Madison stood in the dim light of Callum's apartment at his ranch and began unbuttoning his shirt, her heart rate increasing with each button released from its confines.
"Are you sure about this?" Callum asked.
"Yes."
He slid his hands along her jaw and lifted her face to kiss her. And kiss her, he did—thoroughly.
The rest of their clothes joined the pile on the floor.
"You're beautiful," Callum said.
She ran her hand over his sculpted chest. "So are you."
They fell onto the bed and into each other's arms. All her worries, all her questions about the future faded away as Callum Cody, her most unexpected cowboy, made love to her.
…
Over the next week, Madison and Callum spent every evening together after he brought Jason home from work. Once, she cooked for the entire Cody clan. She loved seeing the attention the family showered on her brother, watching him coming out of his dark hole. Another night, Callum helped her organize documents for the book project. They went riding and talked about her parents. But no matter what they did, the evening always ended with her in his arms, most often just kissing. But they did make love on a blanket beneath the stars during a break in that ride over the Cottonwood.
"You're in love with him, aren't you?"
Madison looked up from where she was making a surprise lunch for Jason and Callum to take to Pebble Creek. Elly had come in from her morning practice session and was leaning against the kitchen counter.
"Yeah, I think I am."
"Are you going to stay?"
"I don't know. I mean, my whole life is back in Phoenix."
"No, it's not." Elly extended a copy of the Cody Enterprise. "Maybe this will help you make up your mind."
When Elly headed for her room, Madison looked down at the paper, at an ad circled in red. "Opening for a high–school American History teacher. Apply at Cody High School."
…
"This one's got the devil in him," Harry said as he tried to get one of the bucking horses to cooperate long enough to usher the animal from his stall to the arena. About the time he said it, the horse jerked in the opposite direction and headed straight for where Jason was standing at the entrance to the barn.
"Watch out!" Callum called.
The horse snorted and kicked, barely missing the boy. Jason was smart enough to get out of the way, though, and dived for the dirt to the right of the doorway.
"You okay?" Callum asked when he made it outside.
Already, Jason was standing and dusting himself off. The kid had the makings of a good cowboy.
"Yeah."
An anguished cry and movement beyond the barn caught their attention. Madison dropped a picnic basket and raced to her brother. "Are you hurt?" She tried to search his body for injury, but he stepped out of her reach.
"I'm fine. Stop worrying."
Madison rounded on Callum. "This is what you have him doing? Working around dangerous animals?"
"No, he has orders to stay away from the bucking stock."
"That's not what it looked like. Jason, get in the car. We're leaving."
"No."
Madison jerked her attention to Jason. "What do you mean, no?"
"I mean, I'm not leaving. I like working here. I'm learning to ride, how to run a ranch. I want to ride in a rodeo at some point."
Madison looked like she was going to have a stroke.
"Jason, go on in the barn so I can talk to your sister."
Madison looked like she might cry as her brother did Callum's bidding and not hers.
"I know it might not look like it now, but we take really good care of him here. I would never put him in harm's way on purpose."
"Isn't that what encouraging this rodeo nonsense is doing?"
"Rodeo is what finally set me straight when I was as wild as a buck," he said. "And I think it's also going to do that for Jason."
When she looked up at him, there were fat tears in her eyes. "He's all I have left. I can't lose him, too."
Callum couldn't stand seeing the hurt back in her eyes, so he pulled her to him, surprised she let him. "You won't. I promise."
…
Madison didn't sleep all night. The part of her that wanted to protect Jason kept up a constant wrestling match with the part that wanted to make him happy again. She slipped out of the house just as the barest hint of daylight was making its appearance, and took a long walk around the ranch, imagining herself living in Wyoming permanently. If she could get the high–school position and Jason didn't need so much supervision anymore, maybe that would leave more time for writing books.
As she returned to the house, she found Jason sitting on the top of the front steps waiting for Callum. She sank down beside him and counted it a victory that he didn't move away.
"I'm sorry," he said out of the blue.
"For what?"
"Everything. Being so awful since…Mom and Dad died."
Tears pooled in Madison's eyes. "I know it's been hard. I'm sorry I couldn't make it better."
"You did." He reached over and took her hand.
Madison pulled her brother into her arms. "I love you, Jason. I just want to see you happy again."
"I love you, too." He pulled away. "And I am happy."
She looked at him. "Here in Wyoming?"
He nodded.
"You really want to try rodeo?"
"I think so. Callum says it'll be awhile before I'm ready to even try, but I'm willing to wait."
"You really like him, don't you?"
"He's cool. And he likes you."
"You think?"
Jason rolled his eyes. "It's obvious. You're both kind of sickening about it."
Madison laughed and ruffled her brother's hair. Her heart swelled with happiness, and it was all because of the man driving up the ranch's entrance road.
…
Madison could barely contain her excitement as she drove toward the Pebble Creek Ranch later that day. She couldn't wait until Callum brought Jason home to share her news. Within ten minutes of walking into the office at Cody High School, she'd had the job as the new American History teacher. She didn't even look at it as a demotion from her college position because it was going to allow her and Jason to start a new life, one she hoped would include Callum Cody.
When she reached the ranch, she went straight to the barn and found him alone outside the stalls. She didn't stop as she walked into his arms and kissed him with all the energy surging through her body.
"Nice to see you, too," he said on a laugh when she finally ended the kiss.
"Do you think you can train Jason to be a rodeo cowboy?"
"Yes."
"Good."
His eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"
"The permanent population of Park County just increased by two."
"You're not going back to Phoenix?"
"No."
He smiled. "Then I guess I don't have to convince you to stay before I do this." He dropped to one knee and pulled something out of his shirt pocket. When he opened the velvet box, she gasped.
"I know it sounds crazy, but I've fallen head over heels in love with you, Madison Gray. And you'd make me very happy if you'd be my wife."
"I love you, too. Yes!"
Callum got to his feet and slid the ring on her finger. "It's an antique, originally sold to finance a family's trip along the Oregon Trail."
"It's perfect." She looked up at him. "You're perfect."
He pulled her close. "You, me, Jason. We'll make the perfect family."
Of that she had no doubt.
The End
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Her Unexpected Cowboy - Chapter 7
Madison retreated to her room to change–and try to get her racing heart under control. She was going out, on a date, with Callum Cody. She wondered if she had enough willpower to keep her hands off him at least until after they ate dinner. She stifled a giggle and got to work looking for something date–worthy to wear. Needless to say, dinner with a gorgeous man had been the farthest thing from her mind when she'd been packing for this trip, but she finally managed to come up with some nicer jeans and a purple top with a hint of ruffle. She added some silver jewelry and some purple espadrilles to complete the outfit, and brushed her hair.
When she walked back into the living room, more Codys had appeared—Elly and her brothers. A whistle of appreciation drew her attention to Dusty.
"I think I'm in love," he said.
"I'd hate to have to teach you some manners," Callum said, sounding possessive, but not in a scary way. No, that hint of "my woman" in his words made her go all warm and eager all over.
Laughter filled the room, and Dex punched his twin, Dusty, playfully in the arm.
"Ignore these idiots and go have fun," Elly said. "We'll keep Jason busy."
Madison scanned the room and noticed the cards on the dining–room table. "What's going on?" With all Jason's issues the past several months, the last thing he needed was to start gambling.
"Don't worry, we're playing for peanuts," Elly said.
"Literally." Dex held up an industrial–size can of peanuts.
Callum placed his hand on her back and urged her toward the door. He leaned close to her ear. "Stop worrying. He won't get in any trouble."
Madison took a deep breath and gave herself over to a night for herself.
Callum held her hand in the dark of the truck's cab as he drove. She hoped he couldn't feel how rapid her pulse was. It had been so long since she'd been out on a date. Since her parents' death, she'd had no time for anything but Jason and work. It felt so good, so right to have a night where she could indulge in what she wanted.
And she wanted Callum Cody.
As they rolled into Markton, the tiny town nearest the Cottonwood Ranch, an odd sense of rightness came over her. This couldn't be any more different than Phoenix, and yet it called to her. Maybe it was that the quiet, laid–back, peaceful atmosphere was such a balm after the past tumultuous months.
Callum pulled into the crowded parking lot next to the Sagebrush Diner. "Here we are, Markton's finest dining. Unless you want to go into Cody for something a little nicer."
"No, this is great."
Callum looked across the truck at her. "You do know I'm going to kiss you again before this night is through, don't you?"
Anticipation surged through her body, tempting her to tell him they should just skip dinner and go right to…dessert.
Feeling a bit braver than she had in a long time, she leaned toward him. "I'm going to hold you to that." Then with a laugh she pulled back and got out of the truck.
He caught up with her before she stepped up on the wooden porch of the restaurant. He wrapped his arm around her waist before opening the door for her.
"You have to let me get doors for you or they'll take away my cowboy chivalry badge."
"Well, we can't have that." A smile seemed to take possession of her face, and she welcomed it with open arms.
After they slipped into a booth, Madison looked around at the rustic, western décor. The obvious locals hanging out at the square bar in the middle of the restaurant.
"I know it's not fancy like what you have in Phoenix," Callum said.
"Are you kidding? I love it. It's got way more personality than some fancy place."
When the waitress finished taking their order, Callum reached across the table and took her hand. She let him, loving the feel of his warm palm, the roughness of his honest work calluses against her skin. Her face heated when she thought about those hands running over other parts of her body.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked. He didn't miss anything.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
"I don't believe you."
She met his eyes and got the distinct impression he was thinking about the same thing. Suddenly, it was very hard to sit still, to not squirm. Even when she'd been on dates before no one had ever affected her the way Callum did, and not so quickly. Something about him made her believe being cautious wasn't always a good idea.
…
Somehow he would make it through this dinner despite the fact all he wanted to do was take Madison back to his place and make love to her all night long. He'd never been one for romantic notions, for believing in love at first sight, in settling down and having a family. But Madison Gray had changed all that, had him thinking about things like happily ever after. He was falling for her, and falling hard. Not smart when she wasn't staying.
Unless he could convince her to stay.
"How's the work on the book coming?" he asked.
"Great. I'm really getting excited about it. There's such a rich history there."
"I bet there are lots of things you could write about around here."
She met his eyes, and it was so good to see they were bright with excitement instead of filled with hurt and exhaustion.
"You're probably right."
Throughout dinner, they talked about his days riding bareback on the rodeo circuit, her teaching, how Jason was getting the hang of ranch life.
"I can't thank you enough for whatever you've done," she said. "I'm just stunned by how quickly I've seen a change in Jason. I mean, I don't fool myself. We still have a long way to go, but at least he's not biting my head off anymore."
"Maybe it's just timing. One of those steps in the grieving process."
"Maybe." She stared down at her empty plate. "You know, I can still remember every word of the phone call when I found out Mom and Dad had been killed by the thugs of some warlord. They were there trying to help feed people, and they were killed over a few bags of grain."
Callum squeezed her hand but didn't know what to say to make it better. Maybe nothing would. "I'm sorry."
She shook off the melancholy. "At least they were doing what they believed in. That gives me some comfort." Madison squeezed his hand back. "I'm in the mood for a walk. Want to give me the grand tour of your metropolis?"
He paid the check and escorted her into the cool night. When she rubbed her bare arms, he went to the truck and retrieved his denim jacket for her.
"Thanks."
He took her hand because he couldn't bear not touching her. By the time he'd shown her everything Markton had to offer, holding her hand wasn't enough. He tugged her off the sidewalk into the darkness next to the closed Markton Feed and Grain store.
"If I don't kiss you, I'm going to explode."
She looked up at him and smiled. "Then kiss me, cowboy."
When she walked back into the living room, more Codys had appeared—Elly and her brothers. A whistle of appreciation drew her attention to Dusty.
"I think I'm in love," he said.
"I'd hate to have to teach you some manners," Callum said, sounding possessive, but not in a scary way. No, that hint of "my woman" in his words made her go all warm and eager all over.
Laughter filled the room, and Dex punched his twin, Dusty, playfully in the arm.
"Ignore these idiots and go have fun," Elly said. "We'll keep Jason busy."
Madison scanned the room and noticed the cards on the dining–room table. "What's going on?" With all Jason's issues the past several months, the last thing he needed was to start gambling.
"Don't worry, we're playing for peanuts," Elly said.
"Literally." Dex held up an industrial–size can of peanuts.
Callum placed his hand on her back and urged her toward the door. He leaned close to her ear. "Stop worrying. He won't get in any trouble."
Madison took a deep breath and gave herself over to a night for herself.
Callum held her hand in the dark of the truck's cab as he drove. She hoped he couldn't feel how rapid her pulse was. It had been so long since she'd been out on a date. Since her parents' death, she'd had no time for anything but Jason and work. It felt so good, so right to have a night where she could indulge in what she wanted.
And she wanted Callum Cody.
As they rolled into Markton, the tiny town nearest the Cottonwood Ranch, an odd sense of rightness came over her. This couldn't be any more different than Phoenix, and yet it called to her. Maybe it was that the quiet, laid–back, peaceful atmosphere was such a balm after the past tumultuous months.
Callum pulled into the crowded parking lot next to the Sagebrush Diner. "Here we are, Markton's finest dining. Unless you want to go into Cody for something a little nicer."
"No, this is great."
Callum looked across the truck at her. "You do know I'm going to kiss you again before this night is through, don't you?"
Anticipation surged through her body, tempting her to tell him they should just skip dinner and go right to…dessert.
Feeling a bit braver than she had in a long time, she leaned toward him. "I'm going to hold you to that." Then with a laugh she pulled back and got out of the truck.
He caught up with her before she stepped up on the wooden porch of the restaurant. He wrapped his arm around her waist before opening the door for her.
"You have to let me get doors for you or they'll take away my cowboy chivalry badge."
"Well, we can't have that." A smile seemed to take possession of her face, and she welcomed it with open arms.
After they slipped into a booth, Madison looked around at the rustic, western décor. The obvious locals hanging out at the square bar in the middle of the restaurant.
"I know it's not fancy like what you have in Phoenix," Callum said.
"Are you kidding? I love it. It's got way more personality than some fancy place."
When the waitress finished taking their order, Callum reached across the table and took her hand. She let him, loving the feel of his warm palm, the roughness of his honest work calluses against her skin. Her face heated when she thought about those hands running over other parts of her body.
"What are you thinking about?" he asked. He didn't miss anything.
She shook her head. "Nothing."
"I don't believe you."
She met his eyes and got the distinct impression he was thinking about the same thing. Suddenly, it was very hard to sit still, to not squirm. Even when she'd been on dates before no one had ever affected her the way Callum did, and not so quickly. Something about him made her believe being cautious wasn't always a good idea.
…
Somehow he would make it through this dinner despite the fact all he wanted to do was take Madison back to his place and make love to her all night long. He'd never been one for romantic notions, for believing in love at first sight, in settling down and having a family. But Madison Gray had changed all that, had him thinking about things like happily ever after. He was falling for her, and falling hard. Not smart when she wasn't staying.
Unless he could convince her to stay.
"How's the work on the book coming?" he asked.
"Great. I'm really getting excited about it. There's such a rich history there."
"I bet there are lots of things you could write about around here."
She met his eyes, and it was so good to see they were bright with excitement instead of filled with hurt and exhaustion.
"You're probably right."
Throughout dinner, they talked about his days riding bareback on the rodeo circuit, her teaching, how Jason was getting the hang of ranch life.
"I can't thank you enough for whatever you've done," she said. "I'm just stunned by how quickly I've seen a change in Jason. I mean, I don't fool myself. We still have a long way to go, but at least he's not biting my head off anymore."
"Maybe it's just timing. One of those steps in the grieving process."
"Maybe." She stared down at her empty plate. "You know, I can still remember every word of the phone call when I found out Mom and Dad had been killed by the thugs of some warlord. They were there trying to help feed people, and they were killed over a few bags of grain."
Callum squeezed her hand but didn't know what to say to make it better. Maybe nothing would. "I'm sorry."
She shook off the melancholy. "At least they were doing what they believed in. That gives me some comfort." Madison squeezed his hand back. "I'm in the mood for a walk. Want to give me the grand tour of your metropolis?"
He paid the check and escorted her into the cool night. When she rubbed her bare arms, he went to the truck and retrieved his denim jacket for her.
"Thanks."
He took her hand because he couldn't bear not touching her. By the time he'd shown her everything Markton had to offer, holding her hand wasn't enough. He tugged her off the sidewalk into the darkness next to the closed Markton Feed and Grain store.
"If I don't kiss you, I'm going to explode."
She looked up at him and smiled. "Then kiss me, cowboy."
Her Unexpected Cowboy - Chapter 6
All thought of pulling away from Callum fled Madison's mind the moment he kissed her. This might not be a good idea, but it sure felt good—skin–tingling wonderful, to be exact.
He lifted his hand and placed it against her cheek, so gently her heart swelled. She wondered if he would be a tender lover or wild enough to make her totally lose her mind.
The sound of the door opening caused common sense to come rushing back into her brain, and she jerked away from him, turned toward the materials on the table. But the silence that followed told her that whoever had come in wasn't fooled. She glanced toward the door and saw Jason and Elly. Her friend was trying to hide a smile, but Jason looked confused. Before she could speak, he turned wordlessly down the hallway. At least he didn't slam his bedroom door this time.
Elly strolled toward the refrigerator. "I was coming in to see if anyone wanted dinner, but looks like some people skipped right to dessert."
"Elly!" Madison's face flamed in embarrassment. "This isn't funny."
