She was already simultaneously looking for something to use as a weapon and wondering if Buck—like Pa—now carried a gun, when down below the door opened and shut again.
“Callie?” Cody called, sounding impatient as hell. “Where are you?”
“I seriously doubt he’d like to know the answer to that,” Buck muttered gamely. He looked her up and down with a contempt that made her skin crawl. “Too bad we didn’t have a chance to talk. But I’ll catch up with you again, little sis, just you wait. And then you’ll lend me and Pa a hand.”
That’s what he thought! “And if I don’t?” Callie challenged quietly, praying Buck would get out of there before Cody saw him and real trouble erupted on the Silver Spur Ranch.
Buck’s glance turned brutal. “Then we’ll put Plan Two into action.”
“What’s that?” Callie whispered, her heart beating like a wild thing in her chest.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” Buck grabbed her arm and twisted it brutally. “Unless you can get us a damn sight more cash. So I’d work on that if I was you.” He released her with a shove and she landed on the bed.
Moving soundlessly to the window, Buck opened the sash, stepped out onto the porch roof and dropped to the ground.
Cody’s footsteps were hard on the stairs. But before Callie could compose herself, he stumbled to a halt at the doorway. He couldn’t have looked more incredulous. Callie drew a deep breath and hoped he wouldn’t suspect Buck had been in the house. Most of all, she wanted to protect Cody from any further heartbreak or disappointment. He had a hard enough time trusting as it was. “You’re back!” she said.
“Would appear so.” Bracing both hands on the door frame, Cody mocked her with a glance. Once again, he seemed to know intuitively that something was up. “Been waiting long?” he drawled as he let go of the frame and edged toward her.
Aware of the way his eyes had homed in on her, and the way her arm was aching from the way Buck had twisted it, Callie swept to her feet. “Not too long,” she allowed a little breathlessly.
Cody stopped just short of the bed, clearly sensing something was amiss. “So what’s going on?” he asked, determined to find out.
“Nothing much.” Fixing him with the kind of smile she reserved for the most difficult people, she indicated the stairs. “Want to go downstairs and talk awhile? You can tell me all about Patience. And Trace.”
“Actually—” Cody hooked his thumbs through the belt loops of his jeans and fixed her with a brooding stare “—I’d be more anxious to know why you’re so jumpy all of a sudden.” He tracked the incriminating flush in her cheeks with eyes that had narrowed to dark blue slits. “What have you been up to, Callie?”
“Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Cody gave her another long, considering look, then crossed to the window. He glanced out. “Hmm.”
Callie’s heart fluttered in her chest. She should have realized she couldn’t hide anything from him; he knew her too well. “What?”
“Unless I’m mistaken...” Cody pivoted and gave Callie another long, thorough perusal.
Without another word, he shouldered by her and headed out the bedroom door and back down the stairs. Knowing an unprecedented delay in Cody’s search was her only prayer of salvation, Callie hurried after him. By the time she caught up with him, he was kneeling in the grass beside the porch. “Look what we have here,” he said, directing the illuminating yellow beam of his flashlight onto the thick wet grass. “Man-size footprints.”
“No surprise about that,” Callie breezed, shivering as the cool air hit her breasts. “Uncle Max’s attorney probably left them when he was here earlier.”
“I don’t think so.” Cody gave Callie another sharp-eyed glance meant to fill her with unease. “He came and went through the back, remember?”
“Oh.”
“So who was it, Callie?” Cody asked. Planting an arm on either side of her, he trapped her against the porch. His lower body molded against hers, he wrapped his arms tightly around her. “Who was here tonight?” he asked, tugging her even closer.
Callie lifted her chin and drew in a bolstering breath. “No one.” Who counts.
“Mmm-hmm.” His gaze meshed with hers, Cody gave her a cynical half smile. “You’ll excuse me if I check that out?” He released her as swiftly and unexpectedly as he had hauled her close.
Feeling as if her knees would barely support her, Callie stumbled backward. “Now where are you going?” she asked, hurrying after him.
Cody refused to answer and merely headed for the stairs.
Callie’s worst fears were confirmed as he headed straight for his bureau, and then his wallet. Damn, damn, damn, she thought as he examined the empty contents.
He held it up with two fingers and dangled it in front of her. “I’d have thought you would at least wait until after the wedding before you ripped me off.”
Callie gulped. She had never seen him in a more dangerous, less forgiving mood. “What exactly is missing?”
He tilted his head. “Like you don’t know,” he said sarcastically, continuing to survey her in that slow, insolent way.
Callie flushed self-consciously. “I don’t.” Not really. All she had seen was a flash of plastic and a flash of green. Which reminded her, she really needed to call her own credit cards in and report them stolen the first chance she had....
Cody slammed his empty billfold back onto the bureau. He grabbed her by the shoulders and drew her up short. “Who’s in on the scam with you this time, Callie?” He shook her roughly. “Your pa and your brother, or someone else?”
Callie wiggled out of his grasp. Having no defense for her behavior, she concentrated on his. “I am not going to stay here and be accused when I am not guilty of one damn thing.” Except being fool enough to love you! Chin high, Callie spun away indignantly.
