Wild Borders (9 page)

Chapter Seven

“I know for a fact you do bite,” Lani retorted, then heat crept up her face as she remembered his kisses and how he’d nipped at her lower lip.

“Got me there.” With a chuckle, Rick eased his big frame into the swing that was wide enough for three grown adults. “How about I promise I won’t bite…for now?”

She tried to glare at him, but the mischievous glint in his eyes disarmed her.

His face grew serious as she settled into the cushioned swing. “I can tell you about the Border Patrol, and some of what we do, but due to the nature of my job you can’t use my name.”

“Do you mind if I ask why?”

“I work in intelligence,” he replied. “A lot of what I do is classified.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

Rick stretched out his long legs. “I can put you in touch with Miguel Martinez, Special Operations Supervisor. You can talk to him on the record.”

“Thanks.” Lani turned on her recorder. “What did you do today?”

“Among other things, tracking and cutting sign,” Rick replied.

Lani adjusted her glasses as she glanced at him. “Can you explain?”

“A trail begins when we locate sign of people crossing the desert. We usually start our search along roads the Border Patrol maintains.”

“What types of sign?”

“Sign can be footprints, a scrap of clothing, or garbage that’s been discarded.”

Lani scrawled a note on her pad of paper. “How do you maintain the roads?”

“By pulling tires behind the vehicle. That makes a relatively smooth surface to enable us to easily see footprints. Even if the UDAs try to eliminate their sign by walking backwards, or by using other methods, we can usually determine where they’ve crossed.”

“When you locate sign, how do you know how old it is?”

Rick raked his hand through his thick hair. “By a variety of factors. We look to see what effect the weather may have had on the tracks, such as raindrops and wind. If it’s been awhile, detail will diminish. We can even tell if the UDAs are walking in daylight or after dark.”

Lani glanced from the note she’d written on her pad. “How on earth would you do that?”

“If the tracks head up to a bush, even though the person could’ve walked around it, more than likely they were walking at night.”

She chewed the end of her pencil, staring at her notes. “Any other methods?”

“Animal tracks assist in aging the trail. Most desert animals move around at night, so if we find animal sign on the trail at five o’clock in the afternoon, it may not be fresh.”

“What happens once you find a trail?”

“We have to describe it to other trackers who haven’t seen it.” He shifted and put his arm on the back of the seat. “Rather than relaying several types over the radio, we locate the most distinct tracks and describe them. Other agents work ahead to find the trail on roads that intersect the path. If an agent picks up the trail, he’ll attempt to match the sign described by the agent who originally cut the sign. We continue until we catch the UDAs, or until we can’t follow the tracks any longer.”

She paused while she made a note. “How large are groups that come across the border?”

“These days twenty to thirty UDAs at a time is normal.”

For quite a while, Rick continued answering Lani’s questions, giving her a better idea of what the Border Patrol was about.

Somehow the interview itself faded away, and they moved on to other topics. He shared information with her about the southwest and his family, and she chatted about her job and living in San Francisco. She was amazed at how easy it was to talk with Rick, and how much she enjoyed his company.

A door slammed and then Trevor tore around the corner of the house, waving a piece of paper. “Lani Lani Lani!” he yelled, then skidded to a stop. “Look what I drew.”

She smiled and caught the paper Trevor thrust in her lap.

“It’s a picture of you and Dad that I drew all by myself. Do you like it?” He hopped up and down on one foot, blue eyes flashing and brown hair flying in time with his movements. “Do you, do you?”

With one finger Lani traced the crayon figures, surprised at the detail the almost-nine-year-old had drawn. In the picture, Rick wore a blue shirt and jeans, with Lani in pink, and they stood side-by-side. “It’s wonderful.” She looked from the drawing to the boy. “You’re very talented.”

Trevor grinned from ear to ear. “You really like it?”

“Love it.”

Rick reached for the picture. “Let me see, Son.” He studied it with the seriousness of a true connoisseur. “A fine work of art.”

“I drew it for Lani. I can make you one too, Dad.”

“When you do, I’ll hang it on my wall.” Rick wrapped his arms around Trevor and brought his son onto his lap.

After giving his dad a quick hug, Trevor wriggled free. “Can we get everything ready for tomorrow?”

Rick nodded and ruffled his son’s hair. “Sure, Trev.”

A lump formed in Lani’s throat as she observed the affection between father and son.

“We’re going fishing for my birthday.” Trevor jumped up and down like a jack-in-the-box on an overdose of caffeine. “Wanna come? It’d be so cool if you’d go with us. Please?”

She glanced at Rick and then back to Trevor. “Sure, if it’s okay with everyone else.”

“Fine by me,” Rick said.

