How to Rope a McCoy (Hell Yeah!) (20 page)

Cato
was shaken to her core. No wonder she had felt a connection.

Heath
was her savior, her champion, the one who had stood up for her all those years
ago in the St.
Martinville
library.

CHAPTER NINE

Everything
was the same, yet everything was different. After she’d discovered who Heath
was, Cato went in search of him, finding him down by the huge gazebo which
overlooked the pool. This was Sunday, she would be going home in the morning.
Today was her last day with Heath…until the first date of their four week
affair.

Now
that she knew he was the young man from her past, the one who had stood up to
her attacker and saved her from rape, Cato couldn’t help but entertain the
fanciful idea that meeting Heath again, feeling as if their destinies were
intertwined, finding out that their joining was the most perfect, incredible
moment of her life—all of this was meant to be.

Wanting
to observe, she hung back, needing to look at Heath with fresh eyes. At first
glimpse, she had seen only his physical beauty and perfection. After the years
of her isolation and longing for human contact, the overpowering need to be
like everyone else, Cato had taken one look at Heath and known he could fill in
all the blanks, answer all the questions, bring vibrancy into a world which had
for her been so colorless and bland.

And
he had done those things.

Heath
had been drawn to her and Cato had greedily accepted and encouraged his
attention, being willing to forego any traditional romantic trappings, such as
dating or courting to learn the delight of a man’s hands on her body—his hands,
no one else’s would do.

Oh,
she hadn’t been completely foolish. Before issuing her erotic proposal, Cato
had quickly learned Heath was from a good family. He was kind, upright and
honest as the day was long. The fact that he had money, property and possibly
gold on his land meant absolutely nothing. No, she wasn’t interested in Heath’s
money. She would’ve wanted him if he hadn’t had two plug nickels to rub
together.

Cato
wouldn’t deny that she wanted to settle down eventually. And Heath McCoy was
definitely husband material. He could be the ultimate prize in one of those
reality TV shows where a desirable eligible bachelor is put forth so women can
compete for his attention. But Cato wasn’t hearing wedding bells. She smiled at
her own self-deprecating humor. She’d wanted to give herself time to enjoy all
the things women of her age took for granted—romance, dating, and yes, sex.
Since Heath was adverse to commitment but sexy as hell, she’d thought he was
perfect to give her a taste of all she had missed.

Well,
not quite perfect.

Due
to his own bad experience, romance wasn’t a part of the deal. Plus, he was
either unwilling or too busy to plan their dates, so she’d had to volunteer to
do that. Yea she was a modern woman, because what Heath offered in the bedroom
made up for what was lacking in the other two areas. Heath wasn’t giving her
just a taste of what she’d missed between the sheets, he was laying out a
veritable banquet and she intended to sample everything on the table.

Well,
all of that had changed.

Cato
watched him refill his coffee cup, his eyes slowly scanning the yard until they
locked with hers. An arc of electronic awareness seemed to shoot between them.
Cato felt sparks sizzle through her body. What she’d felt in his arms, the
pleasure he had given her surpassed anything she’d ever dreamed.

She
enjoyed him. She admired him. She craved him.

It
had confused her why she’d felt so compelled to make him notice her. It was
more than just attraction. He wasn’t the first man who’d caught her eye since
she’d initiated her ‘Cato Catch-up’ campaign.

Now,
she knew why.

Heath
was the man she’d built her fantasies around, the one she considered to be the
epitome of courage, gallantry and compassion.

He
was her dream man.

As
he walked slowly toward her, their gazes still locked, Cato had to admit she
was falling for him. How could she not?

He
walked right up into her space. Cato could feel the heat, not only the heat
that emanated from him but also the instant response of her own body. She had
become addicted to him and what he could give her. For a brief second, she
imagined he would lean forward and kiss her, but he didn’t. A wave of longing
rose within her to confess that she was the girl in the library, to thank him
for what he’d done for her all of those years before. Would he remember? She
had to tell him, this was just too important. “Heath, I need to tell you
something.”

“I
need to tell you something too.”

