Chapter Fourteen
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Keeley sat on her couch, her feet curled under her with her laptop propped on her knees as she searched for lesson ideas for the beginning of the school year. In a couple months she’d be starting a new job teaching a special day class at Sierra High School, and she needed to start preparing.
Owen had headed home for a shower and a change of clothes. Maybe he’d take a nap as he hadn’t gotten any more sleep than she had.
He’d insisted she take the night off from work, but then given further orders she was to report to him if she planned to leave home.
Being bossed around was getting old, but late that afternoon she dutifully texted she was going out. He’d immediately responded.
McHunk: Where to?
Keeley: I’m not a teenager.
McHunk: Definitely not. Where to?
Keeley: Lone Pine Ranch. Shane + Emery = BBQ
McHunk: Ok.
Keeley: Thanks, Daddy .
McHunk: Don’t even.
Hours later and feeling better after her own nap, she turned onto the long dirt road that wound through the foothills of Payback Mountain to Lone Pine Ranch.
She was driving “legally” since the detectives from Sacramento had sent her wallet via messenger service. They’d kept the rest of the contents of her purse as evidence, but at least she had her driver’s license.
Wearing jeans, a flannel shirt partially unbuttoned over a white tank top, and cowboy boots, Keeley parked her CRV near the barn. She’d always loved the rustic charm of Lone Pine Ranch with Shane and Emery’s log cabin house and the wide-open spaces framed by the gorgeous peaks of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
Shane’s dog Bruno trotted up to her, with Walker’s homely mutt Bud following close behind.
Keeley dropped to her knees. “Hey there, Bruno. Hey there, Bud.” She gave both dogs the lavish welcome they deserved, Bruno rolling onto his back for a belly rub. “Oh, aren’t you a handsome boy?” she crooned as his tail swished in the dirt. A pair of jean-clad legs came to a stop next to her. Rising to her feet, she brushed her knees.
Owen stood with his hands in his pockets and an unreadable expression on his face. With his long legs encased in faded Levi’s with white paint splattered on one leg, the sleeves of his navy blue Henley pushed up to his elbows, and worn work boots, he looked ruggedly masculine in a way that lit a fuse low in her belly.
On top of that, his scruff was growing sexily scruffier. The fuse burned even hotter.
“ I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“ Emery called to invite me. Jen is tending bar tonight with the new guy as backup.”
“ That’s nice. I’m glad you’re here.” She tilted her head, trying to get a read on his mood. Something was going on with him. “What? ”
With a shake of his head, he gathered the front of her shirt in one big hand and pulled her to him. “You. Just you.”
Then his lips were on hers and she could hardly breathe.
Mouth, tongue, teeth, he used them all to kiss her thoroughly and completely.
She clutched his shirt and could barely hold on. The kiss lit the fuse to the dynamite and the explosion of need threatened to obliterate her.
She could no longer convince herself what she felt for him was a tiny crush. It was much bigger, and she had the uneasy feeling it could destroy her.
After thoroughly devouring her, Owen let her go. He still wore that impenetrable expression, but his eyes had gone electric blue.
Without saying a word, he turned on his heel.
“ Oh no you don’t.” Keeley grabbed his arm and held on. “You don’t get to kiss me like I mean something, then walk away like I don’t.”
He stopped, eyes glittering when he whipped around, his hands going to her elbows. “You do mean something, Keeley. You mean too damn much. You started it this morning and now that I know how it is when we kiss, I only want more.”
“ I haven’t made it a secret that I want more too.”
“ I can’t give you more.” He released her and his eyes went flat. “I’m committed to protecting you. That hasn’t changed. It’s better if we stay away from each other for both our sakes.” He stalked off to where the rest of their group was gathered, the dogs running along with him.
Jerk. She didn’t need Owen Hardesty, and certainly didn’t need the emotional roller coaster he put her on.
He kissed her like he meant it, and then said they needed to stay away from each other. And, oh yeah, he was her boss . How was that supposed to work? Fuming, she crossed the wide yard to join her friends .
