Elusive Echoes (2 page)

He smiled, remembering how it had never done
any good. Every time he'd made the climb to his window in the dark,
he'd invariably snuck into his room to find his father lounging on
his bed waiting for him. And one time in the middle of winter he'd
come home to find Justin had nailed his window shut. After that,
he'd taken his dad's advice to use the phone when he was going to
be late.

Sean cupped his hands beneath the lowest
branch. "I'll give you a boost."

Ricky hesitated for a second. "I've never
climbed a tree."

It was always the little things that were
the most telling. The little things that showed this kid hadn't had
anything close to a normal childhood. Every time one of those
reminders popped to the surface, Sean felt the need to choke the
living crap out of someone.

But now, he only shrugged. "Time to learn.
See that lowest branch there? Grab onto that, wrap your knee around
it, and pull yourself up. Then look for the next highest branch and
do the same thing."

Ricky placed a foot in Sean's hands and Sean
pushed him up. Then Ricky shimmied to the next branch. Sean smiled
with approval. The kid was a natural.

"Sean, what are you doing out here?" The
too-shrill voice of his sister-in-law was out of her normal
character and somewhat akin to having shards of glass shoved
beneath his fingernails.

He tried to smile but it felt weak. Slowly,
he turned around. "Hi, Sandy."

Fixing him with a knowing glare, Sandy
folded her arms over an enormous belly.

Sean couldn't keep his gaze
from wandering there with a sort of morbid fascination. Man, had
she gotten bigger since breakfast? And was it . . .
moving?
Sean's stomach
did a little flip of its own. "Wow! You're looking really
great."

She stared at him in narrow-eyed silence
until he looked away. "You didn't answer my question. What are you
doing back here?"

"I was just checking on some—things."

"Checking on teaching Ricky how to climb in
your window?"

Busted
. Sean tried his most engaging smile. When she only glared at
him, he gave up and sighed. "Okay, when I came in from the stable,
he was just sitting out back because you and Ry were fighting. We
wanted to give you some space."

"We weren't fi—" Sandy blew out a long, slow
breath. She rubbed her forehead then ran her hand through her dark
hair. "It's okay. I know I've been mean lately."

"No, not really—"

Her eyes narrowed.

"Okay, maybe a little. You've got a lot on
your mind."

"And an overprotective
husband." She smiled. "I love your brother, Sean, but he's driving
me crazy. If he can't be with me, he makes sure someone else is
with me. I'm never,
ever
, alone. I'm not going to
break."

Sean smiled. "I can talk to him if you
want."

She made a face and shook her head. "He'll
just say I went running to the Great Voice of Reason."

Sean chuckled at her use of Ryan's nickname
for him.

"It'll be over soon." Sandy caressed her
belly. "Then he'll be able to be overprotective of the little
one."

More likely, his brother would just be
doubly protective of the two of them. But Sean kept the thought to
himself.

"How's my horse? How's Domingo? Ryan won't
let me even go visit him."

Sean's heart softened. He knew Sandy missed
her horse. She and Ryan would never agree when it came to keeping
the big roan. But everyone thought she was showing good sense to
stay out of the stables completely in the last weeks of her
pregnancy.

"I give him his daily apple and I swear he
looks over my shoulder to see if you're behind me."

"I didn't think I'd ever miss riding so
much." She sighed wistfully. "Is he getting enough exercise?"

"Every day." Sean frowned. "But I've been
thinking of seeing how he'll take to Ricky. I've got a rehabber
coming in Monday and it's going to be pretty intense for a while
with that one."

"Oh, Ricky's fantastic with horses. I think
it's a good idea to see how Domingo likes him." Squeezing her eyes
shut for a moment, Sandy rubbed her temples.

"You okay?" Sean took a closer look. She
suddenly seemed very tired.

"Yeah," she answered slowly. "Just a little
headachy. Oh, and Dad and Ryan are going up to Jackson tomorrow to
see the accountant about Ricky's trust fund. Ryan's going to ask
you to babysit me."

Sean smiled. "And you don't like the
idea."

