Casey's Courage (13 page)

She snuggled against him. While his body raged with need, she breathed a contented sigh and slept, unaware of the effect her sweet body had on him.

Serves you right for rushing your fences, Tres, old boy, so grin and bear it.

After a time, he took a cold shower and climbed into the top bunk. He closed his eyes and listened to Casey’s gentle breathing beneath him. He had some serious thinking to do. Her response had been like those of an inexperienced girl. He wondered if that was a part of her life she had not remembered yet. The “I love you” he deemed to be more of a ‘thank you’ for the feeling of euphoria than a declaration of love.

The inky blackness just before dawn was not new to Casey, but it always gave her an eerie feeling. The sound of men’s voices on the porch and the aroma of fresh-brewed coffee brought her to full wakefulness. How would she face Tres? What had started out to be a massage turned into something she had often dreamed of, but didn’t know how to handle in reality.

Embarrassed at her inexperience, she gathered up her clothes that had been folded neatly at the foot of her bunk and hurried to the bathroom, a shed room on the side of the cabin. When she returned, Tres was cooking breakfast. She helped him, thankful for work to do rather than having to talk. The ambiguity of still wanting him and being uncomfortable with what had happened last night made her shy away from him.

A hasty breakfast of bacon, eggs, oven toast with butter and jelly was consumed. Ned and Kirby left to join their comrades.

“Aren’t you going with them?” Casey asked.

Tres shook his head. “No, I learned years ago to let professionally trained people do what they do best and for me to do what I do best. I’d be in their way, might even put them in danger without intending to.”

“Do you think whoever’s in the canyon is really dangerous?”

Tres put the last of the cabin dishes in the cabinet. “Ned got word earlier about a militant group gathering secretly for war maneuvers. He said they would proceed with the possibility of that group being the people in Dark Canyon. Then, there is always the possibility of something illegal being smuggled across the border.”

They packed away the remaining food into the container that Casey had brought in the night before.

“We need to get back to the Mansion,” Tres said. “I have a conference call about landowner water rights at eleven.”

“Is there anything I can do here to help?” Casey asked.

Tres shook his head. “No, Dan’s coming with a few men to be available if the patrolmen need assistance. Sheriff Griffin and his deputies are already around someplace. I heard him on Ned’s radio earlier.” Leaving the cabin clean and ready for use, they drove their separate vehicles back to Spencer Mansion.

Casey automatically wrestled her pickup over the bumpy pasture road, letting her mind wander to the feelings she’d experienced last night as Tres touched her in ways and places she’d never been touched before. Her body tightened and heated in longing and need. What she would give to spend a lifetime loving him, then going to sleep beside him with that incredible, all-is-right-with-the-world feeling. She gripped the steering wheel with hands that longed to touch him all over—every inch of him. Suddenly she remembered the feel of the hot, throbbing length of him that had pressed against her relaxed body as she slipped into a contented sleep. She’d soaked up the tender care and had soared with the sexual fulfillment he’d lavished on her and she’d done nothing for him. When had she become so wrapped up in her needs to the exclusion of others needs? Her face heated with shame and embarrassment, then her eyes blurred with tears.

Heaven help her! She knew all the biological mechanics, but she’d never even had a steady boyfriend she’d experimented with.

How in the world could she expect to satisfy the needs of a sophisticated, man-of-the-world like Tres?

She need not have worried, she thought, as days went by and the demands of life kept her from even seeing Tres.

Casey marveled at MacVane Manor. Mattie Lou’s ancestral home, resplendent with lights, was dressed up to welcome the committee members and civic ‘powers-that-be’ who made the Festival a success. Each year, the night before the festival started, they enjoyed exquisite dining and dancing at MacVane Manor. The men looked splendid in their dress suits, while the women made fashion statements to rival anything seen in the big cities. Tomorrow, they would be in denim, promoting the West Texas ranch world image, but tonight they were dressed to the nines and enjoying every minute of it.

At dinner, Casey sat at Tres’ right, feeling like she was in a dream. She viewed the dining room with wonder in her eyes.

