by Kaliana Cole
The sound of a door opening and closing preceded the heavy tread of footsteps crossing toward her. She attempted to sit up, but the best she could manage was to roll onto her back within the warm cocoon of the quilt and blink stupidly up at the tall form looming over her. A tall form with blond, curly hair licking about a wide tan neck.
“I come bearing caffeine and painkillers. Surely you won’t kick me out for that?” Luke’s raspy bass wound its way around her anger.
“Not for the moment. Gimme.” Her hands reached for the cup and the pills. Three pills and half a cup later she was feeling somewhat human. “Sit down. Stop looming over me like that.”
She watched him look around at the lack of options before he sat gingerly on the edge of the sofa next to her hip. “Sorry for coming over without an invitation, but I thought you might like a hand to clean up.”
“Did not-so-charming Brody come with you?” Brody Marshall was a human Slinky in her opinion—totally fucking useless, but it would put a smile on her face to push him down a flight of stairs
“No. I’m here by myself.” Casey raised her eyebrows questioningly. She knew he was holding back. “He actually sent me over to complain about the noise last night, but he’s just pissed he wasn’t invited. I’m really sorry for what you heard in the supermarket the other day. Brody has had a rather hard time of it. He has trouble seeing women as anything but temporary bedmates.”
“And you see them as more?”
“I do. But I was raised to back my brother’s play, Casey. I’m not proud of the things I have done to uphold that, but to tell you the truth I hadn’t met a woman that made me reconsider his stance.”
“And you’re in my house because?” She hoped he picked up on the venom in her tone.
“You seem different from other women I’ve met, Casey. I really think I like you.” His chocolate eyes pleaded. “I think we could be great friends if we can get past the rocky start.”
He was attacking her when she was at her weakest, hungover and tired, but her brain just couldn’t find a reason to send his likable ass packing. “You’re not so bad, Luke. But that brother of yours leaves a lot to be desired.” His warm, brown eyes crinkled endearingly as pleasure warmed his face. He was like a small boy in his inability to control his expression. The joy on his face almost made Casey smile despite the splitting headache the Tylenol was only just beginning to get on top of. “Don’t let that go to your head, though. I have a record of liking some really strange people.”
“Do you want another coffee?”
“You’ll really start to grow on me with offers like that. Make yourself one while you are there.”
He stretched up to his full six-two height before taking the empty cup from her fingers. “I don’t drink coffee, but I love the smell of it.” The corner of his mouth kicked up in a half grin, “I’ll just sniff yours.”
She watched him walk away with a small frown playing on her forehead. Not drinking coffee was a serious mark against him—that just wasn’t natural—but with an ass like that she could forgive nearly any sin. The faded fatigues he wore sat low across his hips and his tight ass filled them out nicely. Too nicely. Casey wanted to tear them off him and see if the bronzed skin of his upper body was natural, or if he would have lily white buns beneath. The energy that would take, however, was too great for the possible reward in her present state.
He wandered back in a few minutes later with a fresh cup. Casey had dragged her carcass a little more upright without her brain pounding its way out of her skull. She even managed a sleepy smile as he held out the refilled cup. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He sat back down on the sofa but this time took a deeper seat. With her knees raised, her calf rested against his side and neither of them moved away from the contact. “Nice doormat, by the way. I nearly missed what it was with all the mud ground in to it.”
“It’s great, isn’t it? Bailey gave it to me as a housewarming gift. Apparently she makes stuff like that all the time.”
“Yeah, I can see Bailey making that. She has never had much time for men unless they happen to be Jory. From what Brody told me, she might have finally caught him.”
“You can mark that one down as confirmed. He was all over her last night, and she had a smile from ear to ear.”
“So who was up with you to all hours? Bailey is usually the one who will party all night.”
Casey was relaxing as he talked, struck anew at the way he gave his absolute attention. She had thought it a careful ploy in the supermarket, but perhaps that was just the way Luke was. “Marley Richards and Emma. And Ty of course. Though he was sober. He took them home this morning.”
