How to Seduce a Texan

Chapter 18

Nikki dragged her eyelids open and stared at the clock as she waited for her eyes to adjust so she could read the numbers. It was seven. Something was different about this morning. But what?

She shoved the cover back and forced herself to sit on the side of the bed. Oh, Lord, every muscle in her body ached. Who knew riding a horse could make a person this sore. She’d only thought milking and churning butter was bad. Okay, churning butter was still a horrible memory.

It suddenly occurred to her what was different. The rooster hadn’t crowed. She came wide awake.

Oh no, what if it had died during the night? Guilt washed over her as she hobbled out of bed and stumbled to the front door, sighing with relief when she saw the bird.

Romeo strutted back and forth in front of Bessie Two’s pen. Well, as much as he could since he still listed to the side. But he was alive, and that’s what counted.

She stepped to the front porch. The fresh air was crisp and there was even a clean freshness carried on the light breeze.

Birds were singing and a squirrel jumped from tree to tree. Warmth spread through her. So maybe the country wasn’t so bad after all.

Yeah, as if she didn’t know the real reason why she felt as if she were walking on clouds: Cal. He’d brought something new and wonderful to her life.

Fantastic orgasms!

No, no it was more than that.

She closed her eyes for a moment and remembered how it felt to have him hold her close, brush his lips across hers, and make sweet love to her while skinny dipping in the pond.

Life was suddenly very, very good. More than reporting the news, more than going after the story. More than the cutthroat world. Excitement bubbled inside her and she just couldn’t keep it bottled up a second longer.

She swung her arms wide and welcomed this new day with joy. “Good morning, world!”

The rooster jumped three feet off the ground, turned and saw her, then began to squawk in his soprano crow.

“Cock! Cock! Cock!”

Wings flapping he made a beeline around the side of the barn.

“Moooooo,” Bessie Two reprimanded.

The birds grew silent and the squirrel stopped to look at her as though she’d lost her mind.

Nikki slunk back inside the house. Okay, so maybe she’d been a little too energetic in her appreciation of the start of a new day. It was all Cal’s fault that she was so giddy. He’d cast some kind of spell over her.

She wouldn’t let the way he made her feel sway her from the reason she was here. Maybe she was just discovering there was more to life than her job. She could have both. Couldn’t she-relaxation and work? Yes, of course she could.

She quickly pulled on clothes and made a fast trip to the outhouse. She was back in the cabin and just finishing off a soda and a Danish when she heard Cal’s pickup. She quickly shoved the last bite in her mouth and downed the rest of her drink before throwing her trash into a bag and hiding it in the cabinet.

She was just too damned good, although she was starting to get tired of ham sandwiches for lunch and dinner, and pastry for breakfast.

She grabbed the bucket and went to the front porch. “I was just going to start the milking,” she lied. “Isn’t it a beautiful day?” And it was, so she really wasn’t lying about that.

But she couldn’t help thinking somebody somewhere was sipping a latte in a tiny bistro watching the traffic whizz by and thinking the same thing about it being a beautiful day.

He grinned and they walked toward the barn. “Yeah, it is,” he said.

But that person in the city wasn’t with Cal. Had she ever met a man more handsome? She didn’t think so. And he was so nice to show her everything there was to know about a long-ago era. If she had wanted to know about it, this would be the ideal situation.

“I didn’t ask-how long will you be visiting your brother?”

“Who knows? Maybe longer than I thought.”

“Don’t you have to get back? Isn’t there some kind of football training you have to go to?”

Silence.

She stopped and looked at him. “You’re still on the team, aren’t you?” He stopped walking, but didn’t answer. “I mean, you didn’t quit or anything, did you?” What if Cynthia’s father had gotten him fired? Her daddy was a powerful man.

“I’ve been thinking about retiring, taking things a little easier. A person can get knocked around only so many times before the body begins to protest.”

Now that was a juicy tidbit for her article.

“Any thoughts about marriage and kids?”

He started walking again, so she was forced to keep up with his longer strides. “Are you applying for the position?”

She laughed. “No. Like I said, that’s on the bottom of my list of things to do in this lifetime.”

They walked inside the barn and toward the back.

“No, just curious.” She smiled, sure she presented the picture of innocence. But when he looked at her, for just a brief second, she felt a pinch of guilt.

“Tell you what, you get the feed and I’ll start the milking,” he said.

He didn’t have to twist her arm. Besides, she needed to put a little space between them. She couldn’t feel guilty. That emotion was not allowed in her line of work. She was here to do a job, to get a story. If she started feeling guilty about what she needed to write, her career would soon be down the tube.

