His Safe Keeping (The Safe Series)

by Tina Bass

  “Can I rub him?” she asked, reverently, as her hand was slowly rising to touch the horse.

  “Yeah, he likes to be rubbed by pretty girls.” He teased her. But, just how many pretty girls were around to rub on the horse, and how many rubbed on the horse’s owner? She thought, and had never known before that she had a jealous streak! She was so into her own thoughts that she didn’t notice Kade was putting a saddle on another one and staring to walk it out. Grabbing her hand, he led them all out into a fenced in area. “Time to ride.” He scooped her up and placed her in the saddle on the horse. A very big horse. That was very far from the ground.

  “Are you sure this is safe?” Krista asked nervously.

  “Baby, you’re safe.” He stayed standing right beside her leg.

  “It’s pretty far from the ground,” she stated nervously, because she was.

  “Baby, you’re safe.” Kade repeated patiently.

  “I won’t fall off?” she asked the question, but before he could answer, she continued, “If I fall off, I could break something.”

  “Baby, you are not going to fall off.” Kade chuckled. She looked down at him. Was he laughing?

  “Fine. But, just so you know, if I fall off and break something, there will be no nakedness, until said something in no longer br—” She began, and then squealed as big hands grabbed her by the waist and yanked her back off the horse, and when her feet touched the ground, she mumbled, “Broken.”

  “Not goin’ to be no nakedness around here. Nakedness yeah, no nakedness, fuck no!” Kade stated. She looked up at him and it was her turn to bust out laughing. He took her back inside the stables to another horse, a bigger horse. She watched him saddle that one, then he walked them back out again. He got on the horse, then leaned down and held out his hand to her. “You can ride with me.” Before she could decide whether she wanted to get on that horse with him, he grabbed her up and had her in the saddle with him. Her back was pressed to his front, his arms around her waist. She felt the horse begin to move under her. “Relax, baby,” he whispered in her ear. “I’ve got you. You’re safe. Look around, it’s beautiful.” She thought he was wrong as she relaxed and began to take in her surroundings. It wasn’t beautiful, it was breathtaking. She had never seen anything like it. Green pastures, rolling hills, and off in the distance, she could see mountains and the sun was just starting to set behind them.

  “Wow.” she breathed, quietly.

  “Yeah,” he answered low.

  “Irish,” she whispered as she melted more into him. She never wanted to learn how to ride a horse on her own if this was the result. Being held by Kade, tight in his arms. Perfect, she thought, absolutely perfect, though she never said a word. Words weren’t needed now, just this…this perfection.

  They rode a while out in the open pasture while Kade pointed out the directions to where the creek ran and where the river bordered his property. Promising to show her more, but since it would be dark soon, he didn’t want to take her too far out. “Cuz, shit could happen,” he stated in Kade fashion. By the time they made it back to the stables, it was almost dark and the dusk to dawn lights was starting to turn on. There was a man standing out by the barn, at the stables side they were heading to, and he was just standing there, watching them. They were still too far away for her to see his face. He was more of a shadowy figure. To her, it seemed a little creepy. Kade must have sensed something in the way she was holding her body, because he hastened to let her know who the man was. “That’s Lank. He’s my foreman.” He gave her a little reassuring squeeze and she felt herself relax again.

  “His name is Lank?” she asked.

  “Not his real name, baby, but he’s been called Lank most of his life, ever since he was a teenager because he’s always been so tall and lanky.” Kade explained. They were finally close enough she could see the man.

  “Hey Kade, Miss,” Lank said as he nodded his head to her and Kade. Kade walked the horse back to the fenced in area, helped her down, then got down from the horse himself. “Lank, this is Krista Avery.” Kade was looking back and forth from Lank to Krista. “Krista, this is Lank.” Krista could now see him and he was tall, but not as tall as Kade. Where Kade was big and built, Lank was skinny, or rather lanky. He was also nice looking, with brown, wavy hair—or messy, she wasn’t quite sure, but either way, he seemed to be able to pull off the look—and a five o’clock shadow that went a little past five. What really grabbed her attention, however, was his eyes. They were light brown, almost hazel, but it wasn’t the color so much as the kindness that seemed to radiate from them. She’d never seen anything like it.