"I agree," Callum said.
Madison looked at him, and what she saw in his expression wasn't amusement. It was desire. And she wasn't at all sure he couldn't see it on her face, too.
But he also must have seen the concern for what Jason would think, the worry that she was doing the wrong thing, because he gave her an understanding smile and stood.
"See you all tomorrow. I've got a lot of neglected paperwork waiting for me at home. We'll take that walk some other night."
As she watched him walk out the door, Madison pictured herself glued to the chair so she wouldn't run after him and finish what they'd started.
…
Callum noticed Jason was even quieter than normal the next day, and not just on the ride over to the ranch when he was still half-asleep. He kept it up all day, even when he was out by the practice arena watching his and Harry's every move with the horses. But despite the silent treatment Callum figured was a result of Jason walking in on him kissing Madison, he was beginning to see something else in the boy's eyes. Interest. If Callum wasn't mistaken, the boy was at the earliest stages of catching the rodeo bug.
Toward the end of the day, he was on the phone in his office arranging for the sale of three of his best bucking horses to a rodeo stock contractor when he noticed Jason hanging around outside the door. He motioned for him to come in and have a seat while he finished up the call. When he hung up, he leaned back in his leather chair.
"What's on your mind?"
Jason bit his lip for a minute before answering. "Can I learn how to ride the horses?"
"You mean Tulip Sue?" Callum asked, referring to the oldest, slowest mare on the place, the one used to teach toddlers how to ride.
"No, the bucking horses."
"You ever been around animals much? And I don't mean cats and dogs."
Jason shook his head.
"Well, then, Tulip Sue it is."
Jason looked about to argue when Callum raised his hand. "Listen, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. I don't think your sister would take kindly if you break your neck under my watch."
"Do you like her?"
"Yes, I do." Callum didn't believe in beating around the bush with the kid.
"Are you going to ask her out?"
"I have, twice. She said no both times."
Jason's brows furrowed. "But…I thought maybe she liked you, too."
"I'd say she does." If the way she'd responded to his kiss was any indication.
"Then…" Jason shook his head. "I don't understand girls."
Callum laughed. "You and every other male on the planet." He sat up and leaned his forearms on his desk. "I'm going to be straight with you and hope she doesn't skin me for it."
"Okay."
"Your sister is mighty afraid of doing anything that's going to hurt you any more than you've already been hurt."
"How would her going on a date hurt me?"
"She's got it in her head that she has to focus solely on you, to help you get past whatever has been happening with you the past few months."
"She's not my mom." Jason's voice held a thickness that conveyed clearer than words how much he missed his mother.
"No, but she's been put in that role now, as unfair as that is to both of you. She doesn't have the luxury of being just your big sister anymore."
Jason stared down past his knees to the floor. "I guess I've been horrible lately."
"Don't think there's any guessing about it, bud."
The silence stretched for a few beats before Jason met Callum's eyes. "It's okay with me if you take Madison out."
"I'm not the one you need to tell."
…
Madison spent the entire day talking with J.W. and Anne about their family tree, all the stories they could remember being told about their ancestors. Before she knew it, it was past time for Callum to bring home Jason.
"I'm sorry I've taken up so much of your time," she said as she rose from the overstuffed chair in the Codys' living room.
"No need to apologize, dear," Anne said. "We're excited to have you doing this. Elly has had nothing but wonderful things to say about your work."
"I hope I can live up to your expectations." And she hoped they'd understand if somewhere along the way she found some scoundrel or scandal in the Cody past and was obligated to include that as well.
By the time she reached the homestead house, Callum's truck was already parked outside, but there was no sign of him or her brother. She stepped inside to find Callum waiting for her, dressed in clean jeans, boots that weren't scuffed and a white shirt with black embroidered scrollwork near the shoulders.
"Little dressy for dropping off the help, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but not for taking a pretty woman out to dinner."
Her heart jumped at the thought, but she reined it in. "Callum, I…"
"I told him it was okay."
Madison turned toward where her brother stood at the entrance to the hallway. "You did?"
He nodded.
"You heard the man," Callum said. "I'm afraid you're not going to be rid of me until you say yes."
Madison stared first at her brother, then Callum—two against one. She guessed she was going out with Callum Cody.
He lifted his hand and placed it against her cheek, so gently her heart swelled. She wondered if he would be a tender lover or wild enough to make her totally lose her mind.
The sound of the door opening caused common sense to come rushing back into her brain, and she jerked away from him, turned toward the materials on the table. But the silence that followed told her that whoever had come in wasn't fooled. She glanced toward the door and saw Jason and Elly. Her friend was trying to hide a smile, but Jason looked confused. Before she could speak, he turned wordlessly down the hallway. At least he didn't slam his bedroom door this time.
Elly strolled toward the refrigerator. "I was coming in to see if anyone wanted dinner, but looks like some people skipped right to dessert."
"Elly!" Madison's face flamed in embarrassment. "This isn't funny."
"I agree," Callum said.
Madison looked at him, and what she saw in his expression wasn't amusement. It was desire. And she wasn't at all sure he couldn't see it on her face, too.
But he also must have seen the concern for what Jason would think, the worry that she was doing the wrong thing, because he gave her an understanding smile and stood.
"See you all tomorrow. I've got a lot of neglected paperwork waiting for me at home. We'll take that walk some other night."
As she watched him walk out the door, Madison pictured herself glued to the chair so she wouldn't run after him and finish what they'd started.
…
Callum noticed Jason was even quieter than normal the next day, and not just on the ride over to the ranch when he was still half-asleep. He kept it up all day, even when he was out by the practice arena watching his and Harry's every move with the horses. But despite the silent treatment Callum figured was a result of Jason walking in on him kissing Madison, he was beginning to see something else in the boy's eyes. Interest. If Callum wasn't mistaken, the boy was at the earliest stages of catching the rodeo bug.
Toward the end of the day, he was on the phone in his office arranging for the sale of three of his best bucking horses to a rodeo stock contractor when he noticed Jason hanging around outside the door. He motioned for him to come in and have a seat while he finished up the call. When he hung up, he leaned back in his leather chair.
"What's on your mind?"
Jason bit his lip for a minute before answering. "Can I learn how to ride the horses?"
"You mean Tulip Sue?" Callum asked, referring to the oldest, slowest mare on the place, the one used to teach toddlers how to ride.
"No, the bucking horses."
"You ever been around animals much? And I don't mean cats and dogs."
Jason shook his head.
"Well, then, Tulip Sue it is."
Jason looked about to argue when Callum raised his hand. "Listen, you have to start at the bottom and work your way up. I don't think your sister would take kindly if you break your neck under my watch."
"Do you like her?"
"Yes, I do." Callum didn't believe in beating around the bush with the kid.
"Are you going to ask her out?"
"I have, twice. She said no both times."
Jason's brows furrowed. "But…I thought maybe she liked you, too."
"I'd say she does." If the way she'd responded to his kiss was any indication.
"Then…" Jason shook his head. "I don't understand girls."
Callum laughed. "You and every other male on the planet." He sat up and leaned his forearms on his desk. "I'm going to be straight with you and hope she doesn't skin me for it."
"Okay."
"Your sister is mighty afraid of doing anything that's going to hurt you any more than you've already been hurt."
"How would her going on a date hurt me?"
"She's got it in her head that she has to focus solely on you, to help you get past whatever has been happening with you the past few months."
"She's not my mom." Jason's voice held a thickness that conveyed clearer than words how much he missed his mother.
"No, but she's been put in that role now, as unfair as that is to both of you. She doesn't have the luxury of being just your big sister anymore."
Jason stared down past his knees to the floor. "I guess I've been horrible lately."
"Don't think there's any guessing about it, bud."
The silence stretched for a few beats before Jason met Callum's eyes. "It's okay with me if you take Madison out."
"I'm not the one you need to tell."
…
Madison spent the entire day talking with J.W. and Anne about their family tree, all the stories they could remember being told about their ancestors. Before she knew it, it was past time for Callum to bring home Jason.
"I'm sorry I've taken up so much of your time," she said as she rose from the overstuffed chair in the Codys' living room.
"No need to apologize, dear," Anne said. "We're excited to have you doing this. Elly has had nothing but wonderful things to say about your work."
"I hope I can live up to your expectations." And she hoped they'd understand if somewhere along the way she found some scoundrel or scandal in the Cody past and was obligated to include that as well.
By the time she reached the homestead house, Callum's truck was already parked outside, but there was no sign of him or her brother. She stepped inside to find Callum waiting for her, dressed in clean jeans, boots that weren't scuffed and a white shirt with black embroidered scrollwork near the shoulders.
"Little dressy for dropping off the help, isn't it?"
"Yeah, but not for taking a pretty woman out to dinner."
Her heart jumped at the thought, but she reined it in. "Callum, I…"
"I told him it was okay."
Madison turned toward where her brother stood at the entrance to the hallway. "You did?"
He nodded.
"You heard the man," Callum said. "I'm afraid you're not going to be rid of me until you say yes."
Madison stared first at her brother, then Callum—two against one. She guessed she was going out with Callum Cody.
Her Unexpected Cowboy - Chapter 5
Madison still had the image of Callum at the forefront of her thoughts when she walked back inside the house and found Elly sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. She must have come in the back door from the training arena. Elly was making a run at the National Finals Rodeo in barrel racing, and she spent a good portion of her days practicing.
"You like him, don't you?" Elly asked, startling Madison so much she stopped in the middle of pouring herself a cup.
She grasped for some type of reasonable response. "He's nice. And I appreciate what he's doing for Jason, giving him a job to keep him occupied."
"But it's more than that, right?"
Madison finished pouring her coffee and joined her friend at the table. "I'm attracted, yes, but I can't act on it."
"Because you're going home eventually."
"Yes. And I've got to focus on Jason right now."
"You deserve to focus on yourself, too."
Madison looked up at Elly. "You sound like him."
"We Codys, we're a smart bunch."
Madison smiled. "Modest, too."
"Sometimes I think Callum and Dusty are competing to see who can be the biggest flirt in the family, but they're both good guys under all that." Elly traced the rim of her coffee cup. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but maybe you should go out with Callum. Just for fun, nothing serious. It could be exactly what you need."
"I've already told him no, twice."
"If I know my cousin, he'll ask again."
Madison suspected Elly was right. Would she be able to say no a third time, particularly when her friend thought it was a good idea to say yes?
"So, how are things going for you at work?" Elly asked, steering the conversation a different direction.
"Good. Busy, of course."
"You ever find a book project?"
Madison had told Elly how much she wanted to write books about her specialty, the settling of the West.
"Not yet. There never seems to be time to work on it anyway."
"You've got time now." Elly looked around the great room for a moment. "And I just had an idea for a topic."
"Oh?"
"You know my family was some of the first white settlers in this area. What if you worked on a Cody family history and how it figures into the settlement of Wyoming?" Elly leaned forward, excitement lighting her eyes. "This would be great for our family, and it could launch that part of your career. I know Mom and Dad have tons of old documents, photos."
Madison itched to get a hold of those pieces of the past. "What would your parents say?"
"Are you kidding? They'd love it. Come on, we'll go talk to them now."
As Madison followed Elly to her truck, a spark of the hope she'd been losing flickered back to life. Jason, Callum, this chance to do what she really wanted—it felt like things were looking up. She just hoped fate wasn't being cruel and teasing her.
…
Callum didn't know quite what to make of the jittery feeling in his stomach as he drove onto the Cottonwood Ranch at the end of the day. It'd been a very long time since a woman had made him feel like this, like he was living in a state of constant anticipation. He refocused his thoughts on the boy sitting on the other side of the truck.
"Harry tells me you did a good job in the barn today, particularly for someone who's never worked on a ranch."
"Thanks."
"You're a man of few words, aren't you?"
Jason glanced at him before turning his attention back to the road in front of them. "Just don't feel like talking much."
Callum nodded. "I understand. Sometimes a man's just got to be alone with his thoughts."
"Madison wouldn't agree with you." Jason sounded one part frustrated, one part defeated. "She thinks I'm just a kid, that I need her hovering over me all the time."
"You given her any reason to think that?"
Callum sensed a heated denial coming, but then something seemed to shift in Jason. His shoulders slumped. "Maybe some."
"You want to know what I think?"
Jason looked at him, silently giving his answer.
"I think your sister is hurting just as much as you, maybe more. Only she has to be the strong one and can't show it."
"She say that?"
"She didn't have to. Just look at her and you'll see it. What happened to your parents isn't her fault."
Jason turned to stare out his window at a portion of the Cottonwood's cattle herd. Callum left him with his thoughts the rest of the way up to the homestead. Madison was nowhere to be seen when he parked. Maybe he should leave, give Jason a chance to talk to his sister. But when Jason slipped out of the truck, he headed straight for where Elly was walking Jasmine, one of her backup horses. Ah, poor kid. That crush didn't have a chance in the world, especially since Elly was a decade older than Jason.
He could drive away, but he didn't. Instead, he headed up the porch steps, paused to knock on the door before pushing it open. "Anybody home?"
"Callum." Madison spun in her chair at the table, surprise making her eyes wide. "I didn't realize what time it was." She looked back at the stacks of papers and photo albums strewn across the table.
"What's all this?" he asked as he crossed the distance between them.
"Cody family documents and photographs. Elly convinced me to work on a family history of the Cody family in Wyoming."
"Really?" He sank into the chair beside her.
"Yeah, it's something I've always wanted to do."
"My family's history?"
"No, write books about the settling of the West. It's my specialty, what I teach."
He leaned a bit closer to her. "So, found any impossible rogues in the family tree?"
She laughed. "Just you."
Callum shifted closer still. "So, Madison Gray, do you like rogues?"
Madison met his gaze, and he realized just how close they were to each other, close enough to feel her warm breath.
"Maybe," she said softly, sounding dazed and unsure.
"Let's find out." He captured her delectable lips in a kiss.
"You like him, don't you?" Elly asked, startling Madison so much she stopped in the middle of pouring herself a cup.
She grasped for some type of reasonable response. "He's nice. And I appreciate what he's doing for Jason, giving him a job to keep him occupied."
"But it's more than that, right?"
Madison finished pouring her coffee and joined her friend at the table. "I'm attracted, yes, but I can't act on it."
"Because you're going home eventually."
"Yes. And I've got to focus on Jason right now."
"You deserve to focus on yourself, too."
Madison looked up at Elly. "You sound like him."
"We Codys, we're a smart bunch."
Madison smiled. "Modest, too."
"Sometimes I think Callum and Dusty are competing to see who can be the biggest flirt in the family, but they're both good guys under all that." Elly traced the rim of her coffee cup. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but maybe you should go out with Callum. Just for fun, nothing serious. It could be exactly what you need."
"I've already told him no, twice."
"If I know my cousin, he'll ask again."
Madison suspected Elly was right. Would she be able to say no a third time, particularly when her friend thought it was a good idea to say yes?
"So, how are things going for you at work?" Elly asked, steering the conversation a different direction.
"Good. Busy, of course."
"You ever find a book project?"
Madison had told Elly how much she wanted to write books about her specialty, the settling of the West.
"Not yet. There never seems to be time to work on it anyway."
"You've got time now." Elly looked around the great room for a moment. "And I just had an idea for a topic."
"Oh?"
"You know my family was some of the first white settlers in this area. What if you worked on a Cody family history and how it figures into the settlement of Wyoming?" Elly leaned forward, excitement lighting her eyes. "This would be great for our family, and it could launch that part of your career. I know Mom and Dad have tons of old documents, photos."
Madison itched to get a hold of those pieces of the past. "What would your parents say?"
"Are you kidding? They'd love it. Come on, we'll go talk to them now."
As Madison followed Elly to her truck, a spark of the hope she'd been losing flickered back to life. Jason, Callum, this chance to do what she really wanted—it felt like things were looking up. She just hoped fate wasn't being cruel and teasing her.
…
Callum didn't know quite what to make of the jittery feeling in his stomach as he drove onto the Cottonwood Ranch at the end of the day. It'd been a very long time since a woman had made him feel like this, like he was living in a state of constant anticipation. He refocused his thoughts on the boy sitting on the other side of the truck.
"Harry tells me you did a good job in the barn today, particularly for someone who's never worked on a ranch."
"Thanks."
"You're a man of few words, aren't you?"
Jason glanced at him before turning his attention back to the road in front of them. "Just don't feel like talking much."
Callum nodded. "I understand. Sometimes a man's just got to be alone with his thoughts."
"Madison wouldn't agree with you." Jason sounded one part frustrated, one part defeated. "She thinks I'm just a kid, that I need her hovering over me all the time."
"You given her any reason to think that?"
Callum sensed a heated denial coming, but then something seemed to shift in Jason. His shoulders slumped. "Maybe some."
"You want to know what I think?"
Jason looked at him, silently giving his answer.
"I think your sister is hurting just as much as you, maybe more. Only she has to be the strong one and can't show it."
"She say that?"
"She didn't have to. Just look at her and you'll see it. What happened to your parents isn't her fault."
Jason turned to stare out his window at a portion of the Cottonwood's cattle herd. Callum left him with his thoughts the rest of the way up to the homestead. Madison was nowhere to be seen when he parked. Maybe he should leave, give Jason a chance to talk to his sister. But when Jason slipped out of the truck, he headed straight for where Elly was walking Jasmine, one of her backup horses. Ah, poor kid. That crush didn't have a chance in the world, especially since Elly was a decade older than Jason.
He could drive away, but he didn't. Instead, he headed up the porch steps, paused to knock on the door before pushing it open. "Anybody home?"
