Caden hadn’t felt the powerful pull of attraction in years, not since his desire for a woman had driven a wedge between him and Tyson. Nothing was worth what he’d lost because of love. Or, more likely, it had been lust, which was even worse. Caden had sworn he’d never let another woman affect him that way.
But the immediate wanting—yearning—he’d felt when Lucy lifted those big brown eyes to his had been like an explosion going off in his brain. He didn’t want it, couldn’t handle it, and it only made him more committed to getting Lucy Renner and her mother away from the ranch for good.
His world would undoubtedly be turned upside down by those two women. He had a routine at the ranch—a mostly solitary existence, especially through the winter—that kept him busy. If it weren’t for the barn full of critters that made up his animal-rescue project, Caden could have gone for weeks without seeing anyone but Garrett and the other ranch hands.
In the waning light of afternoon, he checked the outlying cattle troughs, then returned to the barn to feed and water the rescue animals. Lucy’s scent still lingered in the air, and his body hardened in response. He forced the image of her out of his mind, focused on his routine and the animals he cared for. Next weekend he was opening the barn for a pre-Christmas adoption event, and he was way behind on preparations for it.
Erin MacDonald, the kindergarten teacher who also ran an after-school program for kids in the community, had convinced him to work with the local humane society to introduce more people to the animals he rescued. He hadn’t actually planned on running a makeshift animal shelter. Hell, keeping the ranch going was more than a full-time job. But it seemed as though Caden had been collecting strays since he was a boy.
Maybe because he’d been one until Garrett and Tyson had come into his life.
Once he was certain she’d gone to the house, he finished with the animals, taking time to give some attention to each one. He let the dogs out into the big fenced pen connected to the barn to run and play and couldn’t help but smile at their antics.
A light dusting of snow covered the hard ground, and a big storm was forecast for early the following week. Winter on a mountain ranch was a constant battle against the elements and nearby predators, and Caden took seriously the protection of every animal under his care.
Stella, the ranch’s cattle dog, had taken on a maternal role with a few of the younger pups, and she nipped at ankles and herded the group of rescue dogs as they ran through the cold evening air, oblivious to the dropping temperature.
Once he had all the animals safely back in the barn, he headed for the main house. Tension knotted his neck and shoulders with every step. He would have much preferred to hunker down in the bunkhouse as a way of avoiding another run-in with Lucy, but he’d promised Garrett that he’d make an appearance at this family dinner.
Golden light spilled from the windows as he approached the main house. Maureen had hung thick swaths of pine rope from the porch railings, decorated with glittering red bows that seemed to draw more attention to the faded gray siding and dull paint of the black trim. He’d climbed those front porch steps thousands of times over the years, but since Tyson’s death he’d never been able to step foot in the house without regret washing through him.
“It’s about time.” Garrett’s deep voice boomed from the family room as soon as Caden stepped into the house. “Come in here, Caden, and see how Maureen has transformed this place into a winter wonderland.”
Caden sucked in a breath as he entered the family room, with its muted-yellow walls and well-worn furniture. He almost had to shade his eyes at the garish display of Christmas lights strung above the windows and shimmering garland covering the mantel.
“It’s pink,” he said in horror. It looked like a five-year-old girl obsessed with princesses had decorated the space, not a thrice-divorced woman pushing sixty.
His eye caught on the box marked Decorations that he’d brought down from the attic now shoved into one corner. That box held all the decorations he, Garrett and Tyson had used each year. There were ornaments whittled out of tree branches from the woods on the ranch’s south border, along with the small nativity set Tyson’s mother had painstakingly painted the year before her cancer diagnosis.
Caden had come to live on the ranch only months after Julia Sharpe’s death, and although he’d never met her, he’d felt her presence like a warm blanket at night. In the twenty years since Julia’s death, little had changed in the house from how she’d arranged it.
Until Maureen Renner descended on Sharpe Ranch.
“Mom loves pink,” Lucy offered from where she stood just inside the room. Color was high on her cheeks. If Garrett didn’t know better, he would have guessed she was as put off by the whole display as he was.
“It’s a vibrant color,” Maureen purred, nuzzling Garrett’s shoulder and tracing a manicured hand over his heart. “Bright and alive. This place needed some life breathed back into it.”
Caden’s adoptive father chuckled as he grinned at Caden. “I suppose you and I have gotten set in our ways living the bachelor life out here. We need a little infusion of spark and color, right?”
“Where the hell do you even find pink Christmas decorations?” Caden asked the room in general.
Garrett laughed again and Maureen darted a dismissive glance toward Caden, then beamed at her daughter. “Remember all the years we decorated for Christmas? You loved putting the star on the tree.”
Lucy made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a gag, then cleared her throat. “Sure, Mom. But you’re missing a tree.”
Maureen opened her mouth but Caden spoke first. “Dad and I will cut one down next weekend.” No way in hell was he giving that woman a chance to bring in some fake tree covered in more gaudy lights.
“About that, son.” Garrett smiled gently. “Maureen hasn’t had much luck finding a wedding dress around here, so I’m going to fly her to New York City for a few days to do some prewedding shopping.”
“What?” Caden and Lucy spoke at the same time.
