Live-In Mom

by Paige, Laurie

  He heaved an exasperated breath as worry for her crusading efforts cut through him. “You’re going to get yourself in trouble if you don’t quit butting into other people’s business. What about your promise?”

  She stared at him blankly. “What promise?”

  “Uh-huh,” he said as if her failure to know what he was talking about confirmed some suspicion he’d had for a long time.

  “I didn’t make any promises.”

  “You said you’d watch out for Hodkin and stay out of his way. The man could be dangerous.”

  “That’s why he should be locked up. He got fresh with the waitress. When she told him to keep his hands to himself, he hit her right across the face.”

  She looked so indignant while she related this that Ty had to grip his arms tightly to his body to keep from hauling her into them and taking her home to keep her safe. He frowned at her instead. “Were you there?”

  “Of course not. The waitress is my neighbor. She lives in the next apartment. I saw the bruise on her cheek—”

  “And just had to butt in.”

  “Naturally, I asked her about it. She came home early Saturday and had obviously been crying. I’d just got in with some groceries and had her over for coffee. I could hardly ignore her.”

  “Of course not,” he remarked sarcastically. “Have you confronted Hodkin yet with his misdeeds?”

  “No. I went to Sheriff Keeler this morning. By the way, your brother was at the county office, too. It seems they’ve been having another string of thefts up his way. Hodkin is suspected. I told them I’d check into Hodkin on this end-”

  Ty took her by the arm and hauled her toward the truck. “I’ll have Keeler’s ears pinned to the barn door for this. Shane’s, too.”

  She climbed inside, then asked with an eager smile, “How’s the baby? Is he home yet?”

  He felt an odd pang go through him. He softened his manner a fraction. “They brought Ian home Wednesday. He’s doing fine.”

  “Good. I was worried—”

  She was startled into silence when he slid into the truck and pushed over beside her, his hip and thigh pressing against hers as he rooted her over. He was immediately aware of her, of the heat that flowed between them where they touched, of the pure animal magnetism that existed between them.

  She went very still.

  When he dared look at her, he saw the same awareness in her eyes. Flames leapt between them, engulfing them in the hunger neither wanted to acknowledge.

  A heavy sigh escaped him. “Oh, hell,” he said.

  He was defeated by her smile, her closeness, her courage. A week apart had only increased the need. He gave up.

  Carly saw the flames leap into his eyes and felt her own resolutions shatter.

  Men burn and women yearn.

  Why this man? she thought, perplexed by feelings she had no control over whatsoever. Why him and no other?

  He caught a handful of her hair and made a fist. “I see you and all my sane and sensible ideas go winging off, never to be seen again.” He laughed ruefully. “Well, what happens next?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Don’t you? I thought women always had all the answers. If you were like other women, we’d be talking marriage by now.” He let her go and ran a hand through his own thick hair.

  She realized he looked tired, as if he hadn’t slept any better than she had that week. Well, that was some compensation. At least she wasn’t suffering alone.

  “Ty, I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I know I shouldn’t have come here. Venita called me. She’s worried about one of the cowhands who works for you, but she wouldn’t tell me his name. She thinks he’s involved with Hodkin. She wouldn’t admit anything over the phone. That’s why I came here to see her in person. It all sort of ties together, don’t you see?”

  “Did you find out who the man was?”

  “No, she still wouldn’t say. She’s afraid she’ll get him in trouble with… whoever.” Carly shrugged despondently. “I want to help, but I can’t without her cooperation.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he said slowly, thinking it over.

  “Do you think she would talk to you?”

  He shook his head. “But Martha might.”

  “Oh, yes. That may work. Martha seems to know everything.” She smiled up at him, glad that he’d thought of something. Her words of gratitude dried up in her throat when she met his eyes. His gaze burned hotly over her face, settling on her lips. She licked them self-consciously.

  “Don’t do that,” he murmured in a low growl.

  “What?”

  “Look like that…as if the world were full of wonder… as if I were the cause of it.”

  “I think you are,” she admitted, and sighed helplessly. “When you touch me, everything seems to glow.”

  He made an inarticulate sound, then stared straight ahead. The angle of his jaw seemed to be set in concrete as he fought the demon of their mutual desire.

  “This has been some week,” he finally said. “I forgot to write down two shipping dates. The trucks arrived for the cows, and we weren’t ready. I put checks in the wrong envelopes. I couldn’t get my bank account to balance….” He let the complaints die away and stared into space.

  “I forgot an appointment with a vendor. I wore the jacket to one outfit and the skirt to another. I couldn’t remember the name of my store when somebody asked,” she recounted her misfortunes.

  “I haven’t slept.” He faced her. “That’s why I don’t want you here. Seeing you makes me remember—” He stopped abruptly.

  “Weekend before last?” she taunted, and was vengefully delighted to see him flinch.

  “That was a low blow,” he muttered, his eyes narrowing.

  “You deserved it. Men act like it’s the woman’s fault that they can’t sleep or concentrate or anything—”

  “Can you?” he broke in harshly, his face suddenly close to hers as he stared into her eyes. “Can you sleep and not remember the nights in my arms and how good it was?”

