Desperado: Deep in the Heart, Book 2 (37 page)

Without wanting to, knowing it was going to hurt, Sloan reached to unlock the bottom drawer of his desk. He pulled out a picture frame, which showed him and his wife smiling, dizzily in love. Damn, but Celia Wintergreen was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on. Sweet, sweet.

He knew exactly why Cody was hurting so bad. Unfortunately, he couldn’t tell him any way to make it better. It had been so many years since Celia had left.

Yet every day of his life, he still thought about her.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Four weeks later, Cody rode along his fences, noting repairs that needed to be made. A few things had to be done, such as buying hay and other supplies to get the ranch through the winter in good condition. All in all, they had survived another summer pretty well. He felt lucky that he’d been able to stay on the profitable side of the business. Some of the farmers and cattlemen he’d talked to had put up a good struggle, but the heat had simply beat everybody down for a second summer in a row.

Surely, next summer would be better. Hopefully, the winter would be fairly mild as well. Cody eased back in the saddle, realizing that these were the same thoughts he had every year about this time. Only, this year, he felt different. The building anticipation and sense of securing the ranch for the winter was missing. The usual pride in his achievements and the ready-to-fight spirit hadn’t come to him. But it was only November. The feeling of just tending to the ranch as a chore and moving through the motions would clear up soon enough, like sunshine breaking through a cloudy day. All the excitement and chaos of having the movie set on his land had been new and different. It was probably natural to feel that life as he’d always known it was routine now.

He pulled the horse around suddenly, deciding that enough was enough. If he was ever going to get past this curious, detached feeling about his life, he had to call Stormy. He had to prove to himself that there was nothing between them. Talking to her would be difficult, but he would face it. Then he could return to normal. The way his life had been before Stormy.

Inside the house, he dialed her number, still remembering it without a hitch. Impatiently, he waited for her to answer, but the number just rang and rang. Suddenly, the line clicked on, and his heart soared.

“Hello?” a male voice said.

Caught off guard, Cody hesitated.

“Hello?” the man demanded.

“This is Cody Aguillar,” he said, “I’d like to speak to Stormy Nixon if she’s available.”

“I’m afraid she’s not.”

Cody’s insides turned clammy at the terse reply. He knew exactly who the man answering her phone was: the guy who wanted to marry her. Obviously, she wasn’t waiting for Cody to call her.

“As much as this is none of my business, I’m going to tell you something,” the man said.

Here it goes, Cody thought. Stormy doesn’t want me calling her anymore. “Shoot,” he said briskly.

“Stormy has left for Africa. She’s got some sites she’s planning to look over. Tonight, she’s staying with her folks so they could take her to the airport. I happen to know that they’ve gone out to dinner, so you probably can’t catch them. But if it were to be of interest to you, her plane is connecting through Dallas sometime tomorrow. If you’re interested in speaking to her, they might be able to get a message to her.”

Cody listened disbelievingly to the advice he was receiving. “I’ll keep it in mind. Thanks.”

“No problem.”

The phone went dead in his hand. His jaw sagged. Stormy would be in Texas soon. He might be able to get hold of her, if he wanted to. He could hear her voice in Texas, so much closer than California.

Or he could just let her go about her business, relieved that obviously she had recovered just fine without him.

“Hi, Uncle Cody!” Mary cried, running toward him.

“Hey, ladybug!” He swept her up in a giant hug. “What are you doing over here?”

“Grandma brought me over. She said she needed a night with me since she hadn’t seen me in so long.” Mary stared at him solemnly as he set her down. “She says I’ve grown up on her.”

“You have.” He nodded, reaching out to ruffle her hair just to assure himself that she was still his little girl. “It scares me.”

“It shouldn’t.” She wrapped her arm about his waist and walked with him up onto the porch where they both sat down. “Unless you’re afraid you’re getting old.”

He grinned at her saucy expression, his spirits lifting immediately despite his earlier conversation with Sloan. Mary was the child of his heart. They had their ups and downs, but she would always hold a place in his soul no one else ever could.
I see my brother in her
, he thought. “Watch your mouth, young lady. Age doesn’t matter except to teenagers, for some reason.”

She laughed at him. “Don’t be so grumpy.” Laying her head on his shoulder, she said, “I’ve come to a decision, Uncle Cody.”

“Oh, boy. I can’t wait,” he replied, his tone dry.

“Grumpy, grumpy,” she teased. “What would you say if I told you I’ve decided I’m not ready to go to California to audition for movies and commercials and stuff?”

“Hallelujah?”

“No, really.”

Seeing her smile and the absolute serenity in her eyes, he shrugged. “Why’d you change your mind?”

“I don’t know.” With the whimsical attitude of a teenager, she flipped her hair airily. “I’m not ready. I’ve made a lot of friends at school. My new baby is arriving soon, and I want to be able to help Mom.” She gave him a huge kiss on the cheek. “You’d miss me if I became a big star.”

“I would.” He meant it.

“So there’s always next year. Maybe you can take me in the summer. If you would.” She gave him a sidelong look.

“I will.” It was a promise and they both knew it.

“Uncle Cody,” she said suddenly, “I never had a chance to tell you thanks about coming to my rescue after Sam—”

“Don’t. Please, ladybug.” He shook his head, his expression serious, and put his arm around her shoulders. “I couldn’t bear it if anything ever—let’s not talk about this.” He took a deep breath, unable to remember how close he could have come to losing his beloved niece. “I am proud of your bravery. You were very level-headed.”

“Thanks.” She tugged at his braid. “Has Sloan told you what happened to—”

“Don’t say his name,” he said sternly. “Sloan didn’t mention it.”

“He’s in jail down south of here. Apparently, he was wanted for a bunch of junk and after you slowed him down and Sloan put him in jail and ran his records, the police had time to catch up with him.”

