Could she help it if one of the cheeks of his ass just happened to be exposed? Maybe she should tell him that it was a very nice ass cheek. Yeah, like she wanted to feed his ego any more than she already had. The sooner they got back to the cabin, the better. She wanted to pack and then she was out of there.
They topped a small rise and she was looking down on the cabin. Finally. The ride had seemed endless, with Cal in the mood he was in.
Her gaze swept the area. Everything looked the same as when she’d left. She could see the rooster in the barnyard with his two faithful chickens, and Bessie Two stood in her pen, the calf with her.
She would kind of miss it.
They stopped their horses in front of the cabin and she slid off hers. At least her legs weren’t shaking as much.
“I think you’ll understand that I won’t be dismounting.” Cal’s words were clipped.
“I didn’t expect you to.” She handed him the reins, but then guilt attacked her again. “I’m sorry I hooked you.”
He met her gaze, his expression grim. “Like I said, I’ll live.” He nodded, then started toward the ranch.
She sighed as she watched him ride off, ass cheek shining. It was still a really nice ass cheek.
She turned and started up the steps, but a noise at the side of the cabin drew her attention. A woman stepped from the shadows. Nikki grabbed the rail. The ghost! Oh, God, she was too young to die.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” the woman spoke softly. She held up a bag. “I needed more mint.”
Mint? Okay, not the ghost. She took a deep breath, then laughed. “I thought you were the…uh.” If she mentioned the ghost the young woman would probably think she was crazy.
“I’m not the ghost if that’s what you were about to say.”
“I don’t really believe in them.”
“You should since there’s one haunting the cabin.”
And Nikki had been afraid this woman would think
The young woman stepped closer. “I’m the new massage therapist.” She frowned. “You’re Nikki, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
The woman’s frown deepened. “Odd, Brian told me you were really ugly and you were some kind of…of shark reporter. No wait, he said they called you a barracuda.” She laughed, her gaze scanning Nikki. “You’re certainly not ugly and I can’t see you going for the throat. I think his brother, Cal, must’ve been pulling the wool over his eyes.”
Nikki’s heart skipped a few beats. Cal knew she was a reporter? But how, who, when?
But she knew the answer. Cal knew who she was when he’d shown her the cabin on her first day at the ranch. She’d suspected a change in him but brushed away her imaginings.
Damn! The outhouse, the milking and gathering eggs, the cleaning, riding, making love-he’d known all along who she was. Fury swept over her as fast as a wildfire across the prairie.
He’d used her. Damn!
It didn’t matter that she’d been using Cal, because she’d decided not to write her story. He’d been laughing at her the whole time.
“Do me a favor and don’t mention that you told me what Cal said to his brother. I’d hate for Cal to be embarrassed.”
“Of course. My name is Celeste, by the way. And I guess I’d better hurry back. I have an appointment in an hour.”
“It was nice meeting you,” Nikki said. Very nice.
She marched inside the cabin and straight to the bedroom. She grabbed her cases from under the bed and slapped them down on top of the mattress, fuming.
“It hasn’t meant a thing to him. Making love has just been sex to Cal. He probably hoped I would fall off Taffy and break my neck.” Damn!
She jerked the zipper closed on the case and filled the next one.
Something wet dropped on her hand. Oh, hell, she was crying-over a dumb jock.
“It’s only because he got the best of me,” she said. She didn’t care anything about him. Not now, not since she knew she’d only been a big joke.
She flopped down on the bed, resting her head in her hands. Where was the barracuda who’d come to the ranch? Where was her fierce determination to get the story at all costs?
The barracuda was dead.
She lay back on the bed, closing her eyes. Never once in her life had she felt as broken as she did right now. She sniffed.
Music began to play, soothing her soul. She smiled. It was nice.
Wait, there was no electricity. Maybe someone was walking by. She frowned, opened her eyes. There was a blue mist in the corner. She could almost make out the face of a woman.
Very slowly, she sat up.
The mist grew denser. She slipped her hands through the handles of her suitcases and ran as fast as she could to the door, her cases banging her legs.
Cold washed over her. It clung like a heavy mist, seeping into the very pores of her skin. She body slammed the front door and jumped past the steps.
“Cock! Cock! Cock!” The rooster saw her and wildly flapped his wings as he flew out of a nearby tree and plopped on the ground, then took off toward the barn.
She flung her suitcases into the backseat and jumped inside her car. A cloud of dust like a small tornado whirled behind her as she zoomed away from the cabin. She looked in her rearview mirror and saw a woman at one of the windows.
Okay, she and her mother were going to have a long talk about ghosts.
When Nikki was a safe distance away from the cabin, she pulled to the side of the road and slowed her breathing. Had she really just encountered a ghost? Hell, she would believe just about anything right now.
As soon as she was calmer, she checked her appearance in the mirror. She was a mess. She didn’t want to confront Cal looking like this, and confront him she would. As soon as he’d found out she was a reporter he should’ve thrown her off the property. But no, he’d played cat and mouse with her.
She got out of the car and found a pair of black pants and a red top, then went behind a tree and changed. The clothes hugged her body, showing off her curves. A splash of the finest French perfume money could buy, to get rid of the horse smell, and sexy red heels before she ran her hands through her short hair.
She was ready to face the dragon. Oh, yeah, he was going to regret screwing with her. She’d show him exactly what he’d toyed with.
The barracuda was back and Cal was about to face her wrath!
Chapter 27
Cal made it to his bedroom without being spotted. If a guest had caught him with half his bare ass showing Brian would’ve killed him. He eased into another pair of jeans. His butt was still sore. Nikki had hooked him good.
Nikki.
He shook his head. She’d probably have her bags packed and in her car. He didn’t expect her to hang around long now that she had enough dirt on him to write a story.
What if he hadn’t told her all the lies? Would she have stayed?
Yeah, right. The Barracuda had gone for his throat but ripped his heart out instead. He’d finally admitted it to himself. He liked Nikki more than he’d anticipated. But did she return his feelings?