“I don’t envy him that trip. Marley can be a little hard to handle when she’s drinking. She’s got Andy bluffed anyway.”
“I take it Andy is the tall, built, and handsome deputy with the big, brown, puppy-dog eyes?”
“I know you’re quoting Marley there. The first thing everyone new notices is the scars. You haven’t met Andy yet?” A smile curled his mouth and Casey had an insane urge to lick the corner of his lips where a small crease formed.
“No. He must be blind if he is running from her. She is drop-dead gorgeous.”
“She is that, but no one else has even got a look in since she set her sights on him about ten years ago.”
“Ten years? She doesn’t give up. I can’t understand wasting that many dreams on a man.”
“You don’t believe in love?” he tilted his head in inquisitive amusement.
“I believe it happens to other people. The way Em is with Ty, Zach, and Colby damn near makes me sick, but it is love.”
“I never thought I would see Zach or Colby walking around with those smitten looks on their faces either. Maybe there is hope for Brody yet.”
“But not you?”
“Oh, I fall in love with nearly every woman I meet. It doesn’t matter if they’re five or ninety-five.” His grin was self-deprecating, but Casey could taste the truth of his words.
“I mean romantic love, not the kind you feel for your grandmother.”
“I fall in lust quite regularly. Is that the same?”
“That’s about all I manage, too, so I can’t hold that against you.” She went to shove some hair back from her face, but her fingers stopped short in the hopelessly tangled mess of her hair. “I can’t believe I am lying here looking like something the cat dragged in, having a conversation about love and lust with one of the two men I swore I would never so much as look at again.”
Luke threw back his head and laughed. “You don’t look too bad, Casey. You’re a lot less prickly when you’re hungover than I thought you would be. I expected some shouting and directions to a very hot place at the least.”
“Believe me, it was only self-preservation that held it in. I hope I don’t look half as bad as I felt earlier. Besides, you make great coffee.” She reached over and gripped the corner of the quilt to throw it back, but Luke grabbed her wrist.
“You might want to rethink that, Casey. I’m not a prude, and I would love to get an eyeful of you, but for the sake of our new friendship, how about you wait until I get out of here?”
She followed his gaze to the floor and flames heated her cheeks. Jeans, sweater, bra, and socks lay on the floor beside the couch. Why did she always hate wearing clothes when she was drunk? She had one fleeting moment of panic about whether she had undressed in front of Ty but pushed it aside. Ty was gentleman enough not to mention it if she had.
“Thanks, Luke. I’m as embarrassed as hell, but I appreciate it just the same. Give me a few minutes to get decent and I’d like you to have a look at the project I’m starting this week if you have time.”
“Sure, Casey. I’ll wait outside. Take as long as you need. There’s no need to tell anyone about my gentlemanly behavior either. You could seriously undermine my reputation if word got out that I passed up a chance to ogle a beautiful naked woman.” He winked roguishly before he rose a
nd walked away.
Casey suspected that all those women he professed to love loved the big charmer right on back.
* * * *
“A six-person hot tub?” Luke ran his hand along his raspy beard thoughtfully as he sized up the corner of the shed Casey indicated. “You realize there’s snow on the ground near five months of the year around here?”
“I know. I’m going to keep the closed-in end of the shed as a gym. I work out all year round, and I like to soak afterward. It’s called a ‘hot’ tub for a reason, cowboy.”
Luke’s lips curled at the acid creeping in to her voice. Casey was as volatile and capricious as all the old adages about redheads promised. Her fire warmed him from the inside out. If only Brody hadn’t fucked up at the supermarket they could have found out just how hot she could burn. For now he was happy just to get to know her. One day Brody might wake up to himself and quit burning bridges, but until then, Luke decided he’d go solo where Casey was concerned. “Have you got measurements of this monster?”
