Annie And The Cowboy (Western Night Series 3) (82 page)

***

Lucy sat in the front seat reading and re-reading her messages with Colby. He was such a gentleman, she couldn’t believe men like that existed. She glanced over at Elias in the driver’s seat and bit the inside of her cheek. She’d been with him for so long that she just assumed he was the best she was going to get. She looked back down at Colby’s messages and suppressed a sigh. She’d assumed men like this were only in the movies, but here one was wanting to get to know and marry her! Well, a version of her anyway.

“So what name did you give him?” Elias asked. Lucy looked over at him and ran a weary hand through her hair.

“Lily.” She said simply. Elias nodded and smiled. He patted her leg and turned back to the road.

“That’s my girl. Keep it simple and close to the truth so that you don’t mess up. Now let’s go over the plan again.” He said. Lucy groaned and closed the messages on her tablet. She couldn’t bear to read his words and discuss their plan to steal from him.

“Do we have to?” She asked, not wanting to go over it for a fourth time. Elias shot her a glare.

“Yes. We are at Tucson city limits and we will be at the motel soon. I need to make sure we are on the same page so we don’t screw this up and get arrested. What’s first?” He said tersely. Lucy sighed and looked out the window. They kept the top up on the convertible once they entered Arizona because all the dust was irritating her eyes. It was a beautiful landscape, and Tucson seemed a little less desert-like than what they had driven through.

“We will get to the motel, you will check-in for the week and I will take the car to the mark. I will get to know him—as we agreed—to keep up pretenses while I send you pictures of the valuables worth stealing.” Lucy recited. Elias nodded along with her, mouthing the words as she said them.

“And what else will you look for?” He prompted. Lucy fought the urge to roll her eyes. He made her feel like a child at times.

“A safe.” She said through clenched teeth. Elias grinned, ignoring her frustration and patted her leg again.

“You’ve got it, babe. This is going to go great as long as we stay on top of it. We can’t falter.” He told her. He pulled into the motel parking lot and put the car in park so that they could switch. He had purposefully chosen the motel on the edge of town so that it would be less likely for him to be identified with her. Lucy stared at him, her eyes wide with concern and worry.

“And after this we’re done and you’re going to give me a proper wedding?” She verified. Elias smiled and kissed her sweetly.

“With a cake and everything.” He said, pulling away and getting out of the car. Lucy followed him and took his place in the driver’s seat. She had this feeling in her stomach that it was just another lie, but she wanted to believe differently. She imagined her little house on the beach and smiled. That was all she wanted, now.

“I’ll see you in a few days.” He said, leaning in through the window and giving her another kiss.

“Okay.” Lucy said, kissing him once more and pulling out of the parking lot. She looked back in the rearview mirror once to see him waving at her, his bag slung over his shoulder. She sighed again and turned her attention back to the road. She tried to push Elias out of her mind and focus on the job at hand. Nerves began to fill her the closer she got to the final destination. Each turn her GPS told her to make made her stomach flutter.

“It’s okay, I’m just about to meet my future fake husband.” She told herself. She pulled up to the ranch and came to a stop in the long drive that looped in front of the house before heading back to the main road. She put the car in park and just stared at it, open mouthed. It was a gorgeous house. It wasn’t huge, by any means, but it was the perfect size for a family. Lucy smiled to herself and shut her car off. She’d only seen the adobe outside, but already it felt like home. She walked up to the door, her nerves returning, and knocked. Colby jumped at the unexpected sound and dropped the book he was replacing on his shelf. He glanced behind him at the clock on the stove and cursed. It was still before noon and he hadn’t been expecting her until the afternoon. He looked around the living space and wiped his face. He’d been cleaning all morning and while the house looked good, he on the other hand did not. He looked down at his dirty white t-shirt and lifted an arm to smell himself. He winced and grabbed the can of Lysol sitting on the kitchen counter. He lifted each arm and gave a spray underneath, not caring that he was using cleaner to mask his sweaty odor. With a defeated sigh, he ran his fingers through his hair and tied it back with his leather tie. The knock came again and he rushed to the front door, opening the solid piece of oak. Colby sucked in a breath at the sight of the beautiful woman in front of him and he tried to play it cool. She was taller than he expected—which he liked, considering his own 6’4” height—and curvy in all the right places.

