Just Kate: His Only Wife (Bestselling Author Collection) (38 page)

Dispensing antibiotics and taking blood pressure readings at the clinic, while enjoyable, couldn’t compare to a busy E.R.

“Shouldn’t Gage be here by now?” Grandma Rose squinted at the clock on the wall.

“He’s running a little late, I guess.” Aubrey unplugged the phone line from her computer. Selfishly, she hoped he hadn’t been called to a fire. “You’ll be all right while I’m gone?”

Grandma Rose dismissed Aubrey’s concerns with a snort.

“Call me on my cell phone if you need anything.” When her grandmother didn’t answer, Aubrey touched her arm. “You okay?”

Grandma Rose sniffled and rubbed her nose. “Silly, I suppose. It’s just that I’ve gotten kind of used to your bossiness. Going to miss it. Going to miss you, too.”

“I’ll be back. First long weekend I have off work.”

“How does Gage feel about you leaving?”

Aubrey tensed. She wasn’t ready to discuss her and Gage’s future relationship or potential lack of it. A classic case of avoidance, without question. Recognizing a behavior pattern, however, didn’t change it.

Fortunately, a ringing in another part of the house relieved her of answering the question. She went over to the counter and plugged in the phone she’d unplugged for her computer.

“Hello.”

“Aubrey? Is that you?”

“Susan?”

“Yes. Thank goodness I reached you. The line’s been busy for ages.”

“What’s wrong?” Aubrey frowned. Her former mother-in-law sounded upset.

“Gage asked me to call. He’s going to have to postpone your date.”

Her shoulders slumped. She’d been afraid of this. “A fire?”

“No. Joseph’s missing. Gage went looking for him.”

“Oh, my gosh!” Aubrey instantly straightened and glanced at her grandmother, who was watching her with concerned interest. “What happened?”

“We don’t know for sure,” Susan said. “He was feeling good today and rode over to the Double S Ranch to talk with the owner about sharing some water rights. Then an hour ago, his horse came home without him. I’ve called the sheriff. They sent a couple men out but don’t think there’s much they can do until morning. Gage and the foreman from the Double S are driving the trails to Neglian Creek crossing looking for Joseph.”

Aubrey’s heart went out to Susan. “Would you like me to come over and stay with you?”

Susan’s voice cracked with emotion. “You wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not.”

“I’ve been trying to reach Hannah. She’s out with some friends tonight and not picking up her cell phone.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Aubrey quickly filled her grandmother in on the situation with Joseph and then left for the Raintree Ranch. When no one answered her knock on the front door, she went inside.

She found Susan in the kitchen, sitting on the floor with her back against the refrigerator, a walkie-talkie in her hand, and sobbing as if her world were falling apart.

Chapter 12

“M
om! Come in, Mom!” Gage tossed the walkie-talkie on the seat of the borrowed Jeep and stomped on the gas. “She’s crying and won’t answer.” He shot his passenger an exasperated scowl before turning his attention back to the road.

“Your mother always did have an emotional streak a mile wide.”

“Goddamn it, Dad. She loves you.”

Joseph swore far more colorfully than his son when they hit a pothole, and he came six inches off the seat. “Take it easy, will you? I’m not made of stone.”

Gage slowed, but only because his mother would never forgive him if he didn’t deliver his father in one piece.

“Hello. Gage, are you there?” A scratchy version of Aubrey’s voice floated up from the seat beside him.

He grabbed the walkie-talkie and put it to his mouth. “Aubrey? Is that you?”

“Yes. I’m here with your mother.”

Gage’s anger and frustration instantly lessened. Aubrey was there. Waiting for him. “Glad to hear it.”

“How’s your father?”

“A bit bruised, but ornery as ever. We should be home in a few minutes.”

“See you then. Oh, wait! We can meet you at the clinic if your dad needs medical attention.”

Joseph leaned sideways and spoke into the walkie-talkie. “The only thing I need is a hot shower and a couple of aspirin.” He then glowered at Gage. “No way is your ex-wife examining me. You understand?”

“She’s a nurse, Dad.”

“I don’t care if she was the only medical help for five hundred miles and I was bleeding to death. She’d not examining me.”

Gage shook his head, amazed yet again at the depths of his father’s stubborn and utterly useless pride. “Why didn’t you call in? Could have saved Mom a whole lot of grief and the rest of us a whole lot of bother.”

