Cody (15 page)
M
IRANDA WATCHED CODY
leave with his brother. They were headed for Skull Creek Choppers to pick Garret’s brain more about what had happened that fateful night.
And while Cody had given her a tender kiss on the lips, it had felt more like a goodbye than a promise of anything to come.
Because he was still leaving.
He feared the demon that lived and breathed inside of him. Not the hunger, but his own nature. He feared that he would hurt her the way his father had hurt his mother. That one day he would grow bored and walk away and she would be devastated.
She feared it, as well, and so she let him go.
But as much as she tried to pretend that it was for the best, she couldn’t make herself believe it. She went home and got ready for bed, but she couldn’t climb between the sheets and close her eyes.
Instead, she paced her room. Thinking. Wanting.
As scared as she was to love him, she was suddenly more scared not to love him. She wanted to experience what Martha was talking about. She wanted to see the beauty of love just once, and she wanted it with Cody Braddock.
And while it might not last, she was willing to take that chance.
If
he felt the same way.
She knew he loved her, but whether or not he was strong enough to act on it, she didn’t know. But there was only one way to find out.
Stuffing a suitcase full, she locked up her house and headed for Skull Creek Choppers.
“W
E’LL HELP AS MUCH
as we can,” Garret told him. “Dillon is a computer whiz. If she’s out there, he’ll track her down and then it’s just a matter of doing the legwork.”
“And breaking the news to Colton,” Brent added.
“We’re not telling him anything until we know something for sure,” Cody said. “We need to track her down and see for ourselves.”
“And what about the woman?” Brent eyed him.
“What woman?”
“That hot little number back at the motel.”
“Leave her out of this.”
“All I’m saying is that I don’t think she’ll be too keen on you leaving.”
“You think I care?”
Brent arched an eyebrow. “Don’t you?”
“What’s your point?”
“That I think it’s time you stopped trying to avenge us all and let me do a little of the work. I’ve got my own score to settle.”
“I can’t do that.”
“You can’t or you won’t?”
“It doesn’t matter. I’m going with you regardless.” Cody ignored his brother’s look and turned back to Garret. He had a few more questions about Rose and then he was getting the hell out of here. The last thing he needed was to slow down. He had Benny James right behind him, a championship year just ahead and Rose out there somewhere. She held all the secrets and he needed to find her.
He would because he sure as hell wasn’t staying here and making another huge mistake.
While he’d finally accepted that the past wasn’t his fault, it didn’t change who he was or the blood that flowed through his veins.
Life father, like son
.
It was time to go.
H
E WAS A STUBBORN FOOL
.
The thought struck as Miranda stared through the glass windows at Cody who stood in the machine shop area of Skull Creek Choppers with his brother, Jake, Garret and Dillon.
He was leaving, all right. She could see it in the stern set of his jaw and the determination that glittered in his gaze. Even more, she felt it deep in her bones.
She summoned her courage, pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Every gaze turned toward her, but she met only one.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
The room cleared in a heartbeat and they were alone.
“What are you doing here?” Cody finally asked.
“I won’t let you walk away from me again.”
He shook his head. “I know you think this is what you want, but you deserve better than me. You—”
“I’m going with you.” She held up the suitcase. “We’ll find her. Then we’ll go on the road and you can ride as many bulls as you want. After it’s all said and done, we can come back here and settle down. If you love me.” She eyed him and insecurity crept into her expression. “You do love me, don’t you?”
He loved her, all right. She knew it as she stared deep into his eyes and saw the love gleaming in the rich depths. A comforting warmth vibrated through his body, chased away the cold and coaxed every nerve to full awareness. He felt love, all right.
He felt
alive
.
And afraid.
His body went stiff. Every muscle pulled tight and a grim frown pulled at his mouth. “I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think—”
“You’re not your father,” she cut in. “You’re not him anymore than I’m my mother.” She closed the distance between them until they stood only an inch apart. “I know that now, but I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t taken a chance. You showed me how to let go and act on my feelings. That’s what you have to do.” Her gaze held his. “Slow down long enough to take a chance.”