She took a deep, steady breath, trying to regroup her feelings. “You’re sure you want to do the milking?”

“Yeah.” Cal scooped some water in the bucket and squatted beside Bessie and began to wash her udders.

There was something different about Nikki but he couldn’t quite put his finger on what it was. She was still probing for answers, but that was nothing new. There for just a brief second, she’d looked a little…guilty?

Yeah, sure, he needed his eyes checked. Jeff was right about her being good, and Cal was seeing firsthand just how good.

But when they made love, he could forget all about why she was here. He had a feeling she did, too. He knew damned well she wasn’t faking her responses to his touch.

But what the hell was he doing offering to milk the blasted cow?

As though he didn’t know the answer to that one. When she’d walked out on the porch and the sun had bathed her in morning light, it had been all he could do to breathe. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

And for that moment in time, he’d pushed away the truth. That she was only here for a story and as soon as she got it, she’d leave in a flash. All the time they’d spent with each other would mean absolutely nothing to her. He was only a means to an end. The sex was great, but bye-bye, adios, so long. Just like all the other women he’d dated.

He finished washing the cow’s udders, tossed the water, and sat on the stool.

As he started milking, he thought he should probably have his head examined for thinking for one second she’d change her mind about writing her article, and until she’d started asking her questions this morning, he’d thought exactly that. Nikki was a reporter and she was just like all the rest of the reporters with whom he’d crossed paths.

Except she was The Barracuda.

He covertly watched her out of the corner of his eye as she put the lid back on the feed bucket, making sure it was on good and tight.

“Tell me about your books,” he said when she leaned against the fence.

For a moment, she didn’t say anything. Her expression changed from relaxed to guilty. Maybe not guilty, probably not guilty, but he’d at least made her damned uncomfortable.

“Uh, what exactly do you want to know?”

“Is this your first?”

“Yes.”

“What do you do when you’re not writing? I’m guessing you have a job. Some way to support yourself.”

“Of course I have a job.”

He waited to see what kind of lie she would come up with this time.

“I work in a library. I’m the…head librarian.”

He covered his snort with a cough. “Now why didn’t I ever get lucky enough to have a librarian who looked like you? The only ones I knew were old or married.”

Her smile was wobbly.

Yeah, she was full of lies and he was a fool if he fell for them. Maybe it was time to up the ante and see just how important getting the story was to her.

He finished the milking and stood.

“I thought we might spend the day together…and the night,” he said, letting his fingers trail down her arm, then taking her hand.

Her pupils widened, desire flaring. “I’d like that.”

“Good.” He took her hand and handed her the milk bucket. “I have it all planned out. Have you ever been camping?”

She shifted the bucket to her other hand. “Camping?” Her expression showed surprise.

“Yeah, pioneer women did it all the time.” He frowned. “I’m surprised that you’ve never experienced sleeping under the stars. You haven’t run across camping out in your research?”

Her face lost some of its color. “Well, yes, of course I have, but I would’ve needed a guide and there wasn’t really anyone…uh…available.”

He grinned. “It’s a good thing we met then. I’ll be able to show you all about camping.”

“But who’ll milk Bessie Two?”

“One of the ranch hands. Believe me, you’ll enjoy this as much as you do the chores here at the ranch.”

Her smile wobbled. “Oh, goody.”

Yeah, The Barracuda had met her match. He had a feeling after camping out beneath the stars, she’d be more than ready to cry uncle and give up on her pursuit to expose his private life.

“We’re going camping, Marge! Did you hear me? Camping!”

“Both times.” Marge sighed across the phone. “Okay, that’s it. I want you to give up the story and come in. You don’t belong on a ranch, let alone doing everything you’ve had to do. You’ll feel lots better when you sink your teeth into a nice, juicy politician.”

No, she wouldn’t, because Cal wouldn’t be there. “Listen, I’ll give it a couple more days and see what happens.”

“If you’re sure.”

No, she wasn’t. Not anymore. But she’d never given up on anything in her life and she wasn’t sure how to let go of this story.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“You don’t sound sure.”

“I’m sure.”

“You haven’t fallen for this guy or anything, have you? He’s one of the ten most eligible bachelors in the area. Hell, the whole country. I think he’s even ranked number three or something. I doubt it would be very hard to fall for him.”

She straightened. “Of course I haven’t fallen for him. You know me better than that.”