Danish lead crystal, Bacchanal English bone china, and Francis I sterling silver graced the white linen-clad formal dining table. At the other end of the table, Mattie Lou, in a midnight-blue velvet dress with a sweetheart neck that framed an intricately designed diamond necklace, sat with Brad to her right. The earrings that matched her necklace flashed in the light of the chandelier as she raised her glass to toast her guests.

Earlier Casey had watched a woman named Valerie, gorgeous in dark-red satin and ruby jewels, maneuver place cards before dinner so she sat to Tres’ left. Casey wondered if she was an old flame or maybe a not-so-old flame.

Tres couldn’t keep his eyes of Casey. She had no idea how regal she looked, sitting at his right in her bronze silk dress with long sleeves and high-neck, which made a perfect background for the chunky turquoise necklace, bracelet, and dangling earrings. Earlier, when he’d asked her about the jewelry, she said she’d won the unique jewelry at a cutting competition in Albuquerque. The stones accented her green eyes and the bronze silk dress shimmered in the same light that created highlights in her auburn hair. He felt territorially proud of her.

With the serving of the first course, the conversation became punctuated with laughter that filled the room. Valerie’s loud response to a guest seated halfway along the table and her shrill laugh made Casey stiffen.

Attuned to Casey, Tres lowered his head to her ear and whispered, “What is it?” Casey stared at him with troubled eyes. “I’m not sure. Some strange memory flashed through my mind, then disappeared.” With a quiet chuckle, she added, “That’s what happens I guess when you bang your head on a pipe fence.”

Valerie’s attention snapped back to them like she, too, felt an undercurrent of tension. “What have I missed? I hear you two have been spying out militants in your spare time. Are you discussing secrets about that?”

Tres put his hand on Casey’s. “I’m afraid all we can take credit for is showing the Border Patrol agents some lights. They took it from there.”

The mayor, to whom Valerie had been speaking, joined in the conversation. “Just what is going on? The sheriff said something about an ongoing search. Are we going to have another ideological stand-off like that Republic group a few years back?”

“I doubt it’ll come to that,” Tres said. “We’re making arrangements to clear the brush out of the section of Dark Canyon that runs through the Running S. With matching state and federal water conservation funds that I learned about this week, we can clear it all within the next two years.” Turning the conversation away from the militants or whatever it was, Tres continued. “I talked with the committee on water conservation in Austin a few days ago. All land owners on watersheds should be getting information on the conservation bill for funding in a few days.”

Opinions on water conservation and rights set the dining room abuzz as the main course was served. Not wanting to relinquish Tres’ attention, Valerie asked, “Do you think I need to consider investing in that program for my ranch?”

“I’m not familiar with your place, so I don’t know.”

“Maybe you can take a quick look during the tour tomorrow and tell me what you think.”

“The county agent will be your best source of information,” Tres said.

“I’m never sure about government-paid people. I’d feel better if you would advise me. Besides, I still want you to see the Hancock mare I bought.” Valerie smiled. “You could even bring Casey to put the mare through her paces.”

“Casey is not back to serious riding.”

“Oh, really! Does she have permanent damage?”

The tone of Valerie’s voice caught Casey’s attention and that sense of forbidding raced through her mind again. “Did you purchase the mare for competition or for breeding?” Casey asked.

A flicker of annoyance crossed Valerie’s face. “The former owner said she would need more training before putting her in competition. I’d hoped Tres could recommend a good trainer, maybe even you.”

“I’m not planning on doing training, but a young man who helped at the horse sale is a good trainer. He’s here in college.”

Obviously not happy with the direction the conversation had taken, Valerie pointedly turned to Tres. “While I’m thinking about it, I have some friends who are going to Australia in hopes of buying a ranch there. They’re coming to see my ranch sometime in the next few weeks and would like to talk with you about your experience over there.” Satisfied she had cut Casey out of the conversation, Valerie pursued her prey with the feminine wiles of a longtime hunter.

At dinner’s end, guests drifted to the mirror-paneled ballroom for the two hours of dancing the invitation had indicated. Casey had planned to escape to sit with Mattie Lou, but found herself surrounded by people.

The mayor greeted Casey with a smile. “Young Lady, who do you purpose we get to be our ambassador, now that you’ve stopped keeping our town’s name in the public’s eye?”

