Here Comes Trouble (20 page)

Jenny wasn't in active labor, the doctor
wanted to give the baby time to turn on his own, and give her a
chance to dilate a little more, instead of inducing labor now. He
was giving her another week or ten days for all that to
happen.

A false run was all this had been, Terri
realized and shook her head. After being at the hospital half the
night, going through this Chinese fire drill, he was sending Jenny
home. The same frustration that Jenny was experiencing filled Terri
as well.

Taking a deep breath, she told them, "Well,
folks, I'm heading out since we're not having a baby tonight...I'm
heading out," then she walked around the bed and leaned over to
kiss Jenny's cheek. Near her ear, she whispered, "Take it easy,
sugar...stay off your feet and all that...and don't let the natives
make
you
restless."

Jenny chuckled and gave her a squeeze. "I
could say the same to you...um, did you notice that Joel has the
same green stuff in his hair that you had in yours?"

Terri glanced over at Joel, who was staring at
her with worried eyes. Yep, there was a piece of the creek grass
right above his left ear. Heat shot up her neck and baked her
face.

"He must've fallen in the creek too. That's
good, because he needed a little cooling off," she whispered hotly
then stood. "Call me if you need me," Terri told her, then with one
final heated glance at Joel she headed out the door. She couldn't
get away from him fast enough to suit her.

"Terri--
wait
!" Joel shouted at Terri's
back. He was almost jogging to catch up with her. The nurse at the
station cast a nasty glance in his direction when he passed. Joel
caught her right before the elevator door closed. He grabbed the
door right before it closed and it reopened then he stepped inside.
"We need to talk," he told Terri with determination.

She folded her arms under her breasts and
watched the lights above the door, and that told Joel she wasn't
going to make this easy on him. There wasn't a damned thing easy
about Terri Cassidy, but he was determined to make the stubborn
woman listen, because he had to. It was important to him for her to
understand what she was thinking was wrong.

"C'mon, baby talk to me," he begged and
stepped closer.

Joel wasn't above begging, because he knew
what she'd seen and why she was mad. He wasn't dense. Karen had
used his shock over Chase and Jenny's situation to pretend she
still cared. Out of habit, he'd hugged her back. When he realized
what he'd done, he wanted to throw up, and apologize to Terri, but
she was gone. Instead, he'd taken out his anger on Karen, and felt
a little better afterwards, but not much. Joel still felt sick
inside, because of what Terri thought of him, and how she must be
feeling.

Taking another step toward her, he tried to
put his hand on her shoulder, but she slapped it off. "Don't touch
me," she told him without making eye contact.

Good god, if she wouldn't even let him explain
what had happened earlier, how the hell was he going to tell her
Karen was at the ranch?

"Can you give me a ride back to the ranch?" he
asked. Maybe between the hospital and home he would figure out how
to tell her.

"You can fucking walk there for all I
care...or get your
girlfriend
to bring you home," she told
him with a snort. "I'm sure your
wife
would like to meet
her."

"Girlfriend?" he asked and scratched his head
trying to figure out who the hell she was talking about. She sure
wasn't talking about herself.

"Yeah, that arm candy you came in
with...Socialite Sally in the soft pink sweater set," she
spat.

It finally dawned on Joel who she was talking
about...his sister. Joel's lips twitched, then he chuckled, and
before long he was holding his stomach he was laughing so hard. The
sound echoed off the metal walls of the elevator loudly. The doors
opened and he was still laughing. Terri gave him a hateful look
then turned her back on him and stomped out of the
elevator.

Joel got a grip on himself, then ran after
her. For such short legs, the woman sure could move! She was
outside the automatic door at the front of the hospital when he
finally grabbed her arm and stopped her. "Stop, Terri--Socialite
Sally is my
sister
!"

"Your
what
?" she turned around to face
him with narrowed eyes, disbelieving eyes.

"My little sister, Shauna...you didn't get to
meet her yet. And trust me she's about as far from a socialite or
pink sweater kind of girl as you'll find. Normally, her hair has
neon stripes and she has more holes in her than Swiss cheese," he
told her.

She pursed her full lips and tilted her head,
"You expect me to believe that woman is your sister? Jenny told me
that she's artsy and dresses kind of strange."

"I didn't recognize her either! She said she's
trying to be more normal to set a good example for the baby, if you
can believe that," Joel told her and his lips twitched.

When Terri lifted a brow and her lips puckered
more, Joel grabbed her hand and dragged her back inside the
hospital to introduce her to Shauna and end this
stupidity.

Terri pulled against his hold and shouted, "I
believe you, now stop!"

"So, will you give me a ride home then?" he
asked with a half-smile.

"I guess so," she huffed then turned and
stalked toward her truck. "But don't take that to mean I'm not mad
at you," she told him over her shoulder.

Joel followed, his grin easing up into a
full-blown smile as he watched the angry swish of her cute butt.
"I'd never assume anything where you're concerned, sugar," he told
her as he rounded the truck.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she
asked and pushed the button on her key fob to unlock the huge
pickup. Joel wondered why the petite woman had bought such a big
truck for herself. It was funny watching her scramble up inside,
and funnier watching her drive the darn thing.

He opened his door and told her, "Just that
you're one of a kind...special."

She cast him a wary glance and rolled her
eyes, then shoved the keys into the ignition. "Are you saying that
I'm mentally challenged? As in short-bus
special
?" she asked
angrily.

"No, ma'am...you're perfect," he told
her.

She was perfect...for him. The small fiery
woman was a force to be reckoned with when she got wound up. Like
when she told Karen off in the barn. He figured his ex-wife got the
message that she didn't want to tangle with her. It had been funny
to watch, but having Terri care enough to defend him like that had
touched Joel. That's when he knew he loved her, when he couldn't
deny it anymore.

