Every Breath She Takes (5 page)

“I see.”
Oh, brilliant, Taggart
. Then, because he could think of nothing intelligent to say, he stepped back. “Well, if you’re finished with Buck, just hand him over to Seth.”

She followed his gesture until her gaze landed on young Seth. Did he imagine it, or did she do that deep look thing on the youngster? A savage emotion knifed his gut, bringing him up short.

Jealousy
. When had he last felt its acid burn? Not since Marlena. And not for long, even then. Anything he’d felt for his former wife had died a quick death in the face of her chronic infidelities. He’d had his suspicions over the years, especially those times when he’d been busted up in a bullriding wreck, laid up and useless to her. But once he’d retired and bought this ranch, those suspicions were more than confirmed. There was no overlooking that kind of conduct.

But that was ancient history. To experience jealousy in this situation now, to place himself in competition with a kid half his age…well, it was ridiculous. Sure, Seth had that Hollywood face, but he was just a boy.

No competition, he decided as he moved on to the next guest.

Unless, of course, she preferred boys.

Lauren groaned inwardly as she handed the reins over to Seth. Not an hour ago, she’d vowed to have nothing to do with Cal Taggart. But what did she do, first opportunity she got? She’d
flirted
with him. And he’d noticed. Oh boy, had he noticed! That quick leap in those silver eyes had sent a thrill right down to her toes. She’d had to look away before her own eyes telegraphed an answering heat. Fortunately he’d directed her attention to Seth.

Not smart, Lauren.

Yeah, she’d have to keep her lip zipped and give that cowboy with the hot promise in his eyes a wide berth.

Crushing down an appalling and unwarranted disappointment, she headed toward her cabin to soak her sore muscles.

Lauren managed to keep to her resolution to steer clear of Cal for four days. Of course it helped that he wasn’t there. He’d taken an all-male group on a wilderness pack ride. Instead she watched the ranch, pumping Delia for information every chance she got.

And each day, she joined the shorter trail rides, searching for the blond woman from her vision. By Friday, she had a sore backside, but she was afraid if she begged off a single ride, she’d miss her only opportunity to save the woman’s life. On the upside, Sunset Ridge no longer made her so dizzy with anxiety.

Then Cal returned. Stupidly, her spirits lifted, though she was still determined to avoid him. He let her hide among the other riders for two more days, but the glint in his eye told her he knew she was ducking him.

Today, however, she couldn’t dodge him. This ride was an overnighter, though nothing like the sleeping-under-the-stars pack ride Cal had taken the macho types on. By comparison, this trip offered the height of luxury. They would ride all morning, stop for lunch, then on to an old cabin where they would overnight, with real beds and, thanks to propane, lights and hot water. Still, she suspected the number of takers would be small.

She was right. When she reported to the paddock with her canteen and binoculars, there was no one there but Cal. Lounging
against the fence, one booted foot hooked on the bottom rail, hat brim pulled low on his brow, he looked all cowboy today.

She blinked. “What? Am I early?”

“No, you’re right on time.”

Her pulse leapt. “We’re it? Just you and me?”

“Does that bother you?”

Damn right, it bothered her. And excited her too. “Of course not. But it’s hardly a good use of your time, is it?”

“Depends how you define good.”

She wasn’t going to touch that one. “But I’m just one guest. If no one else is interested, we should forgo it. The wants and needs of the majority should rule, after all.”

He dropped his foot and pushed away from the fence, which brought him closer to her. She resisted the urge to step back.

“Ah, but we’re concerned about the wants of all our guests.”

His eyes held a mocking light, which fascinated her more than the blatant sexual innuendo. For the first time, it occurred to her that the derision she’d glimpsed in him from time to time might be directed as much at himself as his patrons.

“You don’t like this gig much, do you?”

Without moving a muscle, his face turned expressionless. “Believe me, I take this gig very seriously. I put all my energy into it, and nothing will stop me from making it a success.”

“I didn’t question your commitment to it,” she pointed out tartly. “I asked you if you
liked
it.”

“And I gave you the only answer you’re likely to get. Now it’s your turn to give me an answer. Do we go or stay?”

Lauren was about to utter an emphatic “stay” when Cal cursed. Following his gaze, Lauren found herself watching a woman approaching them.

It was her! The blonde!

More beautiful than she’d been in the visions, the woman projected raw sex appeal as she led a sorrel mare across the paddock. The mare was saddled, Lauren noted. She also noted that
a stranger, a young man who probably wasn’t much older than Seth, followed close behind the woman, wearing the look of a deer caught in the headlights.

“Christ, Marlena, go back to bed. It’s too early for this.”

Far from shrinking from Cal’s tone, Marlena just laughed. “Don’t worry, Cal, honey. I haven’t come to play with
you
.”

Her voice was husky, a good match for that killer body.

“I’m relieved to hear it. I offered you shelter, not entertainment.”

At his words, Lauren swiveled to look at Cal. If he was tense, he didn’t betray it, except perhaps for a little stiffness between the shoulder blades.

“The least a husband could do, I would think.”

Husband?
Cal was married? To the victim in her vision?

“
Ex
-husband.”

“Whatever.” Marlena shrugged, as though her exact status was of no import. “But I don’t expect you to entertain me, sugar. I’m quite capable of finding my own diversions.”

“Don’t I know it.”

This time his clipped words seemed to find their mark. For a fleeting moment, she looked hurt. Then she was smiling that knowing smile again. “Brady here is going to keep me company.”

