Tempted by Trouble

chapter TWENTY-TWO


By the time she’d come back to the house, she’d overstayed her luck. She limped up the steps and dusted off. The front door was unlocked. She wished her clothes weren’t so dirty. She removed her boots. Couldn’t do much with the mud covering the seat of her pants. Almost completely done with the vaccinations and the last cow knocked her down. Almost kicked her in the head but she’d scrambled and rolled and now was covered in cow piss, mud, and dirt. She smelled so hideous.

“Hello?” She called out as she inched into the foyer. There was only one lamp on down the hall somewhere.

The house had the empty feel when voices carried thinly around as dust swirled in rays of the dim light, and the echoes collided with her heartbeat. All day she’d missed Matt and thought for sure he’d be here after not being at the barn or office. No one had seen him. His Jeep was parked down at the outbuilding lot. His horse was gone.

He hadn’t joined them and she hadn’t expected him. Not after telling Brandon to keep her project a secret. She planned to tell Matt tonight. She saw a white sheet of paper.

She didn’t understand the message about the Hilton Hotel. Her chest thudded, booming. She set the paper down. He couldn’t be there. Not unless he rode his horse.

She limped down the hallway toward the laundry room. She moved past the kitchen entry, but a bright flashing red light caught her eye. She flipped on the light switch in the kitchen. The flashing light turned out to be her phone, lying on the counter. She picked it up.

This wasn’t where she’d left it. She recalled speaking with Jeff and placing the phone on Matt’s desk. The only way this phone could make it here was if Matt had brought it here. She stared down at the blinking light. The tiny hairs all over her body flared. She pressed the button.

“Oh my God,” she gasped. The same message was on her phone. She clicked to Calls. Christ, the message had been from Jeff.

Her mind broke apart. A cold blanketed her body. She dropped the phone without thinking and wrapped her arms around her middle. If Matt had seen the message what would he have done? What would she have done? She didn’t have an answer.

She rubbed her hands over her face. Think. Damn it. Think. Thank God, she had Rory and Brandon in her corner. And Cory. Maybe she could call Matt’s sister and have Cory find him? No, that would open a can of nosy worms when right now, she needed to refrain from stirring the pot further. Get cleaned up first, then hope he makes it back, and have a laugh. Before she broke down and cried. This was worse than almost getting trampled by a cow. Biting back tears, she slowly made her way to the bathroom.

It was impossible to enjoy the warm water even though her whole body ached. Lathering soap all over, she rinsed quickly. Pulling a towel off the bar, she flinched from pain tearing down her shoulders. She wrapped a towel around herself and walked back out to the living room. Still, total silence and no Matt. Her phone didn’t flash any new messages. She glanced out the patio doors. Darkness fell beyond the outdoor lights. It was getting late and she had no desire to eat alone.

The only other place she could go was his parents’ house. But she couldn’t go running over there at this time of night. She’d have to wait until morning to make an appearance at their home during breakfast to find out what his brothers knew. If anyone would have access to him, they would because of cattle emergencies. Well hell, this was an emergency.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she keyed in a text message to him. Please, she prayed.

Nothing. The phone warmed in her hand even though chill bumps had spread over her shoulders and arms from standing in the damp tower. As she changed, she kept going over in her mind what to say and how to act. That’s all she needed to do was to tell his mother and father her old boyfriend had come to town. Oh yeah, she could definitely see the welcoming expressions exit their face. She would be persona non grata, besides branded as the absolute biggest jackass of all times. From hero to zero.

She had no choice but to wait. Biting her lip, she sent Matt another text, hoping he’d let her know he’d be along any second but the longer she sat by herself the more convinced she became that he wasn’t coming back. Her body was dead tired but her mind wound around and around. Her legs hurt down to the bone making the thought of getting off her feet too good to resist any longer. Lying back against the pillows, didn’t provide much comfort. The deadening silence of the room made the waiting worse. She texted Matt again; afterwards with no word from him, she had to fight giving into desperation.

What Matt and she had experienced would be classified as intense in her world. Something like the glue that held people together. Their coming together filled and steadied interstitial gaps in her being. Together, their bodies produced music originating from the friction, the movement of flesh, clothing, mouths and hands; all of that satisfied her soul’s longing.

She replayed the melodies they created over and over until she was in a state of climaxing and gave in and stroked herself until she came, with the bed sheets twisted in her fist, her hips flexing, and spasms of her orgasm unfurling. The pleasure was short-lived, and brittle. She wanted the humid heat of Matt’s mouth and hands on her. She wanted the raw hurricane power he produced in her body, going beyond waves to gale force winds that ripped away her ability to self-regulate and forced her to give into him.

Finally, her body demanded rest. Sleep overcame her fears. Her thoughts faded, she stopped clinging, and entered the world where Matt waited, unfettered to fear and she dove into his dreamy arms.

• • •

The difference between Miami and Annona was the morning light and the songs the birds sang. She came into awareness with the realization she was still alone. Rolling over, she rubbed her hands across the sheet where only a night ago, Matt had asked things of her she’d never shared. He’d unleashed in her so many emotions that threatened to crash down upon her if she wasn’t careful. The bed was not the same, and the room wasn’t, either. And waking up this morning, neither was she. This wasn’t just about sex or some fling. Her heart was filled with him. Every nook and cranny he’d taken possession of and now, she couldn’t just sit and wait.

