Lone Star Heartbreaker (5 page)

So if
he
wanted to ignore the sparks flashing between them, that was okay by Caitlyn. In fact, it was more than okay. She didn't need that kind of complication in her life right now. She usual y kept a strict guard on her emotions when it came to any kind of relationship--whether friendship or something deeper.

Being a military brat had taught her not to lay down roots, because sooner or later, she'd have to pack up and move on. She'd quickly learned it was better not to become attached to any one place or any one person. The pain of leaving behind those she loved was too great. Better to be alone and keep her heart whole.

Living by that credo had made the nomadic lifestyle more bearable.

Only recently, had Caitlyn ignored that ingrained philosophy. Scott Nelson had been a pilot who worked at her father's flight school. She'd let down her guard with Scott and look what had happened.

Caitlyn resolutely banished al thoughts about her disastrous relationship with her former fiancé and climbed out of the cockpit. She removed her goggles and ran her fingers through her hair, wincing when she tugged at the tangles.

It was getting late and she was starving. She needed to check on her dad's plane before heading to her camper and her solitary frozen dinner. As she neared the maintenance hangar, she heard the twang of country western music coming from within.

Wel , damn. She hadn't expected to encounter Tyler at this hour.

She walked through the doorway and looked around the cavernous hangar. Next to the scaffolding surrounding her father's plane, Tyler was seated at the workbench. He was bent over one of the many parts littering the oil-stained surface, his ever-present root beer by his side and Reba sleeping on the floor next to his feet.

Caitlyn accidental y dropped the goggles on the cement floor and the sound echoed throughout the hangar. Tyler's head whipped around in her direction. She was too far to see his face, but she knew he wasn't happy to see her. He never was. Or maybe he was
too
glad to see her and covered his attraction with a gruff demeanor.

Right, Caitlyn. Don't you wish?

No, she didn't wish. Or so she kept tel ing herself. Then why couldn't she help feeling a little rejected, every time the man went out of his way to avoid her?

Wel , he couldn't avoid her now. Caitlyn picked up her goggles and strode purposely toward the mysteriously intriguing man who made unwelcome nightly appearances in her dreams. Just thinking about those dreams made her heart beat double-time. Perhaps they weren't as unwelcome as she pretended them to be.

Even though Tyler wasn't thril ed by her presence, Reba was ecstatical y glad to see her mistress. The dog barked and raced over to greet her.

Caitlyn smiled and ruffled the big dog's fur. Reba plopped down on her back and wiggled around, making Caitlyn laugh.

"Who's a good dog?" she crooned, rubbing Reba's bel y. At least with dogs, you always knew where you stood. With people? Not so much.

She glanced toward Tyler. He had turned back to his work, completely ignoring her. Rude man. Why couldn't she get him out of her mind?

As she closed the distance between them, she saw exactly what he was doing. He didn't look up when she stopped in front of him; he kept his attention on the tachometer.

"You're in my light," he said. No hel o, how are you, what's going on. Hmmph, two could play this game.

Caitlyn set her goggles on the table and folded her arms across her chest. "It's not going to work, you know."

He looked up and stared at her with raised eyebrows. "Of course it's going to work. It'l be good as new when I'm done."

"I'm not talking about the tach, and you know it. I'm talking about you avoiding me."

"It's worked so far, hasn't it?"

"Sure, if you want a stressed-out pilot up in the air flying your precious planes. Personal y, I don't think that's the best scenario for you or me. It doesn't make for a very conducive atmosphere in the workplace. It's got to stop. I'm not the enemy here, Tyler."

"I never said or thought you were." Tyler pushed the tachometer to the center of the table, heaved a big sigh and reached for his crutches. Slowly, he hauled himself to his feet. "I'm not avoiding you so much as . . . never mind. It's getting late and it's been a long day. I'l see you in the morning."

He started past her toward the door. Before she could think better of it, she grabbed the sleeve of his shirt to stal his departure. "Wait."

He stared at her hand on his arm, then at her, but didn't pul away. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked in a dangerously soft voice.

Obviously playing with fire, that's what.

