How to Seduce a Texan

Chapter 20

Nikki felt a tug on her line. “Ha! I have another one.” She’d started to worry there weren’t any fish left in the river. That little fish she’d caught earlier had started to look smaller and smaller.

“Don’t lose it,” Cal said, then smiled.

She smiled back, then repeated what he’d told her, “I don’t plan to.”

She did exactly as he had and reeled in as she brought the pole up, then gave the fish a little bit of line as she lowered it.

“You’re doing good.”

She grinned. “Yes, I am, aren’t I?”

Until she reeled it in and saw the fish was about the same size as the last one she’d caught, but it had put up a bigger fight. Not that it mattered that much. It was enough for a meal.

Cal caught two more, smaller than his first. Okay, so maybe she didn’t beat him, but at least she’d given it her best shot.

“I’m starved,” he said as he raised the stringer. “What about you?”

She nodded, reeling her line in. “I could eat a horse.” Taffy raised his head and whinnied. They both laughed. What were the odds?

“We’ll need to get a fire started,” Cal said. “Why don’t you do that and I’ll clean the fish.”

Starting a fire sounded much better than cleaning. “What do I need?”

“Some rocks about this size.” He made a fist. “And some wood, small branches and a couple of bigger ones. Don’t get anything too green. You want it as dry as possible so it’ll burn better.”

The task wasn’t that difficult. She had a feeling he was cutting her a little slack, which was fine with her. Looking at fish guts would probably be a whole lot harder than threading a worm on a hook.

She’d just as soon not see the fish die, either. She glanced over her shoulder and watched him for a moment-well, until he began to slice open the fish they’d caught. Bleh. She’d never look at fish on a menu in quite the same way.

And they called her The Barracuda? Some tough predator she was. It wasn’t as though she’d never eaten fish before. She loved fish-as long as it arrived on her plate fully cooked and minus its head.

But fishing had been fun-more than she wanted to admit. She was a city girl, but it certainly didn’t mean she couldn’t like country-to an extent. She sat down on a rock and picked up a stick, and aimlessly drew circles in the dirt.

She liked a whole lot of things, actually. Maybe she should just drop the article. Marge wouldn’t kill her if she didn’t write it. Her boss had even told her as much. Not that Nikki thought Marge had really meant what she was saying. Not when she’d made it sound like a challenge.

Marge might not bother her so much, but what would her parents think? They would look at each other and shake their heads, that’s what they would do. Even if it was a fluff piece, it was still the principle of the matter that counted. She’d taken the job and she had to follow through.

And now that her mother knew about it, she’d want to know what happened. They might not see each other very often but they knew what the other was doing in her career. So maybe she would write the story just to keep everyone off her back.

She was so confused. Damn, she’d never been one to linger on the fence. She always knew what side she was on. Indecision didn’t sit well with her at all. Before the end of this trip, she would decide exactly what she was going to do one way or the other.

Nikki quickly gathered some of the broken branches that were on the ground and went back to camp, not even glancing in the direction of where Cal was still preparing the fish.

By the time she’d gathered rocks along the bank of the river and returned, Cal had finished with the fish.

She watched him as he quickly put a fire together and marveled at how enterprising he was. “I feel as though I’m on an episode of Survivor,” she said.

“Brian and I used to come here a lot to fish and camp out. Sometimes we’d stay for a week.”

“You love your brother a lot.”

He looked up. “We don’t spend nearly as much time together, though. He doesn’t get to the city as much as I’d like, but yeah, I enjoy his company. We’ve always been close.”

“And do you miss all this?”

He looked around. “I do. There’s a peacefulness out here that you can’t find in the city.”

Hadn’t he said his brother worked too hard? Apparently, the ranch was left to both of them since it had belonged to their grandparents. Cal had said he was thinking about retiring. She wondered if that meant he’d be going into business with Brian.

She glanced around, absorbing the quiet. Nothing moved, not even a leaf. Sure, fishing had been fun, but she certainly wouldn’t want to make the country her home. It was as she’d first thought: she and Cal were total opposites.

“Do you have brothers or sisters?” Cal asked, breaking the silence.

She’d welcome any conversation right now. “No. It’s only me and my parents.”

Nikki sat on the ground, crossing her legs, but as soon as she felt the muscles pull, she uncrossed them and stretched them out in front of her instead. You’d think working out in the gym would have kept her from being so sore.

“Do you see them often?” he asked.

