Caitlyn’s Prize Page 11

  “Yes,” Cait replied. And added a private thank God for not having to say the words.

  THEY WALKED Gran into the house and up to her bedroom. But Cait wasn’t ready to close her eyes. Her engine was still running. While Maddie and Sky helped Gran, she went down to the parlor and to her father’s wine collection. She pulled out a merlot and uncorked it. Breathing the fragrant scent, she closed her eyes. Oh, yeah. This was what she needed. Tipping up the bottle, she walked to the kitchen. She chugalugged right out the door and all the way to the barn.

  Within minutes she had a bridle on Jaz. From the refrigerator in the barn, she grabbed two carrots and stuffed them into her cleavage. Then she hitched up her red skirt and slid on bareback, the bottle in one hand. One high heel fell to the ground and she left it there.

  She had something she wanted to do, and she rode like hell through the night.

  JUDD SAT IN HIS STUDY with a bottle of bourbon and a shot glass in front of him. He should have never gone down to the party. But God, she was beautiful. That red dress was something out of his fantasies. Every man in the room, married or single, had wanted her. He was no exception.

  The dancing part was great. Conversing always brought trouble, though. They’d never connected on that level, and it was important to her. Why did women always want to talk and analyze everything to death?

  He was an action man and he didn’t like any of that intense inner emotional crap. That’s why he was sitting here drinking bourbon—alone. Tyra or Jenna would be happy to keep him company, and he wouldn’t have to do a lot of conversing, either. Still, he’d left the party soon after Caitlyn. She pretty much put the lid on the night.

  For fourteen years they’d managed to stay apart, and in a matter of a few days they were smack-dab in the middle of each other’s lives. He wanted her to bend. He wanted her to beg.

  And he was going to grow into a lonely old man waiting for that to happen. He threw the shot glass at the wall and it exploded in a burst of amber liquid.

  As he watched bourbon trail down the paneling, his cell phone buzzed. It was 2:00 a.m. Who was calling this late? He picked the device up and saw it was Harland. Something had to be wrong.

  He clicked on. “Yes.”

  “Sorry to bother you so late, but we have a situation at the stables.”

  He stood and ran a hand through his already tousled hair. “What is it?”

  “You need to see for yourself.”

  “I’ll be right there.” Judd still wore his tux trousers and his white shirt hung loose over them. He didn’t bother to change.

  Harland met him at the stables. “I heard a noise so I thought I’d check on the new horse. I’ll show you what I found.”

  Judd followed him to Whiskey Red’s stall. They’d put blinders on the horse and she’d settled down. The blinders were now off and Caitlyn sat on the floor of the enclosure, her back against a wall, sipping from a bottle of wine. A carrot poked out of her cleavage. She still wore the red dress and the skirt was bunched between her bare thighs. She was barefooted. Disheveled black hair cascaded around her shoulders.

  A familiar longing tightened his lower abdomen.

  “Hey, Judd.” She raised the bottle.

  “I’ll take care of this,” he told Harland.

  “I tried to pull her out of there, but the horse gets riled, so I left her alone.”

  “Thanks.” Judd leaned on the stall door. “What are you doing, Caitlyn?”

  “Visiting the horse you took from me.”

  “Looks to me like you’re drinking.”

  “Yep. That, too.” She tipped up the bottle.

  “Get out of the stall.”

  She squinted at him. “Nope. Don’t think so.”

  “You’re trespassing.”

  “Yep. I am.”

  She was sloshed and he didn’t want to hurt her by dragging her out. The thought hit him like the bourbon deep in his belly—warm, fuzzy and jolting. Everything he’d done recently had been meant to hurt her. Maybe that hadn’t been his intention at all. Maybe all he wanted was her attention.

  A sobering thought.

  “Come out of the stall, Caitlyn. It’s late.”

  She lifted the bottle. “Make me.”

  He slid the latch of the stall door open and stepped in. Red immediately threw up her head, fidgeting in an agitated manner.

  Judd fully intended to make Caitlyn leave the stall, but once he saw the pain in her eyes, that plan went south. Instead he sank down beside her in the dirt and straw.