Caitlyn quickly dropped her hand. She didn't know what had prompted her to touch Tyler, but that brief contact left her fingers scorched and her heart racing. She cleared her throat and decided to fight back with words. "Ignoring the situation isn't going to make it go away."

"What the hel 's that supposed to mean?" His voice went softer, more dangerous. His hot blue eyes lasered in on her. "What situation?"

She swal owed hard. Anger mixed with the strong sexual vibes pulsated between them. "I've been here for almost a month," she said. "Except for that first day when we had dinner together, you've been avoiding me like the plague."

He stepped toward her, his big body seemingly growing, expanding with his anger. Irritation.
Something.
"I taught you what you needed to know to be an ag pilot, didn't I?"

Caitlyn stepped back. "Yes."

Tyler took two steps forward. "I didn't avoid you then, did I?" he asked between gritted teeth.

"No. Not exactly." God, the man was tense. And now he was invading her personal space. How could she have thought for a moment that she'd imagined those sparks of awareness shooting between them? They were brighter and more intense than fireworks on the Fourth of July. "But you can't deny you've been avoiding me since then, can you?"

Tyler stood directly in front of Caitlyn and stared into her eyes. He was close enough to smel her fragrance, feel the heat from her body. Her windblown hair tumbled around her face in wild disarray. His fingers itched to run themselves through the silken tangles. He wanted to feel her body close to his.

Unable to help himself, he reached out one hand and touched her soft cheek. She closed her eyes and her dark lashes made feathery crescents against her creamy skin. He'd been dying to touch her again. To feel her warmth and vitality.

He rubbed his thumb across her bottom lip. Back and forth. Back and forth, until her eyes flew open. Keeping his gaze locked on hers, he leisurely traced his finger down her jaw line and the curve of her neck, only stopping when he reached the top of one rounded breast. "This is why I've been avoiding you. You make me feel alive again. You make me wish things were different."

Caitlyn's heart thumped swiftly beneath his finger. Tyler watched in fascination as the tip of her tongue slipped out to moisten her plump lips. His body reacted violently to the innocent movement. Damn.

"What do you wish was different?" she asked, her voice whispery soft.

With infinite regret, Tyler resolutely stepped back and let his hand fal to his side. "You and me. My life's so messed up right now, I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I don't know if I'l ever be normal again. I can't walk. I can't drive. I can't fly. When I'm not here, I'm in Abilene for rehab.

It's an hour and a half trip each way. It makes for long days not only for me, but for the driver, too. I hate being dependent on people. I hate being helpless. And I damn sure hate being grounded."

Caitlyn bit her lip. "In other words, your life pretty much sucks right now."

"That about sums it up. I know I should be thankful for being alive, and I am but . . . " Tyler looked up at the ceiling, then back at her. "Flying is my life.

And right now, I don't feel very alive. Except when I'm with you."

He felt her eyes on him, searching out his secrets. "Is that so bad?" she asked.

He inhaled a deep breath, then blew it out. "Under normal circumstances, I'd say no. But these circumstances are far from normal. I think it's best we maintain a professional relationship between us." And God help him, he was trying his best to do just that.

Caitlyn stared at him for a long moment, then shook her head slowly. "Who would have thought it?"

Tyler frowned. "Thought what?"

"You. Mr. Love 'em and Leave 'em McCade. Trying to do the noble thing. Maybe we should mark the calendar."

Tyler narrowed his eyes at her. "And why would we do that?"

"To commemorate the occasion natural y. This has to be a first. A memorable first." The sparkle in her gaze invited him to share in the ridiculousness of it al .

He couldn't help it; he grinned back. "It's a damn shame, right?"

"Sure is. But what an honor for me to be able to share in this historical event." Her green eyes glowed brightly as she stood on tiptoe and kissed him quickly on the cheek. "Good night, Tyler."

He stood rooted to the floor as Caitlyn cal ed to Reba and disappeared into the night. If she was trying to drive him crazy, she was doing a damned good job of it.

****

The next day was Sunday and Caitlyn took advantage of her one and only day off. She cleaned the camper from top to bottom, gave Reba a bath, and washed a few of her clothes in the sink. She hung them up to dry on a line she'd rigged outside. She real y needed to go to a washateria soon--

this hand-washing a few pieces of clothing every other day sucked big time.

