Kitabı oku: «Lonesome Ryder», sayfa 5

5

WADE HOBBLED DOWN THE HALL to complain about the fact that it had been two days and Laura still hadn’t moved the furniture back to its normal arrangement. Also, she’d flung the drapes open wide—again—after Duff had driven him into town for a doctor’s appointment and a haircut. Even with the new walking cast the physician had wrapped around his leg and the lack of the sling on his arm, Wade had nearly tripped and fallen as he rounded the corner to the kitchen—again. He’d conked his head on that blasted hanging plant Laura had placed near the front door on the porch. She’d spaded up the unattended garden that encircled the front porch, planted scads of colorful flowers that attracted butterflies and humming birds. You couldn’t walk outside without getting slapped in the face with sweet scents or winged insects.

Damn it, she was turning his house into a jungle and decorating the place in a girlie manner. There were baskets of potpourri and scented candles taking up space on the end tables and coffee table. The house smelled…well, sissified. It offended his masculinity. If this kept up he wouldn’t recognize the place. The woman had definitely gone too far! He had to put a stop to it.

Already, he barely recognized Frank! Now that Laura had allowed the cow dog in the house—against his orders, he might add!—the canine rubbed up against his leg, shoved his snout under Wade’s hand and demanded to be petted. The dog was getting soft, lounging around the house instead of chasing rabbits, possums and raccoons that tried to overrun the place. Frank had been perfectly satisfied with his lot in life as a cow dog until Laura started fawning and fussing over him, feeding him doggie treats and taking him with her on long evening walks and horseback rides. Another month of this and Frank wouldn’t be worth shooting!

As for Duff, he was so besotted with “that little gal” that he’d yakkety-yakked all the way to Hoot’s Roost and back. He’d reported that Laura had been showing up on his doorstep with covered plates of roast beef, fried chicken and gravy, and stayed to polish her poker skills or practice the two-step. Wade, however, sat alone on his leather recliner, watching the boob tube and listing the reasons he should keep his distance from that woman.

Then, of course, there were Quint and Vance whose recent prank involved leaving cutout hearts made of red construction paper on the pickup seat. Earlier in the week Vance had disguised his voice and phoned to tell Wade that he’d won an all-expense-paid honeymoon vacation to the Bahamas. Wade scowled. His life was out of control and it was Laura’s fault.

Wade pulled up short in the hall when he heard Laura’s cell phone ring while she was putting away his laundry.

“Hello, handsome,” she said cheerily. “How’ve you been?”

Handsome? Who the hell was she talking to this time? He’d heard Laura answer her phone the previous day with: “Hi, gorgeous? How are you, Jerret?” How many men did this bombshell keep on a string at one time?

“My job is going fine. I figured you’d call as soon as you got my postcard from my new residence in Oklahoma,” she said, then paused when the man—obviously—on the other end of the line inserted a comment. “Who? Wade Ryder? The old rancher I’m working for? Are you kidding?”

Old? Wade winced. She thought he was old? The eight years separating them wasn’t so much, was it? To hear her talk, Wade was fast approaching his golden years.

“No, he isn’t much trouble,” Laura insisted. “I stir up oatmeal so he can gum it for breakfast. For lunch I open a can of soup, mash it up and serve it to him. I put a bib around his neck so he doesn’t dribble all over his clothes.”

Gum it? Wear a bib? Hell! Wade smoldered in offended dignity. Obviously she didn’t want her boyfriend to fret about male competition.

“Don’t be absurd, Davie. The man has a broken leg, a sprained wrist and bruised ribs. He can’t chase me around the kitchen and he certainly couldn’t catch me. I’m perfectly safe. Stop stewing…So how are things in Denver?”

No doubt Laura had left more than one lover behind in Colorado. Then, of course, there was that “hot date” Laura had accepted with Kevin Shelton and met up with Annie Nelson and her twerp boyfriend on Saturday night. Wade was thankful he hadn’t allowed himself to succumb to the need to kiss Laura back. It sounded as if she delighted in playing the field and keeping all her options open…just like Bobbie Lynn.

The thought caused Wade’s brow to pucker in annoyance. His instincts were right on target. He’d known this situation with Laura had Waterloo written all over it from the beginning. It was a damn good thing he’d kept his distance, even if his physical attraction to her was driving him nuts.

“Of course, I’ll come back to Denver before I start teaching in the fall,” Laura assured the caller, then paused to listen a moment. “I already told you I’m not falling for this old fogy rancher. He’s a grouch, among other things, so stop worrying about me, will you?”

