by Mary Leo
Avery made a face over the thought of a fried candy bar. “That sounds horrible.”
“If I can eat a corndog, you can eat a fried candy bar.”
She tentatively held out her hand, but her stomach was already protesting. “Okay,” she said, “but this is going to cost you, big time.”
He took her hand in his. “I hope so,” he said with a sly little smirk.
IT HAD BEEN a long, relaxing day and now all Reese could think of was getting Avery alone somewhere. She’d picked him up at the ranch for the kite festival, so she was driving him back to the Cooper Ranch in her hot bright-red car, buzzing up the road about twenty miles over the limit with Reese loving every minute of it.
“I have to say, deep-fried chocolate anything is mighty good,” Avery said. “Who knew?”
“Well, I won’t say the same for corndogs,” Reese countered, the taste still lingering in his memory.
“Then why did you eat three of them?”
He hadn’t meant to get so carried away, but they were just too damn good. “Because they were outstanding,” Reese told her. “Especially dunked in ketchup and mayo. You’re a bad influence.”
She turned to him for a moment. “How bad?”
He caught her devilish grin that he’d come to love.
“Bad enough so that I can’t stop thinking about you.”
She reached over and slid her hand across his thigh. “And just what are you thinking?”
He reached over and ran two fingers along her cheek. “I can’t tell you while you’re driving. You might lose control.”
Her hand slipped farther up his leg and his body caught fire. “I’m already losing control.”
“Then we better get somewhere fast before you drive us off the road.”
She put both hands on the wheel and floored it. Soon they were doing ninety-five, and even Reese felt a little apprehensive about the speed. “Is this fast enough?”
“Maybe a little too fast. Can we slow it down a bit? There might be a cow in the road.”
“Then the cow better get out of my way, ’cause I’m not stopping.”
She reached out again, and this time she traced the inside of his thigh. He grabbed her hand, stopping her just when she was getting way too close to dangerous territory. And besides, she took the last turn too fast, and nearly swerved off the road.
“As much as I’m enjoying your touch, it would be much more enjoyable if we weren’t flying down the road at ninety-five.”
She slowed to eighty as the Cooper Ranch entrance came into view. “Is this better?” she said, as she stopped, signaled and turned up the dirt road towards the main ranch house.
“Much,” he told her as he reached over and slid his hand up her leg.
She abruptly stopped the car about twenty feet from the house, turned off the ignition, the lights and climbed over the console, straddling him.
“We’re going to do this here?” Reese said, as he reached for the electric lever on the side of the seat to slide it back further, giving them more room.
“Do you have a better idea?”
“At the moment, my mind is as empty as a football. All the blood has rushed to the important parts.”
She cupped his erection that strained against the zipper on his jeans. “It’s the important parts that matter at a time like this.”
“And just what time is it?” he asked in a low throaty voice, barely audible.
“Time to shut up and kiss me.”
Her lips came down hard on his, and their tongues pressed against each other as they each tried to get out of their shirts, pulling and tugging as they continued to kiss. With Avery’s help, Reese was able to tug his shirt off, tossing it into the back seat as Avery tried to unbutton her own shirt. He joined in on the struggle, but kept getting distracted by the softness of her full breasts and her silky skin. He couldn’t help himself, he had to taste her skin, had to feel the swell of each breast before he could concentrate on buttons.
They finally managed to get her blouse off and Reese slipped his hands behind her back to unclasp her pretty white lace bra, when a light lit up the porch on the main house, and crazy barking ensued.
“Shit,” Reese said. “Not now.”
And within moments, Duke and Clint came tearing up to the car, jumping up on the windows, their paws scratching at the glass.
“You own dogs?”
“They belong to the family,” Reese told her, wanting to kill whoever let them out. He rolled down the window, stuck out a hand and pointed. “Go home. Duke, go home.”
But Duke just licked his hand, then tried to jump up and lick his face.
“They seem friendly,” Avery said, giggling now, and reaching for her shirt.
“No. Don’t,” Reese pleaded. “I’ll get rid of them.”
Clint, who was the bigger of the two, actually jumped up on the window ledge and tried to make his way inside. “Down, boy,” Reese ordered.
But Clint wasn’t in the mood to take an order. Instead he somehow pushed his way inside, pushing Avery back into the dashboard, as he licked Reese’s face.
Suddenly the passenger door swung open, and Avery slid out just as Duke attacked Reese with more tongue action. Soon both dogs were on his lap and Reese did everything he could to get them off, and save himself from any misplaced paws.
Avery slipped on her blouse, then leaned into the car and grabbed Duke’s collar, trying her best to pull him out. She finally succeeded, but her misplaced leverage landed her right on her butt, with Duke licking her face to make sure she was okay.
In the next moment, Draven appeared out of nowhere, grabbing for the dogs, and pulling them off of Reese and Avery.
“I had no idea anyone was out here,” he said. “They were restless, so I let them out thinking there was some sort of critter out here that needed chasing away. Sorry about this.”
He reached over and held out a hand for Avery. She took it and pulled herself up, her blouse now somewhat buttoned.
