Exquisite Acquisitions

Eight

Midnight pranced around the corral, kicking up mud leftover from the night’s storm. Now, sunshine warmed the morning air and began drying the earth. Carter squinted and lowered the brim of his hat to block out the glare. He was up as early as usual, but instead of going into his office, he’d come outside to clear his head. The rain last night had washed away sweltering heat and brought freshness to the air that did him good as he inhaled deep.

He’d always liked this time of morning, just after dawn, when the world was full of peace. He could sit here and watch the new colt take instruction from his mama for hours. It was as it should be, the parent actually parenting the child.

He’d come a long way since those days growing up in the shack on the other side of town, his mama gone and the foul smell of whiskey tainting the room. His life was good now. He worked hard, used the smarts God gave him and made enough money for five lifetimes.

He should be satisfied with that and he would be, but that break-in last night rankled his good nature. He’d had to rein in his fury for Macy’s sake.

She’d been scared out of her wits, and he couldn’t blame her. He’d invited her here, promised to give her solitude and peace, but instead she’d been tormented by an intruder.

“Hey, McCay. Want some coffee?”

Carter smiled at the sound of her sassy voice and turned to see Macy coming out of the house with two steaming mugs in hand. Coal-black curls framed her face and fell in wild disarray down her back. Her eyes, free of makeup, looked brilliantly clear in the light. She wore a red-and-blue plaid robe and leather boots. He had to smile at that. The Hollywood starlet looked pretty at dawn and too much as if she fit in around here.

His heart did a little flip watching her glide toward him, and he passed it off as sexual contentment. Last night, they’d made love twice before he’d driven her back to the house. As they approached her room, she’d paused by her door, lifting hesitant eyes his way as if unsure of his intentions. Carter had gripped her hand tighter and led her to his room. She’d gone willingly, and she’d slept through the night curled next to him. He’d wanted her to feel safe, but it didn’t end there. She’d gotten under his skin, and he wanted her in his bed for the remainder of her stay at Wild River. “Sure, wouldn’t refuse coffee from a gorgeous woman.”

A smile spread over her face as she sidled up next to him and carefully handed him a cup. “You’re up early.”

“I was about ready to come join you in bed.”

She snapped her head up, her eyes wide, and then whispered in a hushed tone, “Should I go back inside?”

The sexy morning lilt of her voice did things to him.

“I wouldn’t want to disappoint you,” she added.

“Doubt you could do that.” Carter slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close. She went willingly, coffee cup balanced in one hand. He nuzzled her neck, roving his lips over her throat and tasting her sweet skin once again. He glanced around the yard. His ranch hands hadn’t begun working yet. With no one in sight, he brought his mouth to hers and took her in a long, lingering kiss.

She made a little throaty sound, a sexy moan reminding him of the hot night they’d spent making love at the inn, and Carter cursed under his breath. He wanted her again.

Last night, when she’d been in danger, his protective instincts took hold. He’d been more concerned about Macy than catching the intruder. Afterward, he couldn’t seem to let her go. He’d caved in to his lust. Macy had intrigued him from the moment he’d laid eyes on her on that New York street, and last night was the culmination of temptation and raw desire.

The mare whinnied and they both turned their attention to the horses. Carter sipped coffee. “Watch the colt. He’s something.” Midnight parading around the arena, strutting, sniffing and mimicking his mother, made for great entertainment.

“He’s wonderful,” she said, and it touched Carter how sincerely awed she was witnessing something Carter could easily take for granted.

“You sleep okay?” he asked.

She nodded. “Thanks to you. I’m not a wimp usually, but I was pretty scared last night.”

Carter’s gut tightened and he swore silently. “I’ll see to it that never happens again.”

“How?” she asked.

Carter kept his focus on the horses. This wasn’t an easy thing to admit, and it took him a few seconds to force the words out. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure I know who broke into the inn last night. It was my father.”

“Your father? Oh, Carter. No.”

He ground his teeth. “I’m afraid so. He’s got this fool notion that he should be overseeing the inn. Even though I banished him, after what happened the last time. He was probably all boozed up. I’m so damn mad that he scared you, I could spit.”

