Before The Night Is Over (15 page)

“
Cade built this place with his bare hands. He works construction, but not so much anymore. With Natalie and their son, it keeps him busy running the home place, too.”

“
Wow. It’s beautiful.”

“
Thanks,” he replied with a small grin. “I drew the plans for him.”

“
Really? You’re an architect on top of running a successful cattle and horse ranch?”

He shrugged. “It’s what I went to school for to start with. Becomin’ an architect was my ticket out of Red Rock.”

“
So what brought you back?”

“
All of this,” he replied with a sweep of his hand. “The openness of Montana. The beautiful mountains. The winter air that nips at your nose with the cold. The prairies in the summer with all the wildflowers in bloom. Nothing can compare. I tried the city life with the wife and two point five kids. It didn’t work for me.”

“
You had a wife and kids?”

“
Yes to the wife, no to the kids, until the wife decided she’d rather be with someone else. Turned out the someone else was Cade’s first wife, Cynthia.”

Whoa!
“She turned into a lesbian?”

“
Yeah. Great for a guy’s ego, huh?”

“
She’s an idiot to give you up.”

A sexy little smile lit up his face and she mentally kicked herself for saying the thought running through her head.

“
Thank you.”

“
Well, I—”

The light on the porch flipped on and a tall, handsome blond guy, stepped out. “Are you coming in or are you going to sit out there all night?”

“
I guess that’s our queue,” Kale replied, opening his door.

The warmth of his hand at the small of her back felt comforting and right for some reason, as they made their way up to the house.

“
Hi, there. You must be Laurel,” Cade said holding out his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

She glanced at Kale and the deep blush staining his cheeks, told her he’d probably spilled every detail to his friend.

“
Cade, this is Laurel. Laurel this is my best friend, Cade.”

“
Nice to meet you finally,” Cade replied.

“
You too. I’ve heard a lot about you and your wife, too.”

“
All good, I hope.”

“
Of course. I don’t think Kale can say a bad thing about anyone.”

“
You haven’t heard him talk about his ex then,” Cade said with a chuckle. “Come on in and meet Nat and our son. She’s watching television with Kimberly and Alan.”

The first step into the two story ranch made Laurel suck in a sharp breath. The interior of the house was gorgeous. Huge window in the front, let in the natural sunlight during the daylight hours, but also gave them an unobstructed view of the pastures. The western motif of the furniture and accents, gave it a homey feel—a welcoming feel. The open floor plan allowed entertaining in the living room while cooking in the kitchen. Solid granite countertops and solid oak cabinets with beautiful brass handles and pulls complimented the layout of the kitchen to perfection.

“
Mommy!” Kimberly screamed, running toward her with her arms outstretched.

Laurel bent down and scooped Kimberly up in her arms, while she peppered kisses over her daughter’s face and neck. “Were you a good girl?”

Blonde curls bobbed with her nod, but Laurel glanced at over her shoulder to lock her gaze on Natalie. It’s no wonder Kale had been attracted to the other woman. She was stunning. Her green eyes sparkled with life and love when they stopped on her husband. Her blonde hair floated around her shoulders in waves and shimmered with a life of its own, when the light in the room bounced off the curls. Laurel cursed the red mop of hair on her head as she tucked an unruly curl behind her ear.

“
You must be, Laurel. I’m Natalie.”

“
Nice to meet you,” Laurel replied, holding out her hand. “I can’t thank you enough for watching Kimberly for me.”

“
Oh, nonsense. She’s a doll. I had a couple of friends bring their kids over for her to play with. Alan wouldn’t be much fun since he’s only a few months old.” The bundle in her arms started to squirm and make squeaking noises. “That’s my alarm. I think it’s time for little man here, to go to bed. Have a seat you two. I’m sure my neglectful husband can find a beer or something in the fridge while I put him down.”

The issues she had with Kale and Natalie almost vanished the moment Natalie’s gaze stopped on Cade. The love between the two people shone bright for anyone to see if they bothered to look. Laurel still felt a bit self-conscious, knowing she wasn’t a skinny woman. Muscle she’d built on her body from the constant demands of her job, turned off a lot of men, but the wide hips and small belly from Kimberly’s birth, she just couldn’t get rid of. It didn’t matter. Being model thin and gorgeous wasn’t in her jeans.

“
Of course. Sorry, darlin’,” Cade replied and then kissed her.

The kiss went on for several moments and Laurel felt heat crawling up her neck watching them getting lost in each other.

“
All right, you two. You do have company,” Kale teased, nudging Cade.

Natalie smirked when she and Cade parted. “You’re just jealous, Kale, but I’m sure Laurel could help you out. You have to be nice to her and show her how much of a gentleman you can be. Otherwise, she might kick your butt to the curb.”

Laurel couldn’t help but smile. Even though she wanted to hate Natalie for her relationship with Kale, she really liked her quick wit and sassy mouth. The comfort level Natalie had with both men made Laurel a little jealous and she wondered if she would ever find a relationship like the three of them shared.
Do I even want a friendship like they have?

