“That’s a forgery. Since you paid someone off to create it, you can pay someone off to destroy it. Immediately.” Decker’s voice was low and menacing—angrier, even, than the night he and Carina stole the Christmas tree.
Her father braced his hands on the desk and stood, glaring at Decker.
“Daddy, sit back down. Decker, you, too. Both of you knock—”
“I have my reasons for doing what I did,” her father cut in, his attention solely on Decker. “And I suggest that you stand down, son, before you land yourself on the wrong side of my good graces.”
Decker’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe you didn’t hear me right. Nothing and nobody are going to hold Carina back from living the life she deserves or being who she’s meant to be. Not me and not you.” He stabbed his finger in the air toward her father, who glared at it, unflinching. “And definitely not some meaningless piece of paper. You will make this right for her, or so help me, there’s going to be hell to pay.”
Meaningless piece of paper. It might be forged, but it wasn’t meaningless to Carina. She felt married to Decker. The past month had been the best of her life.
She backed toward the door, her face averted to hide the tears that threatened once more. Maybe Decker had been right that the distance would be a blessing. Maybe if she were half the country away from Decker, she could learn how to live without him again.
“Are you threatening me, son?” her father growled.
“That’s exactly what I’m doing.” Decker strode toward the door and took Carina’s hand again, though he seemed too wrapped up in his own male posturing to notice her distress. He tugged Carina out the door. “Come on, Carina. We’ve wasted enough time here. You have a phone call to return.”
Chapter Ten
Decker lay awake, Carina curled into him. He tucked a hand behind his head and stared at the skylight in the ceiling, listening to her even breathing. He watched snow accumulate in the edges of the skylight, then blow away only to start accumulating again. As the weatherman had predicted, it looked like it might be a rare white Christmas.
The last couple days had flown by. A distance had already settled between Decker and Carina. He had barely seen hide or hair of her during her waking hours. As far as he knew, they were supposed to attend the Mistletoe Ball together and renew their vows along with all the other couples in attendance. Their last Mistletoe Effect jinx prevention duty.
The mere thought of it brought him a pain like none he’d ever experienced.
The trouble was, Decker didn’t want to stop being married to Carina. He’d loved every day of being her husband, but he’d told her the truth when he’d said he refused to be the man who held her back from achieving her dreams.
What the hell was he going to do? Here it was a few minutes after midnight on Christmas Eve and he had no idea how to fix things. He’d had two goals that month: get to know Carina intimately and help her find the courage to pursue her dream. Looking back, he wouldn’t have done anything differently, but he couldn’t help but feel that God had a dark sense of humor to give him everything he’d wanted only to teach him the lesson that he should have been more careful what he wished for. Because in getting to know Carina he’d fallen in love with her, but helping her find her voice and achieve her dreams meant giving her up—and, though he hadn’t spoken to Ty Briscoe since he’d threatened him, most likely forfeiting his own dream in the process.
He just couldn’t see any solutions that worked, that would keep him and Carina together. If he followed her to California, what was he supposed to do there? He didn’t have any job skills other than ranching, and he sure wasn’t the kind of man to live off his woman’s wages.
He had no doubt that Carina would come with him to Fort Worth—that was, if he still had a job there to go to—but he couldn’t ask her to give up her dream. Dressmaking itself could happen anywhere, but finding clients, that was a different ball game. She had a chance to be part owner of an established bridal shop in a major city, which would be leaps and bounds over anything she could establish in Fort Worth. Not only that, but also the kind of house his ranch-foreman salary could afford would be a paltry consolation prize to a woman used to living in means. He had no idea how much of her family wealth she had access to, but he was too proud a man to find out.
The best solution he could come up with was taking the Granite Hill job if by some miracle Murray Outweller could overlook the fact that Decker had threatened one of his oldest buddies, and, from there, start researching ranch jobs in the Los Angeles area. There had to be some, and eventually one of them was going to need a new foreman or stable manager, something that paid a livable wage. If not in L.A., then somewhere close enough that Decker and Carina could make a relationship work. When he came to her, it would only be when he could do so as an equal partner, with more than just himself and his love to offer.
She rustled in her sleep, readjusting, so he pulled her into his arms. She rested her head in the crook of his arm, her cheek on his chest and her arm draped over his ribs. Then her hand twitched in a deliberate way that told him she waking. She looked up at him.
“Hi,” he said.
“Why aren’t you asleep?” she asked in a groggy voice.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind. I didn’t mean to wake you up, too.”
“Tell me what you’re thinking about.”
He stroked her hair. “I’m just so proud of you, is all. You’re going to make a great business owner and you’re going to make a lot of brides very happy.”
She drew a heart on his chest with her finger. “You’re going to make a great foreman.”
“Mmm,” was all he could bring himself to say. His lifelong dream had suddenly lost all its luster in the shadow of everything he stood to lose.
He rolled, caging her beneath him, and kissed her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him and kissed him back. There was desperation in the kiss. Desperation to make the most of the night because their time together was almost over. She planned to leave for L.A. in a few days’ time.