"Callum." Madison spun in her chair at the table, surprise making her eyes wide. "I didn't realize what time it was." She looked back at the stacks of papers and photo albums strewn across the table.
"What's all this?" he asked as he crossed the distance between them.
"Cody family documents and photographs. Elly convinced me to work on a family history of the Cody family in Wyoming."
"Really?" He sank into the chair beside her.
"Yeah, it's something I've always wanted to do."
"My family's history?"
"No, write books about the settling of the West. It's my specialty, what I teach."
He leaned a bit closer to her. "So, found any impossible rogues in the family tree?"
She laughed. "Just you."
Callum shifted closer still. "So, Madison Gray, do you like rogues?"
Madison met his gaze, and he realized just how close they were to each other, close enough to feel her warm breath.
"Maybe," she said softly, sounding dazed and unsure.
"Let's find out." He captured her delectable lips in a kiss.
Her Unexpected Cowboy - Chapter 4
Madison forced herself to look away from Callum and his sexy grin and focus on her brother. She took a breath and ventured a question, hoping it didn't ignite another of his volatile responses.
"Did you have a good day?"
He gave her one of his familiar shrugs, only this one wasn't as dismissive or tinged with anger. "It was okay." He looked over at Callum.
"Go on, ask her," Callum said.
Jason swallowed and met her eyes only for a moment. "Callum said he'd give me a job if it's okay with you."
"A job?" This was the last thing she'd expected, and suspicion flared that Callum was using her brother to get to her. But when she looked at him, he didn't seem to be in full-on flirt mode.
"I told him that I had to start working at fourteen to save up enough for a down payment on a car. Took me every bit of those two years to do it, too."
That surprised Madison. She knew that Elly and her brothers all had jobs on the Cottonwood and Callum worked on his family's ranch, but she would have expected the well-to-do Codys to provide vehicles for their children. That they hadn't, at least not for Callum, spoke volumes about how they'd raised their kids. It made her feel better about having Jason around Callum. If she couldn't get through to her brother, maybe a man could. That thought made her heart ache, but that was less important than getting her brother back on the right path.
"What would you be doing?"
"Glamorous things like mucking out horse stalls, " Callum said with laughter in his voice.
When she glanced at Jason, he was looking at Callum with admiration in his eyes. As much as it hurt to acknowledge that a stranger might be able to do what she'd failed at for months, she nodded.
"Okay."
"Dex and Dusty should have some old stuff you can wear to work," Callum said. He nodded toward the collection of barns behind the homestead. "I bet you can catch one of them before they call it a day. I'll be by to get you at seven in the morning."
Jason just nodded and took off around the house.
"I can't believe he didn't moan about the time. He usually sleeps half the morning."
"He probably will complain in the morning. I still do."
Madison looked back at Callum, who'd come to stand next to the porch, propping his outstretched arm against one of the support posts.
"Thank you, for whatever you said or did."
"Wait until he's shoveled some horse poop before you thank me. He may decide I'm the devil tomorrow."
"But for now he seems to be interested in something other than going home and hanging out with the wrong people."
"Well then, you're welcome."
"Did…did he say anything to you?"
"Not much. He's not much of a talker, at least not yet."
"He used to be." Madison gripped her hands in her lap. "Before our parents died, he was such a bright, happy kid, always talking about something new he'd learned or e-mailing me funny YouTube videos. But when they died and he had to come live with me, he just…" She shook her head. "He changed."
Callum sat on the edge of the porch and propped one leg up on it. "People deal with grief in different ways. I know it's hard now, but I have a feeling he'll get past it."
"I hope so. I'm out of ideas of how to help him."
"Maybe he's to the point where he needs to help himself."
She met his gaze. "Or have someone new try."
"I'm not really doing anything, Madison, just giving him something to do, someplace to go so he has something else to focus on. You know that's what all the bad stuff probably was, him trying to find something to make all the hurt go away."
"Deep down, I know that. I just feel like I've failed him."
Madison didn't realize how close Callum was sitting to her until he reached out and took her hand in his. She didn't pull away. His big, warm hand felt too good. She felt so much support in that touch that she nearly gave way to the tears she seemed to always be holding back.
"I think this job might be good for you, too," Callum said.
"How so?"
"I'm guessing you haven't had any time to do your own grieving, or healing. Take it now, when you have the chance."
Madison squeezed his hand in return. "There's more to you than meets the eye, Callum Cody."
"That's what I keep telling everyone," he said and winked at her.
She laughed and shook her head.
"That's a pretty sound, you laughing."
Madison blushed and gently pulled her hand away. It would be oh so easy to fall under Callum Cody's spell, to believe that there could be something between them. But she didn't think she could handle any more heartache, and that's what she'd get if she gave in. Because maybe sooner than she'd like, she'd be headed back to Phoenix, back to preparing lesson plans and working on academic papers on westward expansion, back to staring into the eyes of the college students in her classes instead of those of the most handsome, intriguing man she'd ever met.
"One of these days, you won't pull away," he said.
When she looked up and got caught in his gaze, she was afraid he was right.
…
The next morning, Madison was up at the crack of dawn. She used the items she'd gone to the grocery to buy the night before to make Jason's lunch and a batch of cinnamon apple muffins for her brother and Callum. She felt she had to do something tangible to show Callum how much she appreciated what he was doing, even if he did brush it off as no big deal. To her, it was a very big deal.
When she heard Jason coming down the hallway, she turned and was stunned to see her brother looked like a real cowboy.
"Well, you look ready to ride the range."
"I'm just doing grunt work," he said. He noticed the paper bag on the kitchen island. "You made me lunch?"
She smiled. "Yeah."
He stared at the bag long and hard, and it finally dawned on her what she'd done. Every morning, her mom had made lunch for her father and had it ready for him in a paper bag when he'd headed for the office. She opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of a vehicle outside drew her attention.
"That's Callum." Jason grabbed the bag and headed out the door.
Madison stood in the kitchen for several seconds before she picked up the container of muffins and walked outside.
"I thought you might be avoiding me," Callum said where only she could hear him when she walked up next to the truck.
"No."
"Hey, what's wrong?" He reached for her hand, but she lifted the muffins to provide a buffer between them. "What's this?"
"A thank you."
"That wasn't necessary."
"It was for me."
Callum placed his fingers beneath her chin and lifted it, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I just did something that reminded Jason of Mom and Dad. Long story."
"Then when I bring him back this afternoon, you and are I are going for a long walk." When she started to object, he wouldn't let her. "No arguments."
Her heart beat a couple of times. "Okay."
As she watched Callum and Jason disappear down the drive, she was already looking forward to that walk even though she dreaded the conversation.
"Did you have a good day?"
He gave her one of his familiar shrugs, only this one wasn't as dismissive or tinged with anger. "It was okay." He looked over at Callum.
"Go on, ask her," Callum said.
Jason swallowed and met her eyes only for a moment. "Callum said he'd give me a job if it's okay with you."
"A job?" This was the last thing she'd expected, and suspicion flared that Callum was using her brother to get to her. But when she looked at him, he didn't seem to be in full-on flirt mode.
"I told him that I had to start working at fourteen to save up enough for a down payment on a car. Took me every bit of those two years to do it, too."
That surprised Madison. She knew that Elly and her brothers all had jobs on the Cottonwood and Callum worked on his family's ranch, but she would have expected the well-to-do Codys to provide vehicles for their children. That they hadn't, at least not for Callum, spoke volumes about how they'd raised their kids. It made her feel better about having Jason around Callum. If she couldn't get through to her brother, maybe a man could. That thought made her heart ache, but that was less important than getting her brother back on the right path.
"What would you be doing?"
"Glamorous things like mucking out horse stalls, " Callum said with laughter in his voice.
When she glanced at Jason, he was looking at Callum with admiration in his eyes. As much as it hurt to acknowledge that a stranger might be able to do what she'd failed at for months, she nodded.
"Okay."
"Dex and Dusty should have some old stuff you can wear to work," Callum said. He nodded toward the collection of barns behind the homestead. "I bet you can catch one of them before they call it a day. I'll be by to get you at seven in the morning."
Jason just nodded and took off around the house.
"I can't believe he didn't moan about the time. He usually sleeps half the morning."
"He probably will complain in the morning. I still do."
Madison looked back at Callum, who'd come to stand next to the porch, propping his outstretched arm against one of the support posts.
"Thank you, for whatever you said or did."
"Wait until he's shoveled some horse poop before you thank me. He may decide I'm the devil tomorrow."
"But for now he seems to be interested in something other than going home and hanging out with the wrong people."
"Well then, you're welcome."
"Did…did he say anything to you?"
"Not much. He's not much of a talker, at least not yet."
"He used to be." Madison gripped her hands in her lap. "Before our parents died, he was such a bright, happy kid, always talking about something new he'd learned or e-mailing me funny YouTube videos. But when they died and he had to come live with me, he just…" She shook her head. "He changed."
Callum sat on the edge of the porch and propped one leg up on it. "People deal with grief in different ways. I know it's hard now, but I have a feeling he'll get past it."
"I hope so. I'm out of ideas of how to help him."
"Maybe he's to the point where he needs to help himself."
She met his gaze. "Or have someone new try."
"I'm not really doing anything, Madison, just giving him something to do, someplace to go so he has something else to focus on. You know that's what all the bad stuff probably was, him trying to find something to make all the hurt go away."
"Deep down, I know that. I just feel like I've failed him."
Madison didn't realize how close Callum was sitting to her until he reached out and took her hand in his. She didn't pull away. His big, warm hand felt too good. She felt so much support in that touch that she nearly gave way to the tears she seemed to always be holding back.
"I think this job might be good for you, too," Callum said.
"How so?"
"I'm guessing you haven't had any time to do your own grieving, or healing. Take it now, when you have the chance."
Madison squeezed his hand in return. "There's more to you than meets the eye, Callum Cody."
"That's what I keep telling everyone," he said and winked at her.
She laughed and shook her head.
"That's a pretty sound, you laughing."
Madison blushed and gently pulled her hand away. It would be oh so easy to fall under Callum Cody's spell, to believe that there could be something between them. But she didn't think she could handle any more heartache, and that's what she'd get if she gave in. Because maybe sooner than she'd like, she'd be headed back to Phoenix, back to preparing lesson plans and working on academic papers on westward expansion, back to staring into the eyes of the college students in her classes instead of those of the most handsome, intriguing man she'd ever met.
"One of these days, you won't pull away," he said.
When she looked up and got caught in his gaze, she was afraid he was right.
…
The next morning, Madison was up at the crack of dawn. She used the items she'd gone to the grocery to buy the night before to make Jason's lunch and a batch of cinnamon apple muffins for her brother and Callum. She felt she had to do something tangible to show Callum how much she appreciated what he was doing, even if he did brush it off as no big deal. To her, it was a very big deal.
When she heard Jason coming down the hallway, she turned and was stunned to see her brother looked like a real cowboy.
"Well, you look ready to ride the range."
"I'm just doing grunt work," he said. He noticed the paper bag on the kitchen island. "You made me lunch?"
She smiled. "Yeah."
He stared at the bag long and hard, and it finally dawned on her what she'd done. Every morning, her mom had made lunch for her father and had it ready for him in a paper bag when he'd headed for the office. She opened her mouth to say something, but the sound of a vehicle outside drew her attention.
"That's Callum." Jason grabbed the bag and headed out the door.
Madison stood in the kitchen for several seconds before she picked up the container of muffins and walked outside.
"I thought you might be avoiding me," Callum said where only she could hear him when she walked up next to the truck.
"No."
"Hey, what's wrong?" He reached for her hand, but she lifted the muffins to provide a buffer between them. "What's this?"
"A thank you."
"That wasn't necessary."
"It was for me."
Callum placed his fingers beneath her chin and lifted it, forcing her to look him in the eye. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I just did something that reminded Jason of Mom and Dad. Long story."
"Then when I bring him back this afternoon, you and are I are going for a long walk." When she started to object, he wouldn't let her. "No arguments."
Her heart beat a couple of times. "Okay."
As she watched Callum and Jason disappear down the drive, she was already looking forward to that walk even though she dreaded the conversation.
Her Unexpected Cowboy - Chapter 3
It took a few stunned moments for Madison's brain to kick-start again after Callum's comment on the porch. He'd disappeared inside the house before the message from her head made it to her feet and she moved to follow.
When was the last time a man had made his interest in her so obvious? Had any ever done so? She was certain none had her contemplating giving in to temptation quite so thoroughly. But this situation won the award for bad timing. Even so, she didn't say anything else to deter him. She tried to convince herself it was because she was so hungry and he was cooking, but her eyes kept straying to how snug his jeans fit him as he stood at the stove. She nearly fell out of her chair when he flipped the omelette onto a plate and swung toward her in one fluid motion, nearly catching her ogling his backside.
He hadn't been lying. He could make a mean omelette.
"This is delicious."
"Delicious enough to let me take you out?"
She ignored the little pang at how she had to answer. "I'm sorry, but no."
Callum shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying."
And trying. He flirted with her so much during the rest of breakfast that she felt on the verge of giggling at some points. Despite her marathon sleep session, she must still be tired.
"Well, if you change your mind and suddenly can't bear not to see me, call the Pebble Creek Ranch. I'll be here in a flash."
She did laugh then. "You are, perhaps, the most persistent man I've ever met."
He smiled, making her heart go wild in her chest. "I do my best."
…
Callum tried to refocus on the work he had waiting for him as he drove toward home, but that was difficult when all of his senses were still focused on Madison. He couldn't get her out of his mind, not since the moment he'd first seen her. Having his concentration shot wasn't smart when working with bucking horses, which was what he was heading home to spend the rest of the day doing.
As he topped a hill, he spotted someone walking along the side of the road. Almost instantly, he recognized the jeans and red shirt. Damn, the kid had gone farther than he thought he would. He didn't like the idea of him causing Madison to worry more, making the dark circles under her beautiful blue eyes even darker. Maybe he could do something about that. He slowed as he pulled up next to Jason.
"Out for a walk or running away?"
He saw a sliver of concern pass over Jason's young face before recognition hit. "Just walking."
Callum wondered if Jason had entertained thoughts of running away, but something told him the boy didn't quite have what it took to go through with the deed. He might be angry with Madison, but he'd bet good money that he loved his sister beneath all that misplaced anger.
He pointed toward the passenger door. "Get in."
Jason just stared at him. After all, he really didn't know him. He was just the cousin of his sister's college friend.
"I'm headed down the road to my family's ranch. Going to work with some bucking horses today if you want to hang out and watch."
Jason hesitated a moment more before opening the door and slipping into the passenger seat.
Callum didn't force conversation on the boy. He figured he'd talk when and if he got ready. When they turned into the ranch's entrance, Callum started pointing out things—fire tower on a distant ridge, a few guest cabins along Pebble Creek, the main house where his parents lived with his sister, Regina, and brother, Baker.
"Our oldest sister, Natalie, lives in Cheyenne with her family."
"You all sure like big families out here," Jason muttered.
Callum laughed. "Need a lot of kids to fill up all this land." From who knew where, an image of himself as a father with his own kids formed in his mind—kids who looked remarkably like Madison.
He shook away the image. Yeah, he was attracted to her, but why was he having serious thoughts like that when he hadn't even known her a full day?
He parked next to the barn that held his office and apartment and connected to the outdoor arena where he worked the bucking horses with the hands. When he got out of the truck, Jason followed without a word. Callum gave the boy a quick-and-dirty tour before he got to work. On the way out the back of the barn, he texted Elly to tell Madison that he had Jason with him so she wouldn't worry. As Callum talked with Harry Wurton, his most trusted hand, about their newest horse's progress, he glanced toward where Jason was leaning against the back of the barn, trying his teenage best not to look interested. Callum had to laugh because he probably looked like that at fourteen, too.
"Who's the kid?" Harry asked.
"Little brother of Elly's college friend."
"City kid, huh?"
"Yeah. One who's had a tough time of it recently."
"That explains the visible chip on his shoulder."
Callum nodded. "He and his sister needed a break from each other." And better the kid was here than finding whatever trouble he could.
Callum didn't make it obvious he was keeping an eye on Jason, but he had to admit some satisfaction when the boy showed a bit of interest. As Harry pulled himself up onto Jumping Bean, Jason pushed away from the wall of the barn. By the time the large chestnut horse bucked Harry into the dirt, Jason was near the fence watching every move, a hint of light in his eyes.
Callum casually strode over to stand next to Jason. "This one's been a bear to train, but I think we've got him just about ready."
"For what?"
"The rodeo circuit."
"Oh." Jason watched as the hands led the horse out of the arena. "That's what you do, train horses to buck?"
"Yep. Used to ride them until a particularly nasty fellow named El Diablo bucked me right into a fence during a rodeo and knocked me out cold."
"You couldn't ride anymore?"
"Not the bucking stock. Doc said one more concussion might knock my brain right out of my head."
Jason laughed, and Callum wondered when he'd done that the last time because the kid looked surprised that it had happened.
Not that he'd had a lot to laugh about.
Callum looked toward the house and couldn't imagine losing his parents, especially not at the same time. And not when he'd been fourteen.
Even though she knew where Jason was, Madison fretted about him all day. She'd gone on a ranch tour with Elly, had lunch with Elly's parents, J.W. and Anne, in their gorgeous showplace home, and tried to read a novel. But she kept asking herself what Callum had been thinking taking her brother to his ranch, wondering if Jason was behaving or causing trouble. She hated having to worry about her brother's actions, but he'd been a different kid during the past several months.
