The Cowgirl's Secret (The Diamondback Ranch Series #) (24 page)

Dallas whistled under his breath. "So that's how it was, huh?"

"Yeah, that's how it was." Sam stared at the beer can he held in his hand. "I lost my mother shortly after Tori graduated UTD. Tori loved me so much, she was willing to give up her dream. I couldn't let her sacrifice herself like that, so we made a deal. She went to A&M and I moved to Salt Fork. That way, I'd be here when she returned to take over Doc's practice. I had nothing left to keep me in Dallas. No family. No job."

"Goddamn, Garza. You've waited all these years for Tori to finish her degree?" Dallas lifted his beer can in a salute. "You're a better man than I am."

"Or stupider," Austin said.

Tyler put his hand to his mouth and faked a loud cough. "
Or pussy-whipped,
" he said beneath his breath.

Austin frowned. "Cut it out, Ty. That's our sister you're talking about."

"Yeah, shut up," Cameron said with a frown.

Sam grinned at the brothers. "Sadly, the man happens to be right."

Dallas waved both hands in front of him as if warding off an attack. "Don't go there, Garza. Do not even go there. That's
too
much information. I know in my mind Tori's a grown woman, but my heart still thinks of her as my baby sister."

"Right." Cameron crossed one booted foot over his knee. "Change of subject. I want to know more about this
not
having a job? What kind of computer work do you do exactly? Will you be able to support a wife? You
are
going to marry her, aren't you?"

The question hung in the air as all four McCades glared at Sam. If only it were that simple. "Of course, I want to marry her. I intend to marry her; the sooner, the better."

"What about your job? Or lack thereof?" Austin asked.

Tori's brothers were persistent, Sam had to give them that. "In New York, I worked for a hedge fund and made extremely good money, but I got burnt out after my dad passed away. I moved to Texas to help my mom fight her cancer. Even though I didn't need the money, I couldn't give up the coding for good. I write programs for a friend's game development company in which I invested a good chunk of money several years ago." Sam pointed to his laptop. "I was working on a project when you knocked on the door."

Tyler motioned with his beer can in Sam's direction. "What I don't understand is if you're not a mechanic, why in the world did you take the job at Jessie's garage?"

Sam shrugged. "My dad had a couple of vintage cars. He taught me about internal combustion engines, and I enjoy getting my hands dirty. There's just something about working on an engine. Anyway, when I came to Salt Fork, Jessie was looking for a mechanic. I applied for the job, and here I am."

"And here you are," Cameron said. "How about another round of beers? Don't get up, Garza; I know my way around." He returned with the beers and resumed his seat. "Tori's been back in town for almost two months. Why are you still hiding the fact that you two are involved?"

Sam flipped open the beer can and took a long drink. "It's not by
my
choice. I would have been more than happy not keeping it secret all these years. But Tori was determined to keep it under wraps. She said that y'all would--"

Austin snorted. "We know what she said:
So we wouldn't go all macho and protective.
It was probably for the best. We would have, you know."

"Hell, she was right," Cameron said. "We're here, aren't we?"

"Yeah, yeah. But why haven't you told us before now?" Tyler wanted to know.

"Tori's been so busy, she doesn't know whether she's coming or going," Sam said. "I think I'm going to be forced to hold an intervention. Believe me, I'm only half joking. She can't keep up this crazy non-stop pace much longer."

"The girl definitely needs help," Tyler said. "Whatcha going to do about it, Garza?"

Cameron looked thoughtfully at Sam. "You once told me that Jessie needed a keeper."

"I remember," Sam said. "Jessie was knee deep in debt with hospital bills, and she had to lease those oil rights to keep the business afloat."

Dallas groaned. "That's a chapter in my book I would much rather forget."

"Not your finest hour," Cameron said to his brother. "But that's all beside the point. Jessie
did
need a keeper . . . don't anyone dare tell her I said that; I'll deny it to my dying breath. Tori needs one, too. Ditto on not telling her either."

Sam frowned. "I know what you mean, and I'm more than willing to take on the job. I just haven't found the right moment to force the issue again. She's busy morning, noon and night. We barely have time to see each other." No need to elaborate on the little amount of time they
did
manage to spend and how.

"You might have to kidnap her, Garza," Dallas said with a grin. "You can't afford to wait around for things to settle down. If you haven't figured it out already, things never settle down with Tori. Never have; never will. Am I right?"

The other three McCade brothers nodded in agreement.

"I love my sister, don't get me wrong," Dallas continued. "But she can be one stubborn and mule-headed young lady."

Sam lifted his beer can to his mouth and took a drink. "Why doesn't that surprise me?"

Dallas grinned again. "Just what are you implying, Garza?"

"Nothing. Nada." Sam shook his head. "Forget I said anything."

"You know," Cameron said in a serious tone of voice, "Tyler and I are no strangers to dealing with stubborn women. Jessie kept refusing to marry me until I was forced to do something--hold on to your seat--
romantic
."

"God yes. Me, too." Tyler smiled at the memory.

Austin set his empty beer can on the coffee table. "Dallas and I were the stubborn ones when it came to our prospective wives. We both nearly lost the women we loved because we were too thick-headed to realize what we were letting slip through our fingers."

Dallas shook his head. "Don't remind me. I still get nightmares when I think about what would have happened if Gillian hadn't forgiven me for being such a jerk."

The room was quiet as each man thought about the woman in his life.

Cameron broke the silence. "Tell you what, Garza. We'll talk to Tori for you. Tell her how it is. Give her a heads up."

"Good idea," Tyler said. "Tori's always been a strong-minded little thing. Sometimes, she just needs a little push to get back on track."

