by Ciana Stone
He suppressed a shudder, wondering why in the world Willa would want a bunch of ferrets around.
That question was quickly replaced by a start when he stepped out onto the back porch behind her and a fat bobcat bolted to its feet and caterwauled at him, its ears laid back and fur standing on end.
“Shit! Willa, back up. Now!”
She just looked over her shoulder at him with a smile. “That’s just Bobby. He’s family. Here.” She handed him the bottle of booze and the glasses then turned and knelt down. The bobcat kept its eyes on Zeb, issued a long hiss and then eased over to Willa.
Zeb damn near fainted when it cozied up to her and started purring. She gave its head and ears a scratch then stood. “Now you leave Zeb be, you hear? He’s a friend.”
The cat looked up at her, then at Zeb and with feline grace despite its heft, turned its back and sashayed off the porch to disappear into the darkness.
“What’s up with the zoo?” he asked.
“I like animals. Wanna share the porch swing with me, Ranger Zeb?”
“I’d like that.”
She took a seat and he sat beside her. “So you were going to tell me about Clay.”
“Drink first.”
Zeb handed her a glass, tucked the other one between his knees and poured both almost half full. After recapping the bottle and setting it on the floor, he raised his glass and clicked it against hers. Willa took a big draught, blew out a breath and angled toward him, drawing one leg up under the other.
“Clay. Right. I married him.”
“You … you’re married to Clay?”
“I was. For about four months. Big mistake. Monumental. Guess I was … I don’t know what I was. It was after Ethan and Dad passed. I was here all alone and Clay took to coming over and helping. It was ̶ it was nice. We dated for about a month then he asked me to marry him.”
She sighed, polished off her drink and set the glass on the floor. “I don’t know why I said yes. I guess I was just lonely. But I said yes. Never took his name but I married him.”
“I take it the marriage didn’t take?”
“Nope.”
“And didn’t end well?”
“Not for him. He got into the habit of knocking me around pretty quick. I didn’t take to that and tended to fight back.” She barked a harsh laugh that had no humor in it. “You remember Clay so it’s not hard to guess that I usually ended up on the short end of that stick.
“Anyway, one night I was coming in from tending to the stock and he came staggering out of the house, drunk as a skunk. I tried to avoid him and headed out back toward the barn. He followed and started cussing and threatening me.
“The ferrets came tearing out of the house, all running around his legs, nipping at him and chattering. He was kicking at them and cussing at me and he fell.”
Zeb waited for her to finish the tale. When she remained silent, he spoke up. “And?”
“He fell into the rattler pit.”
That had Zeb sitting up straight in a flash. He hated snakes. With a passion. Even more than he hated rats. He’d known people in his youth who caught rattlers and sold them for their skins and venom and even for the meat but he’d never experienced it himself. He hated snakes.
“I’m guessing that he didn’t get back out.”
“Oh we got him hauled out but he was tag on the toe dead.”
Zeb considered it for a moment. “And his family blames you?”
“Oh yeah. I called the law when it happened and told them everything. It was ruled an accident but the Ellis family doesn’t see it that way and every now and then one of them shows up to threaten me.”
“You could have a restraining order taken out.”
Willa laughed. “You’ve been gone a long time, haven’t you Zeb? That’s not how things work around here.”
“This isn’t some backwoods where there’s no law, Willa.”
“No, but it’s still a place where people often take justice or what they perceive as justice into their own hands. Or have you forgotten?”
Her question brought a rush of memories he’d thought he had buried deep enough they’d never surface. He knew all too well what she was talking about.
“No. I haven’t forgotten. But this is different.”
“Oh? What makes it different, Zeb?”
“Me.”
Her eyes went to his and held and after a moment he felt like squirming. There was something in her eyes, something that made purely male reactions take charge and dominate. “Oh? You gonna protect me, Zeb?”
Zeb was shocked at the sound of his own voice and the conviction behind the words. “I am, Willa. I most certainly am.”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Well, won’t that be something?”
He didn’t know how to respond. Hell, he didn’t even know why he’d made the promise. But the words were spoken and he’d stick to them. He’d protect her, and in the doing, maybe he’d figure out why Willa Hale sparked such a fire in him.
“I guess I better hit the road.”
“You good to drive?”
Zeb gave her a smile. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“Okay then, let me walk you to your car.” She stood and offered her hand.
“No need. There’s a moon out.”
“Let me walk you, Zeb.”
He took her hand and let her pull him to his feet. She didn’t release his hand. “I’m sorry about the way I acted when you showed up.”
“Excuse me?”
“The kiss.”
“Oh, yeah, the kiss.”
Willa felt a surge of hunger at the sexy smile he gave her. She hadn’t thought about what she was doing when she saw him standing on her porch. All she could think was how much she had been in love with him when she was a girl. Back then, she thought he was the prettiest boy she’d ever seen or would see. Now he was the kind of man who made her temperature rise.
He still had the lean lines of his youth, but maturity had filled out his chest and arms. The lanky boy had been replaced with a well-filled out, sexy as sin man who sure knew how to wear a Stetson. His hazel eyes had a bit of a dangerous glitter in their depths and a whole lot of sexy.
