She closed her eyes and nodded. “Sure, D-cup.”
He muscled his shoulder under the tractor and swiped a finger across her cheek. “Got a little mud on your face.”
She chuckled. “Stop.”
“Stop what? Stop caring about you? Don’t think I can. Stop myself from falling in love with you? Doubt that.”
Sam’s eyes blasted open. “You’re just saying that because I’ve got a two thousand pound tractor lying on top of me.”
Tania’s head popped into their space. “No, he’s saying it cause he’s the one, just like I told you.”
“Sis, please.”
“Anything else hurt, other than your arm?” he asked, wanting to keep her talking.
“This wasn’t an accident,” Tania said.
Tania’s comment made him shimmy backwards. “What do you mean?”
“After the tractor wheels broke and it tipped over, someone came and left that snake,” Tee said.
“What did he look like?”
“Brown boots and jeans. That’s all I could see,” Sam offered from beneath the pounds of metal on top of her.
“As soon as you’re out of here, we’re going into town to have your arm checked out. I’ll worry about the rest.” He nodded to Tania and then got on his phone to Hank.
By the time Carl and the ranch hands returned, two more trucks came sliding around the tree line with Hank and three of the Brotherhood Protectors inside. They needed as many hands as they could get, just in case the hydraulic jacks slipped and all that was left was man power.
“What’s the plan?” Hank asked, surveying the situation.
“I want to tie a line between the tractor and a truck on the opposite side. That’s a steep slope and I don’t want the tractor to slide. We’re gonna put four jacks on those cement blocks.” Cory motioned toward the ranch hands laying down the bricks. There can’t be a single inch of slippage or it will crush Sam. Her arm is trapped under the seat.”
“No, it’s not,” Tania called out. The gal was a lot smaller than her sister, with a tiny bone structure. Even as blood sisters, they really didn’t look anything alike. Tania had strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes with freckles across her nose, while Sam looked like a brunette seductress to him.
Tania had dug a trench under her sister’s arm to lower it below the surface. The groan from beneath the tractor was the circulation coming back into Sam’s arm.
“Oh, fuck,” she hollered.
He winced, but kept his mind on the bigger picture. The men worked together and checked everything three times before using the hydraulics. Hank positioned his 350 Dodge Ram behind the John Deere and drove ahead until the rope went taut.
“Tania, back away,” Cory ordered. She scrambled backwards. Down on all fours next to the tractor and a quick prayer offered to a higher power, he winked at Sam to reassure her that he had it all under control. He didn’t really, but if the tractor slipped, he’d hold that damn thing off her until his arms broke. “Okay, you ready?”
Sam released a deep breath. “Yeah.”
He motioned with his hand. The slow grind of hydraulic jacks pressed against the metal of the tractor while Hank kept the line taut with his truck. The tractor groaned and creaked as the jacks lifted one side. Another few inches, and he could get a grasp on her.
Sam started to squirm her way toward him, grunting at the same time.
Without waiting, as soon as he saw space between her left shoulder and the metal, he gripped her hip and waist, then pulled. Cory scrambled to his knees and lifted Sam into his arms and backed away.
A whoop went up from the men who surrounded them.
“Thanks, guys,” she said, rubbing her arm across her forehead.
He carried her to the truck and set her in the passenger’s seat. As he was about to pull away, she gripped his jean jacket with her good arm and yanked him closer, kissing him hard. His pulse picked up at the same time his heart thundered in his chest.
When she drew back, she said, “You don’t have to keep your word.”
His cheeks tightened. “That I love you? That’s not a word. It’s three words.”
“You know what I’m saying. I’m alive.”
He rested his knuckles on her seat and tilted his head. “Yeah, you are, but when I first rode up, I thought you might not be. Scared the fucking shit out of me. I threatened God.”
“That’s never a good idea.”
“He’s used to it, but I’m not used to thinking the one woman who makes me feel alive could be taken from me.”
“Sounds like there’s a little poet in you, D-cup.”
