Chapter Sixteen

“I’ll be out at the barn all day. Bud called yesterday. He wants pedigrees emailed to him today.” Caleb had Laura pinned against the sink in the kitchen, kissing her neck. “Maybe we’ll take a ride up there in a week or so and look over his bulls.” He turned her and continued kissing the side of her neck in the spot he’d learned over the past few days drove her wild.

She moved slightly, giving him better access. “Your mom offered to take care of Connor and dinner for me. I have sandwich trays ready for lunch, so I’m headed to town to do a little shopping if that works for you.”

He pulled back and smiled. “Knock yourself out. Just bring something back for me, okay?” His thumb teased her nipple, visibly taut under the thin T-shirt she wore. “Maybe something you’ll save just for my eyes,” he suggested with a wink.

He kissed her mouth, started to part her lips but pulled away instead at the sound of a discrete cough from his mother. Laura laughed at his flushed face and moved back to the sink.

“Busted,” she whispered.

“Remember what I talked about when you first got here, Laura?” Mary Grace asked her.

“What was that?” They’d had so many bizarre conversations, Laura wasn’t sure which one she was referring to.

“The fact that Caleb was a cranky man. And I figured it was because he wasn’t getting sex.”

“Ma, you didn’t.” Caleb groaned.

“’Fraid I did,” Mary Grace admitted. “I think that’s why she’s letting you kiss her, Caleb; she’s taking pity on you.”

“Is that it, Laura?” He pretended to be offended. “Do you feel sorry for me?”

“Yeah, right,” Laura said lightly. Then she whispered in his ear, “Think about last night, and then you tell me.” She winked before she left the room.

“She’s a hell of a good woman,” Mom told Caleb after Laura was out of earshot.

“Yeah,” Caleb agreed, still looking after her. “You were kidding, right?”

“About what?”

“The pity?”

“Are you blind? The girl’s in love with you. Can’t you see it? Christ, she’s mooning over you.”

That made him smile. “You think?”

“I know.” Mom placed a hand on his shoulder. “You should marry her, though. All this fooling around isn’t good to do in front of Conner. Or God. Plus, you’ll never find a better mommy for him, cook for your men, or a wife. She’s a hell of a good woman.”

“You said that already.” He swallowed a gulp of coffee.

“Yes, I did, and I will keep saying it until you admit it.”

He watched her leave and knew she was right.

He finished his mug of coffee and left the house, the screen door slamming behind him. Laura had borrowed one of the ranch pickups and was bumping down the gravel driveway as he climbed into his truck. What was he going to do?

Josh liked her. Mom liked her. He and Conner both loved her. She’d made herself part of the family already. It was just a formality to put a ring on her finger—provided she’d agree to wear one.

Was she willing to stay out here? He guessed the only way to find out was to ask her. Mom was an astute woman. And it occurred to Caleb that Jasper was much smarter than Caleb had ever thought.

 

* * *

 

“What I am saying, Maria, is that I am in love.” Laura finally broke down and used the cellphone. She’d left it turned off until the trip into town, paranoid Ernesto would somehow trace it.

“Well, good for you,” Maria responded groggily. “But did you really have to call me at six in the morning to tell me?”

“When else was I certain to get you at home?” Laura reasoned as she pulled into a parking spot in Mullen. She had an appointment all the way in North Platte today but was stopping to drop off the ranch’s electricity bills and cash her paycheck. “’Sides, it’s nine here already.”

“So.” Maria swallowed a gulp of something. “Have you slept with him yet?”

“Maria!” Laura scolded. “What kind of question is that?”

“The kind only a sister or best friend can ask. Since I’m both, I think you should tell me. Are you needing to see Father William and confess?” Maria chuckled.

“Yeah, I suppose I should. But I’m not really sorry about it, so how can I ask for forgiveness?” Laura said. “Anyway, are you holding up? No problem with Ernesto?”

“Nope, not a peep. Mama Vita and Vinny haven’t checked in yet, either. Well, Vin did email me, I guess. But you should see this joint they hooked me up with. It’s smaller than our living room at home, I think. There was a really rank odor too, when I first got here; they told me they found moldy salmon in the fridge, but that’s cleared away, thanks to some scented candles.”