Cody caught her arm and reeled her right back to his side. “I’ve got news for you, Callie.” He laced a staying arm around her middle that felt like an iron band. “You will stay,” he informed her as his glance roved her upturned face with barely leashed passion. “And you will answer all my questions.”
“The alternative being?” Callie prodded.
“There is no alternative for us,” he murmured hoarsely, looking as if he wished he were anywhere but there. “Haven’t you figured that out?”
Before she could formulate a reply, Cody’s lips found hers. He gripped her waist and kissed her with passion and fury. Her lips softened instantly under his, and her ready acceptance infused them both with a sharp, urgent need.
Groaning, having lost the last of his self-control, Cody dragged his mouth back and forth across hers. He tasted the corners of her lips with his tongue. He drank of her deeply. He cradled her head in his hands and sank his fingers into the lush, wild softness of her hair.
Callie was aware of the need and the yearning in him, but without love it would never be enough.
Desperation filling her soul, Callie yanked herself away from him. A pulse hammering in her throat, she whispered emotionally, “Damn you, Cody McKendrick, I am not going to let you make love to me out of anger or a need for revenge.” He had to at the very least need and want her, and perhaps someday soon even love her.
“Haven’t you figured it out yet?” Cody whispered, tangling his hands in her hair yet again. He dipped his head and delivered another long, thorough kiss, which weakened her knees and sent her senses into overdrive. “The way things are between us, it’s not going to happen any other way.”
Callie looked up into his face and knew he’d left her no choice. The depth of her hurt gave her the strength to push him away. “As long as you feel this way, it’s not going to happen at all!” she stormed right back.
Cody was quiet for a moment. Then he shook his head as if that would clear it. As the seconds ticked out tensely, the passion faded from his eyes. “You’re right,” he admitted with hoarse reluctance. “This is nuts. We can’t stay here.”
; Then where could they go where it would be any different? Callie wondered. As much as she would have liked to thank her decorating that afternoon for his most recent display of desire for her, it wasn’t the place creating the intimacy between them, it wasn’t even the terms of Max’s will, it was their feelings. And those, she knew, were only bound to deepen, despite Cody’s obvious wish to the contrary.
Wearily, she watched him rummage through his closet and come out with a denim jacket. “What are you doing now?”
He eyed her split skirt and silk blouse impatiently. “Get dressed in some warm clothes,” he commanded roughly, already doing the same.
But Callie didn’t follow orders unless she agreed with them. “Where are we going?” she demanded irritably.
Cody tossed her a sweater growling, “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Chapter Eleven
17:00
“You think you want to be a rancher?” Cody asked her as he parked the truck on the top of a rise overlooking a good part of the Silver Spur cattle operation and cut the engine. “Then you ought to be able to spend a night on the range.”
Callie didn’t mind hard work. She did mind being jerked around. “For no purpose?” Callie challenged.
“Oh, there’s a purpose.” Cody climbed out of the cab and reached into the bed of the truck for a bedroll.
“I’d like to hear it,” Callie said as he climbed back into the cab and settled the bedroll between them on the bench seat.
Cody pulled the brim of his hat lower over his eyebrows and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “Someone’s been trespassing on the Silver Spur operation. From where we’re going to be, we’ll have a clear view of the road. I see any vehicle that doesn’t belong, I’m going to take after it like a bat out of hell.” Cody pushed the seat back as far as it would go so there was maximum leg room between him and the dash.
Callie hated to see him looking so darn comfortable. “We’re going to be out here all night?” Until dawn? “Is that the plan?” she asked incredulously.
“Looks like.” Cody turned slightly toward her and gave her a taunting smile. “Got a problem with that?”
Callie blew out a frustrated breath and swung around so her back was flush against the passenger door. Just because he planned to play sheriff all night didn’t mean she had to stay awake. According to the terms of Max’s will, all she had to do was stay near him. She looked hopefully behind the seat at the narrow cargo space on the floor and then at the bed of the truck. She saw no other bedrolls. “I don’t suppose you’ve got a sleeping bag or a blanket I could borrow.”
“No. And that’s another thing you gotta learn.” Cody waggled a lecturing finger her way. “As a rancher, you’re responsible for your own gear.”
A sharp retort played on the edge of Callie’s tongue.
He didn’t think she could handle it. Having failed in his efforts to sweet-talk her off the Silver Spur, he was now trying to scare her away. Well, it wasn’t going to work. Callie reached for the thermos of steaming coffee she’d brought along. “Fine. I’ll be responsible for my own bedroll then.” Now that it was too late for her to bring anything along. “You’re responsible for your own coffee.”
Cody slanted her a bad-boy grin. “Darlin’, I got my own beverage.”
Callie didn’t like the way he said that. She watched him reach past her and remove the flask from the glove compartment of his truck. “What’s in the flask?”
Cody regarded her unrepentantly as he uncapped it and took a long, thirsty swig. “Guess you’ll never know.”
Inwardly, Callie fumed, but outwardly she kept her face expressionless as Cody recapped his flask and reached for the rifle.
