by Dena Blake
“Let me help take your mind off things for a while.” DJ charmed her with a wink. “You see? It’s working already.” The tempo slowed, and DJ wrapped her arm around Kat’s waist, bringing her closer than she thought possible.
Kat let herself melt into DJ and floated with the music, ignoring her instincts to move away. It was working all right. Kat couldn’t think of anything but DJ—her eyes, her lips, the warmth of her body. The spring that had been coiled so tightly inside Kat for the past year was quickly unwinding, and there would be miserable recoil. What was it about this woman she barely knew? In an instant DJ had made her forget all the problems plaguing her. The ever-present uncertainty in her life had suddenly vanished. Kat had hoped it was the circumstances drawing her in earlier—her special place by the river under the tree, along with the moment of comfort she’d felt in DJ’s arms. Being this close again made it painfully clear it was DJ, not the situation, making her body react in ways she’d thought weren’t possible anymore.
Kat took in a slow, deep breath to try to calm herself, but her mood heightened instead. No pungent odor of cologne surrounded DJ tonight, only the light, woodsy smell of scented soap. Kat had another problem now. She’d already gone further than she should with DJ Callen, and from the looks of it, DJ was still making headway.
“Walk me home?” Kat whispered as the music faded.
“Love to.” DJ opened the door and motioned Kat in front of her.
The sky was clear, a crescent moon shining softly in the midst of a few scattered stars. As they walked to the house, they could hear the rustle of the trees in the wind, along with the bullfrogs croaking like a symphony in the distance.
“Today brought back some memories for me,” DJ said easily.
Kat gave her a soft smile. “Good ones, I hope.”
“Definitely,” DJ said with a chuckle. “Even though I worked my butt off, was kicked by a calf, and almost drowned.” She stopped for a moment. Kat searched DJ’s eyes and saw something she hadn’t expected—a longing within them, possibly for something she’d lost. “I’m not quite sure why, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.” DJ hesitated as though she were memorizing Kat’s face. “It must have been the company.”
She caressed Kat’s face with her thumb, and DJ’s warmth radiated through her. Her fingers roamed slowly down her neck and across the hollow of Kat’s neck. She looked up into DJ’s eyes, shimmering in the moonlight. Beautiful. Kat’s heart pounded wildly, and suddenly she wanted to know everything about DJ. Her thoughts, her dreams, and her innermost desires. She wanted more, so much more. She fought the urge to dive into her, to feel the softness of her lips again. DJ’s fingers, slowly and deliberately, traced just inside the collar of Kat’s shirt. Alarmed by her guiltless feelings, Kat tensed, and DJ must have felt her reaction. Her fingers trailed back to Kat’s neck, and she moved closer. The heat of DJ’s breath warmed her cheek. Her eyelids lowered as Kat anxiously awaited the softness of her lips. She was disappointed when DJ’s lips brushed her cheek before she turned abruptly and walked on. Kat was left feeling embarrassed and abandoned…again.
As they approached the house, Kat rubbed the inside of her wedding ring nervously with her thumb, wondering just how this evening was going to end. Should she invite DJ in or ask if she wanted to sit on the porch and look at the stars? Kat quickly headed up the steps, tripped on the top step, and fell forward.
DJ rushed to help her. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Kat said with a laugh as she rolled onto her elbows.
DJ stared at the gorgeous woman in front of her, and the familiar expression made her shudder. She offered Kat a hand and laughed along with her at first, but then Kat’s eyes became dark. A rush of heat filled her body, and it suddenly felt like it was ninety degrees outside. Kat’s laughing gaze had changed into a steamy look of want, and DJ’s willpower puddled. Kat took her hand, and DJ brought her up against her. Kat’s mouth covered hers, and she kissed her with such intensity, DJ gasped for air. Her lips left Kat’s soft, hungry mouth and dipped lower, roaming the soft white skin of her neck. DJ submerged herself in the pool of senses Kat was creating within her. Everything seemed to slow as the jolt fired all her senses. Liquid gushed between her legs. Her body was immediately and completely ready for this woman to take every part of her. DJ drew back and sucked in a deep breath. This was too much. She was too much.