She closed the book she couldn't concentrate on when she noticed a familiar pickup coming up the long drive from the main road. Nervousness twisted her stomach, and she had to admit it wasn't all because of Jason. Part of it was because she was about to see Callum again, and she was scared by how giddy that made her.
When the two of them got out of the truck, Callum touched the front edge of his hat. "Madison."
Her skin heated at the mere sound of her name on his lips. She figured if she ever let herself get too close to him, she might very well go up in flames.
And she wasn't at all sure that was a bad thing.
When was the last time a man had made his interest in her so obvious? Had any ever done so? She was certain none had her contemplating giving in to temptation quite so thoroughly. But this situation won the award for bad timing. Even so, she didn't say anything else to deter him. She tried to convince herself it was because she was so hungry and he was cooking, but her eyes kept straying to how snug his jeans fit him as he stood at the stove. She nearly fell out of her chair when he flipped the omelette onto a plate and swung toward her in one fluid motion, nearly catching her ogling his backside.
He hadn't been lying. He could make a mean omelette.
"This is delicious."
"Delicious enough to let me take you out?"
She ignored the little pang at how she had to answer. "I'm sorry, but no."
Callum shrugged. "Can't blame a guy for trying."
And trying. He flirted with her so much during the rest of breakfast that she felt on the verge of giggling at some points. Despite her marathon sleep session, she must still be tired.
"Well, if you change your mind and suddenly can't bear not to see me, call the Pebble Creek Ranch. I'll be here in a flash."
She did laugh then. "You are, perhaps, the most persistent man I've ever met."
He smiled, making her heart go wild in her chest. "I do my best."
…
Callum tried to refocus on the work he had waiting for him as he drove toward home, but that was difficult when all of his senses were still focused on Madison. He couldn't get her out of his mind, not since the moment he'd first seen her. Having his concentration shot wasn't smart when working with bucking horses, which was what he was heading home to spend the rest of the day doing.
As he topped a hill, he spotted someone walking along the side of the road. Almost instantly, he recognized the jeans and red shirt. Damn, the kid had gone farther than he thought he would. He didn't like the idea of him causing Madison to worry more, making the dark circles under her beautiful blue eyes even darker. Maybe he could do something about that. He slowed as he pulled up next to Jason.
"Out for a walk or running away?"
He saw a sliver of concern pass over Jason's young face before recognition hit. "Just walking."
Callum wondered if Jason had entertained thoughts of running away, but something told him the boy didn't quite have what it took to go through with the deed. He might be angry with Madison, but he'd bet good money that he loved his sister beneath all that misplaced anger.
He pointed toward the passenger door. "Get in."
Jason just stared at him. After all, he really didn't know him. He was just the cousin of his sister's college friend.
"I'm headed down the road to my family's ranch. Going to work with some bucking horses today if you want to hang out and watch."
Jason hesitated a moment more before opening the door and slipping into the passenger seat.
Callum didn't force conversation on the boy. He figured he'd talk when and if he got ready. When they turned into the ranch's entrance, Callum started pointing out things—fire tower on a distant ridge, a few guest cabins along Pebble Creek, the main house where his parents lived with his sister, Regina, and brother, Baker.
"Our oldest sister, Natalie, lives in Cheyenne with her family."
"You all sure like big families out here," Jason muttered.
Callum laughed. "Need a lot of kids to fill up all this land." From who knew where, an image of himself as a father with his own kids formed in his mind—kids who looked remarkably like Madison.
He shook away the image. Yeah, he was attracted to her, but why was he having serious thoughts like that when he hadn't even known her a full day?
He parked next to the barn that held his office and apartment and connected to the outdoor arena where he worked the bucking horses with the hands. When he got out of the truck, Jason followed without a word. Callum gave the boy a quick-and-dirty tour before he got to work. On the way out the back of the barn, he texted Elly to tell Madison that he had Jason with him so she wouldn't worry. As Callum talked with Harry Wurton, his most trusted hand, about their newest horse's progress, he glanced toward where Jason was leaning against the back of the barn, trying his teenage best not to look interested. Callum had to laugh because he probably looked like that at fourteen, too.
"Who's the kid?" Harry asked.
"Little brother of Elly's college friend."
"City kid, huh?"
"Yeah. One who's had a tough time of it recently."
"That explains the visible chip on his shoulder."
Callum nodded. "He and his sister needed a break from each other." And better the kid was here than finding whatever trouble he could.
Callum didn't make it obvious he was keeping an eye on Jason, but he had to admit some satisfaction when the boy showed a bit of interest. As Harry pulled himself up onto Jumping Bean, Jason pushed away from the wall of the barn. By the time the large chestnut horse bucked Harry into the dirt, Jason was near the fence watching every move, a hint of light in his eyes.
Callum casually strode over to stand next to Jason. "This one's been a bear to train, but I think we've got him just about ready."
"For what?"
"The rodeo circuit."
"Oh." Jason watched as the hands led the horse out of the arena. "That's what you do, train horses to buck?"
"Yep. Used to ride them until a particularly nasty fellow named El Diablo bucked me right into a fence during a rodeo and knocked me out cold."
"You couldn't ride anymore?"
"Not the bucking stock. Doc said one more concussion might knock my brain right out of my head."
Jason laughed, and Callum wondered when he'd done that the last time because the kid looked surprised that it had happened.
Not that he'd had a lot to laugh about.
Callum looked toward the house and couldn't imagine losing his parents, especially not at the same time. And not when he'd been fourteen.
Even though she knew where Jason was, Madison fretted about him all day. She'd gone on a ranch tour with Elly, had lunch with Elly's parents, J.W. and Anne, in their gorgeous showplace home, and tried to read a novel. But she kept asking herself what Callum had been thinking taking her brother to his ranch, wondering if Jason was behaving or causing trouble. She hated having to worry about her brother's actions, but he'd been a different kid during the past several months.
She closed the book she couldn't concentrate on when she noticed a familiar pickup coming up the long drive from the main road. Nervousness twisted her stomach, and she had to admit it wasn't all because of Jason. Part of it was because she was about to see Callum again, and she was scared by how giddy that made her.
When the two of them got out of the truck, Callum touched the front edge of his hat. "Madison."
Her skin heated at the mere sound of her name on his lips. She figured if she ever let herself get too close to him, she might very well go up in flames.
And she wasn't at all sure that was a bad thing.
Her Unexpected Cowboy - Chapter 2
The dizziness dissolved as soon as Callum's strong hands gripped Madison's arms. But on its heels came embarrassment and she pulled back, breaking the contact.
"Sorry about that," she said. "Guess I'm more tired than I thought."
"Looks like you need a hot meal and a good night of sleep."
At the mention of sleep, the craziest image of curling up next to Callum flitted through her mind. To hide the new wave of heat invading her cheeks, she turned and went to stand next to her suitcase.
"I think you're right. Thanks for helping us with the luggage."
"Anytime."
When Callum didn't make a move to leave, she couldn't help looking up at him. When their eyes met, he seemed to come out of some sort of trance and moved toward the door.
"I'll leave you to get unpacked. Maybe we'll see each other around."
She smiled but didn't voice the thought that she would like that.
When he disappeared down the hall, she stood listening to the thunk of his boots until they faded. Only then did she sink down onto the bed. She lifted her palm to her forehead to see if she was running a fever, because she was feeling way warmer than the weather could account for.
But she knew it wasn't a fever. It was a blazing hot attraction for a man she'd met not five minutes ago. She'd never experienced such a visceral reaction to a man, but she couldn't have picked a worse time to have it slam into her.
She lay back on the bed, wondering what else could possibly add to the out-of-control maelstrom her life had become.
…
All the way from his home on the Pebble Creek Ranch between Markton and Cody to the Cottonwood the next morning, Callum tried to think of some plausible reason why he would be visiting the ranch again so soon. If he didn't come up with something, there would be no end to the teasing his cousins would shoot his way when they realized the real reason was so he could get another glimpse of Madison Gray.
He still hadn't come up with anything when he parked next to the ranch office in the converted bunkhouse. As he slipped out of his truck, Elly stepped out the front door of the office.
"I wondered how fast you'd be back over here," she said, that expected note of teasing in her voice.
"What, a man can't visit family?"
She snorted. "Don't waste your effort. I've got eyes. I saw how you were looking at Madison yesterday."
"I was just being neighborly."
"Oh, please." She nodded toward the house. "You're out of luck, though. She's still not up. She fell asleep without even eating last night."
"She looked exhausted."
"Not a surprise. She's been through a lot lately." Elly crossed her arms. "Which is why I don't want anyone hurting her."
He met his cousin's gaze. "I'm not planning on it."
"Good. Because, cousin or not, I'll take it out of your hide if you do."
…
Madison dragged herself out of the deep well of sleep. It felt like she was swimming up from the dark bottom of the ocean. She blinked several times, her mind trying to make sense of the light flooding the room. Gradually, reality coalesced in her brain. She was stretched out on the bed, still in the clothes she'd worn the day before. At some point, she'd pulled the comforter over her. Her suitcase still sat beside her, waiting to be unpacked.
She managed to move her head enough to see the clock on the nightstand. It was after eight o'clock. She'd slept for more than twelve hours. Pure and utter exhaustion had finally won the battle.
The sound of voices outside caught her attention, spurred her to slide off the bed and dig for some clean clothes in her suitcase. Never had a hot shower felt so good, easing her aching muscles, ones that felt as if they'd been tensed from the moment she'd received the news of her parents' deaths. The only thing that made her get out of the shower when she did was the persistent growling of her stomach.
When she reached the living room, Jason was parked on the couch in front of the TV, flipping channels. She braced herself for hostility right before she spoke.
"How did you sleep?"
Jason just shrugged.
Madison fought the urge to reprimand him. After all, it only made things worse. Everything she did seemed to make things worse.
"What would you like to do today?"
"Go home."
Madison sighed. "We just got here. Give it a chance. It's beautiful here, don't you think?"
Jason spun toward her, anger in his eyes. "Then you stay out here in the middle of nowhere. Let me go back. I can stay with friends."
"Your friends are part of the reason we're here in the first place."
Jason tossed the remote control on the coffee table and stormed toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Out."
She followed, but by the time she reached the door he was already down the steps and making long strides down the driveway. When she opened her mouth to call him back, nothing came out. The hope she'd felt the day before dissolved into utter hopelessness.
"Don't worry, he'll come back when he's hungry."
The deep, sexy voice had Madison turning toward the end of the porch. Callum Cody sat there in a rocking chair, today looking every inch the cowboy in scuffed boots, faded jeans, a blue snap-up shirt and a black cowboy hat.
"I should go after him."
Callum nodded toward Jason's retreating form. "No need. This place is huge. He can walk all day and not leave Cody land."
"He could get a ride on the road."
"Honey, around here anyone picks up a stray kid is going to make darn sure he gets back where he came from."
Something about the absolute surety in his voice eased her worry. But that "honey" he'd uttered and the way it made her heart race—that she didn't know what to do with.
"I heard you got that good night of sleep," he said.
"I can't remember when I last slept that long."
"It's the clean air and clean living out here. We all sleep like babies."
A little laugh slipped out of Madison, surprising her. She'd feared she had forgotten how to laugh. "Now why do I doubt that?" Oh my, was she flirting with him? Had she totally lost her mind?
"I have no idea," he said, all feigned innocence.
She rolled her eyes. "You forget I went to school with a lot of cowboys."
"I feel like I ought to be affronted on behalf of cowboys everywhere."
Again, she laughed a little, then glanced down the driveway. Jason was growing smaller with each passing moment.
"So, what's a city girl do when she comes to the country for the summer?" Callum asked.
Good question. "I really don't know. I guess I didn't think much beyond the actually getting here."
"How about you let a cowboy take you out?"
If possible, her heart sped up even more. As appealing as that sounded, she couldn't allow herself to give in to the temptation. She couldn't handle one more thing, couldn't even think about getting attached to someone else who wouldn't be there in a few weeks.
"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I can't. It's just…not a good idea."
Callum stood and took a few steps in her direction. "Well, at least let me make you breakfast. I make a mean omelette."
As if to betray her, her stomach let loose with an audible growl.
"I guess that's my answer," he said, laughter in his voice. He started past her then stopped so close she swore she could feel the warmth of his body. "And just so you know, I don't agree. I think us going out is a very good idea."
"Sorry about that," she said. "Guess I'm more tired than I thought."
"Looks like you need a hot meal and a good night of sleep."
At the mention of sleep, the craziest image of curling up next to Callum flitted through her mind. To hide the new wave of heat invading her cheeks, she turned and went to stand next to her suitcase.
"I think you're right. Thanks for helping us with the luggage."
"Anytime."
When Callum didn't make a move to leave, she couldn't help looking up at him. When their eyes met, he seemed to come out of some sort of trance and moved toward the door.
"I'll leave you to get unpacked. Maybe we'll see each other around."
She smiled but didn't voice the thought that she would like that.
When he disappeared down the hall, she stood listening to the thunk of his boots until they faded. Only then did she sink down onto the bed. She lifted her palm to her forehead to see if she was running a fever, because she was feeling way warmer than the weather could account for.
But she knew it wasn't a fever. It was a blazing hot attraction for a man she'd met not five minutes ago. She'd never experienced such a visceral reaction to a man, but she couldn't have picked a worse time to have it slam into her.
She lay back on the bed, wondering what else could possibly add to the out-of-control maelstrom her life had become.
…
All the way from his home on the Pebble Creek Ranch between Markton and Cody to the Cottonwood the next morning, Callum tried to think of some plausible reason why he would be visiting the ranch again so soon. If he didn't come up with something, there would be no end to the teasing his cousins would shoot his way when they realized the real reason was so he could get another glimpse of Madison Gray.
He still hadn't come up with anything when he parked next to the ranch office in the converted bunkhouse. As he slipped out of his truck, Elly stepped out the front door of the office.
"I wondered how fast you'd be back over here," she said, that expected note of teasing in her voice.
"What, a man can't visit family?"
She snorted. "Don't waste your effort. I've got eyes. I saw how you were looking at Madison yesterday."
"I was just being neighborly."
"Oh, please." She nodded toward the house. "You're out of luck, though. She's still not up. She fell asleep without even eating last night."
"She looked exhausted."
"Not a surprise. She's been through a lot lately." Elly crossed her arms. "Which is why I don't want anyone hurting her."
He met his cousin's gaze. "I'm not planning on it."
"Good. Because, cousin or not, I'll take it out of your hide if you do."
…
Madison dragged herself out of the deep well of sleep. It felt like she was swimming up from the dark bottom of the ocean. She blinked several times, her mind trying to make sense of the light flooding the room. Gradually, reality coalesced in her brain. She was stretched out on the bed, still in the clothes she'd worn the day before. At some point, she'd pulled the comforter over her. Her suitcase still sat beside her, waiting to be unpacked.
She managed to move her head enough to see the clock on the nightstand. It was after eight o'clock. She'd slept for more than twelve hours. Pure and utter exhaustion had finally won the battle.
The sound of voices outside caught her attention, spurred her to slide off the bed and dig for some clean clothes in her suitcase. Never had a hot shower felt so good, easing her aching muscles, ones that felt as if they'd been tensed from the moment she'd received the news of her parents' deaths. The only thing that made her get out of the shower when she did was the persistent growling of her stomach.
When she reached the living room, Jason was parked on the couch in front of the TV, flipping channels. She braced herself for hostility right before she spoke.
"How did you sleep?"
Jason just shrugged.
Madison fought the urge to reprimand him. After all, it only made things worse. Everything she did seemed to make things worse.
"What would you like to do today?"
"Go home."
Madison sighed. "We just got here. Give it a chance. It's beautiful here, don't you think?"
Jason spun toward her, anger in his eyes. "Then you stay out here in the middle of nowhere. Let me go back. I can stay with friends."
"Your friends are part of the reason we're here in the first place."
Jason tossed the remote control on the coffee table and stormed toward the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Out."
She followed, but by the time she reached the door he was already down the steps and making long strides down the driveway. When she opened her mouth to call him back, nothing came out. The hope she'd felt the day before dissolved into utter hopelessness.
"Don't worry, he'll come back when he's hungry."
The deep, sexy voice had Madison turning toward the end of the porch. Callum Cody sat there in a rocking chair, today looking every inch the cowboy in scuffed boots, faded jeans, a blue snap-up shirt and a black cowboy hat.
"I should go after him."
Callum nodded toward Jason's retreating form. "No need. This place is huge. He can walk all day and not leave Cody land."
"He could get a ride on the road."
"Honey, around here anyone picks up a stray kid is going to make darn sure he gets back where he came from."
Something about the absolute surety in his voice eased her worry. But that "honey" he'd uttered and the way it made her heart race—that she didn't know what to do with.
"I heard you got that good night of sleep," he said.
"I can't remember when I last slept that long."
"It's the clean air and clean living out here. We all sleep like babies."
A little laugh slipped out of Madison, surprising her. She'd feared she had forgotten how to laugh. "Now why do I doubt that?" Oh my, was she flirting with him? Had she totally lost her mind?
"I have no idea," he said, all feigned innocence.
She rolled her eyes. "You forget I went to school with a lot of cowboys."
"I feel like I ought to be affronted on behalf of cowboys everywhere."
Again, she laughed a little, then glanced down the driveway. Jason was growing smaller with each passing moment.
"So, what's a city girl do when she comes to the country for the summer?" Callum asked.