“Candles.” Laura smacked her thigh. “That’s what I was forgetting.” Romance was high on her list of priorities on this trip to town. “Anything else new?”

“What isn’t new?” Maria grumbled. “I can’t even remember what my cover is, you know? There’s this guy, and, well, I’m certain I’ve tripped over my story at least once. Maybe he’s stupid because he hasn’t noticed. Or maybe he’s sly and just hasn’t said anything.”

“Is it headed anywhere?” Laura asked quietly. Maria dated a lot but never let her heart get involved. Maybe with her new persona, she’d let herself loosen up and fall in love?

“Who knows? He’s a bush pilot. He flies a small cargo plane all over Alaska. I didn’t even know how big this state was till I pulled out a map a couple weeks ago. He’s gone a lot of nights, so I almost wonder if he doesn’t have a second family somewhere.”

“You mean like Sammy the Slimeball?”

“Yeah, Pop’s best buddy. Slimeball. Hated that guy.”

“How are your students?”

“Fun. A lot of fun. Such a different culture out here. The Inuit are friendly. I like it. It’s cold and dark now; we have really short days. Might have to get one of those light boxes to boost my serotonin levels.”

“I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about, but do what you need to do.” Laura chuckled. “Well, I have to get going. I’m going to the doctor to get birth control.”

Maria sputtered into the phone, sounding as if she was choking on whatever she’d been drinking, and Laura laughed.

“I love you very much,” Laura said in all seriousness. “Some nights, I miss you so much that it hurts.”

“I feel the same, Bre. This is kind of an interesting adventure for us. About time we did something unexpected. I’ll be in touch, but not this early in the morning.”

Laura hung up and opened the pickup door right into the gut of Tony, one of the Morning Glory’s farmhands.

“Oh, geez.” Laura scrambled to help him. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

He stared at her for a minute and then nodded.

“You sure, Tony?”

“Yeah, Laura, I’m fine,” he bit off and walked away.

She watched him walk off. Why was he so mad? It had been an accident, after all; it wasn’t as if she’d deliberately rammed into him. He climbed into one of the other ranch trucks and pulled away from the curb.

She dismissed the encounter and proceeded to the bank, making a mental note of the items she wanted to buy to create a special night for Caleb.

 

* * *

 

The clock ticked on, time oblivious to the agony Caleb was feeling. The fire danced joyfully in the fireplace, and a pointless television program echoed in the background. He was highly agitated due to anger and fear.

Minutes of waiting for Laura’s arrival home had turned into two hours. He drummed his fingers on the arm of the sofa, wondering what on Earth was taking her so long. The town had only a few stores, certainly not enough to keep her there all day, well into the dark of night. He’d picked up his phone a dozen times to text her, only to put it back down. It was her day to spend alone, and he would not be pesky, no matter how much he wondered what the hell she was doing!

Mom was holed up in the bedroom upstairs, hiding. Hank was still out wandering around town. It crossed his mind more than once that in vengeance, Hank had grabbed Laura while she stopped to pay bills and had her locked in a basement somewhere.

Headlights reflected on the wall, and Caleb shot up to look through the curtains. Relief flooded his veins when he saw the Morning Glory crest on the side of the pickup reflected off the porch floodlights. He sat back down on the sofa and tried to act casual.

The door opened, and he glanced at her. The smile she had on her face stretched from ear to ear.

“Hey, you!” She shut the door and walked over to him and bent down to kiss him.

He turned his face so she hit his cheek.

“What’s that about?” She laughed, putting her bags down.

“Where the hell have you been?”

“Shopping.” She motioned to the bag sitting at her feet.

“All day?”

“I told you I would be gone all day. As I recall, you said you’d be gone too.” Laura plopped on the couch and grabbed the remote, turning the television off. “It was my day off. What are you upset about?”

“There isn’t enough to do in Mullen to keep you all day. Did you meet up with someone?”

“No.” She frowned. “Who would I see? Phyllis?”

