Colby Law

by Debra Webb

  Another round of knocking on the man’s door. Why didn’t they just go in? Were all these guys thick-skulled?

  Two more minutes passed. Finally, Gus tried the door. Evidently it was unlocked. He and Lyle went inside. Sadie sat up straighter. Lyle had left her his handgun. Her shotgun had gotten charred along with the rest of her personal possessions. She caught a glimpse of Sizemore in the woods next to the barn.

  “Idiot.”

  Seconds ticked off like little bombs in her head. She watched the digital clock shift to the next minute and then the next and still no one came out of the house or went into the barn.

  “This is ridiculous.” She eyed the barn doors. Not more than fifty feet from the house, about seventy from the truck. It was broad daylight.

  She was out the door and headed that way before reason could talk her out of the move. When she reached the barn, Lyle and Gus were still in the house and she had no idea where Sizemore or his pal had gotten off to. Probably relieving themselves. Cocky guys like him loved peeing in the woods.

  She lifted the crossbar and the barn doors opened with a reluctant creak. It was pitch dark inside. She let the doors drift all the way open to allow as much light as possible inside. The barn smelled bad. Mr. Carroll clearly hadn’t used it for much in a long time and hadn’t bothered cleaning it after the last time. She eased along the main aisle, checked the six stalls, her hope withering. No Dare Devil.

  There was an odd odor, besides the nasty hay and animal droppings that had petrified. The sunlight that filtered in highlighted the dust and cobwebs that had taken over. Probably spiders, too.

  She turned around and retraced her steps. The tack room door stood open. She shifted directions and checked it out. It was even darker in there. She felt on the wall for a light switch. No switch. Smelled a lot worse, too. She moved to the center of the room, her right hand groping the air over her head for a pull string. Maybe there was no electricity to the barn. Had there been any overhead lights in the main area?

  Her hand hit something solid. She snatched it back. Not a pull string. She squinted but still couldn’t see a damned thing. Gathering her courage, she reached into the darkness again and tried to determine by touch what the object was. Fabric…then something smoother…a boot.

  She stumbled back, her heart missing a beat.

  A leg. She’d felt a leg.

  Holding her breath, she checked to see if there were two legs. Oh, yeah. Two boots. Two legs.

  Sadie backed out of the tack room, bumped the door frame on the way.

  “I thought you were staying in the truck.”

  She jumped. Turned to face the voice. Sizemore stood in the doorway, blocking a good deal of the sun.

  “There’s…” She moistened her lips and reached again for her voice. “There’s someone hanging in the tack room. I think it’s a man. I’m pretty sure he’s dead.”

  * * *

  SHERIFF COX SHOWED UP. The coroner arrived a few minutes later. Mr. Carroll was dead. The sheriff concluded that he had hanged himself, since an overturned stepladder lay on the floor of the tack room.

  Sadie didn’t really know the old man. He had worked for Gus off and on in the past. He had a reputation for heavy drinking and not showing up for days. Gus had fired him a dozen times but he always took him back. Felt sorry for the old guy, she supposed. She didn’t like giving him that kind of credit, but when it came to a man down on his luck, Gus wasn’t completely heartless. It didn’t happen often. In fact, Mr. Carroll was the only example she could think of.

  A frown tugged at her brow. He’d sure as hell never offered her any credit for her good deeds.

  They hadn’t found Dare Devil. Apparently her father’s source had been mistaken. Gus didn’t like to be wrong. He’d been shouting orders, even to the sheriff for the past half hour. Now that she sat back and watched him in action, she decided that he was upset by the old man’s death and this was his way of showing his emotions.

  All this time she’d been certain he didn’t have any. Maybe the smoke she’d sucked in had damaged her brain.

  Twice Gus and Lyle had locked horns, primarily because Gus didn’t like that he was here. Lyle didn’t abide his intimidation tactics. Not like before.

  He’d promised he wouldn’t go this time until she was ready for him to leave. Could she trust his word on that?

