Casey's Courage (12 page)

“Looks like things are winding down for this shipping season.”

Her dad coughed and spit. “Yeah, it always gets done one way or the other. Are you ready to come home and start helping with some of the young horses?”

Casey stiffened. “I’m supposed to work with Brad for two more weeks. After that I should know what I’ll be able to do.” She braced for what she knew her dad would say.

He looked at her, stern and unyielding. “The Spencers have been good to you, but you don’t want to ride a good horse to death. You need to get back to earning your keep.”

Casey inwardly cringed at his implication that she was malingering. “How are the two new trainers doing?”

“They try, I guess. But they want to work office hours. Can’t get anything done that way. Good help’s hard to find.”

Not wanting to disagree with her dad, Casey stepped back from the fence. “I better get on over to the cabin with the things Tres asked me to bring. I’ll be over to see you and Mom soon.”

“Don’t expect to find your mother and Marie at home. Since they learned how to drive that new van with a lift for Pauline’s wheelchair, they’re on the go all the time. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Casey, raising an eyebrow in surprise, said, “That’s wonderful. It’s been ages since Mom showed an interest in anything outside the house. When did you get the van?”

”I figured you knew. Tres brought it over several weeks ago, said it would save a lot of lifting and make it easy to go places. I told him we couldn’t afford it. But he said since the ranch was so far from town, he felt like a vehicle should be furnished so Pauline could go in comfort to her doctor’s appointments and other places. Wasn’t any talking him out of it.”

Her heart warmed. “That was really nice of him. I better get a move on and get these binoculars to him before dark. Bye.”

Parking her pickup in the shade of a huge Alligator Juniper tree that grew beside the cabin, Casey took the binoculars with the case of attachments from the back seat and headed toward the house. She stopped when she caught sight of Tres returning from the rim of the canyon.

The sun at his back made his shadow long and obscured the features of his face, but she felt him compelling her. Mesmerized, she moved forward.

Finally close enough to feel the heat of his body, she searched his face wanting to memorize the chiseled jaw line, the classic curve of his lips, and his flashing eyes that held a question. He bent toward her, his breath brushing her cheek as he touched his lips to hers briefly. That fleeting touch sent delicious heat racing to her very core. The power of his touch made her move closer, trying to stop time and live in the moment. His breath tickled the side of her face as his mouth touched the shell of her ear. “You’re a bewitching beauty,” he whispered.

His fingers brushed against her check and then curved against the side of her face. Casey forgot to breathe as his thumb stroked across her bottom lip. His maleness sent her senses spiraling. That light touch created an upheaval in her body. She pressed closer to him and encircled his neck with needy arms. His smile dispelled her nervousness. She answered his kiss with an inexperienced one, but one that came as instinctively as breathing. He was breath and life to her at that moment.

Reality intruded as the growl of a jeep, toiling its way through the heavy brush east of the cabin, became louder as the vehicle came into view.

Regret rocked Tres as he watched the dream-like look in Casey’s eyes recede. She stepped away.

Tres turned her to his side with his arm around her waist. “That must be the Border Patrolmen interested in the lights I saw down in the canyon.” In step with each other, they moved toward the cabin as they watched the approach of the vehicle with two men in it.

The humming in Casey’s blood continued as his enticing scent teased her senses. The friction of his hand on her hip as they walked built anticipation below her belt.

Years of dealing with pragmatic men helped her gain focus. “Lights like the Marfa lights?”

Tres shrugged. “Nothing that mysterious. Looked more like a light carried by somebody as he picked his way through the underbrush.”

She hooked her thumb into his back belt loop. “What do you suppose anybody would be doing down there?”

“I wondered the same thing, so I called Sheriff Griffin to see if he knew of any smuggling going on or if any poaching had been reported. He didn’t admit to knowing anything, but said he would talk to the Border Patrol about it. He called later and said some men would come to check things out.”

The Border Patrol agents’ Jeep grumbled to a stop beside Casey’s pickup. Two men got out and stretched as Casey and Tres approached. The older of the two said, “I’d about decided we’d fall into the river with the next turn in that cow trail we came in on. This place is not easy to find.” He extended his hand. “I’m Ned and this young buck is Kirby.”

