Indulgence (312 page)

The entire family sat at their usual table waiting for the
guests to get their plates. She glanced down the long expanse to notice one
empty chair. Joel wasn’t there.

Where was he? Surely he didn’t feel guilty about the way
they fought last night?

She got into the line for her food and chatted with an older
woman about the weather.

“Too bad it’s raining today. We wanted to go riding.”

“You can still ride even in the wet weather, although it’s
not as comfortable.”

“We are city slickers. We don’t do wet leather or wet
jeans,” the woman answered with a smile. “We’re living out our fantasies of
cowboys with all these hunky men around, but I think today will just be a
sit-around-and-drool day.”

“Anyone special you are drooling over?”

“Well the triplets are just awesome. Can you imagine having
the attention of all three at once?”

“I don’t think I could handle all three at once.”

“I’d sure give it a try,” the woman replied, giggling under
her breath as she glanced at the table.

The door burst open with a gust of wind. Mesa gasped as she
glanced at the door and the silhouette of the man outlined. The width of his
shoulders. The breadth of his chest. The ruffle of hair at his neck. The black
Stetson shading his face. Even though she couldn’t see his face, she knew him.
She knew his body like she knew her own…by the touch of her hands.

Joel.

He pulled the door shut behind him, blocking the gust of
wind whipping through and blowing rain in from outside. His eyes never left
hers as he walked up to her and smiled before moving down to the table where
the coffee sat.

“Interesting.” The woman she’d been talking to moved away.

Mesa’s gaze never left Joel.

Once he had his coffee, he turned toward her, sipped the
dark brew, and gave her a sexy wink.

Well, apparently he thinks I’m not pissed at him anymore.
She didn’t respond except for a frown as she grabbed her plate.

Instead of sitting in her normal spot next to him at the
family table, she chose a table with a bunch of women. “Mind if I sit with you
ladies?”

“Of course not. Please,” a large, older woman replied.
“There’s always room for one more.”

“Are you ladies here for a few days?”

“Yes. We love the ranch life and wanted to experience it for
ourselves. You know instead of always reading about it, we wanted to see it.”

“Oh? You ladies read?”

“Of course we do,” a petite blonde answered. “We are a book
club.”

“Wonderful! What do you ladies like to read?”

A redhead to her left giggled. “Romance, of course. Hot
cowboys.” She glanced at the family table with wide eyes. “You know. Like they
are.”

“I know exactly what you mean.” She took several bites. “Who
are your favorite authors?”

The ladies glanced at each other and said in unison, “Mesa
West.”

“Really?”

The lady to her right clapped and said, “We heard you were
here visiting when you posted on your Facebook status. We would love for you to
sign some of our books we brought.”

“Of course!”

“Many of us live in San Antonio and were disappointed you
weren’t at the book signing yesterday, so we drove out here to have some one on
one time with you if you don’t mind.”

“Of course I don’t mind. You ladies have made my day. I
would love to sit and chat with you for a while about books.”

“Is Troy going to get his own story?” a brunette asked from
the end of the table as she clapped excitedly. “I absolutely loved him in
Trouble in Cowboy Boots.”

“I did too, and yes, he’s definitely getting his own story.”

“When?”

“Soon, I hope. I’m here trying to get some inspiration for a
new series.”

“Wow! Really?”

She nodded as she glanced at Joel from the corner of her
eye. One eyebrow went up above his left eye.
Damn the man.

Excited chatter enveloped her while the women shot her
question after question about her characters, stories, and inspiration. Where
did she come up with her stories? Were there real men who inspired her cowboys?
The more questions, the more she lost herself in the enthusiasm of her readers.

The crowd came and went from the dining room while they
continued to talk. Several moments ago, Joel had walked by, brushing her
shoulders with his fingers in a gesture mistaken for innocence, but she knew
different. He was ramping up her need for him with the simple touch.

“Are you seeing the cute one who just walked by?” the
redhead asked as Joel walked out the door, taking his scent with him.

