“You’re right about the ideals,” Morgan said. “We were taught respect—of ourselves, other people and Mother Earth. That was a good thing.”
“It is a good thing.” Dominique looked across the table at Morgan. “That reminds me. Did you take your parents out to the sacred site while they were here for the wedding? It seems like something they’d like.”
“There wasn’t time. When they come back, I definitely will. They would love it.”
Tyler swallowed a bite of the best steak she’d had in ages and cut herself another one. “What sacred site?”
Dominique gave Nick a warm glance before turning back to Tyler. “You should get Morgan to take you out there while you’re here. It’s a large, flat rock that’s big enough for you to park a pickup on, although you wouldn’t want to. The rock is granite laced with quartz. The veins of quartz sparkle in the sun…or in the moonlight.”
Tyler figured Dominique and Nick had shared some moonlit time on that rock. She was intrigued. “And why is it sacred?”
“It’s part of the Shoshone tribe’s belief system.” Emmett hooked an arm around Pam’s chair and leaned forward to look down the table at Tyler. “When Archie and Nelsie Chance moved onto the ranch property, they discovered that the tribe conducted ceremonies out there, even though the land didn’t officially belong to them. So Archie and Nelsie told them they were welcome to continue, but the tribe doesn’t hold ceremonies much these days.”
“Wow.” Tyler glanced over at Morgan. “You have to take Mom and Dad out there next time they visit. They would eat that up with a spoon. I’m surprised you didn’t make time while they were here last summer.”
“I thought of it. I just…didn’t want to encourage any weirdness during the wedding.” She winked at Tyler. “If you know what I mean.”
“Oh, totally. Good call. They could have decided you needed a shaman to bless your union, and no telling what else they would have dreamed up once they were inspired by an ancient Native American ceremonial site.” Tyler turned back to Emmett. “So what’s this sacred stone supposed to do for a person?”
“According to legend, it provides clarity. So if you’re dealing with some issue and you’re mixed up about it, the stone is supposed to help you figure it out.”
“That could come in handy.”
“Oh, it has,” Nick said. Once again he and Dominique exchanged a fond glance.
Jack cleared his throat. “Then again, sometimes it’s just a great place to share a few beers with your brother.”
“That, too,” Nick agreed.
“Well, now I have to see this sacred site,” Tyler said. “I don’t have any large issues I’m dealing with, but I still want to see it. After all, I was raised by flower children, so even though I’ve left that life behind, I haven’t completely rooted out those woo-woo tendencies.”
Gabe put down his coffee cup. “Neither has Morgan. We took a trip out there when we were deciding on names for the baby.”
“Just don’t call her Sunshine or Starlight,” Tyler said.
“Or Moonbeam,” Morgan said with a laugh. “Don’t worry. It’ll be a gender-specific name that won’t make a single person wince. I promise.”
Sarah rolled her eyes and heaved a martyred sigh. “There you go again, tempting us with the fact that you both know whether the baby’s a boy or a girl, and we don’t. Why not just
tell
us?”
“Because we like the suspense,” Gabe said with a laugh. “And we don’t want any preconceived notions about this baby. This kid could decide to be a rancher or a foreign diplomat. We don’t want anyone making plans for the kid’s future based on gender.”
“Other than teaching manners and the two-step,” Morgan said. “I’m good with that.”
Sarah tucked her napkin beside her plate. “Well, some of us are on pins and needles and can hardly wait until the official due date. Some of us are going quietly insane as we deal with this suspense you love so much.”
“Then maybe this is the time to share our news,” Josie said. “That might give you something else to think about, Sarah.”
Sarah straightened and fixed a laserlike gaze on Josie. “Are you saying that you and Jack are…”
“Confirmed this morning.” Jack’s dark eyes glowed with pride. “Josie and I are going to have a baby.”
The dining room exploded as chairs scraped back and everyone jumped up to give hugs, squeals and hearty congratulations. Tyler caught a glimpse of Alex enfolding Josie in a warm embrace, and for some unexplained reason that brought tears to her eyes. Maybe she was imagining how Alex would react when he received the news that he’d be a father rather than simply an uncle.