“I figured on making it back to the Double S.”

“Five miles on
your
ankle? I don’t think so.”

“I could’ve done it.”

“And been laid up for weeks afterward. Have you no consideration whatsoever for the rest of us?”

“That’s enough out of you,” Joseph snapped.

Gage shut up only because arguing with his father was an exercise in futility.

Joseph had been anything but a fountain of knowledge since being picked up. Nonetheless, Gage had been able to piece together most of what happened thanks to the Double S foreman.

His father, upon reaching Neglian Creek crossing, decided a short break was in order and dismounted. Comanche evidently spooked at who knew what and bolted, leaving Joseph stranded. Given Comanche’s placid disposition and proven dependability, Gage suspected there was more to the story. If so, his father wasn’t telling.

With the Double S Ranch being half as far as the Raintree Ranch, Joseph opted to head back the way he’d come. The Double S foreman found him on the road and contacted Gage. They met up at a halfway point between the neighboring ranches. The foreman generously offered Gage the use of his Jeep and took the ATV, agreeing to swap vehicles sometime tomorrow.

No big deal.

And yet it had been a big deal, all because his father had refused to report in.

Why?

Gage pulled to a stop in front of the main gate and shoved the Jeep into Park. “Your ankle gave out, didn’t it?”

“What are you talking about?” Joseph made no effort to get out and open the gate.

“Your ankle gave out while you were mounting Comanche and you fell. Or maybe you got bucked off and landed face-first in the creek.”

Several seconds passed. Finally, Joseph leaned his head back and stared at the darkening sky.

“I wouldn’t mind so much if it had been my face.” He grimaced and gingerly rubbed his backside. “Get me home, will you, and out of this dad-gum torture contraption.”

Gage was tempted to laugh at the ironic justice fate had seen fit to dispense. The flash of genuine pain in his father’s expression stopped him.

“What if I weren’t here to bail you out? What would you have done then?” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized he was asking himself the questions and not just his father.

“If you quit firefighting, it wouldn’t be a problem,” Joseph grumbled.

“I meant not here in Blue Ridge.”

“Gone?” His father’s brow knitted in confusion. “Since when?” Understanding apparently dawned on him as he let out a grunt. “It’s Aubrey. You’re thinking of going with her to Tucson.”

“Before we get into another argument, let me clarify something. I’m only considering going with her.”

“You can’t leave the ranch,” Joseph said firmly.

“The hell I can’t.” Gage hit the steering wheel with his fist. “I’m thirty years old, Dad. I’ll do whatever I damn well please.” His voice rose. “Leave Blue Ridge or stay. Be a firefighter or not.”

His father stared at him, not with anger or hostility but amusement.

“What?” Gage barked.

Joseph leaned his head back and chuckled.

“Glad one of us finds the situation funny,” Gage said.

“It’s just for a minute there, you sounded a lot like me.”

Gage frowned. He’d thought the same thing the other day and hadn’t liked it.

“I remember telling my father off,” Joseph said, his tone reflective. “He didn’t much cotton to my choices, either.”

“You always wanted to go into ranching.”

“True.”

“So what choice could you have possibly made he didn’t like?”

“I married your mother.”

Gage’s jaw went momentarily slack.

“She wasn’t from Blue Ridge,” Joseph went on. “And she wasn’t from a ranching family. Your grandpa was dead certain she’d corrupt me. Lure me away from the ranch.”

“What are you talking about? Grandpa adored Mom.”

“Eventually. But not at first.”

“Aubrey’s not going to lure me away, Dad.”

“I don’t suppose she is. How could she? Firefighting did that a long time ago.”

“No, it didn’t.” Gage came to a stop at the intersection leading to town and stared his father straight in the face. “It’s probably the only thing that’s kept me in Blue Ridge these past years.”

Joseph returned Gage’s stare. “I think I’m only just now starting to realize that.”

* * *

“Let’s go.” Gage extended his hand to Aubrey and pulled her to her feet.

“Where?”

“On our picnic.”

“You sure?”

They’d been sitting on the family room couch, watching a sitcom neither of them found funny, and waiting for Gage’s mother to finish tending to his father. Aubrey had assumed their date was cancelled, so Gage’s sudden announcement caught her off guard.

“Yeah, I’m sure. Dad insists he’s fine, Mom doesn’t need us and Hannah’s on her way home. No reason we can’t stick to the original plan.”