  “No,” she stated with utmost truthfulness. She cast him a resentful glance. “I need to go. It’s obvious I’m not going to get anything done here today.”

  “Have you talked to Rodrigo? He may know something. Or Alys.”

  “The Lolita from your office? Why would she know anything?”

  Ty grinned. “She’s engaged to Rodrigo.”

  “You’re putting me on.” When he shook his head, she rolled her eyes to heaven. “I thought he had more sense than that.”

  “Apparently not. You women work your spells, and we men are the ones who pay the piper.”

  “Oh, you poor dears. It must seem terribly unfair. After all, men have been calling the tune for centuries. It must be terrible to have to move over and let others share the power.”

  A snort of laughter burst from him at her facetious manner. “I don’t think we ever had any power. It was, alas, but an illusion.” He laid a hand over his heart.

  She gazed at him in exaggerated worry. “We’d better go before the bull manure gets any higher.”

  With a snort of laughter, he started the truck and wound along the river path until they turned toward the ranch buildings. He parked in the shade of a shed.

  She waved to William, who stood outside the barn smoking a cigarette. Ty glanced from the young man to her. “Another of your conquests.”

  “Hardly. I’ve only spoken to him a couple of times.”

  “I saw him in your car.”

  “One time. I gave him a ride to town.” She laid a hand on Ty’s arm. “He sat at a table with Pete Hodkin and some others. I watched them in my rearview mirror. They were having a pretty heavy discussion about something. I wish I could have heard them.”

  Ty frowned. “That inquisitive little mind of yours is going to get you into trouble one of these days.”

  She batted her eyelashes prettily. “You’ll rescue me like you did before, won’t you?”

  �
�I don’t know. I might let you sink or swim on your own.” His gaze went to her lips and lingered. His face hardened when he saw her watching him with knowing laughter in her eyes. He reached for the door handle.

  She said nothing, but climbed out of the truck when he did and walked to her car.

  “Do you want to have dinner Saturday night?” he asked.

  Stopping with her hand on the handle of the car door, she studied his expression carefully. “Excuse me? For a minute there, I thought you asked me to dinner.”

  He scowled. “I did.”

  “Well,” she said. She’d dreamed of doing things with him and his son for a week. Now that the invitation had come, she knew she couldn’t.

  “Jonathan thought you might like another riding lesson, then we’ll grill some hot dogs.”

  She opened the car door and slipped inside, then paused after putting the key in the ignition switch. “Tell Jonathan I said thanks, but I really have a lot of work to do. The shop will be opening in mid-December for the Christmas holidays. I have to pick out carpet and shelving before then.”

  Ty actually looked relieved. “Well, then,” he said, “we’ll see you around.” He closed the car door.

  She rolled down the window. “Ty, be careful. If someone here is working with Hodkin, they could be planning on stealing something from the ranch. Shane said they mostly took tractors and equipment like that.”

  “I’ll keep an eye out for trouble here.”

  She nodded.

  He stepped back so she could leave.

  It was time to go. She cranked up the engine and put the car in reverse. After giving him one more glance, she backed up, then pulled out on the driveway and headed for the highway. He watched her until she was out of sight.

  She watched him, too.

  Ty parked the pickup next to the house, too tired to put it in the garage. He’d worked hard all day and was dog tired.

  During the afternoon, a conveyor belt had broken. They’d had to move hay by hand. Then he’d had to drive up to Medford for a part, then had spent another hour fixing the problem. That had thrown him hours late in finishing. It was after seven. He’d been on the go since five that morning.

  In the house, he headed for a shower, dropping clothes over the bedroom floor as he went, then picking them up and sticking them in the hamper. His mother hadn’t allowed the boys to be slobs while they were growing up. He found it hard to be one now.

  Funny, the things that lingered with a man.

  He thought of Carly. When she’d been at the house, it had seemed filled with her cheery presence. His son had liked her. So had he. Too much.

  Stepping into the shower, he turned the water on and recalled a sleek feminine form that had molded itself to him like a cat wanting to be stroked. She’d liked his touch.

  He’d liked hers, too. Maybe the thing between them should be explored more fully.

  No commitment, though. He wasn’t thinking along those lines. He’d made a big mistake once before. He couldn’t do that again. He had his son to think of now. He didn’t want Jonathan to learn to depend on a woman and then poof! have her disappear.

  Yeah, he’d be careful this time.

  He got out of the shower and dressed in fresh jeans and a white shirt. Rolling the sleeves back, he thought of the evening ahead. Jonathan was spending the night at his best friend’s house and staying over for a birthday party tomorrow, so he was at loose ends. He could go over to Shane’s house, but he figured they needed some privacy as a family to get used to the new baby.

  After watching the evening news, he wondered if Carly was free. She was probably still working in her shop, which was the size of the walk-in closet in the bedroom.

  Without giving himself time to reconsider, he called the store. She answered on the second ring.

  “Is dinner a possibility?” he heard himself ask.

  There was a lengthy pause. “I suppose so.”

  “Don’t be so enthusiastic. I might get ideas.”

  She laughed. “I don’t think you need encouragement along those lines.”