Her anger with him mounting, she watched as he checked to see if it was loaded. Unfortunately, it was. “You’re not planning to use that on anyone, are you?” she asked.
“Humans?” Cody put the safety on, double-checked it, then slid it carefully back in the gun rack behind the seat. “Not likely. But all nature of beasts are out here this time of night.”
Callie knew the wildlife in that area of Montana was plentiful. It included deer, elk, moose, even the occasional bear and coyote. “You can’t scare me, Cody, no matter what you say or do.”
“Fine. Then you won’t mind getting out of the cab so I can catch a little shut-eye.”
Callie blinked. He was carrying this a little too far, even for him. “And where, pray tell, am I supposed to go?” she asked.
Cody shrugged as he turned up the collar on his denim jacket. “That, my soon-to-be neighbor and once-and-future bride, is up to you.”
16:54
CODY STRETCHED OUT on the bench seat, propping his bedroll behind his head. He watched as Callie lowered the tailgate and climbed into the bed of the pickup truck. He wondered what she would think if she knew that the beverage he was drinking had been plain water. Not that it really mattered. There was no doubt about it. She was royally ticked off. Which made them just about even. He was ticked off, too.
Callie was keeping something from him, Cody thought. Maybe even more than he would ever care to know. She was doing it now. She’d done it when he’d known her before. He could tell by the way she wouldn’t look him in the eye, in her deliberate evasions and carefully worded answers to some of his questions.
There were some areas of her heart and life that were open to scrutiny. Other areas were strictly off limits. And that was what bothered Cody most. He wanted to love Callie with all his heart and soul. He admitted it.
But how could he love a woman who continually shut him out? Who told him only part of every story? Who kept things from him even now? Never mind contemplate marrying her, will or no will....
Cody didn’t know a lot about marriage, only what he’d witnessed between his parents as a child, but he knew one thing, he thought fiercely. His parents had shared everything with each other, even up to and including their death. There had been no secrets in his parents’ marriage. There would be none in his.
Furthermore, did she really think she could entertain another man in his house, right under his nose? Did she think she could go around lying to and deceiving him and he wouldn’t notice? An hour later, he still had an ache in his heart that wouldn’t quit. Of course it was his fault. Once again, he had ignored all the danger signs and allowed the two of them to get too close, too fast.
He hoped that staying out on the range all night would make her so mad at him it would be no hardship at all for them to stay apart. If she was still seeing red when they got married tomorrow, even better. With her considerable temper flaring, she was bound to walk out on him right away. At the very least she’d avoid him like the plague. And sooner or later, she’d realize she wasn’t cut out for this life and she would sell the bull’s-eye property back to him. He could build the house he had always dreamed of building. And with her out of his system once and for all, he could marry and settle down and have a family of his own. The fact that every time he envisioned his wife, he envisioned Callie was of no consequence, he told himself sternly. Nor was the fact they were already married and had been since Mexico.
He knew some would call it a sham wedding, but deep down it didn’t feel like a sham to him. And that went double since they’d now made love. Not as man and wife, as he’d hoped they would, but as two people who had been, and always would be, passionately in lust—or was it love?—with each other.
His only hope of surviving this situation emotionally was to get Callie out of his life again once and for all, Cody thought as he stared at the ferocious clouds above. And that was what he was determined to do.
CALLIE SAT IN ONE CORNER of the pickup bed, her back against the rear window of the passenger compartment. Cup of coffee in her hands, knees drawn up to her chest, she stared at the black sky overhead. The storm that had been closing in all evening was getting incredibly near. The wind was whipping up and in the distance she could hear the plaintive howl of a coyote. At least she assumed it was a
coyote. She knew there was a lot of wildlife in territory this wild, and that it all liked to come out at night. For the moment, however, she was safe enough, since she doubted any wild animal would be ornery or clever enough to jump up over the closed tailgate and into the bed of the pickup with her. And if she was threatened, surely Cody would protect her.
Without warning, it began to rain. Callie swore as big fat drops fell on her head. In the distance, near the horizon, wicked lightning flashed. She turned around. Cody was wide-awake and drinking from that darn flask again. She knew he knew it was raining, yet he made no offer to let her come into the cab of the truck with him.
It began to rain harder. Callie took off her jacket and tented her head and shoulders with it. There was still no response from Cody. The next time lightning illuminated the sky, Callie began to count. When she hit three, an ominous roll of thunder followed. The storm was three miles away, but it was getting closer.
Adrenaline pumping in her veins, Callie looked around. She’d be damned if she would stay in the bed of the pickup like a sitting duck, regardless of what Uncle Max wanted. Will or no will, she was getting out of here.
CODY HEARD THE CREAK of the tailgate opening and knew he had won. Callie was going to come to him and beg to get inside the cab with him. He’d let her, of course, but only after she had told him everything she had been keeping from him so far. And the first thing he wanted to know was who she had been entertaining.
Noticing it was taking her an awfully long time to circle around to the front of the truck, Cody glanced in the rearview mirror. He was shocked to see Callie striding away from the truck, toward the woods.
Damn that woman, didn’t she know the trees were every bit as dangerous as the open plain?
The Cowboy's Bride Page 18