Cole, Kaliana - Tag and Release [Liberty Springs, Wyoming 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Kaliana Cole

  She was curled up into a little ball so he spooned her the best he could without disturbing her. He propped himself up on the pillows so he could look down at the face he had uncovered. She was flushed, and he laid his palm on her forehead. He didn’t know if it was hotter than it was supposed to be, but his Ma had always done that. He mentally shrugged. His Ma had used whatever knowledge she’d gained from the cursory touch to tell them to stay in bed or get their ass to school. Telling Casey anything wasn’t a viable option.

  The rose he’d plucked from a roadside garden was none the worse for lying on her pillow. He toyed with it absently. It was a little ragged around the edges, but the red with its blush of orange on each petal was still the same red as her hair. Brody placed it lower so that Casey would see it when she woke but not so close that she would startle at a big, red blob in the middle of her sleep-hazed vision.

  She stirred and snuggled back tighter against him with a sleepy little wriggle and a sigh. Her eyelashes fluttered, and he watched her blink and reach for the rose. She ran her fingers down the stem he’d painstakingly stripped the thorns from and caressed the delicate petals.

  “A bribe?” Her voice was thick with both her ailment and sleep.

  “A peace offering,” Brody clarified. “How did you know it was me?”

  “You feel different. Luke holds me like he’s scared I’ll get away.” That was an apt description if ever he’d heard one.

  Brody decided he liked soft-and-sleepy-just-woken-up Casey just fine. Now he just had to make sure he didn’t piss her off again. “How are you feeling?”

  “In all honesty? Like shit.” She tucked her head tighter against his chest. “I’m aching all over and my head’s all stuffy. I haven’t had a cold for years.”

  “I got you cold and flu tablets, cough medicine, more Tylenol, and those lemon-drink thingies Marley gets her aunt to send over from Australia. What do you want?”

  “What time is it?”

  “Nearly seven.”

  “It’s dark early.”

  “The rain hasn’t stopped all afternoon. The forecast says it could be here for a few days.”

  “At least I don’t have to worry about missing work anyway. It’s going to be too wet to get on any of my jobs for a week.” She rolled to her stomach and rose on her elbows. She still had a tightness around her slightly reddened and puffy eyes that told him he was by no means forgiven. “I’ll have a lemon drink if I’m allowed to get out of bed.”

  “You can do whatever you want, honey. The error of my ways has been pointed out to me. I’m just going to ask you to look after yourself so that I don’t feel compelled to do it for you.”

  “So you’ve sent the Neanderthal back to his cave?”

  “As much as I’m able to.”

  “I hope you didn’t send him too far. He might be kind of fun to play with when I’m feeling a bit more lively.”

  Brody groaned inwardly at the speculative little smile curling her lips. Casey was a menace to his self-control. The thought of her ass blushing beneath his palm had held him in sway since he had threatened her with it that morning, but he knew he’d have his hands full if he attempted it. He and Luke had better brush up on their sparring skills, cause while they were quite used to copping things square on the chin, neither one of them had ever learned to duck.

  * * * *

  Three days later Casey was lying on the sofa, swaddled in blankets and watching the men working on her house across the valley. The sun was back out again and the heavy drapes were thrown wide. The arson squad had come earlier than expected, and as soon as they’d left, Andy had called to let Brody and Luke know they were fine to begin repairs. Ty’s vehicle was pulled up at the front as well, and she could see his big form moving about, helping.

  Her flu had mostly cleared, or the cold and flu tablets were doing such a good job of masking it that other than a deep cough every now and then, she didn’t feel too bad. Luke and Brody had hovered around her making sure she had everything she needed and generally smothering her with their concern, especially Brody. She didn’t quite know what to think of the quiet, caring, and downright doting man who was such a contradiction to the one who had thrown her over his shoulder and threatened to spank her ass.