Wade grimaced. If Laura thought he was an old coot and big grump, why had she kissed him that day in the kitchen? He’d thought there’d been some kind of connection between them. Something like, oh, say, mutual attraction. Apparently she’d just been toying with him.

Wade was still standing in the hall, simmering in irritation when Laura said, “I love you, too, Davie,” then disconnected. Before Wade could regain his composure and step around the corner her phone rang again. Man, she had men lined up like jets on a runway, didn’t she?

“Hi, Everett. I’ve been expecting your call. How was your trip?…Yes, Mr. Ryder is doing better.” She sighed audibly in response to whatever lover boy Everett had to say. “Will you stop freaking out? Nothing is going on here. Mr. Ryder doesn’t even like me so you can quit thinking I’m being mauled on a regular basis.”

Obviously Everett asked for a description of Wade because Laura said, “Oh, he’s a shriveled-looking old guy with ill-fitting dentures and a cast on one leg. He went to the doctor for a checkup, so he no longer has the sling on his arm, just a bandage on his sprained wrist. He wears faded overalls, has a patch over one eye from cataract surgery and his steel-wool-gray hair stands out every which way from his head. Are you satisfied now that nothing is going on between us?”

Wade gnashed his teeth until he nearly ground off the enamel. Laura was painting quite an unattractive picture of him so her boyfriend wouldn’t be jealous. Of course, Dear Everett probably had no idea that he was her third caller in two days and that she’d painted the town red with the high school history teacher.

“I love you, too, Everett,” she murmured then hung up.

Wade gathered a full head of steam, prepared to light into Laura for the furniture arrangement, candles, potpourri and frothy green plants that littered the house and the front and back porches. And he couldn’t forget those uncomplimentary descriptions of him. He didn’t even make it into the room before that blasted cell phone rang again. Hell, he was going to have to make an appointment to bite her head off.

“Hi, Michael. I’ve been expecting your call,” she enthused. “I miss you, too…. Oh, God, you didn’t!”

Wade waited expectantly, wondering what Dear Michael had done that provoked her disapproval.

“I can’t believe you did that!” she huffed. “Of course, Wade Ryder doesn’t have a criminal record. He’s a rancher not a bank robber.”

Wade’s eyes popped. This boyfriend was so paranoid that he had Wade checked out? Man, talk about thorough, suspicious and excessively jealous!

“Well, that must’ve been a typo,” Laura said into the phone. “He’s not thirty-three. He’s eighty-three. He wears hearing aids and I have to yell so he can understand what I’m saying to him. He has no hair, wears eyeglasses as thick as ice cubes and has very few teeth. His favorite friend in the whole world is his dog. Now, do you really think I’m going to have romantic notions about the man?…I’m perfectly safe here and I’ll be back in Colorado for a week before the fall session of school starts. In the meantime, you need to get a grip, Michael. I’m not falling in love with Wade Ryder so you can calm down and relax.”

Wade didn’t wait for Laura to disconnect because he figured he’d have to barge in before another incoming call demanded her attention. The moment Laura realized he’d been standing in the hall, eavesdropping on her conversations, her face turned a fascinating shade of guilty-as-hell red. His condemning gaze locked on her and he didn’t let her off the hook when she flashed him a blinding smile.

“Bald? Toothless? Gums his food?” Wade gritted out.

Her chin came up and she stared defiantly at him. “You have no room to complain, Ryder. Duff said that you told Vance and Quint that I can’t cook, don’t clean and that I sleep until nine, at which time you wake me up to fix your meal.”

“Well, that’s different,” he muttered.

“How are your white lies different from mine?” she asked, arching a challenging brow.

“I’m trying to get rid of you since you won’t quit.”

“And I’m trying to reassure Michael, David, Everett and Jerret that nothing is going on between us so they’ll stop worrying about me.”

“Just how many lovers do you usually keep on a fishing stringer at a time?” he asked brusquely.

“None,” she replied just as brusquely.

“Oh, really? Then what was that ‘Hi, handsome’ and ‘Hello, gorgeous’ all about?” he challenged.

Laura spun around to stuff Wade’s clean briefs in the dresser drawer. “I have four overprotective brothers who happen to be every bit as handsome as you are—”

Laura slammed her mouth shut and darted him an embarrassed glance. She hadn’t intended to let her tongue loose without first engaging her brain. Wade stared at her, flashing a rare smile, undoubtedly gloating over her unintentional compliment. As if he didn’t already know he was drop-dead handsome, the jerk.

“You think I’m handsome?” he asked. “Without hair or teeth? Wearing overalls and listening to you yell at me because I’m hard of hearing? I gotta tell ya, Seymour, with you it’s hard to separate the lies from the truth. So what is the truth? Were those your boyfriends or your brothers?”