"Yeah, we'll show her the error of her ways." Austin lifted his beer can in salute.

"Thanks for the offer," Sam said, nightmarish scenarios bombarding his brain at the thought of Tori's brothers interfering like that. "But that might make matters worse."

The five men stared at each other for a long drawn-out moment until Tyler finally grinned. "I think Garza may be on to something there."

Sam laughed and shook his head. "Tori sure has y'all pegged. She didn't want you to know about us, because she didn't want you to play your big brother trump cards."

Dallas shrugged. "We
are
her big brothers; we will always
be
her big brothers. It's our responsibility to protect her."

"I understand, but Tori's my responsibility now. I'll take it from here," Sam said. "I do appreciate the offer though. And I appreciate you stopping by. Except if I were you, I wouldn't mention this little visit to your sister. She'd be spitting mad for sure."

The McCades agreed as they rose to their feet and shook hands with Sam, punching him good-naturedly on the shoulder and pounding him on the back. Dallas grabbed his Stetson and headed for the door. "It'll be our secret, Garza. Oh, and by the way. Welcome to the family."

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Two nights later, Tori stood on the front porch of the apartment at the back of Kincaid's Garage. The yellow bulb in the overhead light cast a golden glow into the warm summer night. She knocked on the door, just as she had many times before.

On every visit back home during the years she was at A&M, she'd always found the time to steal away and be with Sam. To feel his arms around her, feel his hard body straining to be one with her. His feverish kisses, his slow sexy smile, his hands touching, caressing, giving her so much pleasure, sharing with her so much joy.

The door opened and Sam stood on the other side of the screen door. He stared at her for one heart-stopping moment, just as he did every time she showed up on his doorstep late in the evening.

"Hey, Sam. I got off a little early--"

He pushed open the screen door and dragged her inside and into his strong arms kissing her ruthlessly, savagely, possessively. It had always been this way between them. From the first moment she'd met him, she'd been his and his alone. She loved Sam and thrived on being loved by him.

She melted into his embrace and kissed him back for all she was worth. After a few glorious minutes, he lifted his head and stared down at her, all his love and passion shining in the depths of his dark brown eyes.

"Babe, we have to do something about our situation and fast. Every minute we're apart, every hour is sheer torture." He swung her in his arms and carried her to his bedroom.

Tori tenderly cupped his jaw; the shadow of his beard lightly grazed her skin. "I know, Sam. We're together now. Just make love to me. We'll work it all out somehow."

He laid her on the bed and followed her down, taking her mouth in another brutal kiss, taking her body in passionate yearning heat.

As they lay in the aftermath of their lovemaking, Tori snuggled against Sam's sweaty body, her head on his chest, his heartbeat familiar and comforting beneath her ear.

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "We need to talk. Something's got to give. I want you for my wife. I want you in my bed
every
night
all night long
. I want to wake up with you each and every morning. I love you so much, babe. It's time to--"

Tori's cell phone buzzed loudly and interrupted him. "
Goddamnit! Just let it ring
."

"I can't." She jumped out of bed and dug the phone from the pocket of her discarded jeans lying on the floor. She looked at the caller ID and shot Sam an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I really need to take this." She turned away and walked toward his dresser where she found a pen and paper and jotted something down. She ended the call and came back to the bed, but didn't climb in.

"I have to go. It's Ben Erwin's mare. She's having trouble foaling." Tori dragged on her jeans and searched frantically for her shirt and bra. "Oh, here they are." She tossed them on and slid her feet into her sandals. "Please don't be angry. I promise we'll get it all worked out. I just need to get a better handle on things." She bent to kiss him, then disappeared through the door.

Sam fell back against the sheets, his fists twisted in the covers. Although his body felt replete and satisfied from their lovemaking, his heart and soul battled miserably inside. As crazy as it sounded, Tori's brothers might have had the right idea. He might have to actually kidnap Tori to steal away any time together. Or maybe he should try to think of something romantic and sweep her off her feet.

Whatever happened, it was becoming quite clear that he was going to have to take matters into his own hands. Otherwise, he and Tori would never get married and start their life together. And that was
not
an option.

***

Three afternoons later, Sam sat in the waiting room of the animal clinic, the scents of disinfectant, dry pet food and other nondescript odors wafting in the air. Poncho wiggled impatiently in his arms wanting to get down. Sam put the little dog on the floor, but kept a firm hold on the leash. "There you go, boy. Don't get into any trouble."

The reception area was full to bursting. Most every chair was occupied. It seemed Tori dedicated Wednesday afternoons to attending small animals and household pets. Maybe he should request a certain day for Tori to dedicate toward them as a couple. Surely, she could set aside one little slot of time for him and only him.

Isn't that why he'd brought Poncho to the clinic? At least, he'd have twenty precious minutes to have Tori all to himself and sort out a few things?

Don
't be such a whiny son of a bitch, Garza.

Sarah Sue from the cafe entered the waiting room with a white Persian cat in her arms. She sat next to Sam. Everyone in town liked Sarah Sue even if she did poke her nose in everybody's business. People far and wide enjoyed eating at her cafe. Her pies and cakes and cinnamon rolls melted in your mouth. Sam's own mouth watered just thinking about them.

"What's wrong with Poncho?" Sarah Sue motioned to the little dog; he was sniffing at a large bag of dried dog food sitting on the bottom rack of a tall shelf.

"Nothing's wrong with him." Sam tugged on Poncho's leash. "Come on, boy. Leave that alone."

"Nothing's wrong with him?" Sarah Sue shot him a look filled with curiosity and speculation. "Then why have you brought him to the clinic? What's that shiny thing hanging on his collar?"