She couldn’t really say why she was feeling so emotional. Babies were fine for Morgan and Josie, but Tyler wasn’t into them, at least not at this point in her life. Babies equaled the loss of freedom to pursue work that she loved.
She understood there were trade-offs, but she wasn’t interested in hearing about them right now. If she were totally honest with herself, she’d admit that listening to a woman rhapsodize about the joys of marriage and children might interfere with her enjoyment of the single life and her career success.
Maybe a part of her envied the spontaneous joy generated by Josie and Jack’s announcement. The ship’s crew celebrated things, too, but it was…different. The emotions around this table ran far deeper. She hadn’t realized until now what she was missing, yet she wasn’t willing to give up a dynamite career for that kind of connection. Or was she?
In the chaos surrounding Josie’s announcement, Tyler was surprised to hear Alex’s voice speaking her name. She turned to find him crouched beside her chair, his expression worried.
“Are you okay?” he asked. “You look a little pale.”
She met his gaze. “Do you know where this Shoshone sacred site is located?”
“Yeah, I’ve been out there a couple of times.”
She guessed that he’d gone because he needed to sort through his thoughts about Crystal. She decided not to ask. “Do you know if it’s still raining?”
“No, but it was letting up about the time we came in. Why?”
“Because I’d like to go out there.” She’d been so sure of what she wanted, and now doubts pelted her like hail. Her big promotion was within reach. She could always settle down later after she’d enjoyed that promotion for a few years. But it wouldn’t be with Alex, and it wouldn’t involve this family.
“Now?”
“Right now, if that’s at all possible. Will that look too crazy?”
Alex stood. “I don’t care if it looks crazy or not. If you want to go, we’ll go. Let me get the keys to one of the ranch trucks.”
She liked that he fell in with her gonzo plan so easily. Not all guys would. She liked many things about Alex, in fact. Too many things. The sacred site was supposed to give a person clarity. She desperately needed that.
7
TWENTY MINUTES LATER, Alex was at the wheel of one of the older ranch trucks, with Tyler belted into the passenger seat beside him as they bounced down a rutted road toward the sacred Shoshone site. Tyler had gone up to her room for a dark green hoodie, and he’d grabbed his denim jacket from the closet and an old blanket from the top shelf.
The night was cool, so he kept the windows rolled up on the truck. After the rain it wouldn’t be particularly cozy on the granite, either, but he’d do what he could to compensate. He’d so hoped for an innerspring mattress tonight, but it didn’t seem to be in the cards.
“By coming out here, I think we’ve tipped our hand,” Tyler said. “Everybody must have guessed that we’re…temporarily together.”
“Oh, well.”
“I just had to get out of there for a while.”
Alex wasn’t sure what was bothering her, but he had some ideas. “You looked a little freaked out after Josie made her announcement.”
“I was, and I’m still trying to figure that out. You looked really happy, though.”
“I was. This will be great for her and Jack, and Sarah’s going to be in hog heaven with two grandchildren to run after. Plus, the kids will be close in age, so they can grow up together. It’s nice for everyone concerned.”
Tyler groaned. “Stop the truck.”
He slammed on the brake. “Are you sick?”
“Not physically. I’m sick with guilt. Talk about self-centered! I dragged you out here when you should be back there celebrating with everyone. Please turn around and go back. I’m so, so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Alex took his foot off the brake and put it back on the gas. “I’d rather be out here with you.”
“That’s nice of you to say, but you’re missing the festivities. I’ll bet they moved the party into the living room and lit a fire. They’re toasting those two babies, and you’ll be the proud uncle of one and probably the adopted uncle of the other one. You should be there with Josie.”
“She doesn’t need me there. She has Jack.”
“I should be there with Morgan.”
Alex sighed. “That makes no real sense. You saw how Josie and Morgan instantly went into a huddle to discuss diet and exercise programs, and whether Josie can fit into some of Morgan’s early maternity clothes.”
“Yeah, I did. And that’s great. They’ll be a terrific support system for each other.”
“Feeling like an outsider?”