Laura shoved the dresser drawer shut with her hip and stamped over to the walk-in closet to hang up his chambray shirts. “They are my older brothers. My mom died when I was six and I lost Dad when I was twelve. My brothers taught me to work, but when it comes to friendships and relationships they watch over me like mother hens, because my dad made them promise to take care of me. I can’t even turn around without one of my brothers looking over my shoulder, checking on me, telling me what to do and how to do it.”

“So you packed up and moved to Hoot’s Roost and you’re bustin’ loose in Oklahoma with your newfound liberation,” he presumed. “You’re trying your hand at poker, beer and cigars because your brothers aren’t around to advise you against it?”

“Precisely.” Laura strode from the closet to pluck up two pairs of jeans that had the left leg whacked off at the knee to accommodate Wade’s cast. “My brothers are afraid I’ll fall for some jerk who doesn’t deserve me while they aren’t around to screen my dates and do background checks. My mistake was actually giving them your name. I should’ve lied about that, too, so Michael couldn’t run your criminal record.” She glanced at him sweetly. “But it’s nice to know you aren’t a convicted rapist or murderer.”

“Just a grouch,” he remarked, smiling grudgingly.

“Right, Mr. McGrump, so what do you want for lunch?”

“Fried crow, maybe,” he said. “I guess you aren’t some floozy who toys with men.”

Laura nearly fell over when Wade smiled at her again. This was a genuine, good-natured, peace-treaty smile and it made her weak in the knees. Her heart somersaulted around her chest, making it difficult to breathe normally.

Gone was that harsh expression Wade usually tossed at her when he tried to push her away—emotionally speaking. He didn’t look as defensive as usual, either. She could feel the same wave of internal heat coursing through her that assailed her that day during The Kiss In The Kitchen Incident.

She wasn’t going to do that again, she promised herself. There wouldn’t be another one-sided kiss with Wade Ryder. She’d embarrassed herself plenty that day.

He just stared at her, the way he had that day in the kitchen and Laura had learned better than to let electrified silence stretch between them because her feminine imagination ran wild. “Did you want something else, besides grilling me about those phone calls?”

“Yeah, I need to do something I forgot to do the other day,” he said as he limped deliberately toward her.

Laura hovered by the closet door, unsure of his intentions, unsure if she was going to survive her erratic heartbeat that was pounding against her ribs like a nail gun. “What did you forget to do?” she chirped.

“This.”

And then he bent forward and kissed her, really kissed her. His mouth was like liquid heat on hers. A soundless purr rolled through her body and she went up in flames. His right arm curled around her waist, towing her gently against that incredibly lean, muscled body. When her lips parted involuntarily to grab a quick breath, he deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue into her mouth to devour her.

After that, Laura couldn’t remember why breathing was necessary. She was surviving quite nicely on the heady sensations that spun through her body.

The musky scent of his cologne infiltrated her senses. His splayed hand pressed against the small of her back, guiding her forward until she could feel his arousal. Indescribable pleasure ricocheted through her. Her senses were so saturated with the feel, the scent and the taste of him that she responded by kissing him with all she had in her.

Man, oh man! When Wade Ryder dropped that grouchy attitude and got down to the serious business of kissing a woman he did it up right. Oh sure, Laura had been kissed before, but never so expertly, so hungrily. He taught her things she’d never known about kissing. And, never in her experiences with the men that her brother’s screened and approved for her dates had she heard bells clanging in her head and seen stars explode behind her closed eyelids.

Somehow or another her arms became anchored around his neck and she was straining closer, arching against him, aching for more—and he provided. He curled his arm around her shoulders and angled her sideways, providing him with better access to her mouth. His free hand glided over her waist and drifted higher to cover the swell of her breast.

A multitude of cravings blossomed inside her. Laura moaned in pleasure as he brushed his thumb over the fabric that covered her taut nipple. The sensations he aroused in her exploded and burned a searing path to the core of her body. She clung to him like a drowning swimmer as the whirlpool of swirling passion towed her under. She was swallowed alive by the overwhelming need to taste him, to feel him, to mold herself shamelessly against him until she couldn’t tell where her pulsing body ended and his began….

“Well, well, what do we have here?”

The sound of Vance Ryder’s amused voice caused Laura to lurch back hastily. She stumbled over Wade’s cast. Wade, who was trying to untangle himself just as quickly, tripped over her feet. They both teetered off balance. Wade tried to brace himself against the closet door—which banged against the wall—while simultaneously reaching out to offer Laura support.

