Cowboy to the Rescue (13 page)

Softly, she touched her fingers to his cheek. “Lex, you bought me the dress because you wanted me to have it. You were being sweet and thoughtful and nothing more.”

Relief flooded his expression. “You're a special woman,” he murmured.

Was being special the same as being loved? she wondered dismally. No. She didn't think so. But being special to a man like Lex was probably the most she could ever hope for.

Tears suddenly stung the back of her eyes.

“I'll be ready in a few minutes,” she told him, then hurriedly shut the bathroom door between them.

 

A half hour later, after checking out of the hotel and grabbing a bite of breakfast at a seaside grill, Lex drove the two of them back to Ray's Bait.

Unlike yesterday, the bait shop was busy with several customers. Christina and Lex waited to one side until the store emptied and the stocky man behind the counter was alone. Then they stepped up to introduce themselves.

Ray Pena had salt-and-pepper hair, a broad face, a thick neck and shoulders and enormous hands to match. A faded tropical shirt was stretched tightly across his belly. He smiled affably at the two of them before settling his appreciative gaze back on Christina.

“You two don't look like you're goin' fishin' today. What can I do for you?”

At least the man was observant, Christina thought, with a measure of hope. “You're right. We're not here to buy bait. I don't know if your assistant told you or not, but we stopped by yesterday, when you were out.”

Ray Pena grimaced. “No. Sally don't tell me much. 'Cept she don't make enough money.” He snorted. “Young people nowadays think they deserve a raise just for showin' up.” His squinted gaze vacillated between Christina and Lex. “You folks work for the Texas Rangers or somethin'?”

Christina could see how the man might take Lex for a Ranger. Lex had that solid, authoritative look about him. As for her, there was no way this man could know that she'd put in five years with that organization. “No. I'm a private investigator and—” she glanced over to Lex “—he's my client. If you have a minute, we'd like to show you some photos and ask you a few questions.”

Ray shrugged. “Sure. Ain't got no customers now, anyway.”

Christina stepped closer to the counter, while Lex moved up behind her left shoulder. Instantly, she was aware of his body heat, the faint scent of masculine cologne lingering on his clothing. His nearness was more than a distraction, but she forced her mind to focus on one of the few witnesses that had seen Paul Saddler the day he died.

“This is about a drowning that happened close to twelve years ago,” she explained to Ray Pena. “Some businessmen bought bait in your shop, then went out in the gulf for a day of fishing. One of them didn't return to Corpus alive.”

Ray's broad face wrinkled into a thoughtful grimace. “Ma'am, people drown in the gulf all the time. Never think the water is a danger until it's too late.”

Christina glanced up to Lex, and he flashed her a hopeless look. Determined, she pulled a packet of photos from a manila envelope in her handbag and spread them across the glass counter. “Well, you might remember this event because the police came around to question you about that day. You see, there was an inquiry about the way this man died. His name was Paul Saddler. He was a prominent rancher from the Sandbur and a businessman for Coastal Oil.”

“Hmm, sounds familiar. Let me see.”

He fetched a pair of reading glasses from his shirt pocket and, after jamming them on his face, leaned over the photos. The snapshots had been taken at a Coastal Oil Christmas party and saved along with many of Paul's papers. Christina had considered it lucky to find photos for which all four men had posed together, with their faces in full view of the camera.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ray said after a quick study of the photos. He tapped a finger on Paul's image. “I remember this was the man who drowned. The story was all over the papers and on the TV news.”

“So you remember that day?” Christina eagerly prompted.

“Sure.” He turned around and poured himself a cup full of burned coffee. As he added a hefty measure of sugar, he went on, “Before the drowning, those guys had come in here pretty regular. I was always happy to see 'em 'cause they usually spent a lot of money.”

Christina left the photos where they lay. “Do you recall the day of the drowning?”

“Damn right. I heard the emergency call come over the police scanner. I used to listen to one of those all the time, but the damn thing got struck by lightning and I never got another one. The old lady was afraid if it happened again, it might burn the whole place down.”

