Slow Burn (A Madaris Family Novel) (7 page)

“Hey, you’re not doing too badly for a greenhorn.”

Skye chuckled as she glanced down at Slade. She was actually sitting atop a horse, and Slade was holding the reins, slowly leading the animal around the wide-open space of the backyard. Her first challenge had been finding the courage to get up on the huge animal’s back, and the next had been not holding on too tight.

Slade, good to his word, was patient. He had explained every part of the saddle, the different types of horses there were, and why he had selected the one that she was sitting on. “Jessie is a right friendly gelding and is the horse that Justin used to teach Vincent to ride.”

“Vincent? This horse is that old?”

Slade chuckled as he led the horse toward another area of the ranch. “Yes. The expected life span of a horse is approximately twenty to thirty years,” he explained. “So there’s a good chance Jess might be around for Vincent’s kids.”

He brought the horse to a stop. “Now back to your lessons. These,” he said, pointing to the horse’s ears, “are good indicators of what’s going through a horse’s mind, so keep an eye on them whenever you’re in the saddle. Ears that are laid back against his neck mean the horse is unhappy or annoyed about something. When the ears are pricked up and facing forward—like they are now—that means the horse is happy and interested. Flickering ears mean the horse is listening and attentive, and lowered ears mean the animal is somewhat bored.”

Skye nodded, taking it all in. “You certainly know a lot about horses.”

Slade began walking the horse again and glanced up at her and wished he hadn’t. The backdrop of the morning sun placed a glow on her face. His gaze zeroed in on her lips and he thought they looked full and inviting and the sight of them teased him with all kinds of possibilities. “I’ve been around horses all my life,” he forced himself to say, slowing his steps.

They had come to an area of Lorren Oaks that was basically secluded. He hadn’t intentionally brought her here, but it seemed like a good place to stop and rest a bit. After all, she’d been riding, but he’d been the one doing all the walking.

“Where are we?” Skye asked, glancing around. “The scenery is simply beautiful.”

He had to agree with her on that. This was his favorite part of Lorren Oaks. “We’re still on Madaris land, but we’re not far from the original boundaries. Justin purchased the adjoining lands a few years ago, so it’s still somewhat inhabited and untamed, and he plans to keep it that way.”

Slade reached up to help her off the horse. “Come take a look around.”

When he lifted her off the horse’s back, before her feet could touch the ground he drew her close. “Umm, you smell good.”

She clutched tight to his shoulders and leaned back to look at him. The darkness of his eyes made her breath catch, and instinctively she wrapped her arms around his neck. For some reason she felt totally relaxed and the thought of being in his arms made her tingle all the way to her toes.

“Look at me, Skye.”

She didn’t want to look at him, but did so and met his eyes. The tender smile on his lips made a tightness settle in her chest. “I know what you said yesterday,” he said huskily. “About not wanting me to kiss you again, so if you’re totally against it, I won’t do it. But if there’s any possible way that we can share another kiss, can we?”

Skye groaned inwardly. His question had her heart pounding hard against her ribs, and a wave of anticipation almost made her dizzy. The look in his eyes was breaking down each and every defense she had erected, and she suddenly felt overwhelmed.

Reaching up, she cupped his chin with her hand—dimples and all—and smiled. “Umm, yes, we can.”

And then she did something she had never done before. She took the initiative by leaning up and covering his mouth with hers. Never in her entire existence had she wanted or needed to taste a man more.

She felt her feet touch the ground when his arm moved around her waist to pull her even closer to the fit of him, letting her have her way with his mouth. She wasn’t sure just what the heck she was doing with it, but she knew she had to sample as much of him as she could.

It came as a total surprise when she heard him moan from deep within his throat, which indicated whatever she was doing to his mouth she was doing at least partly right.

Incredible
.

A part of her wanted to remember her prim and proper New England upbringing, but at that moment the only thing she could think about was how she felt in Slade’s arms and how her tongue had swept inside his mouth, tasting, teasing, and exploring one side to another.

