Authors: Heather Rainier
Tags: #Fiction, #Romance, #Western, #Erotica, #General, #Adult
“You’re welcome. I’d better go. I know you have to get up early.” When he came over, Angel made a point of never staying late at her apartment.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow, beautiful. Happy birthday.”
They kissed goodnight, and he left for the ranch. As she got ready for bed, she could not recall a time in her life when she was this happy. He told her he loved her for the first time tonight. Her heart felt full and contented, and of course, there was always that undercurrent of arousal she now associated with Angel. He never pushed the limits there, which only served to increase her trust in him.
The time never seemed right to tell him about her past. She knew it needed to be soon. She’d never want him to feel like she held something back because she didn’t trust him. Maybe she would ask him over tomorrow night for the sole purpose of telling him so she’d stop worrying about it.
* * * *
Early September
Teresa smiled when she looked at the caller ID and pressed “talk.” “I was just thinking about a devilishly handsome man.”
“I’ve missed you, beautiful.”
Angel’s voice made her quiver with longing. She heard his soft sigh and wished she were right there with him. Work had kept them both hopping lately.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she murmured as she sat back down on the couch in the empty break room at Stigall’s. “How are things with work? Are you still shorthanded?”
“I hired on two new hands today, both of whom have experience. One of them, a guy by the name of Ash Peterson, is qualified to take on the foreman duties. Jack got to meet him while he was here and agreed. If it works out, I could take on the breeding operation full time. It would make life less complicated. He seems like a real nice guy. We’ll have to see if it pans out. How are you doing?”
“The same. I like having the extra hours since Margie got put on bed rest, but it means I won’t have much spare time for a while,” Teresa said, unable to hide the wistfulness in her tone.
“Is Michael adjusting to your extra hours all right?”
“I think so. He’s learned to be flexible at an early age. I miss him most when I’m at work when I’d normally be at home with him,” she replied honestly. The extra money would help so much, and the hours were temporary.
“Maybe I’m overstepping my boundaries a bit, but I could help you with him. I could pick him up after I’m done with work, and he could hang out with me, you know? Eat a corndog and watch a movie?” Angel offered carefully.
Teresa paused for a second, closing her eyes, and smiled as she envisioned the two of them hanging out at the foreman’s house, playing, talking, and looking at the horses. Angel would have him up in a saddle in no time, she imagined. But Angel’s hours had been brutal lately, and he needed his rest as much as she did in order to deal with it all. She’d meant to have a talk with him on Monday night, but he hadn’t been able to get away, and she didn’t want to have that conversation over the phone. The following morning, Juliana had called her in to see if she’d like to fill in for Margie, who had been put on bed rest by her obstetrician.
“I think that you are the sweetest man I have ever known. I know Michael would enjoy that, but you need your rest in the evenings, and I wouldn’t want to put you out. He can be a real handful.”
“I’d have the benefit of getting to see you, so you know it’s not all one sided. But I understand that’s a big step. I want you to remember I’m available for you if you get in a pinch.” She felt a little guilty at the disappointment in his voice, but she knew what it was like to deal with the little dynamo on a daily basis.
“Thank you, Angel. I’ll remember that. I hope I can see you sometime soon. I need to talk to you about something.”
“Do you need to me to come over tonight? Do you want to talk about it now?”
“Well, I wanted to talk in person. I’m on a break right now. I’ll be at work until at least six o’clock. Maybe call me after then, and let me know if you have the time tonight.”
“I’ll do that. Is everything all right?”
“Oh, yes. Everything is fine. I just want to talk to you about some things I think you have a right to know about. You deserve to have answers to the questions you were asking on our first date. Nothing is wrong, though.”
“All right. Remember, if you need help—Teresa, can you hang on for a minute? That’s Grace calling in on the other line. Hold on, sweetheart.”
“Sure.”
He was only on the other call for a few moments.