When she was a child, he was the only one of her brother’s friends who’d been nice to her. Seeing him smile at her was like walking out of a cave into the sunlight. She’d loved him since she was eight years old. When he upped and left she was broken-hearted. Sure, she knew there was no future for a nineteen-year-old boy and a thirteen-year-old girl, but she was dead certain that she’d never love anyone the way she loved Zeb Childress.
Seeing him brought all that back. All those yearnings and secret dreams she’d had for so long just jumped up and took control and before she knew it she was kissing him. She hadn’t lied. She’d always wanted to.
Now she was feeling a bit ill at ease, despite his sexy smile. “Was it what you’d hoped?” His question cut into her reverie.
“What?”
“The kiss.”
She shrugged. “Not like I imagined.”
“No? Well damn, Willa, I hate to think you waited this long just to be disappointed. Let’s see if we can’t fix that.”
Nothing could have surprised her more than him reaching out to run his hand behind her neck and draw her to him. Nothing could have inflamed her more than his lips against hers. They caressed gently for a brief moment before his other arm went around her to pull her snugly against him and his tongue stroked her lips for entrance.
Willa lost all sense of the world around her as he kissed her. It was the kiss of her dreams and more. She wound her arms around his lean torso, fingers fisting into the fabric of his shirt. The kiss grew more heated and his body strained into hers, making her aware of his arousal.
When he drew back, his hand moved to cup the side of her face and his eyes locked onto hers. “Was that more like it?”
She couldn’t even speak. All she could do was nod. Zeb smiled down at her then gave her anot
her soft kiss. “Good night, Willa.”
She watched as he sidestepped around her and walked down the back steps, still not in command of her faculties. It wasn’t until she heard the sound of his car start that she realized he’d made it to the car without incident.
Do you remember?
Willa started at the voice in her mind and the old memory returned on its heels. Sitting on that old homemade swing, going so high that at the top of the arc she felt that momentary weightlessness before gravity pulled her back down. Seeing Zeb smiling at her as he pushed her and that swelling in her chest at the love she had for him.
She shook off the memory, stepped down off the porch and whistled softly.
Lobo materialized out of the darkness. “You didn’t even growl,” she said as she knelt down beside him. “Why?”
He licked her face then turned and left. Willa rose and stared into the darkness.
One thing she’d learned today. The old saying about reality never matching the fantasy was a load of bull. Being kissed by Zeb Childress was better than any fantasy she’d ever had. But probably not as good as the future fantasies the kiss would inspire.
Chances were those fantasies would start tonight because there was no way she was going to sleep now. No way at all.
Chapter Three
Zeb knew it wasn’t the smartest move, and he should just let it go but he’d thought about the situation with Willa all night and he couldn’t let it slide. Back in the day, the Ellis family had been involved in all sorts of criminal activities, and from what he’d found when he ran the Ellis’s through the database this morning, they still were. A couple of them were serving time, two had been released from prison within the last year on parole and the rest were a misfit bunch of thugs and thieves who, in his opinion, were little more than a waste of oxygen.
No way he was going to let them terrorize Willa so here he was, headed for their place ready to lay down the law. He turned onto the rutted road that led to the family home. Aside from the original structure, which had long since seen better days, there were four singlewide trailers in the surrounding bare yard, propped on cinder blocks and looking for all the world like something that should be condemned. What screens remained on windows were torn and rusted, siding was buckled and warped with paint that was pitted and peeling.
There were two dogs chained in the front yard that started raising hell the minute he pulled up. Before he was out of the cruiser, a man had stepped out onto the front porch of the house. Zeb recognized him. Clancy Ellis, the patriarch of the Ellis clan.
“Shut up!” Clancy shouted at the dogs.
Zeb noted the way the dogs stopped barking and cowered. Obviously not creatures accustomed to kindness.
“Mr. Ellis.” Zeb walked closer but stopped far enough back that the dogs could not reach him should they decide to try and take a bite out of him.
“And you are?”
Zeb moved his jacket to one side to display his badge, and his weapon. “Ranger Zebediah Childress.”
“Ray Childress’ boy?” Clancy Ellis let out a whoop and slapped his leg. “I bet your daddy’s rolling over in his grave boy. What you want?”
“I’m here to talk to you and your son, Carl, I believe, about Willa Hale.”
“You mean Willa Ellis, my daughter-in-law.”
Zeb ignored the statement. “Your son, Carl was at her place last night. Uninvited. He threatened her.”
“She killed my boy.”
“Not according to the report. He fell.”
“That bitch pushed him!” Clancy came down off the porch and started toward Zeb. He didn’t have to walk around the dogs. They whimpered and scooted on their bellies out of his way, their heads down and eyes filled with fear.
Zeb stood his ground but gave a passing thought to stepping back when Clancy drew near. The stench coming off the man was enough to make a man gag.
“She killed my boy,” Clancy growled and accented his words by jabbing his index finger at Zeb.