Macy’s expression softened. Sympathy touched her eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s expected. He’s never going to change.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t give up on him.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late for that. Not only is he checked off my list, after how he scared you last night, he’s disappeared from it. Poof. Just like that, he’s gone. I’m done with him.”

Macy’s lips formed a tight pout. “It’s heartbreaking to hear you say that. Your father needs your help.”

“You want me to help him?” He began shaking his head. “No way.”

His brain wouldn’t go there. Not after what his father had put him through. Not after he’d sent his mother to an early grave and almost killed Rocky in that fire. Fathers were supposed to raise their children, not the other way around. “He doesn’t deserve it, Macy.”

Macy set her coffee cup down on a post, making sure it didn’t teeter, before she turned to him, her voice firm. “Everyone deserves another chance.”

“He’s used up his quota of chances.” Carter gulped coffee too fast. It burned his throat on the way down. “Damn it.”

“Carter,” Macy pressed, “you can’t just give up on him.”

“I can. I have.” He didn’t want to have this conversation right now. “But you should know, it’s not for lack of trying. I’ve spent years trying to clean that man up. It’s impossible.”

Macy looked toward the corral. She pretended to watch the horses, but he could see her mind was a million miles away. Then softly, as if she were speaking on a breeze, she said, “Maybe if someone took my father by the scruff of his collar and shook some sense into him, he’d be alive today.”

Carter glanced at her profile, the stubborn slant of her delicate chin. Macy still ached from her father’s death. Maybe she was feeling guilty for not intervening with him. Or maybe she’d just wanted to make a point. But her situation was different. She’d been a young girl when her father died. Carter had put up with his father’s antics for his entire life. People got hurt and lives were damaged.

“You don’t know the facts, Macy. And I’m not about to spill my guts to ease your guilt. Just drop it.”

She whipped around to face him, a spark of defiance in her eyes. “I’m not trying to ease my guilt. I have no guilt. Just regret. And you’re being bullheaded!”

Carter kept his gaze trained on her. He wasn’t going to let her get involved in this. His patience was shot to hell. He raised his voice. “I’m telling you how it’s going to be. It’s none of your business.”

“So, you’re saying butt out?”

“Bingo, you win the prize.” He winced at his harsh tone, but he wouldn’t back down.

She stared at him for the longest time, then grabbed the mug from his hand, lifted hers from the post and then twirled around. Marching toward the house, she held her head high and mighty as if she was right and he was the fool who couldn’t see it.

Damn it. They’d just had their first argument, and it was about his father. If that didn’t take the cake, he didn’t know what did.

It sure wasn’t the way Carter wanted to start the morning.

Bill Fargo was a wise old goat, clean-cut and stately and just the type of man Carter would have liked to have for a father. It still plagued him why the man wanted to work at Wild River Ranch for a modest wage, when it was obvious he could be holding down a more lucrative job. But Carter wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. Whatever the reasons, he was glad to have Bill.

“I came in early to explain what happened last night,” Fargo said after Carter let him into his office.

“We spoke on the phone last night. That’s enough for me.” Carter leaned against the edge of his desk, offering Fargo a seat, but the old guy decided to stand.

Fargo rubbed the back of his neck. “I appreciate that, but I take pride in my work and I’d feel better you hearing it from me in person.”

“Okay.” It was a fair plea.

Fargo’s brows gathered as he recalled the incident. “I’d just checked on Macy about ten minutes before it started storming. I had driven clear across the other end of the property when the rain came down hard. Soon as it hit, I turned the truck around to get her and bring her back to the main house.”

“Did you see the intruder trying to break in?”

“No. When I got there, I noticed the broken window first, and that’s when you drove up. I think we spotted him at the same time. He took off running into the brush. You told me to go after him while you checked on Macy. I lost sight of him in the darkness, and by the time I got to the truck he was gone. I searched for an hour but couldn’t find him. I’d first thought it might be a youngster thinking the place was abandoned, wanting to get in out of the rain. But what I saw changed my mind. It wasn’t a boy but a man, and he wasn’t so much fast as he was cagey. He could have been close to my age. You said you thought you knew who it was.”