  There was no question that he would finish his job and he would protect her. But could she trust him with her heart? He’d sure stamped all over it the last time.

  Her age had been a problem. She couldn’t deny that. But why hadn’t he written to her or called? He could have come back. But he hadn’t. The ache started deep in her chest.

  And here she was, risking that same kind of pain all over again.

  Shouting yanked her from the troubling thoughts. Sizemore broke the tree line. He held something in his hand. Sadie felt the air rush from her lungs. She pushed off the truck and started forward.

  Sizemore was leading Dare Devil.

  Sadie rushed to the old horse and gave him a hug. He neighed and snorted as she quickly checked him over. Not a scratch. Her heart felt so big in her chest she couldn’t possibly draw in a breath. Apparently, she had wrongly accused Gus and he had been right. That poor old man had taken her horse.

  But she had him back now.

  Her joy deflated as the coroner took poor old Mr. Carroll away all zipped up in a body bag.

  The urge to cry came suddenly. Had that old man killed himself because he’d stolen a Gilmore horse and he didn’t know how to make it right?

  When had her world turned into this hurtful, scary place?

  She felt like Alice after having fallen down the rabbit hole.

  How did she climb out?

  Her attention settled on Lyle. He was watching her. In that moment, she somehow fully understood that he was her only way out. But the path he offered would change her world again…and nothing would ever be the same.

  * * *

  SADIE HAULED A BUCKET of feed and water to Dare Devil’s stall. She rubbed his forehead. “Glad you’re home, old boy.”

  He ate as if he hadn’t seen a bucket of feed since he was stolen. She wanted to be angry about that, but it was hard to be mad at a dead man.

  Lyle joined her, gave Dare Devil a scratch behind the ears. “Gus wants us to stay at his place until we figure something out.”

  Sadie shot him an are-you-out-of-your-mind look. Felt bad for being obstinate, considering the small bandage covering the stitches on the back of his head.

  “No,” he said, reading her look accurately, “I haven’t lost my mind.”

  “Sounds like it.” She had no interest in sharing airspace with Gus for an extended period. Besides, Dare Devil deserved a good rubdown. She could use one herself. That Lyle stood so close made her shiver at the idea of him giving her a slow, attentive rubdown.

  “Be reasonable, Sadie,” he complained. “Sleeping in the barn until your house is rebuilt is not exactly a reasonable expectation.”

  “The insurance agent said they would bring me a temporary home.”

  “When? In a few days? Gus has that huge house and there’s only him. You can’t tolerate being in his presence for a few days? I’m sure you could avoid him somehow in all that space.”

  Sadie faced him, made sure he was paying attention. “If I take him up on his hospitality, he’ll just use it against me later. I know him, Lyle. He doesn’t give anything without expecting something back. I don’t want to be obligated to him.” She was on her own and she wanted it to stay that way.

  Didn’t she?

  The man staring down at her made her second-guess that declaration. She had to stop doing that to herself. This was probably the worst time to even be toying with notions of their nonexistent relationship.

  “What do you plan to do for basic facilities?”

  She grinned. The problem had crossed her mind. “We’ll go to the store and get toilet paper and hand sanitizer. There’s
water in here and the old outhouse still works.”

  He laughed. “You’ve got it all figured out.”

  “That’s right.” She planted her hands on her hips. “What? You all out of arguments against staying here?”

  His face turned serious. “Someone burned your house down last night, with you in it. Whoever it was got the jump on me, which generally isn’t an easy feat. You almost died. I don’t want to take any unnecessary chances with your safety.”

  “But I have you to protect me,” she argued, her insides melting just looking at him and how flustered he was with the whole situation. She suspected that he would prefer staying in Gus’s house to being here alone with her. She had every intention of doing something about that.

  “Sadie.” His gaze settled on her lips. “I lost a hunk of my objectivity the moment I laid eyes on you that first morning. I’ve been losing ground since. I don’t know if you can count on me the way you should be able to.”

