Sweet Montana Boxed Set 1-5 Page 6

  “Get yourself dressed,” he said.

  “I’m comfortable the way I am.”

  “You’re wallowing the way you are, Tabby. The biggest smile I’ve seen in you since the accident is when you were eating a cannoli and that doesn’t count. Get dressed.”

  * * *

  Irritation coiled beneath the collar of Tabby’s flannel robe. “You must be hard of hearing because I just said—”

  “I heard you just fine. And you heard me.”

  She sat up as straight as she could. “Are you giving me an order?”

  He stood up from the chair, towering over her as she sat on the sofa. “If it works, yes.”

  “Offering me sponsorship money doesn’t give you the right to order me around. Especially now when the deal—”

  “First of all, no offer beyond a look at you and Tenterhook in action was made.”

  “That turned out real swell, didn’t it?”

  He gave her a wry expression with her choice of words. “Swell? Really?”

  “Give me a break.”

  “You already have one. You don’t need another one.”

  “Ha, ha, ha,” she said with heavy sarcasm.

  “You’ve been sitting on your behind too long.”

  “It’s only been a week.”

  “Ten days.”

  “Who’s counting?”

  “Me. We’re going skating,” he said.

  “Now I know you really are crazy. It’s five degrees outside. Welcome to Montana.”

  “That means the ice is thick and smooth and ready for skating. In fact, I happen to know that the boys have already cleared off a spot on the pond for a game this afternoon.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because they asked me to play. All the snow from the last snowfall has been pushed aside, leaving a nice smooth surface just perfect for a good game.”

  “What am I supposed to do? Skate with one skate?”

  “Exactly. We’ll put a plastic bag and a sock over your cast.”

  “No way. I’ll break my other leg.”

  He took her by both hands. “Tabby, I’m going to be right there. I’ll hold you and you won’t fall. I won’t let you.”

  She liked the feel of his hands on hers and it startled her more than she thought it would. She’d thought a lot about Kasper Dobbs since she’d met him. He was so unlike every man she’d ever met. He was commanding. Infuriating. Exciting. Right now he was a little of all three of those traits.

  He cleared his throat. “Besides, I skated with a halo on my head. That has to be a lot harder that trying to move around on the ice with a cast.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You went skating with a halo? Wasn’t that a bit risky? I mean, even for you?”

  He shrugged. “I was a bull rider.”

  “And look how that turned out for you.”

  “My point exactly. Nothing in this life is without risk. Tabby, you could be perfectly healthy, get in your car and get an accident. It happens every day to good people.”

  Pain pierced her chest. “Don’t I know it.”

  His face registered steep panic. “Oh, Tabby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

  “Boy, you really are a bundle of joy, aren’t you?”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Are you going to leave me alone now?”

  She really didn’t want Kas to leave. In truth, despite the challenging dialogue, his visit was the brightest point of her life since the accident.

  “Just get dressed,” he said. “Please.”

  “And if I don’t?”

  He gave her a wicked grin. “Then I’m going to throw you over my shoulder and carry you down to the pond in your pajamas.”

  Tabby eased herself up from the couch, ignoring the ache in her leg. She wasn’t sure if it was from sitting too long or from the break. But it did feel good to be standing, or in her case, teetering as she tried to balance herself on one leg.

  As if reading her mind, Kas said, “No talking yourself out of it. I got you to your feet, and I’ll get you out the door one way or the other.”

  As she hobbled to the bedroom, she said over her shoulder, “Tyrant.”

  Kas smiled. “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

  * * *

  Kas used the time it took Tabby to dress to call Jesse Knight.

  “Did you get a hold of Sean?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” Jesse said. “We’ll be at the ranch tomorrow.”

  “Good. I’d like to clear this up as quickly as we can.”

  Jesse hesitated. “You know, it may be nothing. Horses become infertile for a lot of reasons.”

  “I know. To be honest, I hope it is. I’d hate to think someone is purposely trying to sabotage the horses and…”

  “People?”

  Kas thought of Levon. “They already have. I know they have. Levon’s death…well, they said it was an accident.”

  “But you don’t believe it.”

  It didn’t take an investigator to sift through the evidence. Jesse hadn’t even had a chance to look at what was adding up for Kas and he was already summing up what didn’t make sense. It would only get worse when he got to Sweet and had a chance to talk to the hands on the ranch and look at all the strange things that had happened in recent weeks since Darren Lacey and Trip began feuding over the failure of Mad Dog and some of the other horses to produce a pregnant mare.

  “If there’s anything to be found with the horses, then Sean will find it. Were there sperm tests done on all the horses? I know that’s the first thing Sean is going to ask.”

  “There were. I saw the reports myself which is why I decided to partner with Trip for breeding. These stallions are fertile.”

  Kas thought back to the conversation he had with Hunter right after Tabby’s accident. Hunter had been genuinely upset over what had happened during the competition. He didn’t seem like a person who’d meant to cause harm. And yet the veterinarian at the rodeo insisted that whoever put the shoe on Tenterhook must have done it wrong for him to throw a shoe that quickly after being shoed. And then there was Levon’s death. He’d been hit by a horseshoe and struck on the side of the head.

