The next day the sun streamed through the window. Cole had been insatiable the night before. The anal sex seemed to have triggered something in both of them—a far more dominant strain of fucking from him and a far more submissive responsiveness from her. Her entire nether region was sore but in a deliriously good way.
She looked toward the source of the amazing smell wafting through the air.
“God is there anything that smells better than bacon?” she asked, watching him as he finished cooking what looked like French toast before adding warmed berries and bacon and putting it all on a tray with a French press coffeepot and mugs.
There was an animalistic grace and power in the way Cole moved. She’d noticed it before but now it was almost hypnotic. She made a place for him on the bed as he joined her.
Leaning down, he kissed her deeply before saying, “In answer to your question, there are several things I like the smell of better than bacon. Your pussy and how your skin smells after we have marathon sex would be my top two.”
Kennedy laughed. “You really are a depraved creature.”
“Yes, but I’m your depraved creature and I will never let you go.”
Cole drew her up next to him so she could snuggle as they shared breakfast. For as much as he was probably the toughest man she’d ever known, he was also the one who loved to just hold her, and he gave the best back-rubs of any person she’d ever met. He could almost send her into subspace just with the sound of his voice and his hands. He was highly addictive, and she was glad the past and all the secrets had been laid to rest.
“I want you to take it easy today,” he said in a low, concerned tone.
“I’m fine and I can’t very well tell people, ‘Hey, I’m not going to get much done today because I got my ass fucked for the first time last night.’ Am I correct in assuming that won’t be the only time?”
“You are correct, indeed. Did you want it to be the only time? You seemed to be enjoying it.”
It was almost comical how much he wanted her to have taken pleasure from it. The fact was, she had. He not only gave the best back rubs, but he fucked her in a way no one ever had.
“Do I really need to stroke your ego and tell you it was amazing? As I recall in Naples, you told me you’d only fuck me from behind after I gave you my ass. Be advised, I’m holding you to that.”
He chuckled, a decidedly devious sound. “Don’t worry about that, baby. I plan to fuck you at least two or three times a day. I’ll fuck you every way there is.”
“So does that mean you’d finally let me ride your cock, Cowboy?” she teased.
“Oh, hell no. That would give you all kinds of notions about equality.”
“What do you mean by that? Despite all the things I call you to the contrary, I’ve never known a man who was more about equality between the sexes.”
He nodded. “Yep, except where fucking is concerned. I want you either underneath me or in front of me on your knees. Maybe, just maybe, on your birthday and our anniversary, I’ll put you up on top so I can watch your tits bounce.”
Kennedy rolled her eyes. “Neanderthal.”
He tweaked her nipple and kissed her when she tried to protest. “And don’t you forget it. I need to work with Cade and Cash today moving cattle. Why don’t you take the day and just hang out with Evie and Trey?”
“Is Serena going into the diner?”
“No. I think Clay wants her all to himself. He said something about following his lawyer’s orders about having a close cover alibi at all times.”
Kennedy laughed. “Did Cash really ask that Evie consider marrying him as part of a deal?”
“Nope. Evie’s ranch, River Run, has a prize Japanese Black bull...”
“What the hell does that even mean?”
“In order to produce Wagyu beef, which is highly prized in this country, you have to have Japanese Black cattle. Getting a prize bull is hard to do. Royal is an exceptional specimen. River Run was in the red and had been for a while. A competitor, a jackass named Bruce Adams, owns and runs a rival ranch known as Flying Aces. By the way, Cash hates Bruce and takes fiendish delight in beating him at his own game. Anyway, Adams was able to pressure the bank to refuse to extend the River Run note. They needed funds, and Evie, rightly so, decided to sell River Run Royal, the bull, to raise the capital they needed.
Cash went down to River Run to make the deal after scaring off any of the other buyers. He fell madly in love with Evie and told her he’d pay double for the bull and allow them to breed some of their cattle to him, but only if Evie agreed to marry him. After she got over being pissed about being coerced...”
“Yeah, we women are kind of funny that way.” Kennedy rolled her eyes.
“I know. Go figure. Anyway, once she decided to quit being pissed at him, she had to admit she’d fallen for him too, so now they get their own happily ever after.”
“Your brother is lucky she didn’t sue him for sexual harassment.”
Cole laughed. “I got news for you, Counselor. Cash would most likely have taken his belt to her backside.”
