KIDNAPPED COWBOY (11 page)

“Better.”  She looked up at him.  “Dalton...”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’m a little tired.”  What she really wanted to say was
I’m unbelievably attracted to you. Please, join me in bed.
  Thankfully, she managed to keep that request to herself.   

He nodded.  “I’m sure you are.  We didn’t get much sleep at the cabin.  But I want your promise to stay off that ankle before I leave you here to fend for yourself.”

“I can take care of myself.”

He arched a challenging brow.

“Well, I can,” she repeated stubbornly.

He bent until his lips hovered a few scant inches above hers.

She closed her eyes, heart racing.  Dalton Barnes was going to kiss her. 

Instead of the kiss she’d expected, warm breath caressed her neck.  “I mean it, Caitlin,” he whispered against her ear.  “Be a good girl and stay off that ankle.  Or I’m gonna appoint myself your babysitter.”

Her eyes snapped open.  How dare he think he-

“Try me,” he warned, cutting off her mental protest.  Then he walked out. 

The apartment door creaked open and then clicked shut.  Dalton was gone.  She sank back into the welcoming softness of her pillows with a long sigh.  A girl could get used to being treated so good by a man.  Especially by a man like Dalton Barnes.

Wait a minute.  What was she thinking?  Dalton was
way
out of her league.  And she was realistic enough to know that men like him were not the stick-around type.  She had no intention of putting herself in a position where she could be walked out on again.  Once was enough.

*              *              *

If she had to spend one more day in this apartment she was going to go crazy!  Caitlin dropped down onto the sofa, having managed to hobble out to the living room on her crutches.  Despite turning in shortly after eight, she had given up on trying to sleep.  Maybe it was the chicken with mash potatoes and gravy dinner Ethel had brought up and forced her to eat every bite of that was keeping her awake.  But, chances were, it had more to do with the thoughts of Dalton Barnes that were churning through her mind.

She released a pent-up groan.  The man had her so flustered she couldn’t even think straight.  It was no wonder she’d put the gown on backwards at the doctor’s office the day before.  Oh, and the look on Dalton’s face when he’d brought it to her attention.  The memory of it had her cheeks warming.  Or maybe she was simply fevered.

She placed a hand to her forehead.  Cool.  Which was probably a good thing.  If she developed a fever, Dalton would probably insist on taking care of her.  Again.  His reaction when she’d twisted her ankle still surprised her.  He’d been so worried.  So attentive.  She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had shown her that much concern.  And he wasn’t just anyone.  He was Dalton Barnes, hot, hunky, ex-rodeo star. 

Dalton was also a man who, by his own admittance, let no grass grow under his boots.  A man she definitely needed to push from her thoughts.  Otherwise, she’d never be able to think clearly enough to come up with another plan to get Brandon Barnes to change his mind.

Despite her resolve, her thoughts went right back to Dalton.  The way he’d looked at her when he carried her into the bedroom and lowered her onto the bed.  The way he’d leaned into her before he took his leave.  Thank goodness she hadn’t given in to the urge that had come over her to pull him down onto the bed with her.

“Count to ten,” she told herself.  A therapeutic way to redirect her thoughts to something other than
Dalton
.

“One, two, three, four, five, sex...ooh!”  This was bad.  She was a therapist in desperate need of therapy.  Redirecting her thoughts, she tried counting the tiles on the ceiling.  When that didn’t work, she tried tracing the floral pattern on the sofa with her finger.  Nothing she tried eased her restlessness.

A tap sounded at the door, making her jump.  Who in the world would be showing up at that time of the night?  There was only one person who came to mind.  Had Dalton seen her light on?  Was he there to lecture her on the need for sleep?  Grabbing for her crutches, she pushed to her feet and hobbled to the door to answer it.

“Dalton, I...”  Her voice trailed off as she looked up to find one of the teens she had taken under her wing at Stoney Brook several years before standing in the hallway outside. 

“Jeffrey?  Jeffrey Randolph?”

“I hope this isn’t a bad time,” he said with a worried frown as he eyed the crutches.  “The woman working at the diner downstairs told me where to find you.”