Carter tensed. Every time he thought about his old man, his nerves jangled. He’d never make Father of the Year, but was staying on the right side of the law too much to ask? “Yeah, unfortunately I do. It was my father, Riley McCay. It’s an old song I won’t sing again, but he won’t be bothering Macy or coming onto the property again. I paid him a little visit today. Not that his word is any good, but my old man has managed to stay out of jail all these years. He knows that’ll change if he’s spotted on my property again. Next time, he’ll be hauled in by the law.”

Confronting his father hadn’t been pleasant, but it had been necessary. Carter cursed himself silly for feeling sorry for the guy after he’d left his father’s place.

Fargo’s eyes narrowed and his face slanted in a thoughtful expression. “You’ve had a tough childhood.”

The spot-on assessment surprised him. “You think I’m bitter?”

Fargo shook his head and spoke with sincerity. “Not at all. The truth is the truth, and it’s not always pretty. I’ve had my share of bad experiences, so let me say this, no one should judge you or what you do, because they don’t know what you’ve gone through in your life. And I bet you’ve been the adult in that relationship since you were a boy.”

Carter stared at Fargo and then smiled. Yep, he was a wise old goat. “Can’t argue that point. You know the saying, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

Fargo laid sympathetic eyes on him. “You got strong pretty fast, I’d say.”

Carter sighed and leaned back, painfully admitting, “Not fast enough.”

Fargo acknowledged him with an understanding nod.

“Macy thinks I’m too hard on him,” Carter confessed. It felt pretty darn good releasing his frustration and the emotions he’d bottled up inside. Just being able to say these things aloud gave him some measure of relief. He felt he could trust Fargo with his thoughts. Man, was he looking for a father figure or what?

“And Macy’s opinion is important to you?”

Carter had to think about that a second. He wasn’t sure what Fargo was getting at, but he knew that after making love with her, the last thing he wanted was to hurt her. He still felt it wasn’t any of her business, yet it was hard for him to admit that he should have held his tongue. After all, she’d given him the best night of sex he’d had in a long while. Then he’d turned on her. He felt like a heel. “She’s told you about her father, right? He died as a result of his drinking.”

“And you think she’s transferring that situation onto yours?”

Carter lifted away from the desk and shrugged, his impatience getting the best of him. “Hell, I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Seems to me that you might want to straighten things out with her.”

Carter’s stubborn nature wouldn’t have allowed that before this conversation, but Fargo made him realize that he owed Macy an apology. Her opinion did matter. He cared what she thought about him.

An hour later, Carter strode out of his office with a plan. The air was warm, the sun still bright as he walked with purpose to the inn on foot, trying to clear his head of Jocelyn’s duplicity, his father’s latest antics and his feelings for Macy.

Halfway there, Rocky joined him, coming from the direction of the inn, his tail wagging and his body twisting in jubilation. “Hey, boy.” Carter bent to give him a pat on the head. The dog lifted up, pawing at his thighs, begging for more attention. “I hear you there. Is Macy giving you the cold shoulder, too? Nah, she wouldn’t do that to you. I’m the only dog she’s mad at.”

Rocky was rewarded with more attention, then fell in step with Carter as they approached the inn. It didn’t take him but a second to find Macy. She was standing in the center of the gazebo, rehearsing lines. He couldn’t hear what she was saying, but her gestures were fluid, sincere and emotional. Through her actions and expressions, Macy managed to convey a powerful story. Carter watched her and wondered why she’d never made it big as an actress. She had the looks and the talent. It was part of her DNA, he figured, being the child of two multitalented parents.

He’d be a fool to ever think she belonged in his world of cattle auctions, small-town life and simple pleasures. Sure, Carter had wealth. He’d built an empire and had money to burn, but down deep inside, he was still a country boy. He liked rodeos, John Wayne Westerns and eating apple pie at the county fair.

Before he lost sight of his mission and talked himself out of apologizing, Carter stepped up to the gazebo. Macy had been so deep in character, she hadn’t noticed him until Rocky gave three short, quick barks of greeting.

She froze in place when she finally noticed him.

Those violet eyes did a number on him. Something powerful surged through his system.

