Midnight Thunder(INCR) (15 page)

14

C
ADE
CONGRATULATED
HIMSELF
on his quick thinking in suggesting that Damon and Finn take his truck to the hospital. Riding with Lexi today had worked out to be all kinds of wonderful. For one thing, he'd tackled a prejudice he hadn't known he had and it was rapidly disappearing.

Also, the ride to the hospital and back had given him a chance to talk with Lexi. He'd stored up a powerful hunger in the past five years and whenever they were alone, he mostly thought of making love to her. But he couldn't very well do that while she was driving.

Controlling his libido long enough to have a conversation had reminded him that they used to talk all the time. It was one of the things he'd missed most. He hadn't recognized how important their discussions had been to him until he couldn't have them anymore.

But he wasn't interested in having a conversation right now. Thanks to his decision to loan out his truck, he wasn't shopping for beer. Instead he was headed into a very empty, very private barn with the sexiest woman in the world.

She walked ahead of him into the tack room and reached for a lead rope.

“Hang on a minute, sunshine.” He hung his hat on a nearby saddle horn.

She turned and met his gaze. “Look, I know what you're thinking.”

“Good. That saves time.” He nudged the door shut with the heel of his boot and reached for her.

She stepped back. “Damon and Finn could shop really fast and get here any second.”

“So what? They're not going to come looking for us, especially if the tack room door is closed.” He eliminated the space between them and drew her into his arms.

“I still don't think this is a good idea.”

“If you say so.” He cupped her bottom and pulled her tight against his straining erection. “Your body says something different, though.” He flexed his fingers in a gentle massage that always turned her on. “Your eyes say something different, too.” He watched the heat build in those hazel depths. “But if you really don't want to...”

Surrender came quickly. “Oh, yeah, I want to.” She pulled him down for a kiss that left no doubt that she
really
wanted to.

With encouragement like that, he instantly went to work on her jeans, but he made sure not to interrupt that red-hot kiss until he absolutely had to. Finally he had to. Hoisting her up so she was sitting sideways on the same saddle where he'd left his hat, he crouched down and yanked off her boots, her jeans and her panties. He'd love to remove her shirt and bra, but the more clothes they took off, the more they'd have to put back on. And the clock was ticking.

He lifted her back down. “Lexi, I want—”

“I want what you want.”

He swallowed. Her sultry comment delivered with a knowing smile made him tremble with anticipation. She remembered. He fumbled while unzipping his fly and almost dropped the condom packet.

“Let me.” She took the condom and rolled it on. “There.” Turning toward the wall, she leaned over, flattened her hands against the wood and braced her legs apart. Then she peeked at him over her shoulder. “Is this what you had in mind, cowboy?”

He sucked in a breath. He'd dreamed of seeing her like this again. And here she was, her delectable little bottom thrust in the air in the most erotic invitation he'd ever known.

“Ah, Lexi.” His voice was rough, his breathing rougher as he steadied her with both hands. Sliding his cock partway in, he closed his eyes and clenched his jaw against coming. The sensation was incredible, but watching it happen added another level of arousal that threatened to destroy what little control he had.

She gave a soft command. “More.”

“Yeah.” But he took it easy, filling her slowly, inch by inch. When he was locked in tight, he paused to catch his breath and regain at least part of his sanity. This was good. A little too good. He settled into a gentle rhythm while he fought against coming. He wanted to give her time.

Apparently she didn't need as much of that as he'd thought. Her breathless whimper was his only warning before a powerful contraction rolled over his rigid cock. With a loud groan, he abandoned himself to the demands of his body, plunging into her again and again as her orgasm brought on his.

Panting and dizzy from the impact of that orgasm, he still managed to keep them both upright as the tremors subsided.

Her laughter was shaky. “Wow.”

“Yep. Wow. Think you can stand up by yourself?”

“I think I can fly.”

“Me, too.” He left her warmth with regret, but he took comfort in knowing they'd be back in each other's arms later tonight. If he had his way, they'd be together every night.

