Stone Cold Cowboy (10 page)

Ford clamped a hand on Rory's shoulder. “Stop talking yourself out of this.”

“Yeah, turn the grump down and the happy up and you'll be fine.” Colt stared across the field as Sadie rode toward them. “Let her pick the movie and the snacks. Hold her hand during the movie. Kiss her good night.”

Rory rolled his eyes. “I am not taking dating advice from my little brother.”

“You should. The last date you went on was before the last Ice Age, which accounts for your sour moods.” Colt took a step away, anticipating the swat Rory threw at him. Rory didn't miss, making Colt flinch. “Seriously, she's pretty, she can cook, she's nice, she can cook, and for God knows what reason she likes you. Don't fuck this up.”

“You said the cooking thing twice,” Rory pointed out.

“Yes, it's worth mentioning again. We haven't eaten this good since Mom was here.” Ford sighed.

They all felt the impact of their parents' absence the same way and in their own way. After all these years
living on the ranch, just them boys, it was nice to have a woman in the house, a reminder of their mother in some small way.

Sadie had already left her mark. The house smelled different, felt different, was different when she was in it.

“Don't you cowboys have anything better to do than stare at me,” Sadie called from atop her horse.

“No,” they said in unison.

Sadie laughed and so did all of them.

Rory climbed over the fence and dropped down on the other side. Sadie's gaze locked on him as he closed the distance between them. Her gaze dropped from his face, over his shoulders and chest. He had an overwhelming urge to flex, but didn't. Not with his brothers standing there taking in the show, watching every little nuance between him and Sadie.

Him and Sadie. He liked that. The idea. The reality. The possibilities of what they could share.

“Your horses are where you want them.” She swung her leg over the horse's neck to slide down, but Rory caught her under the arms and lifted her off the horse and gently set her on the ground in front of him. “I can manage on my own.”

“What fun would that be for me?”

She shyly ducked her head and stepped back, so she could look up at him without craning her neck. “I'm heading up to the house to make dinner.” She turned to leave, but glanced over her shoulder. “See you later?”

“Nothing will keep me from you and dinner.”

That made her smile at him again. She walked toward the house. Fifteen feet away, she turned back. “Are you staring at my ass?”

Yep, that sexy, sweet smile just might kill him.

“What else would I be doing?”

“Go feed the horses or mend a fence or something, anything else.”

“If you're walking, sweetheart, I'm watching.” He couldn't help the smile. He liked the feeling. He liked the way he was with her—somehow the weight he carried on his shoulders lessened when she was near.

She spun back around and continued on to the house, checking over her shoulder a couple times to see if he watched her. The smiles she sent his way, the little extra swing she put in her hips, cast a spell over him. He wanted her, no doubt, but he found he liked her more and more. Everything about her drew him in and made him wish for things he'd only ever thought of in the abstract but now wanted to make a reality.

H
eadlights swept across the front windows. Sadie's stomach did a strange rise and fall like she'd raced down a huge dip on a roller coaster. Butterflies swarmed her belly. She tried to hold back a nervous smile, but failed. She couldn't help it. She'd been on other first dates—too many of which never turned into a second date—but this one with Rory felt different in a good way. In a way that she didn't quite get. Maybe because she didn't quite get Rory, but it still felt right. He felt right.

“There's your guy. You look real pretty, honey.” Her father stared up at her from his favorite chair in the living room, a celebrity news program on the TV. “You look so much like your mother.”

Sadie smiled, remembering her mother leaning over the counter toward the mirror, putting on lipstick to go out on a date with her father. She'd pressed her lips together and made a funny popping noise, then smiled down at Sadie. She'd kissed Sadie goodbye that night and Sadie made that same popping noise as her mother waved goodbye and left her and Connor with the sitter to go out with their dad. “I miss her so much.”

“Me too. Go, sweetheart. Have fun tonight. Be young and happy. You deserve it.”

“I love you, Dad. I'll be back in a couple of hours.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

The smile he gave her was real. His eyes were clear. No sign of the confusion he suffered more and more lately.

She walked out her front door light of heart. It stuttered when Rory walked around the front of his truck and toward her wearing a navy blue thermal Henley, dark blue jeans, and black cowboy boots. The deep blue shirt made his golden hair brighter and his hazel eyes greener. He smiled at her, and her heart fluttered and lifted in her chest. She pressed a hand to her belly, but it didn't calm those swarming butterflies.

Rory's gaze scanned over her hair and face. She'd taken extra time to curl her long straight hair into chunky waves and added a touch of soft pink eye shadow to her usual eyeliner and mascara. She'd even dabbed on some tinted lip balm. His eyes stopped on her mouth, before his gaze swept over her rosy pink top down to the floral skirt that hugged her hips and flared out in a ruffle, ending several inches above her knees. She completed the outfit with her favorite pair of brown cowboy boots and executed a little shimmy, circling for him to see the whole outfit, hoping the cute clothes distracted him from the healing cuts across her thigh and knee, the nicks and scabs on her arms.

