Midnight Thunder(INCR) (5 page)

“No, they probably don't care.” Rosie gave him a fond smile. “That's the kind of guys you all are. I suppose you'll want to stay in your old cabin, but the beds aren't made and the place hasn't been dusted in months.”

“Doesn't matter.” Cade had assumed that's where they'd bunk. “Do you still keep the sheets and blankets in that big hall closet?”

“Yes, but if you all just sleep in the house, it'll mean less work for you.”

“But it wouldn't be as much fun.”

“I suppose not.” She gazed at him. “Maybe Lexi would be willing to help you get that cabin ready.”

“Nah, I can handle it.” He wasn't sure how to approach the situation with Lexi, but he didn't want to start out by asking her to do chores that were rightly his.

“Go on home, Cade.” Rosie made a shooing motion with her hand. “You have things to take care of.”

“Okay.” He gave her another peck on the cheek and left the room. Yes, he had several things to take care of, including his broken relationship with Lexi. When he'd been hundreds of miles away, he'd convinced himself to let her go. But that kiss had changed everything.

 

4

L
EXI
HAD
SHOWERED
and changed clothes by the time Cade's truck pulled up outside. Her frequent trips out of town for riding clinics had turned her into a speed packer, so when Herb had called to ask if she'd housesit, she'd only needed five minutes to pack a bag before heading for Thunder Mountain Ranch.

Thank goodness she hadn't been on a trip when Herb had called. Her next gig was more than a week away, and by then— But she didn't really want to project too far ahead. Despite hearing from her mother that the situation seemed to be under control, Lexi couldn't erase the memory of Herb's frantic phone call.

He was an animal vet, not a people doctor, but if Herb had been scared, Lexi figured there'd been a reason. She was eager to hear Cade's opinion now that he'd actually seen Rosie. But that wasn't why her heart hammered and her breathing pattern changed when she heard his boots on the porch as he crossed to the front door.

It was unlocked because Herb and Rosie never bothered locking up during the day when they were home. Although at one time Cade had enjoyed the freedom to walk right in, Lexi didn't think he'd assume that he could do it now. Rather than wait for his knock, she crossed to the door and opened it.

He looked even sexier than he had earlier. Or maybe that hard, desperate kiss had affected how she viewed him. His day's growth of beard was unusual, or it had been five years ago. He'd always said he kept his chin silky-smooth for her.

The prickle of his beard this morning had startled her because she wasn't used to that with Cade. But his lips had felt achingly familiar. Beard or no beard, she wanted to kiss him again.

He walked through the door and set down a battered duffel bag. “Thought I might as well bring this in so I can shave and shower at some point.”

“Good idea.” Her brisk tone covered a zing of awareness. It had been a natural thing for him to say, yet now she was thinking of stroking his freshly shaven cheek and breathing in the scent of soap. “How's Rosie?”

“Feisty.”

“Yeah?” That surprised a chuckle out of her. “How so?”

He walked over to the couch and sank down on it. “She let me know that if I'd called the Brotherhood together because I thought she was going to croak, that I'd seriously miscalculated. And she
really
doesn't want any of us bringing her flowers, FYI.”

“That's funny.” Lexi chose an easy chair that was at a right angle to the couch. “Any word from her doctors?”

He shook his head. “You know how that goes. They'll want to run a bunch of tests before they say anything definitive. Mom's convinced herself it's a false alarm, but...”

“You aren't so sure?”

He took off his hat and propped it on his knee. “No.” Leaning his head against the back of the couch, he closed his eyes. “I want to be convinced, but when I first got there and hugged Dad, I could feel his fear. And he has a medical background, so it's not like he's clueless about what's going on.”

“I thought the same thing.” The way Cade leaned back and closed his eyes made her wonder if he had a headache. He used to get them when he was stressed. Having her massage his temples used to help, but the only surefire cure had been a round of hot sex.

“Anyway, they sent me home to get some sleep, but there's no time.”

“Why not?”

He sat up and glanced at her. “Too many things to handle. By the way, I noticed you'd turned the horses out and put Hematite in the little paddock.”

“I thought you'd want him isolated at first.”

“You did exactly right. We need to see how he settles in here before turning him out with the others. But did he behave himself?”

“Sure did.”

“Great. That's great. How about Ringo?”