He
took her by the elbow and led her down a secluded path, away from his family
and friends as they milled about getting ready to start their day. Pepper had
said there was a trail ride and a picnic on the agenda today so she’d worn
jeans and a pink western shirt with embroidery on the bodice. Tonight she
planned to wear the little black dress with no back. Hopefully she could entice
Heath into another bout of toe-curling sex. “Okay, you first,” she urged him.
 

Heath
compressed his lips together and seemed to be considering his words. She
waited. Finally he began, giving her a smile which seemed forced and a bit
sardonic. “You’re a hell of a woman and the sex we shared was out of this world
and I can’t wait to fuck you again.”

“Me
neither,” she agreed with a smile. His rather raw way of putting it excited
her, but she looked around cautiously. “
Shhh
, someone
might hear you.”

Heath
felt guilty as hell. Cato didn’t deserve anything but to be treated like a
queen. Crap like what he was about to pull was exactly why he knew he never
should have gotten involved with her in the first place. But he was a weak man
where she was concerned. His libido had overruled his better judgment. “That’s
sort of what I wanted to talk to you about.” He turned more toward her, just in
case anyone was watching them too closely. “Like I said, I want to continue our
plans for an affair, but I don’t think we ought to be so open about it in front
of my friends and family.” Damn, he saw the hurt in her eyes. She was
gonna
tell him to go fuck himself and he richly deserved
it. But he pressed on, it had to be said. “After yesterday, they’re already
talking. My brothers and sisters have this innate desire to see me happy and
settled down and as far as they’re concerned, you’re the perfect candidate.”

Cato
thought so too, or at least she had. If she hadn’t known who Heath was, seen
his gentleness and concern for family and friends, known how he’d come to her
aid, she would have been crushed. But this wasn’t Heath talking, this attitude
was due to the pain and disappointment he’d suffered at the hands of the woman
who had abandoned him on their wedding day. “So, you want to sneak around?”

He
looked relieved. “Well, I’d rather call it being discrete.”

Cato
didn’t give him an answer immediately. Instead, she looked blindly to one side,
weighing her options. Embarrassment warred with a natural optimism. Perhaps it
was the gambling genes she inherited from her father or maybe it was just a
deep-seated curiosity to see what fate might have in store. Whichever, she
didn’t pause to fully analyze her motivation. Instead, she faced him, giving
him a bright, fake smile. “Agreed, I like the idea. It’s like getting to have
my cake and eat it too.”

“What
do you mean?” Heath asked suspiciously.

“Nothing,
we can have our fun on the side and still…you know…be free to—”

“Now,
wait a minute, no one said anything about being on the side. While we’re…”

Philip
walked near and they both clammed up like they’d been discussing a bank heist.

“Am
I interrupting something?”

“Yes,”
Heath said. “No,” Cato said, at the same time.

Philip
looked confused, but pressed on. “I was wondering if I could borrow Cato for a
while, I’d like to talk to her.”

“No,”
Heath said. “Yes,” Cato said, at the same time.

Philip
looked more confused. Cato chimed in. “Of course. What can I do for you,
Philip?”

“I’d
like to discuss your work,” Philip became serious, “especially as it pertains
to the San Saba legend. I’m sure you’ve heard of my unfortunate situation.”

Cato
immediately softened, became somber and moved closer to Philip. “Not in great
detail, but I do offer my heartfelt belief that you’re innocent and my hope
that you are quickly cleared.”

“Thank
you,” Philip’s face brightened, “let me freshen your coffee and we’ll compare
notes. Even if San Saba had nothing to do with the case, the search for the lost
mine is of great interest to me.”

“Sounds
perfect. I need a change of scenery. Excuse me, Heath.” Without a backward
glance to see if he responded, Cato walked off with Philip.

He
led her to a bench and she stole a sideways look at Heath, who hadn’t moved but
was staring at her with an enigmatic expression on his face. Cato was
disheartened, he was sending out these mixed signals and she didn’t really know
what to do. She had lived for years with her mother being embarrassed to
acknowledge her and now Heath was almost doing the same thing. It hurt.

After
he’d gotten them something to drink, Philip joined her. “So, tell me a little
bit about what you do and I’ll do the same.”