“And if it doesn’t work out?” The words were soft, filled with fear and desperation.
Her chest hitched. “You can’t live your life being afraid to really
live
.” Before he could open his mouth, she added, “That adrenaline rush you get on the back of a bull isn’t the same thing. That’s eight seconds. This
is real.” She touched his hand to her heart. “This is life.” Her gaze collided with his. “This is
us
. Isn’t it worth taking a chance? I never thought so in the past, but I can honestly say now that I’d rather have a few minutes of extraordinary with you than a lifetime of nothing special without you.”
“You’d really give up everything for me?”
“
You
are everything. We’re connected now.”
Linked. Forever and ever
.
She sent the silent message and his eyes widened.
“I’m a vampire,” he added. “That means no growing old together.”
“I know what it means. I’ll never have to worry about buying new face creams or a heavy-duty lift bra when things start going south.”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I love you and I want to spend forever with you. I know exactly what it means.”
He pulled her into his arms then and gave her a deep, desperate kiss that told her how much he loved her and cherished her and that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. And he knew it.
When he finally drew away, she stared up at him. “Does this mean that you’re taking me with you?”
“It means that we’re going home.” A serious expression touched his gaze as he stared down at her. “I didn’t come here looking for Garret Sawyer. I came here looking for peace of mind, for a way to ease my own guilty conscience because I hated myself for being such a selfish shit. That’s what the bull riding was all about. For those few moments, I didn’t have to think about the
past. But it was always there when I climbed off. It’ll always be there without you.”
“What are you saying?”
“That I wanted redemption, and I found it. I found you and I’m never going to let you go. It’s high time I retired from bull riding. And while I’ll definitely help my brother because I sure as hell want to know the truth, my search is over.” He glanced at the vampire who stood in the office, staring at him through the glass. “It’s Brent’s turn now.”
And then he kissed her again.
Turn the page for a sneak preview of
Who Needs Mistletoe?
Sophie Madigan practically drools when her
last-minute client walks in on Christmas Eve.
Wealthy Trey Shelton III has bedroom eyes, a wicked
grin and a body to die for! And Sophie can’t think
of any Christmas gift she’d enjoy more…
by Kate Hoffmann
© Peggy A. Hoffmann 2008
T
HE ARTIFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREE
looked even tackier than it had the previous year, the plastic pine needles worn thin in spots and the wire branches drooping. Sophie Madigan hung the last of the ornaments on a high bough, then stepped back, forcing a smile. “Doesn’t that look festive, Papa?”
She glanced over her shoulder at her father, who sat at the huge desk in their parlor, his reading glasses perched on the end of his nose, aviation manuals and charts spread out in front of him. He nodded distractedly, then took another sip of his whiskey. It was barely noon and he had already poured himself a drink, Sophie mused.
“I should have bought some new lights,” she continued. “Half of these are burned out.”
“Looks fine, darlin’,” he murmured, without even looking up.
Sophie sighed and began to gather the boxes and bags strewn over the plank floor. Why did she even bother? Trying to celebrate Christmas in the middle of the South Pacific was a lost cause. She remembered Christmases past, when she and her parents had traveled to places where entire towns had been decorated, places where it actually snowed.
Outside their small house on the tiny Polynesian island of Taratea, the trade winds kept the temperatures at a constant eighty-three degrees and the wet season made the air thick with humidity. The heady scent of tiare and hibiscus and frangipani seeped through the shutters that lined the lanai and she could hear the soft patter of raindrops on the tin roof. Sometimes it seemed as if it would never stop raining.
Sophie had hoped to spend this Christmas with her mother in Paris. But for the third year in a row, she’d reluctantly refused the invitation, choosing instead to stay with her father, Jack “Madman” Madigan. Christmas in Paris would have been a happy affair. Her uncles and aunts were all excellent cooks and there would have been food, followed by gifts, followed by more food.
