Flynn's Kiss (Disarmed & Dangerous) (7 page)

“I thought you might have taken to Bill’s younger brother Ethan, the dark-haired deputy. He very definitely has the sexy gene.”

Liberty tipped her chair back on two legs and took a sip of strong, hot coffee while she contemplated the idea of the handsome deputy with the gentle eyes.

“No. He’s lovely looking, and I’m sure in another couple of years he’ll mature enough to make someone a perfect husband, but he’s too young for me.”

“Too young?” Kate poked her tongue in the side of her cheek and gave a superior smile. “He told me yesterday he went to school with Flynn. They’re the same age.”

Liberty’s mouthful of coffee almost burst back out again as she slammed the chair back onto all fours and stared at Kate. Eyes watering, she gulped the scalding liquid past the lump in her throat.

“You’re kidding me, right?”

“No.” Kate chuckled into her own cup. “Cradle snatcher.”

“How old are they?”

“I think Jack said Ethan was twenty-five.”

“Twenty-five?” Liberty lurched to her feet as panic shot through her stomach. “Oh my God, he’s six years younger than me.” She paced across to the window and stared out at the stables in the distance. “I hope Jack doesn’t say anything. Honest, Flynn is not going to want people to know he’s having a relationship with a woman six years his senior.” She covered her face with her hands and sent out a warbling yowl as the panic shot from her stomach and out of her throat.

“Oh, the humiliation. He’s not even having a relationship with me. Oh Kate, how stupid of me. I thought he was older. I had sex with him and thought it might lead to something and all the time he was probably thinking he’d have a one-night stand with an older woman grateful for his attention.”

“I’m sure it’s not the case.”

“No. No, you’re right. It’s not the case.” A loud thundering echo sounded through her head as waves of black clouds floated across her eyes. Kate followed her to the window, wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders and led her back to her chair, pushing her head down to rest on her knees.

“Stop panicking, Liberty. You’re hyperventilating and you’re going to faint.”

“No, I’m not,” she mumbled into her knees. “Nor is the ground going to open up and conveniently swallow me.” She turned her head sideways to peer up at Kate.

“I forced myself on him.”

“What?”

“Yeah. I did. I ripped his clothes off, flung him on the ground, and…” She tucked her head between her knees again, this time in order to hide her scorching cheeks from Kate. “…mounted him and rode him with wild abandon…it was fantastic…and he was magnificent, but not as magnificent as me. I did all the work.”

Kate’s spluttering laughter managed to overshadow the raging torrent of rushing water she could hear in her head, and she raised it once more to stare at her best friend in horror.

“How can you laugh?”

“Because it’s funny. You’re funny. I’m sure you didn’t force yourself on him. He seemed quite happy to be with you yesterday.”

“Well…no, you were the one who told him to walk me home. He never volunteered. He just did as he’s told because he’s a…a…damned kid!”

“Twenty-five is not a kid, and if he hadn’t wanted to walk you home, he would have declined. After all, he reserved a seat for you, he put his hat on your head. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of man who can be manipulated. Nor can I imagine him allowing you to force yourself upon him. Perhaps he enjoyed you being dominant.” Kate laughed again, deep and full.

Sick shame rolled over her.

“I must have seemed desperate.” She tried not to think of the details, but every time she blinked, her brain wickedly provided a snapshot of Flynn’s beautiful face staring up at her, his sculpted body undulating beneath her, his firm muscles rippling as he moved.

“I was desperate. Why the heck would I imagine he’d be interested in me? He’s so gorgeous, and I’m just, I’m just…ordinary.”

“You’re gorgeous too, Liberty. Don’t put yourself down. You’re beautiful.” Kate stroked Liberty’s hair back from her face. “And you shimmer. You attract men like moths to a flame with your bright personality.”

“The reason I attracted Flynn was because I was the only available female there yesterday. Oh, how naïve of me. If he’d been interested, he would have come over when we saw each other in the bar the night before. Instead he took one look at me and left.”

She picked up her coffee, took a large gulp that stuck and brought tears to her eyes again, probably because her throat had already swollen from the previous scalding. At least she had an experienced ER surgeon in the room who could always perform a tracheotomy. She breathed heavily for a moment, cleared the fluid from her windpipe with a couple of delicate coughs, and allowed oxygen to flow once more.

“Right…that’s it. Self-recrimination over and done with.” She pulled in a long, cleansing breath. “I had sex last night with a cowboy. I rode him like a rodeo queen. It was great and I don’t need to repeat it.”

Knowing for certain it was a whopping lie, she made a conscious decision to put the experience behind her. She stood and smiled brightly into Kate’s worried face.

“I have a paper I need to write up on Rhizobium-legume symbiosis.”

“That’s easy enough for you to say.” Kate smiled, obvious relief washing over her face. “And I don’t believe it was just a flash in the pan. Flynn will be around, you’ll see.

•●•

Three days and still no sign of Flynn. It worried her he’d not even been to visit Jack and Kate and was obviously embarrassed by the whole incident to the extent he was avoiding not just her, but everyone.

Determined to move on, Liberty picked up her newly acquired Stetson and brushed her fingers over the pinched teardrop front, savoring the smooth feel of the material. She couldn’t help but grin as she reverently touched the delicate, bright canary yellow feathers attached in a thick covering all the way around the hat band.

