Once and for All (15 page)

He went into the living room where Beau was holding the phone out. “Yeah,” Sam said into the receiver.

“Margarite is gone for the evening and I have the place to myself. This may not happen again before my folks come back.”

“Be right there,” Sam said, wondering how Jodie had talked Margarite into leaving for a night. All expenses paid weekend in Elko, perhaps? He put the phone back in the cradle, then went into the mudroom to grab his canvas coat and shove his feet into his barn boots.

“Barton ranch?” Tyler asked when Sam went for his keys.

Sam did a quick double take. “Yeah.”

Without another word, Tyler turned back to the pizza he was cutting, but Sam saw that the kid was smiling. There was
no way
the boys could be aware of what had happened between him and Jodie, but somehow they were.

Perhaps because he was ridiculously cheerful. Vets were not cheerful during calving season. They were tired. He was that, too, but not necessarily because of late night emergencies.

“I’ll be home by midnight,” he said, still playing the game even if he wasn’t fooling anyone. And he would be home by midnight, even if it killed him.

Forty minutes later, Jodie met him at the ranch house door, pulling his mouth down to meet hers before he was all the way inside. Sam wrapped his arms around her, lifting her feet off the ground, his lips staying on hers, kissing her deeply as he kicked the door shut behind him. Once he put her back on the ground, they made their way to the bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing that Margarite was going to find rather interesting if they didn’t retrieve them before she got home.

“I have to be home by midnight…one o’clock at the latest,” he said as they fell naked into Jodie’s bed.

She didn’t answer, but instead dropped kisses over his chest, her clever hands doing things that made him believe time would not be an issue. If she continued what she was doing right now, their evening would soon be over.

So he reached down for her, dragged her up the length of his body until he could kiss her. She smiled and shook her head. This time Sam surrendered, lying back and letting her have her way with him. And she was better than he’d thought, stopping at just the right moment when he was on the brink.

“Your turn,” she said with a wicked smile.

He obliged and discovered that Jodie didn’t have his self-control—or perhaps he didn’t have her timing. Regardless, she didn’t seem at all repentant about letting go when she did; she laughed and pushed her hair back from her forehead when Sam growled something about leaving him in the dust. He rolled over onto his back and positioned her on top of him, enjoying the way her eyes first widened and then drifted shut as he lowered her onto him. He made himself last as long as he could, really wanting her to come again. Jodie obliged, letting out a gasp that caught in her throat just before Sam emptied himself into her.

She stretched out on top of his damp body, tucking her head under his chin, and he closed his arms around her. “Are you surprised at how good this is?” she asked.

“A little. But I’m not going to question it.” He ran a hand over her back, loving the feel of her silky skin. This was more than just sex, more than something short-term and physical—at least at his end. Jodie…it was hard to read her.

She nodded at his response, but offered no reply. Sam was okay with that.

“My folks will be home soon.”

Sam let out a breath. “Yeah.”

Jodie rolled off him, onto her back, dropping her arm over her forehead. “I must confess I am not looking forward to giving my father the ranch report.”

Sam turned his head to glance at her profile, or what he could see of it. “What’s the deal with your dad, Jodie? It sounds like you’re afraid of him.”

Her half-shut eyes snapped open. “No. It’s just that he’s a perfectionist and he expects people to live up to his standards. When they don’t, well, he can be kind of unforgiving.”

“Even with you?” Sam’s parents had set standards for him and Dave, but he couldn’t remember a time when they’d been unforgiving.

“It’s just the way he is,” Jodie said, shifting to her side so she could look into Sam’s eyes. “It’ll pass.” He frowned and she explained, “My father has always wanted me to be the best. When I make the grade, he’s in the front of the cheering section. When I don’t…well, he pretty much withdraws until I do something up to par to make up for it.”

“So in other words,” Sam said coolly, “your father is big into emotional blackmail.”

Jodie pushed up onto her elbow. “That is
not
what I said.”

Sam tucked her hair behind her ears. “It’s what it sounds like.”

She let out a sigh. “I guess you have to be part of the family to understand, but it worked for me. I was always striving to be the best because of my father, and it’s served me well in life. Toughened me up. Prepared me for the real world and all that.”

It sounded sick to Sam, but right now he wasn’t going to waste time on psychoanalysis. He wrapped his arms around Jodie and pulled her against him, kissing her deeply and trying to convey that no matter what, he liked her just the way she was.

“I wish I could stay.”