They'd had lots of practice making themselves presentable after a round of hot sex, so before long they were headed out to the pasture. They'd finished feeding all five horses and were walking up to the house when Damon and Finn drove in.

“We brought beer, fried chicken, coleslaw and chocolate chip cookies,” Finn said as he climbed out of the truck with a bag in each hand. “How's that for awesome?”

“That's terrific. Thanks.” Cade had a whole other criteria for awesome, but food would be welcome. “I didn't even think about what we'd do for dinner. Let me know what I owe you.”

“Nah, we used your gas, so we're even.” Damon tossed him the keys. “Thanks for the loan of the truck.”

“Glad it worked out.” Cade figured Damon knew the motivation behind his offer of the truck and approved of the strategy. Damon was the one who'd advised him to marry Lexi.

He would do that, too. Or at least he hoped he would. That speech of hers on the first day lingered in his mind. It hadn't sounded like the speech of a woman who was eager for a walk down the aisle.

She might love the sex, but that didn't mean she wanted to make a lifetime commitment. Ironically, she might be thinking the same way he had been five years ago. That would be a real kick in the head if they'd mentally traded places.

“You didn't use my gas, though,” Lexi said. “I want to contribute to the cost of the food and the beer.”

“Sure.” Damon started toward the house. “We'll do the math later. Right now we need to get on Skype. It's nearly time.”

Cade pulled out his phone and discovered they had all of five minutes before they were supposed to rendezvous with Chelsea. Considering how he saw his life going, Chelsea's input was important for Rosie, the ranch and his hope that Lexi would be willing to marry him after everything settled down. He could hardly wait for this Skype thing.

At five they grouped around Herb's computer. Lexi had persuaded Finn to handle the opening comments and the introductions.

He didn't look happy about it, and he'd chosen to wear the battered old cowboy hat, but he sat in Herb's desk chair and smiled when Chelsea popped up on the screen. “Hey, Chels. We're all here.”

“I see that you're there.” Chelsea turned out to be a brown-eyed blonde with purple streaks in her hair and an attitude. “So what, you've gone native already?”

“It shades my eyes. There's a lot of sun in Wyoming.”

“Especially indoors. I'll bet the sun's brutal in the house.”

Cade glanced down to hide a smile. He didn't dare look at Lexi.

Finn ignored the dig. “Let me introduce everybody.”

“And while you're at it, tell me what they do for a living.” Chelsea picked up a digital tablet. “I'll make notes about that for later.”

Finn went through the roster and each of them moved closer to the computer and waved at Chelsea.

When they were finished, she consulted her tablet. “I take it this is the core group.”

“Yes,” Finn said. “But we can recruit others, guys who were in the foster program with us.”

“I hope for your sake one of them became a lawyer, because you'll need one to keep tabs on the operation. If they'll do it for free, so much the better.”

Finn nodded. “There's a lawyer in Cheyenne who was here for a while. We'll get in touch with him.” He seemed mesmerized by the screen. “Your hair's purple.”

“Nice of you to notice.” She consulted her tablet. “Major resources are—a horse trainer, a riding instructor, a renovations expert and a business owner. Oh, and you mentioned that Rosie's husband is a retired equine vet. You have a ranch in somewhat decent shape, three cabins, a washhouse behind the cabins and a barn. Does that about sum it up?”

Finn glanced around, and everyone nodded. “That's it. Oh, and Rosie's a great cook and is used to working with teenagers, but we don't want to overwork her.”

Frowning, Chelsea stared at her tablet. “You need a residential program that makes use of your combined skills. Three of you know something about horses. One of you could help maintain the property, one of you can cook and understands teenagers and one of you has some experience running a successful business.” Then she fell silent.

Cade heard the theme song from
Jeopardy!
in his head as they all waited for Chelsea to say something.

Finally she did. “I don't know a lot about this area, but presumably some of you do. Teenagers need help figuring out what they want to do with their lives and some of them may want to work with horses. With your personnel, you could offer a course of study that would help them decide if that's what they want.”