“Seeing? No. He’s just been helping me with research about
ranch life and cowboying while I’m here. We’ve only known each other a couple
of days.”

“He seems taken with you.”

“Me?” She laughed ruefully knowing there wouldn’t ever be
anything more than a quick tumble between the sheets with Joel. “Yeah, no. His
kind doesn’t get taken with women like me.”

“You’re a beautiful girl. I don’t know why you say such
things. We love you.”

“Aw, thank you, ladies.” The kitchen workers eyed them. “I
think we should clean up our dishes and maybe move into the main lodge to
continue our discussions. They want to get things ready for lunch in a few
hours.”

The group picked up their dishes and deposited them in the
washbasin before they retreated to the main lodge area where the fireplace and
large bookcases where located. There were several couches all arranged in a
semi-circle in front of the cold fireplace where everyone could chat without
bothering anyone else. Mesa took a chair at the center of the group, fielding
the rapid-fire questions the women threw at her. She loved chatting with
readers and being the only author in the room, she could let their enthusiasm
surround her, lift her spirits, and give her muse a quick kick in the butt.

The women spent the next couple of hours pounding her with
questions, laughing at some of her responses, and just generally having a good
time.

“I totally appreciate you ladies making the trip out here
just to see me. I’m thrilled you came. You’ve all made my day.”

“Thank you for spending a few hours out of your busy
schedule to chat with us, Mesa. It’s been fantastic and I’m sure we’ll all be
buying your next book the moment it hits the shelves.”

“I hope you get some great inspiration from your cowboy
friend.”

“Yeah, me too. He’s been fabulous so far, but now I need to
track him down and ask him a few questions so if you ladies will excuse me.”

“Of course. Thank you again and we’ll see you at the next
conference. You’ll be at the one in Dallas, right?”

“Yes, ma’am. The one in a couple of months is my next stop.”

“Awesome.” The ladies waved goodbye as they made their way
back toward the main lodge door, leaving her in silence.

Nina came out of her office with a big smile on her face.
“You made their day.”

“Thanks but it was more like the other way around. They made
mine. I really needed the boost to my morale.”

“Oh?” she asked, taking one of the empty seats.

“I’ve just been really down in the dumps lately, questioning
my writing.”

“You’re a fabulous writer, Mesa. I don’t see why you’re
questioning yourself. I got two of your books yesterday after you were here and
I haven’t been able to put them down since I started reading them. My husband
finally forced me to turn off the lights last night at four in the morning.”

Mesa laughed. “Thank you. That’s the best compliment a
writer can get.”

“You’re welcome.”

She looked at Nina with a frown. “Can I ask you a couple of
questions about the ranch? You know, from a woman’s perceptive?”

“Certainly.”

For the next hour, Mesa picked Nina’s brain for information
on the ranch life, raising nine boys and life in general with a bunch of men.

“I need to ask you a couple more questions about the ranch.”

“All right.”

“First of all, do you believe in ghosts?”

“Yes, I do. We have a few on the ranch.”

“Really?”

“Yes. The main lodge used to be a bordello. That’s the
reason for its size. It’s been added onto over the years, but it used to be a
bar and whore house. The upstairs bedrooms were where the women took their
men.” She laughed. “Of course, we’ve cleaned them up since then.”

“Wow.”

“It has a very interesting history.”

“What kinds of ghosts are here?”

“A cowboy. A couple who visit upstairs. A saloon girl and a
few kids who run the ranch. You can hear them giggling outside sometimes.”

“You have so many!”

“It’s been a lively place for a long time.” She tilted her
head to the side. “Why so many questions? Have you seen them?”

“I think so.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“A cowboy at least. Someone has knocked on my door twice now in the middle of
the night. I’ve also heard arguing in the next room.”

“The cowboy you’ve seen is a regular around here. The best
we can figure is he used to work the ranch many years ago as a wrangler and
never left. We haven’t been able to pinpoint his identity exactly.”

“And the fighting couple?”

“Probably one of the cowboys and his girl fighting in the
room up there.”

“It sounds like he slaps her.”