“I guess. We meet the second Saturday every other month. We usually take in a play and go out to eat.” She smiled. “Quality time.”

“They live out of town then.”

She frowned. “Well, no, but they’re very busy. They both have successful careers.”

“But they make an appointment to see you.”

She came to her feet. It wasn’t that comfortable sitting on the ground. And how the hell had he turned the conversation to her life? He wasn’t the reporter; he was a football player.

“It’s not like that,” she said.

“If you say so.”

“I do.” But now that she thought about it, he was right. They made appointments to see her. It was the same way during holidays. She went to their house at Christmas and spent exactly four hours there. They opened their one present-something practical-then went to a restaurant and ate dinner.

But she enjoyed her time with them and she really hated that they might be moving to Washington. Damn it, he was making her question her life again and she didn’t want to examine it too closely.

Because she was afraid of what she might see?

“I think I’ll take a walk.”

“You okay?” He didn’t look up.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” She wasn’t, but she really doubted he would ask her anything else if she used that as an excuse. Men usually shied away from that sort of thing.

Cal watched her walk away and was riddled with guilt. Why had he pushed her about her parents? How the hell was he supposed to know her family had a business arrangement with her?

Maybe he’d suspected it from the little things she’d told him here and there, but he hadn’t realized it was as bad as what she’d just told him. What was worse, she didn’t seem to mind.

No wonder she’d gotten the nickname The Barracuda. Look at how she was raised. He shook his head and went back to preparing their meal.

Once the fire was burning good, he set the skillet in the center and waited for the oil to get hot. He’d already rolled the fish filets in cornmeal.

When he thought about families who made appointments to see each other, Cal realized that he and Brian were getting close to doing the same thing. They’d made an appointment to go riding on Friday.

No, it wasn’t the same as Nikki and her parents. He and Brian still had meals together and they dropped in on each other all the time. They didn’t have to schedule time to see each other, but apparently Nikki did.

What? Did he feel sorry for her now? Was he going soft? No, Nikki wanted a story and she’d do anything to get it. He wouldn’t forget that fact, either.

He glanced up as she returned and couldn’t help but notice the rise and fall of her breasts, the gentle swing in her hips. Maybe it was a good thing he didn’t know any state secrets because it wouldn’t take much to make him guilty of treason.

He focused on placing the fish in the skillet. They sizzled when they hit the hot grease. “Hand me a plate,” he said.

“Do you and your brother come out here often?” she asked after she handed him a couple of plates.

She eased to the ground. She was still sore. Maybe he’d rub the liniment in the places she wouldn’t be able to reach. He closed his eyes and counted very slowly to five.

“Not as much as we used to,” he said.

“Why?”

“No time, I guess.”

“Am I the first girl you’ve ever brought out here?” she asked as she looked around.

Nikki might have put her pole down but she was still fishing. “You’re the first.”

“Then I’m honored.”

He busied himself opening the can of pork and beans, then dumped them into a pan.

“Tell me about football. When did you get started playing?”

Was she planning on dragging his career through the mud, too?

“I started in peewee. I was eight.”

She smiled. “I bet you were cute.”

He relaxed. Maybe she just wanted to know more about him. “Why would you think that?”

“Because you’re a handsome man. Did all the cheerleaders start drooling when you walked by after you got older?”

“Who said they ever stopped?”

She laughed. “Oh, that was bad. I didn’t know you had an ego that big.”

Something about her was different. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He wondered if she sensed the change, too. Maybe she would get her story, but he had a feeling she would get a whole lot more than just an article about him and Cynthia.

Cal finished frying the fish and set the pan of pork and beans on the fire. As soon as they were warm, he poured some on the two plates and added a filet of fish to each. “Here you go,” he said and handed her a plate.

“Is this how people traveled a long time ago? A couple of tin plates, a couple of forks, a spoon, and some iron pans?”

“I don’t know, but then I’m not the one doing research. I’m sure they didn’t have it this good, though.”

She looked down, unable to meet his eyes. That’s right, feel the guilt. Maybe he should just tell her that he knew who she really was.

“This is so good,” she said as she closed her eyes and took a bite.

She acted as though she hadn’t eaten a hot meal in days. And she probably hadn’t. He had a feeling she’d bought some food when she went shopping because the stove at the cabin still hadn’t been used. All the wood was still in the pile. Nope, she didn’t fool him for a second.

But she was right about the fish. It had been a long time since he’d eaten fresh fish and it tasted as though the best five-star chef had cooked it.

