Lone Tree (10 page)

“Did exactly what I told him to do. If he hadn’t,
he’d be fired instead of you.”

The man’s face tightened. Then he drew in a quiet,
controlled breath. “I am a professional,” he said, voice precise. “You hadn’t
hired me, nor can you fire me.”

“You can put it any way you want, just so long as we
both know where we stand.” Miles’s smile was cold. “And we do. Goodbye,
Willis.”

Lainie looked at her depleted glass of tea. Miles’s
expression was so implacable it unnerved her. And warned her to neither get
close to him, nor to cross him.

“I’m the best in my field,” Willis declared. “You
won’t find—”

“That’s what I was told when I asked around, but
that’s not what I found out. You were too full of yourself. You went for a long
shot, hoping to build your reputation with a sharp deal, and you cost me
something I wanted.”

Willis looked at the bowl of salsa, rubbed his hand
over his jaw, then with a long exhale he looked back at Miles. “You’re right,”
he admitted. “But Kramar was waffling. I swear he was going to let it go
cheaper until that speculator stepped in. I was going to save you a bundle and
in the process build business for myself.”

Miles lifted his hands, palms up. You made my case,
was the silent message.

The young man nodded. “I gambled, I lost, and I
apologize.”

“You got the first two right,” Miles said flatly.
“Last one makes no difference.”

The older man swung his bulk around, effectively
dismissing him. Willis seemed to draw in on himself at the rudeness, started to
turn away, then he turned back. Again he took in a deep, quiet breath. “Miles,
you have my word that—”

“Goodbye, Willis. Can you find your way out, or do
you need help?”

The man’s hands clenched at his sides, his mouth
became a straight line, and he muttered something Lainie couldn’t hear. But
apparently Miles had. He stiffened and pushed his chair back. “Better yet, I’ll
show you out.”

The waitress appeared, inserted herself between the
two men and looked up at each one in turn. She wore a white senorita-style
blouse tucked into a full skirt with dark-red and navy blue panels, stood
shoulder high to each man, and must have weighed a whopping one hundred and
five pounds. But control of the situation belonged to her. Placing the check on
the table, she gave each of the standing men a hard look. She wasn’t moving
until they did.

Willis backed off, appearing embarrassed. Miles sat
down. He looked at the waitress, the check, then back at her. He appeared to be
trying to figure something out.

As the door closed behind Willis, the young woman
smiled at Miles. “Take your time,” she said, and left.

Settling himself in the SUV for the return trip,
Miles glanced across at Lainie. “I could tell that Stuart and Tom were
impressed with you. You handled yourself well.”

“Really? I wasn’t especially impressed with either
one of them.”

He appeared taken aback with her candor, and then he
chuckled. “I like you, Lainie Sue. You’re a treat to the eyes and ears.”

“But I was impressed with that waitress. If I ever
get into trouble, I want her on my side.”

Miles threw his head back and filled the truck with
resounding guffaws.

Reed followed through with his promise to show
Lainie the oasis. Though she wondered how wise it was to spend a day alone with
a man who wore his sexuality as comfortably and openly as he wore his hat, she
went without demur.

Her favorite direction was still straight ahead.

Which might prove to be an apt epitaph.

Reining Glory to a halt in the shade of a cottonwood
she swiveled in the saddle, marveling at the three or so acres of greenery
surrounding a sizable pool of water.

“How can something like this exist,” she murmured,
“smack in the middle of the desert?”

“I like to think God left His mark here,” Reed said
quietly, resting his wrists on the saddlebow. He must’ve been here countless
times, yet clearly he shared her awe.

She dismounted and walked to the pond, then heard
his quick voice behind her. “If you’re thinking about putting your hand in
there, don’t. Water moccasins have been known to pop their heads up out of
there on occasion.”

She stopped. Everyone agreed snakes were a hazard
and one needed to be aware. But Lainie couldn’t understand why she hadn’t yet
seen one, if the countryside was indeed so populated with venomous reptiles.
Then she wondered what she was wondering about. Did she really want to come
head to head with one?

They took their time exploring what she wanted to
explore. Reed’s good-natured indulgence made her feel special. He stopped once
and pointed to a space among the cottonwoods. “Every spring we get a field of
bluebonnets in there. Too bad it’s too late for you to see them. Nothing like
it when they’re in bloom.”

He walked on. “Don’t have a lot of trees in these
parts. Some mesquite clumps, mulberry, an elm or two. Further east, we’ve got
forests of pine.”

He stopped again, nodding toward the ground.
“Cougar.”

Lainie stiffened and tried to scan every direction
at once.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, sounding amused.
“He’s long gone. This track is old.”

She lightened up. Slightly. “So that’s why you cart
that rifle around with you.”

“One reason. You about ready to eat?”

She felt the smile creep into her eyes, and then his
mouth curved as he caught on.

“Nope,” he said. “We brought it with us, remember?
I’m not going to shoot it and then cook it.”

But instead of starting back, he remained still, and
she waited.

“That’s a pretty color on you,” he said. “You should
wear blue more often.”

“Yeah? This one’s kind of tame. I thought you liked
the one with all the color.”

“On you, nothing’s tame,” he said, and the
appreciation and challenge in his eyes made her back up a mental step. “And I
didn’t exactly say I liked the other shirt,” he went on. “Believe I said it
reminded me of a neon sign, and I recall I was a mite concerned about the
horses’ sensibilities. They’ve been known to buck and rear at—”

“Can we eat now?”

Though he retained the teasing grin, he relented,
and turned to lead the way back to the horses and gear.

