Ryelee's Cowboy (25 page)

He drew her into his embrace, wrapping
his arms tightly around her. He waited for her resistance but it
didn't come. Stroking her long red hair, he ran his hands up and
down her back. He loved the feel of her silky smooth
skin.

“Ryelee,” he whispered, pleading with
her to listen. “Ryelee, I love you. My life would be nothing
without you.”

Ryelee shook her head. Her whimpering
sounds pulled at his soul. “I know you have no reason to believe me
but, Ryelee, it’s true. I love you.” He let go of her. “Roll onto
your side, facing away from me. I owe you a hundred back
rubs.”

Ryelee turned onto her other side. She
was so quiet now, he could feel her disconnecting from him,
shutting him off. He couldn’t allow that to happen. He couldn’t
lose her. He knew she didn't believe him, but he did love
her.

Clint rubbed her back, softly at
first, and he knew he was doing it right when she sighed in
pleasure and her body relaxed. He put his arm around her middle,
wanting to feel the baby move. The baby moved, immediately fusing
him with optimism, especially when Ryelee’s hand covered
his.

He realized that she had stopped
crying. Kissing her on the neck drew an unexpected moan from her.
He remembered the Valentine’s Day card he found in the trash. He
hoped she still meant it. He hoped she still loved him.

Wandering hands made Ryelee shiver.
Her breasts were enlarged and seemed very sensitive. Clint turned
her toward him and lathed her nipples, making her squirm in need.
He sucked one then the other. Her sighs of pleasure intensified his
need. She hadn’t touched him yet, and he wished she
would.

He lifted his head to look at her and
gave her an encouraging grin. She moaned louder as he kissed her
stomach and started kissing a path lower. Ryelee arched her back in
need.

“I need you inside me,” she pleaded,
breathlessly.

Clint continued to kiss her. He kissed
a trail up her thighs, and she trembled. He purposely brought her
to the brink and then backed off. Finally, he allowed her to fly
apart. She cried out his name as she convulsed again and again. He
thrust into her. Ryelee matched his rhythm and they continued until
they both cried out and she trembled against him.

He gave her a long, lingering kiss
before he lay on his back.

* * * *

Ryelee woke later than usual. Clint
must have decided to let her sleep in. She smiled, remembering the
sensual pleasure from the previous night. Her smile didn't last
long as she realized she didn't get any answers. She could still
hear him asking her to trust him. He also said he loved her.
Grabbing his pillow, she breathed in the scent of him. She’d missed
him so much and now…she just didn’t know.

She went to her own room and got
dressed, wondering when Rheenie would be home. She supposed she
would have to go over and get her.

She wished she could have
coffee because she really could go for some caffeine. She felt the
baby move. Only six more weeks. She stopped short when she saw a
box of candy and a card on the table next to her bed. Her heart
beat faster when she picked up the envelope with her name on it.
She took out the card and her eyes misted at the lovely sentiment
on the front. Inside Clint had written
I
love you
and
you
are beautiful
. She hugged the card to her
chest, happier than she had been in a long time.

The box of chocolates adorned with red
and pink ribbons and bows was her first box of candy. She stood
there staring at it, caressing the satin ribbons. Finally, she
opened it and ate a chocolate. She laughed and cried. Joy burst
inside of her, but something told her to be cautious.

She didn't know what to do about that
cowboy. Trust came hard to her. Everything she ever wanted dangled
in front of her, but she wasn’t sure if she should grab for it. She
had so many questions. How could he spend time with Ellie then come
home, and make love to her? It didn’t make any sense.

He wasn’t the type of man who would
have another woman at the same time he wooed his wife. Things had
been so strained between them, maybe—no, she was making herself
crazy with what ifs.

She needed to get some straight
answers from Clint. The card and candy meant something. She wanted
to believe that, but the doubts were killing her.

Jimmy had been so sure, and she had
seen Ellie running out of the barn crying. The evidence was
stacking up, and it was damning.

Maybe she was the biggest fool in the
whole dang county, but, God help her, she loved him. He asked her
to trust him. Surely she could manage that.

Ryelee reread the card and hugged the
heart shaped box to her. Something was not right, but she didn’t
believe Clint was sleeping with Ellie. He was a man of integrity.
Ryelee calmed as she thought about it.

All she could do was trust him. She
didn’t want to bring more accusations into their fragile marriage.
Shaking her head, she realized it was all so much easier said than
done.

Hearing a car drive up, Ryelee smiled.
Clint was back. She hoped that he wanted some more of that grand
cowboy loving. No words could describe how he made her feel in bed.
Priceless— that would describe it, she decided as she waited
impatiently for Clint to come in.

Chapter
Fourteen

Ryelee answered the door with a smile,
which quickly turned into a frown when she saw Sheriff Bodin
standing on her front porch looking like he had just won the
lottery. To her annoyance, he brushed right past her and walked
into the house.

“Can I help you with something,
Bubba?”

“Sheriff Bodin,” he bit out, his eyes
flashing. “You're going in for questioning. Get your coat, and be
quick about it.”

Ryelee stared at him in disbelief. She
backed up away from him only to have him close the gap. “I don’t
know what you want with me, but I’m not going.”

Sheriff Bodin grabbed her upper arm.
She winced in pain as he hauled her closer to him. “I don’t have
time for games, Ryelee. My uncle is waiting for you at the station,
and I’m taking you in.”

“I have to let Clint know, and Rheenie
is at the Dawson’s. I can’t just up and leave.”

“I met Burke outside when I drove up.
He knows what I’m here for.”

“But Clint.”

“He’s out in the south pasture. Burke
said he’d tell him.”

Ryelee didn't trust him. He seemed
almost too eager to get her to go with him. She didn't see any way
out of it though. “What exactly does the chief want?”

