Lone Star Heartbreaker (17 page)

"Tyler . . . "

He grabbed the wrench and bent over the applicator to adjust another hose. "The subject's closed. I don't want the prize money. If you don't want it, donate it to charity or something."

CHAPTER NINE

Caitlyn tossed and turned in the bed in her camper. No matter which way she lay, she couldn't get comfortable. Just as she was dozing off, Reba propped her nose on the bed and whimpered, signaling she needed to go out.

Caitlyn cracked open one eye and groaned. "Do you real y need to go out or do you just want to chase raccoons?"

Reba nudged her shoulder and whined, her tail thumping on the floor.

"Okay, okay. But we real y need to get on a better schedule, girlie. This waking up in the middle of the night needs to stop."

She climbed out of bed and fol owed Reba to the door and let her out. The dog dashed into the black night and quickly disappeared. "Don't go too far," she cal ed, then shook her head. Ever since she and Tyler had returned from the air show and began sleeping apart, Reba had wanted out during the early morning hours.

Every day, Caitlyn fought to stay awake because of the sleep she lost. Reba usual y took about ten or fifteen minutes to do her business. Caitlyn had to wait to open the door for her. She didn't like leaving Reba out after dark. Coyotes, pumas and wild hogs lurked about the countryside during the night. Wild animals that might hurt an overly friendly puppy dog.

Caitlyn stationed herself at the dinette table, waiting for Reba to return. She leaned her head on her arms to rest her eyes for a moment and promptly dozed off.

****

A loud knock on his door woke Tyler from a restless sleep. He stil hadn't gotten used to sleeping alone in his bed again. Funny how quickly he'd become accustomed to the feel of Caitlyn by his side. Not so funny how he stil missed her. How he didn't even feel whole without her . . .

The knock sounded again in a rapid tattoo. "Tyler! It's me . . . Please open the door."

The frantic note in Caitlyn's voice jerked Tyler upright to a sitting position. More banging on the door, and he jumped out of bed and hurried to open it.

Without putting on any clothes.

Caitlyn didn't seem to notice. She stood there wringing her hands together and leaning on one foot then the other, rocking back and forth, either from the cold or worry, Tyler couldn't tel which.

"What's wrong, honey? Come on in. I need to get dressed."

Caitlyn seemed to awaken from a stupor and her eyes widened when she noticed he was naked.

Tyler turned quickly away, unable to control his body's violent reaction to seeing her. He left her standing at the door and returned to the bedroom to scramble into some jeans, before hurrying back to the living room. "Sorry about that. What's wrong?"

"It's Reba. She's gone." Caitlyn paced back and forth in front of the couch, biting her thumbnail. She'd thrown a thin robe over her nightgown and wore fuzzy flip-flops on her feet. The jerky movements of her pacing whisked the silky fabric of her robe taut against her body outlining her curves.

Curves he ached to caress; the sexy body he longed to plunge himself into.

Not the time to be thinking about sex, McCade
.
Get with the program.

He swal owed his lust and tamped down his desire. "What do you mean Reba's gone?"

Caitlyn explained about the last couple of days' new nighttime ritual. "And then I fel asleep. When I woke up and opened the door, she wasn't there.

She always comes right back. Always. She's been gone for more than an hour. Something's happened to her, I just know it." Her bottom lip trembled as she fought for control over her emotions.

Tyler took her hands and squeezed them. "You want me to find her?"

She nodded and squeezed his hands in return. She looked up at him and frantical y searched his face. For what, he didn't have a clue.

He used every ounce of reserve left in his overly aroused body not to gather her into his arms and kiss her senseless. Caitlyn hadn't come because she'd changed her mind and missed him. She'd come because she needed his help to find her missing dog.

He inhaled sharply. Wel , he sure as hel wasn't going to let her down now.

Unable to help himself, Tyler lifted her hands to his lips and kissed them. He needed the connection to her as much as he needed to fly his planes.

Caitlyn gently pul ed her hands away . . . and he let her.

"Don't worry, honey. I'l find Reba. Why don't you wait here where it's nice and warm?" He pul ed on a shirt and grabbed his boots. "Which way did she go? Did you notice?"