Delaney pulled her into a hug, whispering in her ear, “Wowza. That was some kiss. What’s going on with you and Owen?”
“ He’s a jerk and I’m not talking about it. I won’t let him ruin my night.”
Delaney squeezed her hand. “Fair enough.” She lifted the hair Keeley had combed over her forehead so it hid her stitches, and winced. “It still hurt?”
“ Some, but it’s healing.”
Cam and Emery joined them, and there were more questions.
After the initial fuss and discussion over the attack and her stitches, and then Pam’s murder, Keeley held up a hand. “That’s the end of that. I don’t want violence and death to be what we talk about all evening. It’s all I’ve thought about all day and I need a break. The mystery will still be there tomorrow, so let’s enjoy each other’s company tonight.”
Her appeal for a modicum of normalcy worked.
Shane knelt to feed wood into a fire burning in a steel ring circled by folding chairs. Delaney leaned against Walker in a loveseat sipping ginger ale. Sawyer had Cam backed up against a fence in a lip-lock that was getting heated, and Emery brought a bowl covered in plastic wrap from the house to place on a folding table already groaning under the weight of trays of sliced vegies, and bowls of watermelon, baked beans, and potato salad.
Shane’s friend and ranch hand Harding, with his warm brown skin and long beard gathered with a hair tie, stood at the grill with Gage and Mateo as he used tongs to flip a rack of ribs and chicken quarters.
Still trying to find her equilibrium after that power-packed kiss, and the subsequent heated words, Keeley did what she loved to do. She moved among the friends to chat and catch up with everyone.
Delaney’s not-just-morning sickness had apparently started after lunch and had finally eased enough she thought she could eat. Working together, Keeley helped Cam and Sawyer set up two long folding tables under a giant tree that grew in the middle of the yard .
“ We’re having a boy,” Cam insisted.
Keeley felt like she’d walked into the middle of a conversation.
“ Could be, but I think we’re having a girl,” Sawyer replied. “I want a girl with her mama’s blonde hair and gorgeous eyes.”
“ Or she could have her daddy’s dark hair and gorgeous eyes. But we’re having a boy. We can name him James Theodore after his great-grandpa and great-uncle. We could call him JT for short.”
Sawyer stood and stared at his wife. “That’s perfect.” He shook his head, his eyes reflecting emotion. “But I still think we’re having a girl. She could be Clara after your grandmother.”
Keeley arranged the chairs as Sawyer drew Cam into his arms in an embrace so full of love it seemed to glow from them like a moonbeam.
Owen sat with a beer bottle balanced on his knee. He appeared to be engaged with whatever Walker was saying, but she could see the broodiness under the social facade.
More than once she caught his gaze on her. She figured turning her back to him conveyed her leave me alone message pretty well.
Bringing a tray from the house with little bowls of pickled onions, dill pickles, and a variety of olives, Keeley spied Owen and Mateo with Shane, their heads under the hood of a pickup.
Shane went to the driver’s seat to turn over the engine while Owen cocked his head as if listening. Using a wrench, he adjusted something in the engine compartment. Listening again, he seemed satisfied with whatever he’d done and signaled for Shane to turn off the engine. He glanced over, and Keeley gave a start when their gazes clashed and she realized she’d been standing doing nothing other than staring at the man.
The sun went down in the western sky, lighting up thin wispy clouds in shades of purple and orange, and a breeze whispered quietly through the pines. It was the perfect backdrop for the evening. The people Keeley considered her chosen family filled their plates buffet style and sat at the long tables, flickering lanterns holding back the dusk. She deliberately chose not to sit in the empty seat beside Owen, instead taking the spot between Mateo and Gage.
She bumped shoulders with Mateo. “Hey, friend, how’s firefighting?”
“ Doing some controlled burns to try to get ahead of wildfire season.”
They chatted, trying to draw Gage into the conversation.
