Double the Trouble (Texas Trouble 3) (23 page)

With a groan,
Karlie
pulled over to the shoulder and shut off the engine, then laid her head on the steering wheel, and rolled down her window.
  Memories of the last time she'd been pulled over flashed through her mind, and she felt hot tears track down her cheeks.  She wouldn't be hog-tying whoever was pulling her over this time.  She'd learned her lesson about
doing that, and about
good-looking lawmen with bad attitudes.  She was done with them.
..done with men.

Lifting her head, she picked up her purse off the seat and pulled out her wallet, then extracted her license and reached to the glove box for her insurance and registration.  She sat back up and held them out the window without looking.  She didn't need to see who the copbot was that was going to give her another ticket she couldn't afford.
 

When a wet tongue licked her cheek, she turned and caught a kiss from Sarge right on her mouth.  She wiped it off with her forearm then pulled him into the car, and put him on the passenger seat. 
When she turned back around, she was half pulled through the window and got a kiss of an entirely different kind...this one heated her blood and pulled a moan from her lips, before she was released and fell back in her seat.

"You forgot your dog...and you forgot to say goodbye to me," Gabe said his eyes glittering angrily.
  He jerked her license out of her hand and then told her, "And you were fucking doing ninety-five."

Her eyes traveled over his naked chest down over his
tight
white boxers to his bare feet and she couldn't help but laugh at him.  "New uniform, Sheriff?  I have to say, I approve."

Gabe looked down at himself and his face flushed
,
as if he just realized he hadn't put on clothes before he left the cabin.  That made her laugh harder and she said, "I think I need to make a citizen's arrest for indecent exposure.  Maybe they'll let us share a cell," she hooted.

He leaned inside the car again and kissed her hungrily, then pulled back and said, "Come back to the cabin with me, Karlie...I'm sorry I was such an asshole."

Emotion clogged her throat and she shook her head, "I can't Gabe...I'm done with trying to fix men. I need to fix me now."

"But you said you love me, sugar...we can work this out, because I love you too, Karlie.  I'm willing to work on it if you are, but you're running out on me again."

"I
do
love you, and
tried to stay
...but you pushed me away, said you didn't need my help
.  Maybe
you're right and this is
something you need to work out on your own
.
  Until you can make peace with the guilt eating you, you're going to be miserable
,
"
she put her hand to his cheek and told him, "The world is not on your shoulders, Gabe...you're not responsible for everything that happens.  Once you accept that, give me a call and we'll try again, okay?"

Gabe turned his head and kissed her palm.  With sadness in his eyes, he sucked in a deep breath then shook his head
then
pushed up on the windowsill to stand.  "I love you, sugar...remember that," he told her softly then turned and walked back to his cruiser.

Tears slid down her cheeks, then down her throat, and between her breasts, as she watched him
get into the cruiser and
turn off his flashers,
before he
put
it
in gear and turn
ed
back toward
Bowie
.
 

Telling Gabe that had been the hardest thing she'd ever done in her life, but one of the most freeing.  Karlie had finally figured out how to say 'no' to a fixer-upper
, as much as she wanted to say 'yes'
.
..so why did she feel so shitty about the decision?
 

CHAPTER NINE

Three days after she'd left Gabe's cabin, Karlie was sitting at the table with Cassie, Luke and Carl Bellamy eating a delicious dinner that Imelda had left for them.  She thought something might be up with Carl, because he was so quiet tonight.  The grizzled
,
but friendly
,
old man was usually talking up a storm about anything and everything.

Cassie evidently noticed too, because a frown pinched between her blond brows before she asked him, "You feeling okay today, daddy?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Cassie Bee...just got some bad news today."

"Oh yeah? What kind of bad news?" Cassie asked him setting her fork down on her plate, giving him her full attention.

Karlie watched his blue eyes fill with emotion, as he told her,
"Bud's leaving for
Wyoming
for good...retiring.  He told me today."
 

She knew that Bud had been Carl's best friend and ranch manager for over thirty years. 
Him
leaving had to be a tough blow for the old man.  It was probably time for
Carl
to retire too, but Karlie thought he'd probably
always
have his fingers in things, even though Cassie and Luke were basically running the ranch.

