Their Ex's Redrock Midnight (Texas Alpha) (16 page)

Rusty did get a bit teary then, before she followed Tess into her living room and they grouped on the couch, each with a mug of hot coffee while a plate of chocolate éclairs sat between them.

“First, Rusty, what about your taxi? Will insurance pay for it?” Tess asked.

Rusty felt a lump in her throat that she swallowed back. Of course Tess knew how important her taxi was to her and how basically money-strapped she was most times. “Don’t know,” she whispered, because she thought she did know and it was a big “no way.”

Tess patted her hand as they sat cross-legged, facing each other. “They will,” she assured her. “Maybe the damage wasn’t too bad.”

Rusty didn’t have the heart to tell her best friend, who cared about her, that she knew the damage to her taxi would be considered totaled. Then to get them past something that couldn’t be fixed by talking, she lied, “I think you’re right, it won’t be too bad.” Then she took a deep breath and said, “I think I’ve made a really bad mistake.”

Tess’ blue eyes grew concerned. “What, babe?” she whispered.

“Cabe,” Rusty whispered back.

“No.” Tess moaned a little. “Really?”

Rusty nodded slowly and painfully. “I went for sex that is out of the freaking world over common sense. Now I’m really stuck.”

“Honey,” Tess murmured.

“When we’re together it’s all about trust, and I trust him so much. I feel like our minds are aligned, but then he goes off and does major things without telling me.” Rusty swiped her hand through the air, emphasizing the fact. “He should have picked up my calls. Even if he needed time, he should have.”

Tess shoved the éclairs aside, and they were hugging as Rusty told Tess about why Cabe was missing overnight and his explanation about acting weird about the fact she knew he had some money, like he was freaking rich. But she didn’t tell Tess about Cabe’s dad; she laid it down to Tess as a trust issue he was getting through.

“Oh, babe, he should have picked up, answered your calls,” Tess agreed while smoothing back Rusty’s hair as they sat nearly nose to nose. “That’s twice now,” Tess said.

Rusty nodded. It was like a habit of Cabe’s to just disappear. “I know he has big things on his mind with the divorce, maybe I’m being too hard on him. But it really feels as if he doesn’t trust me to tell these things. It’s like he doesn’t want to tell me things he thinks I won’t like or ... I don’t know.”

Now that the worst was out, Tess scooted back and grabbed them each an éclair as they pondered it. “Vincent didn’t tell me for a long time he had, like, fuck-tons of money. Luna leached on him because of that money, and I think he was kind of trying to see what I was made of. A twice-burned thing.”

“Really,” Rusty whispered. “Cabe had to see Luna doing that, didn’t he?”

Tess nodded, licking cream off the corner of her mouth. “Vincent was married to Luna long before Cabe married Vega, I’m pretty sure.”

Rusty set her éclair aside after one bite and she fell back on the arm of the couch while declaring, “I don’t know.” Sounding agonized. “Just three freaking big things together like that. I think I get the rich thing now that he’s explained it. And the fact he has money does make him more tempting. I’m not immune. But, babe, I’d take him penniless in a heartbeat.”

Tess’ eyes widened as she grabbed her knee and squeezed. Yeah, Rusty just realized what she’d declared. “I’m thinking it was the not answering your calls and not coming home all night that’s got you twisted up,” Tess said.

Rusty nodded her head on the armrest as she looked at the ceiling. “He didn’t know how to tell me what he was doing, then he couldn’t make himself come home and tell me.”

“Like he felt guilty or something,” Tess murmured.

“What’d you say?” Rusty asked, rising.

“Well, babe, that’s acting like he felt guilty,” Tess repeated.

Rusty stared at her, then she whispered, “Like I’d think bad of him for what he did and how he did it?”

“Yeah,” Tess said. “Just like any new couple’s growing pains. That getting-to-know-each-other time when you couldn’t live through the other person thinking badly about you because you want them so much.”

“Still shouldn’t have left me hanging,” Rusty muttered.

“I agree,” Tess said supporting her.

After Rusty left Tess, she did feel better, but she still wasn’t sure if she accepted Cabe not taking her calls or coming home like he had for the reason he did it. But she’d agonized over it enough, and she decided to let her subconscious work on it while she got on getting on. And the getting on led her to Joe’s Auto Body to see about her taxi.

