At the Cowboy's Mercy (13 page)

Every night brought him closer to leaving her again.
 

He stretched out on his side watching her sleep. He wasn't sure when it had stopped being just sex. Was it watching her tease old farmers into a smile, or watching her sitting on the counter in his kitchen, having painted herself in a corner? Maybe it was watching her lift her face to the breeze as they sat on the porch watching the sun set behind the hills, or listening to her whistle while she slopped blue paint on his bedroom walls. Or when she'd sucked a breath through her teeth when he pulled yet another splinter from her palm. But holy shit, he was in love with her.
 

And he couldn't do anything about it until he had something to offer her.
 

He rolled onto his back and stared at the newly-painted ceiling. If only he could do well in Corpus, he could set some of that money aside, have some kind of security for her so she'd never have to worry about her future again.

***

"Wake up."

Kennedy squeezed her eyes shut tighter against the sunlight. "It's my day off."

"I know, but I've got to go."

Her eyes popped open then. He was already dressed, and from the smell of him, freshly showered. She hadn't even felt him get out of bed.

She'd dreaded this day, when he left for Corpus, after the perfect week they'd had. And the Corpus rodeo was two weeks, if he did well. Part of her wanted him to come back before, but he wanted to win. He deserved to win.
 

She rolled over and looped her arms around his neck. "Good luck."

"Get out of bed. I want you to see something."

After a long stretch, she threw back the covers and padded behind him through the house and onto the front porch.

A green wooden porch swing hung from the roof of the porch on shiny new chains. It faced the west, so she could sit and watch the sun set.
 

"When did you do this?" she asked, running her hand over the smooth wood before sitting on it and drawing her bare legs up beneath her t-shirt.

"When you were at work. I replaced the old hooks yesterday and hoped you wouldn't notice, then got the swing hung this morning."

She lifted her gaze to him and saw something she never saw in Luke's face. Uncertainty. "I love it."

"Big enough for both of us when I get back."

Her chest clutched. It wasn't a proposal, but it was a declaration that he wanted her here when he returned. She unfolded her legs and wrapped her arms around him.
 

He didn't leave for another hour.

***

The bell over the door in the diner rang. Kennedy turned from getting her order and almost dropped the plates to the floor. Her father's lawyer Steven Jarvis walked through the door, looking out of place in his white shirt and tie among all the plaid shirts and t-shirts in the diner.

He sat at the counter, where she rested her two plates, trying to maintain her grip in her shock.

"You are very hard to track down. We need to talk."

She couldn't make her mouth work for a few moments. "Let me get these out, then I'll see if I can take a break."

She hurried down the counter and over to a booth in the corner, where Mr. Evans and Mr. Harvey were sitting.

"That an old boyfriend?" Mr. Harvey asked, narrowing his eyes at Steven.

"My father's estate lawyer."

"Even worse."

She couldn't deny that. She lingered as long as she could, going from table to table, dreading what Steven could possibly tell her--that her father owed even more money than they'd thought? That she was responsible for his debts now?

Finally she wandered back over and saw Jolene had given him a cup of coffee. His shoulders were tense, which meant he was impatient. She knew that well enough from all the meetings they'd had on how to handle her father's estate.

"What is it?"she asked.

He glanced around. "Is there some place we can talk that's more private?"

"Not during breakfast rush." She thought about telling him to come back in an hour, but her curiosity couldn't hold out that long. She'd already imagined all the worst possible things he could tell her.

"I didn't think a town this size would have a breakfast rush. How did you end up here, anyway?"

"Long story." She wanted to know how he'd managed to track her down, but first she wanted to know. "What are you doing here?"

"In the course of closing your father's estate, we found some things that belonged to your mother."

"My mother." The woman had died when Kennedy was in first grade. She could barely remember her.

"She had a safety deposit box with jewelry and bonds, and a life insurance policy marked for you."

She needed to sit down but there was no place behind the counter. "What?"
 

"Almost ten thousand dollars for you."

