“I should have gotten him,” Gabrielle heard Houston say to Sheriff Whitley. He added some profanity to that. “I should have at least managed to get the license plate.”
She disagreed with him. She wanted to tell Houston that it would have been next to impossible for him to chase down that car while he was on foot. She also wanted to remind him that the car’s license plates had been obscured with mud or something. But her teeth were chattering, and she couldn’t manage to say anything as she sat in the back of the police cruiser.
Houston and she had come close to being killed today.
For weeks the danger, or at least the possibility of danger, had been much too close for comfort, but today she’d come face-to-face with it, when the gunman had fired God knows how many shots into Houston’s Porsche. Any one of those shots could have hit them, and they were lucky to have escaped with just a few nicks and muddy clothes.
“My deputy will find the person who did this to you,” the sheriff insisted.
She didn’t doubt the deputy would try, but the reality
was the man had a huge head start. The gunman had sped away a good five minutes before the sheriff and his deputy arrived. Those five minutes gave the person plenty of time to disappear.
Of course, he could—and probably would—come back. Gabrielle didn’t think this was over.
Houston was sitting beside her in the backseat, his hand pressed over hers, their fingers linked. He hadn’t let go of her since the sheriff had ushered them into the cruiser. Gabrielle was thankful for that. She didn’t consider herself a weak woman, but she was afraid that Houston’s touch was the only thing that was holding her together.
Even though they were just a few minutes from the ranch, Houston called again and spoke to Greta, the maid. He asked about Lucas, and about his father and Dale. Judging from Houston’s reaction, he didn’t care much for whatever the maid said. He closed the phone so hard she was surprised it didn’t break.
“What’s wrong?” Gabrielle held her breath and started to pray. Lucas had to be all right.
“The baby’s fine,” Houston immediately assured her.
Gabrielle nearly went limp with relief. “Then what made you so upset?” Because everything would be minor, compared to her son’s safety.
“Dale’s not at the ranch. He drove into San Antonio on business.”
Oh
…she understood his reaction then. That could be true—Dale might have left for a valid reason. But if they were to believe Harlan Cordell, then Dale might be in on whatever was happening to Houston and her.
What was happening?
Gabrielle asked herself.
Was this connected to the maternity hostages, or did this all have to do with Lucas?
“You asked about your father?” she questioned.
Houston nodded. “I just want to make sure he hadn’t returned the ranch. He didn’t.”
That was something, at least. They already had enough to worry about, without Mack’s return. Of course, they would eventually have to deal with Houston’s father, and even Dale. Right now though, she only wanted to get to her son.
The moment the sheriff came to a stop in front of the ranch house, Gabrielle barreled out of the car. Houston did the same, and they practically ran to the porch and up the steps. Lily Rose must have been watching from the window, because she met them at the top of the stairs.
“Lucas is fine,” she whispered. “He’s still sleeping.” While her voice was calm, her eyes and expression conveyed her alarm and concern. It probably didn’t help that Houston and she looked as if they’d literally just climbed out of a giant mud hole.
On the drive to the ranch, Houston had filled the nanny in on what had happened to them, but he’d kept the details sketchy. However, Gabrielle figured Lily Rose could fill in the blanks. The woman knew there was trouble brewing.
“I need to be with Lucas,” Gabrielle told Lily Rose. “We both need that,” she added, after glancing at Houston’s face.
Gabrielle kept her steps soft, but she hurried past the nanny and into her room. She made a beeline for the crib, and just as Lily Rose had said, Lucas was still sleeping,
and in the exact position she’d left him a little over an hour and a half ago, when she’d fed him so that Houston and she could go into town and confront Cordell.
Houston came in behind her, shutting the door and locking it. That engaged lock was a stark reminder that they still might not be safe, even though they were inside and away from that gunman.
