Double the Trouble (Texas Trouble 3) (9 page)

She jerked her arm out of his grasp, then rubbed it and took a few steps back from him with wariness in her eyes.
  "Don't touch me again," she said in a trembling voice, then went down the stairs
,
walking swiftly to her car."

He knew she couldn't go anywhere, he had her keys, so he walked leisurely down the steps and over beside her
, and told her,
"I'm sorry if I hurt your arm, I didn't mean to
.
"

Gabe had
seen the fear flash in her eyes a minute ago, and felt damned bad about it.  That guy Jake was an asshole, and he'd definitely hurt her, whether she'd told her sister about it or not.  Women didn't act that way unless they'd been victims.
  That was something he'd seen enough of working for the Phoenix P.D.

"It's no big deal, I'm fine...I just don't want you to touch me anymore," she said and folded her arm
s under her breasts defensively, then said, "Just give me my keys."

"What did Jake do to you Karlie?" he asked her gently, but didn't touch her again.

Her lips pinched tightly together and she shrugged, then told him, "Nothing I didn't ask for...my mouth gets away from me
sometimes
, as you know
."

Gently, he laid his hand on her shoulder then turned her to face him
.  Anger
at Jake the asshole
surged through him
, and
then
sadness that
the man had
hurt her spirit, as much as he'd hurt her physically.
  The jackass had even evidently convinced her that his abuse was her fault.
"What did he do to you, Karlie?" he asked her again a little more forcefully this time.

There was silence between them for a good minute, then she said quietly, "He hit me a couple of times...choked me once
...
that really scared me, that's why I left
.
  Well, that
and he kicked Sarge
.  He'd left him i
n the trailer all day by himself, and
Sarge
peed on the floor
.
"

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her hair, "I'm so sorry, baby.  That asshole belongs in jail...did you ever call the cops on him?"

She snorted, then mumbled against his chest, "What and really give him a reason to beat the shit out of me?  No way."

"Well, if he decides to come here, I'll beat the shit out of him...you don't have to worry anymore. You're safe here," he
promised
and squeezed her to him.

"I'm not safe anywhere, if he's looking for me
...
the only reason he would come looking
though
would be because of Sarge
," she told him then shook her head, "
B
ut
I'm not giving him back, and Luke said he'd take care of him if he showed up at the Double B."

"I'm glad to hear you told him..." Gabe said then asked, "If he kicked Sarge, why would he care enough about him to come to
Bowie
to get him?"

"The money," she said, without further explanation.

Gabe
tilted
his head and tried to process what she meant, but failed.  "What money?"

"He gets five thousand dollars a month
from his crazy grandpa's estate
to take care of
Sarge
.  The lawyers do periodic welfare checks on Sarge, to meet the terms of the will.  If Sarge isn't there, he won't get the money anymore."

"Holy Shit!  That's about the craziest thing I've ever heard," Gabe
said in amazement,
then pushed her back from him to look in her face and see if she was joking.  She wasn't, her eyes glittered with tears and her lip trembled.

"It's crazy shit all right, but it's how his grandpa set up his will, and Jake took the dog to get the money."

Gabe reached into his pocket for her keys, then handed them to her.  "Thanks for telling me," he said then leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek. "Drive safe," he told her and then turned to walk back into the station.

"Wait!" she yelled behind him and he turned back around.  "Ride home with me?  I'm sorry if I pissed you off...I was just letting my hair down.  Those guys don't mean shit to me.  Jake never took me out, or
let
me go out, so it's been
a long time, since I did that."

Relief pulsed through Gabe
with her words
, then anger at the asshole who'd tried to snuff out this crazy, but wild and
beautiful
,
w
oman's inner spirit.  Men like needed to be in a jail cell somewhere, so they could experience what bullying was really like, on the other side of the fence. 
Karlie and he
r issues weren't his issues, and she wasn't his woman, but he would damned sure do his best to protect her if that bul
l-riding bozo showed up in town.

Gabe walked back over to her and said, "And I'm sorry you ever got hooked up with that jerk.  I'm also sorry you thought I was hitting on your sister, I wasn't.  I was talking to her about
you
.  She's a nice enough girl, but she does nothing for me," he told her and she grinned then took a step toward him, then another and before he knew it she had her arms around his neck and was kissing him senseless. 

Not one to let a prime opportunity pass, Gabe took the hot kiss deeper and pulled her in closer to his body, feasting on her sweet lips. 

CHAPTER FOUR

Karlie was in love.
..head over heels, no going back, forever love.  With a man so fine he took her breath away every time she saw him.
  A
nd the best thing about him?  He did exactly what she wanted him to do, and didn't talk back.

