by Becky McGraw
“I don’t know either, Katie…I’m scared. If Maggie’s parents try to take Dixie from me, I’d die,” he told her with tears in his voice. “I think they would try if I got involved with someone else.”
“So, you’re going to let them emotionally blackmail you for the rest of your life? They’re getting their revenge, by making you miserable for eternity…you’ll be alone, and they’ll be happy to watch you wallow in your misery.”
He didn’t say anything for a minute, and she didn’t either. She just ran her hand over his chest soothingly, and rubbed her cheek there too. “You’re right,” was all he said and he moved his hand to stroke her hair. “Please just lay here with me…I need to hold you,” he said in a low somber tone.
She nodded against his chest then snuggled into his neck, and kissed him there. “I bought a ranch,” she told him after a few minutes.
His body tensed up, and then he asked, “Yeah? Whatcha gonna to do with it?”
“Karlie and I are going to raise and train cattle horses…I close next Friday on the property.”
“Congratulations,” he said in a flat voice.
“I’m looking for a good stud…I might sell Laramie to buy a really good one,” she told him and twirled her finger in the hair on his chest.
“You have any prospects in mind?” he looked down at her and asked.
“I haven’t started shopping yet, but I will soon…Karlie is going to buy a few good mares. It’ll be a little bit though, the property needs a lot of work.”
“How much work?” he asked her in his deep resonant voice that soothed her and incited her at the same time.
“Barn needs repairs and painting, the bunkhouse needs the same, and the cabin on the property needs tearing down and rebuilding. I’ll have to build an indoor arena, and round pen…maybe an outdoor track later, after we get going…all the fencing is half-down and needs work too.”
“So you bought bare land, basically?” he said with a chuckle.
“Not quite that bad, but bad enough. I’m going to stay in the bunkhouse, until I can build a little house there.”
His body tensed up again and he rubbed his face in her hair then inhaled, and placed a kiss on her forehead. “You smell so damn good…” he groaned in a pained voice, then said darkly, “God, I wish things were different…”
“Wishing won’t get you anywhere…just don’t let people control your life any more, it’s as simple as that,” Katie told him.
“Nothing is simple anymore…” he said morosely.
“This is…” she said sincerely, then looked up into his tortured eyes, and leaned forward to put a kiss on his lips. “You say you love me…but I can’t be a part of your life, until you make room for me. If that happens, let me know,” she told him evenly, then she pushed up off the lounger to stand and held her hand out to him. “You need some sleep, and you smell like a brewery,” she told him with a chuckle.
He sat up unsteadily, then grabbed her hand to stand once he had his balance. “I haven’t drank that much in years,” he told her and wobbled, then added with a groan, “I know Karlie and Gabe probably think I’m an alcoholic…I emptied their case of beer.”
“Nah, they know something’s going on with us,” she said with a snort.
“Yeah, Gabe told me you’ve been locked up in your room crying since the rodeo,” he said in a strangled voice, then apologized again, “I’m so sorry, darlin’…I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
She was going to kill her sister and Gabe, Katie thought. Katie could smell the matchmaking going on here, and it didn’t smell like roses. They needed to stay out of her business. First Karlie invited Tommy and Dixie here, knowing that she was upset with him, and now Gabe was telling him all her secrets to make him feel guilty.
“I’m fine, Tommy, girls cry, and it wasn’t all because of you,” she replied to ease his guilt a little.
He took two steps forward and pulled her tightly against his chest. “But I don’t want my girl to cry, because of me at all,” he said fiercely near her ear, and added, “I should be protecting you, not hurting you.”
Katie whimpered against his chest and felt tears burning behind her eyes, as she slipped her arms around his waist, “Am I your girl, Tommy?” she asked softly, because she couldn’t stop herself. Fear and hope warred inside of her chest, and he’d gone still in her arms at the question.
“You’ve been my girl, since the first moment I set eyes on you that day we rescued Karlie,” he told her in a low gravelly tone. “I’ve just been fighting it, because I’m scared…scared of losing you, and scared of losing Dixie…I guess I’m a coward, darlin, and I’m sorry.”
“A coward doesn’t make the choice you had to make about your wife, then raise a daughter alone from birth, manage a ranch the size of yours alone, and admit that he’s afraid. That takes guts, and you have plenty, Tommy Tucker…you just need to use them to recapture your life. Make it what you want it to be…you’ve paid enough of a price.”
He pulled back from her a little and leaned down to find her lips in the darkness, he kissed his way across her cheek, then closed his mouth over hers in a gentle kiss and he nipped her lips, licked them, worshiped them, and begged for her to deepen it. With a soft moan, she opened for him and slid her arms around his neck then found his tongue with hers, teasing it into a soulful dance.