That’s where she was staring, unbelieving, at a piece of paper while she stood by her totaled taxi when Cabe showed up. The paper was from Finn’s insurance, and it said she would be reimbursed for the taxi’s repairs. She was stunned, so she didn’t see him until she lifted her gaze.

“Cabe,” she whispered. Then, as if they hadn’t been apart, having a relationship crisis, she said in an amazed voice, “This says Finn’s insurance is paying to fix my taxi.” She waved the paper at Cabe while he walked with his loose-limbed gait toward her. The morning sun did amazing things in his dark blond hair, like make it look cool and fit the dark scruff on his chin, like the ultimate bad boy. Sexy-as-hell bad boy.

“Boo, that is great,” he said, stopping before her to give her his deep mahogany irises.

She hitched her hip, looking up at him. “This is not giving me time.” She motioned between them with the paper.

“Gave you all night, and that was a fucking mistake. Then all morning, more of a fucking mistake. It’s all you’re getting,” he answered gruffly.

She raised an eyebrow to him. “Oh, really?”

“Yeah, really,” he growled, and the tone and rumble of his voice touched girly places inside her that swelled toward him, and that sexy-as-hell male growling. “We’re together, we figure it out together. If we are not together I will leave right now.”

“Really,” she challenged again.

“Really,” he replied, then he added, “I lied about the leaving part, I’m not fucking doing that either, even if I have to haul you off over my shoulder.”

Quivers ran up and down Rusty’s body. An evil thought danced in her mind: maybe she should try and make him do that. She licked her lips, and Cabe watched every nuance of the motion. He seemed different somehow, more forceful and intense.

“’Kay,” she finally answered, then she folded up her paper, looking up at him innocently.

“Okay?” he asked, still in that sinfully deep voice. “You just gave me permission, boo butt, remember that.”

Cabe stalked forward and suddenly grabbed her, making her squeal as he hauled her up over his shoulder. Rusty slapped his back. “Not okay for that, Captain! I was saying okay about the part where we will figure it out together,” she exclaimed.

“You can tell me all about it once I get my cock in you,” Cabe said, then he proceed to haul her off.

Rusty was certain a good portion of her butt cheeks were on display for all of downtown to see. Well, at least the east side of town, because Joe’s was half a block from any other business because of his big lot. Then there was Tess’ old flower shop still up for sale and empty since she’d moved to her new space at Redrock Casino, which Cabe stalked past.

“
Where
are you going?” Rusty asked on an exclamation, and with a slap on Cabe’s back for emphasis.

She was pretty amazed he could haul her off like he was; she was not underweight. Cabe started up the sidewalk past Tess’ old shop and into the beginning of the downtown shops on that end of town. Rusty could feel the start of a hot blush as they passed the Sugar Shack and a couple of locals looked up at her through the window from where they sat inside.

“It’s enough, Cabe,” she exclaimed, and he stopped, which made her feel a shot of relief. But he didn’t let her down, he only swung around, and she saw an old sign tilted from age and being broken on one side.

“Isn’t this Gramps’ old toy train shop?” Rusty muttered, as they lowered because Cabe was doing some jangling by the door. Then she heard the squeak of it opening.

She bit her bottom lip, thoroughly confused about what Cabe was freaking up to. Once inside and with the door shut, Cabe finally lifted her off his shoulder. She was dizzy from the practically upside-down ride, but not so lightheaded she wasn’t super impressed that Cabe could put her down as slowly as he did. She thought the only thing that could rival it might be seeing him do it without a shirt on.

First thing Rusty did when her feet hit the floor was sneeze. Place was dusty. She peered around, seeing an old shop basically left with half its contents scattered around. She could still see all the really cool architectural embellishments left from an age gone by. She’d never really realized the shop was still there, and her eyes lifted to Cabe’s with confusion and questions. Why did Cabe obviously have a key to the place and, more important, why did he bring her there instead a place where they could jump into makeup sex?

“You don’t know this, but Gramps was my foster mom’s dad, because even though we lived in Winnow County, he lived here. She left this place to me,” Cabe muttered, looking off over Rusty’s head like he was looking into the distance, remembering.

“I use to come in here, Gramps was cool,” Rusty said softly, turning to look and see that Cabe was looking at the old pictures behind the main counter.