Cassie shoved back from the table and went around to hug Carl, "I'm sorry, daddy...I know you're gonna miss him, we all will.  You knew it was coming though."

"Yeah, but didn't think it would be so soon," Carl told her
and dropped his head
.

"You know it's time, daddy...
l
et's not make it harder on Bud to leave though...how bout
we throw
a big retirement party for him?  A barbecue
next weekend or something
.  We can invite the whole town, and make it a big send off."

Carl nodded then gave her a wobbly smile. "That sounds just fine, Cassie Bee...I think he'd like that."
  Karlie saw tears in both of their eyes, but acceptance too. 

She could use a party herself, she'd been in the dumps, since she'd gotten back here, and needed something to break her out of the funk.  Missing Gabe was her problem, she knew, but there wasn't a damned thing she could do about it, without going back on her promise to herself.
 

Gabe
hadn't been by here to see her, and she didn't expect him to come by.  The way they'd left things between them hadn't really left that as an option for him.  Thinking back on what she'd said to him, she probably could have left a little room open for them to still see each other, while he worked
on his issues, b
ut she hadn't, and she really didn't know how to fix th
at.

"You have any ideas on a replacement for him?" Luke looked at Carl and asked.

"Not really, but I'll ask around.  It's gonna be damned hard to replace him.  Bud is the Double B, he ran the place and just let me hang out with him."

Cassie laughed and squeezed his shoulders, "That's not true daddy, you've worked damned hard right by his side.  Maybe we should make it a double retir
e
ment party, for the Double B?" she suggested with a little fear in her eyes.  "
Then y
ou could go visit that woman you've been talking to in
Amarillo
more."

Carl sucked in a breath and his face flushed,
then
he
narrowed his eyes and said, "What the hell would you know about that little girl?"

Giving him a smug smile she said, "More than you think daddy
...
I'm not as blind as you think I am."

"Never said you were blind...I just thought I was being discreet."

"She called for you once
,
and I answered the phone...sounds like a very nice lady."

"Damn, I told Sheila not to call here..."
Carl
said grumpily.

"You deserve to be happy, daddy.  It doesn't bother me...I'd like to meet her sometime," Cassie told him in a choked voice, her eyes shining happily.
  "So what do you say...you wanna
hang up your spurs next to Bud's next weekend?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about it anyway...you and Luke have your feet steady now running it, and I'm just in the way
,
"
he said dropping his gaze to the table.

Cassie sucked in a sharp breath then told him angrily, "You are
not
in the way--you
are
the Double B and that will
never
change, daddy.  Even if you're retired, we
'll
still
need your advice and help. Anytime you feel like getting involved, you just step up."

He chuckled
.
"Wondered if that would get a rise out of you.
..you know I'll always have an opinion about things
...
but
retiring will give me more time to spoil my grandbaby,
"
he told her then patted her round belly.

"Damned straight, and you can deal with the consequences of that spoiling too, old man...
" s
he said sternly then laughed.

Karlie stood up and said, "Thanks for a wonderful dinner, everyone.  Why don't ya'll go in the living room and talk about the barbeque and I'll do the dishes tonight."  They needed some time alone to talk, she knew. 
Although the Bellamy-Matthews family had
welcomed Karlie back with open arms, sometimes she felt like she was in the way.  As much as she liked them, she wasn't part of the Bellamy clan...she was an employee. 

Never having
been around
such
a tight-knit family, it made
Karlie
nervous sometimes.
  Uncle Jerry had been good to her and Katie, but he'd been busy trying to make money to support them, and they didn't just 'hang out' with him a lot, except when he was giving them roping and riding lessons.
 
Other than those times, it was just her and her sister trying to figure out the world they'd been tossed into. 

Thank god for her twin, if it had just been her, she didn't know how she would have coped.  Karlie's thoughts went to little Dixie Tucker, and she hoped her sister was trying to help her
, because she didn't have anyone to help her
figure things out
.