  As much as he didn’t want to focus on the superstition of the upside horseshoe in the barn, he couldn’t ignore it in the context of everything else that had happened. Levon had been killed. Both Tenterhook and Tabby had been hurt. It could’ve been a lot worse. Kas couldn’t help but think that’s what someone had intended.

  “Sean said Tenterhook should make a full recovery.”

  “Yes, he said that to me as well. I’m more worried about Tabby.”

  “How’s she doing? Carly and I were in the arena when she hit that wall.” Carly was Jesse’s fiancée and the owner of some prize bulls being ridden on the circuit. “I didn’t see you until I saw you run over to Tabby after her fall. And then you’d gone. I’ve seen a lot of spills over the years. Yours included. But most of the injuries I’ve seen were to the bull riders and bronc riders. Not the barrel racers. I think we were all holding our breath waiting to see Tabby move.”

  “You and me both.” He scrubbed his hand over his head, messing his hair in an attempt to rid himself of the image of Tabby’s lifeless body on the ground. The moments after were a blur. Kas didn’t know how he’d managed to get from the stands to the arena, but he was there by her side. Her eyes fluttered open and only then had he taken a breath.

  “Kasper?”

  “Tomorrow then,” Kas said quickly, realizing he’d drifted into a dark place he didn’t want to go.

  “I’ll give you a call in the morning to let you know around when we’ll be there.”

  “I appreciate it.”

  He disconnected the line just as Tabby appeared in the doorway. He’d heard her coming.

  He glanced at her outfit and the scowl on her face. She was adorable. Even when she was giving him sass and irritated about something, she was beautiful and took his breath away as she stood there ba
lancing herself on one leg.

  “What? Couldn’t find a matching sweater?” he asked.

  She twisted her lips into a wry smile. “Very funny. What am I supposed to do in the snow with this cast?”

  She’d pulled a wool sock over the bottom of the cast to keep her toes warm, but as soon as her foot hit the snow, the sock would get wet and her skin would freeze even if she had a cast boot over the cast.

  He made his way into the kitchen and started searching drawers quickly.

  “You know, you could have just asked me if I have what you’re looking for.”

  He continued to open and close drawers and then frowned and stood up straight. “Everyone has plastic bags. We’ll just stick one over the cast to keep it dry.”

  She hobbled into the kitchen and walked over to a closet, opened the door and grabbed a box of white kitchen garbage bags off the shelf.

  He scratched his chin. “I never would have found them there.”

  “You can organize my kitchen if you want, but you’ll have to leave me a cheat sheet for when you leave. I’m afraid I’m not very domestic.”

  “Never mind about that,” he said, reaching for her to help her into a chair. She lingered next to him, so close that he could feel the heat from her body. She smelled of lavender and something sweet he couldn’t make out. Feeling lightheaded by their close proximity, he turned her around so she was facing him. Their eyes locked for a brief moment. He wanted to touch her. Kiss her. The thought of the two of them holding each other and being lost in a warm embrace was intoxicating.

  He had a feeling there was much more than the sweet goodness of Tabitha Swanson he’d seen on her surface. This woman made him feel wicked and think of things that drove him mad at night when he was alone in his bed.

  She looked up at him and he saw raw emotion. She hid nothing.

  With body suddenly hard with desire and his head filled with a fantasy he couldn’t push away, he cleared his throat and coaxed her to sit in the chair. “Let’s get this on you before we never get out the door.”

  Sweet Montana Sky: Chapter Six

  Tabby was no stranger to the harsh Montana winds in January. Today, as she tried to stand on one foot at the edge of the frozen pond that glistened under the warm sunshine, she was thankful for the distraction of cold rather than the pain in her leg.

  She’d taken over the counter painkillers rather than the script her doctor had prescribed. They didn’t make her sleepy and clumsy and she didn’t need that right now. Especially now that Kas had her out trying to maneuver the snow and ice with a cast wrapped in a white kitchen garbage bag.

  “Where are you taking me? To a summit?”

  “Quit your complaining. This is going to be fun.”

  “Hey, you’re the one who dragged an injured woman out in the snow.”

  He grinned, keeping his eye on the path in front of them as they moved so they wouldn’t step on any ice. “I have a feeling that if those words had come out of my mouth, you’d have punched me.”

  “I would not have!” Tabby knew she would have. Maybe not the punching part. But she would have given him a piece of her mind for treating her like an invalid.

  “Have it your way. Let me help you on this last part. It’s a little slick. I put some sand down but it’s still slippery.”

  Kas led her to a spot next to the pond where there were two benches near the edge of the ice. She eased herself down into one of the benches and looked out around her. Peace filled her as she gazed at the snowy mountains. The trees were still covered with snow from last night’s snowfall. It was cold, but she knew how to dress, having lived in Montana her whole life. The sky above her was an amazing blue that she’d seen so many times in her childhood during every season. But there was something about the blue sky against the backdrop of snowy mountains that made the color more vibrant.

  “Need help?”

  “What?”

  He pointed to the lone skate she’d brought with her. She hadn’t stepped foot inside her skates since high school and she hoped it still fit.

