How to Seduce a Texan

Chapter 19

The Scotts did not give up. They only bared their teeth and advanced. That thought didn’t keep Nikki’s gaze from darting around. She expected a ferocious rabid bear to jump out from behind a tree and eat her at any minute. If there were ghosts, then there were probably bears. At the very least, aliens ready to swoop down and kidnap her.

She was losing it.

How the hell was she going to survive the camping trip? She was beginning to think maybe everything her parents had tried to teach her might not exactly fit with this situation, either. They hadn’t taught her anything about survival in the wilderness. Nikki didn’t even watch the reality shows. She’d only seen the occasional commercials. A lot of good that would do her.

If something happened to Cal would she have to exist on worms to stay alive until someone discovered her malnourished body? She’d read somewhere that worms were pure protein. Starving sounded a lot easier then eating a worm.

“How are you doing back there?” Cal asked.

“Just fine. Great, in fact. I don’t suppose you brought a compass with you or a radio of sorts?”

“Don’t need them.”

So in other words, if something happened and she perished out here, she could justify placing all the blame on her parents.

Great, now she was starting to question everything she’d been taught. If not for what she’d learned from her parents, she wouldn’t be where she was right now. She’d done damned good as a reporter, risen to the top in record time. She wasn’t about to let this silly little article be her downfall.

She grimaced. Sitting in the saddle was another story, though. God, her thighs felt as if they’d been rubbed raw. The Thigh-Master had nothing on straddling a horse and riding up and down hills all morning. She’d probably scraped off a good two layers of skin.

“We’re almost there.”

Since they’d been riding for at least three hours, she would hope so.

“It’s over that hill.”

Oh, good, another hill. That really stretched the muscles. Feel the burn.

But she and Taffy made it up the hill. And Cal was right again. It was beautiful. From this viewpoint, she looked down on the river and the lush greenness of the area. The water was so clear she could see the rocks on the bottom. And the trees must’ve been hundreds of years old, with limbs that stretched far and wide.

Taffy was surefooted as he made his way down the hill. It was all she could do to hang on, but they made it without her tumbling over headfirst. And then she could hear the water flowing over the rocks. There was a crisp freshness about the air, too.

Something stirred inside her, but she quickly tamped it down. She was not going country. It might be a nice place to visit but she certainly didn’t want to live there.

When they stopped beneath a tree, Nikki gingerly swung her leg over the saddle and eased her feet to the ground. She gripped the saddle horn until she thought her legs would hold her up, then turned and gritted her teeth as she smiled at Cal. “That was fun.”

He chuckled. “The soreness will go away.”

Okay, so he’d seen through her act.

“It happens to the best of us,” he said.

At least she knew why cowboys were bowlegged. It was from all the calluses they built up over the years on their thighs. Cal pulled a small jar out of his saddlebag and tossed it to her. She caught it, then frowned.

“Liniment,” he said. “It’ll ease the soreness.”

“Thanks.” For nothing. He was the one who’d made her sore. Oh, she wasn’t even going there. At least not right now. But later-look out!

She watched for a moment as Cal unbuckled his saddle. Something was bothering her. She glanced around. “Where’s the cabin?”

“Cabin?”

“Yeah, you know, where are we going to sleep?” If there was a cabin here, it must be hidden in the trees.

He pointed toward the extra horse that carried supplies. “Everything we need is right there.”

“No cabin.” Unless he’d brought an inflatable one. She didn’t think that would keep any bears out.

“Sleeping bags,” he said.

“Are there bears?”

He shrugged. “I’ve never seen one.”

“But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any.”

“Used to be black bears around. Like I said, I’ve never seen one.”

She breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at her. “I’d be a lot more worried about mountain lions. Now they can get real nasty if you’re not careful.”

Great.

Her stomach suddenly rumbled. It had been a long time since her morning Danish and she was starved.

“What’s for lunch?” she finally asked as she watched him remove Tornado’s saddle and set it on the ground. It had to be way past noon.

“Fish.”

Fish? Oh, Lord, her mouth began to water. She could almost taste the succulent, tender meat. Her gaze went to the packhorse and the two fishing poles that were strapped to the horse.

“In the river, right?” she asked.

“You catch on real fast.”

“Yeah, I’ve been told that before.” She frowned.

“Not exactly like the pioneer women would’ve done it,” he continued. “Most of the time all they had was a cane pole, string, and probably a safety pin for a hook. We’ll have to pretend.”

“Darn.”

