How to Seduce a Texan

Chapter 4

She’d better get her story soon, Nikki thought to herself as she lugged in another box from the back of Cal’s pickup and plopped it down on the kitchen table.

And Marge was paying how much so she could vacation in this dump? Getting back to nature really sucked, and as soon as she had her scoop, she was off to a vacation spot with glitz and glamour-and a massage therapist!

She dug around in the first box and pulled out a cookbook. Oh, goody. “I don’t cook,” she muttered.

“This will be a great time to learn, then. You should be able to write a fantastic…book with all the experiences you’ll have while staying at the cabin. I bet it’ll be a bestseller,” Cal said as he began emptying the boxes.

“I can’t wait.”

“Enthusiasm, that’s good.”

She had a feeling he was being sarcastic. Again, she wondered if he knew the real reason why she was here. She mentally shook her head. He couldn’t know she only wanted to do a story on him and not a book about how pioneer women had struggled through the Depression. At least now she knew why they were so damned depressed.

She pushed her hair behind her ears. God, she was getting paranoid. Marge was right: there was no way Cal could know why she was really here. If he did, he’d have run her out of town by now.

Her stomach rumbled. Food, she needed food. She eyed the stove. Starvation or blowing herself up. Hmm…Which was the lesser of two evils?

“How do I operate this?” She warily walked over to the black beast.

“The wood is outside the back door. You’ll want to use kindling to get it started.”

He stepped outside to the porch and grabbed a handful of sticks and a small log, then dumped everything in front of the stove-on her clean floor. Well, sort of clean.

“You might check first to make sure there’s not a critter inside.”

“Critter?” She took a step back. What the hell was a critter? She took a wild guess and assumed he must be talking about a small animal. The thought of another wild animal did not sit well with her.

Was she nervous? The Barracuda? She was a tough city reporter and she never cowered. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin as he opened the oven door. But she couldn’t stop the sigh of relief when nothing slithered out.

“All clear except for a few cobwebs.”

She grimaced. “I’d just as soon not eat cobweb-seasoned food.”

There were cloths in one of the boxes. She grabbed one and a small empty tub. At least he’d brought dish soap rather than lye soap-she’d rather not leave here with chapped, red hands.

After filling the tub with water, she added a squirt of soap. She was adapting a little too quickly, she thought wryly. Better to adapt than to run back to the city with her tail between her legs.

Cal didn’t say a word as she began to clean. He also didn’t offer to help. She had a feeling he was having fun at her expense. Maybe it was time to give a little back. She accidentally sloshed some water over the side of the tub. He moved fast enough then.

“Oops, sorry.” But she wasn’t.

That had been very juvenile of her. She bit back her smile. It had felt damned good, though.

“No problem.” He moved out of her way, then leaned against the table.

Cal was almost certain Nikki had done that on purpose. She was probably getting really pissed at him by now. It wasn’t hard to see she didn’t like the cabin or anything that went along with it. And she was taking her anger out on the mammoth beast as she scrubbed away the dirt and grime.

It was all he could do to keep from grinning. He casually crossed his arms in front of him. Nope, she wouldn’t last a day.

But then guilt began to set in. She was really going to town cleaning that stove. His natural inclination would be to pitch in and help.

He should help. What if she broke a fingernail or something?

Was he losing his friggin’ mind? Going soft? Yeah, right, help a reporter who wanted to scoop everyone else with her story on him, and he’d bet there wouldn’t be a word of it in his favor.

His gaze moved downward. Besides, he liked the way she moved. When she wiped across the top of the stove, her ass wiggled back and forth nicely. Sweet temptation.

“Now what?” she asked.

He continued to stare at her as if she hadn’t spoken. There was a streak of dirt across her cheek, and suddenly she didn’t look like city to him. She must really want this story bad.

“You’re going to show me how this thing works, right?” she asked.

He glanced at the stove. It almost sparkled. “Yeah, I’ll show you,” he said as he reined in his thoughts. “We wouldn’t want you to blow yourself up or anything.” He pushed away from the table and went to the oven.