“I’ll see you in the morning,” DJ stuttered, stumbling down the porch steps, leaving Kat standing at the top looking embarrassed and confused. She turned, slapped a hand to the back of her neck to suppress the confusing tingle still lingering, and tottered across the grounds. Unsettled by her own actions, DJ headed to the stable, knowing full well she wouldn’t sleep anytime soon.
DJ had seduced many women before for many different reasons, and she’d thoroughly enjoyed doing it. Becoming romantically involved with Kat was a stupid move. She should’ve told Kat who she was right away. She was beginning to care for her a little too much. Leaving this romance behind would not be easy.
“It’s a little late to be tending the horses, isn’t it, Ms. Callen?” Virgil asked from the darkness.
“Couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d come out here and clear my head.”
“From the looks of you, that may take some time.” Virgil jabbed the pitchfork hard into a bale of hay and left it standing. “What’s going on between you and Kat?”
“What do you mean?” DJ said, giving him an innocent look as her mind flashed to the face of the woman she couldn’t seem to purge from her thoughts.
“I’m talking about this afternoon when you dropped her off at the back door.” Virgil motioned to the house. “And just now up there on the porch.”
DJ jerked her lip up into a half smile as she shook her head. “I’m not really sure.” And she wasn’t.
They both turned and looked at the house when they heard the screen door slap closed in the distance.
“You’re either serious about her or you’re not. Which is it?”
DJ moved closer to one of the horses and patted it on the neck. “That’s what I’ve been asking myself all evening.” She could see Virgil was dead serious. He’d probably seen Kat hurt more than once. “When I first arrived, I knew exactly why I was here. Now I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.” She wasn’t lying this time. Kat had yanked her string and spun her around so hard, DJ still hadn’t shaken the dizzy feeling.
“Well, you’d better make up your mind soon, young lady. I don’t need you hangin’ around messin’ up her routine.” Virgil closed and latched the door. “That is, unless you’re willin’ to stay for good.”
DJ leaned against the stable wall and stared across at the house. Virgil was spot-on. She had some decisions to make. Otherwise, this whole thing was going to blow up in her face, and Kat was going to get hurt. She shouldn’t care. Business was business, but this time it had become personal.
Chapter Ten
Kat stormed into the bedroom and threw herself onto the bed. She stared at the old ceiling fan, watching the chain clink against the glass as it slowly rotated. What did I miss? DJ’s eyes were dark, aware, and wanting as Kat had stared up at her. She knew that look. Just thinking about it made Kat shudder. Things between them had been so good all day. The thought never entered her mind that DJ might not be interested. She’d never had a problem seducing a woman before. Finding one she wanted to keep around afterward was the challenge.
Kat had gone full circle since Arizona died. At first she couldn’t even think about touching another woman. Then after plying herself with enough alcohol, sex became something she did just to try to make herself feel again. Then she found she needed more, some sort of bond. She needed intimacy. Without it she was left feeling empty and unfulfilled. For the past year Kat had lived like a nun, purposely isolating herself from everyone. She didn’t take sex lightly anymore. Somehow, DJ had made her feel beautiful and vibrant again. She had Kat questioning things in her life that she’d been certain of f
or quite some time.
Tonight, she’d taken a chance and put herself out there, and DJ had walked away. It had been a long time since Kat had kissed anyone like that, but she could still tell when a woman enjoyed it. At least she thought so. Damn it! She sprang up, hugging her pillow to her chest. She was sure of it. DJ had enjoyed it, whether she wanted to admit it or not.
Kat stared at the curtains, which had a strange glow about them tonight. She heard voices outside her window—loud, urgent voices. She tossed the pillow to the chair, ran to the window, and nudged the fabric aside. The immediate grounds were lit up like a night baseball game. She pushed the curtain open farther. The tack room was on fire.
“Shit!” She raced through the house, grabbed the phone from the wall, and dialed 9-1-1. “There’s a fire at the Jumpin’ J.” She let the phone drop, and it clanged against the floor as she flew out the door and started belting out orders. “Get the hoses and buckets.” She watched the flames lick the roof. “And move the horses out of the stable.”
DJ shot out of the stable with a few of the horses. “Is anyone inside?”