She couldn’t imagine her new sunshine Stetson was what Flynn had meant when he had advised her to get a hat. The advice was good, but the choice had been totally made for her when she spotted the pretty hat glowing in the corner of Frankie’s store that morning. Retail therapy certainly did have its advantages. It cost her more than two hundred fifty dollars, but as she hadn’t spent any money in the entire time she was in New Zealand, she figured she deserved a treat.

She placed the hat on her head and studied herself in the mirror, tilting her head one way, then the other. It was a good fit. Her hair bubbled out from under it in a dark cloud of curls. She tipped the hat farther down on her forehead and admired the effect it had as her skin glowed a healthy peach. She gave a determined smile and squashed the sinful little thought that Flynn didn’t know what he was missing.

Mellow golden sunlight smoothed its buttery soft fingers over her skin, making her grateful for the protection of the hat as she meandered through the early morning quiet, past Flynn’s lodge, where it was evident by the open curtains and the closed windows nobody was home. Liberty wandered down to the stable yard, where activity had waned after the initial dawn rush.

“Miss Liberty.” Carl stepped out from behind a bay mare tethered to a gate post. Old as the Earth, the weather-beaten skin of his face formed deep laughter lines, defining the happy life he had led. His bowed legs told of hard work and long hours in the saddle. His nutmeg eyes crinkled around the edges at her approach from across the corral.

“Morning, Carl.” She injected as much cheer in her voice to cover her worry as she could. “What a lovely day it is.”

“A fine day. And that’s a striking hat you’re wearing.” His cheeks crinkled as his smile spread, and pleasure at the compliment made her return his smile tenfold and she gave her head a little wiggle. A sunny feather fluttered its way past her shoulder and onward to lie abandoned on the yard floor.

“Thank you. Flynn told me I should get one.”

“Well, it sure is magnificent of him, Miss Liberty.” She gave him a sharp look, but Carl had already turned away, his gait slowing down his progress. Surely it was only coincidence. She narrowed her eyes and stared at the old boy’s back and could have sworn his shoulders were shaking. He reached out and grasped the reins of a liver and white pinto pony with one hand. Liberty was certain she saw him wipe a tear from his eye with his other hand just before he turned toward her, his leather face wreathed in a wide smile.

“I got her ready for you, Miss Liberty. You have yourself a nice time and don’t let your skin burn.” He spluttered a little toward the end of his sentence and then sneezed. “S’cuse me.”

“Bless you.” He gave her a guileless smile, making her wonder if it was her imagination. The possibility he had an allergy to canary feathers crossed her mind, so she smiled graciously as he offered to help her mount the pony.

She accepted his leg up and peered down as he adjusted her stirrups, and another feather fluttered from her hat to land on the top of his naked head. She leaned down and picked it off, studying it for a moment before letting if flutter down to the yard to join the other one.

“I don’t suppose you’ve seen Flynn, have you?”

“No, miss, he’s been gone three days.”

She waited but resigned herself to swallowing her pride and asking a further question.

“Do you know when he’ll be back?”

Carl’s nutmeg eyes squinted up at her as though he were considering the wisdom of imparting any information. Obviously coming to a decision, he gave a sharp nod.

“He’ll be back at sundown.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you later.” She swiped a third feather from the back of her hand and then grinned down at him.

“I think I may be molting.”

He spluttered a little again, and she took pity on him and his allergy, clucked her tongue against the top of her mouth, and gave a firm squeeze of her calves into the pony’s sides to encourage her to move on.

Flynn wasn’t going to be able to avoid her much longer. She was determined to speak with him.

“Flynn.”

She spoke softly, but in the quiet of the early evening, her voice carried clearly, emphasizing the slight wobble to betray her nervousness.

He turned his head and stared at her, his eyes direct and piercing, his chin lowered in what she recognized as a defensive gesture, designed to deter her advance. The dappled light from the fading sun gave his beautiful face an ethereal and almost sinister look, emphasized by his complete stillness, his silent watchfulness.

She took a hesitant step forward and stopped at the slightest movement of his chin raising. She wished she hadn’t come, wanted to run, but she’d trapped herself, and in all honesty, she hadn’t quite expected this response. They were both adults, for heaven’s sake, and one of them should take the initiative and make their meeting less uncomfortable.

She removed the Stetson from her head, no longer in peril of burning her skin as the sun lowered. His gaze flicked down to the pretty yellow hat as a few more of its feathers detached themselves and fluttered to the ground. His wicked eyebrow flicked up briefly, and then his expression returned to deadpan.

“I owe you an apology.”

Silence filled the gap until she huffed out a breath and tried again.

“You’ve been conspicuous by your absence lately. People are missing you and I feel…responsible.” Embarrassment coursed through her. She had no idea she would have to try so hard to reach him. Convinced she simply needed to see him again for everything to be all right, it came as a debasing shock to realize he had indeed been avoiding her.

She tried to keep her hands still, but her fingers seemed to have a mind of their own, twisting around the brim of her new hat. She saw his gaze flick down to stare at them and forced herself to drop them back down to her sides, holding her hat in one hand, aware of the shedding of yet more bright feathers. His attention centered on her again as she gave a small cough.

“The other night, when we…” She blew out a disgusted breath at her painful reticence. She was supposed to be the mature one here. “…when we had sex. I thought it was mutual. I know I took the lead and did all the seducing, but maybe I didn’t take into consideration you weren’t interested—you seemed interested at the time, you…” She swallowed a heavy lump in her throat. He’d been as hard as rock, but maybe he’d fantasized about someone else.