“All right!” Trevor spun in circles, and Lani wondered how he managed to maintain his balance. “That’s so cool. I’m gonna go tell Grandma to pack a lunch for three.”

As the boy dashed away, Lani’s stomach flipped. “Sadie and Chuck aren’t going?”

Rick gave her his slow, sensual smile that sent tingles from her head to her toes. “Mom and Chuck have friends from out of town visiting for the day, so it’ll just be the three of us.”

“Oh.” She tried to sound casual, to not let on that the prospect of spending the day with Rick, without Sadie and Chuck around, made her more than a little nervous.

“We’ll have Trevor to chaperone, if you’re worried about us being alone,” he said as he studied her.

“I’m not worried.” She shook her head. “But will I be interfering? Did you intend for tomorrow to be a father/son day?”

He smiled, his eyes warm and welcoming. “You’re not interfering. Trevor wants you to come and so do I.”

“Thanks.” She took a deep breath and smiled in return. “It sounds like fun.”

Rick stood and looked down at her. “It’s about time for dinner. You coming?”

“Sadie made lasagna.” Lani shut off her recorder, grabbed her notepad and got to her feet. “Can your mother ever cook.”

“You’ve got that right.” Rick patted his stomach. “I might have to start counting calories like my sister.”

“Ha. You don’t have an ounce of fat anywhere on your body,” Lani retorted.

He chuckled. “I guess you’d know that now, wouldn’t you?”

“Oh, god.” She hid her face with her notepad, trying to cover her furious blush. “That wasn’t what I meant, and you know it.”

But yes, she knew for a fact that Rick was solid muscle. Everywhere.

“Great dinner, Mom,” Rick said after he took the last bite of his third helping of lasagna.

He couldn’t help watching Lani’s lips as she wiped her mouth with a cloth napkin. “It was wonderful,” she agreed. “And I loved the spicy dressing you made for the tossed salad.”

“Glad you liked it,” Sadie replied just as the telephone rang. “I’ll get the phone.” She pushed back her chair, and left the room.

“How long will you be staying here, Lani?” Trevor asked.

She gave Rick’s son a warm smile. “My flight is scheduled to leave the eighteenth.”

Trevor took a drink of his apple juice, slurping it through a straw. Then he asked, “How many days is that?”

“A little over two weeks away,” Lani replied.

“Oh.” The boy cocked his head. “That’s not very long, is it?”

She stood and started gathering dirty dishes to take to the sink. “Fifteen days.”

“Rick.” His mother appeared in the doorway holding the phone. “It’s your sister.”

“All right.” Rick stood, took the phone from Sadie, and headed into the study. “Hi, Sis.”

“Hey there, big bro,” Callie replied. “So, Mom tells me there’s a woman staying with you all at the ranch.”

Knowing what was coming next, he stared at the ceiling. “Yeah.”

“Mom says Lani is intelligent, attractive and nice, and Trevor really likes her.”

He rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh.”

“And Mom says you have the hots for this woman.”

Well, hell
. Rick shook his head. “Can’t believe everything you hear.”

Callie giggled and he could picture her impish grin. “Mr. Confirmed Bachelor is having second thoughts, isn’t he?”

Rick glanced through the door and saw Lani talking with Trevor. He liked how she crouched down to his son’s level so that they were eye-to-eye when they talked, and she focused on him like he was the only person in the room.

“Don’t get carried away,” he said.

“Ha!” Callie laughed, and then lowered her voice as if someone might overhear. “So, tell me, have you laid one on her yet? A big ol’ smack?”

“Never kiss and tell,” Rick said, still watching Lani talking with Trevor. “Did you just want to bug me or do you have anything else to say?”

“Nah, just wanted to gloat.” Callie chuckled. “Gotta get the twins to bed. Give Trevor a kiss for me, and love to Dad.”

After he said his goodbyes and sent his love to his niece and nephew, Rick punched the off button and set the phone into its cradle. He sauntered into the kitchen to where Lani was chatting with Trevor. She was sitting in a chair now, her back to Rick.

“Yeah, Dad takes me fishing lots,” Trevor was saying. “He always does stuff with me, like playing catch, and games and trucks.”

Rick stood behind Lani, breathing in her intoxicating scent. He wanted to run his hands in her honey-blonde hair, to feel the silken strands sliding through his fingers.

She stiffened and turned to look up at him. “Rick.”

“Don’t let me interrupt.” He grabbed the back of Lani’s chair and leaned forward. He sensed the tension in her as if his presence unnerved her.

Trevor flipped his hair out of his eyes. “I was telling Lani what a cool dad you are and how you’re always doing stuff with me. You’re lots cooler than Bobbie’s dad.”