“Honey?” The tone of his voice set her on edge immediately. “There’s been an accident out on FM 709, at the bridge. Rachel Lopez was involved in a collision. It sounds like she was injured pretty seriously.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll call you later, regardless.”
“If anyone needs food brought over, I can take care of that.”
“I’ll ask and see about bringing Eli something to eat and drink tomorrow, since I’m sure he won’t leave her. It’s nice of you to think of that.”
“I don’t know Rachel that well, but any friend to Grace is a friend to me. I’d be happy to bring him breakfast and lunch tomorrow if that would help.”
“I’ll let Grace know. Thanks, sweetheart. You and I will have a chance to sit down and talk soon. I promise. Be safe.”
“I love you. I’ll pray for them. Be careful.”
“I love you, too.”
Chapter Five
Teresa rose very early the following morning and got to work in the kitchen. After the carne guisada was simmering, she set about making fresh tortillas. She thought of her mother and remembered when she taught her to make tortillas. Her mother told her it was easy to make them yourself, and they tasted better when the person who made them loved you. Smiling at the memory, she rolled them out one at a time with her little roller pin. She made an extra large batch of carne guisada so she could take some breakfast tacos out to the ranch after stopping in at the hospital to bring Eli his breakfast.
When she spoke with Angel on the phone the night before, he told her Rachel was stable. The doctors were fairly certain Rachel would suffer no lasting damage from the accident, but her injuries were extensive.
Teresa got herself ready and loaded Michael for the trip to his daycare. After kissing him goodbye, she drove to the hospital. She found Eli dozing upright in a chair in the ICU waiting room.
Even in slumber, his handsome features were tense, his stress and exhaustion apparent. His long legs were stretched out in front of him, and his head rested against the wall, propped up on one hand. Teresa imagined he had not been asleep for very long. She sat without disturbing Eli to give him time to rest while he was able to. After fifteen minutes, a door chimed down the hall when someone came through it, and he shifted in his seat, gradually waking up. He looked over at her blearily, and her heart went out to him.
“Eli? I’m Teresa Palacios. I’ve brought you breakfast tacos and something to drink.”
Eli’s voice was deep and gravelly as he spoke. “You’re a friend of Grace’s?” He sat up and rubbed his eyes. “I remember you. You’re Angel’s girlfriend, right?”
Teresa smiled and said, “Yes, I am.” She opened the paper bag she’d placed his breakfast tacos in and held it out to him. She’d put five in the bag for him. Now she was glad she’d packed him extra because he was probably starving. “I made fresh carne guisada this morning.”
He smiled and took one from the bag and opened it. He groaned when the succulent aroma of the breakfast taco rose to his nostrils.
“This smells incredible, Ms. Palacios. Thank you so much.”
“Call me Teresa, please.” She smiled as he took a big bite and groaned then started chewing voraciously. “Good?”
“Uh-huh,” he said, taking another big bite. After the third taco, he sat back and sighed deeply. She closed the bag and set it on the table with his coffee and orange juice.
“I’m glad I brought you extras. There are two more in there for a snack later.”
“Thank you, Teresa. Those were delicious. Angel is a lucky man. You’re a good cook.”
“Thank you. I’ll be bringing your lunch, too. Do you like barbecue or hamburgers?”
“Wow. I hope you’re not inconveniencing yourself too much?”
“Not at all. I know I wouldn’t want to leave Angel’s side if he was the one in ICU right now. I take my lunch break at one o’clock, and you can expect me a little after that. So which do you prefer?” she asked and grinned when he removed a fourth taco from the bag. He removed his wallet from his back pocket and handed her a twenty dollar bill.
“I’m easy to feed. Get whatever you prefer, but I insist you allow me to pay for it. Let me buy you lunch to thank you?”
“All right, if you insist. Has Rachel awakened yet? Have they allowed you to see her?”
“No and yes. She had internal injuries and bleeding. It was touch and go for a while yesterday afternoon but they tell me she’ll recover. It will just take time.”
