Cowboy to the Rescue (9 page)

Either way, the answers shook him. And what bothered him the most…was that he kind of liked it.

 

Two days later, just as the sun was dipping and the broiling temperature beginning to ease, Christina parked her car at the west end of the ranch house. She was tired. The past two days had been filled with frustration and roadblocks of every imaginable sort. The tip she'd had on the missing person's case had turned out to be fruitless, just wishful thinking by a desperate relative.

As for Paul Saddler's so-called friends, she'd not been able to catch up with any of the three. Red Winters had been away on a trip to Vegas with his second wife. Harve Dirksen had been out of town on a business trip. The maid who'd answered his door had told Christina that her boss was a land developer and had his hand in building strip malls.

As for Lawrence Carter, she'd only been able to talk to his wife. Second wife, that is. A large, blustery woman with a poodle dog under each arm. From what Christina could gather from her, Lawrence now worked as an investment advisor for a local bank in San Antonio. Only he'd been sent to Dallas, to a sister bank, and wouldn't be home for another week.

Usually, Christina expected her job to include such delays and obstacles. She made it a point to never let them get under her skin. But these past two days, her work had only been a part of the reason for the weariness settling over her. The whole time she'd been in San Antonio, her mind had been on Lex. She'd missed him and imagined him in every possible scenario, including being in her arms, kissing her the way he'd kissed her beneath the arbor of honeysuckle.

Trying to shake away that tempting thought, she fetched a small leather duffel from the trunk of the car and entered the house by way of the kitchen.

She found the usually busy room empty, with everything cleaned and in perfect order. A note from Cook was attached to the refrigerator, telling her that Geraldine was out of town, Lex was on roundup and that there was a shepherd's pie in the fridge if she wanted to heat it.

Sighing, Christina left the kitchen and headed upstairs to her room. The house felt so empty without Lex. And even though she'd known that he'd be away on roundup this evening, a tiny part of her had hoped he would remember she'd be arriving and take the time to be here to greet her. But that was foolish thinking. The ranch was huge, and he was probably miles and miles from the house. He had lots of work to do, and she wasn't that important to him.

Do you want to be that important to him?

As Christina stepped out of her linen dress and tossed it on the bed, she was trying to answer that question, trying to convince herself she wasn't falling for Lex Saddler when a knock suddenly sounded on her bedroom door.

“Christina? Are you in there?”

Lex's unexpected voice jolted her, and she hastily reached for a silk robe and headed to the door.

“Yes! Uh…just a moment.” She fumbled with the tie at her waist, then made sure she was modestly covered before she partially opened the door and stuck her head out. “Lex, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be out with the other wranglers.”

His gaze slipped to the spot between her breasts, where her hand was gripping the edges of the robe together, then back to her face. “I was out with the men. I'm sorry if I caught you at a bad moment. Have you been here long?”

“All of ten minutes, maybe. Why?”

He suddenly smiled, and Christina felt the weight of the past couple of days melting away.

“Then you haven't eaten?”

“No. But I'm not that hungry.”

He laughed, and she realized it was a sound that she'd missed, a sound that filled her with good feelings.

“You will be. Pull on a pair of jeans and boots, and meet me out on the patio in five minutes. I'm going to take you to a bona fide cowboy cookout.” As he turned away from the door, he tossed over his shoulder, “And bring a bag with whatever you can't do without for one night.”

“A bag? What for?” Christina called after him.

As he headed down the hallway to the staircase, he called back to her. “Tonight we're going to sleep out under the stars.”

Sleep under the stars? Was he crazy? Or was she crazier for following his orders? she wondered as she hurried to the closet to find a pair of jeans.

Minutes later, the two of them were in one of the ranch's work trucks, barreling across rough pastureland. As they jostled their way toward the spot near the river where the men had camped, it dawned on Christina that Lex hadn't once asked her about what, if any, information she'd found in San Antonio. And to her surprise, she realized that she was glad he wanted to be with her for no other reason than her company.

“It would have been nicer to have ridden out here on horseback,” he said as he steered the truck around a patch of blooming prickly pear. “But since we didn't have time for that, we'll have to do it another time.”

Another time. Did he think there would be other times they'd be together? she wondered. Did he think that once her job was finished, she'd ever return to the Sandbur? No. She didn't want to think about that now. Tonight she was on an adventure, and she was going to enjoy it.

“Do you have roundups often?” she asked, her gaze sliding over to where he sat behind the steering wheel. His jeans and gray chambray shirt were dusty, and his hat was so coated, it looked more brown than black. Spurs were strapped to his boots, and between them on the seat lay a pair of worn bat-wing chaps. He was in his element, she realized, and doing something he was born and bred to do.

“Three or four times a year. Depending on how many cattle we decide to sell.” He pointed to a spot in the distance. “There's the camp. And if the men have already eaten, they'd damned sure better have left us some cobbler.”

As they grew nearer, Christina could see an actual chuck wagon with a canvas cover and a campfire with several men milling around it. Nearby, a dozen or more horses were tethered to a picket line. Christina recognized one of them as Leo, the paint that Lex usually rode. Saddles and horse blankets dotted the ground, and the smell of burning mesquite and strong coffee filled the air. It was a scene right out of the western movies Christina often watched.

Since she'd spent some time exploring around the ranch yard, she'd met most of the hands that were working the roundup. The ones she'd not met, Lex quickly introduced to her, then wasted no time in leading her over to the chuck wagon, where they filled red granite plates with the traditional cowboy fare of steak, potatoes and barbecued beans.

