Murphy's Law (14 page)

In her ear Justine said quietly, “Trust
Jon, Sara, this is what he does best.”

“Thank you,” she whispered and squeezed
her one last time before letting go and heading into the kitchen.

Sara stopped her. “What about your mom?
Do you think she knows…about us?”

Justine grinned over her shoulder. “Why
do you think she suggested the ride?”

Sara ducked her head. Dear God, Alice
knew. Now she was really embarrassed.

Sara sat next to Justine and ate in
silence, trying to avoid Murphy’s eyes. The weight of his stare prevented her
until finally she looked up and met his eyes. She choked on her roll when she
saw the hunger burning there. Justine had to clap her on the back before she
could breathe again. She swallowed a large gulp of iced tea and glared at
Murphy, who had quirked a brow in amusement at her. He actually looked like he
enjoyed tying her in knots. And in front of his mother, the scoundrel.

Horrified, Sara assured everyone she was
okay and glanced at Alice, who smiled and nodded her head.

She was going to strangle Murphy when
she got him alone.

Of course she didn’t get him alone until
bedtime and he came in for the night. She was reading in bed when she heard him
pass her door. She threw her book aside and charged barefoot across the hall
and into his room without knocking.

Murphy had taken off his shirt and had
his hands on the zipper of his jeans when she burst in. He took one look at her
eyes and paused, crossing his arms over his chest instead.

Sara closed the door behind her and
walked over to him. She poked him in the chest.

“Everyone knows, Murphy,” she fumed.
“Even your mother. Did you know that MaryAnn and Justine had a bet going as to
when we would sleep together? Justine won, if you care, and your mother
suggested the ride knowing we would probably sleep together.”

Murphy grinned at her and fueled her
temper even more.

She poked him in the chest again. “What
are you smiling for? Your mother knows we slept together. This is terrible. She
probably thinks I’m promiscuous and after her son. Oooh, I never wanted this to
happen. She probably lost all respect for me and I can’t stand to think of
that. I like your mother. I want her to like me. This is a mess, Murphy. I
never should have come here.”

She let out a heavy sigh and fisted a
hand on his chest.

He was still grinning when he lowered
his head and nibbled the sensitive spot below her ear. Against her skin, he
murmured, “You are not promiscuous.”

“Your mother doesn’t know that,” she
said on a sigh, tilting her head to the side to allow him better access.

“She knows you better than you think.”

He nipped her earlobe and Sara’s knees
went weak. She gripped his shoulders. “You’re distracting me.”

“Am I?”

She felt his smile against her skin and
couldn’t help the one that spread across her lips. Murphy only smiled when they
were alone. She cherished those moments.

“You know you are,” she accused, though
it came out on a moan as his lips trailed down her neck.

“Want me to stop?”

Sara let her head fall back and closed
her eyes. “No,” she moaned, then remembered where she was and forced herself to
push him away.

He lifted his head. “No?” he questioned
with a devilish glint in his eye.

“I don’t want you to stop,” she
whispered fiercely, “but we can’t do anything here. It wouldn’t be right.”

“There’s no one in this wing of the
house besides us and Abby.”

“That’s not the point. This is your
mother’s house. It wouldn’t be right.”

Murphy studied her for a moment, then
slipped on his shirt and grabbed her hand. “Come on.” He led her out of the
room.

Sara followed him down to Abby’s room,
where they peeked in and found Abby asleep beside Grover, who opened one eye
when they looked in. Assured that she was asleep and okay, Murphy led her down
the hall, through the living room, and out the back door into the warm night
air.

Sara tugged on his hand. “Murphy, I’m in
my pajamas.”

“Not for long.”

Butterflies erupted in her belly as they
took the steps down to the lawn. Her bare feet sank into the damp grass. “Where
are we going?” she asked, her heart speeding up in her chest. She felt like
they were doing something naughty, and found it incredibly exciting.

He didn’t answer as they headed toward
the barns. Before they hit the rocky ground, Murphy turned around and swung her
into his arms. She hadn’t expected him to do it and let out a squeak of delight
as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He carried her inside and snagged a
blanket before starting up a set of stairs to the roof. He set her down and
spread out the blanket. Sara watched with a warm smile. She hadn’t seen this
side of Murphy. She wouldn’t have expected him to be the romantic type, but
this was perfect. A blanket under the stars. How could she not love this man?

Sadness filled her, but she pushed it
down. She may not have much time left with Murphy, but she was no fool. She was
going to make the most of it. There would be time for sadness later when all
she had were memories.

Murphy rose to his feet and she looked
up so she could meet his eyes. In the moonlight he looked like an avenging
angel. Her heart skipped a beat. He was more of a man than Kent had ever been
and it made her heart ache. She was proud of him for what he’d done in Azbakastan.
When she looked at him, she saw a warrior who fought for the underdog instead
of a man with scars that marred his looks.

They stared at each other for what
seemed an eternity and Sara wondered what he was thinking. Hopefully the same
thing as her.

A light breeze ruffled her hair. Murphy
reached out and tunneled his fingers through her curls until he cupped the nape
of her neck. He drew her toward him and she came willingly. In the distance she
heard cattle moving, and an occasional birdcall. Horses shifted in their stalls
beneath them and whinnied.

As Murphy lowered his head, he murmured,
“I won’t stop this time, Sara.”

She shuddered and lifted her lips to
meet his. “I won’t let you.”

He kissed her tenderly. She wrapped her
arms around his waist and held tight. Murphy treated women with utmost care and
it only made her love him even more. She understood why he’d done what he had
in that cage. He protected at all costs.

