Destiny Wears Spurs (22 page)

Stacking her smaller suitcase on top of her larger one, she pulled out the handle. It had wheels, so it shouldn’t be too troublesome to simply roll down the hill. As she rolled it out her cabin door, she came to a dead stop. Wendell.

Monica could only imagine what he wanted. He hadn’t forgiven her for “barn duty,” and had made no bones about the fact that he’d find a way to get even with her. “Haven’t you left yet?” she asked, walking past him.

“I thought I’d say good-bye first and congratulate you.” He matched his stride to hers. “I gotta hand it to you. I didn’t think you could pull this off, but it looks like you’re pretty close to doing just that.”

What the hell was he up to? “You’re serious? You’re going to give up just like that?”

He held his hands in the air. “It looks like I have no choice. I heard Mr. Rafferty asked you to go with him for his week in the mountains, yet he didn’t ask me. So I guess that means I’m out of the picture. He chose you, Monica. You win.”

Could it be that easy? No. Nothing worth having was easy. She’d learned that lesson all too well. “Good-bye, then. Have a nice flight.”

“Oh, I plan to.” He had a gleam in his eye that she didn’t like. “But let me help you first. It looks like you over-packed again, darling. That’s a lot of luggage for the mountains, don’t you think?” He grabbed her bags from her and picked up his pace.

She hurried to catch up. “What do you care what I packed? Let me have my stuff back. Wendell, I said I can manage.” Dammit, he wouldn’t stop. In fact, he marched even faster.

“I insist. This is too heavy for you. That hill is steep, you know.” He reached the top of the hill and started to climb down, yanking the luggage behind him.

“I know it’s steep, so slow down. Wendell, stop. You’re going to--”

“Whoa, whoa, I think you’re right,” he said with a mocking tone. “This hill’s way too steep.” Then he stepped off the path and turned her luggage loose, sending it spiraling down the hill. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s going to have a nice flight.”

“You bastard,” she screamed and ran after him. So help her God, if she caught him, she would kill him.

He ran away, coward that he was, and yelled back, “I wouldn’t worry about me, darling, I’d worry more about the scene unfolding behind you.”

Monica stopped chasing him and stared down the hill. No, no, no, this couldn’t be happening to her. She ran down the hill as fast as her legs would carry her. Hopefully, it would be fast enough.

The grazing herd had been moved to the lower part of the mountain range in early July, where the weather was cooler and the food plentiful. Now that it was August, the cattle had been moved higher up. Each man took turns watching over the herd for a week. Damned if it wasn’t Cody’s week.

It was also Monica’s last week on the ranch, but he wasn’t about to let her spend it alone. Not after last night. He’d decided to see how she handled roughing it. See if she could make it in his world, without all the glamour and the glitz.

She’d surprised the hell out of him when she said yes. The mountains were dangerous and rustic. He hadn’t expected a city chick to want to go, but he hadn’t expected a city chick to do half the things Monica managed to do. Despite their differences, he found himself rooting for her. He didn’t want to be away from her. Not after what they’d experienced. Their fling hadn’t banished her from his mind one damn bit. If anything, it had made the bond between them even stronger.

Cody slapped his Stetson on his head and walked into the barn to check his gear while he waited for her to show up. When he was done, he wandered back out to the barnyard and scanned the area. The wind picked up, blowing his hat off his head. He snatched it up and wondered what was taking her so long, beginning to second guess his decision to bring her along.

Watching cattle wasn’t an easy job. They spooked often and constantly wandered, getting themselves into the most precarious situations. Not unlike Monica. Though he had to admit, she’d begun to fit in. Her work had improved a great deal, and she hadn’t come up with any more ridiculous slogans. Though her new ones were a bit too sentimental for his taste, but there were a few he thought she could work with. Maybe find one strong enough for her father to be satisfied. Cody chuckled to himself as he started running some of those ideas in his head. His weren’t much better.