Shaking the agent’s hand, Tres said, “This is Casey and I’m Tres.” He reached out and shook Kirby’s hand. “Are you new to this part of the world?”

“No, sir, just the new partner of this crusty old man.” He grinned as he nodded toward Ned.

Ned extended his hand to Casey. “Ma’am, how did a pretty thing like you end up way out here?”

She grinned at him. She knew his kind. He might be carrying a big gun on his hip and look tough as a boot, but he liked to charm the ladies. “Because this is where all the good-looking men are.” She extended her hand first to Ned then to Kirby. “I’m glad to meet you all. Come on in. I have food Rosalinda sent and judging from all the good smells it must be a feast.”

With such limited space in the cabin, Tres and Casey brushed against each other, creating an electric charge in the air as they unloaded Rosalinda’s generous response to Tres’ request for food. Pot roast, vegetables, salad, blackberry cobbler, and yeast rolls filled the room with mouth-watering aromas.

The Border Patrol agents sat on a bunk against the wall with a map of Dark Canyon spread across their knees as they asked questions and marked the map.

“Casey can tell you more about what’s in that canyon than I can,” Tres informed the men as they pressed him for information. “She trained young horses for rough-country work down in that mess a few years ago.”

“Are there some good trails for getting in and out?” Kirby, the young, redheaded agent asked.

Casey frowned at Tres. She didn’t want to discuss topography with two strangers while her body hummed with desire for Tres. “No, the slopes going down in the canyon along this rim are gravelly and the brush is too thick to ride through in lots of places. I used game trails. There’s one about a quarter of a mile from the cabin that I used a few years back.”

Ned spoke up. “Is it good enough to travel in the dark?”

Casey hesitated. “It would be risky. Javelinas use the trail and they’re inclined to think they have the right-of-way. Also, the last big rain probably washed out some of the deep narrow gullies making it even more dangerous.”

The sun set and darkness cloaked the canyon long before the four of them had finished supper and their discussion of night travel. Common sense prevailed. They vetoed the idea of a night trip to check out the lights.

Tres had a hard time concentrating on the problem in the canyon. He wished he could dismiss everything and everyone else so he and Casey could be alone. That was out of the question, for now. With stern discipline, he gave his attention to the situation in the canyon that could be volatile.

Casey rose from the table. “I’ll take care of cleaning up, if you three want to go watch for the lights,” she said. “Then I’ll head back in. Do you want me to take anything back with me?”

Tres balked at the thought of her leaving, all the time irritated with himself for wanting her near. “If you can hang around, you might help pinpoint the location of the light, if they show up again tonight. Of course, if you need to get back to Brad, we’ll manage.”

Casey bristled like an offended kitten at his tone and responded with measured words. “Call Mattie Lou on yor pickup radio so she and Brad won’t have to wonder where I am. My cell phone doesn’t work here.” With that terse exchange of words, she turned to the watchful patrolmen. “My guess is the lights Tres saw were coming from a spring-fed water hole about five miles north of here. Kirby, if you’ll help Tres with this mess, Ned and I’ll go stop the windmill wheel from turning and climb to the platform to see if lights are visible from another spring seven or eight miles to the south.”

Tres’ hand caressed her neck and shoulder for an instant as he returned to the cabin from using the radiophone in his pickup. “Mattie said she would tell Brad so all is well.”

Casey frowned at him.

He grinned and felt good again. He had her attention, and he liked that.

A half-hour later, with the supper mess cleaned up, Tres and Kirby went to see what Ned and Casey had found. Tres climbed the tower. He heard Casey’s voice become louder as he drew near the top. She sat with his night-vision binoculars to her eyes, giving Ned directions for locating the lights at the distant springs.

“I see lights appear and disappear,” Ned said.

Casey said, “It could be the wind moving the tree branches or people moving about carrying lights.”

Ned replied, “They don’t seem to be going anyplace if they’re people moving. They’re just milling around. Seeing Tres, he added, “We’ve already located lights where you saw them last night.”

Casey handed Tres the binoculars and scooted over to make room for him on the platform as she called quietly to Kirby. “Come on up and we’ll see if I can help you both get your bearings for getting to these places.”