Christina waited patiently while he took a long swig of the coffee. “So when you heard the police call, you recognized Paul Saddler's name?” she asked.

Ray shook his head. “Nope. Before that, I didn't know any of their names. They were just customers, you know. Guys that would shoot the bull while waiting for me to sack up their bait. I didn't know it was him that had drowned until I saw his picture in the paper the next day. Hit me hard. Knowin' that I'd been talking to him that mornin' and a few hours later he was dead.”

Christina looked up at Lex again. This time his expression was grim. She thrust her hand behind her until she found his fingers and latched hers tightly around them.

“Yes, I know exactly what you mean,” Christina told Ray. “So, can you tell me anything about that particular visit from the men that day? Did anything seem unusual with any of them?”

Ray pointed to Red Winters. “The big redhead was loud. But he was always like that—tellin' crude jokes and ordering the other guys around—kinda teasin' like, you know, but obnoxious. That day, the thin man with the glasses barked at him in a testy way. Surprised the hell out of me. He never showed much spunk.”

“What about Paul? Was anything different about him?”

Ray thought for long moments, and as they waited for him to answer, she could feel Lex's fingers tightening around hers even more. At that moment, Christina realized how very much she wanted to solve this case for Lex's sake. He'd loved his father deeply, and he deserved to know the truth about his death.

“Come to think of it, I seem to recall I told the cops that he was real quiet that mornin'. Didn't talk much at all and stood off by himself most of the time. I thought he might be sick. He sorta looked it.”

“What made you think that?” Christina questioned. Being sick and being nervous could produce the same outward symptoms. “Was he coughing? Running to the restroom? Anything like that?”

Ray shook his head. “Not as I remember. He just looked pale and like he wasn't havin' a good time. But who could have enjoyed a fishin' trip with that redheaded bastard? He's the one who needed to go overboard. The guy that drowned—now, he was a class act. Always nice and friendly. I hated hearin' that he was dead. Really hated it. He treated me like an equal, you know? The others—they were different.”

Christina knew all too well what Ray Pena meant, and she was beginning to get a whole new picture of Paul Saddler's coworkers.

“So after Paul's death, did the other three men ever show up here at the bait house again?”

“Once. Not the skinny man with the glasses. But the other two stopped by not long after the drowning. The redhead was real surly, and I was about to order him to leave when the other guy—the pretty boy—got him and took him out to the parking lot. I think the both of them might have been a little drunk, but since they left without causing any trouble, I didn't call the cops.”

“And they never came back after that?” Lex asked.

“No,” Ray replied. “Guess their friend's death must have taken the enjoyment out of fishin'.”

Christina returned the photos to the manila envelope. After she stuffed it back into her handbag, she reached across the counter to shake the shop owner's hand. “Thank you very much, Mr. Pena. You've been more helpful than you can imagine.”

After Lex also shook the man's hand and offered his appreciation for the information, they turned to leave the bait house, but Ray had a question of his own that caused the two of them to pause at the door.

“What's this all about, anyway? Y'all think Paul Saddler was murdered or somethin'?”

“We're looking into every possibility,” Christina told him.

“Seems like a long time ago to be worryin' about it now,” Ray muttered, more to himself than to them.

They left the bait house and climbed back into the truck. As Christina fastened her seat belt and Lex started the engine, he said, “I could tell by the way Ray Pena talked about Red that he remembered the group of men and the day Dad died. That surprised me.”

“When a tragedy occurs, it usually sparks a person's memory.” Crossing her legs, she turned toward him. “His recollection of Lawrence Carter barking at Red was the thing that caught my attention. Would you say that behavior was out of character for Lawrence?”

Lex nodded as he steered the car onto a major boulevard. “It surprised the hell out of me, too. I never knew Lawrence to say a sharp word to anyone. But everybody can reach a breaking point, and that morning, Red might have been getting on Lawrence's nerves.”

Ideas about how the tragedy happened were slowly beginning to form in Christina's mind. Still, there were pieces of the puzzle that still needed to be found. That meant gathering more information and more time spent on the Sandbur.