“You caught me in the act,” Macy said, trying damn hard to keep her voice haughty, but the glow in her eyes gave her away.

“You’re good.”

“I’m…fair.”

“You had me fooled then.”

“I wasn’t trying to fool anyone. I was trying to be convincing.”

The conversation was going down fast. Carter climbed up the first step and produced one single, healthy stargazer lily he’d been holding behind his back. “For you.”

She blinked then and the corners of her pretty mouth lifted. “It’s my favorite.”

Mara had told him today and he’d made a quick trip into town to get her a bouquet, but his housekeeper had informed him that one single stem would have more meaning. He’d never figure out a woman’s mind, but he had taken Mara’s advice.

Macy fingered the pink petal. “How did you know?”

“I have my ways,” he said. “I’m here to apologize for barking at you this morning.”

She remained quiet, her head down, gazing at the flower. “Okay.”

“I was harsh and I shouldn’t have been.”

She lifted her lashes and spoke softly, “You’re right. It’s none of my business, but I wanted-”

“To help. I know. You can’t, and I won’t change my mind. But I’m asking you to forgive me for taking you to task for it.”

She tilted her head to the right and made a pretty picture, standing there in her white flowing blouse and blue jeans, her hair down in curls.

“How can I not forgive you? You gave me my favorite lily.”

She smiled then and Carter took her hand and pulled her into his arms. Her body felt perfect enveloped in his, and he could easily work up a reason to drag her off to bed. But his apology wasn’t over. “I have a peace offering,” he said.

Her eyes fluttered and she peeked at his mouth from under her lashes. It was too much to resist. Carter lifted her chin with the pad of his thumb and lowered his head a fraction of an inch to her mouth. “This isn’t it,” he said, taking her in a kiss he’d been thinking about all day. As soon as their lips touched it was like floodgates opening. She was soft, sexy and eager when she returned his kiss, their bodies contouring and melding together in a natural fit.

Her lips parted and he drove his tongue into her mouth. Her sweet, erotic taste traveled down to the pit of his stomach. Kissing her was like a potent drug. He wanted more. He cupped her head and kissed her again, raking his hands over her slender body, caressing her shoulders and running his palms along the swells of her breasts. She squirmed with desire and whimpered a plea. No one was more surprised than Carter when he backed away, breaking off the heady, sex-inducing contact. He wanted her, no doubt. But he had more to say.

“I want to take you out tonight.”

Macy gulped air. Her eyes lifted to his, heavy lidded and hazy. “Wh-what?”

“I want to take you on a date.”

Her chest rose and fell in deep breaths, and Carter found himself staring.

With knitted brows, she repeated, “You want to take me on a date?”

“That’s right. Tonight. I have reservations in Dallas at a first-class restaurant. I reserved a private room. It’s part of my apology, so take care when you give me your answer.”

“But…why?”

He shrugged and wouldn’t divulge the half a dozen reasons in his head. He didn’t want to admit them to himself, much less to her. “Why not?”

Her expression changed from confusion to determination, and she put the biggest smile on her face. “I’d love to go. Yes.”

He felt a ripple of anticipation zigzag through his body. Then, almost as soon as she accepted, a frown appeared on her face and her brows knitted together. “But, Dallas?” she asked on a worried sigh. “We could be seen.”

Carter shook his head. “We won’t be.” He lifted a lock of her hair. The natural wave wisped around his finger. He liked Macy best this way, curly haired and natural, but when she became that sleek, straight-haired woman, she was equally as beautiful and almost unrecognizable. “We’ll stay overnight. In the morning, we’ll stop at some small towns on the way back and-” he winced at the notion “-we’ll shop for furniture for the inn.”

Macy’s eyes blazed brilliant lavender-blue. She was a dead giveaway when she was pleased. “Really?”

“I don’t do anything half-assed, Hollywood. My apology rocks,” he said, kissing her one last time. “Admit it.”

Her chin went up ready to deny it, but then she had a change of heart. “You got me there, Carter. It’s the best apology I’ve ever received.”

Satisfied, Carter spoke quietly, “Be ready at six with your best disguise.”