“No, not at all.  I just twisted my ankle in the snow and have to take it easy.”  She hopped aside.  “Come in.”

He moved past her into the living room.  “Nice place.”

“Thanks.”  She smiled.  It was so good to see him again.  It was amazing how much he’d filled out since she’d seen him last.  He was no longer the string-bean that kids teased him about being.  And there was a new self-confidence to him that hadn’t been there before.

She’d never forget meeting Jeffrey for the first time.  He’d been an attention starved, under-loved kid who was angry at the world when he first arrived at Stoney Brook.  By the end of that summer he was a new kid.  Despite the positive changes, the odds of his returning to his old life on the streets were high.  But he looked to have beaten those odds and it warmed her heart to no end.

He returned her smile.  “I’m on my way down to Houston.”

“Houston?”

“I’m hoping to get accepted into the Astronaut Candidate Program they have there.”

“You wanna be an astronaut?”

He nodded.  “It’s always been a dream of mine.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say.”  She was ready to burst from the pride she felt for him.

“I remember you telling me never to give up on something just because it seemed out of my reach.  You told me what I had to do was reach a little higher.”

The fact that he remembered her words touched her deeply.

“That summer I spent at the retreat,” he continued, “taught me so much I didn’t know about myself.  You convinced me that I could do anything I wanted to if I set my mind to it.  Well, I did just that and graduated last fall with a bachelor's degree in biological science.”

“Jeffrey, that’s wonderful!”  Tears pricked at the backs of her eyes as she stepped forward to hug him.  “I’m so proud of you.”

“I owe it all to you, Miss Myers.  I just wanted to swing by on my way through and thank you for believing in me when no one else did.”

She sniffed softly as another wave of emotion washed over her.  “Someone did the same thing for me once.”

“Well, you can be sure I’ll pay it forward, too, someday.”  He glanced at his watch.  “I have to run, the taxi’s waiting.”

“Jeffrey...”

“Yeah?”

“You’re gonna make a great astronaut.”

“All thanks to you for teaching me how to reach for the stars.”  With a wave, he stepped out into the night.

Caitlin closed the door behind him, listening to the sound of his retreating footsteps as he descended the stairs.  She suddenly felt emotionally rejuvenated.  Tucking her crutches under her arms, she made her way over to the window and watched him climb into the awaiting taxi, pride filling her. 

There were so many teens out there in need of all the things the retreat offered - guidance, discipline, emotional support, and so much more.  Jeffrey’s visit had convinced her to reach higher herself and find some way to change Brandon Barnes’ mind.  Troubled teens could turn their lives around and make something of themselves if only given a chance.  And Stoney Brook was that chance.

*              *              *

After a good night’s sleep and a long shower, Dalton dressed and headed downstairs to his brother’s office.  Whether Brandon liked it or not, they were going to discuss his plans to shut down the retreat.  He had given Caitlin his word that he’d talk to his brother about it and he always kept his word.

Brandon glanced up from where he sat behind the mahogany desk that had once belonged to their father and motioned to the phone at his ear.  He signaled that he’d be with him in a moment, then turned and propped his boots up on the windowsill behind him, returning to his conversation.

Dalton crossed the room and settled into one of the southwestern style chairs that sat in front of the oversized desk.  He hadn’t been in there since the reading of his father’s will, but nothing had changed.  Trophy mounts from their father’s many hunting trips still lined the far wall.  Below them sat an antique bookcase that had belonged to their grandfather, inside of which was their father’s prized collection of Louis L’Amour novels.

“Let me know when you hear back on that.  Sure thing.”  Brandon swiveled around in his chair and deposited the cordless onto the desk in front of him.  “Well, well, look what the cat dragged in.  I have to say you look a hell of a lot better than you did the last time I saw you.”

“It had been a long couple of nights.”

The chair creaked beneath him as his brother eased back against it.  “Spare me the juicy details.”

“There aren’t any.” 

Brandon chuckled, the sound echoing off the surrounding walls.  “Don’t tell me the big rodeo star couldn’t perform.”

“Ex-rodeo star,” he corrected.  “And I’m not here to discuss my sex life.  I wanna talk to you about your decision to shut down the retreat and build some fancy pants playground for rich folk.”

