Skye Blue (Hell Yeah!) (13 page)

CHAPTER SEVEN

Their interlude was over, now it was time to get back to real life, no matter how bad they both wanted to stay. Of course, the fact that they had run out of coffee, made their departure a little easier to accept. That’s why they were sitting in an internet café sipping the strongest brew they had.

“You’ve had appendicitis surgery?” Noah asked as he drank the coffee. “I couldn’t help but notice the small scar as I was worshiping that beautiful body of yours.” 

Skye almost choked on her sip. Damn. “No, it wasn’t appendicitis surgery. But it was routine and unwarranted, unfortunately.” She was trying to keep from lying to Noah, but confessing this point would only open her up to a multitude of questions she didn’t want to have to face, not now. Quick. Quick. Change the subject. “Why don’t you check that thumb drive you picked up? Maybe you can identify who it belonged to.”

“Good idea.” Noah fished it out of his pocket and walked over to one of the computers available for customers. Slipping it in, he started checking through the files. Skye sipped her latte and drank him in. Never in a million years had she expected someone like Noah McCoy to come into her life. It wasn’t quite Thanksgiving, but she certainly would count him among her blessings.

He was sitting casually, flipping through screens, when all of a sudden he sat straight and held up a hand. “Skye, come here.”

“Okay.” She went to him, looking over his shoulder. She saw scanned copies of deeds, then as he turned pages, she saw old documents and photos of mine entrances and a woman. None of it meant anything to her. “What is this?”

“I don’t know, but I think this is something Zane should see. He’s defending my cousin in a murder trial and if I’m not mistaken, this thumb drive belongs to the man Philip supposedly killed. Dalton Smith.”

“Good God!” Accused of murder? “Your cousin killed someone?”

“No, he didn’t and Zane is defending him.”

Skye couldn’t help but wonder what he would think about her own situation. “It’s awful to be accused of something you didn’t do.” Or be convicted for murder when you were only trying to prevent yourself from being killed.

He got up to go out and she grabbed her cup. Holding the door for her, he apologized. “I’m sorry to rush you out, but while we’re this close, I’d like to ride up to Canyon of the Eagles and visit the other branch of the McCoys, if you don’t mind. I want to talk to them about this personally.”

“No, I don’t mind at all.” He was so chivalrous, taking care of her. Opening his truck door, he fastened her seat belt. When he joined her, he smiled. He seemed a hundred times happier than he did when they’d started out on this trip. Skye didn’t know for sure, but she hoped that she had something to do with his mood swing. After he had placed the call to Zane, she asked. “Tell me about your cousins.”

As they drove, Noah told her about Heath, Philip, Jaxson, Tennessee, Pepper and Ryder. “We had no idea they even existed. Our fathers were brothers.” Only now he found out that Sebastian wasn’t his father, he didn’t know who his father was. “Sebastian and Christian were separated when they were just months old. Their parents divorced and remarried, and for some reason they never told one child about the other. So both sets of McCoys were surprised when Zane told us our family was bigger than we thought.”

“How did Zane find out?”

“He and Presley were attending a conference at Canyon of the Eagles, and this was before Zane had the operation to get his sight back.”

“Yes, I was here when that happened and I heard Lance talking about the new set of McCoy cousins. But I didn’t know any of the backstory.”

Noah felt close to Skye as he shared with her. She cared about him. He had no doubt of that. “When Zane was blind, he was spooky sometimes. I guess it’s true that when you lose one sense, the others become stronger. Because he heard Heath and Philip talking and their voices sounded like…” Noah just stopped talking. He just sat there with his mouth open.

“Their voices sounded like what?” Skye was confused.

“Ours. Their voices sounded like ours.” Damn, he needed to talk to Jacob. “Zane said that when people are related the timbre of their voices can be similar...inflections or the way they pronounce words, the way their voice resonates. Heath and Philip sounded like Aron and Isaac when they spoke.” He looked at Skye as if he’d solved a puzzle. “The same way I sound almost identical to Joseph. People can’t tell us apart on the phone unless he’s being an asshole, that is.” Noah smiled.

“And you’re never an asshole?”

“No, never.”

Skye laughed. “I’ll remember that.”

“Let me call Heath and tell him we’re coming.”

She looked out the window while he placed the phone call and wondered about this job with Zane that he told her about. A big part of her wanted to try to settle down in Kerrville. Heck, her traitorous heart wanted her to hold on to Noah with both hands. But there was also part of her that was scared of rejection and scared of hurting him.

“He said he’ll have the chef fix us some lunch.” His phone beeped. When they stopped at a red light, Noah glanced at the text.