  Just like that, she was ready to take the risk to her heart. Decision made, her arms went around his neck and she tiptoed to reach his mouth. He let her kiss him but he didn’t kiss her back. So this was how it was going to be. Fine. She had promised herself that she would show him just how much of a woman she was now. She never broke a promise. Leaning into him, she deepened the kiss. He reacted. His arms wrapped around her, held her tight against him. She lifted her legs, closed them around his waist. That felt good.

  He carried her to the stall where she’d tried to sleep the night before last and dropped to his knees. Laying her gently in the fresh hay, he smiled down at her, slowly settled his weight atop hers. Her breath hitched as heat filled her in a frantic rush. “I’ve waited a long time to be with you like this,” he murmured.

  The ability to speak eluded her for a moment. She covered by unbuttoning his shirt. Her fingers felt clumsy. She couldn’t wait to touch his bare skin. “I’ve dreamed of how it would be.” She licked her lips. “I wanted you to be my first. Then…” She stared at her shaking fingers, tried to make them work better. “When you left I thought my life was over.”

  He cupped her cheek, stroked it with his thumb. “Sadie, you’re so beautiful, you probably had to keep the guys off with that old shotgun of yours.”

  She fought the tears. Damn it, she would not cry. Not now. She wanted this moment to be special. “Occasionally.”

  He swiped a tear with the pad of his thumb. “Please don’t cry.”

  She inhaled a shaky breath. “I’m sorry. It’s just…” She blinked to keep more of those stupid tears back. “I don’t know how to do this, Lyle. And I want to so badly.”

  His face darkened with confusion. “Are you saying you’ve never done this…you…?”

  She couldn’t meet his eyes. Why did they have to have this conversation? She didn’t want to talk. “After you left, there wasn’t anyone I wanted.”

  The tension that stiffened his body wasn’t what she’d hoped for. “Sadie, it shouldn’t be like this.” He shook his head. “Not here. Definitely not a snap decision made under stressful conditions.”

  Her determination rallied. “Don’t tell me what I want or what I should do.” She yanked his shirt free of the waist of his jeans. “Stop running your mouth, McCaleb, and show me how you do this.”

  His mouth closed over hers, and there was no more talk. He kissed her long and deep as her hands moved over his chest, learning every ripple of muscle. The excitement and heat roared inside her. Instinctively, her body started to move against his. He groaned deep in his throat and she smiled against his lips. Oh, how she wanted this man…wanted him to teach her how to make love.

  He undressed her so slowly she thought she might die before he finished. She reached for his fly, but he pushed her hands away. “I’ll be right back.”

  Her body quivered when he left her lying there naked on the hay. Where was he going? She heard him murmuring to the dogs. The barn doors opened then closed. Suddenly he was back.

  “The dogs are keeping watch outside.” Hopping on one leg, he tugged off one boot, then the other. “I wasn’t sure they were ready for this.”

  Sadie laughed. “Good thinking.”

  She watched, mesmerized, as he stripped off his shirt and then his jeans. Her breath stalled as his boxer briefs slid down those muscled thighs. Her eyes rounded at the sight of his aroused body.

  He stretched out next to her and she gasped as that thick muscle brushed her thigh. He leaned over her and kissed her lips before making his way down to her breasts. She cried out at the feel of his mouth on her like that. The sensations were so incredible, she floated away on that delicious cloud of mindless pleasure. He touched her down there…kept teasing her until she couldn’t think, then he slid one finger inside. Her body bucked. Her fingers clutched at the familiar hay.

  Stretching her until two fingers fit perfectly, he delved deeper, his thumb rubbing that special place fueling all those wild sensations. He kissed and licked his way down her torso, lavished his attention on the part of her that needed more. She had to touch him. Her fingers threaded into his hair, careful of the bandage. Those bad memories tried to intrude. As if he sensed her distraction, he sat back on his knees and lifted her bottom onto his thighs, her legs spread wide and rested on each side of him. One nudge and she moaned with the shock of their most intimate places finally touching.