Casey’s well-wishers soon turned the conversation to horses. Time passed discussing the familiar subject until time for the last dance. Tres appeared at her shoulder, close enough for her to feel his heat and recognize the male scent of him.

His eyes glittered dangerously, sending a delicious heat spiraling through her body. “I think this dance is mine.”

Remembering their last effort at dancing, Casey felt warmth streak her cheeks, but the desire to feel his hands on her and to be close to him overrode any embarrassment. She turned into his arms and felt the brand of his hand through the silk of her dress as the lights dimmed for the soft melody of the last song. Vaguely she heard voices singing, “Good night. Sweet dreams.”

Shadowy, ghostlike couples moved in the periphery of her vision. But Tres, close as a heartbeat, lifted his hand that held hers and brushed his knuckles across her cheek, then traced her lips with his thumb. Casey felt a delicious twinge of awareness and embers flare deep inside.

“You are a rare, incredible beauty, Little Casey.”

The fleeting touch to her face caused a seismic upheaval within her, but the sound of his voice and the feel of his hand as it slipped low on her back pressing her against his hardness, drew her into a magical circle. The hard line of his jaw, the enticing scent of his skin, and his watchful eyes mesmerized her as she moved in perfect time with him. In the recesses of her mind, she swore to memorize this moment-in-time, to have and to hold, forever and ever.

His breath tickled her cheek as he bent to kiss the shell of her ear. Trembling, she turned her face to meet his lips with hers. A soft sound like the purr of a kitten escaped her lips as he deepened the kiss.

He lifted his head, eyes flashing with irritation as the music died away and the lights came back to full brightness.

As she focused back to reality, she stiffened in alarm at the hostile stare of Valerie from across the room.

Tres’ voice called her attention to him. “We need to go to the foyer for ‘Good night, glad you came’ duty.”

As they made their way across the dance floor, Casey felt Valerie’s eyes following her. “Am I supposed to know Valerie?”

“I don’t know.” Tres frowned. “She was at the ranch for dinner one night, but you weren’t up to having company then. Could you have known her before you got hurt?”

“I don’t think so, but she seems to dislike me for some reason.”

Tres laughed easily and placed his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t all beautiful women hate each other?”

As the last guests left, Valerie came to the foyer with Brad at her side. Speaking a little too loudly, she told Mattie Lou, “I’m commandeering Brad to take me home. I had one too many drinks.” Then, turning to Casey, she added, “Judging from what I saw on the dance floor, I’m sure you won’t need a therapist tonight to ease your pain.” With a cackle of a laugh that set Casey’s nerves jangling, Valerie glared at Tres. “And you, Mr. Tres Spencer, when you . . .”

Her remark was drowned out by Sheriff Griffin’s booming voice as he marched through the door with a worried look on his face.

Chapter 11

Sheriff Griffin, even though a brusque, coarse man, took off his hat and spoke to Mattie Lou before he turned to Tres and Casey. “Dan Brown just called the office on the Border Patrol field radio. He needs to talk to you and Casey.”

“I’ll come. Casey still has some therapy to do tonight, and she’s already had a full day,” Tres said. The hand he had placed on her back felt her stiffen.

Before the sheriff answered, Casey said, “I’ll come. Dan really needs help or he wouldn’t have called. Let’s go.”

The sheriff nodded and said, “I think she’s right.”

Casey stepped away from Tres and gently squeezed Mattie Lou on the shoulder as they started toward the door. “We’ll let you know what’s going on as soon as we can.”

Tres knew he was still the outsider even though he now owned the Running S. Dan Brown and Casey’s dad were the men who had kept J.D. and Mattie Lou’s sprawling ranch productive since his grandfather’s first heart attack. Even though he had proven himself in the world of high finance and in the ranching business in Australia, Tres was well aware he had a long way to go before he understood the workings of the Running S well enough to override the judgment of the capable Dan Brown. Yet he wanted to tuck Casey away in a safe place and tell everyone to quit expecting so much of her.

As soon as they entered the sheriff’s office, the deputy activated the radio, telling Dan that Tres and Casey had arrived.