Gathering up all the plates, Karlie took them to the sink and scraped them in the trash, then rinsed them before putting them in the dishwasher.  Imelda had cleaned up the pots and things, so that was all she had to do, other than wipe down the counters and table.
  Maybe she'd go ride JoJo when she got done, she still had an hour or so until sunset, and she hadn't ridden him in a while
.  S
he'd been so busy with Cassie's horses, she hadn't had a chance, and before that she'd been in
Amarillo
.  JoJo was probably bored from being in the stall and small turnout paddock, and she was depressed and missing Gabe.  T
hey both could probably use a little fun.

Karlie laid the dishrag over the sink to dry and then headed out the back door to the barn.  The air had cooled off some from the intense heat
of the day
, and the calmness of the night was setting in when she walked inside the barn. 
All she heard was chomping and soft snorts and neighs from the occupants of the barn.

The lights had already come on and she was thankful, because it was pretty dim in here in the evening otherwise.  Luke had put them on a timer
, and it was working well
.  It looked like Bud or Cassie had already fed the
horses
tonight, because they were all munching on fresh hay as she passed the stalls.  Titan stuck his nose over the stall for a scratch and she stopped to give him a little love. 

He was such a pretty boy, she had a hard time
avoiding standing there all day just gawking at him.  Three of the mares were pregnant by him now, and Karlie knew those were going to be some fine colts.
  She'd checked his lineage and saw that he had some really good cutting stock in his bloodlines too.  Maybe she could train one of them for that, if Cassie wanted
her to
that is.
  Karlie hugged his neck and laid her cheek there,
because
she was so damned lonely she didn't know what to do with herself.  She loved her job, but something was missing, something vital that she needed.  Gabe...she missed him to the depths of her being.

"Lucky horse..."
a familiar
sexy voice said behind her as if she'd summoned him up from her thoughts.

She looked up at Titan and said, "Did you hear that Titan?  I could have sworn I heard my second favorite man in the world talk
ing
to me.  It's probably just my imagination though, because I miss him so much."
  The big buckskin rubbed his muzzle against her shoulder and snorted.

"Kinda sounds like your snort, huh?" Gabe said behind her with a laugh.

She turned around to face him with mock-anger and put her hands on her hips.  "You need to work on your flirting skills, sugar.  That's not a nice thing to say to a lady," she told him then laughed.

Gabe closed the space between them,
and
pulled her into his arms for a heated kiss.
  When he pulled back from her
and said close to her ear
, "How's that for skills, baby?"
all she could do was nod, because she was too busy trying to find her breath and restore
the
blood flow to her brain. 
When her brain kicked in, so did her intense desire for this man.

Tiptoeing, Karlie
p
laced
tiny kisses at the corner of his lips, before sealing her mouth with his for an encore.
 

With a groan, Gabe
moved
his hands
to her butt and pulled her tighter to him, and she could feel his steely hardness pressed against her core. 
It felt so good
Karlie couldn't help but move her hips against him
, then w
aves of pleasure sh
ot through her, and she
m
oaned
.

He pulled back from her and his breath
ing
was as erratic as her own, and a flush rode high on his cheekbones.  With eyes glittering with desire, he shoved her back into the stall
door
and took her mouth again, pressing into her,
while
teasing her tongue into an erotic dance.  His hands moved to her breasts and he rolled her nipples with his fingers, abraded them with his thumbs. 

Shoving her fingers into his hair, she followed him step for step, then she felt an orgasm barreling down on her and turned her head to the side panting.  "Oh, god, Gabe...I'm going to co--" she whispered, and he lifted her up a little so he hit the right spot, and he kissed and licked her neck
, while he moved against her
. 

Karlie moaned as electric current
sizzled
along her nerve endings and her body trembled against him
, she bit his shoulder to keep from screaming as the orgasm slammed into her like a freight train
.  When her body
and breathing finally
settled, she put her forehead against his shoulder and a let go a shuddering sigh. "No, you certainly don't need lessons there, darlin'...wo
w."

He shoved her against the stall and she felt his erection still hard against her thigh, as he groaned near her ear, "I've missed you so much, baby...I need you so much."
 
With weak knees and her body still buzzing,
Karlie grabbed his hand and led him to the stairs by the hayloft.  Tilting her chin she motioned him up there
then
started up the stairs ahead of him. 
When she got to the top, she started unbuttoning her shirt, and by the time his head came over the top of the loft, she was half naked.