“Are you looking forward to the Mistletoe Ball tonight?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said with a halfhearted smile. Then a shadow fell over her face. “We’re going to have to pretend to renew our vows. Are you okay with that?”
It won’t be pretending for me, he almost said. But he was so afraid to spook her into forfeiting her opportunity in L.A. that he couldn’t find the courage to speak up. So instead, he kissed a trail from her neck to her chest. She took his head in her hands and arched up, directing him to her breast.
He rewarded her boldness by drawing her stiff nipple into his mouth. He loved that she’d starting doing that, fearlessly letting him know loud and clear what she wanted and when. It filled him with pride that she trusted him that much to be honest.
After lavishing attention on both her breasts until her hips squirmed, he kissed her deeply again, trying to tell her—without messing it up with words that might inadvertently persuade her to give up her dreams—that she meant everything to him and that he loved her enough not to hold her back.
She wrapped her legs around his hips. Every fiber of his being wanted to take her hard and fast, to claim her the only way he could. Breathing hard and fighting for restraint, he levered up on his elbows and reached between her thighs. She was hot to the touch and he could tell by the way she shivered and moaned that she was turned-on, but she wasn’t wet enough yet.
Rising up to his knees, he opened his nightstand drawer and grabbed for a condom and lube. In the glow of moonlight filtering down from the skylight, Carina’s flesh glowed a violet-blue, though her eyes were fathomless orbs of shadow and darkness as she watched him rip the condom open.
Without a word, she took the bottle of lube from the sheet next to her hip and poured some into her hand. She knew what his plan for her was and she was getting herself ready. He wished the lighting were better so he could’ve watched her touch herself in high definition, but the absence of light r
eminded him of their first time together, their consummation, so making love in the dark would always hold a place of privilege in his heart.
When he’d finished rolling on the condom, her hand was on his shaft, pumping with a tight, confident grip, lubing him up, too.
He rose over her and took her hands, pinning them over her head. She lifted her head and kissed him. It was such a different kiss from that first night. Now, they knew each other with an understanding that ran deep and knew no boundaries. Their tongues twined, not exploring like they had in the beginning of their relationship, but joining, becoming one.
He flexed forward, surging into her. She mewed into his mouth and took him all the way in. They moved together, fluid and graceful—just heat and bodies and friction, and their two souls reaching for each other and for a shared moment of rapture. Carina usually needed more than intercourse to get her there, though, so as soon as he felt the first stirring of his building orgasm he rolled onto his back, bringing her up to sit astride him.
She braced her hands on his chest, finding the same slow, steady rhythm they’d established in missionary, while he set his thumb to work against her clit. He knew the motion she liked best, what got her there fastest. Closing his eyes, he gave himself over to the dance with her. Thrusting up with his hips, rotating his thumb just so, making every movement count until her moans and whimpers turned into the quiet, unsteady breaths that told him she was almost there.
He rolled again, wanting to end this one on top of her, thrusting with long, deep strokes, all the way in, then all the way out. He lowered his mouth to her neck, biting just a little on that one pressure point that always made her shiver.
“So close,” she breathed.
He rose to his hands and pistoned into her harder, faster. She tilted her hips, digging for release. He felt his end coming on, too, and clamped his jaws together, holding it back, waiting … waiting—
As though shocked by an electric volt, her back arched and she cried out. Her pussy squeezed him in a pulse that proved his undoing. He let it go, let her have all of him, until his arms couldn’t hold him up any longer and, thoroughly sated, he collapsed over her, cheek-to-cheek, burying his face in her hair.
“You’re going to live here with me until you leave for L.A. I’ve grown accustomed to having you in my bed.” He winced. He hadn’t known he was going to say that right then, much less command it. “Please.”
She traced a path with her fingertip along his collarbone, then up his neck and into his hair. He felt moisture on his cheek, as though she was shedding silent tears. “I’ve grown accustomed to you, too.”
She splayed her hand over his heart. “Maybe I shouldn’t take that offer. Maybe I should stay here.” In her voice, he heard a hint of raggedness that told him he might’ve been right about her crying.
He’d also been right about how fragile her commitment to herself was. How willing she was to give up her dreams for the people around her. He rolled to his back and held her tight, then wiped her tears away. “No, Carina. My God, no. That’s no way for a dragon slayer to talk. You deserve to be happy.”
“Maybe there’s more to happiness than a dream job.”
He brushed an errant strand of hair away from her face. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to go to L.A. like you and Janice worked out, and I’m going to go to Fort Worth. But I’m going to start looking into ranch work in the L.A. area. And as soon as I find it, I’m going to come to you. Will you wait for me?”
“Oh, Decker.” He heard the imminent sob in her voice and gathered her even more tightly against him.
“Please,” he said, “I would never forgive myself if you turned that job down for the sake of me. Everything’s going to work out, somehow. I promise.”
She stroked her palm over his cheek. “I don’t want to be the woman who kept you from your dream, either. Your dream and your father’s dream. I want you to go to Fort Worth and breed horses and manage a world-class stable. I’m so proud of you for making this leap. Your dad would be proud, too.”