  For one thing the caveman was real. That was the Brody she had come to know. He could be tender and gentle, but his core was of steely dominance. She loved seeing him like that when sex was on the cards. All he had to do was grab her hair and she creamed like a bitch in heat. It was slightly demoralizing, but she had to admit the truth—she loved that he was man enough to dominate her. She felt compelled to challenge him at every turn just to watch the steely heat enter his ebony gaze.

  But outside of the bedroom Brody needed to be enrolled in Relationships 101. She wouldn’t be pushed around by anyone, not even someone who was sneaking in and stealing her heart no matter how adamantly she denied it even to herself.

  She had to keep reminding herself they were good-time lads. Nothing was ever going to come of it long term, no matter how in love Brody fancied himself. His emotional compass was just addled by a woman who didn’t blush and simper and hang on his every word. He’d wake up and smell the roses one day soon, and Casey planned on having an intact heart when he did.

  Luke was a different story. That man was so easy to love and live with, perhaps too easy. There was a small part of her that acknowledged that Luke by himself wouldn’t hold her attention for long. If things were too easy she lost interest. While Brody was too much, Luke wasn’t enough, but together they were a devastating combination. They balanced each other out. There was no way she could live with Brody alone, any more than she could take day after day of lazy, laid-back Luke. But the two of them together tempted her heart more than she’d ever thought they could.

  She was waiting anxiously for them to finish the repairs on the house so that she could move back in. She needed to get away from them before she, too, started thinking it was more than it really was.

  Chapter 13

  The rumble of the big Cummins in low gear came through the open windows, filling the cab with the sweet, raw sound of barely restrained power. It put a smile on Casey’s face for the first time since she’d returned home. Her flu had disappeared as fast as it had arrived, her healthy lifestyle and natural resistance winning through. The steep mountain descent down into the Liberty valley was a roller coaster to navigate, but driving was such second nature that her mind still lurched like a punch-drunk prizefighter straight back to Friday afternoon. Her throat tightened when she thought of the looks on those guys’ faces when she had walked out of their house.

  Luke had damn near torn her heart out. Those big chocolate eyes had become pools of sorrow as she’d thanked them and carted her meager possessions to her truck. He hadn’t begged her to stay, or ranted and raved, he’d just watched like some heartbroken little boy as she’d loaded up and given her a sad little smile as she drove away.

  Brody had stood there and watched as well, but it had been him that slammed the door and stormed inside. He’d have a temper tantrum and they’d all get over it.

  It would have been so damn easy for her to stay there with them. She was sure it was more than the sex. Besides the first day, they hadn’t so much as touched her other than to give comfort while she had been sick. The temptation to let them all the way into her heart was rich and real and alluring as hell, but the reason her heart was still intact was that she didn’t take stupid risks with it. She’d put in a major toy order to try to allay the physical downside of leaving them, but nothing could help the emotional void.

  An old but well-loved Ford skewed sideways into the drainage ditch snared her attention. She didn’t need to see the faded sign-writing on the door to know it belonged to the unkempt but thoroughly gorgeous mechanic, Jack Taylor. She pulled the truck to the narrow shoulder and put her four-ways on. The vehicle hadn’t been there when she’d headed toward Sheridan only hours ago. She jumped down from the cab an
d checked out the Ford. No one was in it, but the hood was still warm. A good look into the interior showed no sign of blood or any other indication of injury. She glanced down at her cell, wanting to ring the workshop and make sure everything was okay, but it was out of service.

  Casey jumped back in her truck and headed on toward Liberty Springs. She hadn’t even gone five hundred yards when she came across a forlorn figure standing beside the road. The tires skipped as she braked too hard, but she was past giving a shit about costly flat-spots. It was Marley, looking dazed and pale, standing by the road. Casey flipped the air brakes on and jumped from the truck.

  “Marley! Are you okay?” The tall brunette was looking more than a little rattled.

  “I’m not hurt, just a bit shaky. I don’t know what happened, but the brakes stopped working at the second switchback.”