Cato
told him about her work in Louisiana. “I worked on everything from state
tourism to special projects for the education system. The bayou state has such
a rich history. New Orleans was a thriving city long before America became a
country. So many cultures converge in Louisiana—the French, Spanish,
Creoles—even the Acadians who were the victims of a mass dispersion.”

“You
don’t have to convince me,” Philip interjected. “My family is from Louisiana.
Our branch of the
McCoys
moved there after our
grandfather sold this property, in fact.”

“That’s
right, you are.” She didn’t tell him how she knew, that was something she
needed to discuss with Heath first. Knowing him, he probably would want to keep
that secret too. Stubborn man. “Then you can understand my enthusiasm for the
area. I was lucky, my job gave me the opportunity to do research on everything
from plantations to pirates to pralines.”

Philip
laughed with her. “Yes, Louisiana is unique.” He sobered. “Our mother died in
Katrina.”

Cato
didn’t know. “I’m so sorry.” She touched his hand, recalling the beautiful
woman in the photograph she’d just seen. “There was so much loss of life. I
evacuated to East Texas, my mother’s house was damaged, but we didn’t lose
anyone.”

“We
miss her.” He raised his cup in salute. “But life goes on. So, you moved to
Texas.”

Cato
shrugged. “I left behind a personal storm too.” She didn’t elaborate. “My
friendship with Avery made me consider coming here and I’m glad I did.”

“We
are too.”

His
hopeful and fleeting look toward his brother made Cato reply, “It’s not what
you think, you know. Your brother and I are not dating. We have no intention of
beginning a relationship.”

Cato
just had to ignore Philip’s look of amused disbelief. She couldn’t be held
responsible for any impressions the family had gathered up to now. Heath was as
guilty as she was. But from this point on, she would play his game, to a
degree. When the time came, Cato would have to protect her heart. They would
have stealth sex. Cato couldn’t help but be a tad amused by it all, even if she
was dispirited.

“Whatever
you say,” he replied with a grin.

Feeling
the need to get the conversation back on track, Cato asked something she’d been
curious about. “Ryder told me you were an archaeologist. She compared you to
Indiana Jones. Tell me some of the places you’ve been and things you’ve done.”
Philip settled back in his chair, clearly in his element. Cato had to admire
him. He was extremely good-looking, leaner than Heath, who was built like a
brick house, but still strong with clear blue eyes and a handsome face. 

“Early
on, after I’d graduated, I spent a few years as an intern for Dr. Ronald
Halifax. He is a premier Egyptologist. I worked with him exploring the shaft of
the Queen’s Chamber in the Great Pyramid at Giza.”

Cato
was impressed. “So much has been written about the Great Pyramid, but so little
is actually known.”

“Exactly,”
Philip agreed. “We know it was never a tomb, and it was never finished. What we
don’t know is what it was created for in the first place.”

“I’ve
heard speculation on everything from biblical prophecy, to a giant sundial, to
a way for people on earth to communicate with aliens.”

Philip
smirked. “My research wasn’t quite so spectacular. We just set out to determine
why the chamber was unfinished and what its original purpose might be.”

“Yet
the mystery remains.”

“Yes.
I also found a mummified lion in the tomb of a woman who helped raise King Tut
and I was in on the unearthing of the ancient university at Alexandria which
had an enrollment of about five thousand students and the greatest library of
all time. The library was lost during the war with Rome and with it was lost
the history of the world up until that time. It was a great tragedy.”

“Yet
some say there is a repository of books that were saved stored in the Sphinx
and the deepest bowels of the Vatican.” Clearly, Cato was in her element.

“Oh,
I like the way you think.” Philip’s eyes twinkled.

“What
have you worked on since then?”

“I
got a job teaching at the University of Texas and am still involved with local
archaeological projects. I’ve done work down at Bonfire Shelter, a site on the
Rio Grande where Native Americans stampeded huge herds of buffalo off cliffs to
harvest their hides and meat. The mountains of bones have caught fire by spontaneous
combustion at least twice in the years past.” Seeing Cato’s eyes widen with
enjoyment, Philip told more. “I also worked on the exploration of Guy Town,
Austin’s infamous red light district, especially the Christmas Eve murders of
1885 committed by an unknown serial killer.”