“You like?” The slight tremble in her words revealed her nerves and how self-conscious she felt about her scars and his approval.

“You're beautiful. Nice moves.” His voice came out gruff.

“Maybe next time you'll take me dancing.”

He shook his head. “Only if you want me to step on your feet.”

She smiled and walked down the first step, but hesitated when all of a sudden his sheer size and narrowed gaze turned those nervous butterflies into a tremble of fear. Ridiculous. She set aside the nightmares that kept her up at night, and walked down the other three treads, standing close to him, but still up on the last stair so she could look him nearly in the eye. God, the man was tall. And built.

She covered her hesitation to approach him by saying, “I love to dance.”

“I've got two left feet,” he admitted with a self-deprecating grin.

“Are you really a bad dancer, or have you never been taught how to do it?”

“Both. About all I'm good for his holding you and swaying back and forth.”

“Well, that's something.”

He put his hands on her hips. She jumped, but settled quickly when his warmth seeped through her clothes and into her skin. He held her gently, sensing she needed a second, but he didn't ask about her odd reaction. To reassure him and steady herself, she swept her hands over the sides of his wide shoulders and set them on top.

“Maybe that's all I want,” she admitted, liking having him close enough to smell his light, woodsy scent mixed with something uniquely him.

“We don't have to go dancing for you to get me to hold you.” He reached up and traced a curl spiraling along her face. His gaze held hers.

Hers dipped to his mouth, the bottom lip just a touch fuller than the top. She slid her hand up his shoulder to the back of his neck and pulled him in for the kiss she didn't just want but needed. She hesitated a breath from his lips and stared into his eyes. The hunger there matched her own. She'd never felt this overwhelming urge to be close to someone, let alone a man, but something about Rory drew her in and made her want to stay.

“Did you change your mind, or are you just trying to kill me?”

His deep voice resonated through her. The slight tilt of humor in his lips made her smile softly. She pressed her lips to his, thinking it just a test. A way to see if they fit, connected on a deeper level than the pull she already felt toward him.

The second her lips touched his, fire lit through her system. She pulled back, surprised that such a simple thing could spark such deep and overwhelming need. The same fire she felt flashed in his golden-green eyes.

“Once wasn't enough.” This time, Rory pulled her back in and kissed her, wrapping her in his strong arms. Cocooned in his warmth, she hooked her arms around his neck and pressed her body down the length of his. He engulfed her and she felt protected. Safe.

The fire sizzled through her when his tongue swept along hers in a soft sweep that was undemanding. The man knew how to take his time. She appreciated that he didn't rush, but let the intimate moment stretch.

He ended the kiss with a soft brush of his lips to hers. It took her a second to open her eyes and look up at him. God, the man was handsome at a distance. This close, he was so damn hot she wanted to lean in and kiss him again.

“We should go.” He didn't move.

She didn't want to go anywhere. She'd like to stay right here with him in the bubble of closeness they'd created where nothing else mattered except the two of them.

She leaned back, putting some distance between them so she could cool her heels and take a breath without feeling him do the same, despite how much she enjoyed it. She got that whole magnetism thing now.

He let her go, sliding his hands down her back and taking her hands. He stepped back and pulled her off the step. “Come on. Let's go have some fun.”

“I don't know about you, but I was having fun.”

He opened the truck door. She hopped in and turned to face him. He leaned in the door. “You are trying to kill me.” He kissed her again. Just a friendly, we're-not-done kind of thing. “I was right, once wasn't enough.”

“I was wrong about you. You're nothing like what I thought.”

“I'm sorry I gave you the wrong impression. I'm trying to show you who I really am.”

“You're off to a really good start.”

Rory kissed her again. Not just because he could, but because he needed to. She looked so lovely sitting in his truck, her hair falling in waves, framing her beautiful face, her eyes locked on him. Her soft lips melted below his. She tasted sweet and tempting. She truly was turning into an addiction. Now that he'd started kissing her, he never wanted to stop.

Her hand pressed to the side of his face. “We should go,” she said against his lips.

He pulled back. She leaned forward, following his exit. The smile on her face, the laugh that bubbled up
when he playfully shoved her back and closed the door between them made his gut tight and his own laugh burst free.

He pointed his finger at her. “You're dangerous.”

She laughed again, covering her mouth with her fingers. He rounded the truck and slid in behind the wheel. He started the engine and pulled out of her drive, headed straight to town with Little Big Town's “Pain Killer” playing on the radio. Yeah, a little dose of Sadie sure did make everything all right.