“You had reddish-brown pigtails down to your butt, and your aunt had shining red hair you couldn’t miss, but if I thought about it I know I thought she was your mom, not your aunt,” Cabe murmured still not looking at her. “I think Gramps and her were friends. Harper, I remember her last name.”

He remembered her? Shivers inched over Rusty ... they’d lived in medium-sized towns like lots of people do, which were not that far apart in miles, with their paths never seeming to cross much growing up—but looking back, maybe they did.

“I didn’t think we really knew each other,” Rusty murmured right back.

Cabe’s gaze turned as he looked around the old shop. “Don’t take this wrong, boo, but back then your aunt was hot and I was a little older than you.”

Rusty slapped his side. “You remember me because my aunt was hot?”

He smiled with his dark eyes turning down to her, and they looked not one bit repentant. “I was a growing, healthy boy. What can I say? But I remember you the year you graduated, that summer I was on leave from the navy and I asked some buddies who you were when I saw you out at the lake with your friends. You never saw me, too many kids out there, but I do remember you.” Then he added, “Now.”

“Cabe,” she whispered, and lifted her hand; Cabe caught it and intertwined their fingers.

“I know it doesn’t mean much, Rusty, but I swear I’ll never not pick up a call from you again and I swear I’ll never not come home without a call.”

Rusty sucked in a breath, holding it and feeling amazed to hear the words she so longed to hear. Just like that—very clear and upfront. She could see the sincerity in Cabe’s eyes.

“I messed up, boo. I swear I know I messed up.”

She probably should have made him grovel more, but she just couldn’t, and one second later she was jumping up into his arms. And he caught her, of course. “I can’t believe you figured out why I was freaking out without my help,” she said, making him laugh just as she was trying to kiss him.

They laughed through the first part of the kiss, then got makeup serious. So intense she forgot where they were until Cabe broke their heavy lip-lock. She kept licking at his lips, not wanting to stop.

“Glad you’re forgiving me,” he said against her small kisses. “Need to discuss a few things, then we can go home and I will make up proper all over your luscious body.”

“Mmm,” Rusty murmured, distracted by her clit.

“Baby, are you listening?”

Rusty blinked and tried to draw her mind to Cabe’s words. “Kind of.”

She smiled against his mouth and he growled in a purely male way, then suddenly his body was gone from pressing to hers and her back was steadied by the counter behind her. Cabe was across the room by the stairs leading up. She squinted at him through the unlit, dusty shop.

“Never did anything with this place. I always meant to,” Cabe said, and Rusty watched his hand tracing the end of the banister. “Maybe I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it until now.”

Rusty sighed, looking around; it was a great space. “So are you going to rent it out or something?” she asked. Still wondering after their major couple altercation why they were in the old toy shop Cabe owned. Maybe he was reliving the past and she should keep up. “You want to start a train shop like your Gramps?”

“Hell, I’m not very good at this,” Cabe muttered, and his hand ranged through his chunky dark blond hair. “I want to give the shop to you, Rusty.”

“Me?” Rusty rose up on the toes of her cowboy boots in surprise. Then, just because she was blown away, she told him, “I run taxi.”

“You could hire someone to drive your taxi and take a split. Then you’d have time to make this into your gift shop.”

Rusty’s heart fell into her boots, then it soared where it belonged again until she thought she’d run a race. “Cabe?” her voice squeaked.

Cabe’s hand ranged through his hair again. “I want to just give it to you, but I think I know you are not going to take that, so I’ll rent it to you at a low price. You can take rent out of my twenty-five percent, which I’ll get for loaning you the seed money to start up the shop.”

“I-I,” Rusty stuttered, turning in a circle, looking at the old, dusty shop in a new light. She couldn’t—it wouldn’t be right. They’d just had a non-verbal fight and nearly broken up. She couldn’t just end it with taking advantage of his—

“Yes!” she exclaimed. “Ohmygod! I swear I’ll pay you back every penny.”

“Hell,” Cabe muttered. “I thought it would take a week to convince you.”

Rusty laughed as she sauntered to him. “I heard how some of the girls you save at WTSF come out to Tess’ flower shop and learn about a woman running her own business. We so have to do that here, honey.”