How long they stood there kissing was anybody’s guess, but when breathing became a task they could no longer ignore, she pulled her mouth from his and dropped her head onto his chest. He gave her time to get her breathing under control while he did likewise with his.

Then he reached out and lifted her face to his and gently brushed her cheek with the back of his hand. He smiled and said in a deep, throaty voice, “That was some kiss, Skye.”

She returned his smile and surprised herself by saying, “And you have one heck of a taste, Slade.”

Slade laughed, and the sound echoed loudly through the trees, pastures, and meadows. She was something else, he thought, and an innate urge within him pushed him to kiss her again. He pulled her into his arms for another kiss, surging into the heat of her mouth like a greedy man yet always remaining gentle. And he knew at that moment that Skye Barclay was getting into his system and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it.

A short while later, back in the guest room, Skye lay across the bed trying to make the move to call her parents. Regardless of whether they had wanted her to come or not, they deserved to know she had arrived safely and was all right. And if they were to ask how things were going, she would tell them. But she wouldn’t mention anything if they didn’t care enough to inquire.

She pulled out her cell phone and a few moments later she was holding her breath while the phone rang at her parents’ home. Because of the time difference, it was breakfast time in Maine and chances were her father hadn’t left for work. He had hired an assistant a few months ago, and on most days rarely went into the office before ten.

Pretty soon an older feminine voice came on the line. “Yes?”

Skye breathed in deeply. “Mom, this is Skye. I called to let you and Dad know I’m all right.”

There was a long pause and then her mother said, “Did you accomplish what you went there to do? Did you meet
him
?”

Skye knew her mother was referring to Vincent. “Yes, I met him. He’s a nice person, and so are his adoptive parents. He knows the truth now and is fine with it. He’s not placing judgment on what his mother did when she was sixteen, and neither am I.”

“Well, I still think you were wrong to tell him. Whatever image he had of his mother before has now been tainted by you.”

Skye shook her head. “No, Mom, that’s not true. Why do you want to believe that?”

Without answering, Edith Barclay said, “Your father hasn’t left for work yet. He’s here and wants to talk to you.”

Skye could hear her mother passing her father the phone. “Skye?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Are you okay?”

Skye closed her eyes. Some days she didn’t know what to make of her father. This was one of those times. There were times she felt he was there for her, but lately, more times than not, he had sided with her mother against her on matters that were important to her. “Yes, Dad, I’m fine, and I’ve met Vincent.”

“Did he ask you a lot of questions regarding his mother?”

Skye thought her father’s question rather odd. “No, he knows I didn’t know her and that she gave me up, so there’s nothing he can ask me about her.”

“I thought perhaps he wanted to know what you found out about her from your investigative reports.”

“Oh. No, he didn’t ask anything. He’s a good kid, Dad. A clean-cut, all-around American kid. The Madarises did a great job in raising him.”

“And the Madarises? They don’t have a problem with you being there?”

“No, in fact, they invited me to stay in their home instead of the hotel, so that’s where I am.”

“That was very kind of them.”

“Yes, they are kind people.” When there was a lag in the conversation, Skye said, “Look, Dad, I’m going to let you go since I know you have to go into the office. Tell Mom that I—”

“When are you coming home, Skye?”

“Probably on Sunday. I want to spend as much time with Vincent as I can, to get to know him.” She decided now was not a good time to mention that she intended to ask the Madarises about Vincent spending part of his summer with her in Maine.

“Wayne came by yesterday,” her father said. “He asked about you.”

Wayne was the last person she wanted to discuss with either of her parents. “I don’t know why he would. The last time we talked he made it pretty clear that if I came to Texas our engagement was off.”

“I think he regrets saying that.”

“Well, that’s too bad, Dad. I no longer have plans to marry him. Calling off the wedding was really a blessing and the best thing for the both of us.”

“That young man is going places, Skye. He’s a good match for you.”

Skye sighed. Her parents had been able to convince her of that a few years ago, but not now. Especially after spending time with Slade. He and Wayne were as different as day and night. Wayne had an arrogant air about him, while Slade was the epitome of a perfect gentleman. Even when he had kissed her, he had maintained a decorum of honor and respect.