He glanced up and stared at where the land reached the sky and frowned. Still, the mountains were wild and untamed. “You’re an idiot, Rafferty.” He cursed under his breath. The mountains were no place for a city girl like her, yet he’d just spent the most incredible week of his life with this amazing woman. He couldn’t help it that he didn’t want it to end.

“What in the Sam Hill?” Jake interrupted his thoughts. “What kind of bird do ya reckon that is, Hank?”

“Well, it’s been a while since I’ve seen one of those. And let me tell you, it wasn’t covering a bird when I saw it.” Hank flashed his dimples and wagged his eyebrows as he caught the black and red-feathered teddy floating down the hill. “Hot mama. I’d like to see more of
this
kind of bird any day, know what I’m saying?”

“Now’s your chance. Here comes a whole flock of them.” Rusty’s curious gaze shot to Cody.

“Dammit.” Cody chewed the inside of his cheek as he watched Monica’s suitcase do cartwheels down the hill. There was no mistaking the hot pink bags he’d seen in her cabin. At least seven negligees of different colors and styles whipped about in an aerial dance of seduction on the wind.

What the hell was she thinking, packing that way? Didn’t she know where they were going? Christ, they weren’t going to the Hilton. More like a home-on-the-range hotel.

Monica ran as fast as she could, trying not to break her neck.
I’m going to kill Wendell.
All week he’d been sending her worried glances every time she came up with a new slogan. She should’ve known he was up to something when he offered to carry her suitcase down the hill.

‘Congratulations, you won.’ Ha. He didn’t want her spending time alone with Cody because her slogans were getting better, and he couldn’t take the chance of her beating him. She’d beat him, all right, beat him senseless. This was his version of payback for barn duty, no doubt. Jerk.

Skidding downhill as she attempted to catch her negligees was
not
an easy task with grass and brambles tangling in her feet. Every time she got close, the wind whipped one just out of reach. She gripped three in her hands and chased the other seven, until the barn appeared before her. Looked like she hadn’t been quick enough, after all.

Sliding to a stop, she froze and clutched her colorful lingerie to her chest. The rest of the proof of her and Cody’s fling scattered around the barnyard at the feet of Cody, Jake, Hank, Rusty and even young Bobby.

“I’m going to die,” she whispered and then plopped down hard on the ground. What other choice did she have?

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Monica watched Cody glance up at her and then bark a command to his men, who turned grinning faces away and got to work. He gathered her clothes as he climbed the hill. She couldn’t look at him, so she stared at the ground until a pair of beat-up black leather boots stopped in front of her crossed legs.

He didn’t say a word. All at once she felt the heat creep up her face and over her ears to her hairline as he let her naughty little secrets slip through his fingers to land in a silky pool on her lap.

“Oh, just say it, so we can get this humiliating moment over with.” She scooped up her intimate apparel, holding it in front of her like a shield, and stood with her chin held high.

“I see my little peacock’s back in full bloom.” He touched the tip of her nose.

Monica rolled her eyes, and he chuckled softly. Okay, her ego felt a little better, but she still felt pretty stupid. Now everyone knew what she had on her mind, and work wasn’t it. Not unless they were talking about the work she planned to do between the sheets in that quaint little cabin, if she ever got over her humiliation.

Bingo. He’d hit the jackpot. She felt wonderful now. His eyes met hers with a mixture of tenderness and passion, making the entire fiasco worth every ounce of embarrassment.

“Ah.
Now
can I send him packing?”

“Too late. He ran away like the weasel he is before I could get my hands on him. Let’s just forget him. Ready?”

Cody put both hands on her shoulders, his features pinched. “Honey, are you sure you want to do this?”

She frowned, so he hastened to explain. “It’s not that I don’t want you with me, but I sleep in a tent. I never got around to fixing the old cabin. There’s no plumbing or electricity. I use a campfire to cook and the lake to bathe.”