Lucy’s heart stopped when he opened the door and she had to mentally kick-start it to get it beating again. His tanned skin was glistening with a thin layer of sweat and his bright green eyes stared at her with such welcoming openness she felt like crying. He was large with broad, muscular shoulders and a lean torso. Lucy wanted to lick her suddenly dry lips but she stopped herself and tried to conjure an image of Elias in her mind. She stuck her hand out, giving him one of her most charming smiles and tried to remember the fake name she had given him because her mind seemed to have gone completely blank at the sight of him.

“Hi, I’m Lily.” She introduced herself. Colby smiled and took her hand, electricity shooting through him at her touch.

“Colby. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lily. I’m so glad you could make it out.” He said, stepping back and inviting her inside. Lucy smiled her thanks and followed him into the house. The house was lined with the same rich wood as the door. It was worked into built-in book cases and the baseboards along the stone floor. The ranch had high ceilings and Lucy looked up to see the skylights that allowed natural illumination to light the house. It was just as beautiful inside as it was outside and she felt instantly more at ease with the homey atmosphere.

“How was your drive? It must not have been very long, I wasn’t expecting you until this afternoon.” He said, running a hand over his hair and averting his gaze shyly. Lucy smiled genuinely at him, his modest behavior making her heart skip excitedly.

“I’m sorry, I should have let you known when I was getting close. I drove all night, it was cooler that way. I knew Arizona was hot, but I didn’t expect that.” She teased, putting her charming smiled back on and wandering through his living room. She took out her phone and discretely began snapping pictures of his 60” TV, his multiple gaming systems, and other valuables he had in the room. Perhaps if she could do this quickly, Elias wouldn’t wait a full week and they could to the job and get out of there before any attachments grew. Lucy glanced over at Colby out of the corner of her eye and sucked in a breath. Before any attachments on
either
side grew.

“No, it’s not a big deal. Yeah, a lot of the state it pretty hot. Luckily, we’re closer to the mountains here and get an afternoon rain which will cool things down at night.” Colby said, gesturing for Lucy to sit. Lucy smiled her thanks and took a seat, marveling at the quality of his leather couch. She might as well just photograph everything and tell Elias to take his pick because it was obvious that Colby purchased quality items.

“Would you like something to drink?” Colby offered, stuffing his hands in his pockets just to give them something to do. Lucy smiled at him, trying to give him her calming smile that worked on so many anxious targets in the past.

“Water would be great, thank you. So what all do you do out here, Colby?” She asked, making sure to use his name to build his trust. Guilt tore at her, making her feel briefly saddened that her experience and area of years of study was in manipulation. Maybe Elias was right, what else was she truly qualified to do? She pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind and put her smile back on when he took a seat beside her and handed her a glass of water.

“I’m a cattle rancher. My family and I raise cattle for meat. We treat our animals with the greatest kindness and allow them free range over the fields while they pasture. We feed them the highest quality cornmeal and when it comes time to slaughter, we try to do it as quickly and humanely as possible. That’s why we’re number one in the state. We care for our animals and our product, unlike a lot of other operations.” Colby explained. Lucy nodded as she listened, finding her nerves fade the longer she listened to his rich voice. He really care about what he did and he cared to do it the best way he could. She felt admiration grow for him in her breast and she looked down at the phone in her hand.

“That’s incredible. So your whole family is in the business?” She asked, trying to get him to keep talking. She listened while he explained the history of his family and how many generations they’d been in this business. His relatives were among the first to settle in this region back in the 1800’s when it was still the Wild West. As he went on, Lucy discretely began deleting some of the photos she took. Elias didn’t need to know about the vase on the shelf that was probably worth a couple hundred dollars, or the painting on the wall that was easily a few grand. She would only send him the obvious he would be expecting. She glanced back up at Colby and deleted a few more pictures. No matter what Elias’s goals were, she didn’t really want to take this wonderful man for everything he had. She wasn’t sure she wanted to take anything from him at all.