“I’m glad. Change the subject.” He couldn’t bear to think about it anymore.

“Well, I love you.”

He glanced down in surprise. “I love you, too. I always will. You’re the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Carmen came out on the porch and sat in a rocker behind them. She lit up a cigar, handing Cody one over his shoulder. “Thanks, Ma. I’ve missed having an occasional smoke with you.”

“Can I have one, Uncle Cody?”

“Hell, no.”

She laughed out loud. “Can I cuss, Uncle Cody?”

“No, you can’t cuss or smoke or anything except be my ladybug.”

He lightly pinched her sides to tickle her, and she squealed with delight. Then they sat silently for a while, the three of them enjoying the fall of evening and humming dragonflies and the even circle of a red-tailed hawk over the open land.

Mary sighed, the sound hopeful in the gray dusk. “You know, Uncle Cody, I don’t have to be the only best thing that’s ever happened to you.”

“What do you mean?” He took a stick and jabbed at some mud on the edge of his boot heel.

“Well, Stormy loves you as much as I do. I guess I’ve known you longer, so maybe that’s more, but she definitely loves you, too. You know? If you’d promise not to be so ornery with her, she’d probably marry you.”

“It’s not that simple, ladybug.”

“You’re making it harder than it has to be,” she replied, with all the optimism of youth.

He wasn’t sure. “I don’t think it would work out.”

They were silent for a moment.

“You know, this time I’m siding with Mary,” Carmen said. “I think maybe you ought to give Stormy a chance to tell you no. Some time has passed. Things have changed. You don’t know what is in her mind if you don’t find out.”

Getting up from the porch, he shook his head and ground the cigar under his boot. “Ma, don’t you think Mary’s grown up this fall?”

“I do. I couldn’t wait to see her.”

Something told him he had to make tonight a special night, that the time alone they were sharing wouldn’t come again for a while. “We’ll go out for a drive and a soda at the drive-through tonight if you two would like.”

“We’d like, Uncle Cody!” Mary cried happily.

“Sounds good.” His mother nodded.

“I’m going in.” He headed to the door before glancing back. “I’m proud of you, ladybug. Thanks for the talk.”

“You’re welcome, Uncle Cody.”

“Be ready in fifteen minutes,” he instructed.

Then he went inside. He pulled out the phone book and glanced through the pages. His heart pounded madly in his chest as he dialed the number.

“Reservations,” a woman said when she answered the phone. “How can I help you?”

“I want to know if the flight tomorrow that is departing the airport for Africa is still scheduled for tomorrow afternoon.”

“I’ll check, sir.”

A moment later, she gave him departing information, which he scribbled on a white pad before he thanked her and hung up. At his elbow, a voice spoke.

“You can see elephants at the zoo, Uncle Cody. You don’t have to go all the way to Africa,” Mary pointed out, eyeing his scribbling.

“Never you mind, ladybug.” He tucked the paper into his jeans pocket.

“Is Stormy going to Africa?” Mary stared up at him curiously, as did his mother.

“You know, one thing about the two of you being gone, I kind of got used to my privacy,” he grumbled.

His mother nodded, but her eyes were lit with merriment. “Change can be very good for a man.”

“He hasn’t changed much,” Mary commented. “He’s still grouchy as all get-out.”

“It’s okay,” Carmen said, shooing Mary outside toward the truck. “His lady seems to like him that way.”

Stormy waited tensely as the passengers filed onto the airplane. Her scalp prickled. For some reason, she was uneasy being on Cody’s turf. It made her want to see him. Yet she didn’t dare call his house. He had called her a couple of times since she’d lost the baby, but she’d been asleep, allowing the answering machine to take all the calls. She hadn’t returned any of his messages, a fact that didn’t make her proud. Guilt made her unable to face talking to him. Despair that their relationship could never work out kept her from telling him the words that she knew she should say to him.
I’m sorry. I was wrong.
Emotional cowardice was difficult to overcome.

She glanced up as a man buckled himself into the seat beside her. She stared at Cody in astonishment. “What are you doing here?”

“Going to Africa. Brought a camera. I’m sure there’s a lot I’ve never seen before.” He looked her over thoroughly, his gaze settling on the necklace at her throat. “You’re wearing my teeth.”

“Yes,” she whispered, hardly daring to believe that he was actually beside her. Her hands trembled; her blood raced like a wild horse’s. “Snake teeth seem to suit my personality. A man I once knew told me I was very unusual.”

“Looks good on you.” His heated gaze told her she was beautiful to him.

Her heart tightened. “Why are you really doing this?”

“I had a good time in California.” He shrugged at her. “I’ll probably have an even better time in Africa. If you think you’ll have time for me.” He leaned over and kissed her.

Gently, she pushed him slightly away. “You don’t even have a passport. You’d never been out of your own backyard before you came to California.”

“Wrong.” He flipped it out to show her proudly. “I started the paperwork as soon as I got back from California.”

She examined it, half-afraid he was kidding. Wild hope flared inside her that his going meant what she wanted it to mean. “Cody, there’s something I have to tell you.”

“What?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.

With uncertain fingers, she traced the rough fabric of the seat. “I’m sorry about everything. I was—”

He put his lips on hers, stopping her words. He kissed her long and deeply. “I’d like to go forward from here,” he said as he pulled away gently from her mouth. “If you think we can.”

Her heart caught, tightening with sheer happiness. “I’d like to.”

“Can I get you to marry me, then?”

She wanted to believe, wanted it to work, but she didn’t know how. “I thought we agreed we didn’t want a dual-state marriage. That it wouldn’t work out.”

“Yeah, well.” Gently, he ran a hand along her cheek, “Things change.”

“Like what?”