“
You okay?” Kale whispered next to her ear while she watched Nat head down the hall.

Shivers skittered down her arms as the warmth of his breath heated her sensitive skin. “Yeah. We probably shouldn’t stay long. I’m not sure how long Kimmy will behave.”

“
We’ll stay until you say it’s time to go.”

“
Have a seat you two,” Cade said, nodding toward the couch.

She walked to the couch and sat with Kimberly on her lap. Kale took the seat next to her and pressed his hard thigh against hers. A moment later, Kimmy wiggled down and went back to watching cartoons on the television, leaving her sitting alone with Kale’s warmth seeping through her jeans. His arm snaked behind her and when his fingers started dancing along her shoulder, she bit the inside of her lip to keep the moan trapped in her throat from spilling out.

“
Kale said you are a police officer, Laurel,” Cade said handing them each a beer and taking a seat across from them.

“
Yeah. I did several years in Los Angeles before moving here.”

“
I bet Red Rock is pretty borin’ compared to the craziness of the west coast.”

“
It’s quite a bit slower, true, but I like it.”

“
Do you plan to settle here permanently?” Cade asked before he took a sip of his beer.

“
I’m not sure. I moved here to help my sister, but she’s not taking my advice on getting rid of her no good husband.”

A soft chuckle came from Cade’s lips. “I heard about you deckin’ the guy in the bar.”

“
Damn, Kale! Did you have to tell everyone?” she snapped, irritated with him for spilling her family secrets. If she wanted everyone in the county to know, she’d tell them herself.

“
I heard it from more than just Kale, Laurel, so don’t be upset with him. This is a very small town and gossip spreads fast.”

She glanced at Kale and then ducked her head to hide the embarrassing blush on her cheeks. Getting mad at him didn’t serve a purpose except keeping her from giving into her attraction to him. The soft trail of fingers brought her attention back to the disturbing presence beside her. He could tie her into knots with nothing more than a brush of his fingers. She would have to apologize to him when they got back to his place.

“
Oh, by the way, Laurel. Thank you for what you did for my nephew the other night.”

“
Your nephew?”

“
Yes. Matt Weston with the firecracker?”

“
I knew your name sounded familiar. How’s he doing?”

“
He’ll be fine, but he won’t be sittin’ on his ass for a while. His momma tanned his hide good. Not to mention what his daddy done.”

The image his words put into her mind, made her smile. Small town ranch America, had very basic ideas on how to raise a family. Tight reins on their children came natural for the ranch owner and his family. It was the reason she’d been surprised those kids were hanging around so late in the evening.

“
He won’t be hangin’ with his friends for a while either. I think his parents grounded him for about a year or so.”

The three of them chuckled and Laurel shook her head.

Natalie returned to the living room and took a seat on her husband’s lap. “Have you two been boring poor Laurel with your stories again?”

“
Us? Boring? Never.” Kale snickered.

One eyebrow shot up over Natalie’s left eye when she leveled her gaze on Kale and Laurel couldn’t help but laugh.

“
You can’t believe a word these two say, Laurel. Trust me. I’ve known both of them way too long.”

“
You believe I love you, right?” Cade asked, his eyes wide with feigned shock.

“
Okay. There is one thing I believe, but that’s about it. You two love to embellish things.”

“
Wait a minute, woman. You were gone for several years. You don’t know everything,” Cade protested even though his fingers caressed her arm from shoulder to elbow and back.

“
And I’ve got both of you two pegged. Don’t forget, husband of mine, I’ve been around you two for the last couple of years and you haven’t changed since high school. I could tell Laurel all kinds of stories about you two.”

Both she and Natalie laughed at the look on Cade and Kale’s faces. The little boy pout on both of their mouths was just too cute.

Kimberly came over and climbed up in Laurel’s lap, stuck her thumb into her mouth and laid her head on her shoulder. “I think we should probably go, Kale. Kimmy’s getting tired.”

“
No problem, darlin’,” he replied, coming to his feet.

“
Thank you again for watching her for me, Natalie. How much do I owe you?”

Natalie looked at Cade and then Kale before she answered, “Owe me? You don’t owe me anything, Laurel. I was just helping out a friend.”

“
Are you sure?”

“
Of course.”

“
Thanks again then. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.”

“
We should get these two to watch the kids one day so you and I can hit the spa and do lunch. It would be great. I haven’t had a chance for a girl’s only day since Alan was born,” Natalie said as she stood and Cade came to his feet too.

“
Um. Sure,” Laurel replied, not quite sure what to make of Natalie’s overtures of friendship. Women in Los Angeles didn’t do those kinds of things unless they’d known each other for years.

“
Great. Call me when you get a day off and we’ll head into Billings before the snow hits. Trust me, after winter gets here, you don’t want to go anywhere.”

“
I can imagine.”