Slow languorous waves of pleasure drifted through her, carrying love and caring through her system. Her heart beat was slow and heavy in her chest, and mirrored the beat at her core. She rubbed her body against his, and the friction of their bare skin, heated up the blood in her body, and sent darts of desire straight to her center. He was feeling it too she noticed, as he slowly churned himself against her too, while the kiss went on and on.
His hands slid to her lower back, and he pulled her tighter against him, then moaned and pulled back. “Lord, what you do to me, baby…” he said in a voice thick with desire, then he begged, “Don’t give up on me, sugar…give me time to work this out, please…and don’t be kissing anyone else, don’t see that guy anymore. I can’t take it.”
“Oh, Tommy…” she said battling the words of agreement that surged to the tip of her tongue. Who knew how long it would take him to figure things out, and decide if he could agree to her terms, she thought. Then Katie admitted to herself, she was already invested too much in him to say no, because kissing Chase tonight had proven that she was Tommy’s girl, until her heart told her otherwise.
“Please, promise me, Kate…or I’m going to lose my mind,” he told her frantically and hugged her tighter to him, like he was never going to let her go.
“Okay, I’ll give you time, Tommy…” she said reluctantly, because she couldn’t do anything other than agree.
“And no more kissing anyone but me?” he growled.
“No more kissing anyone but you…for now,” she qualified, so he didn’t think she was a total pushover. Doormat Katie was back, but she had found a little self-preservation, during her vacation evidently.
“No—forever…no more kissing anybody, but me forever,” he corrected her fiercely.
“That depends on you, sugar…you’re the only one that can decide that,” Katie told him firmly.
***
Something soft brushed over her cheek, and Katie opened her eyes with a start, then closed them, because the bright sunlight coming through the curtains blinded her. She groaned and tried to roll over and snuggle into her pillow, but someone kissed her cheek and brushed her hair out of her eyes. With another moan, she rolled onto her back and flung her arm across her eyes to shield them from the morning sun.
“This better be important,” she said in a sleepy voice.
“It is,” Tommy told her seriously, “Very important…monumentally important.”
She wiggled her nose as the aroma of fresh coffee wafted up her nostrils, and hazarded a glance at him from under her arm. “Is that a peace offering?”
“Damn straight, and I have more,
Sleeping Beauty, once you open your beautiful blue eyes and take this from me,” he told her and held out the yellow porcelain smiley face mug to her. She gave up on sleeping and scooted up in the bed to lean on the headboard, and take the cup from him. Tommy smiled at her, then stood up and walked back out of the room, while she sipped the rich, dark brew.
Before she knew it, he was back with a tray in his hands filled with scrambled eggs, grits, toast and….bacon. Her stomach lurched as the greasy smell drifted to her nostrils, and she quickly set her coffee down on the bedside table and held up one hand and covered her mouth with the other.
“No…” she said and flung the cover off her bare legs then ran for the bathroom, as her stomach went on the roller coaster ride she was getting all too familiar with.
He burst into the bathroom and stood behind her, as she dry heaved, because there was nothing for her to lose. When her stomach finally settled, she went to the sink and splashed cool water on her face, then brushed her teeth. Tommy was right behind her holding her hair, looking like a thundercloud.
“What’s wrong, darlin’? Are you okay?” he asked her worriedly.
“Nothing, my stomach has been messed up lately…greasy food sets it off, sorry,” she told him and dried her face and mouth.
“Wait here, let me go get the bacon off of your plate then…give me one minute,” he said then practically ran from the bathroom. He was back in a flash and put his arm around her waist, and walked her back to the bedroom, then handed her a piece of dry toast. “Just sit here and eat your toast, and I’ll get you some milk. That’ll settle your stomach,” he said then left the room again. She nibbled on the toast, then took a big swig of milk when he came back with a tall glass.
“Thanks, Tommy…sorry for that,” she apologized and felt blood rush to her face, as she took another tentative nibble on her toast.
His face was as intense as his voice, when he asked her, “How long has that been going on?”
“A couple of weeks…I’m going to the doctor, after I close on the property next week. I think I have an ulcer,” she said with a wry grin.
“When? I want to go with you,” he said in a tone that brooked no argument.
“Next Friday…I have to schedule an appointment. I close at nine in the morning, so sometime in the afternoon,” she informed, then finished, “But there’s no need for you to go with me, I’m a big girl.”
“Big girl or not, I’m going with you, sugar. No arguments, okay?”
“If you insist…” she said and shook her head, then finished her toast and started on the eggs. The grits looked like they had a lot of butter in them, so she decided to skip those. Tommy watched her eat, as if making sure she was fed was his top priority in life.
