The Broken H (9 page)

Shane sagged against the door. His knees were so weak he was surprised he was still standing. He felt so boneless and…wonderful, the same way he did every time he and Gray made love. His lover had a mouth like nobody else’s and he thanked God for it. Good grief, with lips like that, the man was liable to suck Shane’s brains right out one of these days. But what a way to go!

Gray flopped onto his back, panting, his arms spread wide and eyes closed.

Shane slid down the door, landing ungracefully on his butt. “Grayson?” He nudged the man with his foot.

Gray’s head turned, lids lifting, a soft smile tugging at his lips. “Yeah?”

“If I’d have known that the sight of me in glasses did this to you…I’d have gotten them years ago.”

Chapter Eight

“What do you want for supper tonight?”

Shane tossed the last of the fencing supplies onto the flat bed and pulled one of his gloves off with his teeth. Careful to keep the phone trapped between his shoulder and ear, he bumped his straw cowboy hat back before he used the back of his forearm to wipe the sweat off his forehead. “I don’t care. Surprise me. Either that or you could come here and we’ll eat at the big house.”

“Well, then, you better be prepared for us to be answering all sorts of questions about why I’m there and not sleeping in my own bed.”

That much was true. And he didn’t want to answer those questions. Not now, and not for a long time coming. “Okay, I’m easy. Just lay off the hamburgers. I’m tired of them.” Sweat trickled down under his glasses, making him blink, before it dripped in his eye. Damn, it was hot today. He pulled off his other glove and removed his glasses.

“Yeah, I know exactly how easy you are.” Shane could hear the smirk in Gray’s voice. “What are you doing, chief? You should distracted.”

“Getting stuff to take out to the south pasture. We’re replacing the fence.”

Gray chuckled, continuing with patent insincerity. “Oh, damn, I’m really sorry I went back to work and missed out on that.”

Shane snorted, smiling at the humor in Gray’s voice. “Yeah, you sound it, all right. I could always give everyone the day off and wait until you can come help.”

“Uh…”

Shane laughed. “You’re safe. The fence can’t take the time to wait for you. It has to be done before it falls down. The wood posts are completely rotted in some spots, and the barbed wire is hanging without support. It’s definitely seen better days.”

“Well, hell, Shane, the thing is only twenty years old.”

Shane grinned and put his glasses back on. “Well, hopefully it will last longer this time. About a couple of weeks ago, of all damned things, your dad and I debated the fence posts at dinner. Ted likes the way the wood looks—Lord, that man is determined—but I like the durability of metal.”

“Yeah? So who won the debate?”

“I picked up the supplies, complete with the new metal posts, the day Ted went to the hospital.”

Gray chuckled, then sobered. “How is he today?”

“Weak and grouchy as hell about not being able to do much. Wondering why I haven’t been at dinner all week.”

“Hmm. What did you tell him?”

“That I’ve been making his only child feed me after I screw his brains out.”

Gray laughed. “Actually, chief, we’ve been eating dinner before the fun and games.” Shane had been going to Gray’s place in town every evening since his lover had gone back to work. The two weeks prior to that, Gray had spent all his time at the Broken H or at the hospital, so they’d seen each other daily going on three weeks now.

A loud clank startled Shane, making him realize he wasn’t alone. Fortunately, he hadn’t been talking loud enough to be overheard. “Hey, listen. I’ve got work to do. I’ll see you tonight, okay?”

“See you tonight, chief. I’ll make hamburgers.”

Shane growled. Gray laughed again, then hung up. Shane chuckled and flipped his phone closed, hooking it back to his belt.

Troy, one of his younger workers, had stacked the posts Shane had tossed into the truck bed. He let out a sigh. “Well, Boss, you want to drive?”

“Sure. Call the men and see if we need anything else before we head back to the south pasture. I don’t want to have to make another trip all the way back here if we don’t have to. I’ll see if Kaitlyn has the sandwiches and lemonade made up. I reckon everyone could use a little break before we replace the rest of that damned fence.”

“Will do, boss man.” Troy pulled his cell phone out and pushed in a number.

Shane grabbed his own phone as it started ringing. He checked the caller ID, half expecting it to be Gray again.
The big house.

“Kaitlyn, darlin’, you must have read my mind. I was about to give you a buzz. Is our lunch was ready to go?”