They didn’t speak again until they’d finished off the last of the fish and almost all the beans. Cal set his plate down.

Nikki looked up and caught him studying her. “I guess you probably think I’m a pig for eating so much.”

“You have a healthy appetite.” No, he was thinking a lot of things, but it wasn’t that she ate too much.

“Most men are put off by a woman who eats too much.”

“It doesn’t bother me.”

“Good.”

“Would it bother you if it did?”

She grinned. “No, I love to eat and I don’t care who knows.”

“I didn’t think it would bother you. Not much does.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She set her empty plate on top of his. “So why did you and your last girlfriend break up?” she asked out of the blue.

Just when things were going well, too. “Is it important?”

She shrugged. “Maybe I don’t want to do the same thing.”

“Is our relationship that important to you?”

When she looked at him, he could almost believe that it was.

“Isn’t it to you?”

He thought of her milking Bessie for the first time, or Bessie Two, as she called the cow. Then he remembered the excitement on her face when she rode a horse for the first time. Skinny dipping, making love. Even fishing today.

And then it hit him. The reason why he made excuses to be around her. He liked watching her reaction to everything she did and saw. He liked her tenaciousness. He liked a hell of a lot about her.

“Yeah, I think it could be,” he said.

“Then tell me about her. Did you love her?” She set her plate down and lay back on the grass staring at him.

And looking oh so innocent, except he knew better. He picked at a blade of grass. If he told her the truth, Cynthia would become a laughingstock. There were some people who would like that. Cynthia was certainly no angel and she’d pissed a lot of people off in her thirty-one years. But he wouldn’t tarnish her reputation any more than it was already tarnished.

“She broke it off with me.”

Nikki raised her eyebrows.

“Why? Do you snore or something?”

“I guess you’ll find out tonight.”

Before she could ask any more questions, he stood, then reached a hand down to her. “Come on, we’d better wash the plates before it gets dark.”

She followed him down to the river, but then she surprised him by taking off her shoes and socks. He wondered just how far she would go. Hell, he already knew the answer to that.

But much to his disappointment, she rolled up her jeans and waded into the water.

“It’s cold!” She tiptoed out as quickly as she’d gone in.

“This river has always had the coldest water. I think that’s why the fishing is always so good.” He set the plates down and toed off his boots. His socks were next. He needed to let them dry out anyway since he’d been in the water with them on. If his grandmother were still alive, she’d give him what for.

“Okay, where’s the soap to wash the dishes?”

“We don’t need any.” Cal picked up one of the tin plates and walked into the water. She was right about it being cold. “This is how the pioneers washed the dishes.” He bent over and scooped up a handful of sand off the bottom of the river and began to scrub the plate.

“You’re washing our dishes in mud?”

“It has a built-in scouring pad and the fish eat all the stuff at the bottom of the river so it’s clean.”

He glanced at her. She still didn’t look like she bought what he was telling her. He set the plate on the bank and grabbed the bean pan, then handed it to her. “Try it.”

“Oh, yeah, give me one of the pans,” she said, but she was smiling.

She dipped the pan in the water, scooped up sand off the bottom, and began to clean the pan. “We may have something here. If we market it just right we could come up with a new cleaning product.”

He laughed. “Like what? Clean with the cleaner solution-mud.”

Her laughter joined his. “You’re right, that might not work. Darn, and there go my visions of making millions.”

They quickly finished washing the dishes and turned them upside down on the bank to dry.

“My feet are freezing,” she said as she hurried the short distance back to the camp.

She sat in front of the fire and stuck her feet close to the dying embers. He sat down next to her and grabbed her feet then began rubbing them.

“Better?”

“Much.” She lay back, pillowing her head with her arm. “I could get used to this.”

“Are you saying you’re starting to like the country?”

“I don’t think I’d go that far.”

He worked his massaging motions up her leg, kneading the calf, then repeated with the other one.

“Umm, right there,” she said.

“I want to make love with you,” he said.

“I know. I want the same thing.”

Nikki was in way over her head. Maybe she didn’t realize what she was doing or that she was getting in deeper than even she realized, but Cal knew when a woman was more than interested.

“It probably won’t work out between us,” he warned. That was the closest he’d come to telling her he knew the real reason she was here.

“I understand.”

Their gazes locked. Without losing eye contact, she brought her hand from beneath her head and slipped the metal button of her jeans through the buttonhole.

It was as though something had passed between them, a silent understanding. No recriminations, no regrets.