“I know,” she agreed. “And I’m fighting the urge to pull you back down here with me.” She could see from the way he was looking at her that he was tempted. “Have I mentioned that it turns me on making love to guys who are almost dressed?”

“Good thing I’m
entirely
dressed.”

“Yeah.”

He sat on the edge of the bed and put a hand on either side of her face, leaning in for a long, deep kiss.

“Keep that up and you won’t be entirely dressed for long,” she murmured against his lips. “You’d better get out of here while you can.”

He laughed softly, kissed her again and then stood.

“See you around, Sam.”

“Get some sleep,” he said before he started for the door.

Jodie curled onto her side, flexing her tired muscles.
Yes. Sleep.
The next time she opened her eyes, gray light was coming in through the windows and she could hear Margarite out in the kitchen. Margarite, who must have come home instead of staying in town with her sister after the movie as she’d planned.

“I passed Sam as I was driving home last night. Did he have an emergency here?” the housekeeper asked when Jodie came into the kitchen.

“Yes.”

“I guess that’s why your panties are under the coffee table?” Margarite gave Jodie an arch look, then disappeared into the pantry.

Jodie clapped a hand to her forehead and went into the living room, where her panties were indeed under the coffee table. Time for damage control.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like that. Anyway, as you’ve figured out, Sam and I are…” Wow.
Sam and I are lovers?
That sounded dumb.
Seeing each other?
Naked, maybe. They weren’t dating. They were sleeping together. “We’re…”

“No kidding,” Margarite said bluntly.

“Anyway, I would appreciate it if you didn’t give my dad a heart attack by telling him about us.”

That honor was reserved for her. Or maybe this was another secret she’d keep. The one she was keeping now was still pushing its way into her conscience, nagging at her. No matter how she tried to beat it into submission, it popped up, telling her that she was making love to Sam under false pretenses.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Margarite said. Then she picked up her pencil and started working on the puzzle. When she didn’t look up for several minutes, Jodie decided to make a retreat.

“See what you can do to keep Lucas on, would you?”

Jodie turned back at Margarite’s unexpected request, her heartbeat doing an odd skip when she saw the worried expression on the housekeeper’s face. “You bet. And if Dad won’t listen to reason, Sam can help Lucas get on somewhere else.”

Margarite gave a quick smile. “Thanks, Jodie. I’d appreciate it.”

Jodie obsessed the entire way to Elko, and was terrifically relieved to see her father actually smiling when he entered the waiting area at the Elko airport. He also had that spring-loaded look that meant he was ready to get to work. Now.

“Jodie!” Nadine Barton launched herself at her daughter, catching her in a huge hug that left Jodie breathless and laughing.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Jodie said when her mom released her. “What a great haircut.”

Nadine put a hand up to her pale blond hair. “The stylist’s name is Fabio and he’s stunning. I wish I could go back for a trim, but your father says it isn’t practical.” Her eyes were brimming with humor.

Joe looked heavenward, but smiled instead of scowling. Apparently, time away had done him some good. “I missed you. Dad, you look great.” Jodie gave him a quick hug.

“It’s good to be home,” he said, returning the embrace quickly and self-consciously. “How’s the ranch?”

It was Jodie’s turn to roll her eyes. “It’s still there. I want to hear about your trip first.” Her strategy was to wait until they were home and Joe had bourbon in his hand before discussing what had happened at the ranch. That way, instead of chomping at the bit to get home and see what kind of imagined devastation awaited, he could immediately see that everything was indeed fine. Maybe not as fine as when he’d left, but acceptable.

Joe did his best to derail her plan, peppering her with questions before they reached the parking lot, but fortunately Nadine wanted to talk about the trip, and told him that Mike could fill him in when they got to the ranch. He’d know more than Jodie.

“I have a lot to tell you,” Jodie agreed.
You have no idea how much.
“We’ll have a sitdown right after lunch. Margarite has really outdone herself cooking for your return.”

“Will Mike be around when we get back?” her father asked.

“No, but I can fill you in.”

Nadine took over the conversation then and Jodie listened to her talk about Greece and southern Italy with half an ear, while she reviewed her battle strategy. She had two objectives—to keep her dad calm and to keep Lucas at the ranch. It was simply a matter of presentation.

Of course, Joe wanted to take a ranch tour as soon as he set foot on the property, but Jodie managed to get him into the office while Margarite put lunch on the table and her mother freshened up. Joe poured a glass of bourbon, neat, and held up the bottle. As much as she could use a shot of courage, Jodie shook her head.