“I need to put together my trousseau,” Maureen said, planting a smacking kiss on his father’s mouth, “and pick out something special for our honeymoon.”
“It’s your fourth marriage. What the hell could you possibly need?” Caden pinned the overly made-up woman with a look that let her know exactly what he thought of her, not that it was any secret.
“Caden.” Garrett’s voice was a warning growl. Caden had heard the tone enough growing up. He’d always been a button pusher and for years had more temper than sense. Tyson had been the one to soften his sharp edges. His brother was always good-natured and smiling. Up until the one fateful argument that had severed their bond.
He wondered what Tyson would have thought about Maureen Renner and her tempting daughter. Well, he could guess what Tyson would have thought about Lucy. She was the type of woman to make a man melt into a puddle at her feet with one glance.
It only made Caden dislike her more.
“Lucy will help you,” Maureen offered, her typically brilliant smile tight. “The two of you can put up the tree. She loves Christmas. Traditions are so important to our family.”
Another muffled snort from Lucy. “Mom, I came out here because you told me you needed help planning the wedding.” Lucy’s voice was calm and slightly amused, but Caden noticed her hand was clenched so tightly at her side that her knuckles had gone white. “I can’t stay here if you’re gone. I need to get back to my life.”
Maureen’s glossy lips turned down at the corners. “I do need you, Lucy-Goose. Especially since we’ll be in New York.” She placed her fingers on Garrett’s cheek and gave him another deep kiss. “My teddy bear and I need a getaway.”
“You’ve got a two-week honeymoon cruise planned,” Lucy muttered.
“I’ve always wanted to see the Rockettes’ holiday show,” Maureen in
sisted. “Don’t ruin this for me, honey.”
Caden saw Lucy’s chest rise and fall, as if she was struggling to keep from losing it. “I’ve got a life in Tampa. I can’t ignore it until the new year.”
Maureen rolled her big green eyes. “Don’t be silly. You haven’t had a decent job since you got fired six months ago.”
“And whose fault was that?” Lucy snapped.
“It was a misunderstanding that got blown way out of proportion.” Maureen gave her daughter a quelling look. “I know you don’t blame me.”
The air crackled with tension between the two women. “I blame myself,” Lucy said after a moment. “For so many reasons.”
“I can put you to work,” Garrett offered, pulling Maureen even closer, if that was possible. “Maureen said you’re real good with finances.”
Lucy gave a slight nod. “I have an accounting degree.”
“I’ve been looking for someone to put the books to right on the ranch. Nothing’s been the same since Tyson...”
His voice trailed off and Caden closed his eyes, unwilling to bear witness to the pain he knew he’d see etched in his father’s gaze.
“Oh, my Lucy’s a whiz with numbers,” Maureen said, throwing her arms around Garrett’s neck. “That would be perfect.”
“Not for me,” Lucy protested, and Caden felt a strange connection to this beautiful, prickly, unreadable woman. In the barn she’d been fiercely protective of her mother, but here it felt like she was as opposed to this whole charade as Caden.
“I’m happy, Lucy-Goose.” Maureen stepped away from Garrett and walked toward Lucy. An image of a coyote approaching a defenseless and cornered jackrabbit sprang to Caden’s mind.
He could almost feel Lucy shrink back, although she remained ramrod still. He had the strangest urge to step between the two women and shield Lucy from whatever invisible power her mother was aiming in her direction.
“You want me to be happy. Right, sweetie?”
There was a fraught moment when Caden wasn’t sure how Lucy would respond. He could feel the emotions swirling through her from where he stood. Then her shoulders slumped and she whispered, “I do.”
Maureen wrapped Lucy in a tight hug and murmured something in her ear that Caden couldn’t quite make out. Then she bounced back to Garrett’s side.
“I have a lasagna in the oven. Shall we have our first family dinner together?”
“Sounds good to me,” Garrett said.
“I have a headache after traveling all day,” Lucy told the group, all the spunk and sass he’d heard earlier in the barn gone from her voice. “I think I’m going to head up to bed.”
“Take care to drink enough water,” his father told her, moving forward with Maureen at his side. “It’s easy to get dehydrated at this altitude, especially coming from sea level.”
“I will,” she whispered. “Thank you, Mr. Sharpe.”
“Call me Garrett,” his father said with another chuckle. “We’re family now.”
Not yet, Caden thought. There was still time to turn around this sinking ship, and based on the exchange between Lucy and her mother, maybe an unexpected ally had just arrived on his doorstep.
“You’ll join us, Caden,” his dad said.
He wanted to refuse, but there was so much hope in his father’s eyes. He couldn’t disappoint the old man again. Not after everything Caden had put him through in the past and his secret determination to run off Maureen Renner.
Guilt stabbed at his chest when he thought of how sad his father would be when his engagement ended. But Caden had to believe it was better to end things now, before Garrett made things legal. He knew what could happen when his father’s heart was truly broken, and he couldn’t allow that to happen again.
“I just need to wash up,” he told Garrett and earned another wide smile.
Maureen led Garrett out of the family room, toward the kitchen. Caden expected Lucy to move toward the stairs, but instead she walked forward and touched the tip of one finger to several of the brightly colored Christmas lights.