Good question. "I really don't know. I guess I didn't think much beyond the actually getting here."
"How about you let a cowboy take you out?"
If possible, her heart sped up even more. As appealing as that sounded, she couldn't allow herself to give in to the temptation. She couldn't handle one more thing, couldn't even think about getting attached to someone else who wouldn't be there in a few weeks.
"Please don't take this the wrong way, but I can't. It's just…not a good idea."
Callum stood and took a few steps in her direction. "Well, at least let me make you breakfast. I make a mean omelette."
As if to betray her, her stomach let loose with an audible growl.
"I guess that's my answer," he said, laughter in his voice. He started past her then stopped so close she swore she could feel the warmth of his body. "And just so you know, I don't agree. I think us going out is a very good idea."
Her Unexpected Cowboy - Chapter 1
Madison Gray had to fight tears as she drove up the long road leading onto the Cottonwood Ranch. Tears of relief, tears of hope, tears of frustration, fatigue and loss all pooled together, but she held them at bay. Beside her, her fourteen–year–old brother, Jason, still sat quiet and sullen. To him, this trip to Wyoming was akin to being banished to the dark side of the moon. To Madison, it represented a grasping at straws.
Elly Cody, her good friend from college, had insisted she and Jason come for a visit. She'd said that a good dose of ranch life, far away from Phoenix, would be good for Jason, hopefully set him on a different path than he'd been traveling lately. Madison prayed Elly was right. Otherwise, she didn't know what to do with or for her brother.
"Here we are," Madison said as she parked in front of a rambling wood–frame house.
Jason just grunted and stared out the passenger–side window.
Madison bit her lip and shoved herself out of the car when she spotted a gorgeous blonde running down the home's front steps.
"You made it." Elly smiled wide then pulled Madison into an enthusiastic hug. "It's been too long."
"It has."
Elly stepped back and directed her gaze at Jason, who was now standing outside the car. "And this must be Jason. Welcome to the Cottonwood Ranch."
"Thanks."
There, in that one word, was a glimpse of the boy Jason had been a year ago, before he and Madison had lost their parents. It took so little to make her hope flare to life.
When Madison returned her attention to Elly, she noticed a trail of men coming out the front door onto the porch. She recognized Dusty Cody, Elly's brother, and assumed the others were the rest of the large Cody clan. They were all definitely cowboys in their prime, and all strikingly handsome. When her eyes met those of the only cowboy wearing a T–shirt instead of a western–style button–up, her breath caught in her chest. He was simply gorgeous, with dark blond hair and a physique shown off to mouth–watering effect by his shirt and jeans.
"Madison, Jason, this sorry lot goes with the place," Elly said. "Walker's still in Iraq, but that's Jesse." She pointed to the man on the far right. "Next to him is Dex. Madison, you've met Dusty. And that's my cousin, Callum."
Callum. She liked that name. It fit him.
Before any of the other guys could make a move to do so, Callum was already halfway down the steps. "Let me help you with your bags."
Madison managed to pull herself out of her stupor of male appreciation to speak. "It's okay. We can get them."
By now, his long legs had brought him close enough that she could see he had green eyes and a nice tan. "No, I insist. You're company."
This close, she could also see the words on his T–shirt. "Prepare to give me all your money?"
He smiled, and she darn near swooned. "It's poker night," he said. "It's a heads up to my cousins."
A bit of ribbing sailed back and forth between the guys as Callum strode to the trunk of her car. She popped it open, and he lifted out their two large bags as if they weighed no more than two sticks of cotton candy. She wondered what it would be like to be held in those arms.
As soon as the thought popped in her head, she scolded herself. She wasn't here, hundreds of miles from home, to get involved with some cowboy. She had more than enough on her plate without taking on one more complication. For however long they stayed, she had to focus all of her attention and energy on Jason. Find a way to make him see that while he had the right to grieve, the way he was doing it was destroying their lives.
"We appreciate you letting us stay here," she said to Elly.
"Are you kidding? I'm just thrilled to have another woman here. I sometimes think I'm going to drown in testosterone." Elly glanced at Jason. "No offense."
"None taken."
When Madison looked at her brother, the familiar anger wasn't there. Could it be that things were already changing? She was afraid to hope it could be that simple.
"Where to?" Callum asked.
Elly motioned for them to follow her. "They're at the end of the hallway."
Jason quickly fell into step behind Elly, leaving Madison to follow with Callum. She glanced over at him, and he nodded ahead.
"Ladies first."
Wow, he had a deep, sexy voice, too. If she found out he was wickedly smart on top of the rest of the package, she might be in trouble.
…
Callum felt like he'd taken a jolt from a cattle prod—and liked it. He'd seen his share of pretty women in his time, had dated more than a few. But nothing had prepared him for the moment when he'd first seen Madison Gray. And to say he was surprised would take the grand prize of understatements. Normally, he liked curvy women with long, wildly bouncing hair and even longer legs. But even though Madison was petite, built like a tennis player and had a short blond bob, he couldn't deny the instant, powerful attraction.
And the view from behind her wasn't bad, either.
"Jason, you're in here," Elly said as she pointed to the room on the right at the end of the hall.
One look at the poor kid revealed he was already besotted with Callum's cousin. He remembered being that age, hormones raging and not really being able to do much about it. Well, maybe he'd focus on his crush instead of all the reasons his big sis had whisked him out of the city for the summer.
Callum placed the lighter of the two suitcases in the boy's room.
"And your sister will be right across the hall," Elly said.
"Great," Jason said under his breath, sounding like he didn't think it was great at all.
Callum found himself wanting to call the kid on the disrespect, but it wasn't his place. Instead, he carried the remaining suitcase into the other room and placed it on Madison's bed so she wouldn't have to lift it. She looked tired, like she had driven straight through from Phoenix.
"You all must be starving," Elly said. "I'll go fix something to eat. Just come on into the dining room when you're settled."
"Thanks," Madison said.
As soon as Elly retreated toward the kitchen, the door across the hall closed more loudly than it should have. Madison jerked at the sound.
"You okay?" Callum asked.
"Yeah." Madison nodded without moving any other part of her body.
Something about how she just stood there broke his heart. Elly had shared a bit about what Madison had been going through—losing her parents to warring factions in Africa while they were on a mission trip, getting custody of her brother, Jason acting out by drinking and getting in trouble at school. He found himself wishing he could do something to make it better, to lighten the load. He took a couple of steps toward her.
"You need anything else?"
She spun toward him, like she was surprised by how close he was. When she did so, her balance faltered. Without thinking, he reached out to steady her.
Their eyes met, and there went that cattle prod again.
Elly Cody, her good friend from college, had insisted she and Jason come for a visit. She'd said that a good dose of ranch life, far away from Phoenix, would be good for Jason, hopefully set him on a different path than he'd been traveling lately. Madison prayed Elly was right. Otherwise, she didn't know what to do with or for her brother.
"Here we are," Madison said as she parked in front of a rambling wood–frame house.
Jason just grunted and stared out the passenger–side window.
Madison bit her lip and shoved herself out of the car when she spotted a gorgeous blonde running down the home's front steps.
"You made it." Elly smiled wide then pulled Madison into an enthusiastic hug. "It's been too long."
"It has."
Elly stepped back and directed her gaze at Jason, who was now standing outside the car. "And this must be Jason. Welcome to the Cottonwood Ranch."
"Thanks."
There, in that one word, was a glimpse of the boy Jason had been a year ago, before he and Madison had lost their parents. It took so little to make her hope flare to life.
When Madison returned her attention to Elly, she noticed a trail of men coming out the front door onto the porch. She recognized Dusty Cody, Elly's brother, and assumed the others were the rest of the large Cody clan. They were all definitely cowboys in their prime, and all strikingly handsome. When her eyes met those of the only cowboy wearing a T–shirt instead of a western–style button–up, her breath caught in her chest. He was simply gorgeous, with dark blond hair and a physique shown off to mouth–watering effect by his shirt and jeans.
"Madison, Jason, this sorry lot goes with the place," Elly said. "Walker's still in Iraq, but that's Jesse." She pointed to the man on the far right. "Next to him is Dex. Madison, you've met Dusty. And that's my cousin, Callum."
Callum. She liked that name. It fit him.
Before any of the other guys could make a move to do so, Callum was already halfway down the steps. "Let me help you with your bags."
Madison managed to pull herself out of her stupor of male appreciation to speak. "It's okay. We can get them."
By now, his long legs had brought him close enough that she could see he had green eyes and a nice tan. "No, I insist. You're company."
This close, she could also see the words on his T–shirt. "Prepare to give me all your money?"
He smiled, and she darn near swooned. "It's poker night," he said. "It's a heads up to my cousins."
A bit of ribbing sailed back and forth between the guys as Callum strode to the trunk of her car. She popped it open, and he lifted out their two large bags as if they weighed no more than two sticks of cotton candy. She wondered what it would be like to be held in those arms.
As soon as the thought popped in her head, she scolded herself. She wasn't here, hundreds of miles from home, to get involved with some cowboy. She had more than enough on her plate without taking on one more complication. For however long they stayed, she had to focus all of her attention and energy on Jason. Find a way to make him see that while he had the right to grieve, the way he was doing it was destroying their lives.
"We appreciate you letting us stay here," she said to Elly.
"Are you kidding? I'm just thrilled to have another woman here. I sometimes think I'm going to drown in testosterone." Elly glanced at Jason. "No offense."
"None taken."
When Madison looked at her brother, the familiar anger wasn't there. Could it be that things were already changing? She was afraid to hope it could be that simple.
"Where to?" Callum asked.
Elly motioned for them to follow her. "They're at the end of the hallway."
Jason quickly fell into step behind Elly, leaving Madison to follow with Callum. She glanced over at him, and he nodded ahead.
"Ladies first."
Wow, he had a deep, sexy voice, too. If she found out he was wickedly smart on top of the rest of the package, she might be in trouble.
…
Callum felt like he'd taken a jolt from a cattle prod—and liked it. He'd seen his share of pretty women in his time, had dated more than a few. But nothing had prepared him for the moment when he'd first seen Madison Gray. And to say he was surprised would take the grand prize of understatements. Normally, he liked curvy women with long, wildly bouncing hair and even longer legs. But even though Madison was petite, built like a tennis player and had a short blond bob, he couldn't deny the instant, powerful attraction.
And the view from behind her wasn't bad, either.
"Jason, you're in here," Elly said as she pointed to the room on the right at the end of the hall.
One look at the poor kid revealed he was already besotted with Callum's cousin. He remembered being that age, hormones raging and not really being able to do much about it. Well, maybe he'd focus on his crush instead of all the reasons his big sis had whisked him out of the city for the summer.
Callum placed the lighter of the two suitcases in the boy's room.
"And your sister will be right across the hall," Elly said.
"Great," Jason said under his breath, sounding like he didn't think it was great at all.
Callum found himself wanting to call the kid on the disrespect, but it wasn't his place. Instead, he carried the remaining suitcase into the other room and placed it on Madison's bed so she wouldn't have to lift it. She looked tired, like she had driven straight through from Phoenix.
"You all must be starving," Elly said. "I'll go fix something to eat. Just come on into the dining room when you're settled."
"Thanks," Madison said.
As soon as Elly retreated toward the kitchen, the door across the hall closed more loudly than it should have. Madison jerked at the sound.
"You okay?" Callum asked.
"Yeah." Madison nodded without moving any other part of her body.
Something about how she just stood there broke his heart. Elly had shared a bit about what Madison had been going through—losing her parents to warring factions in Africa while they were on a mission trip, getting custody of her brother, Jason acting out by drinking and getting in trouble at school. He found himself wishing he could do something to make it better, to lighten the load. He took a couple of steps toward her.
"You need anything else?"
She spun toward him, like she was surprised by how close he was. When she did so, her balance faltered. Without thinking, he reached out to steady her.
Their eyes met, and there went that cattle prod again.
Another fic.....
Here is another fic..hope you all enjoy this new fic.Is have 8 Chapter...
In the mean time, Scandal at the Balfour Ball..will be continue later.....
After the tragic deaths of their parents, Madison Gray had to become a mother to her fourteen-year-old brother, Jason. But the boy's grief has led him down the wrong path, and Madison will do anything to steer him right. So she takes her friend, Elly Cody, up on her offer to visit her family in Wyoming, hoping a dose of ranch life will do them both good. The last thing she needs is the kind of complication that comes in the sexy form of Elly's cousin, Callum!
In the mean time, Scandal at the Balfour Ball..will be continue later.....
After the tragic deaths of their parents, Madison Gray had to become a mother to her fourteen-year-old brother, Jason. But the boy's grief has led him down the wrong path, and Madison will do anything to steer him right. So she takes her friend, Elly Cody, up on her offer to visit her family in Wyoming, hoping a dose of ranch life will do them both good. The last thing she needs is the kind of complication that comes in the sexy form of Elly's cousin, Callum!
I'll Be Right Here Waiting
I know how hard is to wait
Waiting for you, my love
When I know you are so near yet so far
So near because I have your heart
But so far coz you don’t know
When you can come here at my side
But even then, I am still here
Waiting for you to come along
Even I don’t know exactly when
You will be with me
To share the love that is for me
I’ll be right here waiting
For you to make a way
A way for me, to let me know
The feelings inside your heart
Which you have kept
since the time you have loved me
I’ll be right here waiting
Even if it takes me hundreds of days and nights
Waiting all alone for you
To fill the emptiness here in my heart
The emptiness that only you can fill
Because it's only you who is being loved
By my heart since the start
And I will just be here waiting
Waiting for the day we will share
The love we have kept inside
Deep down inside our hearts
^^ I Love You^^
These are only words
But words that have many meanings
Making someone inspired and delighted
When being told by the one being loved
I love you...
The words that can melt the heart
Even as hard as stone
If sincere and honest since the start
I love you...
The words that are commonly uttered
By lovers who have deep emotions
Emotions moving from the bottom of the heart
Reaching up above the skies
flowing like the clouds
I love you...
These are only words
But they can keep you company
When the one you love is far from you
^^Without You^^
Without you
The rainbow has lost all color
No pinks, nor yellow nor blue!
My heart is as if a desert with no sand
without you!
Without you
The sun has lost its glow
Knowing I will never see you is
more than I can bear to know
Without you!
A lifetime full of dreams remain unfulfilled
The passion and desire you awoke
have now been stilled
Without you!
The ocean now travels backwards
towards the sea
Without you
There simply is no me!
Without you
A world that just felt right
Has become as bleak and dark as midnight!
Without you
The joy and laughter
have flown south with fall's flock
Nothing left of destiny except her bitter mock
Without you
I am surrounded by reminders of so many things
Pain is what each memory brings!
Without you
As each moment has passed
I am haunted by a love
that was destined to last!
Without you
And the window to such an amazing soul
The hours will stretch to years
until they finally take their toll!
Without you
The universe has lost its brightest star
Without you
Wherever you are!
Nothing in my world will ever be the same
Without you
Didn’t your heart hear mine
whispering your name?
Without you
And your indelible touch
Without you
I miss you so, so much!
The rainbow has lost all color
No pinks, nor yellow nor blue!
My heart is as if a desert with no sand
without you!
Without you
The sun has lost its glow
Knowing I will never see you is
more than I can bear to know
Without you!
A lifetime full of dreams remain unfulfilled
The passion and desire you awoke
have now been stilled
Without you!
The ocean now travels backwards
towards the sea
Without you
There simply is no me!
Without you
A world that just felt right
Has become as bleak and dark as midnight!
Without you
The joy and laughter
have flown south with fall's flock
Nothing left of destiny except her bitter mock
Without you
I am surrounded by reminders of so many things
Pain is what each memory brings!
Without you
As each moment has passed
I am haunted by a love
that was destined to last!
Without you
And the window to such an amazing soul
The hours will stretch to years
until they finally take their toll!
Without you
The universe has lost its brightest star
Without you
Wherever you are!
Nothing in my world will ever be the same
Without you
Didn’t your heart hear mine
whispering your name?
Without you
And your indelible touch
Without you
I miss you so, so much!
Monday, July 12, 2010
*Scandal at the Balfour Ball - Chapter 4
The rippling shimmer of applause broke through their absorbed concentration on each other, followed quickly by the embarrassing knowledge that they were the target of a couple of hundred amused smiles.
Taking hold of her hand, Alessandro lowered her fingers from his lips and switched on a lazily rueful smile. He saw Oscar studying them with a satisfied smile, and Meredith's many beautiful cousins looking relieved.
Rumors killed stone dead, he noted, though that had not been his intention when he'd kissed Meredith.
He saw Marco then. He was standing over in a corner watching them through cold hard eyes. A set of fingers lightly touched his jaw where Alessandro had hit him, and returning the cold look, they both knew that the fight wasn't over between the two of them.
He turned his attention back to Meredith, who was still clinging weakly to him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes shyly hidden—the sudden need to be completely alone with her roared inside him.
"Let's get out of here."
With the controlled, casual moves of a man aware of every camera flashbulb, he fed her beneath his broad tense shoulder, and somehow he managed to play it sardonically careless as he fielded myriad teasing comments. He moved them off the dance floor with his fingers a possessive clamp at Meredith's waist, and her fingers clinging to the back of his shirt beneath his jacket because her trembling legs could no longer hold her upright without his support.
***
Meredith glimpsed Cindy watching them with a rueful little smile, and she sent her cousin a fierce challenging stare, which Cindy responded to with a moue of apology. As a cover-up, the passionate kiss had worked like a dream, she recognized, though it did not detract from the unpalatable fact that it was only a cover-up.