When he lifted his head, she whispered,
“This is perfect, Murphy.”

“You deserve a soft bed.”

“All I care about is being with you.”

His head lowered until his lips hovered
above hers. “You have me,” he murmured and kissed her again, this time with
hunger and need that matched her own.

She didn’t let herself think about what
he meant by that comment and soon she couldn’t remember what he’d said when he
lowered her to the blanket and kissed her senseless. Her tank top came off and
Murphy filled his hands and mouth with her, making her arch and gasp for air as
he drove her to the edge of madness. She tore buttons on his shirt in order to
get it off, impatient to feel his taut flesh beneath her hands.

Their kisses became frantic and hungry,
their movements more demanding. Her need consumed her, though this time it
didn’t scare her. She embraced the feeling and let it drive her toward what she
wanted.

She had her hand on Murphy’s zipper when
something drifted through her senses. At first she ignored it, but as it grew
more potent she forced herself to acknowledge it. Way ahead of her, Murphy
lifted his head to sniff the air. Beneath them horses neighed and moved
restlessly in their stalls.

“What is that smell?” Sara asked. “It
smells like gasoline.”

Murphy cursed and rolled off her. He shrugged
into his shirt without buttoning it and moved to the edge of the roof. He
cursed again and turned to her, his expression hard.

“Get dressed quickly,” he ordered. “The
barn is on fire.”

Sara gasped and reached for her tank
top. “On fire?” she echoed, unable to keep the fear out of her voice. “What are
we going to do? What about the horses? We have to save them.”

“First, we have to get you to safety.”

She slipped her tank top on and rose
shakily to her feet. She could smell smoke now and when she looked over the
edge she saw flames shooting out the window. Loud thuds came from below them as
horses started to panic and kick their stall doors. Sara felt their fear and
turned to Murphy, who crouched beside the stairwell.

He stood and strode over to her. He took
her shaking hands in his and forced her to meet his eyes as a single flame shot
through the opening.

Sara saw it and gasped. “We’re trapped.”

“Look at me,” Murphy ordered.

She forced her eyes to his and saw
nothing but steady calm.

“We have to jump. It isn’t far, maybe
twenty feet. The ground is mostly sand on the east side. If we jump there we
should be okay.”

“Twenty feet? I can’t jump twenty feet.”
Sara’s voice rose. She could hear the terrified whinnies of the horses trapped
in their stalls. Those poor animals were going to burn to death.

“I have to save the horses, Sara, we
don’t have time.”

She stared into his eyes and absorbed
some of his strength. After a deep breath, she nodded and allowed him to lead
her to the east ledge. They stood there and looked over. Sara started trembling
and gripped Murphy’s hand.

Below them something crashed, startling
her.

“We have to go now, Sara. On three?”
Murphy met her eyes.

Sara nodded.

Murphy counted and on three pulled her
with him over the edge. She screamed as they dropped to the ground. Murphy hit
before her with an
oomph
and she braced herself for impact. When it
came, she knew she hadn’t prepared herself nearly enough. The breath was
knocked out of her and she landed wrong on her ankle. It twisted painfully
under her weight and pain shot up her leg. She lay there, stunned and in pain
but not for long.

Strong arms swept her up. Murphy ran
with her toward the house.

“No, Murphy, the horses. You have to
save them,” she said as she looked over his shoulder at the fiery barns.

Murphy didn’t slow down.

Sara struggled against his grip.
“Please, Murphy. Save them. I can make it to the house by myself.”

He stopped and set her on her feet,
looking torn.

She touched his cheek. “Go. I’ll call
911.”

“Stay in the house,” he commanded.

“I will.”

He kissed her and turned to go.

“Murphy.”

He glanced over his shoulder.

“Be careful.”

He took off at a dead run for the barns
and Sara lifted her leg in agony. She forced herself to endure the pain until
Murphy wasn’t looking so he wouldn’t waste time with her and risk the lives of
the horses. She couldn’t bear the thought of them burning to death.

She hobbled toward the house as fast as
she could, hoping Abby didn’t wake up and see the fire. The porch light came on
and Alice flew through the door in her housecoat. She took one look at Sara and
came running down the steps.

“Oh, dear, what happened?” she asked,
wrapping an arm around her shoulders and putting most of Sara’s weight on her.

“Fire. I have to call 911.” Sara panted
through the pain each step caused her.

“I already have, dear. They should be
here in about fifteen minutes.”

“The horses are trapped…”

Suddenly two trucks flew up the
driveway. James and Paul jumped out and started running toward the barns.

“Anybody hurt?” Paul called on his way
past, tugging his shirt over his head as he went.

“No, but Murphy is down there alone,”
Sara called back.

“We’ll handle it. Stay inside,” James
ordered as he sprinted by.

Sara’s heart squeezed. This was what
family was all about. Helping each other and being there when needed.

As Alice helped her up the steps onto
the porch, she started worrying about Murphy. When she glanced back, she saw
the barn enveloped in flames and a sob rose in her throat. Murphy wouldn’t quit
until he saved each and every horse. If he got trapped…

“Don’t worry, dear, the boys will get
the horses out. Let me have a look at that ankle.”

Alice led her into the living room and
made her sit with her ankle stretched in front of her. Since it throbbed, Sara
didn’t argue. She had no idea how to explain.

Alice brought her a make-shift ice pack
of ice wrapped in a kitchen towel and Sara pressed it to her swollen ankle. She
could feel Alice’s eyes on her and knew she was putting the pieces together.

“I can’t sit here. I have to go help.”
She started to get up but Alice pushed her back down.