“It’s gonna be a resort, and it happens to be a smart business investment.”

“Says who?  Martinson?”  Alan Martinson was his brother’s financial advisor.  A real snake in the grass if you asked Dalton.  Martinson had worked for their father as a young man and had continued on when Brandon took over the running of the family business.

His brother’s lips thinned with anger.  “What right do you have to question any of my business decisions?”

None, and he knew that. 

Not giving him a chance to reply, Brandon went on, “You haven’t wanted a damned thing to do with the family business for years.  So why now?”

Pushing out of the chair, Dalton walked over to the bookcase, fighting the urge to fall back into their old pattern of arguing and accomplishing nothing.  This was too important.  He turned back to Brandon. 

“Because...” his words trailed off at the sight of Caitlin’s head bobbing up and down in the window behind his brother.  What in the hell was that crazy woman up to now?

“Hold that thought,” he blurted out as he started for the door.

“Where are you going?” his brother demanded as Dalton flew past him.

“Be right back,” he called out over his shoulder on his way out the door.  Their conversation was going to have to wait.  He had a pretty little neck to rescue –
again
.

CHAPTER SIX

Brandon stared at the doorway his brother had just gone through in amazement.  He raked a hand back through his dark hair with a heavy sigh and shook his head.  “Damn it, Dalton.”

It was just like his brother to run out right in the middle of a discussion regarding the family business.  Story of Dalton’s life.  He couldn’t plant his feet in one place for more than five minutes.  And if it had anything to do with the family business he lit out like a fox with its tail on fire.  

Hell, it was surprising his little brother was still in Lone Tree.  He’d returned home nearly two months before and hadn’t made mention of leaving yet.  Then again, he’d been hired to work with one of Judd Manley’s problem horses and, knowing his brother, he wouldn’t leave until he’d seen that through. Commitment meant something to him, except when it involved his family.

His brother had always had a passion for horses, something Brandon himself had never acquired.  And having gotten thrown from one while riding the trails a few years back, he was even less enthusiastic about the temperamental creatures.

With an irritated frown, he reached for the phone and punched in Alan Martinson’s number.  It rang and rang.  He drummed his fingers on the desk impatiently.  “Answer, damn it.”

“Hello?”

“Alan, it’s Brandon.”

“What’s up?”

“I was wondering if you’d heard back from John Sanders yet.”

“No, but he left a message on the answering while I was out this morning.  Apparently he had to go out of town for a few days on business, but he’s supposed to fax me their bid as soon as he gets back.”

“Great.  Let me know when you get it.”

“I will.  You know, I have to tell you that your brother’s indiscretion could have easily cost us John Sanders’ business.”

He knew that, but he didn’t care a bit for Alan’s pointing it out to him like he was blind to his brother’s poor choices and reckless ways.  Despite Dalton’s not so admirable qualities, he had to admit it was good having his brother home again.  Even if they still didn’t see eye to eye.

“You worry about Sanders.  I’ll handle my brother.”  He hung up and pressed a finger to his temple where another stress-induced headache had begun to throb.

*              *              *

Dalton stormed outside, jaw clenched in anger.  Was the woman Looney Tunes or what, climbing up the trellis like that?  He wanted to think he’d just imagined it, seeing as how Caitlin had been invading his thoughts since he left her place a few nights before.  But the second he rounded the side of the house, there she was.  Caitlin Myers in all her glory, clinging to the vine-covered trellis by Brandon’s office window. 

Not hard to miss in that hot pink jacket surrounded by all that green foliage.  He moved toward her, shaking his head as he went.  A sprained ankle wasn’t enough for her?  She wanted a broken neck to go along with it?

He stopped behind her, biting back a growl.  Even with an injured ankle, she was amazingly adept at climbing.  She had made it up high enough that her backside was at face level.  And what a view that was.

Crossing his arms, he cleared his throat.  “Adding peeping Tom to your list of offenses?”

Caitlin let out a startled shriek, immediately losing footing.  In her frantic struggle to regain her balance, the weathered trellis gave way, separating from the house with a loud crack.