“What about you? Where’s your family from?” Colby asked, genuinely interested. Lucy took a deep breath and put her phone away. She pursed her lips in thought and let the breath out slowly.

“Well, I guess my family is originally from Guatemala, but they immigrated a long time ago. My great-great grandfather came over and moved to California where he got a job as a ranch hand. My family pretty much stayed there. They’re still there.” She said, trying to remember how long it had been since she’d seen any of them. She and Elias had run off shortly after her eighteenth birthday and they only went back once. Colby detected the sadness in her tone and resting his hand comfortingly on hers.

“Do you have any siblings?” He asked, trying to get to know her more. Lucy’s face brightened and she nodded.

“Oh yes. I have three brothers and two sisters. Two of my brothers and one of my sisters are older, the other two are younger. My older sister just had her third kid and my older brothers are each on their second.” Lucy said, laughing a little. Colby smiled and sipped his water. It felt so natural to talk to her, he barely noticed the passing of time at all. He just wanted to keep listening to her melodious voice and her laugh.

“Wow, that’s a big family! Are you the favorite aunt, then?” He asked, giving her a teasing smile. Lucy’s smile faded a little and she shook her head.

“Nah, they don’t really know me. I think I only met my sister’s oldest and one of my brother’s. It’s been a long time since I’ve been back to see any of them.” She said sadly. Colby felt bad for bringing it up and tried to think of something else to say to lighten the mood.

“Well, I always enjoy California. Maybe we can take a trip there sometime soon. I’m sure all the kids will be excited to see their Aunt Lily.” He said, giving her a wink. Lucy’s heart stopped and her growing smile at the idea froze. That’s right, she was Lily not Lucy. She put her charming smile back on and nodded, repressing the disappointment at the realization that his wonderful suggestion would never happen.

“Yeah, that’d be great.” She said, putting her hand over his to show him that she liked the idea and to establish intimacy. Colby gulped and stood up, walking over to the kitchen to get his blood moving through his body again.

“Are you hungry at all? It’s almost lunch time. I can make us something real quick and then show you the rest of the property.” Colby offered. Lucy smiled and nodded.

“I’d like that.” She said, following him into the kitchen. This was going to be a hard week, she had already lost herself and told him some very personal information. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to blow her cover.

***

Lucy stepped out of the shower and breathed the steam in deeply. She’d been with Colby for two days now and it was getting harder and harder to remember that she was there to do a job and not to actually marry him. He showed her around the property and took her on his daily routine taking care of the cows and everything. She was very impressed with his work and she loved watching him do it. He wore a cowboy hat over his long hair which he kept tied back and his t-shirt was typically matted to his chest from perspiration. He was an amazing man with a good heart and an amazing body. She would be lying to herself if she didn’t admit that she was attracted to him. However, like a gentleman, he hadn’t made any physical moves toward her to her disappointment. She knew she wouldn’t be able to accept anyway, since she was always faithful to Elias, but a kiss wouldn’t hurt. That was just part of the job, right?

She sighed and wrapped the towel around her, walking into the guest bedroom she was residing in. She picked up her phone and resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the text messages Elias had sent her. She was getting sick of his “plans.” She just wanted this to be over. She tossed the phone back on her bed and began to dress for bed. Colby had gone to bed the same time she had hoped in the shower and she was sure he would be asleep by now. Dressed in her nightgown with her wet hair combed back Lucy felt restless. She was tired but she knew sleep was far from her grasp. Picking up her phone, she snuck out of her room and tip toed to the patio. She quietly slid the door open and stepped out into the cool night air. The house was dark, and she relaxed knowing that she was alone. She took a few deep breaths in, allowing herself to relax. She stared at her phone, contemplating calling Elias before deciding that hearing his voice would give her the courage to finish this. She just had to make sure that he would follow through on all his promises.