“Good. Cal left a string of broken hearts when he hooked up with Cynthia, and now she’s been added to the list. I’d hate for your name to be on it as well.”

“Have you forgotten who you’re talking to? I’m The Barracuda.”

“You’re right.” Marge laughed. “Just be careful. I’d hate it if you got eaten by a bear.”

Nikki’s head jerked around. “They have bears in Texas?”

“Beats me.”

Great, one more thing to worry about. They said their good-byes and Nikki flipped her phone closed, then quickly moved away from the outhouse.

She wasn’t looking forward to camping at all. Cal would be able to protect her from wild animals, wouldn’t he? It wasn’t like he hadn’t grown up here. He knew the land.

She snorted. If he knew her real reason for being here he’d probably gladly feed her to the bears.

She went back inside and threw a few things into a bag. Cal said to pack light and suggested using a bag so it could be tied on the packhorse. This trip was not sounding good.

As she started to turn away, she caught sight of a blue fog forming in the corner. She froze. Gas leak? Doubtful since there was no gas, only wood-burning stoves and a fireplace.

There was a deep, sad sighing, and then the mist faded away. A cold chill ran down her spine.

She grabbed her bag and hurried to the porch, deciding to wait for Cal there. As the screen closed behind her, she looked over her shoulder. Nothing. But she knew she hadn’t imagined what she’d seen.

Ghosts didn’t exist, dammit. If they did, then everything she’d grown up with had been false information. The whole structure of what her life was about would be in question. But was she ready to start believing in what she couldn’t taste, see, or touch?

Would she start to question other things as well? She didn’t think she was ready to delve deeper than the surface of what her life was about. She was afraid of what she might see.

Celeste bypassed Brian’s office and took the long way around to the spa. She couldn’t believe that he’d kissed her last night or that for a split second, she’d kissed him back. Heat rushed up her face.

Or that she’d enjoyed it so much.

And then she’d done the unthinkable: she’d run away as though she was a virgin or something-which she wasn’t. Why couldn’t she have said something intelligent or witty? She’d traveled all over the country, seen a lot of things-she should have had a zippy comeback.

Except she’d never been the type of woman who could be provocative. What you saw was what you got.

Maybe she wouldn’t have to face him today. One could only hope.

She opened the door and stepped inside the building and was surrounded by peace and serenity. Boy, did she need that this morning. She waved to Rhonda, who was on the phone.

Rhonda mouthed something, but she couldn’t understand what she was trying to tell her, so she just held up one finger to indicate they’d talk after Rhonda got off the phone. Then Celeste went on toward her room.

Yesterday had been busy as she learned the lay of the spa. She’d also met the other two women and some more of the guests. Her first massage wasn’t until later this morning, but she wanted to go through the supplies to see exactly what she could use. But first she wanted to light her candle so the warm vanilla fragrance could fill the room.

But when she opened her door, she realized what Rhonda had been trying to tell her.

Brian looked up, holding the candle to his nose. “Nice fragrance.”

“Vanilla,” she said. What was he doing here? She didn’t want him here. But the wild beating of her heart gave lie to her thoughts.

“Come in and close the door.”

She hesitated.

“Please. I won’t try to kiss you.”

Heat rose up her face as she closed the door. “I didn’t think that you would.” No, she’d been too busy thinking about the kiss they’d already shared.

“It was inexcusable.”

She wouldn’t go quite that far.

“Believe me, I don’t usually pounce on my employees.”

She studied him. “Why did you kiss me?”

He hesitated. “You’re a beautiful woman.” He set the candle down. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been out on a date. I guess I got caught up in the moment. It won’t happen again.”

He started toward the door, and as he passed her, she caught the scent of his aftershave. It wrapped around her, daring her to let him walk out of the room without saying anything.

She knew she would have to make the next move. “I enjoyed the kiss. It startled me, was all.”

He paused with his hand on the doorknob. “You did?” He grinned and Celeste saw the change in him. Suddenly he wasn’t her boss or even a businessman-he was just a man, and a very handsome one at that.

“Yes, I liked it very much.”

He frowned. “I don’t date my employees.”

Fear coursed through her. Was he going to fire her? “I don’t date ex-bosses,” she quickly said.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you go. I think I’ll have to make an exception to my rule.” He turned serious. “Your job will never hinge on what happens between us, though. I want you to understand that.”

“I do.” And she meant it. From the little things she caught from the other people who worked for him, Brian was honorable.

He left and she let her breath out. Okay, that had gone well. Warm fuzzies began to swirl inside her. She liked the way they felt.