“I don’t know if I can do it again.”
I cringe at the terror in her voice.
“Did you hear what he did? He punched a hole in the wall. When I was pressing him, he punched the wall. It could have been me.”
“Calm down, Andie,” Katherine says. “Take a deep breath. Let’s meet back at the ranch.”
The phone goes dead.
“She’s not doing it again,” I say.
“That’s up to her, isn’t it?” Michael says.
“You two think this is a game, but she’s not trained. She couldn’t defend herself if he tried anything. I’m telling you, she’s not going to be alone with him again. I’m ending this.”
Katherine and Michael share a look.
“What?” I spit from the backseat.
“Looks like Victor isn’t the only one declaring his love tonight.”
I grimace and gaze out the window.
The moment the car is parked in the yard at home, I dart across the driveway to Andie’s truck. She’s getting out, and her hands are shaking. “I don’t know what more they want,” she says. “Do they think he’s going to lead me to the body or something? The holes in his story are gaping. He’s obviously covering something up, and he talked about a dead woman.”
Beau runs up, licking Andie’s hand as if he senses she’s in distress.
“We can’t arrest him without evidence,” Katherine says, joining us.
“But he’s guilty of something. He’s been using fake names.”
“If he killed that woman, we want to put him in prison for life,” Michael says. “Not get him for stolen identity or tax evasion.”
Katherine leans against Andie’s truck. “I was telling Maddox how close we are. You made real progress tonight. We just need a little more.”
Andie wipes her lips aggressively. “I had to stand there and let him kiss me. His tongue was in my mouth. Do you know how hard that was?”
“I know.” Katherine looks over at the stables. “What if we could arrange a more controlled environment? One where it was impossible for him to kiss you?”
“How would you do that?”
“Take him riding. The microphone has a range of up to five miles. We’ll stay out of sight but won’t be too far away. It’ll be romantic, but on a horse, he won’t be able to touch you. Watch the sunset. Make excuses not to dismount. One more time is all I’m asking.”
I want to protest and yell and put my foot down, but I’ve already made it clear how I feel about this, and they’re not listening.
“The ranch hands,” Katherine says. “Does Victor know them?”
Andie shakes her head.
“Good. Michael can pose as one. We’ll station him wherever you’re going to end up. Maddox and I will be on one of those four-wheeler things. If we get too close, no harm, no foul—this is Maddox’s land, and I’m his girlfriend.”
“That could work,” Andie says. “One last time. Then you find someone else to be your pawn.”
“Tell us when.”
“As soon as possible. I’m ready to get this over with. Sunday? I’ll have to ask him.”
“Sunday sounds great.”
Owen comes out of the stables. “Doc, glad you’re here. Cupcake is getting ready to foal.”
Andie asks me, “Is this the emergency Matteo called about?”
“This is a coincidence, and I’ve got some explaining to do to Matteo. I needed you out of there quickly, but these guys wouldn’t let me blow your cover, so I had him call you.”
“So he knows?”
“About Victor? No. He probably just thinks I’m some jealous stalker.”
She smiles. “How are you going to explain that?”
“Honestly? I have no idea.”
Katherine and Michael take off.
Andie gestures to the stable. “Want to watch?”
“Hell yeah, I do.”
We run to our respective houses and get changed and emerge at the same time, both wearing boots, hats, jeans, and T-shirts. We look at each other and laugh.
“How close is she?” Andie asks Owen on our way to Cupcake.
“Close.”
“Has her bag of waters ruptured?”
“Not yet.”
When we reach the large foaling stall, Cupcake is lying on her side, clearly restless. She stands and circles the stall, repeatedly looking at her sides. She lies down and gets up several more times.
“Is she okay?” I ask.
“She’s doing great. Her behavior is typical.”
There is a gush of fluid and then Cupcake lies down.
“Her water broke,” Andie says. “It won’t be long now. Fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“You don’t want to go in there?”
“She can do this all on her own.” But fifteen minutes later, Andie is the one who’s restless.
“What is it?”
“She’s in distress. And the foal’s hooves should be visible by now.” She goes to a glove dispenser attached to the side wall, puts on two plastic gloves that go up past her elbows, then enters the stall.
“Andie, what are you doing?”
“I’m going to help her deliver.”
“Uh, you’re going to stick your arm in there? Up to here?” I point to the top of my arm.
She laughs. “This is my job, Maddox.”
Owen goes into the stall with her.
Someone walks up beside me. I’m surprised to see it’s Victor.
Andie looks up. “What are you doing here?”
“I—”
“Tell me later,” she says. “I have to help her.”
Andie sticks one of her gloved arms into Cupcake. “Holy shit,” Victor says.
I shake my head in amazement. “You can say that again.”
“She’s breech,” Andie says. “I’m going to pull it out.”
What I see next is truly remarkable. Andie’s arm emerges with a leg. Then another leg appears. Then a few seconds later, the whole body slides right out.
Andie and Owen immediately get out of the way as Cupcake appraises her foal. She makes a few noises and then licks it. The foal immediately starts moving, and we all cheer.
Andie comes through the stall door, removes her gloves, and goes to the sink to wash up.