“You can help me stop this,” he said into the quiet.
Her shoulders stiffened and she gave a slight shake of her head but didn’t turn around.
“Come on,” he coaxed, moving closer. “You have to see this for the farce it is.”
“Your father seems happy.”
Caden opened his mouth to argue, then shut it again. He couldn’t deny his dad’s upbeat spirit since Maureen had come into his life. In fact, Caden couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard Garrett laugh and smile the way he did when Maureen was near.
But that didn’t matter. It wasn’t real. It wasn’t right. And he sure as hell didn’t believe Garrett and Maureen were meant to be.
“It won’t last,” he answered instead. “With her track record, you know it’s true. You could talk to her.”
She turned to him now, her eyes flaring with emotion he didn’t understand. “Does my mother seem like the type to be influenced by anyone else’s opinion?”
“She’s going to hurt him,” he said quietly.
“You don’t know that,” Lucy shot back, but her gaze dropped to the floor.
Caden muttered a curse under his breath. “You’re going to hurt him,” he accused, lifting a finger and jabbing it at her. “A gold digger and her accomplice daughter. And now my father wants to give you access to his finances.” He blew out a breath. “Hell, was this the plan all along? Are you two professional grifters or something?”
“Of course not,” Lucy answered, but there was no force behind the words. None of the anger he would have expected at his bold accusation, which made him understand how close he’d come to the truth.
“I won’t let this happen.” He stalked toward her, crowded her back against the mantel, trying to use his size and his anger to intimidate her.
But he realized his mistake at once. This close, the scent of her perfume wound around him, and he could see the freckles dotting her cheeks. He wanted to trace his fingers over the pattern they made, feel her softness against his rough skin.
And there was something more. A sorrow in her eyes—a loneliness that called to the empty space inside him and made him feel a little less like the outsider he knew himself to be.
He gave himself a mental head shake when her gaze softened and she swayed toward him. What was it about Lucy Renner that broke through his defenses like they were made of air?
She was dangerous to him and, more important, to his father. The thought of how broken Garrett had been after Tyson died brought Caden back to reality like a bullet piercing his skin.
“I’m going to make sure this wedding doesn’t take place,” he said through clenched teeth. “Even if my father can’t see you for what you are, I do.”
Lucy’s head snapped back like he’d slapped her. “You don’t know me,” she whispered.
“But I’m going to,” he promised. “Every detail until I expose you and your mother. Mark my words, Lucy Renner. You will not survive me.”
Before she could respond, he turned and stalked out of the room.
* * *
“You have to let him go.” Lucy sat on the edge of the bed in the master bedroom of the main house the following day. “Stop it now, Mom, before it goes too far.”
Maureen pulled a dress out of the closet and turned to Lucy, holding it in front of her chest. “For our New York trip, Garrett made reservations at Tavern on the Green. I’ve always wanted to eat there. It’s a landmark, you know? One of the Real Housewives even renewed her vows there. What do you think about this? Too fancy or not enough?”
Lucy sighed. The dress was perfect. It was a deep forest green color with a scoop neckline, fitted without being slutty. Maureen would be stunning in it. Lucy should know. She’d helped her m
other pick it out back when Maureen was trying to catch husband number three. “Why Garrett Sharpe, Mom? He isn’t your type. Fitting into his life is a stretch, even for you.” She pointed to the mounted caribou head above the bedroom’s stone fireplace. “Are you going to start wearing camo now?”
Maureen grinned. “Do you know they sell pink camo at the sporting goods store in downtown Crimson?”
“That’s not the point and you know it.”
“I love him, Lucy-Goose.”
The words made Lucy’s stomach roil. “I told you after last time—”
“It’s not the same,” her mother insisted as she folded the dress and placed it in the open suitcase on the bed.
“Of course it’s not. Garrett has a son who is both overprotective and beyond suspicious. It’s a terrible combination for you. When he finds out—”
“Garrett knows I’ve been married before.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
Maureen slammed the suitcase shut. “You have to make sure it isn’t an issue.”
“How am I supposed to do that? The man trusts me even less than he trusts you.”
“Don’t underestimate your charms, sweetie.”
Lucy groaned. “This isn’t like when I was a kid and I could be cute or invisible, depending on what your man of the hour wanted. It makes it sound like you’re trying to pimp me out.”
“Of course I’m not.” Maureen gave the suitcase’s zipper a hard pull, then let out a little cry. “The dress is caught in it. I’ve ruined it.” She turned and dropped to the bed, covering her face with her hands. “Caden Sharpe is going to ruin everything.”
“Don’t cry,” Lucy said when her mother’s shoulders began to shake. She’d always hated her mother’s tears. As a girl, she’d done everything in her power to keep Maureen’s spirit lifted. It was no easy task, especially after a breakup with whatever man Maureen had fallen in love with in any given month.
Lucy had too many memories of her mother in a weeping puddle on the bathroom floor, but even worse were the times when Maureen was quietly despondent. Those periods of depression had terrified Lucy because she never knew what her mother might do to end the pain.
Sleigh Bells in Crimson Page 2