JOSEPH: Guess what, egghead?

Noah grinned. Some things never change.

NOAH: What? You’re a dipshit?
  A warm feeling came over Noah. All he could think of was how worried he’d been when Joseph had been paralyzed and how he would have given everything he had to make him well. It was the same longing he now had to bring Aron home.

JOSEPH: No, Cady and I have set a date. What do you think about a Christmas wedding?

Noah was surprised. With things so up in the air, he’d expected them to wait. But they couldn’t. Life goes on, especially when there are children on the way. Joseph and Cady were expecting twins, just like Libby. Then it dawned on him, no wonder there were so many sets of twins on the way. Sebastian and Christian had been twins. For a moment, he looked at Skye and pictured her holding two babies.

NOAH: I think it’s great! I can’t think of anything better. Congratulations! You’ll have to get Cady some fancy damn gift to make up for having to marry your ugly mug.

JOSEPH: Funny. When are you coming home?

NOAH: Late this afternoon. We’re on our way to Canyon of the Eagles.

JOSEPH: Hurry home. We miss you.

Noah smiled and shut his phone.

“Problem?”

He shook his head. “No, Cady and Joseph have set a wedding date. Christmas.”

“That’s great!”

“Just this time last year, there were no women at Tebow. And now the place is overrun with them.” Noah was joking. He didn’t want to go back to the time when they were all alone. “Soon, we’ll all be married.”

All? “Everyone seems happy.”

Noah looked hard at Skye. “I didn’t use to think I would ever marry. When Aron wed Sabrina and I saw how manipulative she was and what a liar, I swore I would never get myself into that predicament.”

“But Libby isn’t like that.”

“No, she isn’t, and neither is Jessie, Cady or Avery.”

Skye should have left it alone, but she couldn’t. “So, seeing all of your brother’s happy has changed your mind?”

“Yea.” Noah nodded, glancing at her closely. “I think having someone to share your ups and downs, dreams and fears is important. It’s what makes living worthwhile, not to mention the importance of regular sex.” He just had to throw that in there. She grimaced. “What about you, Skye? How do you feel about marriage?”

Skye clasped her hands tightly, letting her fingernails cut into her own palms. Not knowing what else to do, Skye tried to joke her way out of the conversation. “Marriage is a wonderful institution. But who wants to live in an institution?”

Noah laughed. “Good one. Now tell me how you really feel.”

Fat chance. “Oh, I’m sure marriage is wonderful. It would be great to find that one special person I’d want to annoy for the rest of my life.”

“Seriously?” She didn’t sound like any girl he’d ever been around. Most of them picked out china patterns after the first date. “You don’t want to get married?”

“No. People change. Marriage is the only war where you sleep with the enemy.”

“You can’t mean that.” Noah tried to figure out why Skye was being so flippant.

“Think about it. I want a career. Have you ever heard a man ask how he was going to combine a career and marriage?” 

“No. But I’m sure if the right man comes along, you’ll change your mind.” And if he wasn’t mistaken, with a little luck, he might be just the man to do it.

***

Canyon of the Eagles wasn’t at all what she was expecting. The resort was beautiful, but it was also a conservationist’s dream. The whole area was a protected habitat and the facilities themselves were all ‘green’. Only native plants were used in the landscaping and the view of Lake Buchanan was breathtaking. “This place is owned by cowboys?”

Noah smiled at her indulgently. “We dusty, smelly, bow-legged varmints can have good taste too, you know?” He’d been watching her closely, and since their conversation on marriage she’d been acting withdrawn and sad. And that would never do, so his new strategy was to charm the panties off of her.

“Good to know.” She playfully pinched his arm. “And you’re much more than a cowboy, Noah. I’d say you are a renaissance man. It didn’t escape my notice that your radio was set to opera or that you had original paintings on the walls of your bedroom. The book on your nightstand was Cormac McCarthy’s
The Road
. Unlike your brothers, you seem to be able to reside in Texas but live in the world as a whole.”

Unlike his brothers. “Yes, I know I’m different. They’ve pointed that fact out to me as long as I can remember.” He didn’t mean for a trace of bitterness to enter his voice, but it did.

Skye stopped him in the parking lot. “Wait.” She crossed her arms over her breasts and pinned him with a glare. “You misunderstand me. Your brothers are great men. No one would ever dispute that fact.” Taking one hand, she cupped his cheek. “But you’re the best of them, Noah. They may have taken your concern at their actions as interference, but what it was—was love. You are a protector. You are a hero. And any person who has you as their friend or their brother is damn lucky. And the woman you choose will be the luckiest woman in the world.” Having had her say, she turned to walk off.