“Shane, honey, the lunch is ready, but that’s not why I called. I need you here. Jim Kauffman came by and he’s spouting off all sorts of foul nonsense about you. Ted is steaming up a storm. I’m afraid if you don’t come, he’s going to slug the man. Heck, son, I’m darned near ready to pop the man a good one myself.”

What the—?
He hadn’t done squat to the man. Hell, he hadn’t seen the man in months, despite the fact he was their nearest neighbor. “He’s saying stuff about me?”

“Yeah, Shane, honey. Just hurry up, all right? Ted is yelling and that can’t be good for him.”

Shane frowned. “All right, Kaitlyn, I’m on my way.” He frowned at his phone a moment as he ended the call, then glanced at Troy who was waiting on him in the back of the truck bed.

“Well, Boss? Miz Hunter got our food ready to go? The guys say we don’t need anything else.”

Shane nodded absently; he needed to get going. Kaitlyn was right about Ted, who really shouldn’t be getting all riled up, especially this soon out of the hospital. “Yeah, it’s ready. Listen, Troy, Kailtyn needs me up at the house for something. Why don’t you head on back and take the supplies, and I’ll bring the food when I’m done.”

“Gotcha!” Troy tipped his hat and jumped out of the truck bed and into the cab before he took off.

Shane quickly strode to the house. He debated calling Gray but dismissed the notion. He’d just see what was going on and deal with it. More than likely it was something stupid, like their cattle eating grass through the fence or an equally ridiculous complaint. It was unlikely there’d be need for the sheriff to get involved. Well, other than for Shane’s pleasure at their good sheriff’s company. But Gray was a busy man and Shane would see him tonight when he got done with the evening chores.

Shane opened the back door and heard the shouting immediately; they were coming from Ted’s office. He looked around the kitchen as he passed through. Kaitlyn was nowhere in sight, but he saw the large coolers she used to pack the men’s lunches just about ready to go. Shane headed toward the raised voices.

Kaitlyn stepped away from the office door as he approached and grabbed his arm, pulling him to the side. “Jim said he had to talk to Ted, then he told us all sorts of rubbish about how you got Sherry Ann pregnant.”

“What?!” Shane couldn’t have been more stunned if Kaitlyn had punched him in the gut.

The voices in the room stopped completely at the sound of Shane’s astonishment.

Kaitlyn flinched. “Exactly. Ted and I both told him it was a lie, but that just made him madder. Sherry Ann is—”

“Shane, Son? You out there?”

“Yes, sir.” He leaned down and kissed Kaitlyn’s cheek. “Don’t fret. I’ll set the man straight and send him on his way.” He took a deep breath to calm himself. Getting mad wouldn’t help to quiet down Ted.

Kaityn nodded and patted his arm. “Go on. I’m going to finish some last bits for the men’s lunches.”

Shane stepped into the office and three sets of eyes stared at him. Shane looked over to the leather couch where Sherry Ann sat, her hands demurely in her lap.

She caught his gaze and looked away quickly.

Shane frowned and gritted his teeth. Damn it! What in the world did the girl think she would gain from this? He wasn’t too concerned about her accusations. He’d never touched the girl, and she sure as hell couldn’t prove otherwise, but he didn’t take kindly to her and her father coming over here upsetting Ted. “What in the devil is this about?”

Ted growled from behind his desk, then jabbed a finger at Jim Kauffman, who was standing by the corner of Ted’s desk. “This…
gentleman
—” Ted dragged out the latter word with an abundance of sarcasm. “—came here demanding that you marry his daughter.” Ted’s face was red with anger. “He says—”

“Yes, sir, I heard. Kaitlyn told me.” Shane crossed over to Ted, laid his hand on his shoulder, and squeezed gently, willing the man to calm down. “It isn’t true. Sherry Ann and I barely know each other, and I doubt we even need to discuss the age difference; it’s pretty obvious.” Shane looked Kauffman right in the eye, daring him to argue. He faced the girl. “Sherry Ann, what is this about? Is this because I told you I wouldn’t go out with you?”

Kauffman bristled as he glared at Shane. “Are you calling my daughter a liar?”

Shane ignored the man and moved to the side so he could catch Sherry Ann’s gaze again. “You need to tell your daddy the truth.”

She looked down at her hands.

Kauffman stepped closer to the desk, thrusting his finger at Shane’s chest. “You are a sorry excuse for a man! Trying to shuck your responsibility—”

“Are
you
calling
my
boy a liar?” Ted tensed, starting to rise but Shane put pressure on his shoulder, holding him in his chair, then patted his back.