Monica blinked. A tent? She knew they were going upcountry, but for some reason she’d pictured a quaint little cabin with a spectacular view. Just the two of them on a honeymoon they’d never get to take in real life.

She’d never been an outdoorsy kind of girl, but she couldn’t wimp out now. After all, she couldn’t let him think she was like his ex-wife. “I’m sure,” she said, then added in a terrible western accent, “Now let’s move it on out, cowboy. Daylight’s a-wastin’.”

He winked. “Atta girl.”

Carrying her suitcase down to the barn, he helped her repack only the essentials in a small duffle bag but insisted her “bird” collection was essential. Her cheeks ached from smiling so wide. Knowing he wanted her was enough for now.

He had his men store the duffle on the plane as he went over the upcoming workload with Jake. A few minutes later, Cody and Monica were off.

* * *

Circling high above the Triple R, Cody did one last aerial check before heading to the mountains in his Cessna 150. The single-engine, high wing was a small four-seater, light and fast, just the way he liked it. One side of his lip crept up. His father had preferred the powerful but slow, low-flying crop duster. He’d loved the feeling of being only three feet off the ground when he sprayed his crops.

Cody glanced beside him and watched Monica as she snoozed in the passenger seat. He hadn’t let her get much sleep lately. His half-smile faded away as he thought he could be making the biggest mistake of his life, taking a chance on her.

Usually when he flew he did barrel rolls, hammerhead dives into free falls, stalling out the engine, then restarting her, and pulling her up in the nick of time to buzz the barn. Then again, he usually flew alone. Not today.

He frowned when his gear jostled around in the back. The boys hadn’t done a very good job of tying it down. He’d have to talk to them when he got back. Speaking of the boys, Cody couldn’t help grinning as they waved and threw their hats into the air down below. He tipped his wings in salute, smiling wide now. Flying kicked ass. Turning the plane toward the mountains, he sat back to enjoy the ride.

Sometime later, the weather turned choppy, and Cody ran into some turbulence. Monica stirred beside him. “Wishes granted, fantasies fulfilled. Dreams come true at Rafferty’s Remote Ranch,” she mumbled in her sleep, making Cody grin.

Boing.
A head popped up out of the gear in the back.

“Christ almighty.” Cody gripped the yoke and tried to keep the plane under control.

“For the adventure of a lifetime, join us at Rafferty’s Remote Ranch,” Wendell yelled out, looking ridiculous wearing a pair of Cody’s boxers like a hat. “Admit it, Mr. Rafferty, you’d be much better off going with me.”

Cody stared at him, dumbfounded, until Wendell’s arrogant grin slipped a little. The overconfident, sneaky, backstabbing son-of-a-bitch. Cody was going to kill him, just as soon as he landed the damn plane.

Monica pried one eye open, still half in a zombie state, and glanced at the underwear on Wendell’s head. “Boxers? Weren’t you a briefs man, Wendell?”

He snatched the underwear off his head, looking as though he’d just noticed they were there, and she looked like she was just getting started.

Oh, hell, she’s gonna ramble
, Cody thought.

Sure enough, she continued in her dreamy state, “Maybe you’re both? Didn’t you have a client who made boxer briefs? They were a combination of both--long like boxers but snug like briefs. Probably because tighty whities are so confining. They must squish the life right out of your--”

“Monica,” Cody snapped until he had her full attention. “Look around and tell me what’s wrong with this picture.”

She blinked a couple times to focus, and then her eyes grew as round as Cookie’s pancakes. “Wendell!” She sat up straight and fisted her hands. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Well, someone had to look out for the company’s interests. You’re too busy screwing the client to consider anyone’s interests but your own.”

“Watch your mouth,” Cody ground out. “Like you aren’t looking out for your own goddamn interests, you ....” Cody glanced at Monica, holding back what he really wanted to say, then glared at Wendell and finished with, “You’re lucky I’m flying this plane right now.”