  She handed him the bottle. “Want a drink?”

  “No, thank you.”

  She took a swig and then peered into the bottle with one eye. “Damn, it’s all gone. Someone drank my wine.”

  “You did.”

  “No, no, no.” She shook her head. “You did. You took my royalties, my horse and—”

  “I bought your royalties and your horse. They weren’t cheap, either.”

  “Why? Why did you have to do that?” Her blurred blue eyes tried to focus on him.

  “You’re drunk,” was all he could say.

  “Yep.” She jammed the bottle into the hay. “And it never felt so damn good.” She plucked the carrot from her cleavage. “Here, Red, have a carrot before I have to leave Mr. High-and-Mighty’s stables.”

  The horse munched on the offering and Cait rested her head against the wall. For a moment he thought she was out, but she wasn’t. She was close, though.

  The overhead light cast shadows across them. The scents of manure, horse, sweet feed and hay radiated through the barn. A horse neighed and another stomped in its stall. All normal scents and sounds, but nothing was normal about this night.

  “You didn’t have to run away tonight.”

  “Yes, I did.” Cait hiccuped.

  “Why?”

  “Oh, please.” She staggered to her feet. “Your goal in life now is to hurt me. Well—” she clutched at the stall wall for support “—you’ve succeeded, but you’ll never get High Five. Ooh.” She grabbed her head. “The stall is moving.”

  He rose to his feet, not bothering to dust off his clothes. “Why do you keep fighting this? It’s just a matter of time.”

  “Don’t…Don’t—” she jabbed a finger at him “—say that….” She swayed like a felled tree and he caught her before she crumpled to the ground. He swung her over his shoulder and left the stall, latching the gate behind him.

  “Put me down,” she yelled, beating on his back.

  He kept walking toward his Ford Lariat truck, parked at the garages.

  “The shoe had no magic. Poof. It didn’t work.”

  He didn’t know what the hell she was talking about. Yanking open the door, he deposited her on the passenger side. He waited to see if she’d try to get out, but she didn’t. Her head dropped onto the leather headrest, her tousled black hair a striking sight against the red dress.

  “If you’d been a prince, the shoe would have been magical,” she muttered. “But you’re no prince.” She turned toward him, her eyes managing to hold his. “You’re the devil.”

  He closed the door and a chill shot up his spine. Walking around to the driver’s side, he said to hell with her. He didn’t care what she thought of him. His conscience, something he hadn’t been in contact with for some time, chose that moment to awaken and mock him.

  From the moment Dane had offered him the royalties, Judd had felt a burst of energy. He would now have his revenge. He would make her hurt the way she had hurt him. But ironically, hurting Caitlyn was harder than he’d ever expected.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  JUDD TURNED THE KEY and the engine hummed to life.

  “My horse. I can ride my horse,” Caitlyn muttered as the truck moved onto the road.

  “Where is your horse?”

  “I tied her to a tree by the barn…I think.”

  “I’ll return her tomorrow.”

  “I don’t need…your help.” Her voice was growing weak and sleepy.
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  He didn’t say anything else, just drove toward High Five. No other vehicles were on the road at this time of the morning, so he made the trip in record time. He pulled to a stop in front of the Belle house. The front porch light was shining brightly and a light was on at the barn.

  He touched her arm. “You’re home.”

  She sat up straight and grabbed her head. “Geez, Louise.” She opened one eye to peer through the darkness. “How did I get here?”

  “Guess.” His gaze held hers. “You were too drunk to ride a horse.”

  “Listen…” She winced.

  “Get out of the truck. You’re home.”

  Caitlyn stared at him though the darkness. His tousled hair falling across his forehead and his dark growth of beard evoked so many memories. Good memories of when she’d thought he loved her.

  Without thinking clearly, she slid a hand around his neck, caressed his roughened skin and pulled his face toward hers. She touched his lips gently, almost reverently. It took a split second for remembered emotions to explode.