But Decker wasn’t so sure. He had the sneaking suspicion that his dad would tell him that nothing in the world was more important than love. He had a feeling that if his dad had to choose between his dream job and being with his wife, love would rule the day. And maybe, just maybe, that’s what had happened, why his dad had never seen his dreams come true. He’d chosen his wife and kids instead.
Decker released a ragged exhalation, wishing he and Carina had never had to choose and praying for his father’s guidance to get him through the next couple days.
∗∗∗
Decker gave a wave to Ty Briscoe’s secretary, then walked right past her to stand at Ty’s open office door. “I need a word with you, if I could.”
Ever since Ty and Decker had exchanged words at the winter wonderland garden on the night he and Carina stole the Christmas tree, Decker had been half-expecting to get fired for his insolence, but he had a suspicion that he and Ty shared the same cowboy code of honor, which meant he respected a man who stood up for his woman, as Decker had done for Carina.
Ty turned his attention from the paperwork on his desk, looking unimpressed. “Have you come to tell me how to parent my daughter or are you here to give me advice on how to run my business?”
“Neither.” Decker didn’t get the impression that Carina had told her father about her job offer in L.A., and it wasn’t his right to bring it up, though dancing around the truth was going to make this conversation even trickier.
At Briscoe’s wave of invitation to sit, Decker dropped into a chair across the desk from him. “We’re both busy men, so I’m going to get right to it.”
“Fair enough.”
“I’ve been talking with Murray Outweller about me moving over to Granite Hill Ranch and working for him.”
With a grunt of surprise, Ty set his pen down and laced his fingers behind his head. “Murray and I go way back to our barrel-racing youths.”
“Yes, sir. I know. He’s looking to retire, but not before he settles in a new ranch foreman, someone who might entertain the idea of buying the place from him one day.”
“You two really were talking,” Ty said.
“Yes, sir. Last time he was at the resort, he paid me a visit in the stable.”
Ty tsked and sat forward, snatching up his pen again. “That dirty bastard was looking to steal one of my key employees from me? And, here, I thought he and I were old friends.”
A knot of panic lodged in Decker’s throat. He hadn’t meant to mention that part. Damn nerves. “You and the rest of the rest of the Briscoe family gave me a chance when no one else would. I know you and I have butted heads this month, but in all the years I’ve been a Briscoe employee, you’ve been mighty patient while I figured myself out, and I’ll always be grateful for that. The thing is, I’m ready for a change.”
This wasn’t the change he wanted, not anymore, but it was a close enough proximity for the truth given that Carina had yet to talk her job offer over with her father.
The hint of amusement tugged at Ty’s lips. “What you’re saying is that hitching horses to carriages and leading trail rides for city slicker tourists isn’t getting your blood stirring anymore?”
He said it with a fair amount of dry wit, which eased the knot in Decker’s throat a bit. “No, sir.”
“Granite Hill Ranch is a big-time operation and Fort Worth is another world than our little corner of hill country. Are you sure you’re ready for a move that big?”
An image of Carina popped into his head. He’d been ready for this change for years, right up until twenty-four days ago. But now his heart, his everything, was moving to California, something Carina would never do if Decker didn’t accept the job in Fort Worth. He had no doubt that if he remained at Briscoe Ranch Resort she would, too.
“Yes, sir. I’m more than ready.” He braced himself for Ty to bring up Carina, to inquire about her and Decker’s relationship and why he was so eager t
o move on.
“What do you need from me?” Ty asked instead. “I get the impression you’re not just here to give me your notice.”
So that was that, then. Bastard. Decker swallowed hard. This was the tricky part, and for the life of him he had no idea what Ty’s reaction was going to be. “Mr. Outweller is waiting for your phone call to give your blessing for the deal. He said he needs you to vouch for me.”
Ty rubbed his chin. “And you think that’s something I’d do for you?”
“I do,” he bluffed. “I don’t think you want me working here any more than I want to work here.”
Ty tossed his pen onto the desk, breaking out in a hard chuckle. “Well, one thing I will say about you, Decker—you’ve got balls to come in here like this considering the last two times we were face-to-face, you threatened me.”
“I was protecting what’s mine.”
“You’re talking about Carina?”
“Yes.”
Ty cocked his head to the side. “If she’s yours, then why are you so hot to nullify the marriage license, get out of town, and start a new job elsewhere?” Then his face fell, as though a new thought had occurred to him. “Unless you’re planning to take her with you. Tell me I’m not going to have to replace two of my best employees at the same time.”
His best employee. Not his little girl. Ty was worried about the resort, not what was best for his daughter. Then again, why was Decker surprised? It was a good thing Decker was the man looking out for her now.
Who’s going to look out for her in California? Who was she going to come home to after the first day of her new job? Who was going to cook for her and listen to her and encourage her to keep being brave and bold and standing up for her herself? Yes, Decker could do that over the phone from Fort Worth, but it wouldn’t be the same, not by a long shot. He blinked down at his boots, processing that, breathing through the ache in his chest.
“Your silence speaks volumes, son. Is she going with you or are you going to leave her here with a broken heart? Don’t think I don’t know that’s what’ll happen. I see how taken she is with you.”
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