  “I’m bashful, don’t you know?” He smiled as she laughed again, that husky gurgle that reminded him of secret glens and bubbling brooks.

  Minutes later, he was on his way. When he turned onto the county road that would take him to the resort, he wondered what the hell he was doing, then realized he didn’t care. For the first time in years, he felt happy and carefree. He wasn’t going to analyze the reasons why, not tonight.

  Chapter Eleven

  Carly was in the tiny shop when he arrived. “I’m almost through here,” she said as he ducked under the security gate. She finished installing glass shelves in a corner cabinet.

  He eyed her clothing. She wore a cherry red sweater-and slacks outfit. Her hair was pulled to one side and held in place with a big white clip. Snowflake earrings shimmered with every movement of her head. She looked like a million.

  He wanted to ease in behind her and nibble a bit on her neck while she looked over a pile of receipts and entered the numbers, in her computer. “Shall we eat here?”

  She flashed him a grateful smile. “That will be fine.”

  He realized she was tired. How many hours had she put in that day and the day before? “Don’t you have anyone to help you?”

  “With the decorating? No. I like doing my own thing.”

  “Yeah, you would.” Tenderness washed over him.

  When she finished with her work, she retrieved her purse and coat, then raised the metal gate so he didn’t have to duck under, stepped outside with him, then lowered and locked it into place.

  A sign on the wall proclaimed the shop to be The Cricket Cage. An apt name. Her hours would be from ten until six.

  During dinner, they talked of their respective labors in almost desultory tones. Desire was kept to a low simmer by their mutual fatigue. Raging passion didn’t have to dominate every moment, he discovered. Sharing the quiet was nice, too.

  When a band began to play, they danced to the soft music, leaving the wilder stuff to the more energetic members of the crowd. When she yawned and then sighed, he realized it was time to call it a night.

  He held her white cashmere coat while she slipped her arms into it. He realized she probably bought it, that she didn’t need a man to do things for her. She could do them all herself.

  The knowledge gave him an odd feeling, as if his one advantage had disappeared. Strange that he should feel that way.

  Outside, she murmured, “I have my car,” when he steered her toward his.

  “I forgot.” He walked her to it. The snow crunched under their feet. The November rains had produced snow on the mountain peaks around the valley. There was only a sliver of moon, and the valley far below was pitch-black. The setting took on a surreal glow, reminding him of onyx surrounded by diamonds.

  They stood in the parking lot, neither speaking. He didn’t quite know what to say. He only knew what he wanted—for her to come home with him… without question, without hesitation, without arguing the sense of it…just come.

  “My house is closer,” he said.

  She shook her head. “I’ve taken a room in a nearby bedand-breakfast inn. I’m looking for a house to buy.”

  “Oh.” He swallowed against the words that lodged in his throat. He wasn’t even sure what they were. God, he was thirty-five. He should be past this adolescent uncertainty.

  She unlocked the car door and put her hand on the handle.

  “I thought maybe you’d like to stay with me.”

  “Are you asking me to spend the night?”

  “Yes.” It was hard to say. It felt like a commitment, or the start of one. Hell, he didn’t know. Maybe it was.

  She was silent for so long he concluded she was going to say no and was trying to think of a polite way to do it. “All right.”

  “You will?”

  Her laughter washed over him, gentle and teasing. “Yes. I was hoping you’d ask.”

&nb
sp; That set off so many sparks inside him, he wanted to take a room at the resort and stay there. “Lock your car and let’s go.”

  “I have to work in the morning.”

  “I’ll bring you in.”

  “It’s too far. Why don’t I follow you?”

  “I want you with me.” A simple confession, but filled with so many complications, he couldn’t begin to name them.

  “All right.” She locked the car.

  Just like that, No fuss. No arguments. Gratitude hit him. He wanted to worship at her feet. He really was going off the deep end. And he didn’t care.

  They drove to his place in silence with her sitting close like teenagers on a date. He draped an arm around her and drove with his left hand until he had to make the turn onto the ranch road, which required both hands. He could feel her breast against his arm. By the time they reached the house, he was uncomfortable in his jeans.

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  He looked to where she pointed. A man was making his way along the paddock fence, clinging to it as if he’d fall if he let go. He was heading for the stable.

  “It’s William, isn’t it?” She peered through the dark. “I think he’s hurt.”

  They got out of the car together, but his longer stride brought him to the younger man quickest. “What’s happened?” he asked, looping an arm around the cowhand’s torso and swinging William’s arm over his shoulders to take some of his weight.

  “Had a little accident,” William muttered through a swollen lip.

  “Someone beat you up,” Carly put in. “Who? Why?”

  William attempted to laugh. It ended in a cough. “Nobody. Barroom brawl. Dumb to get… involved. Think I stove in a couple of ribs. I was going to get the liniment.”

  Ty guided him toward the bunkhouse kitchen. “Let’s see how bad you’re hurt. We might need to see the doc—”

  “No doctor,” William insisted, breathing with difficulty. “I’m okay.”

  “Right,” Carly snapped sarcastically.

  He grinned. “I’ve lived through worse.”