Cory grinned and then leaned in to kiss her again. “For you, there’s a lot of things I’d do.”
“I need a shower,” she whispered on his lips. “Need to remind myself I’m alive.”
He swallowed thickly. “I can help you with that.”
“I hope so.”
Her silky voice rippled through him and straight to his cock.
“Your arm?”
“Is fine. Bruised but fine.”
Holy shit! He could eat her whole, and he wanted to start now, but he’d have to wait until he had Sam in the privacy of his room. In his shower. Bent over.
“Let’s go,” he said and closed the truck door.
Cory reached the house in under a minute. He helped Sam out of the truck, up the stairs and out of her clothes. No matter how much she denied it, her arm had been injured, but not seriously. Then he made love to her with the water cascading over both of them. Slow. Deliberate. Gentle. Leaving no doubt in her mind that she had him bewitched. The next time she cried out, it was because of bliss, not pain, and he met her mouth with his own bliss, coming deep inside her. Reminding them both, they were very much alive.
He dried Sam off and then put her to bed. She argued, of course, but then her eyes drifted closed and the adrenaline receded, leaving one very tired, outrageously beautiful woman in his bed.
Cory dried up and went downstairs to join the others around the table.
“Thank you,” he said and scanned every face.
Sheriff Barron had arrived, and he and Tania told him what Sam had described. Carl added that the rods attached to the tractor wheels had been cut half through and with stress, broke off.
Tania didn’t bring up the fact Tucker had been in town. And Cory didn’t either. She’d be asking Tucker why he’d come and not dropped in, but Cory wanted to hear it for himself. He wanted to look in the doctor’s eyes when he explained, because something didn’t feel right, and he’d survived ten years in the forces based on his gut, his training, his team and equipment.
Hank pulled him aside before leaving. “I’ll have Bear check the diner and see if anyone heard the conversation between Tucker and the stranger.”
Cory nodded. “Something’s not right, is it?”
“Don’t want to jump to conclusions. Keep Sam and Tania safe.”
“I will.”
Before Hank turned to leave, he asked, “You ever gonna tell me why you left?”
Cory cracked his jaw and let out a deep breath. “Think she’s sleeping upstairs.”
A wide grin grew on Hank’s face. “Guess that means you’ll be hanging around for a while.”
“I’d put my money on it, if I were you.”
They shook hands, and Cory waited until the last of the men had left. He turned to see Tania curled up on the couch, pulling the afghan over her shoulders. He sat across from her in a well-worn leather chair.
“Tucker has nothing to do with this,” she said in a weak voice. “He wouldn’t hurt Sam.”
“Men do crazy things for the women they love.”
Tania’s gaze landed on him, her brow tight. “You want him here when he explains, don’t you?”
He nodded.
She nibbled her bottom lip. “Alright, I’ll invite him for dinner. You’ll see.”
“I’m going to go check on Sam. I’ll be down later.”
Cory took
the stairs two at time and closed his bedroom door quietly. Tossing his clothes onto an overstuffed chair, he slid under the crisp sheet and nestled against Sam, her warm, soft skin heating his. She woke only long enough to wrap his arm around her, and he cupped her breast, filling his palm. Sleep pulled and he gave in to the darkness, his thumb caressing her nipple with gentle turns.
Chapter Ten
Three hours later, Cory blinked his eyes open to see the sun setting behind the Crazy Mountain range. With Sam’s long legs tangled in his, he eased himself away, but woke her anyway.
She turned and then yelped.
“Hey, easy with the arm.”
She lifted it in the air and he inspected the injury. A little inflamed, but not broken.
“Stay in bed.”
“I’m hungry.”
He propped himself on his forearm and gazed down. Her luscious hair lay around her head on the pillow and blue eyes stared up at him. This was a sight he could get used to. “I’ll bring you something.”
She rolled her head back and forth. “Need to get up.”
“Why?”
“I want to go into town and troll the bars.”
“Looking for the guy? You didn’t see him.”