“This is where you start the fire.” He opened a door and stuck the small pieces of wood inside, then crumpled some paper and stuffed it inside as well.

She nodded.

“Wait for the kindling to begin to burn, then add the bigger piece of wood and shut the door.” He noticed she watched everything he did. Okay, he’d give her credit for paying attention.

“Then what?”

“You really don’t know how to cook?” He thought she’d been joking. She looked serious.

“I microwave dinners or I go to restaurants.”

“I don’t suppose you’ve ever gone hunting, either.”

She paled. “I have to hunt my food…and murder some poor animal?”

This was the time to lie and tell her that not only did she have to hunt it, but she had to skin it as well. She’d be out the front door faster than he could say newspaper article.

But where would the fun be in that? He wanted to teach her a lesson. Let her know she couldn’t play with other people’s lives.

“No, you don’t have to hunt or skin it. I’ll bring meat from the freezer at the ranch.”

She breathed a sigh of relief and looked around the room. Her gaze landed on the wooden box. “And is that the refrigerator?”

“Icebox. I didn’t think to bring a block of ice. I’ll bring it on my next trip.” He’d thought she’d be gone by now and all that would be left would be a trail of dust as she headed back to Fort Worth. The woman had stamina, he’d give her that much.

“A block of ice?” she asked.

He opened the icebox. “It goes in here. As the ice melts, the water drains through the tube and into a pan.” He squatted in front of the icebox and raised a slat, then showed her the metal pan that was behind the slat. “You’ll need to keep it emptied or you’ll be doing a lot of mopping. Do you think you can handle that?” He straightened.

When her spine stiffened, it was all he could do to keep from laughing. He liked seeing the fire flash in her eyes.

“I’m sure I’ll manage.”

“I just bet you will.”

Their gazes met and held. After only a few seconds, she looked away. It was a small victory, but he savored the moment. He planned to savor quite a few more before she threw in the towel.

“I stuck a jar of peanut butter and one of jelly in the box until you get the hang of it. There’s a loaf of bread in there somewhere, too. You’ll find silverware and dishes in the cabinets, but you might want to wash them before you use them. No one has rented the place in a few months.”

“I can’t understand why,” she said, then smiled, but it didn’t even come close to reaching her eyes. “I mean, I expect to have a wonderful time while I’m here. I’m sure I’ll discover a lot more than I’d planned.”

“I’ll get your block of ice,” he said.

Nikki thought she was going to get a story while she was here but that wasn’t going to happen. She might be a pretty good reporter but she’d met her match with him. She was in for a big surprise.

He strode toward the front door, letting the screen slam behind him as he left. He didn’t look back as he climbed into the pickup and started it up. But before he was out of sight of the cabin, he couldn’t stop his gaze from going to the rearview mirror. She hadn’t come outside to watch him drive away this time. Had he hoped for one last glimpse?

Yeah, he’d been at his brother’s ranch way too long.

Actually, it wasn’t so bad. This was where he’d grown up. He and Brian had covered nearly every inch of the place. There wasn’t a lot of extra money back then, but they hadn’t needed video games or even cable television. They’d had something even better: their imaginations.

Trees had become forts, and hills had been made for capturing and laying claim to. They’d fought battles and conquered marauding Indians and even a pirate captain or two.

Then they’d grown up. At least he had. Sometimes he wasn’t so sure about Brian.

He pulled to a stop beside the barn and turned off the engine before getting out. The sprawling ranch house brought back a lot of good memories. It was bigger than when they were kids. Brian had added a wing for guests and put in a swimming pool. It looked exactly like in the brochures, complete with spa packages.

He shook his head. Spa packages.

Not that it mattered to him. And he was still proud of his little brother. Brian had done all he’d set out to do. Cal started toward the house.

“Hey, Cal,” Brian called from behind him.

Cal turned around. His brother stood just inside the barn. “I thought you weren’t going to be home until tomorrow.” He headed back toward the barn.

Brian had gone out of town to look at some horses. Why, Cal had no idea. He had more than enough, if you asked him. Sometimes he wondered how they could be so much alike but so far apart at the same time.