Too bad her best man was a horse,
but
maybe that was the best kind of man for her.
Titan bent his head down and sniffed her pocket as she led him to the cross-ties to tack him up.  He knew she had a treat for him in there, and he wanted it,
now
, but she was going to make him wait..
.
at least
until she had him in the crossties. 
Working at the Double B these last t
w
o weeks had been amazing. 
Karlie wasn't sad she'd quit the rodeo, she was having the time of her life, and felt so much better inside...where it counted.

Cassie had really outdone herself with not only the facilities
here
, but the horses she'd bought too.  It was obvious to Karlie that Cassie Bellamy Matthews aimed to make a name for herself in the
quarter
horse
industry.  And like Karlie, she didn't do things halfway.

She was brushing
Titan
down good when Cassie walked into the barn smiling from ear to ear.  The tall lithe blond was getting bigger every day
as the most likely large baby inside of her grew. 
Her husband, Luke, wasn't a small man either
, so it stood to reason their child wouldn't be either. 
Karlie smiled a greeting at her friend, and dropped the brush into the grooming kit.

"Morning, Sunshine!"
Cassie
greeted her cheerfully
then walked over to Titan and scratched him then kissed his nose
.
  "How's my big man this morning?" she asked the horse.  Karlie stood back to watch the interaction and could have sworn the horse was giving
Cassie
googly eyes when he rubbed his muzzle against her cheek.

"I was just about to exercise him..." Karlie told her then walked toward the tack room to get her saddle.  When she came back with it over her shoulder, Cassie wasn't alone.  Gabe stood there beside her in his uniform,
looking good enough to eat, but
he didn't look very happy.

"Morning..."
Karlie greeted him, then
sucked in a breath when his blue eyes met hers, and she saw the
anger and
regret there.  Karlie dropped her saddle on the ground and put her hands on her hips, "Okay, spill...what's up?"

"I got a call from your sister this morning, since I have cell service at the station.  She said to tell you that Jake knows where you are.
..and to be careful, because pretty angry.  He threatened her, but then denied it when she called the police
on him
.
"

Karlie's shoulders slumped and her chin hit her chest, before she huffed out a frustrated breath.  "I knew it was coming, but hoped it wouldn't be so soon...
shit
."

"We can get
J
udge to issue a restraining order, but that might open another can of worms, because of Sarge.
..besides a piece of paper isn't going to keep you safe.
"

She shook her head then looked up at him, "You're right about that.  I need a gun, and need someone to show me how to use it."
  And she would use it, if he came here and tried to hurt her or Sarge.

She watched Gabe's face flush and then he said firmly, "Not in this lifetime, sugar.  You're bad enough dealing with your impulses unarmed."

"
Excuse
me?  Who died and left you my keeper?" she asked him as anger surged up inside of her.  She was tired of men telling her what to do, that's why she left the
Jake
, and
she wasn't putting up with that
any more. "If I want a damned gun, I'll have one...and I'll use it if that sonofabitch shows up here."

"Be reasonable, Karlie...even if you have a gun, you'
d be a
greenhorn with it.  The odds are he'll take it away from you and use it on
you
, instead of the other way around."

"I don't plan on giving him that opportunity," she said firml
y.  "He's not going to touch me
,
or
my dog again,
that I can promise you."

Gabe pulled off the ugly tan Stetson that
was part of his uniform, but
looked ridiculous on him
, then
shoved a hand through his hair, "Honey, you stole his dog.  He might be coming here to press charges.  I won't have any choice, but to arrest you again
, if he can prove Sarge belongs to him
.
  If you wind up shooting him and it's not self-defense, you could be in a whole world of trouble.  Please don't get a gun.
..I'll get you a taser and show you how to use it.
"

"Ugh, there has to be something I can do to stop him from taking Sarge..." she said then started pacing up and down the aisle.

"Do you know the attorneys who administer his grandfather's will?" Gabe asked her and a lightbulb went off in her head.

With a hopeful grin, she nodded then said, "That's a great idea...
I
don't know why
I didn't think of it before."  She ran over to Gabe and put her arms around the handsome lawman's neck and gave him a kiss
, then told him,
"You're pretty damne
d smart
, thank you for that suggestion
.
"

She glanced over at Cassie and saw her friend's eyes were rounded and her eyebrows almost touched her hairline.  Karlie guessed she didn't know that she and Gabe had gone out a few times lately, and she hadn't had time to tell her.