“Yep. That’s them. They get kind of noisy sometimes. If you
bang on the wall and tell them to knock it off, it goes away. Don’t worry about
the knocking. If there were an emergency, we would shout through the door. We
haven’t been able to figure it out yet, but it happens frequently.”

“Kind of creepy, don’t you think?”

“If it bothers you, I can move you to one of the outside
cabins. They aren’t haunted.”

“I’m okay, but don’t be surprised if your ghosts end up in
one of my books.”

Nina laughed. “I would love it. They are characters for
sure. Have you seen the saloon girl?”

“No. Just the cowboy. Last night when I came back from
Joel’s, he…”
Oh shit.

Nina patted her hand and said, “Don’t worry about it, Mesa.
I heard you come in last night and the roar of Joel’s truck out in the yard. I
looked out the window as he tore out of here. His truck has a distinctive
sound.”

Mesa felt the heat of a blush rushing into her cheeks. Her
heart pounded in her ears as she sought to apologize for breaking the rules.
“I’m sorry, Nina. I know you have a strict rule about the guys and guests,
but…”

“It’s fine, honey. If you and Joel are attracted to each
other, it’s okay. I just don’t want the boy’s going through guests on a regular
basis, like water down the stream. You know how men are.”

“Yes, I do.”

“Did y’all have a fight last night? I thought I heard the
truck door slam.”

“A little bit.”

“Would you like to talk about it?”

She blew out a breath. Talking to his mother about problems
with Joel didn’t seem like a good idea, but she really needed someone to talk
to. She wasn’t really close to her siblings or her mother, but Nina seemed to
understand these kinds of things. It didn’t take long at all for the entire
story to spill from her lips. Nina murmured between her sentences in a soothing
voice meant to calm her. “It’ll be all right, honey. He’s a man. Men tend to
get pigheaded sometimes and trust me, I’ve seen it more than I care to with my
boys. They take after their father that way.”

Mesa laughed. She could totally see the stubbornness in Nina
too, but she didn’t want to insult her hostess. “Thank you for talking with
me.”

“Let me give you a little piece of advice. Avoid Joel for
the day. You’re going to be here for a few more days. You’ll have plenty of
time to talk to him. Go for a walk. Write. Read for your own pleasure for a
change. I bet you don’t read very often without worrying about your own books.”

“True.”

“I saw the way he touched you on his way out the door. He’s
a very possessive guy when it comes to women. It was his way of marking you, to
let his brothers know you’re taken.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Nina nodded with a smile. “Y’all are cute
together. I haven’t seen him act this way toward a woman before.”

“I’m so not his type though.”

“Sure you are! He’s never been into skinny women. You’re
just his type.” She patted Mesa’s hand and then stood. “I’ve got some work to
do. You enjoy your day and don’t worry about Joel. He’ll come find you either
later tonight after supper or tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Nina. You’ve been a huge help.”

“You’re welcome, honey. I’ve enjoyed having you here.”

“Oh. I’ll get your dress and shoes back to you later this
afternoon. Would it be okay if I did some laundry? I didn’t bring very many
clothes with me on this trip and I’m about out of clean underwear.”

“Of course. You know where the laundry facilities are. Use
whatever you need. There is soap and dryer sheets on the shelf.”

“You’ve been such a great hostess. You can bet I’ll be
singing your praises and those of the ranch on every social network I’m on when
I get home.”

“Word of mouth is the best advertising we can ask for. Thank
you.” She nodded again before she headed back for her office, leaving Mesa to
sit alone in front of the fireplace contemplating her thoughts.

Maybe Nina is right. I should avoid Joel until he comes
looking for me.
She bit her lip as trepidation rush through her.
But
what if he doesn’t come looking? I’ll feel like a total fool.

The smile he gave her earlier brought back memories of their
night together. His hands on her flesh. His lips taking what he wanted. His
body covering hers as he took her to heights of ecstasy she’d never felt
before. Did he do the same thing with every woman he made love to? She shook
her head. Surely it was that way with any man who knew how to make love to a
woman, right?