She saw his hand groping for her in midair as he stumbled forward in futile attempt to catch her before she fell. Helplessly she nosedived downward. With a shriek of alarm, she thrust out her arms and barely caught herself before she slammed her head on the floor. All that saved her from being crushed by the two-hundred-plus pounds of Wade’s powerful body was Vance’s and Quint’s agile lunge to upright him.

“What are you two doing here?” Wade growled as his cousins propped him against the wall. “Don’t you ever knock, damn it?”

“We did knock,” Quint replied, grinning devilishly. “I guess you were just too busy to hear us.” He reached down to hoist Laura to her feet. “You okay, honey?”

“Her name isn’t honey,” Wade snapped.

Blushing profusely, Laura glanced at Wade who reminded her of a Doberman in attack mode. She was more than a little startled that he’d leaped so quickly to her defense against Quint’s careless endearment. Wade’s ruddy-colored face indicated that he was as embarrassed as she was. Quint and Vance, however, appeared to be enjoying themselves immensely.

“We stopped by to see how you two were getting along and to hear what the doctor had to say,” Vance said, making no attempt to contain his snickers.

“Obviously Laura hasn’t been neglecting you.” Quint teased, then hurried on when Wade bared his teeth and snarled. “The house is clean, I noticed. The kitchen is spotless and I just love what you’ve done with the furniture arrangement in the living room.”

Wade flashed Quint a menacing glare. “Since when are you into interior decorating?”

“Me? I’m into all things domestic, cuz,” he said with an effeminate flick of his wrist. “I’m thinking of hiring my own housekeeper so I can get some…of those scented candles and that dried whatever-you-call-it.”

“Potpourri,” Wade informed him, then scowled.

“Right. Potpourri.” Quint’s broad shoulders shook in attempt to restrain howls of laughter. “What scent is that stuff? Hot-to-trot spiced apple?”

Wade’s fist curled as he shook loose from Vance’s supportive grasp. “You guys are dead meat, as soon as I can throw punches at you without reinjuring myself.”

“So, what’s the good word from the doctor?” Vance questioned, undaunted by the threat. He glanced pointedly at the walking cast and noted the missing arm sling. “He must’ve lifted a few restrictions and given permission for you to add a few more physical activities to your day, huh?”

Wade’s temper hit the end of its tether. “Get out!”

His booming voice had no effect on his evil cousins, he noted. They just cackled in amusement. Most definitely death by torture, he decided spitefully. He’d rip out his cousins’ vital organs, dip their bodies in boiling oil, string them upside down in Death Valley and leave them to the buzzards.

It was bad enough that Vance and Quint were razzing him, but Wade refused to allow Laura to suffer another nanosecond of embarrassment. As it was, a blush was all over her like a bad rash. He hitched his thumb toward the door, giving her an out, and realized belatedly that it’d been a long time since he’d wanted to protect a woman from anything.

“Could you get us some cool ones, please, Seymour? My cousins and I need to have a private powwow here.”

She made tracks, leaving Wade to face his cousins alone. “What do you morons want, besides to harass me unmercifully?”

Quint, amber eyes twinkling, tried to bite back another grin—and failed miserably. “What I want is what you were getting when we interrupted, but we just came by to tell you that cattle prices are up and we’re going to haul a semi load of livestock to the stockyards tomorrow. We’ve already separated your calves so it won’t be any big deal to swing by here and take a load to town if you’re ready to sell.”

“Fine, thanks,” Wade mumbled.

For several minutes Quint and Vance managed to talk business and discuss arrangements to swath hay in one of Wade’s alfalfa meadows. When Laura returned with three chilled beers, Quint and Vance managed to show a little respect and didn’t torment her—much. For that Wade was grateful.

Every protective instinct he possessed, ones he hadn’t bothered to employ in years, had gone to point the moment his cousins walked in to see Wade practically giving Laura a tonsillectomy. It was bad enough for his cousins to see him hot and bothered, when he’d only intended to give Laura a hasty kiss—and why he’d impulsively decided to do that didn’t bear thinking about! Whatever it was that was going on between Laura and him—and kept them lip-locked for several incredibly intense moments—Wade didn’t want his cousins meddling in it.

Maybe he’d kissed her because he’d overheard her tell her brothers that he disliked her and he wanted to prove to her that wasn’t quite true. Maybe he’d just been simmering like a Crock-Pot since that Kiss in the Kitchen and he wanted to vent the bottled needs that were bubbling through him. And maybe he was hooked on Laura and simply couldn’t control the need any longer. Worst case scenario, Wade mused.

Wade walked his cousins to the front door then closed it behind them to ensure privacy. He turned to the two men. “Okay, here’s the rules,” Wade said in a no-nonsense tone. “You juveniles can give me hell like you always do, but lay off Laura. Got it?”