“Again, not according to the law. And since it’s my job to uphold the law in these parts now, I’m paying you a courtesy visit to let you know that if I hear about you or any of your family paying an unwelcome call on Ms. Hale, you and I are going to have a problem. You hear what I’m saying Mr. Ellis?”
“Fuck you, Childress. Your old man was a second rate asshole and you’re no better. Me and my boys will do what we want when we want and there’s not shit you can do about it.”
“Oh, yes, there is, Mr. Ellis.” Zeb patted his badge then let his hand drift to his sidearm. “Let’s just hope̶ for your sake that I don’t have to.”
“You threatening me, Ranger?”
Zeb smiled and saw from the reaction on Clancy’s face that he hadn’t lost his touch in delivering a smile that carried a whole lot of threat with it. “I don’t threaten, Mr. Ellis. I’m telling you straight out. You bother Ms. Hale, or any harm comes to her and I’ll put you down. You and your boys.
“Do we understand each other?”
“Yeah.”
Zeb put his finger to the brim of his hat. “Then you have a nice day, Mr. Ellis.”
He turned his back on Clancy and walked back to his cruiser, but stopped before he got in and gestured to the run-down trailers. “You might want to do something about that. Calder County has ordinances and it’d be a shame for someone to send an inspector down here and him make you move all … that.”
“Fuck you.”
Zeb ignored the insult and got into his cruiser. As he pulled away from the house he saw old man Ellis standing in the yard, staring after him and couldn’t help but wonder if he had done Willa a favor by paying a call on the Ellis clan, or had just stirred up a hornet’s nest that would have them more bent on punishing her.
He ignored the misgivings. It didn’t matter to him which way they went. If they stayed out of her life, he’d let them be. If not, then he’d live up to his promise.
He’d take them down. Every one of them.
The one thing he never thought to question as he headed back to the station is why he was so wrapped up in Willa Hale’s life.
*****
Willa had been up since before dawn. Sleep had eluded her. Mostly because she couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss. Not the one she’d planted on Zeb at the front door when he showed up, but the one he’d given her before he left.
She’d never been kissed like that in her life and she almost wished she had not now because god help her, she’d never be able to stop thinking about it. Or about him.
That was going to get her nothing but heartbreak and bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. She’d fed and watered the stock, mucked out the stalls and taken care of her menagerie of pets. It was half past seven and she was antsy enough that she had to keep moving so she swept and mopped the floors in the house and even the front and back porch.
When the truck pulling the horse trailer turned onto the drive and headed for the house, she ran out to meet it, eager to get started with the new horses she was training for law enforcement work.
“Hey Billy,” she greeted the driver as he got of the truck.
“Hey, Willa. Got some good looking horses for you today.”
“Well, let’s get ‘em unloaded.”
Together they walked to the rear of the trailer. Billy wasn’t lying. The three horses in the trailer were prime. Two geldings and a mare. One of the geldings was an Appaloosa who stood about 15 hands and the other was black as night and stood a good seventeen hands. The mare was a Paint with good lines and intelligent eyes.
Willa and Billy got the horses into the paddock then stood leaning on the fence rail watching. “That big one has a temper,” Billy said.
“Most animals do if pushed,” Willa remarked.
“He’s got more than most. Damn, let me get the paperwork from the truck. Boss’ll have my ass if I forget.”
Willa waited, watching the animals as Billy fetched the paperwork. He handed it to her and she scanned t
hrough it. It wasn’t hard to figure out why the black horse, an American Saddlebred named Jet had issues. He’d been sold twice, the first time after being caught in a barn fire. He wasn’t burned but he hadn’t been very easy tempered since then.
“Looks good,” she said and smiled at Billy. “I’ll get to work with them. Any special training they want for these guys?”
“The whole nine yards – noise, water, fire, crowds.”
“That’s going to take a little time.”
“You’ve got a couple weeks to get ‘em all ready.”
“Well then that’ll have to be long enough. Thanks Billy. I guess I’ll see you in a couple weeks.”
“Yes, ma’am. You take care.”
“You too.”
Willa watched him leave then headed for her tiny office in the barn. Ronnie was checking the feed supplies when she entered. “With the new mouths to feed, I might ought to make a run into town,” he said.
“Ok. Go ahead. I’m gonna start working with these guys.”
“Maybe it ain’t a good idea for you to be here by yourself. The boys are in the west pasture rounding up the cattle and after Carl ̶”
“I’ll be fine. He won’t be back. At least not today. Hell, he probably won’t be conscious till dark as drunk as he was.”
“Still…”
“I’ll be fine, Ronnie. I have Lobo and the family – they’ll keep me company just fine.”
“You and them dang critters,” Ronnie said and smiled. “Okay, fine. You need anything?”
“Nope, I’m good.”
“Okay. Maybe, I’ll take Polly and let her do her marketing.”
“Sounds like a plan. See you later.”
“You call if you need me, hear?”
“I will. Thanks Ronnie.”
Willa filed the paperwork, grabbed tack and went out to the paddock. When she opened the gate, the mare perked up her ears and watched expectantly. The Appaloosa looked in her direction as well. It was Jet who ignored her. She tossed the saddle over the fence rail along with the blanket but kept the bridle in her hand.