Sweet Texas Fire (19 page)

Gage smiled. Jack Cooper was a gentleman, and he had instilled that into his sons. Sometimes Gage forgot the way Dad would lecture him about his behavior toward girls. Would Dad be happy with the way he was treating Charlotte? Would he be proud of his youngest son? Gage would never know, but a part of him hoped Dad could see that he was trying to do the right thing by Charlotte, that he was trying to do something right in his life after letting his dad down so badly by being kicked out of college and blowing the dream of a career in the NFL.

He slipped the paper back into the envelope and placed it facedown on top of the other two he’d read. He didn’t want to lose the order they were in. He had to admit, he was surprised his mother seemed so unsure of herself. From what little Gavin and Grayson had told him, Denise Cooper had presided over the house like a queen. Maybe Dad’s love had given her the strength she needed to blossom into the woman she was supposed to become.

He grabbed the next letter.

My darling, sweet, beautiful girl,

So, his father had this box made to hold the letters. Gage could accept the romantic gesture of writing notes to each other, but as the only way to communicate with each other surprised him. Why didn’t they talk on the telephone? And why didn’t his father call his mother by her name?

He wasn’t planning to read anymore, but he picked up another one.

Gage read the letter twice. He went to pick up the phone to call, Gavin but stopped when he looked at the time. It really was too late to call.

Nora
.

He didn’t recognize the name at all. A yawn racked his body. Was there someone in town called Nora when was growing up? He didn’t think so, but then again he could be wrong. The more he tried to think, the less luck he had in extracting the information from the dark recesses of his mind.

The love Dad felt for this Nora woman was jumping off the letters. But he still couldn’t see the correlation between the note Dad had left him and the letters he was reading. He also felt a twinge of guilt at how different his relationship with Charlotte was and the relationship between Jack Cooper and the woman in the note.

Warning bells were clamoring inside of him: No good would come of reading any more of these notes. So many people around town used to say that the love Jack had for Denise, the mother of his sons, so encompassed him that he remained single for the rest of his life, unable to find another love as beautiful as the love they’d shared. He wondered if it was true at the beginning of his parents’ relationship, but he wasn’t so sure it was true by the time his mom died in the car accident. He might have only been five at the time of her death, but he knew he had heard his parents arguing when they thought no one was around.

God, did it even matter what sort of relationship his parents shared? People fell in and out of love all the time—just look at the divorce rates. People would write notes, or e-mails now, similar to the ones his father had written, claiming that the person they were writing to was the one love of their life, but a couple of years down the track, the love was gone and all they had was a shell of a marriage. Maybe Jack had thought he loved this Nora to distraction, but then he didn’t end up with her. Jack had married Denise. Not Nora.

Gage groaned out loud in frustration. He had so many questions, and he couldn’t ask anyone because it was so damn late. He would have to call his brothers in the morning. No, he needed to ask them face-to-face. He and Charlotte hadn’t made plans to head to Sweet Ridge this weekend, but now it had become a necessity. He only hoped the trip wouldn’t unravel the fabric of the lives that he and his brothers had always known.

Excitement built inside of Charlotte the closer they got to Sweet Ridge. She couldn’t wait to see the house again. Gage had told her he’d arranged for some furniture to be delivered so that they could have a couch to sit on and a proper bed to sleep in.

But one glance at Gage revealed the tension around his mouth, and his hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. He looked like he was about to face the executioner’s chair. He hadn’t looked like this even when they got married. Was he nervous about the meeting with the immigration people that was looming at the end of next week? He’d been relaxed when they’d met with the lawyer.

Stop dithering, just ask the man. For goodness’ sake, you had Facetime sex with him. He’s not going to blow you off now.

“Hey, Cowboy,” she started softly. “Everything okay?” She placed her hand on his thigh.

“What?”

Apprehension skidded down her spine. Ever since her return from Shreveport, Gage had seemed distracted. Although that hadn’t stopped him from making love to her at every opportunity. She would never forget how happy she’d been when she’d walked out of the airport to find him waiting for her. She shivered as she remembered the kiss he gave her. They hadn’t even been able to make it to the bedroom of the condo. He’d taken her hard and fast against the hallway wall, and she’d loved every minute of it.

Perhaps he was concerned about seeing his brothers again, even though everything seemed to be okay when they’d left the last time they’d visited. She knew he’d spoken to Gavin and Grayson since their last visit. Whether she came up in the conversation or not, Gage never told her.

And did it really matter if they had discussed her? They were married, and there was nothing his brothers could do about it. Just like there was nothing she could do about her growing appreciation for the man Gage truly was. Spending time with him, she’d discovered he wasn’t the overbearing, pain-in-the-ass oil man she’d first thought him to be. No one who could talk to a cat the way he talked to Oil Slick was an unfeeling jerk.

“I asked if everything was okay. You seem a little preoccupied. You’re not worried about how Gavin and Grayson will treat me, are you?”