Shock bolted through her, weakening every muscle, made spots swim before her eyes before she could focus again. "Why didn't he tell me about the money?" She'd been with him there, constantly at the end.
 

"The paperwork was in your mother's things. He may well not have known about it. She may have been aware of his gambling problem even then and wanted to keep something aside for you, something he couldn't touch. You can get a new start, a new life."

A new life. She'd tried that before, once by choice, once by necessity. Did she really want to start again? She had a job she enjoyed--though she never would have thought so a year ago--friends, and a man who made a porch swing for her.
 

A man she wasn't ready to walk away from.
 

"When do I get the money?"
 

"It's taken me so long to track you down, the money's already in the bank."

She glanced at the clock, her mind already spinning. What did this mean? And what would she do with ten thousand dollars?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Luke tightened his knees on Rocky's sides and tried to even out his breathing as they waited in the chute. Rocky shifted beneath him, anxious to be off. Then the barrier broke and Rocky bolted forward of his own volition as Luke kept his eye on the young steer.
 

Within seconds, he was where he wanted to be. He leaned over, gripped one of the steer's horns, wrapped his elbow around the other and let himself be pulled from the saddle and onto the slowing animal. He hit a little higher than he wanted, his ribs striking the steer's shoulder, and he had to struggle for breath as his hands closed around the short horns and twisted. The animal slowed, turned, but Luke's rhythm was off. Wheezing, he dug his heels into the dirt and dragged the beast down. He felt the moment all four legs were off the ground, and struggled to his feet, only slightly aware of the roar of the crowd. He knew already his time sucked. He wasn't finishing in the money tonight, unless, by some miracle, the other competitors screwed up.
 

He staggered to the chute, letting one of the handlers fetch Rocky. Bending to scoop his hat off the ground took the last of his energy. He looked up, his vision wavering, and could have sworn he saw Kennedy standing next to Liam.

In a moment, his brother was beside him, ducking under his arm on his good side and guiding him out of the arena. And then a soft hand on his cheek. He turned, his eyes focusing on Kennedy. Really here, not an illusion. He unlooped his arm from around his brother's shoulders
 
and grabbed her, pulling her against his good side and kissing her until he really was out of breath.
 

"You taste good," he said, drawing back, his hand still hooked around the back of her neck, his fingers tangled in her hair.

"Okay, Romeo, you need to sit down." Liam dragged his brother to a nearby bench and dropped him on it. "Kennedy, go get the medic."

Luke shook his head and leaned forward to watch Kennedy go. "I just knocked the wind out of me."

"You hit that son of a bitch hard."

"What is she doing here?" He turned to look up at his brother.

"She came to see me ride. What the hell do you think? Take off your shirt."

Luke scowled at his brother.
 

"Do as he says," a pretty blonde ordered, preceding Kennedy, carrying a medical bag.
 

Liam straightened, and Kennedy hovered as the blonde crouched before him, pushing aside the fabric of his shirt to reveal one hell of a bruise blossoming. Her fingers were light, damn near ticklish as she examined him. He looked at Kennedy, whose eyes narrowed as the other woman touched him. Jealous? Why did that send a spike of pleasure through him?

"Looks like you have to be on top tonight," he teased.
 

Her concerned frown melted into a smile. "You must be hurt. You hate it when I'm on top."

"Honey, I never hate it when I'm in bed with you. Or on the counter, or against the wall..."

"Doc, you'd better check for a head injury," Kennedy said, not looking away.

The medic sat back on her heels. "His ribs may be cracked, not broken. I'd like to wrap them just to be safe, and you need an x-ray before you ride again."

"This is the last night and I don't head for California for another week. I'll be fine."
 

He buttoned his shirt, waited for the young medic to rise before he did himself, with more effort than he cared to admit. He was grateful Kennedy didn't rush to his side, instead just took his hand and let him set the pace.
 

"I didn't even see my time," he admitted.

"Three point eight," Liam volunteered.