  “Hello, Miss Avery. It’s nice to finally meet you,” Lank said with a smile and yeah, that was kind too.

  “It’s nice to meet you too, and please call me Kris.” She couldn’t help but smile back at him. Then she felt Kade’s arm around her waist as he stepped up close behind her. “Wait, did you say finally?” she questioned Lank.

  “Pretty lady, this one here…” Lank started as he nodded his head up to Kade. “Has been talking about you non-stop.” He finished with a grin. Then she heard Kade grumble something under his breath and she watched Lank bust out laughing. She turned to look up at Kade.

  “You’ve been talking about me? Why?” Kade looked down at her and smiled, then he lowered his head and put his mouth to her ear, whispering to her.

  “Cuz, baby, you’re so fuckin’ amazing. I can’t seem to think of anything else.” He nipped her earlobe between his teeth and touched his tongue to it. Raising his head, he gave her a little squeeze, which was a good thing because her knees had gone weak. “Everything going all right?” She vaguely heard him ask Lank.

  “Yep, everything’s good. Still keeping an eye out on the right fencing up by the ridge. Not sure if it’s something trying to get in or something trying to get out. My guess would be out. Probably a bobcat or some such.” Lank informed Kade.

  “A bobcat, as in a big cat that doesn’t like people?” she asked as she was moving her arms up around her, because they were just out that way. Not all the way up to the ridge, but still. “If it wants out, why don’t you just open the fence and let it out?” But, before anyone could answer either of her questions, she had more to say. “We were just going that way.” She turned and looked up at Kade, pointing in the direction of the ridge. “And, you told me you’d take me up to the ridge, during the day. Irish, there’s a bobcat up there. You have to let it out before I go anywhere near there.” She turned back to Lank, pointing at herself. “I like animals, I really do,” Krista said as she waved her arms out. “But, I like the ones that like people better than the ones that don’t.” She leaned toward Lank as far as she could with Kade’s arms around her waist, and lowered her voice. “And, I don’t think bobcats like people all that much.” She finished with a loud whisper. Lank just stood there and stared at her. Kade’s arms tightened around her and she felt his body begin to shake behind her. When she looked up she found him laughing. “Are you laughing?” she asked him, not seeing anything funny. Kade put his lips to hers once she turned her to face him.

  “Damn, but you’re so fuckin’ cute!” Then he kissed her again.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Krista walked over to the kitchen counter and pulled down two mugs to fix some coffee. She left one on the counter by the coffee pot, then picked up her own and walked out on the back deck that was off from the kitchen. She sat and sipped her coffee, thinking about the day, or rather the night before. After they’d left Lank to tend to the horses, they rode the 4-wheeler back to the house. Then Kade had taken her to the master bath and explained, while running a bath—in a huge bathtub—that until she became accustomed to riding a horse, each time would make her sore, and the best thing was a hot bath and a rub down. Kade had provided both, very, very well. Too well, in fact, because evidently, it had put her to sleep.
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br />   Now, it was morning. She’d just finished preparing a batch of muffins. Well, two batches, because she couldn’t decide on banana or strawberry. She fixed them both, and now they were in Kade’s fabulous oven, baking. She knew when she went back into the kitchen the fragrance from the baking muffins would fill the room, and she loved that, but for now, she just wanted to take a minute and enjoy nature. It was so quiet, so peaceful and so beautiful, she could sit right here for hours, for days, years even, just sit right here and never tire of the view. She heard the door off from the kitchen side open, then a second later, she felt Kade’s hands on her shoulders, rubbing down her arms as his mouth hit her ear. “Mornin’, beautiful,” he said as he kissed her temple lightly. She turned her head toward him, and before she could speak, his lips were on hers.

  “Hey, Irish.” She sighed when he broke the kiss. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

  “No, baby, I was already awake when you sneaked out of bed.” He walked around to sit beside her.