Dark haired and broody, Gage had the look of a wounded warrior. She didn’t know his story, all Emery’d shared was he’d had a rough upbringing and some trauma that had brought him to his friend’s ranch to heal. He seemed laid-back, but she had the feeling he kept a lot hidden behind a dry wit and slow smile.
Here she was with two sexy and handsome men, but neither of them rang the same bells for her that Owen did. Regardless, she enjoyed the meal and conversation even while being acutely conscious of Owen seated across the table. She noticed the corded muscle of his arms as he passed a platter, his long fingers as he cut his meat with a knife, his hooded gaze on her as he sipped from a bottle of beer. He was like a life-size magnet with a constant pull she found nearly impossible to resist.
She tuned into the conversation around her. Predictably, talk swirled around pregnancy and babies. Sitting at the head of the table, Harding beamed from ear to ear. “I’m gonna have me a baby to watch after,” he told Shane, rubbing his gnarled hands together. Keeley pegged Harding’s age at somewhere between seventy and ninety. “Y’all don’t need to worry about childcare because Harding’s got it under control.”
“ Shane and Emery can’t hog Harding. You guys have to spread the love,” Delaney complained.
“ I got plenty of love to spread around. But I can only take care of one baby at a time,” Harding said.
Happy pregnancy pheromones seemed to radiate from the couples. Keeley turned to Emery. “Twins run in families, right? You have twin brothers, so maybe you and Shane will continue the tradition.”
“ Bite your tongue, girl,” she said, her voice emphatic. “I don’t have a preference for girl or boy, but I’ve put my order in for a single.” She held up an index finger. “One baby at a time.”
Emery pinned Shane with a watch out mister look when she caught him grinning. “What are you smiling about? You know how my brothers are. It’ll be a miracle if they survive to adulthood.”
“ Twins would certainly give us a jumpstart on our family.”
“ Says the man who won’t have two babies growing inside him.”
“ Darlin’, I’m game for whatever we get. It’ll be fun.”
“ Here, here.” Walker held up his beer in salute.
Keeley decided time with her besties had been exactly what she needed.
Between being attacked twice, and whatever was going on between her and Owen, her batteries needed a positive charge. After a couple hours with her friends, she felt calmer and in a more settled frame of mind.
They finished dinner and she helped with the cleanup. She said her good-byes with lots of hugs and walked across to her car under a sky strewn with stars, fishing her keys from her purse. Pam had stolen the brand new purse she’d gotten for an excellent price at a sale several weeks ago. Keeley had no idea if she’d get it back or if the police would hold on to it as evidence. She’d been forced to dig out her old purse from the back of her closet.
Footsteps approaching from behind didn’t alarm her like they would have had she been anywhere else.
“ Wait up.” Owen trotted up behind her.
Cam stuck her hand out the window to wave as she and Sawyer drove away, headlights bright in the darkness. Keeley turned to face Owen. Given the look on his face, she could already guess what he wanted. Suddenly she was tired of it.
They stood in the glow from the light over the barn door. Owen jammed his hands into his pockets .
“ Look, Keeley, about that kiss. I’m sending mixed messages, and that’s not what I want to do. I wanted to be clear.”
“ Got it.” She opened her car door.
He shifted his weight from foot to foot. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“ My feelings are my own concern. Is there anything else?”
The slow shake of his head made her think she’d surprised him. Good.
“ Right, okay. I’ll follow you home. I brought a sleeping bag so I can bunk on the floor.”
“ No,” she said succinctly, glaring at him. “You will not bunk on the floor. I’m fine. I don’t need or want your protection.”
“ Fuck that. I don’t trust that asshole Jaxon, and we don’t know who killed Demaris. You’re vulnerable living alone.”
“ My cottage is mere feet from my parents’ home. I’m fine. I don’t want you there, Owen.”
“ Right.” He sighed. “Before I forget to tell you, I’ve contacted a security company to work out a plan for a system that includes your cottage and your parents’ house. A rep will be at your house in the next couple days.”