He stood next to her while they both looked down at the baby. They didn’t have to voice their relief, because she knew he was feeling the same thing she was. She had to fight the urge to pick Lucas up, but that would only wake him. If he stayed in his routine, he would nap for at least another half hour, maybe more. There was no reason to disrupt his sleep, simply because she was falling apart.
“You need to get out of those wet clothes,” Houston told her.
Gabrielle glanced at her clothes and knew he was right. Still…
“I won’t leave him,” Houston promised her. “I’ll stay right here, next to him.”
She nodded and realized just how much that promise meant to her. At this moment, there was only one person she would trust as much as herself to protect and defend Lucas, and it was Houston.
How ironic.
The man who could cost her the most, her son, was the only man she wanted near her right now.
Gabrielle grabbed a pair of clean jeans and a white top from her suitcase and hurried to the bathroom. She hadn’t brought a lot of clothes with her to the ranch, only the items she’d had with her at the motel, and she was
quickly running out of things to wear. She had plenty of outfits at her house in San Antonio, but she couldn’t go back there.
So where should she go?
She couldn’t stay at the ranch forever, even though Houston would no doubt put up a fight if Gabrielle announced she was leaving anytime soon. Still, she had to do something. She couldn’t just continue to react to the dangerous situations going on around them. She needed a plan.
Gabrielle made a mental note to arrange for a bodyguard. Even if that bodyguard had to do temporary duty at the ranch with Lucas and her, at least that was a start to regaining some of the independence she’d surrendered when she walked onto the ranch the day before.
She quickly changed and went back into the bedroom. True to his word, Houston was still keeping watch over Lucas, but he also had his phone pressed to his ear. His voice was practically a whisper, so she couldn’t hear his conversation, but she prayed nothing else had gone wrong.
Houston had also removed his stained shirt, probably because he’d anticipated changing, once she was back in the room. He had it slung over his shoulder. He likely hadn’t meant for his bare torso to grab her attention, but it did.
“Dale’s on his way back,” Houston relayed to her, when he ended the call.
Her heart was still racing, and that didn’t help. “You said you could trust him. Do you still believe that?”
He nodded. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t ask him
some tough questions. If he helped my father, I don’t think he’ll lie about it.”
No. But he might not tell the truth about the extent of his “help.” Still, she wanted the chance to confront Dale, just in case he did know the person who’d fired those shots at Houston and her.
She glanced down at Houston’s jeans and boots. The mud went all the way up to his knees. “Your turn,” she said. “Go ahead and change.”
He turned as if he might do that, but then he stopped and stared at her. He reached out and moved a strand of hair off her cheek. “I would ask if you’re okay, but I can tell you aren’t. You’re shaking.”
Gabrielle didn’t even attempt to deny it, or try to make him believe it was from the cold, wet clothes that she’d just shed. “I guess I’m not used to people trying to kill me.”
She’d meant it as a stupid joke, something to help lighten the mood. But she failed miserably. Much to her disgust, Gabrielle felt the tears well up in her eyes, and her throat snapped shut.
No!
She didn’t want to cry in front of Houston. For that matter, she didn’t want to cry at all. She was so tired of feeling helpless.
On a heavy sigh, Houston tossed his shirt onto the nearby chair, slipped his arm around her and pulled her to him. “For the record, I think you did damn good when we were under fire.”
She looked up at him to thank him, but the words were suddenly lost. Everything seemed to stop and pinpoint right on Houston. He’d saved her life today. He had
gotten her safely back to Lucas. And he’d endangered himself doing that.
“What?” he asked.
Gabrielle shook her head, hoping to clear it, but everything stayed fuzzy. Everything in her mind, that is. Her body seemed to know exactly what it wanted to do.
She came up on her toes and put her mouth to his.
He made a slight sound of surprise that rumbled deep in his throat, but the surprise obviously didn’t last. Houston snapped her to him and kissed her right back.
Yes!
That was the one word that made it through the fuzziness in her brain. Yes, this was what she needed. Yes, the kiss would get her through this. It was stupid logic of course. On some level she understood that, but she also understood that she wasn’t going to stop.