“Damn, cuz, you’re sure sensitive and protective all of a sudden,” Vance observed. “Wonder what that means?”

“It means Laura is too classy to put up with your devilish taunts,” Wade said bluntly. “I just found out that she has four overprotective brothers who check up on her like parole officers. If you torment Laura I’ll sic her brothers on you, then work you over myself when I feel better.”

“Sheesh, it’s getting to where a guy can’t have a bit of fun around you anymore,” Quint joked. “You need to lighten up before Vance and I get to thinking you’re in love and it’s making you hard to live with.”

“I am not in love,” Wade denied vehemently.

“Okay, in lust then,” Vance clarified, a devilish glint in his dark eyes. “Maybe I should call Gage’s emergency paging service to let him know. I’m sure he’ll want to make arrangements to come to the States for your wedding.”

“There isn’t going to be a wedding,” Wade said with a savage snarl. “You can write that down in stone.”

“You and Laura are just going to live in sin?” Quint asked in feigned shock. “You and the schoolmarm? That can’t be good for her reputation.”

Wade’s good arm shot toward the pickup and he flashed his cousins his best bad-ass expression. “Beat it, you yahoos.”

Quint held up his hands in mock supplication. “Sure, Wade, just simmer down. Call us if you need us to pick up supplies. You know, like…oh, say…a lifetime supply of condoms…or whip cream to slather—”

Growling, Wade gave Quint a shove. Quint collided with Vance who grabbed the supporting post on the porch before he cartwheeled down the steps. “I’m going to get the shotgun so you better be gone when I get back,” Wade threatened gruffly.

His evil cousins, sharing guffaws at Wade’s expense, sauntered away. Wade lurched around—and banged his head on the hanging pot of geraniums. The basket swung crazily then whacked him on the skull a second time.

“Damn it, Seymour!” he bellowed as he stalked into the house. “Move that cursed pot of flowers before it gives me a concussion!”

SINCE WADE HAD BEEN DISTANT and remote the past couple of days—after they’d been caught kissing in the bedroom—Laura was anxious to be out of the house. Wade was determined to ignore the incident and Laura didn’t dare bring it up. What could she say? He obviously regretted his impulsiveness and chose to pretend it never happened—though she’d replayed those steamy, mind-jarring kisses and caresses about a gazillion times.

Since Wade hadn’t wanted to come within ten feet of her lately, she’d given him a wide berth and looked up Duff and Frank when she felt the need for companionship. Annie had called to see if she wanted to come by her house to watch a rented movie, but Laura had declined. She knew Annie had her hands full caring for her invalid father, and probably needed female company as a change of pace. Laura had promised to drop by later in the week. But tonight she needed to take a horseback ride and be alone with her thoughts.

“Saddled and ready,” Duff announced when Laura entered the barn. “Sure you don’t want company, hon?”

Laura smiled warmly at Duff, but shook her head. “After the evening riding lessons you’ve given me I should be able to manage on my own.” She took the reins and led the good-natured mare outside. “I’d appreciate it if you’d stop in to check on Wade. He’s been a little cranky the past few days.”

“A little cranky?” Duff snorted. “If I wasn’t so thick skinned I would’ve quit a week ago. I oughta call his parents, uncles and aunts and tell ’em to come straighten him out.”

His parents? Wade hadn’t mentioned them, although Laura had seen a few family pictures in his bedroom. Since he hadn’t volunteered information she hadn’t asked. Of course, he’d only been communicating with her in monosyllables lately and he hadn’t bothered with details like parents.

“Where are Wade’s parents?” she asked, curious about Wade’s background.

“All the Ryder brothers decided to retire from ranching about the same time,” Duff explained as he wandered over to refill the water tank for the livestock. “The whole bunch of them were making good money off the oil wells drilled on the ranches so they put their heads together and came up with the idea to deed their ranches to their sons. They all moved to south Texas to one of those fancy retirement villages.”

“They must be a close-knit family,” she mused aloud.

“Yup,” Duff replied. “I’m a carryover from their ranching heydays and I got to know all of them real well. Since they get along grandly they took up golf and tennis and go off on sightseeing tours together. But they return to Hoot’s Roost for extended holidays. I guess they wanted their only sons to have the chance to live their own lives without outside interference from the older generation ranchers.”

Laura smiled, wondering what that would be like to have an understanding family that recognized the need for individual independence. She doubted her brothers would ever realize she’d grown up and that she wanted to make her own way in the world. She suspected that in their minds, at least, she’d always be a vulnerable teenager in need of guidance.