  Casey could only imagine the terror that must have gripped her on that wild ride. It was a miracle she had reached the bottom alive. “Fuck! No wonder you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Come on. I’ll give you a lift to town. We’ll give Jack an ass chewing together.”

  She held open the door to the Kenworth and assisted Marley up. Her legs didn’t look stable enough to accomplish the climb alone. Sliding behind the wheel, Casey gave Marley an assessing glance. She was pale and still shaking, but no more than was to be expected under the circumstances. She put the truck into gear and headed off. “I wish I had a stiff drink to offer you, honey, but you’re going to have to wait until we get to town.”

  “I’m okay. It’s just that all I could think about on the way down was that I hadn’t nailed Andy. How stupid is that? I thought I was gonna die, and all that kept going through my head was that I hadn’t fucked him.”

  “You really do need that drink.” A reflective glimmer caught Casey’s attention as they topped the small rise at the base of the pass. She squinted toward the forest. “What’s that?”

  The words had no sooner left her mouth than a starburst of cracks erupted in the center of her windshield. “What the fuck?” She looked at the hole in the middle of the pattern in confusion.

  Fear gripped her as realization sunk home. It’s a fucking bullet hole!

  “Marley! You okay?” Casey put her foot down. The big engine roared and the truck jumped away like a bee-stung grizzly. “Talk to me.”

  “Yeah, I’m okay. Was that a shot?”

  “Looks like it to me. I’m getting out of here. It might have been a hunter, but I’m not taking chances. Bad things happen when I’m with you, girlfriend.”

  “Hey, never a dull moment.” Marley’s poor attempt at levity convinced Casey the nurse was fine.

  She fished in her pocket and brought out her cell. “Here, we’ve got some service. Call Andy. He needs to know about this, and if I use the radio everyone will know. I’m not stopping until I put you in his hands. Just put it in the hands-free cradle when you dial. He might be a bit more reasonable if he’s talking to me.”

  It took Marley two goes to punch in the number with her trembling fingers, but she got it in the end. A woman answered on the second ring. “Liberty Springs’ sheriff’s office. Jane speaking.”

  “Jane, this is Casey Buckley. I need to speak to Deputy Calhoun urgently.”

  “Patching you through.”

  There was a clunk and a rustle of static before a gruff “Calhoun” came through loud and clear.

  “Andy, it’s Casey. I’ve just picked up Marley from the bottom of the pass. She’s had an accident.”

  “Is she okay?” The concern in his voice was deep and instant.

  “She’s a little shaken but she’ll be fine. But that’s not why I’m calling. She’d only been in the truck two minutes and someone shot at us.”

  “You’re shittin’ me!”

  “I am not shitting you, Andy. There’s a great fucking bullet hole in the middle of my windshield. If you want to get someone for speeding, head out on the Sheridan road. I’m hauling ass until we’re safe in town limits. We’re heading straight for the cop shop.”

  “You’re sure she’s okay?”

  “I’m fine, Andy,” Marley spoke up. “We’ll be there in like, two minutes with the way this madwoman’s driving.”

  “I’ll be waiting.” The line went dead.

  “See, he does care for you.”

  “Oh, I know he does. That’s the reason the bastard won’t sleep with me.”

  “There’s some kind of twisted male logic involved there somewhere, I take it?”

  “Some martyred moral code that I’m just dying to rip to shreds,” Marley agreed. “You planning on slowing down sometime soon, or are we going down the main street doing eighty-five?”

  Casey glanced down at the speedometer in shock. She never drove that hard! The burble of the engine-brake resounded in the cab as the vehicle steadied up. She’d backed it off to fifty as they passed the mechanic shop on the outskirts and had reached a respectable thirty-five by the time they entered the town proper.

  Andy was pacing on the sidewalk with a phone to his ear when they turned down the street the station was on. “Brace yourself, Marley. I think that man means to make sure you are all right himself.”

  “He’s all show and no go. He won’t touch me.” She sounded resigned. “Run him over and put him back in the hospital for me. He can’t run away then.”