  He took over the kiss, cupping her face with both hands, and time floated away, as did the years, as they found comfort in a kiss that bound them together. Tongues and lips knew the drill. Memories like this weren’t forgotten, just buried beneath the pain.

  He tasted of bourbon, and the heady sensation was making her drunk all over again. Or was it just Judd?

  He was the first to draw back. “Why did you do that?” His voice vibrated as smoothly as the engine of his fancy truck.

  She licked her lips. “To see if my collection of memories is gold plated or the real thing?”

  “And?”

  Cait would never know what her response would have been because Cooper tapped on the window, and when she glanced up she saw Maddie and Sky hurrying down the sidewalk.

  Cait smiled slyly. “You’ll never know.” She opened the door and almost fell out.

  “Everything okay?” Coop asked as he caught her.

  “Yep,” she replied, staggering. Coop steadied her. “I’m a little drunk, though.”

  “Cait,” Sky called. “Where have you been?”

  She glanced at Judd and wasn’t sure how to answer that. It had been a bizarre evening. What had possessed her to kiss him? She blamed it on the liquor, and closed the door. She didn’t want to see Judd’s face any longer. It made her weak.

  The truck pulled out of the driveway and Sky and Maddie rushed to her. “Where have you been?” Sky demanded.

  “Are you okay?” Coop asked, and Sky shot him a this-is-none-of-your-business look.

  “Yes, Coop, thanks.” Cait smiled at him to ease any hard feelings. “I got a little sidetracked tonight.”

  “I saw Jaz was gone and I was worried.”

  “I took a midnight ride to visit Red.”

  “You didn’t.” Sky was aghast.

  “Yes, I did, and I got caught.” She picked up her filthy skirt. “Now I’m going inside to crash. Night, Coop.”

  “Night.” He strolled back to the bunkhouse.

  Maddie and Sky linked their arms through hers and they marched together toward the house, through the door and up the stairs.

  “Your dress is ruined,” Maddie said, inspecting Cait in the light.

  “That’s what happens when you wallow in the stables with a bottle of wine.”

  “Sometimes you’re like a loose cannon.” Sky opened the bathroom door. “And you stink.”

  “Shit happens, I suppose,” she replied, stepping inside and closing the door on her sisters.

  She turned on the bathtub taps, stripped out of the ridiculous dress and sank into the warm water. It felt heavenly, and wonderful to wash away the grime. Washing away the memories was something else entirely. Not a task that could be done with mere soap and water.

  Why had she kissed him? Why? Her hand went to her lips and she still felt Judd’s soft caress, so different from the strong and powerful man that he was. Liquored up, she couldn’t resist or deny the pull she always experienced when she was around him. That was her only explanation. And it didn’t change a thing in her life.

  He was still the enemy.

  She quickly got out of the tub, dried off and slipped on a big T-shirt. Opening the door, she found her sisters standing there with their old sleeping bags.

  “We’re camping on the veranda tonight, or what’s left of the night,” Maddie told her. “It might be a long time before we see each other again.”

  “I’m game.” Cait picked up her bag and they trudged out to the porch and got comfy.

  “Gran asleep?” she asked, rolling out her bedding between Maddie’s and Sky’s.

  “Yes. The dancing wore her out.” Maddie wiggled on top of her bag. It was too warm to slide inside.

  There was silence for a moment as they absorbed the warmth and peace of the night.

  “What were you and Judd talking about?” Sky asked. “We were looking for you and saw the truck drive up. What took you so long to get out?”

  “I was making a fool of myself.” She folded her hands behind her head. “Yep. I’m getting good at that.”

  Sky rose up on an elbow. “What happened?”

  “Well, remember I was highly intoxicated….”

  “Anyone who would visit a horse in the dead of night has to be intoxicated or insane. Should we take a vote?”

  “Shut up, Sky,” she said, and moved uneasily.

  “So what happened?” Sky pressed.

  She didn’t answer for a moment. “I just wanted to make sure Red was comfortable. She’s very temperamental. I took her a treat, a couple of carrots, and I took a treat for myself—a bottle of wine.”

  “After all the champagne we consumed!”

