Texas Wild (7 page)

Their tongues tangled and dueled and he held on to her, needing
the taste as intense desire tore through him. He knew he had to end the kiss or
it could go on forever. And when her hips began moving against him, rotating
against his huge arousal, he knew where things might lead if he didn’t end the
kiss here and now.

He slowly pulled back and let out a breath as his gaze seized
her moistened lips. He watched the eyes staring back at him darken to a degree
that would have grown hair on his chest, if he didn’t have any already.

“Rico?”

Heat was still simmering in his veins, and it didn’t help him
calm down when she said his name like that. “Yes?”

“You did it again.”

He lifted a brow. “What did I do?”

“You kissed me.”

He couldn’t help but smile. “Yes, and you kissed me back.”

She nodded and didn’t deny it. “We’re going to have to come to
some kind of understanding. About what we can or cannot do when we’re
alone.”

His smile deepened.
That would be
interesting
. “Okay, you make out that list, and we can discuss
it.”

She tilted her head back to look at him. “I’m serious.”

“So am I, and make sure it’s a pretty detailed list because if
something’s not on there, I’ll be tempted to try it.”

When she didn’t say anything, he chuckled and told her she was
being too serious. “You’ll feel better after getting dinner. You missed
lunch.”

She shook her head as he led her over to the horses. “I wasn’t
hungry.”

He licked his mouth, smiled and said, “Mmm, baby, you could
have fooled me.”

Six

O
nce they had gotten back to the ranch and
dismounted, Rico told the ranch hand who’d come to handle the horses not to
bother, that he would take care of them.

“You’re from Philadelphia, but you act as if you’ve been around
horses all your life,” she said, watching him remove the saddles from the
animals’ back.

He smiled over at her across the back of the horse she’d been
riding. “In a way, I have. My maternal grandparents own horses, and they made
sure Savannah and I took riding lessons and that we knew how to care for
one.”

She nodded. “What about Jessica?”

He didn’t say anything for a minute and then said, “Jessica,
Savannah and I share the same father. We didn’t know about Jess until I was in
college.”

“Oh.” Megan didn’t know the full story, but it was obvious from
Rico and Savannah’s interracial features that the three siblings shared the same
father and not the same mother. She had met Rico and Savannah’s mother at one of
Jessica’s baby showers and thought she was beautiful as well as kind. But then
Megan had seen the interaction between the three siblings and could tell their
relationship was a close one.

“You, Jessica and Savannah are close, I can tell. It’s also
obvious the three of you get along well.”

He smiled. “Yes, we do, especially since I’m no longer trying
to boss them around. Now I gladly leave them in the hands of Chase and Durango
and have to admit your cousins seem to be doing a good job of keeping my sisters
happy.”

Megan would have to agree. But then she would say that all the
Westmorelands had selected mates that complemented them, and they all seemed so
happy together, so well connected. Even Gemma and Callum. She had visited her
sister around the time Gemma’s baby was due to be born and Megan had easily felt
the love radiating between Gemma and her husband. And Megan knew Callum Junior,
or CJ as everyone called him, was an extension of that love.

“We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning, Megan.”

She glanced back over at Rico, remembering what he’d said when
he’d first arrived. He had come for her. “And just where are we supposed to be
going?”

She couldn’t help noticing how a beam of light that was shining
in through the open barn door was hitting him at an angle that seemed to
highlight his entire body. And as weird as it sounded, it seemed like there was
a halo over his head. She knew it was a figment of her imagination because the
man was no angel.

“I’m taking you back to Forbes with me,” he said, leading both
horses to their stalls. “You did say you wanted to be included when I uncover
information about Clarice.”

She felt a sudden tingling of excitement in her stomach. Her
face lit up. “Yes,” she said, following him. “You found out something?”

“Nothing more than what I told you before. However, my man
who’s doing internet research came across a recent news article. There’s a woman
living in Forbes who’ll be celebrating her one-hundredth birthday today. And
she’s lived in the same house for more than seventy of those years. Her address
just happens to be within ten miles of the last known address we have for
Clarice. We’re hoping she might remember her.”

Megan nodded. “But the key word is
remember
. How well do you think a one-hundred-year-old person will
be able to remember?”

Rico smiled. “According to the article, she credits home
remedies for her good health. I understand she still has a sharp memory.”

“Then I can’t wait for us to talk to her.”