When she broached the subject of spending the holidays in Paris, her father had told her to go. But as the time to leave got closer, Sophie saw him sink further and further into a deep depression. He had no one except her. No family, few friends. Since his eyesight had gone bad, he’d cut himself off from nearly everyone.
Sophie turned away from the tree and crossed the room, peering over her father’s shoulder. “What are you working on?”
He had a map of the Society Islands spread out in front of him and he was studying a small archipelago through a magnifying glass, squinting to see the fine print. Her father’s eyesight had been failing for nearly five years. It had become so bad, he’d been grounded, prohibited from doing what he did best.
Since then, Sophie had been forced to take over his air-charter operation, making almost daily flights between Tahiti and any one of the fourteen inhabited islands nearby. To make ends meet, they’d sold off four of the five planes to pay her father’s debts. With one small plane left and only one pilot—Sophie herself—they made just enough to get by.
Sophie had tried to convince her father to sell the last plane and move back to the States where he could get medical care and she could get a better-paying job, but Jack held out hope that his eyesight would suddenly return and he’d be back in business. “Are we going on a trip?”
“I’m mapping out a flight plan for you for tomorrow,” he murmured.
“I didn’t know I had a charter,” Sophie said, frowning. “Papa, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Don’t you think we could take the day off, maybe do a little celebrating? The tree is up. I thought I might make a nice dinner and we could open our gifts and maybe even listen to some Christmas music.”
“This guy is willing to pay ten thousand American for three days’ worth of flying. I didn’t think it was a job you’d want to refuse.”
She gasped. “
Ten thousand
dollars? For three days’ work?”
Jack nodded, then handed her a slip of paper. “His name is Peter Shelton. He’s some bigwig for the Shelton Hotel chain. They’re looking for a new location to build some fancy-schmancy new resort and they want to buy a whole island, make it real exclusive. You need to meet him at eight tomorrow morning at Faaa. At the hangar.”
Sophie stared down at the name and phone number written on the scrap of paper.
“Quelle chance,”
she murmured. “Peter Shelton. Shelton Hotels.” He sounded like a pretty important guy. Anyone who worked on Christmas Eve and paid more than three thousand dollars a day for a charter had to be important. “Why would he choose us?”
“Probably because no one else would take the job on Christmas Eve,” Jack replied. “Here,” he said, pointing to the map. “Fly him up here to this little atoll. There’s a nice-size island with a decent lagoon.”
“Suaneva? Didn’t they try to build a resort there once?”
“About thirty years ago. But the developer ran out of money. The lagoon is a little tight for landing and taking off, but a good pilot should be able to get in and out. Hell, if he decides to build there, I can fly his workers in and out. We’ll haul freight, and later the guests. We could work out an exclusive long-term contract and maybe buy a few new planes. I want you to really impress this guy, Sophie girl. Make him see that a partnership with Madigan Air would be good for both of us.”
Sophie rested her hand on his shoulder. “Yes, Papa.” She knew it was all just a pipe dream. Or maybe he did expect her to spend the rest of her life flying for him. She’d found a doctor in Sydney who’d promised a simple but expensive surgery for her father’s sight problems, but when she’d mentioned this to him, Jack had completely discounted the option, preferring to stick to the herbal remedies a local
tahua
woman had prescribed.
Besides, it wasn’t as if they had the money for the operation. Though ten thousand American dollars would go a long way toward paying for it, it still wasn’t enough. Sooner or later, she’d have to accept the fact her life was here, caring for her father and eking out a living for them both as best she could.
She glanced around the small
fare
they called home. Built onto a hillside overlooking the water and perched on stilts, the interior of the cottage was small, just enough room for a few bedrooms and a parlor. But most of their living was done outside, on the wide lanai that circled the house.
Tourists would say she was living in paradise, but to Sophie, it often felt like a prison. Unable to enjoy the beauty that surrounded her, she longed for the excitement of living in a city, the noise and the people, never knowing what was around the next corner.