She heaved a sigh. "I've resigned myself to
it. The thought of driving all the way to Jackson makes me
nauseous. But they won't leave me home alone, even though I'm
perfectly capable of calling for help if I need to. Besides,
according to the doctor, we've got at least three weeks. So you
really don't have to do anything but work with the stock the way
you normally do." She grinned. "You seeing Mel tonight?"

Her hormonal mood shifts
were sometimes difficult to keep up with, but this time, it had
been fairly straightforward.
Okay, sister,
consider the subject changed.
He lifted a
shoulder. "Maybe."

Sandy fixed him with a knowing look.

Sean rubbed the back of his neck. "Yes."

"You get around to giving her what she
really wants yet?"

Sean blinked. What did Mel want? Had he
missed something?

Sandy laughed. "Never mind. I can see you
haven't. If you need a birds and bees conversation. . ." She
winked. "You should probably see your dad, since me and Ryan failed
safe sex one-oh-one." She patted her belly.

"Oh jeez!" He backed away a couple of
inches. Man, he hated these conversations. Sean felt the heat rise
into his face, and settled his hat lower over his eyes, refusing to
take her bait.

Sandy's laughter echoed against the back of
the house. "Sean, I love you, but you are about as slow a mover as
your brother is a fast one. How did you two turn out so
opposite?"

He shrugged and shifted his feet.

Sandy pointed at the tree and smiled. "I'll
let you get back to checking on things. You don't want to rush and
end up falling." She stepped to the base of the tree and peered
upward. "Dinner's on the table, Ricky."

"Yes, ma'am." Ricky's voice filtered through
the few lingering autumn leaves.

Sean watched her waddle
away. Shaking his head, he leapt into the air and snagged the
lowest branch, swung his leg up and over, then pulled himself
upright. Grabbing the next branch, his grip slipped and he almost
fell.
Almost
being
the important part, he acknowledged once he secured his
position.

Climbing the tree again felt pretty
good.

****

Melanie slipped Sean's favorite draft in
front of him with a smile. Just being near him made her heart
somersault. His pale blond hair, so similar in shade to hers, was
longer than usual. It curled on the ends and she wanted to get her
fingers tangled in it. His jade green eyes watched her hand where
she was wiping up a few droplets of water. She wished he'd watch
something other than her hands, but she seldom caught him checking
her out these days.

"Ry's got me on Sandy-babysitting-duty
tomorrow morning." He swirled his beer, eyes down. Amber liquid
sloshed against the edges of the mug. Mel reached for the rag
beneath the bar, just in case, but he stopped the restless movement
and took a drink.

"It can't be that bad. It's not like she's a
little kid you'll have to chase around or even entertain."

"That's what she told me." When he looked
up, his engaging grin was back. "Though I'm not so sure about not
having to chase her. She's been on a tear through the house lately,
getting the nursery ready, re-doing her and Ry's room. She
reorganized the kitchen cabinets and cleaned up the pantry today.
Dad keeps complaining that he can't find anything in the
cupboards."

Melanie giggled. "Maybe she'll clean out the
attic tomorrow."

"Aw jeez, I hope not. Ry'll kill me." Sean
took a drink.

"It's a light crowd tonight," Mel said,
running a forefinger along Sean's arm. "LeeAnn can close. Would you
like to come upstairs for a while?"

He looked past Mel to the other barmaid.
"How's she working out?"

Mel shrugged and followed his gaze. LeeAnn
Shannon wore her dark auburn curls in a pony tail that sprayed from
the top of her head like a fountain. She wore heavy blue eyeshadow
and dark eyeliner, probably under the mistaken impression that so
much blue highlighted her pale blue eyes. She was full-figured and
her tight blue jeans only emphasized the outline of her wide hips.
A skimpy green top hugged her bustline just a little too tightly,
showing off an extra roll under her bra. Earrings that appeared to
be made of multicolored confetti strung together by thin gold wire
dangled from her earlobes, almost to her shoulders. Mel could only
hope pieces of that confetti didn't drop into anyone's drink. She'd
stopped asking the girl to wear something with less likelihood to
shed after her third day working at Valentine's, since LeeAnn
apparently wasn't listening anyway.