Reese, now completely over his arousal, stepped out of the car while trying to regain his composure. “Avery Templeton, this is my youngest brother, Draven. Draven, this is Avery, the girl our dogs just attacked.”
“Hi,” Avery said, while tucking in her blouse.
“Um, sorry if the dogs interrupted anything,” Draven said, his gaze dropping to Reese’s shirtless chest.
“Don’t say another word,” Reese warned.
Draven nodded, turned on his heels and while still holding onto the dogs, headed back to the house.
“I’m really sorry about all of that. Are you okay?” Reese asked once his brother had taken the dogs back inside and closed the door.
“I’m fine. They’re sweet but powerful,” she said, dusting off her butt, a painful look on her face. “I think I may not be able to sit for a while.”
“I’m sorry. Want to come inside? Maybe take a bath? We have one of those old claw-footed tubs you can soak in.”
“As great as that sounds, I think I’d rather soak in a tub at Chuck’s place then go right to bed.” She hobbled back to the car, opened the driver’s side, then got in.
Reese walked over to her side of the car. “You don’t know how bad I feel.”
“Not as bad as I do, I’m sure.”
“You know what I mean.”
She smiled. “I’m beginning to wonder, Reese Cooper, if we’re supposed to be together. Maybe the universe is trying to tell us something.”
He thought about all the dreams he’d had about her since he was a kid. “It’s telling us to work harder at it. Nothing you really want is easy, and I really want you.”
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow at Chuck’s ranch house promptly at noon. Lunch will be served and Kaya is planning something special, I’m sure. After that, I’m all yours.”
“Was this your plan all along?”
A grin creased her lips. “I’m a lawyer. Everything is negotiable.”
“You should’ve told me that
from the beginning. It would have saved us a lot of time.”
“But then we wouldn’t have had this moment, and I for one, wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”
She chuckled then drove away, leaving Reese to deal with the fact that in less than fifteen hours he would be standing face-to-face with Chuck Starr, a man who had changed his entire life.
NINE
By the time Avery pulled up in Chuck’s driveway and killed the engine in front of the sprawling ranch house, it was going on ten o’clock. Her butt ached, and her libido had experienced a crushing blow. All she could think of was soaking in the whirlpool tub in her private bathroom. She’d only used it once before, after her first day of riding for essentially the same reason she needed it tonight. Only difference was tonight’s injury had been frustrating and somewhat humiliating, whereas the soreness from her first long ride in years, had been rejuvenating.
She located the code on her phone for Chuck’s front door and when it unlocked, she pushed it open, only to find Chuck just walking out of his private den carrying what had to be an expensive cut crystal glass with a shot of something amber colored inside.
He took one look at Avery hobbling in and made her an offer she couldn’t refuse. “Brandy?” he asked with an inviting smile, holding up his glass.
She nodded, “Yes, please, with a generous pour.”
She followed him back into his den where she knew the only really comfortable furniture, besides her bedroom, was located and gingerly sat in one of the plush armchairs with the feather cushions and the Western motif. Chuck’s den or office was decorated in masculine tones of tan and deep browns. The windows were covered in dark wooden horizontal blinds that Chuck kept closed most of the time. Even the walls had been paneled in woods with swirling deep brown grains that matched the shelving on one of the walls with deep, file-type drawers on the bottom. She’d discovered that Chuck kept those drawers locked when she’d tried to open one looking for a pen while Chuck was in the office with her. He also kept his office door locked during the day, and only opened it sometimes at night, when he relaxed in one of his chairs, drinking a brandy.
At first, she’d found all the locks a bit unnerving, but then decided it was probably due to some of the ranch workers who floated in and out of the house during the day, leaving paperwork for Chuck with Kayla.
Avery immediately noticed that one of the drawers was still open and a file had been pulled. Bell House was written across the top. Immediately her curiosity meter moved up a couple notches. She wanted to ask him about the file when he abruptly closed the drawer, not taking the time to put the file back. If she didn’t know better, she would think he wanted to hide it from her.
Avery decided it might be best to keep what she saw to herself. Chuck didn’t seem like he wanted to share.
He poured her a double from an intricately cut crystal bottle that sat on a small side table, handed it to her, then took a seat across from her in a leather chair that matched hers.
“I thought by now you would be used to a saddle,” Chuck said as the chair enveloped his body in its comfort.
Avery took a long swallow, savoring the complex flavors of the liquid on her tongue. Its warmth spread out across her body, helping her to relax into the plushness that cradled her weary body.
“Wasn’t riding,” she finally said. “Spent the day at the kite festival in Flagstaff with Reese.”
She slid down in the luxurious chair as her body released the long day.
“You certainly didn’t get that limp from a kite festival.”
“The friendly Cooper dogs. I wasn’t prepared for the onslaught of affection.”
A low chuckle rumbled from the back of Chuck’s throat. “I don’t think I could ever use that description when it came to those dogs. They’d just as soon rip me to pieces than show me any lovin’.”
“Huh, maybe that’s why they were so aggressive. They could smell this house on me.”