“You and your brothers are just this side of cavemen.”
“Not true, we’re most definitely on the other side. I mean it, Grey. Take it easy today or no cock for you.”
She laughed again and threw a pillow at him as he took the breakfast dishes back to the kitchen.
An hour later, Cole had ridden out with two of his three brothers, as well as Evie, and Kennedy was glad to see Trey on her way down.
“I don’t think we’ll see Serena or Clay today. Baby brother was intent on keeping her in bed,” said Trey with a grin. “Are you okay with all of this?”
“What do you mean?”
“I grew up around the Waverly brothers. Clay was one of my best friends growing up...”
Kennedy couldn’t resist asking the question that had been plaguing her. “Did you and Clay really steal her body and bury her someplace nobody knows?”
“Not nobody. Just the family and a few close friends of Hannah’s know.”
“I suspect that small circle didn’t include Cyrus.”
“You got that right. He really was a bastard.”
“The judge said anybody who ever met him had a motive to kill him.”
“That’s not all that far off.”
“What’s Langley’s beef with Clay?” asked Kennedy.
“I don’t really know for sure. I mean, when I was working for the sheriff’s department, he never seemed overly hard on them. The recent change kind of caught me off guard honestly.”
“Think the sheriff might have had anything to do with it?”
Trey shook her head. “I can’t see him having killed Cyrus, but I’m not convinced he doesn’t know something about it.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Just a gut feeling. Like he didn’t seem all that surprised that Cyrus had been murdered, almost like he was expecting it.”
“Can I get you to look into this deal Cyrus was supposed to have signed?” Kennedy was already slipping into attorney mode.
“I thought you said his death invalidated it.”
“It does. I’m not worried about the ranch, but I just can’t help but wonder if it isn’t connected to the murder. Money and greed are two big reasons to kill.”
“I agree and I’ll go into town and see if I can’t find out something.”
“You’re going to violate the edict to stay on the ranch?” Kennedy teased.
Trey rolled her eyes. “Every single time I think I’ve dragged Cade into the twenty-first century, he goes and gets all caveman on me.”
“Oh, that’s distressing. I was hoping Cole was an anomaly in the family.”
“Nope that primitive alpha male blood flows through all of their veins. Can I ask you something?” Trey fixed her with a serious look.
“Sure.”
“Last night, a couple of things you said made me think you wouldn’t be adverse to staying here.”
“I’m not. I haven’t talked to Cole, but if I could get your and Serena’s help on at least a part-time basis, I might like to walk away from the firm and hang out my shingle here.”
“Cyrus’s murder notwithstanding, not a lot happens here in criminal law,” said Trey with a smile.
“True, but I’ve garnered enough of a reputation that I pick and choose my cases. I wouldn’t have to limit my clients to just the locals. You think you and Serena might consider it?”
“Definitely. I told Cade after that dick move by the sheriff the other night, that I can’t work for him ever again. Their family’s housekeeper who does the cooking should be back in the next week or so. I think we’re going to do a kind of dining hall for our people out here at the ranch. River Run does it that way and Cade loved the idea. I think Serena will probably help Jeanne revamp the kitchen and hire staff to take care of that. Serena says she wants to buy the diner, but I wonder if her heart isn’t more into her romance book covers.”
Kennedy nodded. “She’s very talented. If she’s not sure about the diner, maybe she could supervise the kitchen staff here, do her covers and work for me part time as a paralegal.”
“I think Clay would prefer that.”
“Does everyone live up in the big house?” asked Kennedy still trying to figure out how this family worked.
“Oh, hell no. The boys, I just love it when Doc calls them that, moved Cade and I into the master suite. For right now, Serena and Clay are in the guest suite, but Clay fixed up the original homestead cabin and he and Serena love it. Cash and Evie will be at River Run.”
“What about Cole?”
“He has one of those tiny houses; his is a little under seven hundred square feet and really cool,” said Trey. “I could easily see living there until I had kids. It’s built back into the side of a hill. Very Frank Lloyd Wright.”
Kennedy smiled in response. She couldn’t wait to see his house. “Cool. If you’re going into town, mind if I ride shotgun? There’s some things I’d like to check out at the courthouse.”
“Sounds good. I’m ready to go when you are,” Trey said.
“All I need to do is throw on some boots and put my hair in a ponytail. Do you mind if I wear those cowboy boots you loaned me yesterday? Those suckers were comfortable.”