“Yeah. Pete and Zach measured up last night and they assure me it will fit. It should be arriving midweek. If I get you the particulars, can you give me a quote for the decking?”
“It will be materials only, Casey, neighbor’s rates.” He held up a hand when she made to protest. “I expect the same consideration when I ask you to come over with the excavator and clean out the tank in the back pasture that is all silted up. Does that sound fair?”
Luke watched her face as suspicion and obstinacy warred with the trust he was endeavoring to build. She had that same stubborn tilt to her chin as her sister, but where Emma was petite and curvy, Casey was tall and strapping. Though the same strength of character imbued the pair of them, he suspected Casey would take down anyone threatening her with her bare hands instead of relying on firepower.
“Okay. I can live with that. When do you want the dam done?”
“Not until I’ve finished your job. I’m gonna need a hand with this from time to time, and I suspect you don’t want Brody making himself at home over here. We haven’t got much on at the moment so I can work around your schedule.”
“Yeah, Brody can stay right where he is.” The way her eyes narrowed made him glad he hadn’t been the one to fuck up. “I haven’t got much on either, just some trail maintenance for the forestry up near the caves booked in for Monday and Tuesday. I’ll be here on Wednesday when the spa arrives.”
A wide smile grew on Luke’s face. “You must be the only person to move to a place renowned for its natural hot springs and proceed to build an artificial one.”
“Emma told me about these springs. They’re a little public for my preferred state of dress when I soak.”
Luke looked over toward their house, which was clearly visible despite the cottonwoods growing along the creek that separated the properties. “This isn’t real private either.”
Casey’s eyes flicked up toward the house. “No one’s ever accused me of being shy.”
Luke grinned at her brass. “Not all of them are public. Some are on private land. Me and Brode have our own right up there at the head of that valley.”
“Really?” There was a little incredulity in her tone
“Yep. It’s not that big and your hair feels like steel wool when you get out, but the minerals are ace for soaking out the aches and pains.”
“Sounds like heaven.”
“I can take you up there if you want. There’s a shortcut across from the back corner of your place. Feel free to use it whenever you want, but I’ll show you where we leave the horses. If there’s one tied up at the rail, it’s already occupied.” He had a thought. “Do you ride?”
“Not so much for the last couple of years, but I used to do a fair bit when I was younger. “
“Feel up to a ride this morning?”
“I’d prefer to have a shower and get some food in me first.” She was still looking a little worse for wear.
“How ‘bout I swing by this afternoon with a spare mount and take you up there?”
“Okay, Luke. I’d enjoy that. But tell me, it’s not much more than half a mile away, why not just walk?”
“Cowboy rules, you don’t walk where you can ride, and you don’t ride where you can drive.”
“Now I get it. I’ll see you later.”
The smile she gifted him with before turning away was tentative but real. Luke bathed in the glow all the way back to his house.
Right up until he ran in to Brody.
“Where have you been?”
Luke took a deep breath, determined not to let his brother rain on his fine morning. “Over at Casey’s.”
“What? She didn’t shoot you on sight?” Brode kicked back further in the chair on the porch, swinging his boots up to rest on the table. For all his nonchalant ease, Luke could see the tension in his jaw. Being shot down so spectacularly, not to mention so publicly, by Casey had hit him hard. He was like a cocky prizefighter that had finally taken a blow, lying on the canvas deciding if it was worthwhile getting back up.
“No. She was quite agreeable. I made her a coffee and had a pleasant conversation with her.”
“Did you complain about the noise?”
“Do you think I’m an idiot?” A smile quirked Brode’s lips for the first time in days. Luke rolled his eyes. “Before you answer that, dickwad, did I mention she was wearing nothing but her panties while we had this conversation?”
“She was? She what?” he spluttered.