  He gripped her bottom with one hand and guided himself into her with the other, slowly, a fraction at a time.

  Sadie wanted to watch but her eyes closed as all those swirling, swelling sensations somehow curled together in one unbelievable rush. He moved in and out, an inch in, an inch out. The stretching sensation made her want to scream for more. She tried to lift into him, to take in more, but he held her back.

  “Patience, baby.”

  The sound of his voice drifted around her, joined all those other beautiful sensations and started to build. He eased in another inch. She cried out his name. His answer was to move a little faster now, in and out.

  The swell burst and showered heat over her entire body. She writhed with the pleasure of it…wanted more. Desperate to find that place again, she hurried to get her body into rhythm with his. Moving, moving, as he pushed deeper and deeper. She wasn’t sure how much more pleasure she could endure.

  He brought his body down on hers, filled her so completely that she couldn’t breathe…couldn’t speak. She could only feel. That marvelous tide started to rise again. Higher and higher until she drowned in the pull of it. His movements grew more urgent. He groaned with the effort of satisfying his own building need, and she couldn’t comprehend how he had held out so long.

  She felt the contractions of his orgasm even as her own muscles started that clench-and-relax rhythm all over again, squeezing the last of his climax from him.

  He fell onto the hay next to her, pulling her onto her side so that their bodies remained joined.

  His fingers sifted through her hair. It had come loose and was all over the place. “You okay?”

  She nodded. Not sure of her voice just yet.

  “Sadie…”

  The worry in his eyes terrified her.

  “I…”

  She covered his mouth with her own, pushed him onto his back and straddled his waist. She winced as she settled down fully on him, but she knew that small discomfort would quickly pass. “I—” she decided to finish his statement for him “—want to do that again.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  3:00 p.m.

  Lyle leaned against the fence and watched the horses graze in the pasture to prevent staring at her. She had finger combed her hair and was in the process of tying it back into that haphazard ponytail that was her trademark. He’d had to bite his tongue to prevent offering to do it for her. But that would only start something he wouldn’t have the willpower to stop.

  His body hardened at the memory of sinking deep inside her. The ache that accompanied the memories terrified him. All this time she had waited for him, had
allowed no one else to touch her the way he had longed to seven years ago. He hadn’t expected that. In his mind, she had always been just out of his reach. Now he felt as if she belonged to him.

  That was a dangerous position, considering he was supposed to be here to protect her. How could he do that right when she overwhelmed his senses? Blinded him to everything else?

  They had talked for hours before making love again. She felt lost. Told him that she trusted nothing and no one but him. Her admission terrified him all the more. Eventually they’d washed each other with the chilly water right from the hose. Those moments had been playful and intimate, strengthening the bond that already ruled him.

  Their clothes still smelled of smoke and looked somewhat worse for the wear, but that hadn’t dampened their spirits in the least. A drive into town for clothes was next on his agenda. Including a food run. He was starved. She hadn’t mentioned food, but she had to be famished.

  When all that was done, somehow he intended to persuade her to stay at Gus’s tonight. With the security at the Rocking Horse Ranch, she would be much safer. Staying here would be asking for trouble. Especially with him so far off his game.

  No time like the present to approach the subject. “I was thinking—”

  “I’m not changing my mind about Gus’s offer.”

  She’d cut him off before he’d started. “Sadie, be reasonable. The security is impenetrable. Safety has to be our top priority. Dare Devil is back and that threat isn’t likely to be repeated.”

  Frustration lined her brow as she glared at him with an unrelenting determination. “Not happening, so let it go. I’m not going to put myself at his mercy. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not any day.”

  Well, damn. “You are one hardheaded woman, Sadie Adele.”

  “That’s what they tell me.” She slipped between the fence rails and loped out to frolic with the horses.

  What the hell was he going to do with the woman? She refused to listen to reason. He could hog-tie her and take the decision out of her hands. Then Gus would jump him the way he had Sizemore for making a stupid comment.