“They weren’t what I was looking for. Besides, I have to find a new massage therapist since Amy quit. With Shelley sick, I’m needed more here.”

Cal noticed for the first time how tired his little brother looked. Maybe what he had to tell him would lift some of the weight he seemed to be carrying on his shoulders.

“One called asking about the ad that was in one of the papers. Good idea advertising in some of the bigger newspapers, but then, I doubt you would’ve found one around here.”

“That fast? Great. When is she coming in for an interview?”

Brian reached into the cooler that was just inside the barn and pulled out a beer, tossed it to Cal. Cal caught it, twisted off the cap as Brian grabbed one for himself, then joined him at the back of the pickup.

“Tomorrow.” At least, he was pretty sure it was tomorrow. Yeah, he was certain she’d said tomorrow. She’d sounded nice. Cal thought he’d detected a bit of desperation in her voice, as though she really needed the job.

What the hell was he supposed to do? Brian needed to fill the position fast and the woman said she had experience. He grimaced, knowing exactly what he’d done. He might have implied that she was already hired.

He’d let Brian sort it out. His little brother was good at fixing stuff. Besides, Brian needed a new therapist. She needed a job. Two problems solved.

“Andy said you put a woman up at the homestead. A young, pretty woman.” Brian tilted the bottle against his lips and took a long drink.

“Nikki Scott.” The therapist was quickly forgotten as he lost himself in a mental vision of Nikki.

Brian half sat on the open tailgate. “Do you think that was a smart move? No one has stayed there in months.”

“It was the only thing available.”

“Still, I’d hate for her to tell anyone what it’s like out there. That’s not what this ranch is about unless someone really wants to see how things used to be. This Nikki Scott doesn’t sound as though she fits the bill. What does she do for a living?”

“She’s a reporter.”

Brian choked on his beer.

Cal pounded his brother on the back. “You going to live?”

He took a deep breath. “Not if she writes about her stay at the homestead. I know you hate reporters, but don’t take it out on this woman, especially not on my ranch. Why the hell didn’t you just tell her we were full?”

He grinned as he remembered the way Nikki had sounded on the phone. “She had a voice that made me think of long nights of hot sex.”

Brian grimaced. “I would think Cynthia had cured you of those kinds of thoughts-at least for a while.”

Cal frowned. “You really know how to kill a moment, little brother.”

“If she writes a bad review I’ll do more than kill the moment. I’ve worked hard to make a go of this place. I’d hate to think it was all a waste.”

“Yeah, well, maybe you’ve put too much into it. There’s something to the old saying that all work and no play makes a person hard to be around.”

Or something like that. It was the truth, though. Brian had forgotten how to play. When little brother frowned, he continued.

“Don’t worry, she’s not here to write a review about the ranch. Jeff called to warn me about her.”

“Jeff? From college?”

“Yeah. Nikki’s here to dig up what dirt she can get about me and Cynthia.”

“All the more reason to get rid of her,” Brian said. “You don’t need more reporters hounding you. That’s why you came here in the first place.”

Cal laughed. “Yeah, I thought Nikki would turn her car around and leave when she saw the place. Man, it looks rougher every time I set eyes on it. Nikki must’ve thought so, too, but she tried to hide her expression. Not that it did any good. Shock was written all over her face.”

“But she didn’t leave.”

He shook his head. “Not even when she opened the cabinet and came face-to-face with Bandit.”

Brian chuckled. “I’d like to have seen that. I can’t believe that old coon is still alive. He must be at least twelve years old by now.”

Cal realized that was the first time he’d heard his brother laugh in a long time. It was nice. “No, the best was when I told her about the outhouse. That was sweet.”

“I doubt it was to her.” He shook his head. “Damn, I should’ve bulldozed it a long time ago, but I didn’t want to get that close.” He took a swig of beer and swallowed. “But she’s still there?”

“She’s tenacious, I’ll give her that. Jeff said they call her The Barracuda. I think I’m finding out how she got the name.”