“I don’t know.” Kat searched the area. “Where’s Virgil? Was he in there with you?”
DJ shook her head as she scanned the area. Virgil had left her just a little while ago, and she hadn’t paid attention to where he’d gone. She looked over at Kat, saw the fear in her eyes, and started for the fire-engulfed tack room.
“Stay back,” DJ shouted and took off to the blazing building, grabbing the doorknob. “Damn,” she growled as the knob singed her hand. She jerked it back and looked at her blistered fingertips. She ripped off her pearl-snap shirt and used it as a buffer for the searing metal knob as she pushed the door open slowly. “Virgil, you in there?” No answer. The fire flared as part of the roof fell in, and the door flew in her face.
“Is he in there?” Kat shouted.
DJ heard the sirens in the distance, but she didn’t look back. She couldn’t. She had to go in now. Sweat poured off her forehead. She closed her eyes and prepared herself for what was to come. Scorching heat, burning flesh, and stinging lungs. She knew the scars of fire all too well. The burning barn at her family farm flashed through her mind, and she threw herself against the wall. She closed her eyes and willed herself to move. She pressed her shirt to her nose and mouth and pushed through the door.
“Virgil.” She coughed, then dropped to the floor, trying to suck in clean air. Water spewed through the roof as the stench of burning leather filled her nose. The fire department was on it, but the fire was still spreading. She searched the room—no one. She turned to the door—blocked. She swung around. The only way out was through a wall.
The hair stood up on the back of her neck, and she hesitated. Agonizing memories clouded her thoughts, nearly paralyzing her. She could hear the screeching horses clearly in her head. She panicked and barreled through the raging fire into the wall—nothing.
She held her head. It spun with splitting pain, and her stomach lurched. She turned to the wall and snatched the saddle from its peg to use as a shield. She plowed into the wooden wall planks. One or two cracked, but not enough to break through. She slapped at the flames burning her shirt as she hopped through the fire. Then she reversed direction and ran full speed into the wall again. Fresh air filled her lungs, and her body cooled. She’d made it through. She dropped the saddle and stumbled—everything went black.
Kat darted into the corral, ran across it, and jumped the fence to reach the far side of the tack building. She grabbed a horse blanket from the railing and threw it across DJ’s smoldering black T-shirt. She slapped at her face, trying to rouse her, but she was out cold.
“What the hell happened?” The sound of Virgil’s voice sent an overwhelming sense of relief through Kat.
“Jesus, Virgil. We thought you were inside.” She rolled DJ to her back and put her cheek to her mouth. DJ’s breath brushed across it. Thank God.
A paramedic sprinted over with a tank of oxygen. It was Mike Carpenter, one of her frequent riders at the arena. “Is she breathing?”
“Yes.”
Mike placed an oxygen mask on DJ’s face, and she coughed. “Help me move her away from the building.”
“Hang on. Let me get the guys.” Virgil threw up a hand. “Jimmy, Brett, come give us a hand here.”
One of the men picked DJ up and started to the guest quarters. Mike followed with the oxygen tank.
“Bring her to the house,” Kat directed, and Virgil gave her a strange look. “I can’t afford to be sued, Virgil.” They both knew that wasn’t what this was about. DJ had risked her life to save Virgil, and that act had skyrocketed her into the realm of possibility.
“The ambulance should be here soon,” Mike said.
“Alrighty. Take her in and put her on the couch,” Virgil said.
“No. Put her on my bed.”
“Kat.” Virgil’s voice rose in objection, and Kat met him with a don’t-cross-me look. Virgil swung his arm, motioning them on. “Do what she says, boys.”
Mike carried the oxygen and his medical box into the house behind them. “Lay her on her side, if you can. I need to take a look at those burns.”
Kat took a small plastic bowl from the kitchen cabinet and filled it with water before taking a couple of washcloths and some antiseptic from the bathroom cabinet. She rummaged through a basket under the sink, found some gauze and medical tape, and then went into the bedroom after them.
She watched Mike check DJ’s forehead. No cuts. Just a growing bump.