“Come on, quit stalling.” He grabbed
her coat and pulled her toward the door. “How stupid can you be?
You know that you are a blight on the community, and my uncle wants
to chat with you about it. It’s about time someone took you to
task.”

“I don’t believe you.” She tried to
shake her arm loose from his painful grasp.

“I don’t care what you believe. You
don’t matter. Just remember, I’m the one with the gun. I’m the one
in charge. Come with me now,” he said angrily. “Don’t make me get
the handcuffs out. I’d be more than happy to do it.”

Ryelee sighed. “All right. I’m coming.
I can’t imagine what the chief wants to ask me though.”

Bubba ushered her out the door and
into the car. “It’s not your job to think. Just get that pretty
little ass of yours in the car.”

Smiling at her in the rearview mirror,
he quickly drove away from the ranch.

Outraged wasn’t a strong enough word
for what she felt being in the back of the police car. Something
wasn’t right, and she could feel it. She shouldn’t have gone so
quietly. She should have insisted on speaking to Clint or Burke.
She had her doubts that he had even told them that he was taking
her. Why did Bubba seem to hate her so?

The baby moved, and Ryelee tried to
remain calm. She hoped the chief would just send her home. It had
to be some mistake. She didn't know why, but Bubba really had it
out for her. He wanted to lord it over her that he was in a
position of power. In his own mind maybe. She tried deep breathing
to calm herself. It started to work until she realized they weren’t
going in the direction of the police station.

Looking out the window, Ryelee tried
to gage exactly where they were. She had lived in the area all of
her life, and she knew all the landmarks. He was taking her farther
out past town. If she remembered correctly, one or two cabins in
the area were used as summer places. She had never been to any of
them before.

“Sheriff Bodin, where are we going?”
she asked, becoming increasingly concerned. “This isn’t the way to
the police station. Turn the car around. I want to go home. Where
are you taking me?”

“I tell you what you need to know, and
that is something you don’t need to know,” he said, looking pleased
with himself. “That’s right, I’m the man—the man in
charge!”

His sinister expression in the rear
view mirror made Ryelee cringe. Just what did the bastard think he
was doing? She looked at him again and realized she was in danger.
Whatever he had planned she knew would hurt her in the end.
Rummaging through her purse for her cell phone had been useless.
She could picture it charging on the kitchen counter. Clint had
just gotten it for her, and she wasn’t used to carrying it with her
yet. What a stupid mistake to make. Now what?

Bubba turned onto a dirt driveway,
hidden from the road by the numerous trees and thick underbrush.
Ryelee knew she had never been here before. Dread shivered through
her body. No one would think to look for her here. Her only hope
was that the owner of the place was home. They could call for help.
Panic welled up inside her, and it took all she had to clamp it
down. She needed to be able to think, to find a way out.

“Bubba, please…” she
pleaded.

“I told you to call me sheriff! Why is
it so hard for you to obey? By the time I’m done with you, you’ll
be begging to obey me. Training you to obey my every command is
something that I’ve been looking forward to for a very long time.”
He laughed.

His evil laugh increased Ryelee’s
panic. Clearly, Bubba was insane. What in the world was going on?
Bubba had always been different, but this went beyond different. No
matter what, she had to protect her baby. Tears came to her eyes as
she thought about what Clint and Rheenie would think when they
couldn’t find her. Would they think she had left them again? Would
Rheenie stop talking again? Would Clint even think to look for her?
As Bubba parked the car and shut off the engine, she sat up
straight and tried to brace herself for whatever was to come. She
needed all of her strength.

Bubba’s smile became menacing as he
opened the car door and reached in for Ryelee. She tried to scoot
to the other side of the car but Bubba’s reach was long. She was
surprised that he hadn’t wedged his fat belly in the door. Her
heart beat faster, and she began having trouble taking a deep
breath. She knew if he got her into that cabin, she would be in
real trouble. She didn't know his game, but she could sense his
evil intent. Her instincts screamed at her that if she went into
that cabin, she would never come back out.

She almost lost her balance as he
pulled to her feet. She swayed and found herself in Bubba’s arms.
He smelled of old sweat and had such a stench that she wanted to
throw up. Breathing through her mouth, she calmed her stomach a
bit. Kicking at him repeatedly didn’t deter him.

“Don’t fight me,” he warned as she
tried to struggle free. “You belong to me now. Kicking me is like
biting the hand that feeds you.”

With her upper arm in a vice-like
grip, he marched her into the old cabin. The odor hit her full in
the face. It smelled of rotten food and musty mold. She gagged as
he threw her on the threadbare couch.

“What’s wrong? Ain’t this place good
enough for you?” His face contorted and grew red. “Ain’t I good
enough for you? You are nothin’ but a two-bit whore, and you act
like you’re better than me? I hope I don’t have to beat that pride
of yours right out of you. You know you’ve always been that way,
thinking yourself to be better than others. You’re wrong, you know.
I bet that husband of yours will be happy to have you off his
hands. Now he won’t have the embarrassment of having a whore for a
wife.”

Terrified, Ryelee watched him getting
madder and madder. His fat face looked distorted and he spat out
each word. She yelped as he grabbed the back of her hair and
brought her face closer to his. “You are going to find out just how
good I am. Many times over.” His spittle landed on her
face.

This wasn’t her first go round with
abusive men, and Ryelee realized he got off on her fear. Her father
was the exact same way. The more fear she showed, the longer he hit
her. No one knew where she was, and Lord only knew if she would
ever be found. She didn’t have any illusions of Bubba letting her
go. She knew that she had to remain calm, and she had to calm him
too. But how? If she didn't play this just right, it could be
devastating for her and her baby.