“If she sees the ghost, she’ll be out of there quick enough.”

Cal rolled his eyes. “Don’t tell me you still believe the place is haunted.”

“I know it is. Saw the spirit myself.”

“You saw it?”

Brian shrugged. “Well, yeah-sort of. It was more like shadows and light. Once, I thought I heard a voice call my name. I’m telling you, the place is haunted.”

Cal snorted. “Whatever.”

“So she has a nice voice, but what does she look like?” Brian suddenly changed the subject.

Cal glanced at his brother, really looking at him. He wasn’t all that little anymore-six two, at least-and he was tanned from days spent in the sun. His dark good looks had caused more than one girl to go into a fit of giggles when they were in school. Nikki wouldn’t be any more immune than most women. Brian would crook his finger and she’d tremble with anticipation. For some odd reason, that bothered Cal.

“What does she look like?” he repeated Brian’s question, then cleared his throat. “Butt ugly. Remember that old nag Grandpa used to have?”

“The gray one with buckteeth?”

“That’s the one. If you had a picture of both of them, you wouldn’t be able to tell which one was the horse and which one was the woman.” He didn’t look at his brother but tilted the bottle of beer to his lips.

“But Andy said she was pretty.”

Cal snorted. “Yeah, well, look at some of the women Andy has dated.”

Brian nodded. “Yeah, he really needs to get his eyes checked.” He straightened, drained his bottle of beer, and tossed it toward a large trash can that was near the barn. It clanked as it hit inside. “You can be the one who makes sure she doesn’t kill herself while she’s at the cabin, then. She’s your problem.”

That’s what he’d hoped Brian would say. He didn’t need his brother getting gaga over a pretty skirt and tell things he shouldn’t be telling. That wasn’t the only reason he’d lied, but it was the only one he wanted to admit to right now.

“Besides,” Brian continued. “The old homestead is haunted. Don’t you remember the stories Grandma used to tell us? I’m not going near the place. It wouldn’t matter if Nikki Scott was the hottest woman on earth.”

“You’re full of it.” Cal laughed. His brother would never convince him the homestead had a ghost. “I think you made the whole thing up when we were in high school and you were sneaking up there with Wanda Jo. You didn’t want anyone following the two of you to find out what y’all were doing.”

Brian’s face turned a deep shade of red. “Well, that, too, but there really was a ghost. Why do you think I quit sneaking up there?”

“You’re saying I should confirm your story with Wanda Jo?” Cal raised his eyebrows.

Brian shook his head. “No way. She married Wayne Harris and I don’t want to cross paths with him.”

“Ape Man Harris?” He tried to visualize Wanda Jo with Ape Man. Nope, it just wasn’t coming to him.

“Yeah, a couple of years ago. I thought I told you about it.”

Cal tossed his empty beer bottle into the trash can and they started walking toward the ranch.

“No, you didn’t mention it. I don’t blame you for wanting to keep your distance. Is Ape Man still as ugly as he used to be?”

“Uglier.”

“Why the hell did Wanda Jo marry him?”

Brian paused for a moment, looking thoughtful. “He has big hands?”

Cal’s forehead wrinkled; then he started to laugh. He didn’t stop until they were near the back door of the ranch.

“Yeah, Wanda Jo liked…big hands, didn’t she? Is that why she dumped you?”

Brian grinned. “Compared to Ape Man? No one’s hands even come close.”

There were some good things about being back on the ranch, too. For just a few minutes, it had seemed as though the years between them were gone. When Cal looked up, he could almost see Grandma at the door holding a plate of cookies and smiling like she always did.

“You boys wash your hands and you can have some of the cookies I just took out of the oven.” She wiped her hands on her apron.

And then she faded away.

Some things you couldn’t bring back-all you had were the precious memories-but maybe some things could grow stronger. Like his relationship with Brian. It had felt good to cut up with him. They’d each gone their own ways after college.

Before he stepped inside the house, he glanced toward the cabin that was hidden from view by tall pecan and oak trees. Yeah, it wasn’t so bad to come back home.