and headed across the grounds to the stable where Ryan sat astride his horse, waiting for him and wearing a teasing grin.
“When I told you to take your time, I didn’t mean I wanted to stand here counting the cattle while you got your rocks off. I guess you decided to help your baby mama work through her pregnancy hormones after all.”
Brett bit the inside of his cheek against a smile. “We were that subtle, huh?”
“Oh, yeah, real subtle, what with the way you slammed all the windows shut and closed the curtains at lightning speed. I think I actually saw the trailer rocking.”
“Hannah and I are happy. Get over it.”
Ryan shook his head, his smile firmly in place. “Get Outlaw saddled so we can get out of here.”
“Something’s up with you. Can you talk about it here or should we wait?”
Ryan’s smile fell. He glanced back and forth as though checking to make sure no one was in earshot, then dismounted and got close to Bret. “You know that rush job we asked Susie to do? She found a set of prints, but she wasn’t able to identify who they belonged to. They don’t match any of the prints we have on record from the Lucky C. And believe me, we printed everyone after Abra’s attack.”
“Then why were you here early?”
Ryan gave another look around, then stepped closer. “The accelerant that the fire marshal determined was used in the fire was an ammonium nitrate compound common in the same agricultural fertilizer the Lucky C uses.”
Brett’s ribs gave a squeeze as all the pieces fit together. “You were here early to take samples. Even though the prints don’t match, you still think someone got the accelerant here at the ranch. Is that part of the message they’re sending us?”
“I don’t know about the message, but it sure looks like it’s shaping up that way. The samples I took are off the record. Susie’s going to see if there’s any truth to our hunch before we show our cards. Just about every ranch and farm in Tulsa uses some similar combination of the same agricultural products, so it’s a long shot. Especially with that unidentified fingerprint. The important part is that the clues are stacking up. It won’t be long now.”
Brett looked toward the office. Inside it sat his whole world, his new family. “It better not be. I’m getting itchy for some justice to be served so we can get on with our lives.”
“Come on. Let’s get out of here. I’d like to take a look at the hunting blind again before this rain hits.”
The hunting blind was out in the backcountry much farther than Brett had wanted to travel that night, given the warnings that his instincts were niggling him about, but they were starting early and he couldn’t think of a solid reason to refuse Ryan’s request. With a nudge to Outlaw’s flanks, they got their patrol under way, riding straight into the gathering clouds.
Chapter 15
As the last glow of daylight succumbed to the encroaching storm clouds, Hannah walked to the Big House, carrying the food tray with the manila envelope of possible embezzling evidence tucked under her arm. She was nearly there when Big J burst out the main door and practically flew down the porch steps.
Hannah quickened her stride and met him in the driveway. “Big J, are you okay?”
“Hannah, there you are,” He was pale and anxious, his sweater misbuttoned, as though he’d thrown it on in haste. “I just got a call from the hospital. Abra’s taken a turn for the worse.”
“Oh, no. Let me set this stuff down and then I’ll drive you.”
“That’s okay. Jack’s meeting me here. He’s going to drive me to the hospital.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“Actually, Edith already retired for the evening and I don’t want to bother her, but I couldn’t get either Brett or Ryan on the phone—they must be out of range—and I don’t want them to come back to find us all gone. Would you stay here and tell them what’s happening? You can drive over with Brett.”
“Of course.” She made to hug Big J, but he was too jittery to hold still. The minute they heard the sound of a truck, he seemed to forget about her existence.
Hannah set the tray and the envelope on a step and followed him to the edge of the driveway. She gave a small wave to Jack, who was behind the wheel of a big black truck. “I’ll be praying for your mom.”
Jack’s lips were a thin line as he nodded.
Hugging herself, she watched their taillights disappear along the long road leading off the property. That was it. She was alone again at night on the ranch, exactly in the position she’d promised Brett not to get in. The breeze kicked up, splattering her with the first raindrops of the storm that had been threatening all afternoon.
Lights shone from the bunkhouse, reminding her that she wasn’t actually alone. The ranch had lots of people on it at any given time. And somewhere out there in the night, Brett and Ryan were patrolling for the express purpose of keeping everyone safe. Time to call them and give them the tough news about their mom.
She turned back toward the house, picked up the tray and envelope, and walked the rest of the way to the house. From the phone in the kit
chen, she dialed Brett’s cell phone. It flipped to voice mail without ringing. So did Ryan’s, which probably meant they were out of range.
She closed her eyes and said a quick prayer for Abra, then reached for the envelope. She’d get that hidden behind the vanity, then keep trying to reach Brett. A roar of thunder shifted her focus to the window. The rain was really coming down now. Poor Brett and Ryan.
With a heart heavy with worry, she turned toward the stairs. She was halfway up them when the lights flickered once, twice. The house went dark.
Hannah gripped the rail, startling as a flash of lightning strobed through the house. No two ways around it—it was going to be a long, troubled night and she had a sinking feeling about how it was going to end.
* * *
Brett was miserable. The last time it’d rained this hard, he’d found himself in the backcountry, that time chasing pregnant cows. What a wet July this had been. Great for local farmers, but not so good for a rancher trying to keep his family and his livestock safe.
Tonight’s storm had arrived earlier than the weather forecasters had predicted, but at least Brett and Ryan had reached the hunting blind before the rain hit, for all the good it’d done them. All they’d done is determine that there was no new evidence to find. No more photographs lodged in the scrub bushes or grass and no unusual footprints or tracks indicating how the arsonist had traveled so far into the backcountry—bicycle or truck or horse. Nothing.
Soaked to the bone, Brett hunched into his jacket and pulled his cell phone from his pocket. It’d been more than an hour since he’d checked it last, not wanting it to short-circuit from the rain.
He’d missed nearly twenty phone calls. A handful from his dad and the rest from Hannah.
“Ryan, something’s not right.”
He dialed Hannah’s number. “Hannah called a lot. Dad, too.”
Ryan pulled his own phone out as Hannah’s voice mail message kicked on.
“Damn it.” Brett’s hands were trembling now, but he was afraid to get the horses moving, lest they lose the signal.
Colton's Cowboy Code Page 19