She and Alessandro had some serious issues to deal with, not least the shock she still had to deliver. And just thinking about that now, with all of this other ugly stuff, was churning up her system.
Eventually, they made it into the grand hallway. Alessandro stepped to one side to use his mobile telephone, while Meredith said her farewells to a multitude of Balfours gathered together like a group of enchantingly beautiful, exotic flowers.
The twins, Olivia and Bella, were both stunning blondes, but looking unusually strained and subdued for them. They belonged to Oscar's first wife who sadly died giving birth to Zoe, their baby sister. Then there was Annie, Sophie and Kat and their mother Tilly, Oscar's second wife, who still lived on the Balfour estate even though they had been divorced for years. And, of course, there was Mia, the newest of Oscar's eight beautiful daughters. Meredith wondered fleetingly who her mother was, but did not dare to ask. The missing Emily was Oscar's youngest daughter and belonged to his last wife, Lillian, who had passed away so recently.
And, finally, there was her dear Uncle Oscar himself, who drew her into his fond embrace. "Are things okay between the two of you?" he enquired gravely.
He'd heard the rumors, Meredith realized. "Just a few marital teething troubles," she said with a reassuring smile. "If they get out of hand I know who to come to for advice."
Oscar kissed her nose. "You do that, my darling. You know my door is always open to you."
"Yes." Meredith did know. Since her mother and father—Oscar's younger brother—had been killed in a car accident, Oscar had always been there for her. He'd supported her through college, and even invested in her company when she'd decided to strike out on her own. When she married Alessandro, it was Oscar who had proudly walked her down the church aisle.
She loved this big, complicated, wonderful family. Each and every one of them meant the absolute world to her. But as she turned to look at the man she had married just under a year ago, it hit her hard that he was her whole world now.
Her heart swelled and fluttered. For the first time since she'd rushed to ring him last night in a state of shocked panic, she became acutely aware of what was happening inside her own body.
A baby… Alessandro's baby… Suddenly, marvelously, it was real.
Sensing her focus on him, Alessandro turned. Without knowing he was doing it, he closed his mobile. Without knowing he was doing it, his eyes lost that hint of hardness he had not been able to control.
As if the altered look was all it took to draw her, Meredith walked towards him. The very air around her seemed to shimmer with electricity as she moved. He held out his hand and she slipped her fingers into it. Okay, Meredith told herself, so she'd caught herself a wildly good-looking, hot-tempered and temperamental Italian. But he was hers and she was going to hang on to him no matter what problems they had.
She sent him a tense little smile. "Let's go now," she whispered.
***
That smile almost did it for him. Alessandro could not quite find a smile to offer her by return, but he tightened his fingers around hers.
"Come on," he responded huskily.
Outside, on the sweeping front that spread down to the lake, an area had been cordoned off to allow helicopters to land. His helicopter was waiting there for them, and it took only minutes to board it and lift off.
He still held claim to Meredith's hand, his fingers absently stroking the set of rings he had placed there, his anger cooling a bit more.
"I'm going to have to come here tomorrow to get my car," Meredith murmured as they swung away and over the top of Balfour wood.
Turning his head, Alessandro frowned. "Why, where is it?"
"Down there," she indicated. "I drove down here and parked on Tilly at the gatehouse so I could get changed."
Alessandro parted his lips to say something then changed his mind. After a minute he said levelly, "I will send someone to collect it tomorrow."
Meredith turned her head to look at him. "I did not have Marco bring me." The threat of hurt tears was back, and it sounded in her voice. "I don't know how those rumors started, but there is not a grain of truth in them and it hurts that you don't trust me enough to believe that."
He studied her in the slow thickening silence, her strained pallor and the shimmer of hurt sincerity in her beautiful eyes. Her soft mouth was trembling, and he could see the quickened speed of her pulse beating at the side of her slender white neck. Tension throbbed between them, and it wasn't all due to the silence he was allowing to stretch.
He wanted to believe her. He wanted to reach out and draw her against him and at least pretend he believed her—put the whole lousy episode behind them and just kiss her like he had never kissed her before.
His expressive mouth curled at the depth of his own vulnerability.
She must have sensed it because she tightened her fingers around his and slid across the seat so she could press a gently clinging kiss to his lips. Like a man suddenly shorn of his armor, he lifted his free hand to thread his fingers into her hair and took the kiss over.
***
Somewhere inside her a little voice was telling her that he had given in too easily, but Meredith just didn't want to listen to it. She was here in his arms, right where she wanted to be, and those sweet little frissons of pleasure were stirring inside. She leant further into him, felt the accelerated beat of his heart against the electric sting of her nipples as the tips came into contact with his front. Whatever else they had to sort out between them, there was no denying that this was what they both hungered for.
She could—she would deal with the rest.
The helicopter settled down on the roof of their penthouse apartment. Alessandro raised his dark head.
"I have proof about you and Marco," he said.
Taking hold of her hand, Alessandro lowered her fingers from his lips and switched on a lazily rueful smile. He saw Oscar studying them with a satisfied smile, and Meredith's many beautiful cousins looking relieved.
Rumors killed stone dead, he noted, though that had not been his intention when he'd kissed Meredith.
He saw Marco then. He was standing over in a corner watching them through cold hard eyes. A set of fingers lightly touched his jaw where Alessandro had hit him, and returning the cold look, they both knew that the fight wasn't over between the two of them.
He turned his attention back to Meredith, who was still clinging weakly to him. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes shyly hidden—the sudden need to be completely alone with her roared inside him.
"Let's get out of here."
With the controlled, casual moves of a man aware of every camera flashbulb, he fed her beneath his broad tense shoulder, and somehow he managed to play it sardonically careless as he fielded myriad teasing comments. He moved them off the dance floor with his fingers a possessive clamp at Meredith's waist, and her fingers clinging to the back of his shirt beneath his jacket because her trembling legs could no longer hold her upright without his support.
***
Meredith glimpsed Cindy watching them with a rueful little smile, and she sent her cousin a fierce challenging stare, which Cindy responded to with a moue of apology. As a cover-up, the passionate kiss had worked like a dream, she recognized, though it did not detract from the unpalatable fact that it was only a cover-up.
She and Alessandro had some serious issues to deal with, not least the shock she still had to deliver. And just thinking about that now, with all of this other ugly stuff, was churning up her system.
Eventually, they made it into the grand hallway. Alessandro stepped to one side to use his mobile telephone, while Meredith said her farewells to a multitude of Balfours gathered together like a group of enchantingly beautiful, exotic flowers.
The twins, Olivia and Bella, were both stunning blondes, but looking unusually strained and subdued for them. They belonged to Oscar's first wife who sadly died giving birth to Zoe, their baby sister. Then there was Annie, Sophie and Kat and their mother Tilly, Oscar's second wife, who still lived on the Balfour estate even though they had been divorced for years. And, of course, there was Mia, the newest of Oscar's eight beautiful daughters. Meredith wondered fleetingly who her mother was, but did not dare to ask. The missing Emily was Oscar's youngest daughter and belonged to his last wife, Lillian, who had passed away so recently.
And, finally, there was her dear Uncle Oscar himself, who drew her into his fond embrace. "Are things okay between the two of you?" he enquired gravely.
He'd heard the rumors, Meredith realized. "Just a few marital teething troubles," she said with a reassuring smile. "If they get out of hand I know who to come to for advice."
Oscar kissed her nose. "You do that, my darling. You know my door is always open to you."
"Yes." Meredith did know. Since her mother and father—Oscar's younger brother—had been killed in a car accident, Oscar had always been there for her. He'd supported her through college, and even invested in her company when she'd decided to strike out on her own. When she married Alessandro, it was Oscar who had proudly walked her down the church aisle.
She loved this big, complicated, wonderful family. Each and every one of them meant the absolute world to her. But as she turned to look at the man she had married just under a year ago, it hit her hard that he was her whole world now.
Her heart swelled and fluttered. For the first time since she'd rushed to ring him last night in a state of shocked panic, she became acutely aware of what was happening inside her own body.
A baby… Alessandro's baby… Suddenly, marvelously, it was real.
Sensing her focus on him, Alessandro turned. Without knowing he was doing it, he closed his mobile. Without knowing he was doing it, his eyes lost that hint of hardness he had not been able to control.
As if the altered look was all it took to draw her, Meredith walked towards him. The very air around her seemed to shimmer with electricity as she moved. He held out his hand and she slipped her fingers into it. Okay, Meredith told herself, so she'd caught herself a wildly good-looking, hot-tempered and temperamental Italian. But he was hers and she was going to hang on to him no matter what problems they had.
She sent him a tense little smile. "Let's go now," she whispered.
***
That smile almost did it for him. Alessandro could not quite find a smile to offer her by return, but he tightened his fingers around hers.
"Come on," he responded huskily.
Outside, on the sweeping front that spread down to the lake, an area had been cordoned off to allow helicopters to land. His helicopter was waiting there for them, and it took only minutes to board it and lift off.
He still held claim to Meredith's hand, his fingers absently stroking the set of rings he had placed there, his anger cooling a bit more.
"I'm going to have to come here tomorrow to get my car," Meredith murmured as they swung away and over the top of Balfour wood.
Turning his head, Alessandro frowned. "Why, where is it?"
"Down there," she indicated. "I drove down here and parked on Tilly at the gatehouse so I could get changed."
Alessandro parted his lips to say something then changed his mind. After a minute he said levelly, "I will send someone to collect it tomorrow."
Meredith turned her head to look at him. "I did not have Marco bring me." The threat of hurt tears was back, and it sounded in her voice. "I don't know how those rumors started, but there is not a grain of truth in them and it hurts that you don't trust me enough to believe that."
He studied her in the slow thickening silence, her strained pallor and the shimmer of hurt sincerity in her beautiful eyes. Her soft mouth was trembling, and he could see the quickened speed of her pulse beating at the side of her slender white neck. Tension throbbed between them, and it wasn't all due to the silence he was allowing to stretch.
He wanted to believe her. He wanted to reach out and draw her against him and at least pretend he believed her—put the whole lousy episode behind them and just kiss her like he had never kissed her before.
His expressive mouth curled at the depth of his own vulnerability.
She must have sensed it because she tightened her fingers around his and slid across the seat so she could press a gently clinging kiss to his lips. Like a man suddenly shorn of his armor, he lifted his free hand to thread his fingers into her hair and took the kiss over.
***
Somewhere inside her a little voice was telling her that he had given in too easily, but Meredith just didn't want to listen to it. She was here in his arms, right where she wanted to be, and those sweet little frissons of pleasure were stirring inside. She leant further into him, felt the accelerated beat of his heart against the electric sting of her nipples as the tips came into contact with his front. Whatever else they had to sort out between them, there was no denying that this was what they both hungered for.
She could—she would deal with the rest.
The helicopter settled down on the roof of their penthouse apartment. Alessandro raised his dark head.
"I have proof about you and Marco," he said.
*Scandal at the Balfour Ball - Chapter 3
It was not what you're thinking!" Meredith rushed into urgent speech.
The sneer that arrived on Alessandro's wide sensual lips made her shudder. He looked so dangerous her heart leapt to her throat. And he wasn't even looking at her—had not looked at her once since he'd arrived out of the darkness.
His full attention was fixed on Marco as he uttered a curse in Italian.
He didn't even growl it; the ice in his voice was a chilling threat in itself.
Marco, who was wisely staying put on the ground gingerly feeling his jaw, said nothing. Meredith was clutching at Alessandro's jacket lapels now, and she was trembling so badly he had this vague concern that she might just faint.
***
The noxious words in the poisoned letters were swimming in front of him. Meredith with Marco…his wife and his best friend. With a gut-sinking burn filled with the kind of emotion he could not even put a name to, Alessandro turned his arm into a clamp around his wife's tiny waist and swung them both back towards the house.
"Will you stop tugging me about!" Meredith protested.
He barely heard her.
"It was not what you think!"
He damn well heard that! "Shut up," he bit out.
"No, I will not!"
Meredith pulled to a stop at the top of the shallow steps, which led up onto the terrace. With a tug she managed to wrench herself free from his iron-hard grasp.
"I am not your possession! You do not have the right to body manhandle me as if I am! And if you dare to tell me to shut up one more time I will—I will—"
She ran out of words.
Twisting round to face her, Alessandro felt as if he had punched himself. She was so beautiful it hurt to look at her.
He watched her tense fingers clench and unclench. He noticed the sparkling ball gown for the first time, with its crystal-crusted bodice clinging to the creamy slopes of her heaving breasts. Her pearly pale skin shone in the moonlight. Her fabulous, flowing hair shimmered like fire. Her soft mouth was trembling uncontrollably, her beautiful eyes glistening with tears.
A roar of something primitive rose up inside him. He wanted to gather her up into his arms and show her who it was she belonged to, but he did not dare let himself go that far because he just couldn't predict what else would take hold of him if he did!
And there was no way he was going to let himself fall apart here on this terrace with her lover looking on.
As if she caught what he was thinking, he watched her angle a helpless glance back across the lawn.
Something else grabbed hold of him.
Fear. He recognized the stark chilling sensation. He was scared she was going to walk away from him and back to Marco.
Still functioning on pure instinct, he reached out and captured one of her hands and tugged her back into movement.
Meredith stared helplessly up at his hard grim face. "Alessandro, for goodness' sake," she begged. "We can't go back in there like this!"
"We are going back in there," he determined grimly. "And you are going to play the adoring wife to me to the hilt."
"Y-you misunderstood what you—"
"I did not misunderstand anything." He stopped walking long enough to swing around on her. "You were kissing him in full view of anyone who cared to watch you!"
"No!" she denied. "I w-wasn't kissing him. He—"
"Pull yourself together." He started walking again. He just did not want to hear her excuses.
As if on cue, the moment they stepped into the ballroom the band struck up another waltz tune and Alessandro swung her into his arms.
"Smile," he gritted as he swept her into the dance.
Meredith had to cling to him just to keep herself upright. Her legs had turned to jelly and her head was filled with—
"He was just being—"
He swung a glinting look down at her. "Do you really want to do this right now?"
"I…no." She didn't. For everyone was looking at them.
"Then just dance," Alessandro said roughly, drawing her closer to his hard-packed angry body. "Pretend you still love me."
"I do love you," Meredith choked.
"When you feel like it."
She drew in a strained breath of air as his hard cynicism cut through her like a knife. "I was surprised as you were when Marco—did that."
He said nothing.
"Y-you had stood m-me up and I was upset, and I had only just heard about the horrible rumors—"
"Poor, neglected Merry."
"I am not neglected," she flared up with a hot whisper. "But you didn't bother to come to London so I thought—"
"So you thought you would get your lover to bring you here, instead."
"He did not bring me and he is not my lover!" Tossing back her head, Meredith fired him a furious look. "How dare you say that? When have I ever given you cause to even think it?"
***
How dare I say that?
Alessandro locked the brooding dark glow of his eyes with her angry sparkling eyes and it was like instant mortal combat. He'd never felt so dangerous in his life. There wasn't a bone or muscle in his body that wasn't hard and honed to the kind of primitive instincts he never knew he possessed.
He loved this woman to distraction. She made him dangerous.
***
And Meredith felt the danger in him. It throbbed from him like an electric storm, and the shocking thing about it was that her senses were responding to it like fizzing fireworks charging up towards the moment when it all blew up. His eyes were as black as midnight, the lean symmetry of his face washed of its beautiful bronze lustre and taut, like the molded line of his mouth.
He was beautiful and gorgeous and—she tugged in a frail kind of breath in the hopes it would help calm her ravaging senses. The tips of her breasts touched the hard contours of his body lurking beneath his dress shirt, and the frail breath turned into a terribly stifling gasp.
The fire of knowledge put flames in his eyes, and she quivered.
***
Alessandro swung them deftly around a threatened collision and wished he could ease the tension gripping them both. He had thrown them into this dance because he'd thought it was the easiest way to get them across the ballroom to the great hall without needing to stop and talk to people. Now he wished he'd just hauled her over his shoulders and carried her caveman-style around the outside of the house!
Dio, and she looked so beautiful, even in her distress. The dress was fabulous, as she'd told him it was, the kingfisher colour sparkling with crystal water drops, which matched the tears sparkling in her eyes. He looked at her mouth, her wide soft trembling mouth and something inside him just shattered.
That something was another man's kiss glossing its passionate pink surface. His nostrils flared as he attempted to take in a calming breath. The tension in them vibrated. He could feel her heart fluttering wildly in her breast, and his own heart was hammering so loudly he could hear it pounding in his head.
"I love you, Alessandro. What you saw out there was just a silly sympathy kiss!"
He just stopped dancing. Right there in the middle of the Balfour ballroom he pulled them to a dress-swirling halt, then lowered his dark head and covered that lying, cheating, beautiful mouth with his own hard, hot, passionate mouth.
***
It was like taking a ride on the crest of a fiery wave of helpless fervor and burning anger. It was all Meredith could do to hang on in there and ride along with it—because she really could not help herself. Her fingers clutched at his muscled shoulders, his arms held her crushed against his full taut length. And the burning heat of his passion just drowned her in Alessandro—the only man ever to make her feel like this.
***
He lifted his dark head and looked down at her—at her sultry eyes turned exotic and deep. Then he looked at her softly parted and trembling lips, which were wearing the bloom that he had put there.
"That—" he said roughly "—was a kiss, mia moglie."
Lifting up a set of smooth gentle fingers, Meredith laid them against his lips. "Exactly," she whispered back.