Sam rolled to a sitting position, the sheet covering her breasts. “No, I didn’t, but I saw his boots and I remember there was a particular pattern on the toe. I’d recognize them if I saw them again.”
“Then draw it out for me, and the Brotherhood Protectors and I will check it out.”
“Cory.” She sighed and gave him a perturbed look. “You’re not keeping me locked in this bedroom for the next month.”
He grumbled, but she left their bed while he tried to come up with an excuse at the same time appreciating her bare delectable ass and getting another hard-on.
Sam scooped her clothes from the chair and tucked them to her chest. “I’ll see you downstairs.”
Twenty minutes later, Sam appeared in the kitchen. Tania sat at the kitchen table and stared out the window.
“Is he coming?” Cory asked, not waiting until Tania decided to give him her attention.
She shook her head. “He’s on duty at the hospital.”
“Did you ask him if he was in town?”
“Ask who?” Sam sat with them, munching on a blueberry muffin and washing it back with a glass of orange juice.
“Nothing,” Tania said. “How you feeling?”
Sam’s rate of chew slowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Tania rose from the table. “I’m not hungry. Think I’ll go read for a while.”
Sam watched her sister leave the kitchen. “What’s going on?” she asked him.
Change of plans. He’d drive to Bozeman and talk to Tucker himself. Do a little recon with the guise of them maybe becoming brothers-in-law. Guy time.
“Hank wants me to check in at his place. You’re staying here.” When she gave him a look like that was the last thing she planned on doing, he gripped her chin. “Listen to me, I’m not kidding around here, Sam. Someone wants you dead. Being brave is good. Being stupid is not. You’re staying here until I get back. Deal?”
Sam’s gaze flitted away from his. “You’re a little scary when you give orders.”
“You should be used to it. I’ll be back in a few hours. I’m going to check the barn. In the meantime, draw me the pattern on the guy’s boot.”
She saluted him.
Carl and the other ranch hands were packing it in for the day when he walked into the barn. “Fellas, got a favor to ask. I have to go into Bozeman for a few hours. I need one of you to stay here and watch the girls.”
Tex adjusted his hat. “I can stay.”
“Thanks, Tex. I’ve got my cell with me. Take my number.”
Tex keyed it into his phone, as did the other ranch hands.”
Jed, a strapping guy in his thirties had a young family and a ten acre farm a few miles down the road. “I can be here in a couple minutes if anything happens,” he said.
“Thanks, Jed.”
“Where ya headed? Carl asked.
“Into Bozeman. Got someone to see.”
Carl eyed him and then pulled Cory aside. “Listen, son. I’ve never been fond of city folks. They live different than us. Between you and me, I’ve never liked that doc Tania’s planning on weddin’.”
“Why?”
Carl shrugged his shoulders. “The girl’s momma and daddy left me to look out for Tania when they retired and went south. It wasn’t long after that when Tania met Tucker. He swept her off her feet. He wanted her to shack up with him, but then Sam came home and Tania stayed here. Those girls been apart for a lot of years, but even so, they’re close. Tucker is one of those high maintenance types. Wants all the attention on himself.”
Cory nodded. “Thanks, Carl. I want to read this guy myself. If he’s got something to hide, I’ll find it.”
He returned to the house and picked up the drawing Sam made for him. With a kiss and loving but stern warning she would stay put, he got on the road to Bozeman.
When he drove into town it was seven o’clock. With forty-some thousand people, it still had a small town feel, historical meeting contemporary somewhere in the middle.
Cory pulled into the hospital’s main parking lot and went looking for Tucker. Tania said he spent his time between the hospital and his private practice. Didn’t take long to field out lie number one; Tucker wasn’t on duty tonight.
He texted Tania and asked where Tucker lived and she gave him the address. Parking a couple blocks away, he went in on foot. The upscale glass and brick condominium sat nestled in a suburban neighborhood with gardens and green spaces. Cory surveyed the area, looking for a good place to wait. Moving his truck, he found a spot on the street closer to the building, but also in plain sight of the entrance and hunkered down to wait. Tucker drove a white BMW, he’d seen it the day the doc had come to the ranch looking for Tania’s forgiveness.