"So, no gun?" Gabe asked her with eyes that glittered with concern.

"No gun as long as this works out...
" she agreed then qualified it, "
and
you get me that taser
.
"

He snorted, then told her, "Consider yourself tased, darlin'.  I could have used one of those that day you roped me...maybe I'll order me one too."  Gabe pulled her to him and gave her a tender kiss
, before he released her
too soon for her liking
.
 

Putting his hat back on his head, Gabe told her,
"I've got to get going...got a loose livestock call a few minutes ago
near here
, I just stopped by on the way
," then added, with a grin, "
Maybe it'll be pigs or something this time, instead of cows.  As long as it isn't chickens, I'm good."

Karlie snorted, then
Gabe chuckled and told her,
"Girl, you ought to bottle that sound and sell it...makes me want to laugh every time I hear it!"
then he laughed heartily, before he finished,
"I thought I was going to lose it when I pulled you over and you did that. 
I've got this beautiful woman in this hot rod car, and that sound c
omes
out of her!"

Cassie laughed too and added, "I've got to get the whole story on that event.  Sounds like she got a record time on that take down."

Gabe's smile faded and he looked at Cassie, "Let's not go there, okay?"

Cassie nodded but she told him, "I thought I was going to have to get Luke oxygen or something...he must've laughed an hour."

"He would...until it happens to him," Gabe said grumpily
, then adjusted his hat
.
  "Well, I really do have a call.  Y
ou ladies
have a nice day," he said with a wink, then
walked out of the barn.

Karlie shook her head and sighed, then Cassie looked at her
and
said, "Pretty cute, huh?"

"Damned cute...but Jake ruined me
on relationships
.  I'm not going there, but god, I'd like to lick that one from head to toe."

"I can't believe he's even talking to you after you hog-tied him...he's getting ten kinds of hell at work for that," Cassie hooted then grinned from ear to ear.  "Maybe he likes getting tied up."  She bent over laughing and slapped the side of her thigh.

Karlie looked at her and smiled, then said, "
I don't know why he's talking to me
either, truth be told...he's a lot more forgiving than I'd be."

"He's a good guy...his sister Sabrina is awesome.  She worked here with me before, she married Cole and you came along."

"I met her at the rodeo when she and Cole came to see Wade
ride
in
Dallas
."

"You know Wade Roberts?  Gabe knows him too
...Wade was Sabrina's brother-in-law
from her first marriage, and Gabe's best friend's brother
.
I met him at the w
edding.
"

Karlie grinned and winked at Cassie, "Yeah, Katie and I know Wade...we told Cole we didn't
when he asked
, because we didn't want to go into
how
we know him."

"Lord, you two are something," Cassie told her and then added, "Ya'll pull the ole switcheroo?"

"Um...something like that," Karlie told her vaguely. 

There wasn't much switching involved, but there was a lot of necking,
then
tying up.  They'd left him in a
Houston
hotel room tied to the bed
,
buck naked
,
and
then
took his clothes
.  It served him right
after
he suggested they do a threesome
, because he'd always wanted to 'do' twins.
 
She was sure he didn't want to 'do' them anymore. 
Karlie was sure that
particular
fantasy was thoroughly ruined for him, now.
 

She had to say though, him being an asshole aside, Wade Roberts was surely one
impressive
man.
 
Katie
had been
appalled, but
Karlie had even used a magic marker to draw a smiley face on
that
part of
him, as a parting gift
to remember them by
.

"Well, that smile on your face says it must've been a memorable experience, whatever it was
,
"
Cassie told her with a chuckle.

"Oh, he remembers it, I have no doubt," Karlie
replied smiling, before she added, "
Well, I'm going work Titan out then I'll come up to the house for lunch.  You go rest, or Luke will have your hide."

Cassie sighed then said, "Not you too...now that makes
everyone
at the Double B on my back about resting.  Between the rest and the blueberry Pop Tarts, I'm gonna weigh three hundred pounds by the time I deliver this bambino."

"That's what pregnant ladies do, sweetie...rest and eat.  Enjoy it...and I'll be enjoying your stud here
,
"
she said with a wry grin.

Cassie
's bottom lip poked out and then she smiled
, and informed her,
"At least I have a class this afternoon to get some activity in...
it
'
s for
li
ttle ones and should be fun." Moving her eyes over Titan then the other horses in the barn, she told Karlie, "
I really need to get some good lesson ponies.
  Maybe I'll call Tommy
Tucker
and see if he has any at the Rockin' D
over in
Amarillo
...that's where I got Titan and the mares.
"