When she finished, he took the tray from her and handed her the milk, and said, “Finish this, so I can have the glass.” She did as he instructed and then smiled and handed him the glass.
“You’re awfully bossy this morning,” she said with a half-grin, then tossed back the covers to stand.
“Get used to it darlin’. I’m going to make sure you take care of yourself,” he told her, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. “You’re too damned young to have an ulcer.”
She smiled at him then said, “Well, if it’s okay master, I’m going take a shower now.”
He cocked an eyebrow, and his eyes glittered. “I like the sound of that, sugar,” he told her in a low sensual tone.
“Don’t get too used to it, I was kidding, boss man,” she told him and leaned up to kiss his cheek.
Tommy chuckled, then walked out of the room, and she gathered clean clothes, which consisted of a new yellow bikini she’d bought in Dallas, and a pair of white cutoff shorts. She trudged down the hall and to the bathroom, then went inside and quickly showered and brushed her teeth again. She didn’t blow dry her hair, because she knew she’d be swimming today, and figured there wasn’t any use. After she slathered on moisturizer and ran a comb through her wet hair, she went back out into the living room. Tommy was nowhere to be seen.
Katie went and put her dirty clothes in her backpack, then walked out onto the deck. Karlie, Gabe and Tommy were sitting out there having another cup of coffee, and she went and sat down at the table with them.
“Morning, Sunshine,” Gabe said with a smile.
“In that outfit, she does look like sunshine, doesn’t she,” Tommy agreed with a wide grin as his hot eyes moved over her body burning a fiery trail.
Karlie snorted, and Gabe laughed, then her sister said, “Good morning, Daisy.”
“I could say the same to you, sis…” Katie told her taking in the white bikini and yellow shorts her sister had on. “Still color coordinated I see.”
“Looks that way—too damned funny, huh?” Karlie snorted again.
“Stop doing that, my stomach is hurting from laughing,” Gabe told her gruffly.
Katie surveyed the deck and the yard and she asked curiously, “Where’s Dixie?”
Tommy jumped, but then said, “Oh, yeah, she went to walk Snuggles,” and his eyes traveled around the yard too. A frown pinched between his brows and he stood up, looking around again. Katie looked too, and didn’t see her anywhere. She went to the deck steps and looked again, then she gazed out on the water and saw a yellow canoe bobbing in the bright sunlight on the lake.
When her gaze met Dixie’s the little girl stood up and waved to her. The canoe tipped precariously, and she waved her arms for balance. Katie noticed she didn’t have a life jacket on, and panic surged through her, as her feet somehow found the stair treads and she took off running toward the dock. “Sit down, Dixie!” she yelled right before she took a running dive off the end of the dock and began stroking strongly toward the canoe, once she resurfaced.
Fear and adrenaline coursed through her, as she watched the canoe tip over when Dixie went to sit back down, and she her yelp, as she hit the water. Katie kicked harder in the water to get there faster, but tiredness swamped her. She was out of shape, hadn’t swam like this in years. Fighting past the exhaustion, she finally reached the canoe and dove under it to find the little girl, who hadn’t resurfaced yet.
Something soft brushed her hand as she frantically searched under the water where she thought she’d seen Dixie go under, and she grabbed it, then shot to the surface. Dixie’s blond head came up beside hers and the little girl wasn’t breathing. She turned her on her back and towed her toward the shore, kicking as hard as she could. The massive dose of adrenaline now coursing through her, gave her the extra strength to get there fast. She knew she had to do rescue breathing on her as soon as she could, but doing that in the water wasn’t going to happen, because she didn’t have a tow board with her, like she had when she was a lifeguard.
When her feet hit the marshy bottom of the lake, she picked Dixie up in her arms, and started giving her breaths. Finally, her feet touched the grass and she laid Dixie down and felt for a pulse. It was weak and thready, so she turned her on her stomach and pushed a few times, then rolled her on her back and started breathing for her again. Relief coursed through her when Dixie coughed, then she rolled her to the side, and the little girl threw up the lake water she’d swallowed, then took a deep gasping breath, and wailed. Katie drew her into her arms and hugged her fiercely.
Tommy was huffing and puffing behind her, when he made it to the shore, and he dropped to his knees beside them, “Oh, thank God…” he said weakly, and buried his head in his hands and sobbed.
Karlie and Gabe ran up to them and hovered, then her sister asked, “Is she okay, or do I need to call for help?”
“She’ll be okay, let’s see how she is in a minute or two though,” Katie looked up and told her. She rocked Dixie in her arms and she finally stopped crying, then Katie loosened her hold on the child and asked softly, “You feeling better, sugar?”