Rico closed the gate behind the horses and turned to face her.
“Although I’m taking you along, Megan, I’m still the one handling this
investigation.”

“Of course,” she said, looking away, trying her best not to get
rattled by his insistence on being in charge. But upon remembering what Ramsey
had said about letting Rico do his job without any interference from her, she
decided not to make a big deal of it. The important thing was that Rico was
including her.

He began walking toward the ranch house, and she fell in step
beside him. “What made you change your mind about including me?” she asked as
she tilted her head up.

He looked over at her. “You would have shown up in Forbes
eventually, and I decided I’m going to like having you around.”

Megan stopped walking and frowned up at him. “It’s not going to
be that kind of party, Rico.”

She watched how his lips curved in a smile so sensuous that she
had to remind herself to breathe. Her gaze was drawn to the muscular expanse of
his chest and how the shirt looked covering it. She bet he would look even
better shirtless.

Her frown deepened. She should not be thinking about Rico
without a shirt. It was bad enough that she had shared two heated kisses with
him.

“What kind of party do you think I’m having, Megan?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t know, you tell
me.”

He chuckled. “That’s easy because I’m not having a party.
You’ll get your own hotel room, and I’ll have mine. I said I wanted you. I also
said eventually I’d have you if you came with me. But I’ll let you decide
when.”

“It won’t happen. Just because we shared two enjoyable kisses
and—”

“So you did enjoy them, huh?”

She wished she could swipe that smirk off his face. She
shrugged. “They were okay.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Just okay? Then I guess I
better improve my technique the next time.”

She nibbled on her bottom lip, thinking if he got any better
she would be in big trouble.

“Don’t do that.”

She raised a brow. “Don’t do what?”

“Nibble on your lip that way. Or else I’m tempted to improve my
technique right here and now.”

Megan swallowed, and as she stood there and stared up at him,
she was reminded of how his kisses could send electrical currents racing through
her with just a flick of his tongue.

“I like it when you do that.”

“Do what?”

“Blush. I guess guys didn’t ever talk to you that way, telling
you what they wanted to do to you.”

She figured she might as well be honest with him. “No.”

“Then may I make a suggestion, Megan?”

She liked hearing the sound of her name from his lips.
“What?”

“Get used to it.”

* * *

Rico sat on a bar stool in the kitchen while talking to
Clint. However, he was keeping Megan in his peripheral vision. When they’d
gotten back to the house, Clint had been eager to show Rico a beauty of a new
stallion he was about to send to his sister Casey to train, and Alyssa wanted to
show Megan how she’d finished decorating the baby’s room that morning.

Cain was awake, and, like most three-year-olds, he wanted to be
the life of the party and hold everyone’s attention. He was doing so without any
problems. He spoke well for a child his age and was already riding a horse like
a pro.

Rico had admired the time Clint had spent with his son and
could see the bond between them. He thought about all the times he had wished
his father could have been home more and hadn’t been. Luckily, his grandfather
had been there to fill the void when his father had been living a double
life.

Megan had gone upstairs to take a nap, and by the time he’d
seen her again it had been time for dinner. She had showered and changed, and
the moment she had come down the stairs it had taken everything he had to keep
from staring at her. She was dressed in a printed flowing skirt and a blouse
that showed what a nice pair of shoulders she had. He thought she looked
refreshed and simply breathtaking. And his reaction upon seeing her reminded him
of how it had been the first time he’d seen her, that day three months ago.

“Rico?” Clint said, snapping his fingers in front of his
face.

Rico blinked. “Sorry. My mind wandered there for a minute.”

“Evidently,” Clint said, grinning. “How about if we go outside
where we can talk without your mind wandering so much?”

Rico chuckled, knowing Clint knew full well where his
concentration had been. “Fine,” he said, grabbing his beer off the counter.

Moments later, while sitting in rocking chairs on the
wraparound porch, Clint had brought Rico up to date on the horse breeding and
training business. Several of the horses would be running in the Kentucky Derby
and Preakness in the coming year.

“So how are things going with the investigation?” Clint asked
when there was a lull in conversation. “Megan mentioned to Alyssa something
about an old lady in Forbes who might have known Clarice.”

“Yes, I’m making plans to interview her in a few days, and
Megan wants to be there when I do.” Rico spent the next few minutes telling
Clint what the news article had said about the woman.