Kat dipped a washcloth into the water and wiped the black soot from around DJ’s mouth and nose. She dipped it again, wrung it out, and dabbed her face and neck before letting the cool cloth rest on her forehead. DJ was pale and clammy. She was in shock. Kat rounded the bed and removed DJ’s boots before she took an old hand-sewn quilt from the rack in the corner and covered her legs with it.
“Hope this shirt didn’t mean anything special to her.” Mike clipped the edge of DJ’s T-shirt with the scissors and ripped it up the back. “Not a vintage rock T-shirt, is it?” He looked up at Kat and she shook her head. “Plain black.”
“Good. I’d hate to ruin one of those.” Mike drew it away to reveal scattered pink burns across her shoulder and upper arm. “She’s been burned before.” He motioned to the rough, puckered skin on DJ’s back and arm. “Do you know how old these are?”
Kat kneaded her forehead. “She said something about a fire before she went to college.”
“What is she, in her mid-thirties?”
Kat lifted her hands. “I have no idea.” It sounded about right.
Mike ran a gloved finger across the scar. “These are probably fifteen to twenty years old.”
The new burns weren’t as bad, probably second-degree, but Kat could tell from the look of the scars on DJ’s shoulder, the previous burns had been much worse. DJ had told Kat about the fire at her family farm, but she hadn’t mentioned that she’d been hurt.
Mike took a packet of gauze from his kit and ripped it open. He sprayed saline on the gauze and gently dabbed the burns. He took another small foil packet, tore off the top, and spread ointment onto the burns. Then he took a dry piece of gauze and taped it to DJ’s shoulder.
Virgil touched Kat’s shoulder. “Why don’t you go meet the ambulance and bring the medics inside?”
“No. I’m not leaving her.” She could hear the ambulance siren in the distance. “Is she going to be all right?” Kat looked at Mike, anxiety overtaking her.
“She hit her head. She has to go to the hospital,” he said, and Kat could see the concern in his eyes.
Two other men came through the door, and Kat’s world spun as she was forced to the corner of the room while they moved DJ to the rolling stretcher they’d brought with them. The woman with whom she’d found an incredible connection was going to be swept away to the hospital. Panic rushed her. What if I never see her again?
“I’m coming with you.” Kat followed them
through the hallway and outside to the ambulance.
“There’s not enough room for everyone in the ambulance. Are you next of kin?”
Before Kat could answer, Mike spoke up. “Yes, she is. You guys don’t need me. I’ll stay behind.”
“Thanks, Mike. I owe you one.” Kat didn’t know if Mike realized just how grateful she was. After all, DJ had gone into the fire because of her.
“I’ll collect that some night in the arena.” Mike smiled. “Keep an eye on her, and call me if you need me.”
Kat nodded. “I will. Thanks.”
* * *
They’d been in the hospital room a couple of hours before DJ coughed and bolted up. “Pop!” The oxygen mask muffled her voice. She ripped it off, and the desperate, terrified look in her eyes caught Kat off guard. “Shh. Just lay down. He’s fine, the fire’s out.” Kat could see the panic fade. “You have quite a bump on your head, but you’re gonna be fine.” She didn’t know if that was completely true. DJ had screamed for her father, not Virgil. Those old wounds seemed to have left more than just physical scars.
DJ swiped her palm across her forehead and dropped against the bed.
“You need any help?” Virgil asked, standing in the doorway.
“I think I have it.” Kat slid the elastic around DJ’s head and placed the oxygen mask back on her face.
“I’ll come back in the mornin’ to getcha.” Virgil motioned with his head toward the hallway. “Gotta make sure the boys moved everything out of the tack room.” He stopped and turned for a minute. “Call me if you need me.”
“Thanks, Virgil. I will.” Kat rewet the cloth on DJ’s forehead and spread the blanket up over her chest.
For the next few hours, Kat sat on the edge of the hospital bed next to DJ, watching her breathe. She thought about the fire and shivered. When DJ had run into the burning building, Kat’s heart had all but stopped. She was torn between being terrified that DJ wouldn’t come out again and the thought that Virgil, the only person she considered family, was inside being engulfed by the fire. When DJ had thought Virgil was trapped inside, she’d gone straight in, without even a glimmer of doubt in her eyes. She was a hero.