She leaned her head against the back of the worn cloth seat. “Yeah, I guess I am. Maybe that’s part of it. But to be an insider, I’d have to marry somebody and get pregnant right away. I won’t do that, of course, but the power of suggestion is a scary thing.”
Alex watched the road for critters. Back in Chicago he’d had to worry about other drivers. Out here he had to worry about hitting a raccoon or a skunk. “I suppose there is a lot of home-and-hearth sentiment swirling around the Last Chance right now.”
“Which is so not me.”
“I get that, Tyler.”
“I know you do, which is one of the reasons I asked you to bring me out here. You may be the only person from that dinner-table crowd who truly understands that I’m not ready for a husband and kids. Morgan says she understands, but I can see in her eyes that she’d love to have me find a guy and settle down, maybe even in Jackson Hole.”
“That’s natural. I’m sure she misses you when you’re gone for long stretches.” He didn’t want to imagine what his life would be like after she left, either. He was afraid the joy would leach right out of his days and nights.
“And I miss her, too, but that’s the nature of the job. On the upside, I get to see amazing places all over the world, and the passengers are terrific, for the most part. Many of them have invited me to visit, and I’m sure their homes are gorgeous. You couldn’t afford this type of luxury cruise if you didn’t have plenty of money.”
“Do you think you will visit them?”
“Probably not. The little time I have off I’ll want to spend with family. Morgan’s the first one to establish an actual home somewhere, but I’ll bet the others will, too, eventually.”
“And your parents? Will they finally stay put somewhere?”
Tyler chuckled. “I doubt it. I picture them waiting until we all have places of our own, and then they’ll make the rounds. I’ve figured out that my dad is ADD. He can’t stick with one job or one place for more than a month or two before he gets bored. I inherited the wanderlust, but I’ve been able to keep this job for almost six years. And I love it. It’s perfect for me.”
“I’m sure it is.” And yet…now he wasn’t so sure. She kept saying how much she loved her lifestyle, almost as if she needed to keep repeating her dedication to the job to ward off any change to the plan. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on his part.
Tyler peered out the window. “It’s very dark out here, isn’t it?”
“Especially tonight, with all the clouds. I’m afraid you won’t see the moon glittering on the quartz unless I use a flashlight.”
“You have one, though, right?”
“There should be one in the glove compartment.”
As she reached to open it, he remembered what else was in there. She’d waited on the porch while he’d brought the truck around, and he’d used that opportunity to shove a handful of condoms into the glove compartment. A handful was excessive, but he hadn’t had time to figure out how many he might need, so he’d just grabbed some.
Sure enough, the minute she opened the compartment, several condom packages tumbled out and fell to the floor of the truck. She began to laugh. “Are the ranch trucks normally stocked with these?”
“No. That was me doing the stocking.” And the sight of them had jump-started his libido.
“I see. That’s quite a supply.”
“I didn’t want to run out.” But as eager as he felt to have her, even those might not be enough.
“Is that so? I don’t remember needing that many in August. Have you shortened your recovery time?”
He wouldn’t doubt it. She seemed to be affecting him more strongly than she had last summer. “I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” And soon, very soon.
“That depends on whether there’s a flashlight in here. It wasn’t snake season when I lived here as a kid, but last summer I distinctly remember being warned about walking around in the dark without a flashlight because of snakes.”
“It was warmer then. August.” He didn’t want her to get distracted thinking about wildlife. He wanted her mind to be firmly where his was—on sex. “It’s too cold out for varmints to be out moseying around.”
She glanced over at him. “Listen to you, sounding like Yosemite Sam! I’m beginning to think you have turned into a real cowboy, after all.”
He lapsed into a slow drawl. “In that case, ma’am, could I interest you in going for a little…ride?” He wanted her so much he could taste it.
She reached over and stroked his thigh. “Sounds like fun.”
“I guaran-damn-tee it.” Ah, that single touch was all it took for his cock to strain against his fly.
Moving her hand, she rubbed his crotch.
He drew in a quick breath. “You might want to be careful, ma’am. That gun is loaded.”
“I can tell.” She continued to fondle him. “Are we there yet?”