The idea left her torn. Every fiber of her being wanted to be near Lex, to make love to him any and every chance she got. But the sensible part of her brain knew that would be a dangerous gamble and the stakes would be her heart.

“You look extra beautiful this morning,” Lex commented, breaking the short silence. “Must be that pretty dress.”

Glancing down, she smoothed a hand across her lap. “You have very good taste.”

“I know.”

The suggestive lilt to his words had her glancing up to see his wicked gaze traveling up and down the length of her. The look caused desire to simmer in the pit of her stomach, yet at the same time, she was chilled with fear, terrified each hour, each day in his company would only make her fall in love with the man just that much more.

“Lex…about last night. I think—”

Her words halted as he reached across the console and folded his hand around hers.

“Last night was something I'll never forget,” he said gently.

She drew in a shaky breath. “Neither will I.”

From the corner of her eye, she could see him glance at her, and for a split second, she thought she saw genuine affection on his face. Would she be crazy to think he might want more from her than just sex?

“Is something wrong? You look a little sad.”

Shrugging, she prayed he couldn't see the turmoil inside of her. “I wish…we could have stayed here at the beach a bit longer.”

A smug smile spread across his face. “Don't worry, honey. I'll come up with a reason for us to make another trip down here. And soon.”

That was exactly what Christina was afraid of. One more repeat of last night and she'd be totally lost to the man.

A
s soon as Lex and Christina returned to the ranch, he was caught up in business. A cattle buyer from New Mexico was already there, waiting for him to arrive. Later that day, he had to drive out to the Mission River Division of the ranch, where the hands were cutting more cattle to be sent to market. Tuesday was taken up entirely with a trip with Matt to a cattle breeders convention in Austin. By the time he'd returned home, Christina had already retired for the night, and Lex had gone to bed frustrated. Since their time in Corpus, he'd not had a chance to spend five minutes with her, and they'd only spoken briefly a few times on the phone.

But that didn't mean Lex had forgotten one moment of their time together. Just the memory of having her in his arms left him aroused and desperate to make love to her again.

Make love. Make love. Why are you thinking in those terms, Lex? Have you fallen in love with Christina?

The question jolted him. He'd never been in love before. Infatuated maybe, but not the deep sort of love that burrowed into a person's heart and stayed there. If he was in love with Christina, he wasn't sure what or how he was supposed to feel. He only knew that being with Christina, in any capacity, had become very important to him. He knew he didn't want this time with her to end.

So what was he going to do about it? The questions continued to gnaw at him as he made his way to the small room where Christina had set up her office, yet he did his best to push them aside as he knocked on the open door and stepped over the threshold.

“Good morning, stranger,” he greeted, with a grin. “Cook told me you already had breakfast and were here working. You've started early.”

Snapping her cell phone together, she laid the instrument aside and gave him a halfhearted smile. “Your father must have kept everything he ever worked on. I still haven't made it through all these folders.”

Even though she looked as gorgeous as ever in a pale pink blouse and a dove-gray miniskirt, he could sense a change in her, and he wondered what could have happened with her these past days he'd been away from the ranch house.

“If my memory is right, I believe there are even more of Dad's things in the attic.” He gestured toward the boxes stacked near her desk. “Have you found anything helpful here?”

“I've come across a few interesting notes about the company shares and an e-mail from Red to Paul, urging him to buy more shares, saying that he had a solid tip the value was going to go up.”

Lex stepped closer to where she sat. “When was the message dated?”

Christina glanced at a legal pad lying on the corner of the desk. “About a year before Paul died.”

Shrugging, Lex said, “Well, that's nothing suspicious. It was a well-known fact that Coastal was hatching an enormous venture at the time. A trans-state pipeline that would supply several states with natural gas. If everything had gone as planned, the project would have made Coastal billions of dollars. But state legislation began to bog things down, and then a big backer got cold feet. When the idea was shelved, Coastal's stock plummeted, and it took nearly a decade for it to climb back to its former worth.”