Mel sighed. Sandy wouldn't have tolerated
the blatant defiance.

LeeAnn's smile looked a bit forced as she
slammed a shot down in front of one of the regulars. Mel wondered
what the man had said to set the other girl off this time. She
didn't field the sexual innuendo and sometimes outright lewd
suggestions very well.

Mel looked back at Sean and shrugged. "Well,
she's no Sandy but she's a body to help with serving when she
doesn't call out." Rubbing a finger back and forth along Sean's
arm, Mel was pleased to see goosebumps rise beneath her touch. "So
how about it? You want to have some dessert in my place?"

Sean rubbed his chin, his "no" tell.
Disappointment flared before he even answered. Most times she hated
that her grifter father had taught her to read people so well. It
usually just made her disappointment double up on her.

"I'd better get home." Sean drained the last
of his beer. "I don't know what time Ryan wants to get started
tomorrow but I'll have stock to take care of before they
leave."

He glanced up at her and smiled. It was far
from the look of heated desire she craved.

"I'll walk you out." She wished her heart
didn't feel like it had been trod on. Rejection sucked.

Mel snagged her sweater from just inside the
kitchen while Sean waited. She crossed the room wishing she could
carry off Sandy's sexy saunter. Maybe then Sean would really see
her. Sometimes he made her feel like someone's vanilla-cream little
sister.

"How's the horse rehabbing going?" she asked
as they traversed the parking lot.

"Really good, actually." As he always did
when talking horses, Sean became animated. "One of my rehabs is
about to be put up for sale. Got some weight back on her.
Sweet-tempered little thing now no one's beating on her. I almost
want to keep her for you." He shrugged. "But you never really get
much chance to come out and ride, I guess."

Mel's heart did a
cartwheel. "I could make time to come out. If you'd like me to,
that is." She looked up at him as they approached his truck.
"
Would
you like me
to?"

Sean rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah! If
you come out before next week we can see if you and Lacey get
along."

Gosh, he looked so happy. And that made her
happy. When he leaned in for a kiss, she took a step forward and
tucked herself tightly into his solid embrace where she always felt
safe. He sucked in a breath but didn't pull back. Feeling a little
bold, she snaked her arms around his waist and slanted closer
still.

The kiss started out very chaste as usual,
but Mel was feeling courageous for once. As he began to pull back,
she outlined his lips with her tongue. His hands on her shoulders
tightened and he pulled her back against him, deepening their kiss,
stroking her tongue with his. His breaths came in ragged gasps and
he trembled.

Score one for the home team. Finally.

Mel's nerve fibers buzzed like a hundred
honey bees hitting the mother lode of purple flowering clover. She
clutched his waist, shivering at the way his muscles jumped under
her hands.

Sean slipped his hand beneath her sweater,
around to the small of her back, and pulled her closer. His hand
was hot through the thin material of her blouse.

A physical ache spurred by emotional need
welled within her.

With a low, feral moan against her lips,
Sean turned them around and pressed her against the door of his
pickup. Her toes barely touched the ground. Mel angled her head for
a deeper kiss and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sean hissed
through his teeth when she wiggled.

He pulled back slowly, holding himself
completely still for a minute. Then he let her slide down his body
until her feet rested on the ground again.

"You're killing me here, Mel," he whispered,
his voice quaking. "One of these days, we gotta do something about
this—you and me."

"It's not so late yet. My room's still
open."

That was the moment she lost him and she
could have kicked herself. He stepped back a foot or so, kissed her
on the forehead. His guard was back in place. They had just shared
a very passionate embrace and he'd definitely been turned on. Now,
if he felt any sort of desire for her at all, she couldn't see it.
Or feel it, the way he kept himself angled away from her. Darn it!
He was so careful with her. Always keeping himself just one or two
steps out of reach.

Mel sighed. She couldn't remember a time
since they'd been teenagers when she hadn't wanted to be Sean's
girl. Yet they never seemed to get beyond a few heated kisses
before he hightailed it in the opposite direction. Sometimes it was
hard to tell if he really wanted to kiss her or if he was just
being polite.