After she scarfed down a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, Caitlyn decided to repot a couple of her precious plants. There was a fern from her mother's funeral and a variegated ivy from her father's. She tenderly nurtured both plants, feeling closer to her parents by the very act of taking care of them.

The soft roar of a truck engine floated on the hot summer breeze. Reba barked at the vehicle making its way from the direction of the southernmost hangar. Caitlyn hadn't yet traveled on the narrow dirt road that seemingly led nowhere. Pete had told her it meandered through the pastures for several miles until it stopped at the big ranch house where Tyler's mother lived.

Caitlyn hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. McCade yet. The woman had been out of town the past couple of weeks. As she watched the pickup truck turn into the compound and park right in front of her camper, that lapse seemed likely to be remedied in the next couple of minutes.

Ruth McCade was a widow and the matriarch of the family. Together with her five children, she owned the sixty-four hundred-acre Diamondback Ranch. Tyler's crop dusting company was located on his portion of the land.

Brushing the dirt from her hands, Caitlyn set the freshly potted ivy on the new plastic patio table she'd bought in town last week. Hoping she didn't have smudges of potting soil on her face, Caitlyn turned to greet her guest.

"You must be Tyler's mother," she said, extending her hand. "I'm Caitlyn Ross. So glad to final y meet you."

Ruth clasped Caitlyn's hand and shook it up and down. "Nice to meet you, too. I've been visiting my sisters down in Austin and Temple and just got back home a couple of days ago. Pete's told me al about you. Not only that you're mighty pretty, but you're also a good pilot and mechanic. Pete couldn't praise you enough. He's a sweetheart, isn't he? And such a responsible young man."

Caitlyn nodded. "Yes, I like Pete. He'l go places; I just know it."

"I know it, too. His mother wil miss him when he goes off to col ege in the fal . Anyway, I don't know why Tyler hasn't brought you over to the big house so we could get acquainted. I'm mighty worried about that boy, let me tel you. It's taking a long time for his legs to heal from the crash. He's going plumb stir-crazy not being able to fly." Pul ing a tissue from her apron pocket, Ruth dabbed at her eyes.

Caitlyn was at a loss as to what to do or say. "I'm sorry Mrs. McCade--"

"Cal me Ruth, darlin', everybody does. Except my children, of course." She blew her nose. "I tel you, I'm just beside myself about Tyler. Thank God, he found you to pilot for him. He's hired several other pilots since the accident, but something always seemed to come up and off they'd go. No staying power. You'l stay on, won't you, dear? Until he's back on his feet?"

"Yes, of course. I'm here for the duration."

"Oh, thank the Lord," Ruth said. "It's already going on past seven months since the crash, and Tyler's no nearer getting better now than when it first happened."

"I was under the impression he's much better than he was at first. Here, sit down." Caitlyn guided Ruth to one of the green plastic chairs she'd bought to go with the table. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee? Water?"

Ruth blew her nose one last time and stuffed the tissue back in her pocket. "A little tea would be welcome. Except I hate to put you to the trouble.

Lands' sakes, I don't know what's gotten into me."

"No trouble at al . One glass of iced tea, coming right up."

"Oh, please join me. I don't want to be an imposition."

Caitlyn smiled. "Don't worry. You're not imposing. I'm glad to final y meet you. You sit here while I get the tea."

When she returned from the camper, Caitlyn set a tal iced-tea glass in front of Ruth. "Here you go," she said, plopping down in the chair opposite her guest.

"Bless you, child." Ruth took a long refreshing sip and sighed in appreciation. "Good and strong, and not too sweet--just the way I like it."

"I'm glad you approve," Caitlyn said, lifting her glass in salute.

Ruth's blue eyes sparkled with humor. Tyler had clearly inherited his mother's eyes. Every time Caitlyn had seen him at the air shows, his eyes had sparkled in just the same way. Now the spark wasn't nearly as bright.

Ruth set her glass on the table. "I can't stay but a minute. I wanted to introduce myself, since no one's thought to do so. If there's anything you might need, don't be afraid to ask." She looked around the campsite and eyed Caitlyn's meager col ection of clothes drying on the line. "Land's sake.