“Is that so?” Rick released the chair and walked around Lani to ruffle his son’s hair. He could feel the difference in Lani as soon as he moved, as audible as a sigh.

“Yup.” Trevor gave an enthusiastic nod.

Rick crouched beside his son. “I was just on the phone with your Aunt Callie. She said to give you a big ol’ smack on the cheek for her.”

Trevor screwed up his face. “Ewwwww!”

Rick laughed. “How about a bear hug? And we’ll just tell her that I gave you a kiss.”

“Okay.” Trevor threw his arms around his dad and squeezed him tight.

God, being hugged by his son was one of the greatest feelings on earth. Trevor smelled of dirt, sweat and dog, and Rick couldn’t imagine anything better.

When Trevor pulled away, Rick said, “It’s bedtime and we need to get up early to go fishing. You’d better take your bath and brush your teeth. And don’t forget to wash your face.”

Trevor groaned and pouted. “Ah, Daaaaaaad. I wanna play a video game.”

“No.” Rick stood and forced himself to look stern. “In the bathroom. Pronto.”

“But—”

“Now.”

Trevor glared at Rick and stomped off to the bathroom, and shut the door. Hard.

Smiling, Lani got to her feet. “I’d better get to bed before I get into trouble.”

He caught her wrist and pulled her close to him. “If you’re not good, I might have to turn you over my knee.”

“Just try it, cowboy,” Lani murmured, but her cheeks turned red and he was sure she was imagining him following through with his threat.

Damn, she’s cute.

He chuckled as she dodged past him and escaped into her room.

* * * * *

“Dad Dad Dad Dad!” Trevor’s voice shattered Rick’s sleep. “Wake up, Dad. It’s my birthday. Wake uuuuup!”

Rick pretended to remain asleep as Trevor shook him. Finally, he opened one eye. “Son, are you sure today’s your birthday? I could swear—”

“Daaaad. It’s July fourth, my birthday, and you promised to take me to the lake today, remember?” Trevor jumped on the bed and bounced on Rick’s chest, the boy’s brown hair flying in all directions. “Come onnnn, Dad. Get uuuuup!”

Rick glanced at the clock. “It’s barely five. Don’t you think that’s a little early? Why don’t we just go back to bed?”

Trevor rolled his eyes and bounced on his dad. “Come on, come on, come on. You promised to take me fishing. You promised.”

“Oh, yeah?” Rick tickled Trevor in his most ticklish spots until the boy squealed with laughter, flopping around like a fish out of water.

Trevor squirmed out of Rick’s reach, tumbled off the bed and shot out the door. “Lani Lani Lani Laaaaiiiiinnnnneeeee! It’s time to go fishing.” He opened her door and darted in.

Rick raised an eyebrow. After the first night, he figured she’d kept her door locked to keep him out. Not that he’d invite himself in. She’d have to do the inviting.

“Happy Birthday.” Lani’s sleepy voice came from her room, and then Trevor was pulling her through the door. Rick saw she wore the same pink T-shirt and boxers he’d seen her in at the hotel.

“‘Mornin’,” Rick said, noting all her sensual curves that the clothes couldn’t hide.

“Too early to tell.” She ruffled Trevor’s hair. “Hey, Taz, how about a shower first?”

“You look great. Just go like that. Come on!”

Rick caressed her with his gaze. “You look beautiful.”

Lani blushed, and Trevor said, “How come you’re turning all red?”

“Never mind. Give me ten minutes to shower.” Lani ducked back into her room.

Once everyone was ready and the truck loaded, the trio headed to Parker Lake in the Huachuca Mountains, the sun barely rising over the horizon. The night before, Sadie had packed a picnic basket brimming with ham and cheese sandwiches for Lani and Rick, peanut butter and jelly for Trevor, and thick slices of her Polish coffee cake. Rick had loaded the fishing poles and tackle. They made good time, and when they arrived, found they had the lake to themselves for a while.

After they’d caught a stringer full of fish, and Trevor had broken his line for the third time, Rick sat down to re-string the line. Lani settled next to him on the picnic blanket and wrapped her arms around her bare knees.

Pink. She always wears pink, and it suits her
, he thought. She wore a button-up shirt and blue shorts, showing off her long legs. A thick scar ran along her upper thigh, partially hidden by her shorts.

She inhaled and turned her face to the sky. “Mmmm, it smells wonderful out here. I love the fragrance of pine and fresh mountain air.”

He forced himself to look away to check on his son, who was busy skipping stones across the lake, surely scaring all the fish away. But what the heck. The kid was having fun and it was his birthday.

Trevor was a strong swimmer, and he knew the rules about not entering the lake without an adult, but Rick didn’t want to take chances. He started re-stringing Trevor’s line, glancing at the boy every now and then as he and Lani talked.