  “Yes, Betty Crocker, it wasn’t a brilliant idea, and my head is pounding. Let’s go to sleep.”

  “Not until you tell us what you and Judd were talking about.” Sky wouldn’t give up.

  “Geez, you’re relentless. It was the same old, same old.” She moved uneasily again as the truth weaved its way around her heart. “I sat there looking at him through liquored up eyes, but all I could see and feel was the way I used to love him.” She watched the moon hanging in the sky like a neon sign, and was sure the fictional man in the moon had a come-on-in sign stapled on his chest. It was that warm. That inviting. Breaking down her barriers. “So I kissed him.”

  Maddie sat up straight. “You did what?”

  “Well, well.” Sky rose also, sitting cross-legged. “Now what does that say?”

  “It says I was drunk out of my mind.”

  “It says you still love him,” Maddie countered.

  Cait sat up and wrapped her arms around her bare legs. “Maybe. Maybe I’ll always love him, but that doesn’t change a thing. Judd hasn’t altered. He’s still like his father, needing to have power over a woman because he feels she’s less than he is. I can’t live with a man who thinks that way. I can’t love him, either.”

  “So, what? You’re going to sneak over at night and have sex with him, and during the day you’re still enemies?”

  “Sky, I didn’t have sex with him.”

  “I’m sticking to my original suggestions,” she stated. “As a woman, you have the power to make him beg. Use everything in your arsenal, and High Five and Southern Cross will be yours. Think of it as a contest and the big prize is Judd.”

  “Judd is not a prize and I don’t have an arsenal.”

  “Well, honey, you should have seen yourself tonight. Judd couldn’t take his eyes off you, and when you danced there was not a smidgen of daylight between you.”

  “Sky…”

  “Can we please talk about something else?” Maddie asked. “We only have a few more hours together. Let’s don’t spend it bickering.”

  “Okay,” Cait said with a smug expression. “Let’s talk about Kira. When are you going to tell Gran?”

  “When I see fit.”

  “Gran has a right to see her great-granddaughter.”
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  “I feel awful lying to her, but I have little choice. I’ve been trying to get in touch with Todd so he can get his parents off my back, but so far no response. Until that happens I have to stay in hiding.”

  Sky stretched out on her sleeping bag and Cait and Maddie followed suit. They were quiet as crickets serenaded. A horse neighed and a dog barked in response to a coyote howling in the distance. The sounds of High Five. The ranch that Cait loved, but how long would she be allowed to stay here?

  As if reading her thoughts, Sky asked, “Do you think you can show a profit in six months?”

  “I’m going to give it my best shot.”

  “But you have no help,” Maddie pointed out.

  “That’s why I work fourteen-hour days.”

  “The simple solution is just to sell,” Sky said. “Gran can still live here, and I’m sure if you ask nicely, Judd will let you stay, too.”

  “I don’t do asking nicely to Judd Calhoun.” The mere thought made her stomach roll.

  “Leave Cait alone,” Maddie stated. “We agreed to six months, and she even sold Red, so stop browbeating her.”

  There was silence for a moment and then Sky said, “Okay. I’m in for the long haul.”

  They gave each other the customary high five and snuggled onto their bags, settling down for the rest of the night. But Cait stayed awake long after she heard her sisters’ wispy snoring. Tomorrow she would be alone again with Gran, and fighting to save High Five.

  Somewhere between lucidness and sleep she wondered if she was fighting a losing battle. In the end, she could lose it all. But she still had to take that risk.

  JUDD WALKED INTO THE BARN to check on Whiskey Red. She raised her head with a nervous neigh.

  “It’s okay, girl.” He tried to reassure her, and she seemed to settle down. He saw the wine bottle and opened the stall door to retrieve it. The thoroughbred watched him, but stayed calm. Along the wall, Judd glimpsed a flash of red. He picked up a red high heel. He hadn’t noticed it before. It must have been behind Caitlyn.

  On his way out he flipped off the lights and tossed the wine bottle into the trash. He glanced at the shoe and started to trash it, too, then stopped.