“Some things happened on the ranch while you were gone.”

Instant frown.

“First of all,” Jodie continued coolly, “Mike went to visit his family and didn’t come back.”

The frown deepened, but Joe appeared remarkably calm when he said, “How did you handle that?”

“Lucas Reynolds finished rehab and was looking for a job. I hired him out of desperation.”

“I guess you
must
have been desperate,” Joe growled as all signs of calm acceptance evaporated. “Lucas Reynolds!”

“Dad. He’s done a fine job. He’s helped me through some tight spots.”

Joe appeared unconvinced as he considered his drink for a moment. “What tight spots?”

“Does Mom know you’re still drinking bourbon?” Jodie asked, instead of answering his question.

He glanced up at her. “I keep it to one a day.” He gestured with the glass. “This is my one.”

“Which is more than Lucas has. He goes to AA meetings in Wesley every Tuesday night, but other than that, he rarely leaves the ranch.” Jodie paused for a moment. “I want you to keep him on, Dad.”

“What tight spots?”

“Feeding, calving. We lost part of the herd when a culvert drifted shut, and he knew exactly why they were missing, and found them. He’s barely taken a day off and he’s never taken a day off from feeding.”

“When exactly did Mike quit?”

“A week after you left. He found a job in Idaho.”

“Then he knew he was going to quit before I left.”

“Probably.”

“That son of a bitch.”

“Will you keep Lucas?” When he didn’t answer immediately, Jodie played her trump. “He and Margarite may be…involved. I think if you lose one, you’ll lose both. I’m not positive, but…” She shrugged.

Joe let out an exasperated breath. “Okay, I’ll give him a trial. That’s as much as I can promise, since he screwed up the last time he was here. Anything else I need to know about?”

One down, and her father was once again relatively calm. Would her luck hold?

“Bronson got out of the pasture shortly after you left, and was spooked into a piece of farm equipment. He was badly cut.”

“What?!” The drink slammed down on the mahogany desk. “Why didn’t you—”

Jodie cut him off, her voice rising for the first time. “I think you know why. What good would it have done? You would have driven Mom crazy and there wasn’t a thing you could do about it. He’ll have some scarring on his chest, but if you had seen his injury, you’d appreciate just how well he’s healed.”

Joe took a couple paces to the window and stared out. “I’ll take a look after lunch.” His relaxed expression was long gone. “Anything
else?
” he demanded grimly.

“We’ve had seventeen live calves and all the heifers are doing fine. The only loss was a stillborn twin.”

“Lucas was good with calving,” Joe admitted grudgingly. “How much did Eriksson charge for the horse?”

“He wasn’t the one who sewed up Bronson. Sam Hyatt did.”

“Sam—”

“He also treated a bull for hardware disease.”

“Hardware…” For a moment her father simply stared at her.

“Sometimes cattle swallow bits of metal and—”

“I know what hardware disease is. I’m working on the part where you had Hyatt out here instead of Eriksson. What in the
hell
were you thinking?”

“I was thinking Sam was the only vet I could talk into coming out here. I had to beg, Dad.”

“You begged Sam Hyatt.”

Among other things. “Yes.”

Joe shook his head, then pressed his lips together tightly. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Dr. Eriksson was out of the office for two weeks. He wasn’t available, so I did the only thing I could to save the horse.”

“Maybe it would have been better if he’d died,” Joe snapped.

Jodie turned and walked out of the room. It was the only thing she could do when her father got like this.

Jodie and her mother ate lunch together without Joe, who was touring the ranch, and Nadine practically glowed as she continued to describe the trip. It was the first time in a decade she’d had her husband’s full attention and she’d loved every minute. Meanwhile Jodie was thinking,
Oh, there will be hell to pay for the Sam Hyatt issue.

“I wish your father could have joined us,” Nadine said, as if reading Jodie’s thoughts. “But you know how he is.”

Yes. Stewing about Jodie’s poor decision making. But eventually Joe did come back into the house, and Jodie was impressed when he put an arm around his wife and gave her a quick, affectionate squeeze before he faced his daughter and the deep freeze set in.

“I need to take care of a few things online,” Jodie said, excusing herself. She was almost at the office when Lucas came into the living room, his battered felt hat in one hand. He nodded nervously at Joe, who sucked in a breath and nodded back.

“I have some bad news.” He spoke to Joe, but his eyes were on Jodie. “One of the bulls is dead.”

“Which one?” Joe asked in a frighteningly calm tone.

“The black one from Oklahoma.”