“Well, I hope things work out,” Clint said. “I know how it is
when you discover you have family you never knew about, and I guess Megan is
feeling the same way. If it hadn’t been for my mother’s deathbed confession,
Cole, Casey and I would not have known that our father was alive. Even now, I
regret the years I missed by not knowing.”

Clint stood and stretched. “Well, I’m off to bed now. Will you
and Megan at least stay for breakfast before taking off tomorrow?”

Rico stood, as well. “Yes. Nothing like getting on the road
with a full stomach, and I’m sure Chester is going to make certain we have
that.”

Clint chuckled. “Yes, I’m certain, as well. Good night.”

By the time they went back into the house, it was quiet and
dark, which meant Alyssa and Megan had gone to bed. Rico hadn’t been aware that
he and Clint had talked for so long. It was close to midnight.

Clint’s ranch house was huge. What Rico liked most about it was
that it had four wings jutting off from the living room—north, south, east and
west. He noted that he and Megan had been given their own private wing—the west
wing—and he couldn’t help wondering if that had been intentional.

He slowed his pace when he walked past the guest room Megan was
using. The door was closed but he could see light filtering out from the bottom,
which meant she was still up. He stopped and started to knock and then decided
against it. It was late, and he had no reason to want to seek her out at this
hour.

“Of course I can think of several reasons,” he muttered,
smiling as he entered the guest room he was using. He wasn’t feeling tired or
sleepy so he decided to work awhile on his laptop.

Rico wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting at the desk,
going through several online sites, piecing together more information about
Fanny Banks, when he heard the opening and closing of the door across the hall,
in the room Megan was using. He figured she had gotten up to get a cup of milk
or tea. But when moments passed and he didn’t hear her return to her room, he
decided to find out where she’d gone and what she was doing.

Deciding not to turn on any lights, he walked down the hall in
darkness. When he reached the living room, he glanced around before heading for
the kitchen. There, he found her standing in the dark and looking out the
window. From the moonlight coming in through the glass, he could tell she was
wearing a bathrobe.

Deciding he didn’t want to startle her, he made his presence
known. “Couldn’t you sleep?”

She swung around. “What are you doing up?”

He leaned in the doorway with his shoulder propped against a
wall. “I was basically asking you the same thing.”

She paused a moment and didn’t say anything and then said, “I
tried sleeping but couldn’t. I kept thinking about my dad.”

His brows furrowed. “Your dad?”

“Yes. This Saturday would have been his birthday. And I’m proud
to say I was a daddy’s girl,” she said, smiling.

“Were you?”

She grinned. “Yes. Big-time. I remember our last conversation.
It was right before he and Mom got ready to leave for the airport. As usual, the
plan was for Mrs. Jones to stay at the house and keep us until my parents
returned. He asked that I make sure to help take care of Gemma, Bailey and the
twins. Ramsey was away at college, Zane was about to leave for college and
Derringer was in high school. I was twelve.”

She moved away from the window to sit at the table. “The only
thing was, they never returned, and I didn’t do a good job of taking care of
Bailey and the twins. Gemma was no problem.”

Rico nodded. Since getting to know the Denver Westmorelands, he
had heard the stories about what bad-asses Bailey, the twins and Bane were. And
each time he heard those stories, his respect and admiration for Dillon and
Ramsey went up a notch. He knew it could not have been easy to keep the family
together the way they had. “I hope you’re not blaming yourself for all that
stupid stuff they did back then.”

She shook her head. “No, but a part of me wishes I could have
done more to help Ramsey with the younger ones.”

Rico moved to join her at the table, figuring the best thing to
do was to keep the conversation going. Otherwise, he would be tempted to pull
her out of that chair and kiss her again. Electricity had begun popping the
moment their gazes had connected. “You were only twelve, and you did what you
could, I’m sure,” he said, responding to what she’d said. “Everybody did. But
people grieve in different ways. I couldn’t imagine losing a parent that
young.”

“It wasn’t easy.”

“I bet, and then to lose an aunt and uncle at the same time. I
have to admire all of you for being strong during that time, considering what
all of you were going through.”

“Yes, but think of how much easier it would have been had we
known the Atlanta, Montana and Texas Westmorelands back then. There would have
been others, and Dillon and Ramsey wouldn’t have had to do it alone. Oh, they
would have still fought to keep us together, but they would have had some kind
of support system. You know what they say…it takes a village to raise a
child.”