She shook her head at his change of subject.
Fed up, she got in her car, started the engine, and backed up to turn around. All the while Owen stood, hands still in his pockets, and watched her leave.
***
Owen stretched, then cursed when he rapped his elbow against the Bronco window. Jesus, it was cold. He’d unzipped his sleeping bag and spread it over himself, but it had slipped off sometime after he’d finally gotten to sleep. That would’ve been about oh-dark-thirty. He sat up, bringing the seatback to the sitting position, and scrubbed a hand over his face. He’d sell his soul for a cup of coffee. The sun shone brightly through the trees ringing the Montaigne property. Shit. He’d slept later than he’d intended. He’d meant to make sure Keeley stayed safe through the night, then get out of the firing zone before she spotted him.
He leaned his head against the headrest, fingers jammed through his hair, and closed his eyes because the stabbing rays of sunlight hurt his brain.
He’d pissed her off last evening. Maybe that was better because maybe if she was pissed off, it’d be easier to keep his hands off her.
A sharp rapping had him jerking open his eyes and knocking is elbow on the window again.
Keeley stood outside his truck, as pretty as a sunbeam and wearing a poppy orange Vista Middle School hoodie with flannel pants. She brought a mug to her lips that read “Don’t make me use my teacher voice” and sipped slowly.
The bandage on her forehead infuriated him all over again. He opened the door and stepped out, his cramped muscles complaining, and inhaled the scent of coffee.
“ That’s fucking mean.”
Blinking slowly, she took another sip.
He eyed the coffee level as he brushed past her. She still had about an inch to go before being conversational. He went into her cottage, used the john, and splashed cold water on his face. In the kitchen he noted she’d made a full pot. He got a mug and poured his daily dose of sanity and went to join her where she sat at the table on her little patio.
He blew to cool his coffee then drank deeply, warmth sliding through his body. He’d much prefer waking up next to Keeley to sleeping in his SUV, but at least he had coffee.
“ You slept in your Bronco.”
She must’ve gotten to the halfway point. He sipped from his mug, taking his time answering. “Yeah.”
“ I told you I don’t want your protection.”
“ Tough shit. ”
The bright sun brought out the gold flecks in her eyes and the golden freckles across the bridge of her nose.
“ You’re staring.”
“ Wouldn’t stare if you didn’t have freckles.”
She rubbed a finger self-consciously across the bridge of her nose. “I need to remember to put on sunblock or they’ll get worse.”
He clamped his mouth shut to keep the words he wanted to say from tumbling out. That he loved her freckles. That she was perfect as she was.
She dropped her hand. “Anyway, about you sleeping in your Bronco. Pam was murdered. I get that, but I don’t see how that puts me in danger. If it did, the sheriff’s department would do something about it. I don’t know why you’re doing this overprotective big brother thing. Is it because Mom asked? Or Sawyer? Is it because you’re a big strong alpha and think it’s your job to protect the little lady?”
He scowled at the alpha comment. “I sure as hell don’t feel like your brother.”
She snorted and added an eye roll.
“ What?”
“ Let me get this straight. You kissed me last night, but then regretted it. When I’m leaving, you make a point of telling me you’re unavailable. Then you spend the night outside my house because you think I’m in danger.” She huffed out a breath. “I can’t figure you out.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I shouldn’t’ve kissed you.”
“ Whatever. You’re not the first man I’ve made the mistake of having feelings for.” He opened his mouth to speak, but she held up a finger. “I dated a guy during my last year of college. We were good together, we had fun. I thought he was someone I could build a future with. Then I got pregnant.”
Owen’s gaze whipped up to hers. “What happened? ”
“ I was twelve weeks along when I miscarried.” She gave him a fleeting smile. “That baby daddy had already dumped me with a Sorry, I can’t do this excuse. You stepping back is nothing new.”
“ Fuck.” Owen stared hard at her. “You deserve better than that.”
“ That’s right, I do. And I’m going to make better happen for me.”