“Um, no. No, not at all,” he repeated with a little more force. “I’m just—I’ve got a meeting early next week with regard to a new parcel of land I’m looking at acquiring. The deal is, you know … well, it could be a little tricky. So, I, uh, need to make sure I’ve got my mind in the right place, as this owner could prove difficult to bring around to my way of thinking.”

Was he telling the truth? Or was he keeping something from her? His hesitations were out of character. Either the deal really was important or he was lying to her.

“Are you sure that’s it, Gage? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“No, Red. It really is what’s going through my mind. But it’s the weekend. I don’t want to talk about work.”

She studied him a little longer. Did she want to push it and potentially spoil their weekend? No, she’d make a mental note to bring it up to him on Sunday night. They always had brief
how-was-your-day
type of discussions. But she’d noticed Gage glancing more regularly at his phone the last couple of days. Perhaps he did have a big deal he was concerned about.

He had steered most of their evening conversations around the house and what she wanted to do to it decorating and renovation wise. With each conversation they’d shared about the house, hope had begun to blossom inside of her. Hope that Gage was reevaluating his plan to mine for oil. Hope that he could see that house as their future vacation home before becoming their permanent residence. Hope that he was starting to care a little about her and her hopes and dreams.

“This deal is one you can’t discuss with me? Maybe I could help you.”

His thigh muscles tensed briefly beneath her fingers. “Thanks for the offer, but it’s best I deal with this alone. Until I know for sure. After that, then, yes, I’d appreciate your help.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind, I’ll be happy to help out.”

“I know, Red. Thank you.” He picked up her hand from his thigh and brought it to his lips. He placed a soft kiss on it. The smallest of touches, but enough to start a slow burn inside of her.

He kept hold of her hand the rest of the drive to the house. The action pushed away the doubts she’d begun to dream up.

Charlotte’s breath sighed out as the house came into view. “This really is the perfect way to spend the weekend. I love Houston, but the constant stream of traffic and people going everywhere can be exhausting. I think I may introduce a no cell phone rule down here.”

“Good luck with that,” he responded as he pulled the car to a stop. “That would mean you couldn’t send your mom texts every day to tell her what you’re doing.”

“Well, maybe it would be a one hour in the morning and one hour in the evening allowance.” She unclipped her seat belt. “That’s fair, don’t you think?”

“We can discuss it later. First”—he waggled his eyebrows at her and she knew exactly what he was about to say next—“I think we should go inside and test out the new bed.” He leaned over the console and lightly gripped her chin between his fingers. “It’s been too long since I’ve been able to hold you.”

Before she could dispute it, his lips possessed hers, and any objection she had to his plan was quickly forgotten. Her hands roamed his shoulders, and down his muscled back until she could grip the hem of his T-shirt. Gaining access to his bare back, she slipped her hands under his shirt.

“You feel so good, Gage,” she muttered against his lips. “Take me inside. You’re right—we need to test out the new bed.”

“Your wish is my command. Race you there.”

Charlotte laughed as she jumped out of the car and then walked slowly to the front door. He couldn’t get in without a key and she had it. Gage was already at the door, with Oil Slick sitting beside him. She had no idea how he was able to release the cat and get to the front door so quickly. He turned around and his eyes almost bugged out of his head when he caught on to the fact that she was coming up the walkway—slowly unbuttoning her blouse. She had no idea who she turned into when she was around Gage, but she loved it. She loved being able to be so free and open with Gage—her husband.

“You are one wickedly sexy lady.” His lips crashed down on hers, his hands gripping her hips and pulling her hard up against him. He leaned back against the closed front door, giving them something solid to hold them upright.

It was lucky the house was not on the main street of Sweet Ridge or they’d be creating a scandal.

“Key,” she mumbled against his lips. “Let me get the key.”

“I’ve got this,” he said as he fished out a key and unlocked the door. She looked at him in astonishment until she remembered that deliverymen had needed to have a way to get in to set up the furniture. Gage had organized everything because she’d been away. No wonder he wanted to race her to the door.

In a flash the door was open and she found herself flung over his shoulder, fireman-carry style. She would’ve complained, but this gave her an excellent view of his tight butt.

Oil Slick wandered in, looking at her human owners like they were the craziest people on earth.

Charlotte reached out and gave the front door a push to close it, then tapped him lightly on his denim-clad butt. “The view’s not bad from down here, Cowboy.”

A corresponding tap on her own butt made her laugh. “Likewise.”

The door to the master bedroom stood open, but she didn’t have a chance to take it all in. The moment they entered the room, Gage released his hold on her and started kissing her again. His hands were busy pushing off her open blouse. Her hands were just as busy divesting him of his shirt. Within seconds they were naked and on the bed, arms and legs entwined.

“I need you so badly,” he said as he ripped open the condom he’d pulled from his jeans pocket before she’d flung the pants away.

“Me, too. Hurry.”

He rolled the condom on and then he was entering her with one quick thrust. He paused before starting up a frantic rhythm she had no trouble meeting. Their hips slapped together as they both sought to drive each other crazy.