Shoulda Been A Cowboy (26 page)

“
Got big plans for us?”

“
Yep.” Cam flashed a devilish grin. “But
first, turn around and close your eyes.”

Her heart skipped a beat when he brushed her hair from
the nape of her neck. Cool metal caressed her collarbone.
Automatically her hand rose to touch it.

“
Cam? What is this?” She looked down at the
delicate silver links that formed a chain necklace.

“
A gift.”

“
You didn't have to—”

His strong, warm hand closed over hers. “I wanted
to give you something that's a symbol. A reminder.”

“
Of?”

“
Me,” he whispered silkily. “Will you
wear it for me, Domini?”

Was this necklace a tangible symbol of his…ownership?
And why in the heck didn't that very idea bother her? Why was
she absurdly touched?

Domini squeezed his fingers. “Yes, I'll wear
it for you, Cam.”

She felt him grin against her cheek. “Good. I'll
pick you up after my shift ends tonight. Be ready.”

Chapter Fourteen

Three hours left on his shift. What a long boring night.
Thank God he could spice up his dull thoughts by replaying last
night's events.

Talk about a blazing encounter. He'd taken Domini
to his favorite spot, an overlook where the view of the high plains
stretched for miles. The stars were bright, the air was cool and her
body had been red-hot. Being in the great outdoors had stirred the
beast in him. He'd answered the call of the wild and shown her
a truly dominant male.

Cam had made her strip then spread her out on a blanket
in the back of his truck. While feasting on her juicy pussy, he'd
introduced her to one of his favorite toys—a beaded butt plug.
After she came with a sexy shriek that echoed across the plateau, he
fucked her so hard the truck bounced. After he roared his release, he
heated them both up again with the rough kisses and insistent
caresses she craved. Then Cam removed the plug, pushed her over a
fallen log and reamed her ass, riding her without mercy, keeping her
head down, keeping his hand around her throat, around the necklace
that was proof of his possession.

She'd loved every second of her total surrender to
him. He'd made sure of it.

“
Deputy McKay, please respond.”

Snapped out of his lewd thoughts, he responded, “This
is Deputy McKay, dispatch, go ahead.”

“
Multiple vehicle accident on Highway 74A. Officer
on scene is reporting multiple fatalities. We've called in all
available units, as well as first responders from Search and Rescue
from Weston County. They've confirmed they're en route.”

“
What happened?”

“
A temperature inversion at the bottom of Shep's
Canyon caused heavy fog. Due to slick road conditions, a semi
misjudged the curve and jackknifed, blocking both lanes. Approaching
vehicles didn't see the accident until they were right upon it.
Sayzers is reporting at least four vehicles are involved at this
point, two confirmed DOA, so use extreme caution when approaching
scene.”

“
What am I looking for?”

“
Mile marker forty-one.”

“
Has the fog lifted?”

“
Affirmative.”

“
My ETA at mile marker forty-one is approximately
six minutes.”

“
Roger that. And…Deputy, please be aware
that if another law enforcement choice were available, we wouldn't
be sending you to deal with this…situation.”

Cam's knuckles went white on the steering wheel.
Son of a bitch. That was dispatch's way of warning he knew the
victims.

Fuck. He tried to rein in his fear as his mind checked
names off the list of possibilities. His parents were home. Ditto for
Colby, Cord, and their families. Carter and his brood were in Canyon
River. Keely was in Cheyenne. Colt and Indy were at an A.A. meeting
in Sundance and wouldn't have reason to be on the back road
going into Moorcroft.

His stomach twisted into a mass of knots. Kade traveled
this road every day. As did his wife, Skylar. He swallowed hard
against the bile rising in his throat.

Didn't mean it was them. It could be anyone.

That thought didn't alleviate his fears.

He looked up just as mile marker forty passed by. Less
than a mile now.

There was no way to mentally prepare himself, but there
was no way to blank it out either. The darkness of the isolated
location morphed into an eerie otherworld as red, blue and amber
strobe lights flashed. He slowed.

Pieces of twisted metal, chunks of plastic taillights
littered the road. His gaze landed on the semi. One white mega-cab
pickup was embedded in the side of the semi-trailer. His gaze tracked
the headlights spilling across the road from an unnatural angle.
Another car was upside down on the shoulder, the front end crushed
into the front seat. The roof was caved in and glass from the broken
windshield covered the roadway. Two workers were attempting to remove
the driver's side door and they weren't hurrying.

His belly lurched. Chances were slim whoever was in that
car had survived.

Orange cones and flashers lined the perimeter, although
no one manned the area. Leaving his flashers on, he donned his
reflective vest and forced himself out of the patrol car.

Cam's feet were dragging—for once not
because he had an artificial leg. He'd seen car accidents in
his time as a deputy. Hell, he'd witnessed some damn gruesome
car bombings in his years in the army, but none of the incidents
involved someone he knew.

Fred, the part-time EMT, motioned him over. “Deputy,
are we taking the victims to the hospital?”

The guy didn't mean to the hospital for treatment;
he meant to the hospital since it also housed the county morgue. Cam
cleared his throat. “Yes.”

“
I'm supposed to tell you to track down
Sheriff Shortbull right away.”

“
Where is he?”

“
He's on the other side of the semi, dealing
with the accidents over there.”

A two-lane highway meant wreckage on both sides. His
eyes flicked over the body on the stretcher, covered with a sheet.

As Cam debated the fastest, safest way to proceed to the
other side, Sheriff Shortbull appeared around the front end of the
semi. The normally gregarious man was dragging his feet too.