An hour passed when his HVT emerged from the underground parking. Cory followed him into the city, keeping a safe distance. Tucker parallel parked and sauntered across the street to a restaurant with white table clothes and flickering candles. A woman waited at the front door. Decked out in a blue silk dress and high heels, Tucker went straight into her arms and dove in for a long kiss.
Sam was right, doctors couldn’t keep their peckers in their pants. He’d overheard her teasing Tania, unfortunately this didn’t look good. Tucker smiled at the pretty blonde and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, guiding her into the restaurant.
If Tucker had another woman in his life, it also meant he wasn’t responsible for the threat to Sam. Why bother trying to run her off the ranch or kill her if he had someone to replace Tania?
Cory waited the hour and half it took before the couple emerged from the restaurant. He followed them to a lounge a few blocks away. Tucker and his date nestled themselves at a table near the rear of the place. The country-western entertainer sung to the crowd, but didn’t drown out conversations.
“Thought that was you,” Cory said, coming to stand at their table. When Tucker turned his gaze upward, the smile disappeared from his face pretty damn fast.
“Uh, hello. Cory, right?”
Cory nodded, without a smile. He gazed at the blonde and back at the doc.
“Honey, can you give us a minute?”
The blonde raised a brow but left the table.
“I won’t bother sitting down,” Cory said.
“Why not?” the doc said, putting on a brave face.
“I’m not passing judgement, Doc. You can deal with your own conscience, but how long were you gonna keep Tania hanging before you broke the news the wedding is off?”
Tucker jerked his head. “She’s the one who’s kept me at arm’s length not able to leave her sister.”
“So instead of breaking it off, you’re hedging your bet with the blonde and what? Still hoping to marry Tania? Or is there something else?”
&n
bsp; Cory slipped into the chair the blonde vacated and leaned closer to Tucker. “In the Middle East, people lie for many reasons. Sometimes it’s to save their own hides. Sometimes it’s because they want to cover for the Taliban or Isis fighters.” He paused. “Sometimes, it’s to draw you in close enough to blow your ass sky high. No matter what the reason, a lie sits in a man’s eyes no matter how much he wants to hide it. You’re lying about something. And if I find out you’re the one responsible for the accidents at the ranch, I’ll be back.”
“You got this wrong, Cory. I love Tania.”
“Sure doesn’t look like it. I’ll ask you one time, and one time only. A guy met you in Eagle Rock this morning at the Grill. Why?”
Tucker’s face drained of color.
“Are you that stupid? It’s a small town. People talk. Who was he?”
“I don’t know. That’s the truth. He stopped by my table. Asked me if I knew where the Bluebell Ranch was located. He’d heard it was for sale.”
“You gave a killer for hire directions to the ranch.”
“What?” Tucker’s forehead wrinkled tight. “No. Is someone hurt?”
“Sam, but not seriously. Why were you in Eagle Rock?”
Tucker broke their gaze. “I was going to invite Tania to breakfast. Surprise her. I got a call from the hospital and they changed my schedule, so I left.” He shook his head. “I have nothing to do with any accidents on the ranch. I wouldn’t hurt Sam or Tania.”
Tucker’s date appeared and the smile quickly vanished from her face.
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
Tucker nodded.
Cory stood and the blonde followed him with her eyes. “He might be a doctor, but his memory isn’t very good. Or did he tell you he’s engaged to my girlfriend’s sister?”
The blonde’s gaze shot to Tucker and narrowed. “No, he didn’t.”
Tucker’s eyes rounded and his face paled.
“Have a pleasant evening.”
Cory drove back to Eagle Rock and arrived just after twenty-three hundred hours. He parked, and looked around. Where was Sam’s truck? He jumped out and went to the barn. No sign of Tex. He called the kid.
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