“I no longer think he’s a good match for me, Dad, so let’s leave it at that.”

“We’ll talk some more about it when you get back to Maine, young lady.”

Skye exhaled. When would either of her parents accept the fact that she was no longer a child? It was as if her father had turned a deaf ear to her words. If the issue involved Wayne, they had nothing to talk about.

“Good-bye, Dad.”

“Good-bye, Skye. We hope to see you at the end of the week. Taking all this time off your job can’t be good.”

“It’s fine, Dad. I got a lot of vacation built up that I haven’t taken. Mr. Wells was really understanding about it. Good-bye, Dad.”

She then hung up the phone wishing there was something she could say to her parents to convince them that finding out about her biological parents was not a threat to them. In spite of their somewhat shaky relationship in recent years, she loved them as the only parents she’d ever known.

She got off the bed and headed for the bathroom to take a shower. She would be joining Lorren and Slade for lunch. Memories of her kiss with Slade ran through her mind, sending shivers through her body. She couldn’t dismiss the way he held her in his arms while kissing her. Totally. Unhurriedly. She smiled thinking about just how much she’d liked it.

She had liked it a lot. Maybe a little too much.

“Justin, have you and Lorren lost your minds?”

Justin rolled his eyes at the sound of his brother’s booming voice coming in through his cell phone. He was en route back to the ranch to see one of his patients on an emergency basis—although he had to admit any time old man Smith saw him it was considered an emergency. He had answered his cell phone thinking it was Lorren.

“Good morning to you, too, Clayton. How’s Syneda and Remington?”

“Never mind us. Lorren called Syneda this morning and told her about this woman showing up claiming to be Vincent’s sister.”

Justin shook his head, certain those were not the words Lorren had used in her conversation with Syneda. “She isn’t claiming to be his sister. She
is
his sister.”

“And how do you know that for sure? Did you ask for any proof? What about identification? Did you ask to see any of this documentation she claims she has? What about that investigator’s report?”

“Clayton, stop being so suspicious of everyone. I respect that as an attorney you’ve probably seen or heard it all, but trust me and Lorren to know when to protect our son and when not to.”

“And you believe this woman’s story?”

“There’s no reason not to believe it.”

“Well, let me give you one. Have you forgotten what Vincent stands to gain when he turns twenty-one?”

No, Justin hadn’t forgotten. His parents’ wealth at the time of their deaths had been held in trust for Vincent—minus what the State of Texas had deducted for restitution for the two years he’d been a ward of the state. Because his mother’s parents had been fairly wealthy and Vincent was the lone survivor, he would inherit quite a sum. A few million, to be exact.

“Don’t you think it’s odd that this woman would show up now?” Clayton asked.

“No, I don’t think it’s odd if she only recently discovered she had a brother. Besides, Clayton, it’s not like Vincent will be turning twenty-one anytime soon. He has five years to go.”

“Yes, but how do you know she’s not going to make a claim against any of Vincent’s trust? If what she says is true, then Kathy Lester was her mother as well, and she might feel she’s entitled to some of it.”

Justin sighed. “And if what you say is true, knowing Vincent, he won’t have any problems sharing it with her if that’s what he wants to do.”

“I’m just trying to help protect my nephew’s interest.”

No, you’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong like you’ve always done,
Justin thought. For as long as he could remember, Clayton was the brother who thought he knew what was best for everybody. And because he was an attorney, he was also the brother who enjoyed a good argument. But Justin had no desire to accommodate him today. “I appreciate that, Clayton, but Lorren and I know what we’re doing, and once you meet Skye, then—”

“Skye? What kind of name is that?”

Justin chuckled. “You can fix your mouth to ask that when you’re married to a woman named
Syneda
?”

“Yeah, well, Syneda’s name means something,” he said defensively.

“And I’m sure the name Skye means something as well. Besides, I wouldn’t cause problems with her if I were you. I have a feeling she’s more than piqued Slade’s interest. She’s pretty.”