Cade spoke up. “Is that enough of a hook? Finn got people interested in saving a building. What's our mass appeal?”

“Horses, for one. You're offering to help educate a new generation about their medical needs, their unique personalities and their use for both pleasure riding and competition.”

“I can see that,” Lexi said. “In the digital age, people are connecting with animals as a way to balance their lives. Horses are seen as noble animals.”

Chelsea nodded. “They are. Also, parents with means would love to find out if Susie and Johnny want a career involving horses or only think they do. If you start an academy with the potential to be a prestigious training ground, then the parents will want to be in on the ground floor. That would give them bragging rights.”

“I like it,” Damon said. “What age are you thinking about?”

“Kids who are only a year or two away from going to college, before they have to choose a major. I'd say sixteen to eighteen.”

“Both boys and girls?” Cade could see problems with a coed academy.

“I think you need to have both or risk a discrimination suit.” Chelsea put down her tablet. “Hate to run out on you, but I have a date. You can email me any more questions, or we can set up another Skype time.”

“We have plenty to chew on for now,” Cade said. “Thanks for the session.”

Everyone else added their thanks and Chelsea signed off.

“A date,” Finn muttered. “I'll bet she said that to get a rise out of me. She could be going to the movies with her sister.”

“Or maybe she has a date.” Damon stood. “You shot her down, so she's looking elsewhere. Let's bring Ringo up here and have some dinner so we can discuss Chelsea's idea. I think it has potential.”

Finn gave him a dark look. “I'll go get the cat.”

Moments later, they sat around the kitchen table debating Chelsea's proposal. This time, though, Cade made sure he wasn't across from Lexi. He wanted to be within touching distance.

They'd taken some chicken off the bone and given it to Ringo in his bowl, and he was merrily chomping away. Cade doubted the cat had ever had it so good.

“I like the concept.” Damon dished himself some coleslaw. “Herb has a ton of veterinary knowledge to pass on, and he loves teaching kids. Gallagher's excellent at working with horses, and—”

“Assuming he's not too distracted.” Finn chuckled and picked up his beer.

“Hey.” Cade skewered him with a glance. “Knock it off.”

“Sorry.” Finn sighed. “I'm just jealous. My love life stinks.”

“It doesn't have to,” Lexi said. “She still likes you.”

“Chelsea? Are you kidding?”

“Nope. I watched her expression while you were talking. If you asked her out, she'd say yes.”

Finn shook his head. “She's too intense. I need to focus on the business. If I could play the field like Harrison, that would be okay, but I'm not good at that.”

“I could give you some pointers,” Damon said. “I—”

“Thanks, but no thanks.” Finn looked over at Lexi. “I'm happy for you guys, so ignore my dumb remarks. You belong together.”

Lexi blushed. “Well, we, uh... We're not exactly—”

“Yeah, we do.” Cade reached for her hand and squeezed it. “We always have, and I finally wised up to the fact.” She didn't squeeze back, but then, she was probably busy thinking about Finn and Chelsea.

“Good,” Damon said. “And this time around I'm sure you'll do the right thing. It's working out great, in fact, because we have a real ace in the hole if Lexi's teaching riding skills to these kids.” He glanced at her. “Rosie says you're becoming really well-known as an instructor.”

“That brings up an important point.” Lexi slipped her hand from Cade's. “Are we talking about a program that would run continuously year-round? Because my clinics keep me very busy. I'm scheduled through December. You know I want to support this, but I can't teach here full-time.”

“But it'd be a paying job,” Damon said. “It's not like you'd be doing it for free.”

“Doesn't matter,” Cade said. “It'd be like us asking you to give up flipping houses and be a full-time maintenance man at the ranch.”

“Good analogy.” Lexi sent him a grateful smile. “I'm not saying I won't teach here at all. But I love setting my own schedule and traveling to different venues.”

“And Rosie wouldn't want her to give that up.” Cade felt proud of himself for adding that, especially when Lexi rewarded him with another warm glance.