Caitlyn shook her head. Her hair was a tumbled mess, a wild tangle fal ing around her face, but she looked beautiful to Tyler, desirable and adored.

"She went off in the pasture somewhere," Caitlyn said. "She likes to chase raccoons. But she's never stayed away this long before. Do you think she lost her way? What if she got caught in one of those traps?"

"Let's not borrow trouble before we need to. I'l find her for you." Tyler shrugged into his jacket and rummaged in a drawer for a flashlight. "Damn, where is it?"

"Where's what?" Caitlyn asked, stepping closer and peering into the drawer.

"The flashlight. It's usual y right here."

"Oh, I put it in the utility closet when I cleaned the last time. I'l get it." She disappeared down the hal , and shortly returned with the flashlight. "Here you go. I sure hope you can find her. Where could she be?"

Instead of taking the flashlight from her, Tyler gathered Caitlyn in his arms and hugged her. "I'l find her, sweetheart. Have a little faith."

When Caitlyn looked up at him with those great big green eyes, Tyler couldn't resist. He bent his head and kissed her. Hard. He'd been dying to kiss her since she'd walked in the door. He'd been dying to kiss her al week.

For one heavenly moment, she kissed him back. But only for a moment. She pul ed away. "Tyler, you shouldn't . . ."

"I'm not going to apologize. I love you, damn it. I'l never stop loving you." He took her in his arms again and covered her mouth with his, delving his tongue inside, tasting her sweetness, her essence.

This time Caitlyn didn't push away. She wrapped her arms around his neck and plastered her body against him. She met his thrusting tongue with hers, and tasted like heaven.

Suddenly, she stiffened in his arms and wiggled out of his embrace. She started to say something, then her face crumpled and her lips trembled again. "
Oh Tyler
. I . . . I shouldn't have done that.
You
shouldn't have done that. We can't get into this right now. What about Reba? You have to find her. I'l never forgive myself if something bad's happened."

Tyler stared at her, his body in hyperdrive, his breathing heavy. For the hundredth time, he wondered why he'd fal en in love with a woman who wanted no part of him. Only she
did
want him; she just didn't realize it, didn't want to acknowledge it. Otherwise, why had she returned his kisses?

Why had she turned to him when she needed help?

Maybe there was hope for them after al .

"Don't worry, I'm on it." Tyler took the flashlight from her, grabbed his shotgun just in case and headed out into the night.

****

Caitlyn watched dumbfounded as the door closed behind Tyler. Why in the world had he taken the gun?
For protection, dummy. Duh
. Those wild animals out there weren't only dangerous to dogs; they could do serious harm to humans, too.

Now, not only was she worried about Reba, she also had Tyler to worry about.

She touched her finger to her lips and closed her eyes on a sigh. Tyler had kissed her like he'd been starving for her. And she'd kissed him back just as hungrily.

Her body stil quivered with that hunger, that yearning, that need. She shouldn't feel like this about Tyler, especial y since she wasn't ready to make a commitment.
Wouldn't
make a commitment.
Refused
to make a commitment.

Was she merely being stubborn by sticking to her guns? Could she trust her heart this time?

It was al very confusing. She didn't trust the feelings, because she didn't trust her judgement. Scott was the case in point. A point worth noting. A point she shouldn't ignore.

When had her life turned so damned complicated? She shook her head. Who was she kidding? Her life had always been complicated.

She knew in her heart Tyler wouldn't treat her badly. He wasn't anything like Scott. But it was hard to let go of her fears.

Caitlyn sighed deeply. An overwhelming fatigue swept over her. She looked longingly down the hal and thought of the big comfortable bed in Tyler's room. Her bed in the camper left much to be desired. Maybe she'd just lie down until Tyler returned. What could it hurt?

****

Tyler found Reba caught in a steel trap down in the pasture, about a mile from the airfield. Thankful y, his brothers had the traps adjusted and set so as not to kil . Coyotes had been a problem the past couple of years, and Dal as had a running fight with the predators. Feral hogs ran rampant around the countryside and the sixty-four hundred acres of the Diamondback Ranch. They threatened pastureland, as wel as the cultivated fields.

Dal as and Austin tried to capture the pesky critters as humanely as possible, but where the livelihood of the ranch was concerned, there real y was no question of priorities.