The sneer that arrived on Alessandro's wide sensual lips made her shudder. He looked so dangerous her heart leapt to her throat. And he wasn't even looking at her—had not looked at her once since he'd arrived out of the darkness.
His full attention was fixed on Marco as he uttered a curse in Italian.
He didn't even growl it; the ice in his voice was a chilling threat in itself.
Marco, who was wisely staying put on the ground gingerly feeling his jaw, said nothing. Meredith was clutching at Alessandro's jacket lapels now, and she was trembling so badly he had this vague concern that she might just faint.
***
The noxious words in the poisoned letters were swimming in front of him. Meredith with Marco…his wife and his best friend. With a gut-sinking burn filled with the kind of emotion he could not even put a name to, Alessandro turned his arm into a clamp around his wife's tiny waist and swung them both back towards the house.
"Will you stop tugging me about!" Meredith protested.
He barely heard her.
"It was not what you think!"
He damn well heard that! "Shut up," he bit out.
"No, I will not!"
Meredith pulled to a stop at the top of the shallow steps, which led up onto the terrace. With a tug she managed to wrench herself free from his iron-hard grasp.
"I am not your possession! You do not have the right to body manhandle me as if I am! And if you dare to tell me to shut up one more time I will—I will—"
She ran out of words.
Twisting round to face her, Alessandro felt as if he had punched himself. She was so beautiful it hurt to look at her.
He watched her tense fingers clench and unclench. He noticed the sparkling ball gown for the first time, with its crystal-crusted bodice clinging to the creamy slopes of her heaving breasts. Her pearly pale skin shone in the moonlight. Her fabulous, flowing hair shimmered like fire. Her soft mouth was trembling uncontrollably, her beautiful eyes glistening with tears.
A roar of something primitive rose up inside him. He wanted to gather her up into his arms and show her who it was she belonged to, but he did not dare let himself go that far because he just couldn't predict what else would take hold of him if he did!
And there was no way he was going to let himself fall apart here on this terrace with her lover looking on.
As if she caught what he was thinking, he watched her angle a helpless glance back across the lawn.
Something else grabbed hold of him.
Fear. He recognized the stark chilling sensation. He was scared she was going to walk away from him and back to Marco.
Still functioning on pure instinct, he reached out and captured one of her hands and tugged her back into movement.
Meredith stared helplessly up at his hard grim face. "Alessandro, for goodness' sake," she begged. "We can't go back in there like this!"
"We are going back in there," he determined grimly. "And you are going to play the adoring wife to me to the hilt."
"Y-you misunderstood what you—"
"I did not misunderstand anything." He stopped walking long enough to swing around on her. "You were kissing him in full view of anyone who cared to watch you!"
"No!" she denied. "I w-wasn't kissing him. He—"
"Pull yourself together." He started walking again. He just did not want to hear her excuses.
As if on cue, the moment they stepped into the ballroom the band struck up another waltz tune and Alessandro swung her into his arms.
"Smile," he gritted as he swept her into the dance.
Meredith had to cling to him just to keep herself upright. Her legs had turned to jelly and her head was filled with—
"He was just being—"
He swung a glinting look down at her. "Do you really want to do this right now?"
"I…no." She didn't. For everyone was looking at them.
"Then just dance," Alessandro said roughly, drawing her closer to his hard-packed angry body. "Pretend you still love me."
"I do love you," Meredith choked.
"When you feel like it."
She drew in a strained breath of air as his hard cynicism cut through her like a knife. "I was surprised as you were when Marco—did that."
He said nothing.
"Y-you had stood m-me up and I was upset, and I had only just heard about the horrible rumors—"
"Poor, neglected Merry."
"I am not neglected," she flared up with a hot whisper. "But you didn't bother to come to London so I thought—"
"So you thought you would get your lover to bring you here, instead."
"He did not bring me and he is not my lover!" Tossing back her head, Meredith fired him a furious look. "How dare you say that? When have I ever given you cause to even think it?"
***
How dare I say that?
Alessandro locked the brooding dark glow of his eyes with her angry sparkling eyes and it was like instant mortal combat. He'd never felt so dangerous in his life. There wasn't a bone or muscle in his body that wasn't hard and honed to the kind of primitive instincts he never knew he possessed.
He loved this woman to distraction. She made him dangerous.
***
And Meredith felt the danger in him. It throbbed from him like an electric storm, and the shocking thing about it was that her senses were responding to it like fizzing fireworks charging up towards the moment when it all blew up. His eyes were as black as midnight, the lean symmetry of his face washed of its beautiful bronze lustre and taut, like the molded line of his mouth.
He was beautiful and gorgeous and—she tugged in a frail kind of breath in the hopes it would help calm her ravaging senses. The tips of her breasts touched the hard contours of his body lurking beneath his dress shirt, and the frail breath turned into a terribly stifling gasp.
The fire of knowledge put flames in his eyes, and she quivered.
***
Alessandro swung them deftly around a threatened collision and wished he could ease the tension gripping them both. He had thrown them into this dance because he'd thought it was the easiest way to get them across the ballroom to the great hall without needing to stop and talk to people. Now he wished he'd just hauled her over his shoulders and carried her caveman-style around the outside of the house!
Dio, and she looked so beautiful, even in her distress. The dress was fabulous, as she'd told him it was, the kingfisher colour sparkling with crystal water drops, which matched the tears sparkling in her eyes. He looked at her mouth, her wide soft trembling mouth and something inside him just shattered.
That something was another man's kiss glossing its passionate pink surface. His nostrils flared as he attempted to take in a calming breath. The tension in them vibrated. He could feel her heart fluttering wildly in her breast, and his own heart was hammering so loudly he could hear it pounding in his head.
"I love you, Alessandro. What you saw out there was just a silly sympathy kiss!"
He just stopped dancing. Right there in the middle of the Balfour ballroom he pulled them to a dress-swirling halt, then lowered his dark head and covered that lying, cheating, beautiful mouth with his own hard, hot, passionate mouth.
***
It was like taking a ride on the crest of a fiery wave of helpless fervor and burning anger. It was all Meredith could do to hang on in there and ride along with it—because she really could not help herself. Her fingers clutched at his muscled shoulders, his arms held her crushed against his full taut length. And the burning heat of his passion just drowned her in Alessandro—the only man ever to make her feel like this.
***
He lifted his dark head and looked down at her—at her sultry eyes turned exotic and deep. Then he looked at her softly parted and trembling lips, which were wearing the bloom that he had put there.
"That—" he said roughly "—was a kiss, mia moglie."
Lifting up a set of smooth gentle fingers, Meredith laid them against his lips. "Exactly," she whispered back.
*Scandal at the Balfour Ball - Chapter 2
"Don't ask silly questions," Meredith flicked at her curious cousin. "Of course our marriage isn't in trouble."
"Where is he then?" Cindy quizzed. "I don't see him dancing attendance on his new bride."
Well, you won't when he obviously wishes he did not have a wife, Meredith thought dully.
"He was delayed in Milan." She trawled out the excuse she had been repeating since she'd arrived at Balfour Manor, having driven herself here because Alessandro had not turned up at their London apartment, and she would have rather cut her own throat than to call him again to find out where he was.
Hot tears of hurt scorched her aching throat. He hadn't even bothered to call her. He'd just sent a message via his PA. Alessandro is stuck in a meeting. He said to tell you he will be late.
"You have a very strange kind of long-distance marriage, Merry," Cindy observed candidly. "If I was married to a tall, dark, handsome hunk like Alessandro, I would not let him out of my sight."
It didn't help Meredith to know that Cindy was right. "We're working it out," she said, then quickly changed the subject because she did not want to discuss Alessandro with anyone—not even with herself. "What is going on with everyone here tonight? Every Balfour is walking around as if they're expecting to be shot in the back."
"Haven't you heard? Delicious scandals circulate," Cindy confided in a hush-hush kind of voice. "Apparently, all that glitters is not gold in Balfour world right now."
"Oh, don't be mean." Meredith frowned at her pretty blond cousin. "They've just buried poor Aunt Lillian—"
"Then Uncle Oscar promptly produced an illegitimate daughter old enough to tarnish his squeaky clean marriage to poor Lillian," Cindy pointed out. "Emily went to pieces and ran away—"
"I know about all that but—"
"That scared-looking creature standing over there with all of that fabulous black hair is the one," Cindy whispered with drama. "Uncle Oscar is not happy about his beloved Emily disappearing. His daughters are not happy about anything as far as I can tell, even while they do flash around here looking the perfect princesses for him. Then there is you, dear cousin." Cindy turned her sharp tongue on Meredith next. "You turn up here without your husband and looking all pale and tragic."
Having to fight not to lift a revealing hand to her stomach, Meredith said, "I am not looking pale and tragic."
Just feeling it, she silently tagged on.
"So, the rumors circulating about you and Marco Valente are untrue?"
Meredith froze.
Rumors? What rumors?
Was Cindy saying what she thought she was saying?
"What the heck are you talking about now?" she said in bemusement.
"Oh, come off it, Merry." Cindy sighed. "Everybody out there is aware that the two of you have become very…cosy."
Cosy…? "Is this just one of your not-very-good jokes? I work with Marco and that's all I do!"
"Meredith…"
Cindy's blue eyes began to sparkle. "Well, just look who we have here," she drawled, turning to look at the tall, dark, pretty good-looking figure of Marco Valente before she returned her gaze to Meredith's slowly flushing face. "Me thinks, you do protest too much, Merry," she confided softly before strolling away.
Meredith was starting to feel queasy, sending her eyes on a wary scan of the glittering ballroom feeling suddenly as if she were a target for wolves. The press were absolutely everywhere. Had they heard the rumors?
"Are you feeling okay, Meredith? You look…upset."
Upset did not cover how she felt. "Have you heard the rumors?" she demanded outright.
Sending her a frown, Marco looked as in the dark as she was. Then a camera flashed right in front of them and she grabbed Marco's arm. "Come on," she said. "You and I need to talk, in private."
Still frowning, Marco slipped a hand around her waist and turned them towards the open terrace doors. Outside the night air smelled sweet of cherry blossom. Meredith let him guide her down the steps and out into the garden, off to one side of the twinkling fairy lights strung along the boarded walkway that led the way to the huge dining marquee. The musical strains of an old-fashioned waltz struck up as he drew to stop on a shadowy part of the lawn.
"OK, tell me what's going on?" He turned her to face him. "But before you do that, tell me why Alessandro is not here with you tonight?"
He looked so stern Meredith suddenly wanted to break down and weep. "We…we had a fight over the phone last night," she confessed. "But I still can't believe he could let me down like this."
"I don't know what's got into him recently," Marco said tightly. "I cannot say a word to him without him biting my head off."
"You, too?" Lifting her glistening eyes up to meet his perplexed ones, she went on. "I thought it was just me he was being like that with."
"No. It's been going on for weeks. You don't think he's got mixed up with some—"
He cut the rest off, but not before Meredith had guessed what he had been about to say. He was wondering if Alessandro had got himself mixed up with another woman. The very idea sent her legs weak.
"Twist that thought on its head," she suggested. "From what Cindy tells me, it's you and I who are doing the mixing."
"Are you kidding me?"
Fighting back the tears, Meredith shook her head.
Oh, what was going on? Why was everything in her world suddenly so bewilderingly topsy-turvy?
A muffled sob broke free from her throat.
"No, don't cry." With a soft curse Marco drew her closer. "I will talk to him. We can soon sort this craziness out."
"You think?" she said hopefully.
***
Alessandro stepped onto the terrace in time to witness this wife move into the arms of his so-called best friend, and felt his heart turn into a frozen lump in his chest. They looked like a pair of star-crossed lovers lit by the silvery moon above. They made a perfect heart-shaped silhouette. As he watched, he saw Meredith lift her face up and say something to Marco that made his ex-best friend lower his dark head and kiss her on her soft parted lips.
A rising red mist of murderous rage sent his mind a perfect blank. He did not remember breaking free from his frozen stupor. He did not recall the long strides it took for him to reach them or the way he speared a strong arm between the two of them and pressed his wife to one side.
He did register her breathless, "Alessandro!"
He registered Marco's look of shock just before his clenched fist connected with his chin. And he registered the hot feeling of raw satisfaction as he heard Marco moan out a pained grunt before he collapsed in a huddle on the grass.
"Oh!" Meredith shrieked.
***
She tried to go to Marco only to find herself blocked by a strong arm holding her back. Dressed in full tux and standing a good head and shoulders taller than she did, Alessandro was so physically superior to her in every way that she did not stand a hope of breaking free from his grasp.
"Oh, how could you do that!"
"Easy," Alessandro answered through seething white teeth.
Clearly, everything inside him was seething, and he snarled something in Italian that spurred Marco into moving and set the hairs on the back of Meredith's neck on end in alarm.
"No! Please don't hit him again!"
Twisting around against the solid force in Alessandro's arms so she could appeal to him, what she saw stamped into his angry features closed up her throat. Every hard-boned angle had turned white along the taut ridges, washing the usual bronze from his skin. He possessed the most beautiful dark-chocolate eyes, which could melt her bones when she looked into them. But what she saw glinting in them right now would have had her backing away if she'd had the legs for it.
A thick whimper broke from her.
She knew—just knew—that he'd heard the rumors and he'd seen the kiss!
"Where is he then?" Cindy quizzed. "I don't see him dancing attendance on his new bride."
Well, you won't when he obviously wishes he did not have a wife, Meredith thought dully.
"He was delayed in Milan." She trawled out the excuse she had been repeating since she'd arrived at Balfour Manor, having driven herself here because Alessandro had not turned up at their London apartment, and she would have rather cut her own throat than to call him again to find out where he was.
Hot tears of hurt scorched her aching throat. He hadn't even bothered to call her. He'd just sent a message via his PA. Alessandro is stuck in a meeting. He said to tell you he will be late.
"You have a very strange kind of long-distance marriage, Merry," Cindy observed candidly. "If I was married to a tall, dark, handsome hunk like Alessandro, I would not let him out of my sight."
It didn't help Meredith to know that Cindy was right. "We're working it out," she said, then quickly changed the subject because she did not want to discuss Alessandro with anyone—not even with herself. "What is going on with everyone here tonight? Every Balfour is walking around as if they're expecting to be shot in the back."
"Haven't you heard? Delicious scandals circulate," Cindy confided in a hush-hush kind of voice. "Apparently, all that glitters is not gold in Balfour world right now."
"Oh, don't be mean." Meredith frowned at her pretty blond cousin. "They've just buried poor Aunt Lillian—"
"Then Uncle Oscar promptly produced an illegitimate daughter old enough to tarnish his squeaky clean marriage to poor Lillian," Cindy pointed out. "Emily went to pieces and ran away—"
"I know about all that but—"
"That scared-looking creature standing over there with all of that fabulous black hair is the one," Cindy whispered with drama. "Uncle Oscar is not happy about his beloved Emily disappearing. His daughters are not happy about anything as far as I can tell, even while they do flash around here looking the perfect princesses for him. Then there is you, dear cousin." Cindy turned her sharp tongue on Meredith next. "You turn up here without your husband and looking all pale and tragic."
Having to fight not to lift a revealing hand to her stomach, Meredith said, "I am not looking pale and tragic."
Just feeling it, she silently tagged on.
"So, the rumors circulating about you and Marco Valente are untrue?"
Meredith froze.
Rumors? What rumors?
Was Cindy saying what she thought she was saying?
"What the heck are you talking about now?" she said in bemusement.
"Oh, come off it, Merry." Cindy sighed. "Everybody out there is aware that the two of you have become very…cosy."
Cosy…? "Is this just one of your not-very-good jokes? I work with Marco and that's all I do!"
"Meredith…"
Cindy's blue eyes began to sparkle. "Well, just look who we have here," she drawled, turning to look at the tall, dark, pretty good-looking figure of Marco Valente before she returned her gaze to Meredith's slowly flushing face. "Me thinks, you do protest too much, Merry," she confided softly before strolling away.
Meredith was starting to feel queasy, sending her eyes on a wary scan of the glittering ballroom feeling suddenly as if she were a target for wolves. The press were absolutely everywhere. Had they heard the rumors?
"Are you feeling okay, Meredith? You look…upset."
Upset did not cover how she felt. "Have you heard the rumors?" she demanded outright.
Sending her a frown, Marco looked as in the dark as she was. Then a camera flashed right in front of them and she grabbed Marco's arm. "Come on," she said. "You and I need to talk, in private."
Still frowning, Marco slipped a hand around her waist and turned them towards the open terrace doors. Outside the night air smelled sweet of cherry blossom. Meredith let him guide her down the steps and out into the garden, off to one side of the twinkling fairy lights strung along the boarded walkway that led the way to the huge dining marquee. The musical strains of an old-fashioned waltz struck up as he drew to stop on a shadowy part of the lawn.
"OK, tell me what's going on?" He turned her to face him. "But before you do that, tell me why Alessandro is not here with you tonight?"
He looked so stern Meredith suddenly wanted to break down and weep. "We…we had a fight over the phone last night," she confessed. "But I still can't believe he could let me down like this."
"I don't know what's got into him recently," Marco said tightly. "I cannot say a word to him without him biting my head off."
"You, too?" Lifting her glistening eyes up to meet his perplexed ones, she went on. "I thought it was just me he was being like that with."
"No. It's been going on for weeks. You don't think he's got mixed up with some—"
He cut the rest off, but not before Meredith had guessed what he had been about to say. He was wondering if Alessandro had got himself mixed up with another woman. The very idea sent her legs weak.