With their backs propped against saddles, they ate
cheese sandwiches and Fritos and watched the shimmer of sun on the water. A
breeze moved the branches of the cottonwood they sat under, creating a dappling
pattern of sun and shade. She didn’t doubt his warning about water moccasins,
yet she wondered how something so pretty and tempting could contain danger.

She sipped from her canteen. “Where’s that beer you
promised me?”

“Well,” he drawled, getting to his feet, “I decided
against it. One needs to keep a clear head out here. But my offer still holds
about sharing one with you if you’ll knock on my door one evening.” He pointed
with his left hand. “Boy’s room is that way.” He pointed with his right.
“Girl’s room is over there.”

“Got it.”

In his absence she reached for the bag of chips and
found that he’d emptied it. She’d gotten one handful out of the whole bag. She
stood and stretched, marveling at the beauty of the place. One couldn’t help
but be affected by its serenity.

She felt his presence behind her an instant before
his hands fell on her shoulders, and she grew still. She’d guessed this was
coming at some point today but still didn’t know the best way to handle it. He
smoothed hair from the nape of her neck, and when his lips touched her skin she
broke out in goosebumps.

She stepped away and turned.

Her retreat had been in self-defense, but the
distance she’d gained wasn’t protecting her from his eyes. They were as
seductive as the rest of him. He stepped forward, his hands softly cupped her
shoulders, and then his lips met hers.

She returned his kiss, giving in without making the
conscious decision to do so, and he rewarded her by deepening it. Though she
still stood on her own two feet, he was carrying her away. She was fast losing
touch with the rest of the world, was aware only of his mouth on hers, his
solid warmth, the staccato beating of his heart, his gentleness and his
tension.

She ran her hands up his arms, tightened her fingers
around his biceps, felt the play of muscles through his shirt as his arms moved.
After exploring the length of her torso, his hands lowered to her waist,
lightly caressed her jeans-clad buttocks, then returned to her bra line and
rested there. His thumbs kneaded the outside swell of her breasts.

Her senses returned. She took a deep breath and
several steps backward.

“Hold it,” he said, and reached for her the same
instant her boot splashed in the water.

“Oh.” Whipping her head around, she veered sideways
to get out of the water and away from him. He didn’t move, just watched her with
a smug, knowing look. She finally found a piece of ground that seemed safe and
came to a stop.

“You sure are skittish,” he observed.

She hadn’t recovered from that kiss, but he was as
cool as could be. That wasn’t fair.

“I’m not...skittish.”

“You’re not?”

She wished she could break through that cool control
and mess him up. But she had to find her own control first. “I’m just not,
well, interested in starting a relationship.”

“You said there was no one waiting for you back in
California.”

“There isn’t. And I’m still not interested in
starting a relationship.”

“Think this one might’ve gotten started already.”

“Okay.” She blew a longer breath out than she
thought she’d taken in. “I admit I may be a little skittish.” She found enough
wits to smile back. “But you are, without doubt, the cockiest cowboy I’ve ever
met.”

“And just how many cocky cowboys have you met?”

“Two. You and Mack.”

It seemed his stance checked a bit. He hadn’t
expected that. Well, good. Score one for the California girl.

He recovered quickly. “But I’m the best.”

“Or worst. Depends on how you want to look at it.”
She glanced at their horses. “I think we should saddle up and get out of here.”
She looked back at him. He didn’t move and neither did she.

During the silence that followed, her gaze continued
to travel between him and the horses. Walking to them meant walking toward him,
and she wasn’t sure if that was safe or not.

“Lainie?”

“Yes?” she answered guardedly.

“When you’re ready to take the next step—toward me,
not away from me—you let me know. I can wait.” He flashed that beautiful smile,
assuring her he had the situation well in hand, then showed her his back as he
bent to pick up a saddle.

She watched that back, muscles stretching across the
shoulders beneath the red-plaid shirt, the sureness and economy of movement,
the raw sexuality that was as pronounced as the color of his eyes. His decision
not to push physical contact was even more unnerving than if he’d pushed.

Yes, he could wait.

Yes, he had the situation well in hand.

Yes, he was that sure of her.

*

Days continued to grow into weeks, and soon Lainie
was into a second month at her grandfather’s ranch. As Reed had said, she’d
been accepted into the Lone Tree family without reservation. But she noted that
along with that acceptance, the two men in charge apparently felt not only did
they have the right, but also the responsibility to butt into her personal
life. She didn’t mind so much as she was amused, however, and touched, by the
reaction of Miles and Reed to her growing friendship with Jackie Lyn.

“She’s a good girl,” Miles said at one point. “Comes
from good stock. Got in with the wrong man some years back, but other than
that, you can’t go wrong with her at your back.”

“I like Jackie,” Reed told Lainie as he sat in the
passenger seat of her car. He’d hitched a ride into town to pick up his truck
that had been serviced at the garage. “She’s had a rough time of it and
deserves more than what she’s gotten. She fell for a real idiot. Man was stupid
enough to try to rob Miles. I wasn’t around when it happened, but I understand
the old man held him off with a rifle. Even butt-whipped him with it.”

Lainie gave him a quick glance, then directed her
attention back to the road. Miles kept currency on hand to pay at least partial
payroll in cash in case of emergency, in a wall safe in the office, and that
was a lot of cash.

Reed looked like he regretted speaking so candidly,
but at her second questioning look, he continued. “His name was Carl Henry
Mason, and he’s in prison now. They got him on that and a couple more serious
charges.”

“Jackie mentioned him. Said he was the worst mistake
she’d ever made.”

“Hope he’s out of her life forever.” He glanced
sideways at her. “If you’re meeting her for supper, you’re kind of early.”