  “Why didn’t you tell me? I was trying to be quiet, so I wouldn’t wake you up,” she asked curiously.

  “I was, but before I could, you were up moving around, mumbling shit I couldn’t catch, and you were too fuckin’ cute to interrupt.” He leaned over for a light kiss, but before he could pull back, she looped her arms around him and held him to her, deepening the kiss. “Damn, baby, now I’m thinking I should’ve done more than watching you.” She just laughed. “By the way, what smells so fuckin’ good?” he asked, nodding his head toward the kitchen.

  “Oh! My muffins!!” she screeched as she jumped up and ran back into the kitchen.

  Kade watched her go and got up to follow her inside. He walked to the doorway and just watched her moving around in his kitchen. He liked the sight of her there. Never thought he would want a woman in his house, not full time, and not a woman of his own. Yeah, he had Rosa, and he liked Rosa. She cooked, she cleaned, and then she left. She didn’t hang around his house. She didn’t want to change anything. She did what needed to be done, she got paid and paid well, Kade thought, and then she went home. He had his men working his ranch, and Rosa keeping him and his men fed, his house in order, and hell, she even stepped in a time or two to keep his men in order when Kade wasn’t around. He also had women, none he wanted to bring home, but he had all he wanted from them and most were good with that. The ones who weren’t, or got a little too clingy for Kade’s peace of mind, he would just drop them and move on to the next one, and there was always a next one. Then, out of the blue, on a shit day—Krista. His beautiful, sexy, sweet, funny, and downright fuckin’ cute Krista. Maybe, just maybe, she had something with this destiny thing, he thought, then shrugging his shoulders, he didn’t give a damn about the how or why’s or what star lined up with what. He just knew she was his and he was going to do everything to keep her. On that thought, he walked to her as she was placing muffins in a container, Taking it out of her hand, he set it on the counter, before he cupped her ass, and kissed her. Hard. He felt her wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms circling his neck, her fingers diving into his hair. He just held on a little tighter and kissed her a little longer.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Do you think they’ll like me? Maybe I should’ve fixed something else besides muffins. I don’t even know if they like muffins, and muffins are like a breakfast food, except I eat them all the time. I mean, different times of the day, not just breakfast. But still, maybe they only eat muffins for breakfast, and now it’s after lunch. Maybe we should go by a bakery and get something else,” Krista rambled and Kade could hear the worry in her voice.

  “Baby, those fuckin’ muffins are incredible,” he answered her as he squeezed her hand while he drove them both to see Lee and Minga Velgada. “And, they’re going to like you. Don’t worry.” He brought her hand up to kiss her palm.

  “Irish, he’s your partner, or he was, and he’s your friend, and she’s his wife,” she stated, stressing ‘wife’ like it meant some kind of queen or something.

  “Baby, calm down. It’s going to be fine.” He tried again to reassure her with a smile. “Now, tell me about your visit with Mrs. Worley.” He watched as she perked up and with a big grin on her face, proceeded to tell him.

  “Oh, Irish, she looked so good. A lot better than yesterday. I got to spend an hour with her before Lance and Marissa arrived. The doctors still want to keep her until tomorrow, just to be on the safe side.” She lowered her voice and whispered in his ear, although no one else was in the truck to hear her. “I think it’s because of her age, but the doctors didn’t say that exactly.” Kade chuckled, as she straightened back up and began again, but he heard the hint of sadness in her voice. “Then, Lance and Marissa took me to lunch.” She said nothing more for a minute, only looked down at her lap.

  “Baby, what?” Kade asked, giving her hand a light squeeze.

  “I’m being selfish, I know, but the thought of not having her around makes me sad,” she said as she continued to stare at her lap.

  “Sweetheart, you’re about the most unselfish person I know.” He raised her hand and kissed her knuckles, wanting to comfort her. “Tell me what they wanted to talk to you about.” She took a deep breath and then she told him.