Disappointment wrapped around her. She stretched her arm from under the pillow she’d been hugging, unable to enjoy the remnants of a dream still floating inside her. She reached across to the empty pillow and gingerly touched the space where her incubus version of Matt had laid last night. Pushing up from the mattress, she inhaled, hardly able to stretch and breathe without her muscles burning. She had to find out if he’d come back. Without regard to how she looked, she tiptoed down to the living room. The master bedroom was at the far end of the house. From this side of the house, it was impossible to know if Matt here or if he was up. She crept toward the kitchen, less silent for each footfall was the only noise she perceived beyond the rapid beat in her chest, and both echoed in the hallway and her head.

The house was laid out with rooms dotting on either side of the corridor until she came to the foyer, a dividing point, and crossed into a large open living room. She walked toward the light pouring out from the kitchen that promised maybe he’d be lying on the sofa. Asleep. Not a sound. She opened the front door. Only the SUV she’d borrowed was in the driveway. Shutting the door, she blew out a breath. The house was emptier than before with the truth that he’d not come back.

Suck-it up. Well, she’d just have to find him. He couldn’t stay away forever and his words kept ringing in her ears. Suck-it up. That’s what strong people did and she wasn’t about to let him slip through her fingers. After yesterday, her body was stiff but if she had to, she’d get right back in the saddle if it meant finding Matt and straightening out this terrible mess. Her other boots where out of the question after being saturated in all sorts of smelly mud and cow dung.

Back in the bedroom, she collected her clothing and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling on the laces of her combat boots, the ones she wore when she negotiated the Everglades and cattle conditions on land that went from parched to wetland to drained sugar crops, moving from speedboat to airboat and ATV. Once, she survived a swamp buggy driven by a toothless man who sang and swore, after she had been hired to deliver a calf. That ordeal ranked at the bottom of her vet career. She prayed that Matt McLemore and the Evermore Ranch wouldn’t replace that calving experience.

After putting her hair into pigtails, she couldn’t just pace inside the bedroom for another round in front of the mirror. The sky was bright blue dotted with white clouds.

Inside, tall crème-colored cabinets hovered over light speckled granite counters decked out with shiny stainless steel appliances peeking through ecru veneers.

She inhaled, contemplating her next move over to a mug that was next to the coffee pot. Cream and sugar were laid out, too. She poured the rich black brew, focusing on not spilling any or dropping the mug now that her hand shook. Her plane was departing in a few hours. She had no option but to ask one of his brothers for help and quickly.

• • •

She knocked on the door.

“Come in Carolina,” Wade said.

“Thank you. Is Rory or Brandon here? I need to ask a quick question.”

Wade bunched up his face. “Yes. Why don’t you come in. We’re just sitting down to breakfast.”

“Is that Carolina?” Sarah came out. “Dear come in and join us.”

“Good morning. I’m not here to eat. Just need to ask Brandon or Rory something.”

“Matt with you?” Sarah gazed beyond Carolina, out the glass panel on the side of the door.

Carolina shook her head, afraid to speak his name. Brandon appeared with his napkin around his neck. She craned her neck around Sarah, as if Matt’s brother were a lifeline and she a drowning victim. She tried to smile, consciously pulling the corners of her mouth upward.

“Hey, you recovered from yesterday?”

Sarah and Wade glanced at each other.

“Yes. I need to ask you something about Matt. I had a thought and wanted your opinion.” She turned to Sarah and Wade. “A gift I wanted to get Matt.”

Brandon’s brows knitted together. “Shoot. What are you thinking?”

“Oh, I left the ad in the car. Can I steal you for just a sec? I’m sorry to be so rude while you’re eating.”

“Matt back yet? What are you guys doing today? Romantic lunch?”

“Something like that.” Outside on the steps she had to suck it up. Tears stung the backs of her eyes. She wanted to break down and pour out her heart. It was past seven o’clock, closer to eight and no Matt. The ranch was coming alive and so was her anxiety that maybe, just maybe she’d not find him in time. “I need your help. Matt hasn’t come home. I think … no, I know he’s upset.”

Brandon’s eyes widened making her chest tighten. “He’ll come back. Matt blows off steam. Always has, but he returns. Give him some space.” He squeezed her arm.

“No. I don’t think he’s planning on coming back until I leave. After, I mean.” She inhaled. “I did something really stupid.”

“What could you have possibly done?”

She inhaled. “I called a pathologist. Dr. Welch. He was guy I dated. A long time ago. He arrived in Annona the day before yesterday.”

“Did you see him?”

“Only with Matt. But now Matt’s missing. Since yesterday. He never came back home. Something’s wrong, wouldn’t you say? He won’t answer my messages. I need your help. Can you find him?”

“Good Lord,” he pulled on the back of his neck his eyes scanning the horizon. “There’s a place he goes when he’s tore up. I’ll go see.”