“You’ve done a wonderful job as a single dad,” Lani said as she watched his son.

“He’s one hell of a kid.” Rick smiled. “I’ve always worried about him not having a mom around, but he seems to be doing great.”

“That must have been difficult, to lose somebody you loved when you were so young.” Her voice was soft and thoughtful.

Rick didn’t know what possessed him. He never discussed Lorraine, but talking with Lani was easy. Natural.

He shrugged and said, “It was sad, but sadder yet that it was her own damn fault. She was drunk and almost took other lives along with her.”

Lani put her hand on his arm, concern in her eyes. “You don’t have to tell me this.”

“It’s all right.” Rick took a deep breath and rubbed at his neck, releasing tension in his muscles. “Thank god, Trevor and those other folks lived. It’s a real shame Lorraine died, but what’s done is done.”

“I’m so sorry.” Lani squeezed Rick’s arm, and to his surprise, he could see tears glittering in her eyes. His throat tightened, and he regretted spilling his guts.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for,” he said softly. “I have Trevor, and he means the world to me.”

He decided he’d better change the subject. “Have you gone fishing before?”

“Years and years ago.”

Rick glanced from Trevor to Lani and saw a haunted look in her eyes.

“With my sister, mother and even my father.” Her voice was as distant as her gaze. “We loved to go.”

“Where do your folks live now?”

Lani was silent, and then she said, “They all died six years ago.” Her voice caught. “I keep thinking I’ll get over it, but not a day goes by that I don’t miss Mother and Naya. That I…that I don’t wonder why I survived the plane crash, and they didn’t. Why wasn’t it me instead of them?”

“I’m sorry, honey.” Rick set the fishing pole down, put his arm around Lani and brought her close, holding her head against his chest. Ice chilled his veins at the thought of her being in such a tragic accident, and the knowledge that she could’ve died.

As he stroked her hair, he breathed in her scent of honeysuckle and sunshine, and felt her tears through his shirt. He watched Trevor as he rocked Lani, thankful that his son had survived the collision that had taken Lorraine, but wishing Lani’s family had been as fortunate as his son.

“Oh, Rick. I’m sorry for crying all over you.” She tried to pull away, but he held onto her, and she relaxed against him again.

It all made sense. “That’s why you’re afraid to fly.”

Words spilled from her lips in a rush, like she was exorcising her demons. “Especially small planes. I’ll never go in one again. The charter we’d taken on a sightseeing tour lost power and slammed onto the runway. I—I can still smell the smoke…and feel the flames…and hear the screams.”

She turned her tear-streaked face to Rick. “I still don’t understand why they died, and I lived. Why I walked away with only this scar.” She rubbed her leg as if trying to scrub away the memories of the accident.

He kissed her forehead and glanced at his son playing at the water’s edge. “You were meant to survive. Like Trevor. I’m sure your family would want you to live. To get on with your life.”

“I know you’re right, but it’s so hard.” She was quiet, as if searching through her feelings, trying to understand the reality she had to face when everything was over.

When she finally spoke, her voice was soft and full of regret. “That’s why I fell into a relationship with James. Why he fooled me so well.” She sighed and shook her head. “I put up with his abuse for so long because I was too devastated to lose again. In truth I was stupid not to realize that leaving James would the best thing I could do to get on with living.”

Rick hooked a finger under her chin, and wiped away her tears with the heel of one hand. “You’re not stupid, Lani. You’re intelligent and beautiful. It sounds like this bastard took advantage of you at a fragile time in your life. And if I meet the SOB, I’d like to make him pay.”

The corner of her mouth twitched. “I can just picture you, dressed in white and riding to my rescue.”

“I wear mostly black.” Rick gave a gentle smile. But that smile faded as he searched her eyes and the next question came to his lips. “Did he hit you?”

Lani stiffened and looked away. “James punched with words. He knew exactly how to rip me to shreds without laying a finger on me.” A shuddering sigh rolled over her. “He attempted to control every aspect of my life. I was an idiot to not come to my senses sooner.”

It was an effort for Rick to control the anger burning him. He swore under his breath and pulled her closer. “So help me, that bastard better never stray across my path.”

“Why did I just tell you my life story?” She drew away and met his gaze. “Why do I trust you?”

He brushed his lips across her hair, breathing her scent. So beautiful, so sensual, so sweet.

“What do you want from me?” Lani’s voice trembled, saying more than her words, telling him of her fear of loss and betrayal. Her fear of repeating past mistakes.

Rick ran his thumb over her forearm, to the inside of her elbow and back, feeling the softness of her skin against his calluses. “What do I want from you? Nothing. Everything. Whatever you’ll give me.”