Neither did Houston.
The kiss continued, and it didn’t remain merely a gesture of reassurance. It quickly turned hot, and Houston used his tongue to go past her lips and into her mouth.
His taste was instant. All male, all need. It was yet something else to kindle the heat that was already starting to demand that this kiss go deeper and further.
Houston took things further without her having to ask him.
His arms wound tighter around her, and he turned, moving her against the wall. Gabrielle took things further, as well. She caught on to the back of Houston’s neck and pulled him down toward her. Not that their mouths could get any closer, but Gabrielle got a cheap thrill out of the small amount of control when their bodies pressed each other.
Houston responded with another of his throaty sounds. This one wasn’t of surprise but rather of pure pleasure.
Something she totally understood.
Kissing Houston sent a spear of pleasure right through her.
But soon, very soon, kissing didn’t seem to be enough. They grappled for position, and Gabrielle squeezed her hand between them so she could touch his chest. Houston went after her neck and landed some of those hot kisses there.
The fire inside her spiked.
Gabrielle reminded herself that Lucas wasn’t far away. But he was asleep. And he was too young to realize that she was carrying on with his biological father. Still, she decided to put a little space between the crib and them, and she maneuvered Houston toward the sitting area of her suite.
The neck kisses didn’t stop.
Neither did the caresses she managed on his chest. He was toned and lean, all man, and his body wasn’t the product of a gym, but no doubt hours of working on the ranch.
She was trying to make it to the love seat, but they stopped near the door. All in all, a good idea. Gabrielle was on fire now, and without having to move, she could concentrate on what to do about that fire.
Houston obviously had some ideas.
He cupped her bottom, lifting her just enough so that his sex met hers. He was huge, hard and ready. And Gabrielle was suddenly ready, as well. All she could think about was having sex with him and finding some
relief for the pressure cooker of heat that was roaring inside her.
She wanted to pull him to the floor and have him take her there. She wanted him inside her
now,
and she didn’t want to think of logic and consequences. But she
had
to think of those things.
Gabrielle pulled back and caught on to his shoulder, forcing eye contact. His breath was gusting, as was hers, and she could see the pulse hammer in his throat.
“Bad timing,” he mumbled.
That was a massive understatement, but the truth was, there’d been no good time for kissing Houston. Not since she’d come to the ranch, anyway. And she doubted the timing would be good anytime soon. Still, she didn’t regret what had just happened.
Which made her feel stupid. She’d never been one to fall head over heels, but that’s what was happening to her now.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve felt that,” he added.
Oh. So, he had the late-wife baggage in addition to the old bad blood between them. Neither felt like obstacles right now, but with her body still burning and begging, everything seemed manageable, and it was that kind of attitude that would get her in even more trouble. She was about to remind Houston and herself of that, but his phone buzzed.
Maybe because he’d anticipated the conversation they’d been about to have, he seemed relieved to get the call. At least he did until he glanced at the caller ID and frowned.
“Dale,” Houston said, answering the call.
She understood the frown, but she also understood
why he quickly took Dale’s call. After the allegations Cordell had made, Houston no doubt had some questions to put to his foreman. But Gabrielle was hoping that Dale could clear his name. They already had enough people to worry about, without adding Dale to that list.
“You what?” Houston demanded.
And her heart dropped. His tone and expression told her that something was indeed wrong.
“You thought that was a good idea?” Houston asked the caller, and he had sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Another pause. Gabrielle tried to hear what was making Houston angrier by the moment, but she could only hear the murmur of Dale’s voice.
“I’ll be right down,” Houston snarled. He closed the phone and looked at her. “Dale’s back, and he’s not alone. Apparently, both my father and Salvador Franks are here too.”
Oh, mercy.
She didn’t have the energy to deal with Dale, much less the trio. “What do they want?”
“To
talk,
” he said, as if it were profanity. He glanced down at his pants and then at her. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to wait here while I meet with them?”