  “They want to put her in a nursing home, well, an assisted living home, closer to where they live. She would have her own apartment, with her own things. Plus, she will have lots of people around her age, so she won’t be lonely, and that’s a good thing. I know. I know she’ll like it. I know she gets lonely sometimes, living where she is now, it’s just…just…” She faded off as Kade turned into a driveway, put the truck in park, and turned to her.

  “They’re moving her away from you and you’re going to miss her?” he questioned. When she only nodded, he took her chin between his thumb and forefinger, lifting her head. “Baby, look at me.” He waited for her eyes to meet his. “This move will be good for her. She’ll have people around her who are trained and will be there just in case something happens.”

  “I know, Irish, and I’m glad she’ll have all that. I’m just going to miss her so much, and that’s just selfish. I shouldn’t be thinking of myself; I should be happy…happy for her, but…” She didn’t finish her thought aloud.

  “She’ll have a phone?” Kade asked.

  “Uh, yeah, I guess so. Yes, I’m sure she will,” she answered a little confused by the question.

  “Then, baby, you can call her any time you like, and you can still go and visit. It’ll just be a couple of hours drive,” he told her, then watched her as she looked back at him and smiled.

  “I could do that,” she whispered.

  “Yeah, baby, you can do that,” he said as he touched his forehead to hers. Closing his eyes, he wondered how the fuck he’d gotten so lucky to have this woman in his life. Then he heard her ask a question that broke into his thoughts.

  “Uh, Irish, why are we parked at some random house?” He raised his head from hers, and kissed her lightly on her lips.

  “Not random, baby, we’re here.” He turned to get out of the truck.

  “Oh my goodness! Irish, wait!” She squealed as she grabbed his arm to stop him from getting out. “Do I look okay?” she asked, but before he could open his mouth, she continued. “Maybe I should have taken the time to fix my hair. I should have added more makeup. I normally don’t wear much, if any, but I should’ve taken the time. I’m not ready!” She was babbling so much that Kade couldn’t get a word in edgewise. “They are—” He reached over and placed his hand over her mouth.

  “Baby, stop!” he stated firmly. When he caught her wide eyes, he moved his hands to cup her face in both of his. “My beautiful Krista, there’s not one damn thing you need to do. You look fuckin’ great, you smell like a dream, your muffins are the best thing I’ve ever eaten, and baby…” He leaned into her, and kissed her lips. “You,
just being you, you got this? They’re going to fuckin’ love you.” And he felt her take a breath, finally, and whisper to him.

  “Okay.”

  Krista walked up to the door with Kade while he held her hand in one of his. The other carried the container with the muffins she’d made. She felt his hand give hers a little squeeze as he hit the doorbell. “Relax, baby,” he whispered, just before the door opened and a really hot Mexican guy stood in front of them. He was tall, the same height as Kade, but not quite as big. Black hair, and just a little bit of scruff on his face that Krista always thought looked sexy on a guy. Then he smiled and sent that hotness up the scale.

  “Kade…” The man started to speak and then turned to her. “And, you must be Krista.”

  “Hey man, yeah, this is my Krista.” She heard Kade say and couldn’t help but smile at him calling her ‘his Krista.’ Then he turned to her. “Baby, this is Lee Velgada.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, and please call me Kris,” she said as she held out her hand to Lee.

  “Nice to finally meet you too,” Lee said as he took her hand for a quick shake. Then he stepped back out of the door. “Come on in, Ming’s in the den.”

  Kade held out the container toward Lee. “Krista made these and they are un-fuckin-believable.” Lee took the muffins.

  “Well, thank you, Kris.” He turned and they both followed him into the house.

  “How’s she doing?” Kade asked.

  “Good now, but gotta tell you, man, she scared the shit outta me,” Lee answered, shaking his head, like he was trying to push that memory out of his mind. They walked into the den and the first thing Krista thought was she was going to kill Kade. He didn’t bother to tell her that Minga was so beautiful and exotic, and here she was looking so plain. “Babe, Kade and his woman are here.” Lee barely got the words out before Minga yelled in greeting.