Christina's brows arched with interest. “What about your father's shares? I've not come across any sort of documents showing that he sold them.”

Lex shook his head. “He kept them. And then Mom hung on to the stock through all those thin years. Dad had always voiced his confidence in the company, so Mom figured she should trust his judgment. Turned out he was correct. She still has the stock, and it's now worth a small fortune.”

“Hmm.” Christina thoughtfully tapped a pencil against the legal pad, then she rose from the chair and walked around the desk to stand near him. Lex felt like a weak fool as his heart began to thump at a high rate of speed. What was it about this woman that affected him so? he wondered. The exotic scent she wore? Her smooth, luscious skin, the curves hidden beneath her clothing? Or was it her eyes and the way she looked at him? The way they darkened and lightened to her moods, the way her lips tilted when she smiled at him? God, he wished he knew, because he felt as though he was losing control of his own life.

“I'm not yet ready to say. I still need to do a lot more digging.” Her blue eyes connected with his. “And I'm glad you came by this morning. I needed to let you know that I'm planning another trip.”

An eager grin flashed across his face. “For us?”

Her gaze darted uncomfortably away from his, underscoring his earlier suspicion that something had changed with her. Now he could only wait, like a horse thief waiting for the trapdoor to fall from beneath his feet. What made her put up this invisible wall between them? He'd thought making love would move their relationship forward, not back.

She drew in a deep breath and blew it out. “No. I'm driving up to San Antonio tomorrow. Alone. I have several things to do.”

It was crazy how disappointed he felt. He'd never dreamed that any woman could make him feel
this
much. And he couldn't stop himself from reaching for her. As soon as his hands came down on her shoulders, her eyes turned misty, and the sight tore a hole right in the middle of his chest.

“I thought…I was hoping you'd want me to go along,” he murmured.

She closed her eyes, as though his question pained her.

“I've been thinking about that, Lex. About Corpus—”

Hearing the misgivings in her voice, he interrupted her with a loud groan. “Oh hell, Christina, don't tell me you've been having second thoughts about our night together.”

He crossed the room and carefully shut the door, cocooning them in the private office. His mother was away on a business trip, but he didn't want any of the maids coming by and disturbing them.

With a helpless shake of her head, she pressed the heel of her palm against her forehead. “Oh, Lex. I don't regret it. Or—well, maybe I do, a bit. Because—” Her gaze dropped from his. “I think I've sent you the wrong signals.”

“Signals?” he repeated as he walked back over to her. “What are you talking about?”

Her head lifted, and the misery he saw in her eyes tore at him. He didn't want to hurt this woman. More than anything, he wanted to make her happy.

“I made it look as though I was willing to have an affair with you. And I shouldn't have done that. Because I'm—I can't have that sort of relationship in my life again. It would be wrong for me, and you.”

His nostrils flared as unexpected pain plowed through him. She wanted to write him off. Without even giving him a chance. Giving the two of them a chance.

“Christina, why did you go to bed with me?”

She swallowed hard as her eyes turned watery.

“I'm only human, Lex. I wanted you. And I told myself that I could deal with having casual sex with you.”

In his past, Lex would probably have been relieved to hear a woman describing their time together as casual. But he wasn't now. He felt offended and even a bit crushed. And the fact only pointed out to him just how much he'd changed since he'd met Christina.

“Christina, nothing about that night—our night together—was casual. And you know it!”

She looked anguished. “Oh please, Lex. You've never talked about looking for a permanent woman in your life. So don't pretend with me now. That would—that would make everything worse.”

Stepping forward, he reached for her hand and pressed it between his palms. “I haven't been looking for a permanent woman, because I gave up on that idea. This love thing just never happened for me! Still, that doesn't mean I don't care about you. About us being together.”

Like heavy stones, disappointment fell to the bottom of her heart. Caring was nothing like loving. He wanted their bodies to be connected, but not their hearts. “Is that supposed to be enough for me?”

“I'm not going to pretend with you, Christina. That's not my style. We have a good thing going between us. I don't know where it's going, but I'd like to find out.”