“We’re close, and I’m not talking about the sacred site, either.” Clenching his jaw, he brought the truck to a stop and switched off the engine.
“Why are we stopping?”
“Honey, we’re just getting started.” He opened his door and the overhead light flashed on. He turned to her and raked her with his gaze. “By the time I come around to your side, I want your jeans and your panties off.”
“Are all cowboys as bossy as you?” Her eyes darkened and excitement trembled in her voice.
“Don’t know. Don’t care. Just do it.” He couldn’t remember ever being this desperate to have a woman. He’d hoped to hold out until they reached their destination, but he couldn’t see himself driving another ten feet, let alone another mile, without some relief.
When he opened the passenger door and the dome light came on again, he was greeted by the welcome sight of Tyler shoving her jeans and panties over her ankles. She’d already taken off her shoes and socks, which left her dressed only in her shirt and green hoodie. He didn’t need those off right now.
She glanced at him, her cheeks rosy with excitement. “I did it, but I think you’re crazy.”
“Most likely.” He scooped up a condom packet from the floor at her feet and unbuttoned his fly.
“I don’t know how you plan to manage sex under these conditions.”
“I’ll figure out the logistics as we go.” The situation was fast approaching the critical point. He got the condom on in record time. “Turn toward me.”
But as she did that, he could see it wouldn’t work to take her that way. With the first thrust, he’d knock himself out cold on the roof of the cab. He leaned in and cradled the back of her head with one hand so he could kiss her, although a kiss would only make things worse for him. But he needed to kiss her, needed to feel that plump mouth moving against his.
He could go on kissing her forever, if only he weren’t ready to explode. He used his free hand to explore the wonders between her silky thighs, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and started moaning softly.
He lifted his mouth a fraction away from hers. “Wrap your legs around my waist. I’m going to pick you up and reverse our positions so I’m sitting on the seat.”
“Where will I sit?”
“On me, little lady.”
“Okay.”
As fast as she was breathing and as wet as she was, she probably would have said okay to any suggestion he made, including doing it on the hard ground. But he wasn’t that frantic…yet.
Putting one arm around her shoulders, he slid the other one under her bottom and lifted her out of the truck. Fortunately he remembered to bend his knees, which gave him better leverage and kept him from throwing his back out or banging her head on the same truck roof he was trying to avoid. He thought longingly of the king-size mattress in Jack’s bedroom, but he’d make do with the conditions he’d been given.
He only staggered once as he turned around, but she gave a little cry of alarm and tightened her grip.
“Everything’s fine. Keep your head down.”
“If you drop me, Alex Keller…”
“I won’t.” He made contact with the seat and slowly sank back, propping his butt against it. They were almost in a doable position, except she was still mostly out of the truck.
She nibbled on his lower lip. “So what’s your next move, Houdini?”
“I’m thinking.”
Keeping one arm around his neck, she reached down and took hold of his dick, condom and all. “I know where this belongs.”
His voice was hoarse. “Me, too. I’m just not sure how to…”
“This is turning into a number from Cirque du Soleil.”
“I know.”
“Let me maneuver a bit.”
Unwrapping one leg from around his waist, she held on to his cock as if needing it for balance while she propped her knee on the seat next to his hip.
Her grip threatened to send him over the edge, so he started counting backward from a hundred to distract himself.
“Are you doing a countdown?”
“If you don’t hurry, that’s exactly what it will turn into.”
“Scoot back a little.”
He obeyed and kept counting.
She managed to get the other knee in position so she was straddling him. “Move back a little more.”
He followed her directions and then, miracle of miracles, they were there. His cock was poised at the entrance to all things special. Her mouth found his, and she suckled his tongue as she slowly lowered her hips, taking his throbbing penis bit by torturous bit.
He resisted the urge to thrust upward. She’d engineered this feat, and she had the right to tease him. He took satisfaction in knowing she was teasing herself, too. After that night in the hayloft, he knew exactly how much she liked having him deep inside her. She’d told him all about that…in detail.
When at last he was in up to the hilt, she drew back to look into his eyes. In the glow from the dome light, her eyes flashed with dark fire. “There,” she said, her voice husky. “Mission accomplished.”