“He's fine. I found a litter box in the storage shed along with half a bag of litter and a cat bed. You know Rosie and Herb, always figuring another stray will show up.”

“Thanks for taking care of him for me. Damn. I should have stopped for cat food. I'll get some when I go back. He usually sleeps during the day, so I might as well leave him in the bathroom until I get the cabin ready.”

She should have guessed he'd want to bunk there. “Have you heard from the guys?”

“I'm picking up Damon at one and Finn at three.”

She checked the grandfather clock ticking away in the corner. “That gives you time to take a nap in one of the guest rooms. I'll get the cabin ready.” He did have a headache, poor guy. She could see it in his eyes.

“Thanks, but I wouldn't feel right about that. My brothers, my job.” He put on his hat and stood. “Mom said the sheets were still in the hall closet.”

“They are, but I can do it.” She followed him out of the living room.

“Not as well as I can. I'll bet you wouldn't think to stick a rubber snake in Finn's bed.”

“Please tell me you're not going to do that.”

He glanced at her and grinned.

“This isn't the time or place. Don't be an idiot.”

“Too late.” He chuckled as he opened the bifold doors and pulled sheets and pillowcases from a shelf labeled Bunk Beds.

“Cade!”

“I'm not going to do it, but it's good to know I can still get you riled up. Hold these while I pull out the blankets.”

“And then you'll let me finish the job while you take a nap, right?”

“Wrong.”

“What if you fall asleep at the wheel because you're exhausted?” She was caretaking, but she couldn't help it. If he pushed himself too far and something happened to him or the other two, then where would they be? The thought was unacceptable on so many levels, especially the deepest one, where Cade would live forever in her heart.

“I won't fall asleep at the wheel.” After hauling blankets out of the closet, he folded them over his arm.

“Right. I keep forgetting that you're Superman.”

“I keep forgetting that you have a smart mouth.” He closed the closet doors and turned to her. “I'll take the sheets now.”

She held on to them and stepped back. “Look, I don't want to tell you how to do this, but—”

“But you're about to.”

“It's just that the cabin should be vacuumed before you take these out there or they'll get all dusty.”

He paused. “Damn. You're right. Okay, we'll just pile this stuff on the couch until I'm ready for it. I wasn't thinking.”

“Which is why—”

“Don't start with me.” He glared at her as he walked back into the living room. “I'll be fine as long as I keep moving. Where's the vacuum cleaner?”

“You have a headache.”

He laid the blankets on the couch. “You don't know that.”

“Yes, I do. You have that squinty look.” She deposited the sheets on top of the blankets. “You should at least lie down for a while.”

He turned to her with a sigh. “Let up on me, okay? I'm doing the best I can with a shitty situation.”

Remorse hit her. She'd allowed fear for his safety to turn her into a nagging pest, which wasn't getting either of them anywhere. “I'm sorry. I just—”

“I know.” His voice gentled. “And you're right about everything. I'm sure you'd be more efficient at getting the cabin ready. I should accept your generous offer and get some sleep. But I doubt I
could
sleep. I'm way too keyed up about Mom, and—” he paused “—about you.”

She met his gaze. This might not be the time, but they wouldn't be alone like this much longer. “Would you ever have come back?”

“I don't know.” He hesitated. “But I'm here now, and it's like I never left. No, that's not right. I want you as much as ever, even when you're a pain in the ass. I think I want you even more than I did before, but what used to be simple...isn't.”

The heat in his eyes made her tremble. “It was never simple.”

“Oh, sometimes it was. On a hot summer night when nothing mattered but taking off our clothes and losing ourselves in each other, it seemed pretty damned simple.”

She was stunned into speechlessness. That brief, honest description hurled her back to those nights, and she ached for him as fiercely as she had then. In his mind, the sex had been fun and uncomplicated. She'd been the one who'd loaded down the relationship with expectations.

He blew out a breath. “But obviously that's not how you remember it. Let's postpone this discussion, okay? Just point me in the direction of the vacuum cleaner so I can get started.”

She should do that and go about her business. But there he stood, so jacked up with worry and sexual frustration that he couldn't get the sleep he needed. She was pretty tense, too, but the few hours of rest she'd had meant her brain wasn't completely fried. “I have an idea.”