“That was incredible,” Victor says, going over and kissing her hair.
“What are you doing here?”
“I felt bad with how we left things. I thought I’d scared you off, and you faked the phone call because you didn’t want to stay. I came to apologize.”
She laughs nervously. I can hardly blame her. What if he’d shown up and Andie was at home not dealing with an emergency? Or worse, if she was at my house with Katherine and Michael?
“I’m glad I did,” he says. “Now I know you really were needed, and I can put my paranoia to rest.”
“We’re good.”
“Are we really? I punched a wall and scared you.” He spares a look for the horses. “Are you finished here? Can we go back to your place so I can apologize profusely?”
“I can’t. I’m going to be here a while. I need to examine them both.”
“The drive out here was still worth it. I’ll leave you to it then.” He kisses her cheek and walks away.
Andie flashes me an anxious glance and calls after him. “How about you come back Sunday? The weather is supposed to be good. We can ride up to the ridge and see the sunset.”
He appears pleased. “Now that sounds like a date. See you at six for dinner?”
I clear my throat. “Andie, we have a meeting Sunday. We already ordered supper for everyone.”
“Oh right,” she says, turning back to him. “I forgot. I’m showing some of the ranch hands how to deal with minor injuries. Why don’t you come right after supper, around seven-thirty, and we’ll ride out then?”
“Sunset on Sunday. Raincheck on dinner. Got it.”
After he leaves, Andie says, “Quick thinking. I did not want to have s
upper with that man again, let alone some romantic sunset picnic.”
Our gazes lock, and I’m sure we’re both thinking about our non-date but romantic picnic on the ridge.
Owen interrupts our moment. “If you’re good, I’m callin’ it a night.”
“I’m good,” Andie says. “I’ll hang around for a while, make sure they both check out okay.” She turns to me. “You don’t have to stay either.”
“I want to stay.”
She sits on a bench and stretches out her legs. “I haven’t had a chance to breathe.”
“I can’t imagine what it must have been like for you, being in his house, alone with him.” The vein in my temple is throbbing. “He kissed you.” I can’t get the image out of my mind. All I can think about is her kissing him. The thought of her kissing anyone has me seeing red but especially him. “I felt like I wanted to punch a hole in a wall.”
She elbows me playfully. “You’re not jealous, are you?”
“Actually, yes.”
Her smile fades. “Maddox.”
“So sue me. I don’t want you kissing anyone else.”
She wipes her mouth. “I swear I can still taste him.”
“Well, fuck that.” I pull her into my arms and kiss her. Hell if I’m going to let the taste of him linger on her lips. If she’s going to taste anyone there, it’s sure as shit going to be me.
She pushes me away and glances around nervously. “Someone will see us.”
I open the door of the empty foaling stall next to Cupcake’s and pull her inside. I latch it and walk her to the back corner, where it’s dark, and shove her against the wall. “Nobody will see us now.”
I lean down and put my mouth on hers. Her arms go around me and pull me tightly against her. When we’re breathless, her mouth moves down my neck. Her tongue flits out to taste me. She pulls the neck of my T-shirt down and kisses my upper chest. It’s pure heaven.
My erection strains against my jeans. Every swipe of her tongue makes me harder. When I can’t take another second of it, I lay her down on the fresh straw.
I lift her shirt and my lips blaze a trail between her breasts. I push one bra cup out of the way and take her nipple into my mouth. She arches against me. I toy with her, sucking, licking, blowing on it as she squirms under me. The mewling sounds coming from her throat are enough to bring any man to his knees.
When she says my name in that sexy, breathy voice of hers, I need more. I skim a finger under the waistband of her jeans. She doesn’t object, so I go for the button. Then the zipper. Knowing I’m about to touch her makes me feel like the luckiest son of a bitch alive. I’ve dreamt of this moment. Fantasized about it night after night. I slip my hand under her panties and past her barely-there hair to find her totally slick. I can’t help my moan.
She utters my name a second time when I insert a finger. She pushes her pants down to give me more room to work. I move her wetness up and around her clit, keeping one finger inside her as I work her with my thumb. Her eyes are closed and her head lies on the straw. Her tongue comes out to wet her lips, then she arches her back and bites her bottom lip. Hard. Jesus, I’ve never seen anything so sexy. She tenses, then shakes as shouts of pleasure echo off the walls of the stall.
Her eyes fly open, as if she suddenly remembers where we are, and she stiffens. She covers her mouth with both hands and mumbles, “Did I just—”
“Scream?” I remove her hands. “Yeah.”
She scrambles to do up her pants. “What if someone heard?”
“I guarantee you the horses did.”
She smacks me on the arm, then stands, peering down at me. “Get up. Someone might come to investigate.”
I stand and brush off her backside, then turn her around. “That may have been the hottest thing I’ve ever done.”
She blushes. “But you didn’t even—”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“I owe you one.”
I chuckle. “If you insist on keeping score, I’m not going to stop you.”
Footsteps echo down the aisle. We quickly slip out of the stall and move in front of Cupcake’s.
Merle appears. “Thought I heard somethin’.”