He drank down some of his brandy, then tugged on the sides of his mustache. Chuck kept a neatly trimmed solid white mustache that completely covered his top lip, and dipped down the sides of his mouth. She couldn’t remember a time when he hadn’t had one. Of course, when she was a kid, it had been dark brown, with only traces of white hair. Chuck had always been a good-looking, old world cowboy. Someone she’d always admired and looked up to. She understood Reese’s resentment of him because of all that his dad had probably told him over the years, but what she couldn’t understand was Reese’s refusal to give Chuck a chance. Even the Cooper dogs hated Chuck.
“Ha! That very well could be. “By the way, I picked up the final docs today for the meeting tomorrow. You might want to read everything over one more time before we hand it off to Reese and Catherine for their signatures.”
“Kind of calling it close, don’t you think?” Avery didn’t like to work like this. She preferred to be well prepared in advance, but apparently at Reinhardt and Lowe, Chuck’s hired law firm, they were more of a last minute kind of practice.
“We still have a few hours in the morning to change anything, but as it stands right now, it’s what I want. What I’ve worked for all these years. I’m just glad I’m still alive to see it happen. It could’ve been me that had that heart attack just as easily as Reese Sr. I prob’ly deserved it more than he did.”
Her stomach clenched. Chuck meant more to her than she could put into words. For years, he’d kept her mother’s memory alive with stories about her, stories that her dad had refused to share. Her dad, Daniel, remaining true to his upper crust, British upbringing, handled his pain by closing himself off. He rarely spoke of Avery’s mom, Pamela, and it was only here, on this ranch, that Avery had been allowed to speak of her, to remember her, and only privately with Chuck. She would always be grateful for those stories, for those memories that Chuck had generously shared.
“Don’t even say things like that. You know how much you mean to me, Chuck. Sometimes even more than my own dad.”
“And you shouldn’t be saying anything like that. Your dad raised you. Put food on the table and clothes on your back. He was there whenever you were sick, and he was there for all the good stuff. He loves you more than you could ever imagine. He’s a good father to you, Avery, always has been and always will be. A father and his child have a special bond. One that can’t be broken.”
She knew he’d shifted the conversation to his own feelings about Reese. “I know all that. I’m not saying I don’t love my father, because I do. But I love you as well, and I’m sure in time that Reese will . . .”
He leaned forward in his chair. “Don’t even think that. I’m not a fool. I’m not looking for any kind of love from Reese. That belongs to the man who raised him, who was there for him. All I want is his respect for what I’ve accomplished, for all that I’ve worked for. Everything I’ve done has been for him. It’s always been for my son. I knew Reese Sr. would never make the kind of money or own the kind of company that my son deserved, so I worked my tail off to make sure I could provide it. Reese Sr. was a stubborn old cowboy who never thought beyond what was right in front of him, even when he was a young man. He never tried to reach for more. Always settled for less than he deserved.
“That’s not my dream, never was. Even in the beginning, when I was dirt poor. When Catherine and I were first dating, I always knew I would be rich someday. I knew that just working the land would never be enough for me, or for her. I wanted so much more for Catherine, for our baby, but she wouldn’t hear it. She wouldn’t trust me.
“There was a time, between her and me, when she confessed that she’d loved me, and had somehow always loved me since she was a kid . . . since she dreamt about me. I remember that she said her dreams about me were more than just dreams. That she knew we were meant for each other. Told me I was her soul mate, and I foolishly believed her. Then, once our baby was conceived, everything changed.” He stopped talking and finished off his drink.
Avery’s inner antenna went
up and she desperately wanted more information about Catherine’s dream, but she didn’t want to interrupt Chuck’s thoughts. Since she’d arrived, they’d only had one other conversation that had dealt with the Cooper family, but Chuck hadn’t wanted to get too deep into the details. Tonight however, Chuck seemed to want to tell her everything, and Avery eagerly lapped it up.
He stood and poured another shot of brandy into his glass, then he held up the bottle. “Can I top yours off?”
“Yes, thanks,” she said without hesitation. She was finally feeling no pain, and didn’t want to change a thing. “So how did everything change?”
He poured another shot into her glass, placed the bottle back on the small side table, and slipped back into the comfort of his chair.
“Up until that moment, when she learned she was pregnant and shared it with me, we’d been inseparable, spending as much time as we could together. I’d been working on this very ranch at the time doing a lot of different jobs. Of course this ranch was only about an eighth of the size it is now back then, but even then, I knew I would one day own it. But without your dad’s help, it might not have happened when it did. I could never do enough to repay your dad for believing in me back then.
“Anyway, I’d met Reese Sr. several times before I knew he’d been secretly trying to court Catherine. I even did some wrangling for him for about a week or two. We got along fine, but what I didn’t know was that he’d been spending time with Catherine’s parents, going behind my back and trying to get them to agree to some kind of arranged marriage. He knew dang well she and I were an item, but that didn’t stop him. Matter-of-fact, I think it spurred him on, made him work harder for the prize.
“Her parents were older, and didn’t have much money. Reese Sr. with his family ranch seemed like the right pick for their daughter. Plus, they were worried about who would care for them in their later years, and got the notion into their heads that I couldn’t. Reese Sr. played on that perception of me. Made them think I was a drifter, even though I was born and raised not fifty miles from here.