“
McKay.”

“
Sheriff.”

Pause.

Shortbull rubbed his top lip with the back of his hand.
“Did Jolene tell you—”

“
No. She didn't tell me anything besides to
prepare myself.”

“
There ain't any easy way to say this.”

“
Then just say it flat out.”
Just
don't say Kade. Or Skylar. Or Buck. Or anyone else in my
family. Please. Don't say it.

“
One of the confirmed victims on the other side is
Luke.”

Cam's chest constricted. “Luke? As in my
cousin Luke McKay? You're sure?”

“
Yes. Dammit, Cam, I'm so sorry.”

Jesus. What the hell was Luke doing out here? That
thought vanished and Cam's head snapped up. “Was his wife
Jessie with him?”

“
No. He was alone.”

“
Ah fuck. Ah Jesus. Ah Christ. I can't
believe…” Tears smarted. Cam couldn't think beyond
dead dead dead
. This
tragic shit happened to other people, not to his family. Not this
many goddamn times. First Dag. Now Luke? Fucking senseless accidents.
Jesus. He spun away, clenching his hands into fists, shoving the
anguish into the corner inside himself where darkness and misery
dwelled.

“
Under normal circumstances, I'd notify next
of kin. But in this case…are you up to doing it?”

It never occurred to Cam to say no. It was his duty as
an officer and a family member. “Yeah. It ain't gonna be
easier on Jessie or my cousins or my uncle and aunt if the bad news
comes from me.”

“
I wish to fucking God you didn't have to do
it at all,” Shortbull said wearily. “But I'll be
making plenty of late night visits to other families.”

A couple of shouts sounded, breaking the surreal
silence.

“
Does that mean the other victims have been ID'd?”

“
Luke and the truck driver both positively ID'd.
There's an Indian guy on the other side we can't get info
on. He didn't carry a wallet and the car is registered to the
tribe, so that's no help. The couple in the crushed car…theirs
was the first vehicle to hit the semi. Due to speed and lack of
visibility, they hit hard and flipped. It's a real mess.”

Still reeling from the news his cousin Luke was dead,
Cam barely nodded to show that he was listening.

Deputy Sayzers trotted over with a piece of paper.
“We've got a registration name on the car.”

“
Who?”

“
Rex DeMarco.”

That caught Cam's attention. “Who did you
say?”

“
Rex DeMarco. Do you know him?”

“
Not personally. His ex-wife put a restraining
order on him a few years back before I started working here. He had
issues with domestic disturbances.”

“
Now I remember. So the woman in the car…who
is she?”

Grimly, Cam said, “I'd bet money it's
his ex-wife, Nadia DeMarco.”

“
Why do you say that?”

“
Domini is friends with Nadia, and Nadia recently
started spending time with her ex again. As a matter of fact, Domini
agreed to watch their son tonight so they could go out.”

Shortbull whistled. “That poor kid. With both his
parents dead, who's his next of kin?”

“
No one. Nadia emigrated from Bosnia so she's
it as far as family.”

“
And the father?”

“
No local family for him either.”

“
I'll make the call to Social Services and
give them the heads up.” Shortbull sighed. “That boy is
gonna go through hell.”

Cam's brain was stuck on breaking the bad news.
But something in Shortbull's tone jarred him. “You ain't
gonna make him ID his parents?”

“
No! Jesus, McKay. What kind of monster do you
think I am?”

“
I don't. I just…” Cam
dry-scrubbed his face. “Shit. Sorry. I ain't exactly
thinkin' straight.”

“
Understandable.”

They trudged back to the other side. Emergency lights
blinked. The ambulances waited silently as the Search and Rescue guys
worked on getting Rex's and Nadia's bodies out of the
car.

Thirty minutes ticked by. Cam paced so much his shirt
was damp from sweat and his prosthesis hurt like a bitch. The tow
trucks loaded the smashed vehicles onto flatbed trucks. This time of
night there wasn't much traffic, but cars were lined up both
directions. Cam had to get to Jessie before someone in the community
recognized Luke's wrecked truck and called her to ask about it.

Dread weighted him down as Sheriff Shortbull said,
“Other people can handle this part. You'll have enough
trauma and drama to deal with.”

Cam barely remembered driving to Luke and Jessie's
place—a doublewide trailer on the far edge of the McKay Ranch.
A porch light burned. He glanced at the clock before he climbed out.
Ten thirty. Christ. Had it only been two hours since he'd
gotten the call? It seemed like a lifetime ago.

He lumbered up the steps, inhaling a deep breath before
he knocked on the door.

Lexie, Jessie's dog barked inside the house. A
voice hushed her, then a squeaking, sucking noise sounded as the
inner door swung open.

Is that what he'd remember of this night? The
sound the door made before he gave Jessie the news that'd
change her life forever?

A pajama clad Jessie blinked at him with total
confusion. “Cam? What are you doing here?”

“
Jessie. There's been an accident.”

Her gaze widened at his deputy's uniform,
realizing he was there on official business. The blood drained from
her face. “Luke?”

Cam nodded.

“
Is he all right?”

“
No.” Cam forced his body and his voice to
stay steady. “Luke didn't survive. I'm so sorry.”

“
What? Luke is…” She swayed but
righted herself before Cam could get to her. “When?”

“
About two hours ago.”

“
Where did this happen?”

“
A semi jackknifed in Shep's Canyon. Because
of the fog…there was really nothing he could've done. It
happened fast.”