  Casey had to laugh as she pulled up in front of the station. Marley had sounded half-serious. “There’s a law against that kind of thing. Go on, get out, and show him you’re okay.”

  Casey followed a little slower, aware that her own legs were a trifle shaky. She’d never been in the path of a bullet before, and she discovered the experience was more than a little unsettling. She mentally changed the subject when nausea threatened. Throwing up all over the concerned deputy wouldn’t be something she would be able to live down in a hurry.

  She had a firm grip on the handrail, taking a few deep breaths, when two separate squeals of tires jerked her attention. A big black Dodge came barreling around the eastern corner and she knew damn well it was Luke’s blue Chevy sliding around the western corner. Both screeched to a halt around the truck.

  She breathed a sigh of relief when Ty got out unaccompanied by her sister. That she didn’t need right now. She tried valiantly to ignore Luke and Brody as they gave her a thorough once-over with worried eyes and went straight to where Andy, too, was running nothing but his gaze over Marley.

  Ty glanced at the windshield of her truck then at the commotion flaring up around the deputy before coming straight to her. “You’re looking a bit pale, kiddo. Do you need to sit down?” His slate gaze was concerned but calm, nothing seemed to rattle him.

  “I’m okay. It’s just hitting home how close that shot came. A foot either way and it would have got one of us.”

  “Come over here and sit down before you fall down. I don’t want to be picking you up off the ground, your sister’s heavy enough.”

  Casey couldn’t help but smile as she allowed him to walk her to his truck. Ty could probably carry her and Emma under each arm and still not break a sweat. It was a small relief to sit on the tailgate he lowered for her. “Thanks, Ty.”

  “You’re welcome, darlin’.” He glanced over to where Brody and Luke were still talking to Andy. “You want to tell me why those two are over there instead of over here holding you?”

  Casey looked at her feet swinging above the ground. “Dunno.”

  “That ain’t gonna fly. What’s going on? Did they stuff up?”

  “No. I just moved back into my house as soon as I could. I think they were under the impression that I was going to stay.”

  “So were the rest of us. What happened?”

  “Nothing, Ty. I’m just not into setting myself up for a fall.”

  “The only ones falling anywhere are those two idiots. Tell me now, is there any reason for me to stop them from marching over here and hauling you back where they can keep an eye on you until Andy sorts this out? Beca
use I’m telling you now, the only other option is for me to take you home and make sure you’re safe behind Emma’s walls.”

  “You’re kidding?”

  “Nope, I’m entirely serious, Casey. We don’t know what is going on. What happened with Emma shook this town up pretty bad, and now, with the fire and then this, we’re not taking any chances.”

  “There are no other choices?”

  They turned as Andy’s voice rose and Marley started up with some pretty inventive cursing. “Well, there was one, but I’m pretty sure there’s only one holding cell.” They both watched as Andy manhandled a protesting Marley through the front doors of the station. “Make up your mind, Casey. They’re coming now. Them or Emma?”

  Fuck! She was so not going either of those routes. “Them, but on my terms.”

  “Good luck with that, darlin,” he rumbled quietly before turning to face Luke and Brody. “She’s all yours, boys. Don’t make me regret it.”

  * * * *

  Casey sat in the middle of the bench seat, staring out into the darkness cut by the wide swath of the Chevy’s headlights. She resolutely ignored the men on either side of her.

  Luke had taken possession of her hand three hours before and had yet to relinquish it. Brody hadn’t touched her or said a direct word to her. His body was tight as he sat stiffly in the driver’s seat, and his knuckles were white where he gripped the steering wheel. He radiated a suppressed rage like a visible, dark red aura. His only reaction as she’d shown Andy where the shot had originated from had been the rhythmical clenching of his jaw. The ball of muscle at the hinge of it had danced and writhed, but still he’d said nothing.

  She sat up in alarm as they drove straight past her driveway. “I said I wanted to go home. If you want to watch over me like some oversized guard dogs, you do it at my house. Are you hearing me?”