Nobody outside of his family had ever done
that for him before.

Last year when he'd met Terri, Joel had been
in the darkest place he could ever remember being. Even though she
didn't know him from Adam, she didn't coddle him like Chase had
been doing. All the way from Henrietta to Amarillo, Terri had
kicked him in the balls and told him to get over
himself.

Suck it up and get on with your life
.
That had been her sage advice to him.

By the time they got to his parent's house in
Amarillo he was frustrated, but his head was clearer than it had
been in a month. And that night when they had made love, she had
single-handedly made him feel wanted and gave him hope, restored
his confidence in himself. He didn't know if she realized how much
it had meant to him.

In one day, he now realized, Terri Cassidy had
dragged him out of his trench of self-pity back into the land of
the living. It had taken him this long to figure it out, but she
had saved his life.

The beautiful woman had layers, and Joel could
spend a lifetime unwrapping them.

On the heels of that thought, Joel mentally
slapped himself for thinking it. He was definitely putting the
horse before the cart. He needed to remember that he'd just gotten
himself out of one mess, he sure didn't need another one right
now.

As much as he wanted Terri Cassidy, thought he
loved her, she was messy. Messy and complicated. She wanted
forever, and he didn't know if he'd ever be able to go there again.
Forever usually meant until someone better comes along to most
women. That's what it had meant to Karen anyway. He didn't think
Terri was that kind of woman, but right now with the ranch in flux,
he didn't have the time or energy to figure it out. It would have
to wait until his ranch was stable.

At least he was considering it, which was a
leap for a man who'd been burnt like he had been. He was going to
take his sweet time figuring out if she was the right woman, before
he made any declarations.

If she stuck around that was. Once Terri found
out Karen was still at the ranch, that Joel had let her stay, she
might just haul tail back to Henrietta.

He knew she was going to blow her stack in a
big way. He had to man up and tell her before she found out on her
own, it was the only way he might be able to convince her that it
wasn't because he still loved his ex-wife. What he'd done for
Karen, he'd do for anyone in a similar situation. It was just the
way he'd been raised, but in this situation his mama would probably
disagree with him.

When Terri gunned the engine and threw the
truck into reverse, Joel suddenly realized he'd been sitting there
with the door open, while he pondered his thoughts. Hurriedly he
shut the door, before she could change her mind about taking him
home, then put on his seat belt and locked the door for good
measure. That way Terri couldn't push him out if he slipped up and
told her about Karen too soon.

The closer they got to the ranch, the higher
the sun rose and the more nervous Joel became. He glanced over at
Terri and she was focused on the road and not paying him a bit of
attention. It was a good thing, because she would probably notice
his agitation. She was a very intuitive woman, and he was sweating
like a whore in church.

Suddenly an idea came to him...maybe he didn't
have to tell her. It was almost dawn, and Terri would probably go
to sleep when they got to the ranch. He knew he was exhausted, and
she had to be as well. Most likely, the guests and his crew were
already out on the cattle drive. They were pulling out at four
a.m., so the ranch would be vacant.

Sneaking out to the bunkhouse unnoticed would
be pretty easy.

Instead of going to sleep, Joel would go out
there and give Karen money to go to a hotel in town. Why he didn't
think of that before, he didn't know. If he could get her out of
there before Terri got up, then Joel would be golden. Karen's car
was parked back behind the bunkhouse, so Terri probably wouldn't
notice it.

God, you're a coward, Joel Rhodes, he berated
himself.

At least he'd be an alive coward...and Terri
wouldn't leave him.

But he could address one problem now, maybe
notch her anger down a few degrees so if she did find out, it
wouldn't be as bad. "I'm sorry, Terri," he said to break the
silence.

"Tell me something I don't know, Joel," she
replied sarcastically. "You're a sorry sack of shit."

"You're right," he agreed. "Would you believe
it was from habit?"

She snorted and gave him a look that told him
she wasn't buying it. "Not in this lifetime, buster. I think you're
still hung up on her, and arguing with her is your version of
foreplay, naturally that progressed to hugging her," Terri told him
and Joel about swallowed his tongue. "I'm sorry, but that's not my
kind of kink, you can have it and her. Maybe I was just an
appetizer, I don't know. What I do know is you can think again, if
you think you're ever touching
me
again."

"Pull over, Terri!" Joel shouted gruffly and
she jumped in her seat.

"Only if you're going to get out," she replied
and hit the gas.

Joel gritted his teeth and reached over then
turned off the truck and pulled the keys out of the
ignition.

"Pull the damned truck off the road, Terri,"
he grated and she struggled with the steering wheel. She braked and
slowed down then coasted over to the shoulder.

"Give me my keys," she demanded and held out
her hand.

"After you listen to me," he said in a voice
calmer than before, much calmer than he felt. His insides were
churning. Joel scooted over next to her in the truck and took her
chin in his fingers. "Look at me, sweetheart."

Finally, she met his gaze and the hurt he saw
there twisted like a knife inside of him.

"I didn't mean anything by hugging her, she
doesn't mean a damned thing to me anymore. You on the other hand,
mean a lot to me. I'm sorry if I hurt you."

He felt her chin tremble, and he leaned down
to place a gentle kiss on her lips.

"Forgive me, baby," he asked softly, then
kissed her again, because he couldn't help himself. Joel pulled her
to him, then across his lap and kissed her harder, deeper trying to
tell her how he felt through his kiss. After a minute, Terri
whimpered then her arms snaked up around his neck and she kissed
him back. Relief swept through him and Joel relaxed a little
pulling her tighter against his body. She felt so damned good in
his arms, tasted so good he never wanted to stop kissing
her.