Luke twisted toward his brother in surprise. "Really? Felt lot longer than that."

"So maybe we should wait to see if you're in the money," Kennedy said. "And then I'll take you to get something to eat."

He looked down at her curiously. Something was different about her and he couldn't put his finger on it. "Deal," was all he said.

She joined him at the rail, by his bad side. He wondered at the protective stance as they watched a replay of his run. He winced as the tape showed him hit the steer wrong. Kennedy laced her fingers through his as he catalogued his mistakes, then watched the next rider take off out of the chute, missing his steer altogether.
 

The next rider never got off his horse as the steer balked and backed toward the chute. Luke glanced at the scoreboard. Already Patrick Higgins was ahead of him, with a time of three point four. And there were three more riders. He could be knocked out of the top three easily. He tensed at the knowledge. He knew better than to spend money before he had it, but that didn't stop him from planning what he'd do with his next paycheck. This one was going to go into repairs on the barn.

The next rider took down his animal with a time that put him in third place behind Luke. Two more.
 

Garrett Hughes beat both he and Higgins with a time of three and three tenths. Finally Armando Hinojosa, the last rider, was mounted and ready. Luke watched on the big screen over the arena so he could watch the ride and keep track of the time. Hinojosa broke the barrier and barreled after the steer, who ran wide ahead of the hazer. Hinojosa followed and caught him, but lost precious time, and by the time he got the steer to the ground, he'd gone over Luke's time.
 

Relief escaped Luke in a breath as Kennedy screeched and jumped up and down beside him. She stopped herself before grabbing him, but only just. He chuckled and let her take him out to celebrate.

***

"How's your side?" she asked when they stepped into his RV. The familiarity of the place at once warmed her and made her sad. She'd been so pathetic when she showed up here in February. So much had changed. She was so much stronger now, and no longer dependent on him. She wasn't sure just how to break that information to him.

"Sore." He headed toward the bedroom at glacial speed.

He'd been moving slowly all evening, either hurting or scared to be hurting. "Maybe we should go to the hospital for an x-ray just in case."

He shook his head and lowered himself to the bed. "I'm not going to spend my winnings just for the doctor to tell me my ribs are cracked and there's nothing he can do." He reached for her, catching her hips and drawing her close. "Come here and take my mind off of it."
 

God, she loved kissing him, the rhythm they had, the taste of him, yeasty and smoky, the contrasting textures of his lips and rough stubble. She stood between his legs, one hand on his face, the other on the front of his shirt. He traced the curve of her ass with his fingertips, outlining the seam of her jeans from the small of her back to her pussy, prodding lightly against her opening. Wetness flowed to meet his touch, but she couldn't part her legs further, not in this position. She straightened, breaking the kiss, and opened his shirt, one button at a time, keeping her gaze locked with his.
 

"Tell me what you're going to do," he said, his voice a little strangled.

A flush heated her face, but she knew he liked to talk during sex. She swallowed her discomfort and went for teasing. "I'm going to get you naked."

"I thought you liked it when I fucked you with my clothes on."

"Not tonight."

"Once I'm naked, what are you going to do?"

"I'll get naked."

"I like the plan so far."

"Then I'm going to kiss you and rub my breasts against you." Just the anticipation of his chest hair against her nipples made them ache. "And I'm going to make you suck my nipples."

"Not a hardship. Is this making you wet, Kennedy?"

"I'm already wet. My panties are soaked, thinking about how you'll feel inside me."

"Christ." It was his turn to swallow as she peeled his shirt from his shoulders and knelt to work on his jeans. "How do I feel inside you?"

She looked up at him and winked. "I may have forgotten."

"You didn't." He choked out the words as she reached for his erection and drew it free from his jeans.
 

She leaned close to it, letting her breath gust over it. "Thick and hot. You stretch me and fill me and make me feel everything." She rose to take the head into her mouth, swiping her tongue along the underside, making him groan so loud the windows shook. Then she withdrew and sat on her heels. "But I want to come with you inside me."