“Let's take our meal down by the river,” he suggested. “It might be a bit cooler there.”

“Lead the way,” she told him.

The riverbank was steep, but once they reached the bottom, the ground leveled out to a sandy wash shaded by willows and salt cedars. Lex found a short piece of fallen log to use for a seat, forcing them to sit close together as they ate the hearty food.

“It's so nice and quiet out here,” Christina said, with a sigh. “No traffic or technical gadgets ringing or beeping.”

“That's what I like about it the most. When I have to travel and jump from one plane to the next or answer a dozen messages left on my phone, I long to get back on the ranch and in the solitude like this. 'Course, I suppose it would get boring for a woman like you.”

Not if I'm with the right person. Keeping that thought to herself, she said, “I'm not easily bored, Lex. I love the outdoors.”

He glanced at her. “Do you live on acreage in San Antonio?”

She smiled wanly. “No. I live in an apartment, not far from the office where I work.”

“You like living in the city?”

“I've never thought about it. I've always lived there.”

“Your parents were city folks?”

Nodding, she said, “Dad's parents owned a chain of successful nightclubs across Texas, and he was involved in that business for years. Mom came from an oil family. Besides the oil, her parents also owned a construction company, so both my parents never lacked for money. They could have purchased all sorts of country property, but that wasn't their style.”

“So you weren't interested in following in those family businesses?”

Shaking her head, she said, “By the time I became old enough to think about a career, my grandparents were dying off. My parents didn't bother trying to pass their legacies on to their children. I suppose it was because neither was very interested in what they did or where their money came from. They weren't like your parents, Lex. You've had a family legacy passed on to you from generation to generation. You have a solid foundation beneath your feet, and you appreciate that. It's something for you to be proud of.”

His smile was gentle as he reached up and squeezed her shoulder, and for a moment, Christina feared her eyes were going to fill with tears.

“Well, someday you'll have children of your own, and you can do things better for them.”

Would she have children? After her breakup with Mike, she'd practically given up on having a family. She'd been trying to convince herself that a career as an investigator was enough to keep her life full. Yet since she'd met Lex, thoughts of children, a home and a husband kept creeping into her dreams. Now, each time she walked into her apartment, it felt totally empty. Darn it. Why was she letting this man toy with her heart and all the plans she'd tried to make for herself?

“Uh, Christina? You've gone quiet. Have I said something wrong? You don't want children?”

A bit embarrassed for letting him catch her daydreaming, she busied herself with slicing into a hunk of rare rib eye. “I'd love to have children. Someday. When I meet the right man.” She dared to glance up at him. “What about you? Do you ever plan to have children? You have so much to pass on to them.”

He looked out across the river, and for the first time since she'd met him, Christina spotted a crack of uncertainty in his armor. “I think about it sometimes. But I'm not sure I'd be good at being a parent.”

“I expect no one is sure—before they take on the job. But I can't see why you'd question yourself. You've had great examples to follow.”

He grimaced. “Yeah, that's just it. Dad was a great parent. I can't think of a time he ever disappointed me. I'm not sure I could ever live up to his standard.” He released a heavy breath, then turned a faint smile on her. “Besides, you have to meet the right woman to want children.”

“And that's never happened? You've never met a woman who's made you think of having a family?”

A coy smile suddenly curved one side of his lips. “What would you say if I said I might be looking at her now?”

Christina's heart was thumping so hard and fast, she was certain he could probably see the front of her shirt shaking. “I'd say a mosquito has probably bitten you and given you a fever,” she purposely teased.

The smile on his lips remained, but there was a soberness in his eyes that shook her right to the core of her being.

“I'll take an aspirin and look at you again in the morning,” he murmured.

She was wondering how she could respond to that when the sound of a guitar being strummed drifted over them.

Glad for the distraction, she glanced over her shoulder and said, “It sounds like we're going to have entertainment tonight.”

“That's Eduardo. He's the only one of the bunch brave enough to play and sing.” He rose from the log and reached down for her hand. “Come on. If you're ready, we'll go back and find a good seat for the concert.”

Back at the campground, the two of them topped their meal off with apple cobbler and cups of strong coffee, then took seats on the ground and used a wagon wheel for a backrest.

As night fell and the stars became visible in the wide Texas sky, Christina forgot about everything but Lex and sharing this part of his life, even if it was only for one night.

After a while, Lex's lips bent near to her ear. “Do you know what Eduardo is singing now?” he asked.

The song was in Spanish, but since Christina knew the language fluently, she had no trouble following the lyrics. “He's singing about a woman who ran away and left all her riches behind just to be with her lover—the gypsy Davey.”

It was an erotic tune, especially for a trail song, and hearing it only made Christina more aware of Lex's strong arm next to hers, his long legs stretched out in front of him. And before she could stop herself, her head listed sideways and nestled comfortably on his strong shoulder.

Next to her ear, she heard him sigh, and the sound tumbled right through her heart.

 

By the time Sunday morning rolled around, Christina was still thinking about her night spent on the roundup. Lex had taken great pains to make her a comfortable bed an arm's length away from his. She'd lain there in the dying firelight, gazing at his profile and thinking how exciting and full a life with him would be.

But morning had brought reality back with a jerk. After a hasty breakfast, Lex had saddled up Leo for a day's work, and she'd driven the truck back to the ranch to begin her diligent sifting through Paul Saddler's papers. Since that time, she'd only spoken with Lex briefly. At that time he'd assured her he'd be ready for the trip to Corpus.