Taffy turned and looked at her as if to ask when he was going to get his saddle off. Another guilt trip. The horse had carried her all this way without complaint. She wasn’t that heavy, but she wouldn’t want to carry someone on her back for three hours.

How hard could it be to remove a saddle? Nikki pulled up on the strap to unbuckle it like she’d seen Cal do. Except nothing happened. She gritted her teeth and pulled harder.

“Need some help?”

“No,” she managed to say. Just another inch. There! She gripped the leather tightly with one hand and let go with her other one, unhooking the strap.

The leather straps through the metal rings were all that held the saddle on. She pulled up and loosened them-much easier than the other strap. Now all she had to do was remove the saddle.

She stretched on her toes and did exactly as Cal had done, sliding one arm under one end of the saddle and her other arm under the other end. She pulled the saddle toward her and slid it off, taking the weight.

The weight of the saddle surprised her. She staggered back and landed on her butt in the grass. Ow! Who would’ve thought a saddle would be that heavy?

“You okay? Need some help?”

She blew the hair out of her face. “No.” She wiggled out from under the saddle and stood, then bent at the waist and picked it up, but this time she was ready for the weight. She staggered over and dumped it beside Cal’s.

Then she smirked at him, except he wasn’t even looking. He was unloading the packhorse. Not that his approval mattered. She didn’t need it. The saddle was off the horse and she’d done it without his help.

He finished unloading the camping equipment from the packhorse, putting everything to the side, then scooped up the reins. “We’ll water the horses, then see if we can catch a fish or two.”

As empty as her stomach was, it would take more than one fish to fill her, but the sooner they watered the horses, the sooner they would get to eat.

She grabbed Taffy’s reins and walked beside Cal to the river. The body of water was wide and didn’t look very deep. If she wanted, she could walk right out into the middle of it and never get more than knee deep.

She only hoped there were plenty of fish. She didn’t see any.

When the horses finished drinking, Cal staked them out so they could eat the grass but not wander off.

“Have you ever fished before?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“You’re in for a treat then.”

Hadn’t he said the same thing about milking?

Cal grabbed the poles, bucket, and a small shovel. Okay, her curiosity was getting the better of her. “What’s the shovel for?”

“To dig the worms.”

Of course-she should’ve guessed. Great, she thought sarcastically. The worms would be sacrificed to the fish, and then the fish would fill their stomachs. She had a feeling the worms got the short end of the stick. After all, they weren’t hurting anyone as they dug through the earth. Not that she cared at this point in time. She was hungry. But not hungry enough to eat a worm. Hopefully, the fish would find it a tasty treat.

She watched as he dug through the earth and brought out fat worms, dropping them in the bucket. When he apparently thought they had enough, he stood.

“Let’s see if we can catch our supper.”

“And if we don’t?”

“Then we’ll dine on a can of pork and beans and beef jerky.”

She hoped she caught a fish. At least now she knew she wouldn’t have to exist on worms if something happened to Cal. Not that she thought anything would happen to him. One never knew about those kinds of things, though.

They walked to the water’s edge again and Cal set the bucket down. He handed her a pole, unhooking the hook so the line would swing free.

“Okay, grab a worm out of the bucket and put it on your hook. Then I’ll help you throw your line out.”

She knew damned well fishing would not be the treat he’d said it would, but she refused to let him see just how squeamish she was. So, with more bravado than she was feeling, Nikki reached into the bucket and brought out a worm. It curled around her finger as if it was clinging to her for dear life, and actually, she supposed it was, but right now all she could think about was how much she’d like to throw it on the ground. As it was, it took a supreme effort on her part not to let her body convulse into shivers of repugnance.

“Here’s the worm,” she said, stretching her hand toward him, hoping he’d do the honors of attaching it.

“You have to put it on the hook.”

She took the hook between her fingers, then looked at the worm. “How does it stay on?”

“You have to thread the worm onto the hook.”

She raised an eyebrow. “You’re joking, right?”

He shook his head.

She looked at the worm, then at the hook. How hard could it be to ram a sharp hook through a fat, helpless worm? She swallowed past the lump in her throat and wondered if worms had pain sensors.

“It won’t be long until dark and you still have to catch a fish.”

“Okay, okay.”

She took the worm and threaded it onto the hook, knowing Cal saw that her hands shook. She wanted to whisper to the little worm that it was going to a better place but kept her lips firmly clamped together.

“Now what?”

“We cast your line into the water.” He stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her, and she suddenly forgot about her empty stomach or the demise of the worm as new sensations swarmed through her.