“Ted, this is nonsense. You shouldn’t be getting upset like this.” He gazed at Kauffman’s enraged face. “Mr. Kauffman, I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Bullshit! This why you ran away from home? You get some other girl pregnant all those years ago—”

Shane clenched his teeth and bit down a reply. He wasn’t going to get mad, already he could feel Ted stiffening under his hand again. “Mr. Kauffman, I’m not going to do this with you. You can leave on your own or I will gladly escort you off the Broken H.”

Kauffman lunged for Shane over the desk. Shane readied himself to catch the man’s fist, but a slow smooth draw from the doorway brought both men to an instant halt.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Mr. Kauffman.”

Gray.
Shane barely suppressed a grin. He flicked a glance past Kauffman, then looked back, not trusting the man enough to let his attention stray for long.

Gray stood in the doorframe, long legs in an open stance. One arm hung by his side; the other was on his hip, above his gun. He was in uniform, tan cowboy hat pulled low over his face, concealing his eyes. “What seems to be the problem?”

Kauffman sputtered and turned to face Gray. “This is none of your concern, sheriff.”

Ted started to say something, but Gray shot him a glance and raised his hand. “Well, Mr. Kauffman, last I heard, I
am
part of this family. So explain to me what has you so irate that you felt it was necessary to charge over here and start an argument with my father, who is just out of the hospital?”

Kauffman pointed at Shane without looking at him. “He got my Sherry Ann pregnant and refuses to take responsibility for it.”

A frown tugged at Gray’s lips. He pushed his hat back and his green eyes met Shane’s. He raised a brow, then looked back to Kauffman. “Shane?”

He almost groaned. Shane knew that look; loud and clear, it said, “I told you so.”

“Grayson?”

“Did you get this man’s daughter in a family way?”

“I most certainly did not. And I already told him that.”

“You’re done here, Mr. Kauffman. I think you and Sherry Ann need to leave.”

Kauffman scoffed, looking like an enraged bull. “I am not done! Sherry Ann is sixteen and underage. I’m filing statutory rape charges.”

Ted stood up. “Enough! You get the hell out of my house!”

Shane pushed the older man back down. “Shh…He won’t get anywhere because it’s not true. There is no sense in you getting upset over this, Ted.”

“Everyone stop shouting. We are all in the same room.” Gray pushed away from the wall. “Mr. Kauffman, do you have any proof that Shane and your daughter had sex?”

“I don’t need proof! Sherry Ann said he’s the father of her baby! You’re the sheriff, it’s your job to arrest him.”

“You get me proof, and I’ll do that. Now, you are upsetting my parents and Shane. I’m asking you one more time to leave.”

Kauffman puffed out his chest.

Gray slowly shook his head. “Mr. Kauffman, if I have to ask again, I’m going to arrest you for trespassing.

Kauffman stood there for several seconds, obviously trying to decide what to do. Finally, Sherry Ann, conspicuously silent throughout the entire exchange, stood and went to her father.

“Come on, daddy. Let’s go.”

Jim Kauffman spun back toward Shane, eyes livid. “You will be hearing from my lawyer!” Then he and his daughter quickly left.

Shane, Gray and Ted all stayed silent until they heard the front door slam shut.

“Chief, I told you the girl was trouble. You didn’t bother to tell her daddy about the way she’s been pestering you, did you?”

Shane felt a smile forming. He liked seeing Gray stand up and take charge. “No, I didn’t. He wouldn’t have believed me.”

Gray acknowledged the truth of that with a nod. “You’re right, he wouldn’t have, but you still should have brought it up. And a lot sooner, I might add. If you’d had a heart-to-heart with him earlier, this fiasco might have been avoided. Since you didn’t file a restraining order on her, I couldn’t do anything about it anyway. You gonna listen to me and file on her now? You better hope she doesn’t just decide that if she can’t have you, no one can, and shoots your ass.”

Shane groaned. “Listen, the kid is just mixed up. She’ll come clean, you’ll see. She’s just trying to get attention, is all.” He knew damned well how badly it hurt to have one’s parents turn their backs on a child, and that was essentially what Kauffman did off and on to Sherry Ann. The kid was just trying to get her father to notice her any way she could. She’d likely ‘fess up in a day or so and tell him it was all a lie.