  “Maybe.”

  Kas dropped his duffel bag on the end of the bench and then positioned himself in front of her, crouching down in order to help her with her skate.

  “Your socks are thick,” he said, rubbing the heel of her foot for a few seconds before placing the boot she’d just slipped off her uninjured foot on the bench beside her.

  “That’s usually a good thing.”

  “It is unless you’re foot doesn’t fit.”

  “Are you calling my feet fat?”

  He glanced up at her and grinned something warm and sexy. “I wouldn’t dare.”

  She wondered what he would dare. After that smoky look he’d given her in her kitchen, she’d been sure he was going to kiss her. Just thinking about that moment now made heat rise up her chest and made her cheeks flame.

  Kas didn’t notice, thankfully. He fiddled with her skate, holding her foot and turning it to squeeze it inside. When her foot finally slipped into the skate, he nodded his satisfaction. “It’ll do. I won’t lace it tight, but you’ll have to let me know if it doesn’t feel secure.”

  “I don’t even know why we’re bothering,” she said. “I can just sit here and watch you for a while.”

  “Nope. That wasn’t the agreement.”

  “We had an agreement?”

  “You’re here, therefore skating or the attempt thereof was assumed.”

  With her hand, she motioned to the smooth ice in front of them. “There is no way I’m going to be able to do much of anything out there except crawl on my hands and knees. I’m surprised I was able to make it down that cleared path even with your help.”

  “Giving up already?”

  Her stomach sank. She wasn’t a quitter. At least, she’d never been before now. Even after her parents died in the accident when she was just eighteen, she hadn’t given up. She’d been devastated, and each day she’d gotten up, she’d wondered what her life would be like now that her parents were gone. All the images she’d had in her mind of what her future would be like were gone. Not erased from her imagination, but from her reality.

  But then she’d learned about her father’s gift to her just days before his death. He’d purchased Tenterhook from Levon, who’d purchased him from the Bureau of Land Management the year before. Just days after the funeral, Trip had invited her down to the Lone Creek Ranch to train with Tenterhook, giving her a reason to get out of bed and be productive again.

  At first, all her time was spent getting to know Tenterhook, talking to him and grieving with him. He’d been the only thing to bring a smile to her face for months, and then he’d become her best friend. By the time she started competing with Tenterhook, she didn’t have to force herself out of bed anymore.

  She didn’t know what she’d do if she and Tenterhook couldn’t compete anymore. Or worse, if Tenterhook continued to be lame and needed to be put down.

  “Hey, are you still with me?”

  She glanced down at Kas’s face. He was still crouched down in front of her. Still holding her foot. But the skate had not only been placed on her foot but it was laced up and tied without her paying attention.

  “Yeah, this feels fine.”

  He smiled, but his eyes still held questions. “Good. Let’s give this a go.”

  “Okay. But don’t expect me to do a figure eight.”

  Kas took her hand and she carefully stepped toward the ice. She blew out a quick breath and said, “I have to be out of my mind. Why did I let you talk me into this?”

  “Because you were going to get bed sores sitting on that sofa feeling sorry for yourself if I let you.”

  “I wasn’t feeling sorry for myself.” Her skate hit the edge of the ice and she instinctively grabbed Kas’s arms for support. “I’m healing. Something you seem to forget or you wouldn’t have had this insane notion of me going ice skating. With one skate, no less. Who does this?”

  He laughed and puffs of whit
e mist escaped from his lips. “Me. And since you came anyway, you must have wanted to or else you’d still be in your pajamas on the sofa.”

  “You gave me no choice. Remember? You were going to throw me over your shoulder.”

  “I can still do that, you know, if you don’t behave.”

  She was tempted. But wasn’t sure if she’d remain upright.

  Kas slowly skated backwards and held her arms as she held his. Tabby’s heart hammered in her chest as they left the relative safety of the bench and then the snow bank that she hadn’t realized until now had given her some measure of comfort.

  At first Kas moved slow. “Don’t look down. If you look down, you won’t enjoy how it looks when we get moving.”

  “If I don’t look down at my feet, I’ll fall.”

  “I won’t let you.”

  They were just words. But she loved hearing them.

  Kas began to skate faster. At first, it was just a quick push to help him move as he skated backwards. But when she didn’t protest, he continued and she felt the wind rushing past her until she had to lean forward to keep herself from falling over. She rested her cast up against the side of her skate, and quickly stumbled.

  “Don’t tighten up. Just let your feet move. Don’t hold back,” he said. “I have you. Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise.”

  His words sounded so nice. He spoke them quietly, but there was strength behind those words that matched his muscle. She could feel it beneath her fingers as she gripped his shoulders. And she liked that too. She had the urge to look down at her feet again, but she knew that it would be a mistake even knowing that Kas would catch her.

  It felt as if the landscape moved around her instead of the two of them skating on a pond.

  “Look. We’re doing a figure eight.” Kas smiled down at her. The tip of his nose was red from the cold, but the light in his eyes shown bright and warm. It was different than what he’d been like in her kitchen. But just as potent.

  “Well, just sign me up for the Olympics then,” she teased.