Considering the tense mood both Gage and his dad were in, vacating the house for a couple of hours seemed like a good idea.

“Okay. Let’s go.” Aubrey grabbed her purse and shut off the TV while Gage went to inform his parents of their plans.

It soon became apparent where Gage was taking her. Bouncing down the dirt road in his truck, Aubrey had to grin. His choice of a picnic location was perfect and, she supposed, fitting. Ten minutes later they parked and climbed out.

The zigzagging beam of Gage’s flashlight guided them through the darkness and along the slippery, winding trail. Low-hanging tree limbs blocked their path and required periodic swatting, as did a hungry mosquito or two. The potent smell of damp earth invaded Aubrey’s nostrils, triggering a wave of nostalgia. The gurgle of rushing creek water combined with the chirp and buzz of nocturnal animal life inspired still more memories.

Their secret spot.

Why, she wondered, had Gage brought her here? To remember? Or did he hope to create new memories, ones to see them through the coming separation?

“Wait a sec.” Gage bent down, swept aside a curtain of dangling willow tree branches and disappeared inside the secluded shelter. Placing the ice chest on a semi-level patch of ground, he stuck a hand out to her. “Pass me the sleeping bag and pillows.”

She did, then parted the branches and joined him.

Their secret spot had lost none of its magic. Seeing moonlight shimmering off the water’s glassy surface through a veil of leafy willow tree branches elicited a wistful sigh from Aubrey.

“Nice, huh?” Gage asked.

“
Very
nice.”

The temperature inside the shelter was several degrees cooler than outside and felt good on her bare arms as they arranged their small camp to their liking.

Sitting beside her on the sleeping bag, Gage opened the ice chest and rummaged around inside. He removed two long-stemmed wineglasses and a bottle of Chardonnay, pouring them each a generous portion. Before taking a sip, Gage lifted his glass to Aubrey’s cheek and rubbed the rim along her jawline.

“Here’s to you,” he murmured.

The sensation of smooth, chilled glass against her skin sent silken ribbons of pleasure spiraling through her.

They clinked glasses, shared a lingering stare ripe with promise, then sipped the tart, heady wine. While Aubrey lit three stubby candles and set them on a broad, flat rock, Gage served the food, which was nothing like Aubrey expected.

“Pâté and toast triangles?”

“You don’t like pâté?” Gage’s expression was crestfallen.

“No, I love it.” She couldn’t stop the laugh bubbling up from her throat. “I just didn’t think you did.”

He relaxed and resumed removing sealed plastic storage containers from the ice chest and spreading them out on the sleeping bag. “I’ve never tried it.”

“What if you hate the taste?”

“There aren’t many foods I can’t choke down.”

Having witnessed his ravenous hunger on multiple occasions, Aubrey couldn’t agree more.

The next half hour flew by with Gage and Aubrey enjoying a veritable smorgasbord of delicacies—everything from miniature roasted potatoes to mango and kiwi salad to pickled herring.

“Now, this I like.” Gage took another bite of baklava and chewed contentedly.

“It’s Greek,” Aubrey said, licking remnants of the sinfully rich pastry from her fingers.

“Let me do that.”

He snatched her hand in midair and, before she could stop him, began nibbling.

“Quit it.” She giggled and squirmed and then went utterly limp when his tongue probed her sensitive fingertips.

“Don’t ever let anyone tell you that fingers aren’t an erogenous zone,” he murmured between licks.

Above the swaying treetops, a zillion and one stars twinkled in a blue-black velvet sky. Aubrey laid her head on Gage’s lap, taking in the magnificent view. “Did you know the human body has something like a hundred erogenous zones?”

“You don’t say?”

“It’s true.”

“I not only believe you, I’m willing to test each and every one of them.” He lowered his head to her ear and gently tugged on the lobe with his teeth.

Her heart gave a small—make that a large—pitter-patter. “You’re impossible.”

His lips were sticky with honey from the baklava and incredibly delicious. They were also remarkably proficient in shutting her up when molded firmly to her own lips.

Drunk on desire more than wine, she curled an arm around his neck. Pulling him closer, she took control of the kiss despite her lower position. Her advantage didn’t last long. Gage slipped out from under her and in a swift move Casanova would admire, pinned her beneath him on the sleeping bag.