“Tony saw you,” he grumbled.

“Yes, he did. I whacked him in the gut with my car door.” She chuckled. “I wasn’t paying attention and opened it right into him. I guess he told you that though?”

“That and more.”

“Would you just spit it out already? What the hell are you so upset about?”

She took his hand, but he dragged it away.

“I didn’t hook up with a damn soul in town. I went to Mullen, paid the bills like you asked, cashed my paycheck—”

“Who do you love and miss so much that it hurts?” He cut her off midsentence.

“What?”

“Tony heard you on the phone, saying that to someone. Who is he, Laura? Don’t lie to me.”

“You don’t trust me at all.”

She grabbed her bags and started to walk away toward her room. A small yellow garment fell out of the bag, and Caleb went to pick it up. He felt his stomach drop. He recognized it as a baby sleeper.

“You can’t be pregnant yet. You haven’t missed a cycle. Thinking ahead a bit, are you? Don’t think you’ll be trapping me, Laura.”

She ripped it out of his hands. “You said we were going to see Sarah and Bud in a couple of weeks to look at his livestock.”

“Yeah, so what does that have to do with—?”

“Sarah is due to have her baby this week! I thought it would be nice to give her a gift.” Her eyes shot sparks at him.

Oh, he was an ass, but he wasn’t about to admit he was wrong.

“Where did you go today?” This time he asked without accusation in his voice.

“I was trying to tell you. I went to North Platte today.”

“North Platte!” Why the hell had she gone down there? “That’s an hour and a half away.”

“I didn’t want people in Mullen knowing my—well, our business.”

“What does that mean?” The story was going in circles, with no end in sight.

“I went to see a doctor.” She flushed scarlet and wouldn’t meet his eyes.

“Are you all right?” Suddenly, his anger turned a concern.

“Yes, I’m fine.” She lowered her voice. “I went for a prescription for birth control.”

“You did?” That was the last thing he’d expected her to say. He’d heard it all before, though; Christie had been bold about admitting to using it when she wasn’t. “Let me see it.”

“See what?” The frown on her face reached all the way to her eyes.

He was really messing things up, but somehow, he wasn’t able to stop himself.

“The prescription.” He held out his hand and waved it. “Or the pills or whatever the guy gave you.”

She gawked at him, her jaw hanging wide. She shook her head and reached into her handbag and produced the slip of paper. She handed it to him. “It’s for a new form of the pill. It’s actually a patch,” she said quietly, still flushed in the face. She pulled out a small box and let him see what she meant. “I put one of those patches on the first day of my cycle, which should be in a day or two, and switch it every week. Then I don’t wear it at all for a week. The doctor, a woman, by the way, said it works just as well as the pill, but I only have to think about it once a week.”

He studied the box and swallowed. He’d misjudged her badly. She was trying to move forward and improve their relationship, not break it up, not cheat on him. He was stupid. So stupid he couldn’t help but ask, “Who were you confessing your love to on your cell phone?”

“Here.” She reached into her purse, pulled out her phone, and threw it at him. “Hit the damn redial and see who picks up.” She snatched the prescription and sample box from his hands and stormed from the room, lugging her bags in her arms.

He stared at the phone, wondering if he should ignore it. But he didn’t. He figured out the menu and saw that only one call had even registered on the phone. He hit the redial as she instructed and waited as the phone rang.

On the fourth ring, just as he was about to hang up, a woman answered.

“This is Caleb Kirkpatrick,” he said right away. “I’m Laura Marshall’s boss. I was just wondering why she was calling you.”

“Laura Marshall? Who the hell is…? Oh!” The woman started laughing. “You mean Sabrina?” The woman laughed even harder.

“Yeah, Sabrina.” It was obviously someone from Laura’s past, just not the man he had expected to answer. “Why did she call this number?”

“As I recall, the main reason was to tell me she was falling in love with you, I guess. Yeah, she said your name was Caleb.” She laughed again. “I’m her sister, by the way.”

Her sister. She called to tell her sister she was in love with him. And he had thought…. Damn, he was stupid.