Cal cast a glance in the young man’s direction. “That a fact?”

“Yes sir.” Brady blushed but held Cal’s gaze. “I registered with Delia for the next ten days. Paid the fee and everything.”

Cal turned to Marlena, glowering. “I thought we agreed to keep your presence here under wraps from the locals.”

“What? You mean Brady?” she asked innocently. “I bumped into him at the general store when I stopped for gas and invited him to come visit me.”

“It ain’t called hiding if you tell the whole world where you are, Marlena,” Cal gritted. “The more people who know you’re here, the easier it’ll be for…certain parties to find you.”

Lauren thought she saw fear flash through the other woman’s eyes, but it was gone so quickly she couldn’t be certain.

“Brady won’t tell anyone.” She turned sultry eyes on the young man. “Will you, darlin’?”

“Of course not,” Brady said.

“Right. And Brady’s mother won’t tell anyone either, I suppose?”

“She doesn’t know, sir,” he rushed to say. “I sort of told her I was going to Calgary for a couple of weeks. Job hunting.”

Lauren cringed. Clearly the boy lived with his mother, and clearly he knew she wouldn’t approve of his spending his money or his time to be Marlena’s boy toy.

“Fine.” Cal shrugged. “Your funeral.” Turning his back on Marlena, he pinned Lauren with a fierce look. “You coming or staying?”

Dear Lord, she didn’t want to go anywhere with this volatile triangle of people, let alone into the bush overnight. In just these few short minutes, the emotion roiling among the three had caused a hard knot of anxiety to form in Lauren’s stomach. Which was precisely why she couldn’t stay behind. If she were looking for a motive for murder, she’d found one. An ancient one.

Not that she really believed Cal was a threat to Marlena. By now she’d had more than enough interaction with him to effectively rule him out. According to Hal, she would have visual stimuli lodged in her unconscious from the visions. She totally believed that. After all, she’d been barely five years old when she’d seen the DiGiacinto girl’s mother on TV and her reaction had been off the charts. She knew in her bones that if she’d seen even the subtlest echoes in Cal, she would have reacted to it.

But this young man, Brady, she hadn’t had a chance to study…

“Lauren?” Cal prompted tersely.

Lauren took a deep breath. “I’m coming.”

Beneath Lauren, Buck swayed gently, and the drone of insects filled the air. Brady and Marlena rode a few dozen yards ahead of her, and Lauren could hear Cal following behind her. Above them, the sky was a cloudless blue dome. The kind of sky that if you stared at it long enough, you might forget the laws of gravity that kept you from spinning off into that blueness.

Eventually the hot meadow scents gave way to secret wood smells as they moved through a copse of trees. Then, with a creak of leather and the gentle huffing of his mount, Cal pulled abreast.
So much for peacefulness.

“How’s your backside holding out?”

Lauren grimaced. “A little numb.”

“Well, you’ll get to rest it before too long. Dinner’ll be waiting for us on the other side of this little stand of trees.”

They rode in silence. Lauren tried to recapture some serenity of mind, but she was too conscious of the man beside her. His hands on the reins looked hard and capable, and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to reveal tanned forearms. Very nice forearms, with a shimmer of blond hairs. Did those blond hairs match the rest of his body hair, or were those on his arms merely bleached from the sun? Her stomach clutched at the thought.

“So what changed your mind?”

She blinked. “Sorry?”

“About coming out after all.”

Lauren glanced over at him, but he was gazing straight ahead. “Well, I’m not the only customer anymore, am I? It’s not like I was dragging you out here for my sole entertainment.”

He snorted. “You mean Marlena? She’s no customer. And she’d have been happy enough to ride out alone with Brady.”

“Really?” She feigned surprise.

The look he sent her was skeptical. “Yes,
really
. As I’m sure you picked up, Marlena is my ex-wife. She knows these trails well enough to ride ’em alone. And you probably also gathered that she plans to screw young Brady cross-eyed.”

“Cal!”

“You mean you missed that little nuance? I’d have thought you’d pick up on that stuff, considering your line of work.”

Her line of work? Oh God, yes, the erotica writing. “It’s none of my business.”

“And none of mine for that matter, but if you’re going to be here any length of time, Marlena’s…adventures…are bound to be in your face, like it or not.” His mouth was a stern line. “My ex-wife’s sense of discretion is not very highly developed.”

“I’m sorry.” Was that what his marriage had been like? Had he suffered the humiliation of a wandering wife?

Because she couldn’t help herself, she asked, “Did she…I mean, is that why…?”

Cal stopped, and Lauren reined in her own mount. His face was hard, his eyes flinty. “Is that why I divorced her, you mean? Because of her faithlessness?”

“Yes.”

His mouth was a grim slash. “Yeah, that’d be why.”

Now that they’d stopped, she could see the stiffness in him. Out of nowhere, she felt the urge to touch his face, soothe away the lines of tension. She fisted her hands on the reins instead.

“Marlena’s a spoiled child when it comes to men. They’re like surprise packages she can’t keep from unwrapping.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeated.

“So was Marlena, or so she said, but it didn’t stop her. There was always a next time. She wasn’t really sorry until I packed her bags and drove her to the bus station.”

Lauren studied his bleak profile. So he’d suffered the humiliation of being cuckolded not once, but multiple times. She wouldn’t have thought him the type to be so…forbearing.