“You bring your arms back like this,” he said close to her ear as he showed her.

“Okay.” Her words came out raspy and she wondered if he knew what he was doing to her.

“You hold this button down. That will release the line.”

He flicked the pole with barely any movement except for his wrist. The fishing line whistled as it flew through the air. There was a small plop when it landed in the water. Ripples circled out from where the sinker had landed.

Cal moved away and went to his pole. Nikki’s anticipation of what was about to happen died. Not that she really wanted to skip food for sex. Food first, then sex. But it had been nice when he held her close.

He threaded a worm onto his hook, then tossed his line out the same way he’d shown her. Now what were they supposed to do? Just wait until a fish grabbed the worm on the way by? It seemed pretty boring and time-consuming if you asked her.

“How long does it take to catch a fish?” she finally asked.

He shrugged. “We might not catch one.”

“After I sacrificed a worm? You’re telling me the worm might have died for nothing?”

He chuckled. “It happens sometimes.”

“And you enjoy fishing?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Why?”

“It’s that first tug on your line. It’s the fight. It’s landing a fish after you hook it.”

She didn’t see the enjoyment in it, and after ten minutes passed, she was having doubts that she would have more than pork and beans and jerky for supper.

There was a tug on her pole. The current, nothing more. It stood to reason that if the water was moving, she would feel movement from time to time on her line. There was another tug, but harder.

Her pulse sped up. Her line pulled again, even harder. She gripped the pole. “I have one! I have a fish! I think. What do I do?”

Cal dropped his pole and ran to her. “Hold on tight. Don’t let it get away.”

“Of course I’m not going to let it get away.” The fish was all that stood between her and starvation. “What do I do?”

“Reel it in. Turn the handle on the side. Not too fast.”

It wasn’t as easy as it looked. The fish was really putting up a fight. She was sure she’d snagged a forty-pound shark.

“Play with the fish. Drop your pole a little, then bring it back up as you reel the fish in.”

“I don’t want to play with it. I want to eat it.”

“And you want to keep it on your hook.”

“Whatever.” But she did as he said.

Okay, she admitted to herself it was kind of exciting. Who would’ve thought fishing would be this much of a thrill.

Cal ran into the water and grabbed her line. The fish flopped up in the water. He grabbed it.

“Don’t drop it!”

“I won’t.” He held the fish up for her to see.

She frowned. “That’s it? I thought it would be a lot bigger.” It had felt huge.

“It’s big enough to keep.”

Damned right it was. But it didn’t look as if it was big enough to share. She might be forced to give some of it to Cal since she had no idea how to cook a fish and there wasn’t even a black beast of a stove out here.

Cal put a string in the mouth of the fish and tossed the fish back into the water, then staked the other end firmly into the ground. It was kind of sad. The poor fish would probably think it was free.

Death Row.

Her stomach growled. But it was going to a good cause: her empty stomach.

Nikki reached into the bucket and got another wiggling worm. “It’ll only hurt for a minute,” she said and quickly threaded her hook. The worm wiggled and she stabbed herself.

Retaliation. She should’ve guessed the worm would exact some measure of revenge. Not that it did it any good. She reared back and flung the pole forward.

Nothing happened.

Well, except the worm became a trapeze act without a trapeze as it went flying through the air.

Fly away, fly away worm and be free. She watched until it made a little plop in the water. A fish flopped near where it had landed. Maybe not exactly free.

Crap. Now she would have to start over.

“You didn’t push the button down.”

“Oh.” Darn, she’d forgotten that step. She threaded another worm on the hook, and this time when she threw her line out it actually went into the water. She was starting to like the whistle it made as the line stretched out across the river, then plopped down and disappeared.

“Got one,” Cal said and began to reel his line in.

Excitement flittered through her. Who knew she would have just as much fun watching him reel in a fish as she had when she’d snagged hers. And even better, now she wouldn’t have to share her fish.

“It’s a big one,” he said.

She frowned. Bigger than hers? Maybe he’d share his fish with her since hers was kind of small.

“Don’t lose it,” she said.

“I don’t plan to.”

“Good.”

He raised his pole, turning the reel, then brought it down and repeated it again. The fish flopped out of the water, its body twisting and turning before it went beneath the surface again.

“It’s huge,” she said.

He looked at her and grinned. “Bigger than yours.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “I’m not through fishing, either.” She might be a rookie fisherwoman, but she was a fast learner and she didn’t give up easily. She’d get her fish and the story. Her parents had taught her the value of winning and she didn’t take losing without a damned good fight.