"Twist that thought on its head," she suggested. "From what Cindy tells me, it's you and I who are doing the mixing."
"Are you kidding me?"
Fighting back the tears, Meredith shook her head.
Oh, what was going on? Why was everything in her world suddenly so bewilderingly topsy-turvy?
A muffled sob broke free from her throat.
"No, don't cry." With a soft curse Marco drew her closer. "I will talk to him. We can soon sort this craziness out."
"You think?" she said hopefully.
***
Alessandro stepped onto the terrace in time to witness this wife move into the arms of his so-called best friend, and felt his heart turn into a frozen lump in his chest. They looked like a pair of star-crossed lovers lit by the silvery moon above. They made a perfect heart-shaped silhouette. As he watched, he saw Meredith lift her face up and say something to Marco that made his ex-best friend lower his dark head and kiss her on her soft parted lips.
A rising red mist of murderous rage sent his mind a perfect blank. He did not remember breaking free from his frozen stupor. He did not recall the long strides it took for him to reach them or the way he speared a strong arm between the two of them and pressed his wife to one side.
He did register her breathless, "Alessandro!"
He registered Marco's look of shock just before his clenched fist connected with his chin. And he registered the hot feeling of raw satisfaction as he heard Marco moan out a pained grunt before he collapsed in a huddle on the grass.
"Oh!" Meredith shrieked.
***
She tried to go to Marco only to find herself blocked by a strong arm holding her back. Dressed in full tux and standing a good head and shoulders taller than she did, Alessandro was so physically superior to her in every way that she did not stand a hope of breaking free from his grasp.
"Oh, how could you do that!"
"Easy," Alessandro answered through seething white teeth.
Clearly, everything inside him was seething, and he snarled something in Italian that spurred Marco into moving and set the hairs on the back of Meredith's neck on end in alarm.
"No! Please don't hit him again!"
Twisting around against the solid force in Alessandro's arms so she could appeal to him, what she saw stamped into his angry features closed up her throat. Every hard-boned angle had turned white along the taut ridges, washing the usual bronze from his skin. He possessed the most beautiful dark-chocolate eyes, which could melt her bones when she looked into them. But what she saw glinting in them right now would have had her backing away if she'd had the legs for it.
A thick whimper broke from her.
She knew—just knew—that he'd heard the rumors and he'd seen the kiss!
*Scandal at the Balfour Ball - Chapter 1
Alessandro Ferrera lay stretched out on the sofa in his Milan apartment with a glass of malt whisky balanced on the flat wall of his stomach and his eyes grimly shut.
Maria Callas wept soulfully in the background, filling the room with a tragic aria that thoroughly suited his mood. For beside him, tossed down on the low table like an insult, lay the letter he knew he should not have opened because it was not the first piece of poison he had received over the last few trust-whittling weeks.
The molded line of his mouth gave a twitch of contempt at his own lack of willpower. If he'd utilized a fraction of the tough mental strength he was known for out there in the business world, he would have binned the letter unopened with the dismissive disdain it deserved.
He had discovered, however, that mental strength and emotional strength were two separate disciplines, especially when applied to his beautiful, hot-tempered, infuriatingly independent, sensationally sexy red-haired witch of a wife.
He took a slug at the whisky.
"Si, Signora Ferrera had lunch with Signor Valente at his London apartment." His mind fed him the confirmation he had received the only time he had sought to check out the poison. "Si, their meeting took up most of the afternoon."
"Si." When he'd asked her, Meredith freely admitted it to him. "We were brainstorming his next UK marketing campaign before I let my team loose on it."
That conversation had taken place four weeks ago, and she'd looked and sounded so convincingly innocent. His exquisitely put-together bride of almost a year had mapped out her afternoon spent discussing business with his best friend Marco, while she'd undressed him. Made love to him. She'd crawled all over him and blown his mind and his wild suspicions apart with her smooth silky body and warm busy kisses and the kind of loving that made him feel like a real jealous rat for even questioning her loyalty to him.
So why was he questioning it?
Because Marco and Meredith had been an item before Alessandro had come along and grabbed her for himself. Meredith had called them just good friends and business colleagues. Marco had not been so quick to agree. But he was recalling Marco's response with hindsight—a lousy place to revisit something when the letter was sitting there doing its damndest to poison him.
He took another slug at the whisky. Meredith was still living in London, setting up the final stages of the Valente campaign. In the last two weeks they had managed to snatch one night together—one short, angry, very passionate night before he'd had to fly back here to Milan. They'd fought—about whose fault it was that they spent so much time apart. They'd made up and made love then fought again. Then he'd left. That was five days ago and if the letter had not arrived today, he would have been ready to crawl on his knees—where she liked him—to make his peace.
Now—?
***
In a flurry of near-mindless panic, Meredith rushed out of the bathroom and almost tripped over a huge black fluffy dog.
"Do you have to lay across every doorway, Mutt?" she muttered.
The animal didn't bother to comment. He just watched her as she snatched up her cell phone and accessed Alessandro's number, then dropped down on the side of the bed to fret on her lower lip while she waited for him to pick up.
She actually felt dizzy with shock. She did not know whether to be happy or horrified, excited or scared. She needed to hear Alessandro's reaction so she could—
"Ciao si—"
"Alessandro—" shooting back to her feet "—it's me!" she announced breathlessly.
"I know it is you," he growled impatiently. "What do you want, Merry?"
What do I want?
Thrown by the hard edge to that question, Meredith remembered too late that they'd had a fight that last time they'd been together. They'd had several fights about the usual thing—her refusal to cut back on her workload to accommodate his. Her too-gorgeous-to-live husband was an all-powerful, all-arrogant, totally self-centred, spoiled Italian male who liked to be in full control of every aspect of his life. Because she refused to let him control her life, too, she got to be spoken to like that.
"You're still mad at me," she said heavily.
"I am not mad at you."
"Then why do you sound so horrid?"
"My apologies. It is very late and I was—working."
From being high on shock and scary elation, Meredith now felt more like a burst balloon as she sank back down on the edge of the bed. He was clearly in no mood to receive the kind of news she had been about to blurt out to him, she thought, staring down at the slither of white plastic she held clutched in her trembling fingers. It wasn't even trying to be subtle. No maybe. No perhaps. Just the downright certainty printed on the slender LCD screen.
Pregnant, it stated, 4-5 weeks.
A wild kind of quiver took hold of her stomach. She had to work at holding in a fluttery little sob as she searched for an alternative reason for calling him up.
As if she should need one, a little voice told her.
"I was calling to find out what time to expect you tomorrow," was all that she could come up with.
"Tomorrow—?" Staring at the poisoned letter on the table, Alessandro's mind had gone a complete blank.
"For goodness' sake, what is the matter with you?" his wife shrilled out. "Are you drunk or something? We are attending the Balfour Charity Ball tomorrow evening. I've bought this fabulous dress! And—and I have something really important I need to tell you before—before…"
That was the point when the Callas aria reached its crescendo. Meredith responded to the sound with a strangled choke. "You're listening to Callas. Why are you listening to Callas? You never play Callas unless you're…"
As she stopped speaking in mid-sentence, Alessandro teethed back a filthy curse, understanding exactly what was going through her head.
They made love to Callas, preferably in a darkened room with the air-conditioning switched off and the atmosphere sultry and hot. He could even see the two of them lying stretched out on their bed with her glorious hair spread out around her and her full soft passionate mouth parted to welcome his—
Marco Valente's face suddenly muscled in on the image, pushing Alessandro to his feet as his whole body clenched up. "Are you suggesting something specific here?" he raked out.
"No," Meredith mumbled.
"Grazie," he responded.
Meredith pulled in a breath. "Look, I know we argued before you left here but—"
"We did not argue, we fought, cara. You threatened to leave me and I invited you to do so."
"So, are you happy or disappointed that I'm still hanging on in here?"
"I will let you know when I know."
"Well, you just do that."
She cut the connection, then just sat trembling like mad. How had things become so bad between them that they even fought over the telephone now? Hot tears burned the back of her eyes and her throat.
"Oh…" She choked, and turned to throw herself face down on the bed as the first wretched sob escaped.
Her phone burst into life.
It had to be Alessandro!
Scrambling up on her knees, she pushed her tumbling mane of hair back from her face. "I love you so much!" she sobbed out.
"Molto grazie, mia amore," a completely different Italian man responded dryly.
"Marco," Meredith mumbled in crushing disappointment.
***
Alessandro cursed. Meredith's phone was busy.
Who was she talking to?
She'd been upset. He'd heard the quiver in her voice before she'd rung off. Now he felt like the worst kind of suspicious rat.
Who would she call up for sympathy?
The answer that hit him clenched up his muscles as he phoned Marco Valente's number.
The line was busy.
He stood for a minute, trying not to draw the obvious conclusion, but then his eyes drifted down to the letter again.
The poisoned letter.
Picking it up he let its noxious words screw up his insides, then fisted it into a ball and hurled it like a missile across the room. Next he snatched up the remote and switched the music off. As silence fell around him like a chilly ice-front, grim clarity wiped the emotional mists from his head.
Recovering his phone again, he connected with his security chief.
Maria Callas wept soulfully in the background, filling the room with a tragic aria that thoroughly suited his mood. For beside him, tossed down on the low table like an insult, lay the letter he knew he should not have opened because it was not the first piece of poison he had received over the last few trust-whittling weeks.
The molded line of his mouth gave a twitch of contempt at his own lack of willpower. If he'd utilized a fraction of the tough mental strength he was known for out there in the business world, he would have binned the letter unopened with the dismissive disdain it deserved.
He had discovered, however, that mental strength and emotional strength were two separate disciplines, especially when applied to his beautiful, hot-tempered, infuriatingly independent, sensationally sexy red-haired witch of a wife.
He took a slug at the whisky.
"Si, Signora Ferrera had lunch with Signor Valente at his London apartment." His mind fed him the confirmation he had received the only time he had sought to check out the poison. "Si, their meeting took up most of the afternoon."
"Si." When he'd asked her, Meredith freely admitted it to him. "We were brainstorming his next UK marketing campaign before I let my team loose on it."
That conversation had taken place four weeks ago, and she'd looked and sounded so convincingly innocent. His exquisitely put-together bride of almost a year had mapped out her afternoon spent discussing business with his best friend Marco, while she'd undressed him. Made love to him. She'd crawled all over him and blown his mind and his wild suspicions apart with her smooth silky body and warm busy kisses and the kind of loving that made him feel like a real jealous rat for even questioning her loyalty to him.
So why was he questioning it?
Because Marco and Meredith had been an item before Alessandro had come along and grabbed her for himself. Meredith had called them just good friends and business colleagues. Marco had not been so quick to agree. But he was recalling Marco's response with hindsight—a lousy place to revisit something when the letter was sitting there doing its damndest to poison him.
He took another slug at the whisky. Meredith was still living in London, setting up the final stages of the Valente campaign. In the last two weeks they had managed to snatch one night together—one short, angry, very passionate night before he'd had to fly back here to Milan. They'd fought—about whose fault it was that they spent so much time apart. They'd made up and made love then fought again. Then he'd left. That was five days ago and if the letter had not arrived today, he would have been ready to crawl on his knees—where she liked him—to make his peace.
Now—?
***
In a flurry of near-mindless panic, Meredith rushed out of the bathroom and almost tripped over a huge black fluffy dog.
"Do you have to lay across every doorway, Mutt?" she muttered.
The animal didn't bother to comment. He just watched her as she snatched up her cell phone and accessed Alessandro's number, then dropped down on the side of the bed to fret on her lower lip while she waited for him to pick up.
She actually felt dizzy with shock. She did not know whether to be happy or horrified, excited or scared. She needed to hear Alessandro's reaction so she could—
"Ciao si—"
"Alessandro—" shooting back to her feet "—it's me!" she announced breathlessly.
"I know it is you," he growled impatiently. "What do you want, Merry?"
What do I want?
Thrown by the hard edge to that question, Meredith remembered too late that they'd had a fight that last time they'd been together. They'd had several fights about the usual thing—her refusal to cut back on her workload to accommodate his. Her too-gorgeous-to-live husband was an all-powerful, all-arrogant, totally self-centred, spoiled Italian male who liked to be in full control of every aspect of his life. Because she refused to let him control her life, too, she got to be spoken to like that.
"You're still mad at me," she said heavily.
"I am not mad at you."
"Then why do you sound so horrid?"
"My apologies. It is very late and I was—working."
From being high on shock and scary elation, Meredith now felt more like a burst balloon as she sank back down on the edge of the bed. He was clearly in no mood to receive the kind of news she had been about to blurt out to him, she thought, staring down at the slither of white plastic she held clutched in her trembling fingers. It wasn't even trying to be subtle. No maybe. No perhaps. Just the downright certainty printed on the slender LCD screen.
Pregnant, it stated, 4-5 weeks.
A wild kind of quiver took hold of her stomach. She had to work at holding in a fluttery little sob as she searched for an alternative reason for calling him up.
As if she should need one, a little voice told her.
"I was calling to find out what time to expect you tomorrow," was all that she could come up with.
"Tomorrow—?" Staring at the poisoned letter on the table, Alessandro's mind had gone a complete blank.
"For goodness' sake, what is the matter with you?" his wife shrilled out. "Are you drunk or something? We are attending the Balfour Charity Ball tomorrow evening. I've bought this fabulous dress! And—and I have something really important I need to tell you before—before…"
That was the point when the Callas aria reached its crescendo. Meredith responded to the sound with a strangled choke. "You're listening to Callas. Why are you listening to Callas? You never play Callas unless you're…"
As she stopped speaking in mid-sentence, Alessandro teethed back a filthy curse, understanding exactly what was going through her head.
They made love to Callas, preferably in a darkened room with the air-conditioning switched off and the atmosphere sultry and hot. He could even see the two of them lying stretched out on their bed with her glorious hair spread out around her and her full soft passionate mouth parted to welcome his—
Marco Valente's face suddenly muscled in on the image, pushing Alessandro to his feet as his whole body clenched up. "Are you suggesting something specific here?" he raked out.
"No," Meredith mumbled.
"Grazie," he responded.
Meredith pulled in a breath. "Look, I know we argued before you left here but—"
"We did not argue, we fought, cara. You threatened to leave me and I invited you to do so."
"So, are you happy or disappointed that I'm still hanging on in here?"
"I will let you know when I know."
"Well, you just do that."
She cut the connection, then just sat trembling like mad. How had things become so bad between them that they even fought over the telephone now? Hot tears burned the back of her eyes and her throat.
"Oh…" She choked, and turned to throw herself face down on the bed as the first wretched sob escaped.
Her phone burst into life.
It had to be Alessandro!
Scrambling up on her knees, she pushed her tumbling mane of hair back from her face. "I love you so much!" she sobbed out.
"Molto grazie, mia amore," a completely different Italian man responded dryly.
"Marco," Meredith mumbled in crushing disappointment.
***
Alessandro cursed. Meredith's phone was busy.
Who was she talking to?
She'd been upset. He'd heard the quiver in her voice before she'd rung off. Now he felt like the worst kind of suspicious rat.
Who would she call up for sympathy?
The answer that hit him clenched up his muscles as he phoned Marco Valente's number.
The line was busy.
He stood for a minute, trying not to draw the obvious conclusion, but then his eyes drifted down to the letter again.
The poisoned letter.
Picking it up he let its noxious words screw up his insides, then fisted it into a ball and hurled it like a missile across the room. Next he snatched up the remote and switched the music off. As silence fell around him like a chilly ice-front, grim clarity wiped the emotional mists from his head.
Recovering his phone again, he connected with his security chief.
I'm back........
For my blog..
Is been a long time..i was missing…I back now..with full of story..and poem too… I hope to spend some time here to post every story here.. I been busy with Readers Treasure in FB…..drop by if everyone have time go to my FB and add me as ur friends..look for Readers Treasure.. THX…
Now, I’m going to post a new story here…..is called Scandal at the Balfour Ball Enjoy !!!!
After barely a year of marriage, Alessandro and Meredith Ferrera’s relationship is already strained by careers that force them to live in different countries for weeks at a time. So it doesn’t take much to raise Alessandro’s suspicions about what his bride is up to with his best friend Marco when he’s not around!
Meredith Ferrera doesn’t know what’s gotten into her husband. When she calls him in Milan to tell him some important news, she’s discouraged by his surly attitude and veiled accusations. And when he fails to show up in London to escort her to the ball hosted by her illustrious Balfour relations, she quickly discovers the room is abuzz with rumors about the state of their marriage…
Is been a long time..i was missing…I back now..with full of story..and poem too… I hope to spend some time here to post every story here.. I been busy with Readers Treasure in FB…..drop by if everyone have time go to my FB and add me as ur friends..look for Readers Treasure.. THX…
Now, I’m going to post a new story here…..is called Scandal at the Balfour Ball Enjoy !!!!
After barely a year of marriage, Alessandro and Meredith Ferrera’s relationship is already strained by careers that force them to live in different countries for weeks at a time. So it doesn’t take much to raise Alessandro’s suspicions about what his bride is up to with his best friend Marco when he’s not around!
Meredith Ferrera doesn’t know what’s gotten into her husband. When she calls him in Milan to tell him some important news, she’s discouraged by his surly attitude and veiled accusations. And when he fails to show up in London to escort her to the ball hosted by her illustrious Balfour relations, she quickly discovers the room is abuzz with rumors about the state of their marriage…
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