“Lovely command of the English language there, Brode.” Luke sank down in another chair and looked out across the valley toward Casey’s house. “I kid you not. I sat right beside her while she drank two cups of coffee in her panties.” He braced one ankle on the opposite thigh and sat back. “She looks all soft and cuddly when she’s hungover, too. That flame-red hair of hers damn near reaches her ass when it’s out of that braid she wears.”
“That woman is not soft and cuddly. She is a redheaded Femzilla who feeds on male egos.”
“Femzilla?” Luke chuckled.
“She is a feminist Godzilla, a ball-busting bitch. She is bad news, Luke. She’s just building you up so she can tear you down.”
“I guess I’ll find out this afternoon. I’m taking her riding up to the spring. Oh. And I’m building her a deck to go around the gigantic hot tub she’s putting in the shed down there.”
Brody blinked. “You mean the one we can see right in from here?”
“That’s the one.”
“Man! That’s gonna be hard to ignore. Does she know how clear the view is from here?”
“She’s got a fair idea. I did sort of point it out, but she told me she ain’t shy.” Luke knew his smile was a good match for the evil grin on Brody’s face. Some things no red-blooded man knocked back, and a chance to perve on a naked, gorgeous neighbor was one of them.
“You’re not going to go all noble and build a screen for it, are you?”
“Not in this lifetime.” Luke turned and looked straight at his older brother, “I really like her, Brode. Don’t fuck this up for me. Just keep your mouth shut and behave for once.”
Brody just looked at him as if he had sprouted a second head.
* * * *
Dressed in old jeans and a loose cotton shirt, Casey crossed one booted foot in front of the other and leaned against the porch rail, watching Luke ride toward her leading a second horse. He sat the sturdy buckskin like he’d been born in the saddle. His battered old cowboy hat sat low over his eyes, shading his face from view. The silhouette of him in the saddle etched itself into her brain. It was a soul-stirring picture of the quintessential cowboy. So tall and strong with endless legs that molded to the animal beneath him, the pair moving in perfect harmony with effortless grace.
Casey hoped her own hat afforded her the same anonymity as she felt herself flush with more than the heat of the sultry afternoon. Why were cowboys such wet-panty material?
Luke drew rein on the other side of the boun
dary fence, tugging the ugly Appaloosa he led up beside him. “Come over here and meet Spot. He ain’t half as ornery as he looks.”
Casey pushed away from the porch. “Spot? No marks for originality there, Luke.”
She climbed through the rails and the found the Roman-nosed animal to be a lot bigger up close. There was also a towel tied behind the saddle like a bedroll. A glance proved Luke was similarly equipped. The stirrups looked about right, so she took the reins Luke held out to her with a grin and swung up into the saddle. On the taller animal she was eye to eye with him. “Anything I should know about Spot?”
“No, he’s harmless. Spot’s my usual mount for around the ranch. Checkers here is a roping horse. I usually try not to ride him outside of the arena.”
Casey ran her gaze over the attractive quarter horse. “Why is that?”
“He gets excited out on the trail and jigs and jogs and makes riding plain miserable. I’m hoping Spot will keep him calm, but if he upsets me too much I might trade you mounts for the trip back down.”
“In my delicate state I can do without that. I’ll stick to Spot.” She patted the sturdy neck of the Appaloosa and reined him to face up toward the hills.
Luke gave her a smile before falling in beside her. Their stirrups and knees brushed every now and then as he directed them along the boundary. “The southwest corner of your place is just up here. I brought some pliers to cut the wires holding the gate shut so you can use it rather than climbing over it.”
“Why was it wired shut?” Casey knew from her sister that there was a bit of an antagonistic history between the Marshalls and the younger two Whelans, but Em had not known the actual specifics when she’d queried her.
A deep chuckle vibrated through Luke, and his grin looked slightly embarrassed as he stretched his neck as if a nonexistent collar was too tight. “I shouldn’t be telling tales out of school. I don’t want to stir up Zach and Colb now that we don’t have to live beside them anymore. How likely are you to go and tattle to your sister?”