with Macy just about every day. He’d meet her for lunch at the inn and they’d go over her plans and ideas for decorating. The furniture they’d purchased on their venture to Dallas had been picked up and had filled the rooms nicely. Sometimes, when the mood struck, Carter would coax her into an upstairs bedroom to make love. And the mood struck often. He smiled thinking of those stolen few afternoon moments.
During the past week, they’d made love so many times that he’d lost count. Macy’s giving body and sweet smiles had stamped each one of his memories. Their daytime encounters excited him, but during the night they’d continually found out new things about each other.
He was smitten with Macy, finding her like an addiction, a drug he couldn’t seem to kick. Ever since that night when she’d come to his bedroom and they’d agreed not to talk about his father, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. He wondered when that would change and when the blazing heat would simmer between them. No one could sustain a raging fire forever.
Macy’s life was in Hollywood. It’s all she’d ever known. Her dreams were there, whether she wanted to admit that or not. He’d rescued her and given her temporary sanctuary from the glitz and glamour, but he knew she would eventually return.
But for now, she was his.
“Excuse me, Carter?”
He shook those thoughts loose, wondering where his concentration had gone. The annual inventory numbers were in, and he had worked from sunup into the late afternoon today, going over the books with his accountant. He’d postponed a trip to the Dallas office, insisting that his accountant drive out to the ranch instead. He wouldn’t fool himself into thinking it was for any other reason than he wanted to be close to Macy for the time she remained on the ranch.
“Carter, did you hear what I just said?” Jacob Curtis snapped his briefcase shut and rose from his seat at the desk.
“Yeah…uh, I did. You’ll be in touch to clarify those few duplicate payments on the books.”
The hotshot accountant with roots near Wild River had known Carter for a long time and now eyed him carefully. “You’re a little distracted today, Carter. Is everything all right?”
“Better than all right,” Carter assured him, rising from his seat to shake his hand. “Thanks, Jake. I appreciate you driving out to the ranch today.”
“It’s what you pay me for. But, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you had a better offer than coming into the city for business.”
Carter twisted his mouth into a wry smile. “Maybe. You’ve known me a lot of years.”
Jake gave him a gentle slap on the back. “Whoever
Carter didn’t even try to deny it. “I plan to. C’mon. I’ll walk you outside.”
After the accountant took off, Carter climbed into the Jeep and headed toward the inn. The drive over took only minutes, and when he arrived he was disappointed to see that Macy wasn’t alone. Bill Fargo sat with her on the steps of the gazebo. They were shaded by ancient oaks whose branches swayed with the late-afternoon breeze.
Their snack break was a daily occurrence and something Macy enjoyed. “Hey, you two,” he said, stepping out of the Jeep and approaching. The gazebo was an eyesore, but he’d pretty much given up on the idea of tearing it down. “What did Mara make for you today?”
Macy slid over on the step, giving him room to sit right next to her, and that gesture made him silly with happiness. He took off his hat before sitting.
“Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and fresh-squeezed lemonade. Can you believe it?”
“Sounds like a celebration,” he said, glancing at her then at Fargo.
“It’s nothing special,” Bill said with a wave of his hand.
“It
Carter had hoped for some alone time with Macy tonight, but he couldn’t refuse the older man a celebration. He’d become a good friend to Macy and to some of the hands on the ranch. “Sure thing.”
“It’s not necessary,” Bill said, his face flushing red. “I don’t like a big fuss.”
“No fuss at all,” Macy replied. “I thought I’d make homemade pasta with all the fixings.”
“You cook?” Carter asked.
Macy spoke with confidence. “I have been known to sling together more than a sandwich, you know.”
“I didn’t know,” Carter said.
“Pasta’s one of my favorites,” Bill said, “but I’ve got a shift tonight.”
Macy gave Carter a beckoning glance, and he picked up on her long look. “You’ve got the night off. Consider it a birthday gift,” Carter said, because he liked the guy and because he had to see what homemade pasta with all the fixins tasted like when cooked by a Hollywood starlet.
“The lady can cook.” Carter smiled at her, handing her his empty plate.
“It was delicious,” Bill said and Macy beamed from the compliments, taking Bill’s plate from his hands, too.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” She set the plates in the sink and turned to the men as she returned to the range top. “There’s a lot more. I can fix you both another plate.”
She stirred the simmering sauce, proud of herself and what she’d accomplished. Granted, she was rusty in the kitchen, and it had taken her three hours to prepare the meal, but from the satisfied looks and the second helpings the men had requested, she knew her Pasta ala Macy was a big hit.
Bill rubbed his stomach. “I’ll get a paunch if I eat another bite. I’ve already had enough for a small army.”
Carter shook his head, too. “I need to swim fifty laps to work off what I just ate.”
Macy shut off the burner, covered the pot and took a seat with the men. They shared a glass of wine and toasted Bill’s birthday. She enjoyed the rest of the evening and the steady flow of light conversation.
Carter wasn’t kidding about swimming laps. Shortly after Bill took his leave, Carter tried to coax her into the pool with him, but Macy insisted on cleaning up the kitchen. She didn’t want Mara walking into a mess the following morning. When Carter offered to help, she gave him a playful shove and told him not to sap all his energy in the pool.
She had plans for him that involved his stamina.
That comment earned her an earth-shattering kiss that left her completely breathless. “Be ready for me in an hour,” Carter rasped. “I’ve been dying to get you alone all day.”
Macy was a clean-as-you-go kind of girl, so it didn’t take her long to get the kitchen back in shape. Afterward, she went to her room and took a long, refreshing shower, washing the heat of the day and the slight smattering of spaghetti sauce stains off her body. Fully refreshed and dressed in a pale violet negligee that Carter had given her last night, she took a brush to her hair. Carter had said the nightgown’s color was the perfect match to her eyes, and as she looked at herself in the mirror, she had to agree.
Macy was in a good mood. So good that she picked up the manila envelope that had been collecting dust on the dresser. She weighed it in her hands. It wasn’t really that thick. Maybe the envelope contained only a few copies of the settlements she’d signed. She didn’t think they were that important because her attorney hadn’t called her about them.
Confident that nothing could possibly mar her contentment, Macy sat down on the bed, crisscrossed her legs and opened the envelope flap. She pulled the papers out, scanning over them briefly. She was right. It was nothing but copies her efficient lawyer wanted her to have in her possession. She closed her eyes and sighed.
But her relief was short-lived. Something hit her leg and her eyes snapped open. A small sealed envelope slipped out of the larger envelope on her lap. “What’s this?”
Stuck on the front of the letter was a large chartreuse Post-it note.