“I choose you.” He hadn’t really meant to say it out loud, but once he did, it felt right.  All he knew was that he’d loved being with her these past few days. The sex had been amazing. They had never run out of things to talk about. Hell, the best way to put it was—Skye felt like home to him. Yea, she felt like home. 

She heard him. The words arrowed straight into her heart. Her first inclination was to turn, launch herself into his arms and never let him go. But she couldn’t. “Yea, right,” she answered off-handedly, pretending she thought he was kidding. And God, he might be.

Skye couldn’t breathe. God, what should she do?

“Noah! Welcome!”

Her heart lurched. She was saved from reacting by the handsome cowboy who very much resembled the rest of the McCoy clan.

“Heath! How are you?” Noah had only met the man once, but there had been an instant rapport. Of course, they were still feeling one another out, but blood meant something. A wave of conflicting emotion nearly caused him to miss a step. If he wasn’t a McCoy, how would he handle it? How could he handle it? He needed answers—soon.

“Busier than a stump full of ants. How about yourself.”

Skye watched the two shake hands.

“Heath, I’d like for you to meet Skye Blue.” Noah almost said, ‘my girlfriend’, but her last response made him realize he still had some work to do on that front. “Skye, this is my cousin, Heath McCoy.”

“It’s a pleasure.” Heath took her hand. “Why don’t you two come in and we’ll talk over lunch. I’ve asked the chef to fix us some redfish topped with a garlic-butter crawfish sauce that will have you licking your lips till next Sunday.”

Noah put his arm around her and they followed Heath into the lobby of the hotel. Natural stone and cedar log walls gave the room a rich, yet rustic feel. “Your place is very nice, Heath. I love the way it smells.” Skye couldn’t help but share how she felt.

“Thanks, we’ve worked hard here to provide a place not only for family vacations, but also conferences or family reunions. We want people to feel at home. I’ve almost got a family trained to take over, so I can get back to the ranch. It’s a lot easier to herd cows than it is people.”

Heath McCoy was big, sure of himself, yet seemed to have a good sense of humor. Skye decided she liked him.

“What brings you two up this way?” He directed them to a table with a beautiful view of the lake and ordered drinks.

Noah held out her chair. “We took a little vacation, more of a camping trip. We stayed at a cabin north of Enchanted Rock.”

“Beautiful country. If you have time, I’d like to take you out to Highlands and let you see our little spread. It’s not as big as Tebow, but we’re proud of it.”

Skye got the notion that Heath was being modest.

“That sounds wonderful, but we have to get back this afternoon, I’ve got a few things to do which can’t wait. But thank you, I’d like a rain-check.” Noah sipped his drink and reached into his pocket. “This is the main reason we came.” He placed the thumb drive on the table. “I found this in an old cave up on the Llano River. It belonged to Dalton Smith.”

“Damn, do you think there’s anything on there that could help Philip?” He took off his hat and sat it in the vacant chair.

“I can’t be sure, but there are papers, deeds, photographs, maps...all kinds of stuff.”

Skye was nibbling at a salad a waitress had brought, but she only had one free hand, because Noah had confiscated the other one and had captured it under one of his own big hands, rubbing the top of it absently with his thumb.

“We need to get it into Zane Saucier’s hands, pronto.” Heath picked up the drive and looked at it, as if it could tell him secrets.

“I’ve called him and if it’s okay with you, he’s meeting me at the ranch this afternoon to pick it up, I thought that would save you some time.”

“Good plan.” Heath let out a sigh. “You know, I’d rather something like this have happened to me than to one of my brothers. Philip won’t even kill a spider. He’s got the best heart I know.”

Over the next hour, Heath regaled Noah and Skye with stories about his family. “I’m glad you two came up this way. Despite the crowds here, I was getting lonely...for family, you know? My brothers are always gallivanting off somewhere. Sometimes, it’s hard for me to keep up with everybody.”

Noah finished his meal and pushed his plate back. “I understand what you’re saying. We all were in a few days ago. Jessie had the baby.”

“Really? A boy or a girl?”

“A boy, but he’s going to have to have surgery.” Noah explained the procedure. “It’s hard for anyone to go through such an ordeal, but for a newborn…I feel so sorry for them. I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, if there’s anything we can do, just let us know. How about Aron? Any news?”

Noah shook his head. “No. No news. Isaac just got back from checking out a lead, but we’re still waiting for a miracle.”

“Yea, miracles are hard to come by sometimes. I’m worried about Philip. You’ll never know what it did to me when that cop walked up and started reading him his rights, handcuffing him. It happened out of the blue.”

“How’s he holding up?” Noah asked.