“What's that?”

“We'll fix up the cabin together, so it'll go twice as fast. Then you don't have to feel guilty about me doing it while you're lying in a guest room staring at the ceiling.”

He looked unsure, but at last he nodded. “I guess that'll be okay.”

“I'll get the vacuum cleaner and a laundry basket so we can carry everything at once. Oh, and you'll need towels and washcloths, so pull some of those out of the closet. And bars of soap.”

“Yeah, I forgot about that stuff.” He rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I need to shower and get rid of this scruff before I go to the airport, or they'll think I've turned into a vagrant.”

“Then you might as well bring your duffel, too.”

“Makes sense.”

Wow, that part had been easy. Her plan could still fall apart at any point along the way, and if it did, oh, well. But so far, so good. Anticipation and a slight case of nerves made her shiver as she headed for the laundry room where Rosie kept her canister vacuum cleaner.

Moments later they left the house with Cade lugging an oversize laundry basket full of linens and the vacuum. Lexi carried his duffel. Too bad she didn't have X-ray vision so she could see what was inside. When they'd been dating he'd always carried condoms, but that didn't mean he had any with him now.

He paused to gaze at the rugged Bighorn range, still dusted with snow above the tree line. “I've missed those mountains.”

“So you didn't get attached to the ones in Colorado?”

“Oh, they're pretty enough, but these feel like home.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask if that meant he might be moving back. But that was a loaded question. Instead, she resorted to a weather comment, always a safe topic. “It's a beautiful day.”

He glanced up at the blue sky dotted here and there with white puffy clouds. “It is. Good weather seems weird when you have a crisis. Seems like it ought to be raining.”

“I'm glad it's not, with sleepy people driving around.”

“I know you're worried about that, but don't be.” He started off toward the cabins again. “I'll be okay from here to the airport, and I can always put Damon behind the wheel once he gets here.”

“You should definitely do that.” She fell into step beside him. “Unless he's been up all night, too. Maybe I should drive you.”

“No. Much as I appreciate the offer, I'm not being chauffeured to the airport to pick up my bro. That would be lame.”

“Okay.” She doubted he'd ask Damon to drive, either, but at least having a passenger should help keep him alert. Cade liked to think he didn't need any help, ever. That had been part of the problem when she'd been focused on wringing a commitment out of him.

They approached three tidy log cabins grouped in a partial semicircle in a meadow about thirty yards from the main house. In the center a ring of wooden benches surrounded a fire pit that had seen many cookouts. A shared washhouse behind the cabins had kept the plumbing costs down, although Lexi hadn't envied those boys having to go out there in the winter. But all the boys had acted as if trudging through the snow to wash up had been a test of their manhood.

“Sure brings back memories.” Cade paused again to look around. “It's too quiet, though.”

“I know what you mean.” She fished the key out of her pocket and walked over to the first cabin in the row, the one Cade, Damon and Finn had claimed soon after it had been built. “I asked Herb and Rosie if they'd ever thought of renting these so they wouldn't sit empty, but they didn't seem interested.”

“They might reconsider. Apparently they took in those other horses because they hated to see the stalls unused.”

“So do you think they're finding retirement too tame?”

“Could be.”

“Knowing them, that's not so surprising.” She left his duffel outside and opened the door. The air was a little musty but not bad. The amenities consisted of two sets of bunk beds, four built-in desks, each with a lamp, two dressers and one closet. Cowboy-themed curtains hung at each of the four windows, but otherwise the room had no decorations.

Lexi opened a window and let in some fresh air. The last time she'd been in here, a couple of weeks before she and Cade had had their epic fight, the walls had been covered with posters, framed photographs and a nonworking neon Budweiser sign Finn had found at a yard sale.

The Thunder Mountain Brotherhood, as they'd dubbed themselves, had stayed on at the ranch after graduating from high school. They'd realized how much Herb and Rosie needed them to work with the younger kids. Cade had taken courses in equine behavior at Sheridan's community college, while Damon had apprenticed with a local carpenter and Finn had enrolled in online business classes until he was old enough to train as a bartender. But most of their free time had been devoted to helping Rosie and Herb.

Cade left the basket of linens on the front stoop next to his duffel and brought in the vacuum cleaner. “It's a little stark, isn't it?”