Knowing how far sound can travel on a quiet night, they talked softly. Ned and Kirby, using penlights to see, marked their map as Casey talked about landmarks and obstacles.

Finally Ned said, “If you could lead us along those game trails in the morning, maybe we can clear this up without having to call in extra help.”

Before Casey could answer, Tres said, “Casey’s still doing rehab trying to recover from nearly getting killed in a horse accident. She’s not ready for rough-country hiking yet.”

Casey knew he was right, but wanted to scream at him for taking the choice away from her. She admitted to herself that climbing the windmill tower had put a tremendous strain on her leg, hip, and shoulder and knew negotiating rough terrain was out of the question.

The night winds picked up, so they left the tower. Before long, Ned and Kirby were in their sleeping bags they unrolled on the porch. Alone inside, Tres and Casey moved about the small cabin preparing for the night.

Chapter 10

Casey set her old toiletries kit that she’d found in her pickup on the kitchen cabinet. She poured water into a cup and turned around, leaning against the cabinet. She trembled, not from fear or cold, but from a coiled desire spiraling up from deep inside as she watched Tres pull off his boots.

When Tres looked up and saw the uncertainty on her face, he held out his hand to her.

“Don’t fret,” he soothed. “This is not the time or place for what we are both thinking about.” He grinned at her. “It looks like we may be forever doomed to be working buddies.” He couldn’t believe how good it felt to sooth her worries even with his body roaring a mating call.

Casey took his hand. He tugged gently and settled her onto his lap. Tucking her head into the curve of his neck and hugging her close, he smoothed his hands over her reed-like body that quaked at his touch.

Reminded of what she had promised herself about Tres last night, Casey tried to marshal her thoughts. But thoughts eluded her. She raised her head, placed her lips on his and snuggled close twining her arms around his neck.

Tres gathered her close as his lips moved to taste her neck and shoulder, where he had slipped her shirt off. Her soft sigh heated his body as his hand sought her breast that throbbed when he cupped it. He brushed his thumb across the pebble-hard point. Through the fog of desire in his brain, he heard her whisper, “I’ve dreamed of you for so long, longing for your touch.”

Scooping her up into his arms, he carried her to the bottom bunk and stretched her out. Running his hand down her side, he stroked her hip and thigh. His hand stilled. Her muscles, taut and hot, left no doubt about the pain there. “Why didn’t you tell me you’re hurting?” he asked, his breath mingling with hers.

“Because I want this more than I want to ease the pain.”

“We can wait until you don’t hurt. We have time.” He unzipped her jeans. “Help me get your jeans and shirt off so I can massage those muscles.”

She wiggled away a little. “No, that’s not a good idea.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her. “Why, because you think I don’t know what’s going on with your body? Come on, Casey, we’re both adults.”

“But . . .”

He tugged the jeans off and dropped them on the floor then slipped an arm under her shoulders lifting her to his chest. “You’re not the only one having a little trouble with this, but I kept you from being close to your therapist who would work out the pain, so let me do what I can.” When he eased her back down, her shirt was off.

Desire swirled through him, but, with an iron will, he controlled it and began to rub and knead the knotted muscles on her hip and leg. “Does it hurt like this at the end of every day?”

“No, climbing the windmill tower created a different strain than I’m accustomed to. I have very little pain anymore, unless I overdo.”

Tres watched her eyes darken as he massaged. They glowed like emeralds as her body responded to his touch. He felt the tautness finally ease and the quivering stop, but the need for sexual release he saw in her made him change his touch from healing to caressing. Scooting her over, he stretched out on his side next to her on the bunk.

Casey’s eyes widened as she felt his hardness against her side.

“Don’t worry. You’re safe. Ride the wave of what you feel while I watch over you.”

With perfect trust, Casey responded to the demands of his kisses, loving the taste of him. Her hands roamed over the hard, rippling muscles under his shirt and felt his body heat as he ministered to her secret spots. Her body rocked with the rhythm of his hands, then spiraled into a mind-numbing need before shattering into a melting release that soothed her mind, body, and soul. In that unguarded moment, she sighed, “I love you.”