“I’ll keep praying for a speedy recovery. Is there anything I can get for you? I can bring whatever you need at lunchtime.”
“No, I’m fine. Thank you again for the tacos.”
“You’re welcome, Eli. I have to make a big taco delivery to Angel and his hands at the ranch, so I’m going to leave now. This is my phone number,” she said, handing him a slip of paper. “If you need anything else, let me know.”
“Thank you, Teresa.” He smiled tiredly at her as she rose from the chair.
She placed a hand over his and said, “God bless you, Eli. Try and rest some more, if you can.”
* * * *
Teresa parked by the first barn at the ranch and lifted the picnic cooler from her backseat. She was swamped by giddiness when she looked up and saw Angel’s lean frame striding toward her.
He is really something else
. She sighed longingly and enjoyed the sight of him. When he got close enough, her cheeks throbbed with sudden heat at seeing the outline of his hardening erection through the worn denim of his blue jeans and bit her lip.
“You keep looking at me that way, beautiful, and
everyone
will know what is on my mind.” He took the cooler and set it down then wrapped his long arms around her and hugged her close. She giggled and allowed him to kiss her.
“I brought you breakfast tacos.”
“You did?” he said in surprise. Angel had already discovered that Teresa liked to cook and eagerly lifted the cooler with one hand and put the other arm around her. “Jack and Ethan are in the barn, and I’m sure they’d like to say hello. Why don’t you come on in with me for a minute?”
“Are you sure? I know you’re busy. I don’t want to distract you from your work.”
“You’re a sweet distraction and a welcome one. This cooler feels full. How many did you bring?”
“Enough for hungry working men,” she replied as she allowed him to lead her to the barn. “I wasn’t sure how many to make for all of you so I made a bunch. I just came from the hospital.”
“How’s Rachel?”
“She’s in the ICU. It sounds like she’ll be resting there for the day, and then they’ll know more tomorrow when she wakes up.”
“How’s Eli?”
“Tired and hungry.”
“I wouldn’t want to imagine how it must be for him.” He leaned to her and kissed the top of her head.
“I do, a little. I didn’t know you well when you were shot, but I remember how I felt when Grace told me about it. I remember what it was like when I came to see you.”
Teresa had felt terrified the first time she’d walked into his hospital room. He hadn’t looked like himself at all, but she’d felt so relieved that he was alive. So relieved.
“You worried about me?”
“Seeing a big, strong man like you hooked up to IVs and monitors and lying in a hospital bed was scary.”
“I enjoyed your visits so much. I understand now what a big stretch it must have been for you to come to the hospital, to take that step.”
“I was afraid you would be amused by such a shy little mouse coming to visit you.”
Angel chuckled at her description of herself. “Hmmm, a shy little mouse? Is that how you saw yourself? I remember thinking you were an angel, coming to me like that.”
“Wow. You are such a smooth talker.” She giggled as his hand slid possessively around her hip.
“I’m being completely honest.” He hugged her to him and kissed the top of her head again as they entered the cool shadows of the barn door.
* * * *
Early December
Angel patted his couch, and Teresa sat down with him and looked into his light brown eyes. He still seemed a bit concerned about her going out with the girls for Rachel’s surprise bachelorette party.
“You’re sure you want to go tonight?”
Teresa smiled at him reassuringly. “I do, Angel. Rachel is my friend, and I want to celebrate with her. Adam said he’d get me a seat right behind him, so that I wouldn’t need to worry about the dancers touching me. I think it will be fun, and I’ll stick close to him. What about you?”
“I was worried you might be jealous of me going to a strip club, sweetheart. It would be understandable.”
“I don’t mind if you want one of the girls to dance for you, Angel. I know you’re not going to do anything…physical with any of them,” she said. Adam had also told her that the club they were visiting had a strict hands-off policy. If the men touched the dancers, they were ejected from the club.
“I appreciate your trust, but…” It was rare for Angel to be at a loss for words.
“But what?”