When Caitlyn first arrived at the ranch, both he and Pete had warned her about the traps and snares, and up to now they hadn't caused a problem.

Reba usual y stayed close to the airfield. But if the dog had been on the hot scent of a raccoon or possum, al of her attention would have been focused on her prey. In the darkness, she could have lost her way.

He'd first checked a couple of places close to the airfield with no luck. Then he took off down the trail leading deeper into the pasture. Sure enough, Reba had stepped into one of the traps set beneath the barbed wire fence near the path. The yel ow lab whimpered and barked when she heard his approach.

Tyler pointed his flashlight at the dog. "Hey, girl. So Caitlyn was right. You did get into trouble. She's worried sick about you." Crouching low, he rubbed Reba's ears and stroked the thick fur. "Poor baby. Don't you worry. I'l get you out of there."

He set the flashlight down on the ground, directing the light toward the front paw held captive between the steely jaws of the trap.

"This'l only take a second." Tyler careful y tripped the release springs and the trap popped open. "There you go. Let me have a look at that paw to see how bad it is."

But Reba couldn't sit stil long enough for him to inspect her leg. The dog whirled around and around, dancing a happy dance. She barked and licked Tyler's face. He laughed and ruffled her fur. "Obviously, you're not seriously hurt. Just scraped up a bit and bruised. Come on. Let's go home."

****

Tyler opened the door to his apartment and Reba bounded in ahead of him. Immediately, she loped off straight to his bedroom. He heard Caitlyn's sleepy murmur and greeting. Tossing his jacket on the back of the sofa, he walked down the hal and stopped in the doorway to his room to gaze at the woman sitting up in his bed. The woman he loved and wanted with such a fierce urgent desire, he didn't know how he'd survive if she left him for good.

Reba jumped on the bed and nuzzled and licked Caitlyn al over. Caitlyn laughed and cooed, kissing the dog again and again, burying her nose in the soft yel ow fur. When the dog saw Tyler in the doorway, she jumped off the bed and ran toward him, nudging his hand, demanding to be petted.

Caitlyn yawned and smiled a sleepy smile at him. His stomach plummeted and his heart accelerated.

"You found her," she said with a yawn. "What time is it?"

"A quarter past four." Tyler sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed her hair away from her face. The past week's differences seemed to have receded into the background. It was like it had been before the air show, when they'd practical y been living together.

Reba hopped back on the bed and rested her head on her mistress's lap and sighed. Caitlyn rubbed the dog's ears. "Where were you, you naughty dog? You know not to go too far." She looked up at Tyler. "Where was she?"

Tyler petted the dog, scratching her neck beneath the col ar. "Caught in one of the traps." He inspected the front paw where she'd been snagged.

"She seems fine. More embarrassed than hurt. But very glad to see me. Weren't you, girl?"

Caitlyn took the dog's head in her hands and bent close. "Don't you ever do that again, you hear? I was scared to death. And you might have been seriously hurt."

Reba licked her face, then yawned and stretched. She moved to the end of the bed, circled twice and plopped herself down, settling in for the night.

Caitlyn stared at the dog, then at Tyler, exasperation and something else, something hot, shimmering in the depths of her green eyes.

He waited with bated breath. He wanted her in his bed more than anything.
Even if it were only to sleep.
Of course, he wanted to make love to her in the worst way. It had been more than a week, and his body ached with wanting.

"Stay with me," he said, gently touching her cheek with one finger.

"Tyler--"

"Just for tonight. You're tired. I'm tired. Reba's had a rough time of it. I want you to stay." He wanted her to stay forever, but he'd take tonight if that was al she could give.

She sat silent for a long moment, biting her thumb, gazing up at him. "Okay," she said, her voice a whisper and a promise. "I'l stay just for tonight."

****

Caitlyn fel into a swift deep sleep, her backside nestled spoon-like to Tyler's front. She didn't want to admit even to herself how wonderful it felt sleeping next to him again. She'd missed his hard muscled body, his heat, his smel , his touch.

She slept like the dead. She'd been physical y and emotional y exhausted ever since she'd been il at the air show. Her body needed to mend, and her emotions needed to find some sort of balance. Her brain and heart were battling it out and the stress left her weak and drained.