“My fault,” I say. “I crept up on Andie, and she screamed.”
His eyes bounce between us, then he focuses on Andie’s hair. A few pieces of straw are sticking out of it. Merle laughs and leaves.
“You don’t think he suspects anything, do you?” she asks.
“Now why would he have reason to do that?” I pick the straw from her hair and toss it.
She covers her face. “I’m never going to be able to show my face around here again.”
“I’m sure we’re not the first people to fool around in a stable, Andie.”
“I never have,” she says. “I work here. It’s unprofessional.”
“It was very unprofessional. When can we be unprofessional again?”
She retrieves her vet things from a nearby bench. “I’m going to check them over now.”
“I’ll stand back here and watch.”
She thinks I’m talking about watching the horses, but I’m watching her. The way she uses her delicate hands. How her mouth moves when she speaks. The position of her head when she looks at things. Everything about her is graceful, beautiful, and utterly amazing.
She may be worried about getting burned, but I’m the one who’ll be left in ashes.
Chapter Twenty-two
Andie
“You didn’t have to do this.” I help Christina unload several tins of food from her car.
She stops to look at the ranch hands by the stable.
Zac tips his hat to her. “Ma’am.”
She grabs my hand. “How do you live around all this hotness twenty-four seven? The amount of testosterone in this place!”
“Who’s that?” Tara asks, ogling Owen.
“The assistant ranch manager.”
“Is he single?”
“Yes, and twenty-two.”
“You have to set them up,” Christina says. “I need to live vicariously.”
I wave to Owen, and he runs over. “Owen, these are my friends, Tara and Christina.”
“Pleasure, ladies.” He shakes Tara’s hand and then narrows his eyes at Christina. “Have we met?”
She snickers, gazing at him like he’s a piece of decadent chocolate. “I’m quite sure I’d remember meeting you.”
“Christina is married to Jon Thompson,” I say.
“Now why’d you have to go and ruin it,” she says. “He probably thinks I’m a pretentious bitch.”
I raise a teasing brow. “You can be kind of pretentious.”
She rolls her eyes.
Owen turns to Tara. “And what about you? Don’t tell me you’re secretly married to Joel.”
“Tara’s not married to anyone,” Christina says. “She’s completely single. Like you, right?”
He chuckles. “I suppose so, ma’am.”
“You think she’s pretty?”
“Christina!” Tara scolds, turning deep red.
“Lunch is getting cold,” Christina says. “We have to move this along. She’s pretty, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes,” Owen agrees. Tara looks like she wishes the ground would swallow her.
Christina is not deterred. “Tara is an amazing catch. She can cook, ride a horse, dance like J-Lo, and she makes the best apple pie this side of the Mississippi. As a bonus, she comes with an adorable three-year-old son but no ex. You don’t hate kids, do you?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Good.” She gets out a piece of paper and pen, and scribbles something, then shoves it at him. “Here’s her number. She’s free Tuesday and Saturday nights.”
“Okay then.” He tucks the paper in his pocket and looks at Tara. “I’ll be calling you.”
Tara smiles awkwardly as he strolls away. Then she hits Christina in the arm. “I’m going to kill you.”
“She got you a date, didn’t
she?” I say, smiling.
“Someone needs to remove those cobwebs between your legs,” Christina adds.
Tara pouts. “I didn’t say one word to him. He probably thinks I’m stupid or something.”
“You talked to him.”
“I did not. I yelled at you, but I definitely did not speak to him.”
“There will be time enough for that on your date.” Christina picks up a bag and hands it to her. “Carry this in.” She looks at the remaining food in the trunk. “We’ll have to make another trip.”
Maddox emerges from the stable, and it’s almost comical how Christina watches him. For a married woman, she sure does like to objectify men.
She licks her lips overdramatically. “Who needs lunch when you’ve got McHottie living next door? Excuse me!” she yells. “We don’t have enough hands. Can we borrow you for a sec?”
Maddox trots over. “How can I help you ladies?”
Christina empties her hands and pulls him in for a hug. I glare at her.
“Finally we meet McHottie,” she says.
Maddox looks at me, confused.
“Don’t mind Christina,” I say. “She’s a little over the top. And this is Tara.”
“Nice to meet you.” He reaches into the trunk. “Let me help you.”
We go inside and spread the food on the table. I survey it. “Christina, you brought enough to feed an army.”
She pats Maddox’s abs. “You’ll stay for lunch, soldier?”
He backs toward the door. “Another time?” He looks nervous, and I can’t blame him. Christina is like a steamroller when she wants something, and she’s got Maddox in her sights.
“Nonsense. You’ll stay.” She takes tin foil off the dishes. “There’s sliced tenderloin, sweet potatoes, corn on the cob, pole beans, potato salad, and cornbread. Everything a cowboy needs.”
Maddox grins. “Everything twenty cowboys need.”
“We’ll give the leftovers to the ranch workers.”
“I’m a ranch worker,” he says.
“You’re the owner, as I hear it.”
“My dad’s the owner. I’m here to…” He glances at me. “I’m not sure what I’m here to do.”
Texas Orchids (The Devil's Horn Ranch Series) Page 18