He reached across the seat, took her hand, ignored the instinctive flinch, and linked his fingers with hers, trying not to think about the reasons why she shied away for those tiny moments before she overcame the jolt of fear that asshole Derek instilled in her. “What do you want to see tonight?” he asked to distract her and keep her focus on him.

“To tell you the truth, I'm not sure what's playing. I work so much, it's been about six months since I went to the movies.”

“Really? You don't have a string of hot dates lined up behind you?” He was teasing, but he also wanted to know if he had some competition out there.

“You're the only hot date I've had in . . . If I can't think of how long it's been, then that should tell you it's been a long time. Luna and I caught that Leonardo DiCaprio movie a while back.”

“What was up with that look she shot Colt when she came to pick you up at my place?”

“All I know is that she used to date Colt's friend. Then something happened with the guy and Colt.”

“Do you know what?”

“No. She won't say. I guess you'll have to ask Colt.”

“He's a vault. I asked him about it the night she came by. You'd have thought I asked him to relive his worst nightmare by the look on his face.”

“I relive mine every night.”

Rory squeezed her hand. “Having trouble sleeping?”

“It won't go away. Sometimes I find myself drifting off during the day. I get sucked back to that day, the fear, the knowing I'm going to die out there alone.”

Rory felt the shiver from her body race up his arm. “I think about it, too. I dream about you hanging there. I know how it turns out. You're fine, but it still wakes me in the night and leaves me cold. I need to see you. I need to know you're all right.” More than he wanted to admit, but there it was. He thought about her all the time.

He hated that she was still suffering, still fearful after what that asshole did to her.

“The cops still haven't found Derek. Aside from your brother stopping by your place today, no one has seen him.”

“They've got to have a secret place where they're cooking the drugs.”

“When did your brother get into drugs?”

“After my mother died. I found him stealing booze from the house, drinking in the barn. He started smoking pot, which led to him selling it, pills, mostly oxy and Ecstasy. Last year, he got busted for possession with the meth. I had no idea he was making it.”

“That's some serious shit.”

“Believe me, I know. I've seen him at his worst, but I still remember the scared little boy who ran into my room in the middle of the night afraid of monsters. The day they stole the cattle, I could tell he hadn't slept in a
couple of days. He was going to crash hard. I've been thinking about it. If he's cooking and stealing the cattle, the two things have to be located close to each other.”

Rory eyed her across the seat. “Why do you say that?”

“Because he's drugged-up stupid. He's not going to put himself out or work hard to do anything. He owes money, so the easy and convenient thing to do was steal your cows. He'd get between seven and ten grand for the small groups he took. The herd, I don't even want to think about what that cost you. Not just in the animals themselves, but the offspring you would have had from them.”

Rory didn't want to think about it either. The theft put a dent in his family's business. It wasn't hard to remember it wasn't her fault, but the anger still rose up inside him. He tamped it down and focused on what she knew about her brother. Maybe they could put the pieces together to figure out where he was hiding and put an end to his drug manufacturing and distributing in and around their town. The growing problem needed to be nipped in the bud before they had a full-blown epidemic.

“So you think this place is near my land.”

“It makes the most sense. From what you and your brothers told me, the smaller number of cattle he stole off the back road went on for quite some time. The larger theft only took them across all that land because they couldn't get the cattle trailers up that road.”

A four-by-four and a small trailer could make it, but a huge tractor trailer, no way. Rory should have asked her about this sooner. It might have saved him losing the last five cattle taken. That road ran across the back
side of his property. He thought about what else was back that way, anywhere that Connor and his buddies could set up a trailer, any abandoned cabins, sheds, or barns. Nothing came to mind, but he didn't use that part of the property often, so nothing struck him. He'd have to get Ford and Colt to ride out with him soon.

“I lost you.” Sadie squeezed his hand to get his attention.

“Sorry.” He pulled into the movie theater lot and parked. “I was thinking about where your brother might be hiding out. My brothers and I will check it out.”

Sadie turned in her seat and gripped his hand tight. “Rory, let the cops check it out. Connor isn't dangerous, neither are his two friends, Dumb and Dumber, but Derek . . . You saw up close and personal what he's capable of.”

Yeah, Derek still terrorizes her even when he isn't here.

Rory didn't want her to worry about him, but he appreciated it. He liked they could talk about everything, but right now, he just wanted to have a good time. “Let's leave this alone for now. We're supposed to have fun.”

Rory opened the door and stepped out, pulling Sadie along the seat to follow him. When she reached the end of the seat, he let loose her hand, tucked his hands under her arms, and plucked her out of the truck, setting her down in front of him. Her hands rested on his biceps. She squeezed his muscles and smiled up at him, the light of appreciation sparkling in her eyes. She made him feel appealing. Women stared at him all the time. He got from the flirtatious smiles and suggestive glances that women liked the way he looked. Still, no
one in recent memory made him feel like, while they appreciated the way he looked, it went a lot deeper.