The smoldering look in his eyes warned her that he was about to kiss her, and Christina knew she was in far too vulnerable a state to let that happen. One taste of his lips and she'd be promising him anything.

Sighing, she pulled her hand from his and walked over to a window that overlooked the lawn. He followed, and as he came to a stop behind her, his hands lapped over her shoulders, branding her with tempting heat.

“Christina, the only way we can get to know each other is to
be
together.”

The ache of frustration caused her to close her eyes and pinch the bridge of her nose. “Oh, Lex, Mother admitted that the only thing that had drawn her to Dad in the first place was sex. I've never wanted to follow in her footsteps. But now I'm beginning to wonder if something in me is just as weak as her.”

“Listen, honey,” he said gently, “making love to me hardly makes you a duplicate of your mother.”

Turning, she looked up at him, and as she did, she realized his face had become a dear image in her heart. It was something she wanted, needed to look upon every day of her life.

“Lex, I think you need to know that I spent four years in a relationship with a fellow law officer. His name was Mike, and I thought—well, I believed—he loved me. He certainly told me that often enough. But they were just empty words. Just like his promises of marriage. It took me a long time to realize that I was wasting my time with the man and a whole lot of willpower to finally pack up and leave.”

He was clearly surprised, and she wondered what he was thinking of her now. That maybe she was a woman who couldn't hold on to a lasting relationship?

“Four years,” he repeated. “That's a long time. You must have loved the man.”

Glancing away from him, she swallowed as emotion filled her throat. Now that she'd met Lex, it was plain that she'd never loved Mike. Not the eternal kind that outlives good times, bad times, old age and even death. With Mike, she'd simply loved the idea of being a wife, having children and a family of her own. There was a wealth of difference.

“I'm not sure I knew what love was back then. But at the time I believed that I loved him. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lived with him.”

His eyes widened, and she realized she'd surprised him even more. But she couldn't worry about how he was viewing her now. He needed to understand where she was coming from and where she intended to go. She wasn't going to make the same mistake with him that she'd made with Mike. Living on hope was no longer enough for her.

“You lived with him?”

Christina nodded. “Does that shock you?”

His head wagged back and forth. “Well—uh, it shakes me more than anything. When you told me that you'd come close to marriage, I thought you'd probably just worn some guy's engagement ring for a few months. Living together is—that's commitment.”

“Not to him,” she said dully.

Before he could reply, she walked over to her desk and sank into the leather chair. The small space she'd put between them wasn't enough to ease the trembling inside of her, the ache to rush back to him and fling her arms around his neck.

Looping his thumbs over his belt, Lex moved in front of the desk and stared directly into her blue eyes. It amazed her that she didn't see revulsion or disappointment in his eyes. Especially knowing how he admired his parents' relationship and wanted that same sort of relationship for himself. She was far, far from being a flawless human being.

“All right, Christina. I've listened to what you've had to say. Now listen to me. And I'm going to put this in simple terms. I'm not the playboy some people think I am. And I'm not like this Mike you once—knew.”

Fighting back tears, she said, “It's wrong of you to ask me to jump into a heated physical relationship with you, Lex! We need to get to know each other better before we make such a serious connection.”

For long moments, his gaze searched her face, and Christina suspected he was searching for a gentlemanly way to end things between them. But he surprised her when he finally spoke.

“All right, Christina. For now, we'll do this thing your way. We'll go slow and get to know each other better. But just remember that all the while, I'll be wanting to make love to you. And you'll be wanting to make love to me. We'll be wasting time when we could be making each other happy.”

Maybe he was right, she thought dismally. But her feelings for him had become too important. She needed to know whether the caring he felt for her had a chance at turning into love, or if his desire for her would quickly burn itself out.

Rising from the chair, she walked around to where he stood and placed a whisper-soft kiss on his cheek. The tiny expression of affection couldn't begin to describe the gratitude swelling in her heart. “I know you're not happy with me about this, Lex. But I'm glad you're willing—for now—to go along with my wishes.”

She eased back from him before her arms could turn traitorous and fling themselves around his neck.