“No problem. The feed store carries them. If you want, we can stop in.”
“That would be great.”
Kennedy got ready quickly and after leaving a note on the fridges both in the main house and the guesthouse, they grabbed one of the ranch SUVs and headed into town. Kennedy was quickly glad she’d gone with Trey. Having grown up in the area, she was able to point out landmarks and places of interest, including Himeen Mesa in the distance. Kennedy had only seen it in the dark and had no real sense of where it was.
“It’s a lonely, forbidding place, isn’t it?” she said.
Trey smiled. “It depends. I’ve never thought of it that way, but I grew up playing on it.”
“But why would anyone go up there?”
“The views are incredible and it’s kind of a magic place, although there’s a lot of sorrow. It’s the place Hannah died.”
“The boys—you’re right; it’s fun to call them that—are convinced Cyrus murdered her.”
“Practically everybody in town thinks it. Problem is, there wasn’t a way to prove it.”
“What about Doc?” asked Kennedy.
“Him too. He told me recently he’d always known but hinted that any proof he had wouldn’t stand up in court. And the law is only about what you can prove, not what you know.”
“True enough. Doc seems close to the boys.”
“He is. After Hannah was killed, he tried to be there for them. Cyrus sure as hell wasn’t.”
“Is the Doc married?”
“Widower. His wife died a number of years back. Why do you ask?”
“For one thing, he’s living out at Koyama'.”
“Cade and I insisted he come out after his morgue was broken into and some evidence stolen. Between you and me, I wouldn’t mind if he stayed. I don’t like the idea of him living all alone.”
“Why?”
Trey pursed her lips. “I don’t really know. I just keep thinking he shouldn’t be alone.”
“Do you think he’s sick?”
“I don’t know. And that’s what bothers me.”
Trey and Kennedy spent an enjoyable day in town. Both got done what they needed to at the courthouse, then headed for the feed store. The owner’s wife was delighted when Kennedy bought three pairs of the fancier cowboy boots as well as a hat and some Native American jewelry, including a gorgeous intricate, sterling silver squash blossom necklace.
They strolled through the tack section as Trey had been eyeing a pair of braided reins she liked. While she was looking at the selection, trying to convince herself to buy the more practical set rather than the ones she really liked, Kennedy wandered through the used saddle section.
Trey found her sitting in a gorgeous, used ranch saddle with sterling silver conchos.
“Tell me I should buy the plain reins as they are half the price and will work just as well,” Trey said to her.
“Seriously, you think I’ll do that? I’m the gal that just dropped a bundle on a necklace I don’t need simply because it’s beautiful and makes me smile, and if I knew more about western saddles, I’d be thinking about buying this one. I know the ranch has lots of saddles, but I’m fussy about them and this one just seems to fit.”
The owner’s wife found them. “I could make you a good deal on that. Most people around here don’t want anything fancy. The old owner was an outsider but needed the money.”
Trey looked at it. “Leson. Top saddle maker. The price on the tag is fair. If they can do better and you’re sticking around here, you might want to consider it. I agree that it fits you, too. And unlike the necklace, which is gorgeous, the saddle would be practical and comfortable if you decide to cowgirl up when we have to move the herds.”
“I could reduce the price by 20 percent,” said the shopkeeper.
“Sold. You think Clay would let me abscond with one of his Appaloosas?”
“Honestly? He’d be thrilled. And you won’t be disappointed. They aren’t trained in dressage like you ride, but Clay trains from a dressage basis and they are simply amazing to ride. When we get back, let me introduce you to Dandy. He isn’t an Appaloosa, but a gorgeous dapple grey that Clay trained. Cyrus used to ride him and treated him badly. He’s a bit spooky about snakes because of an accident, but I think if someone worked with him and treated him well, he’d be a helluva mount.”
“Sounds like a plan. Maybe I can get Cole to take a ride with me after supper or tomorrow.”
They paid for their purchases. Kennedy insisted on buying the reins for Trey as a thank you for all her help and wouldn’t hear of buying the more practical ones. They tucked all their purchases into the back seat and decided on having lunch at the diner before heading back. It was plain to see that Trey was well liked. Several people were quick to say the sheriff had been out of line and encouraged Trey to run against him.
Sitting in their booth, Kennedy asked, “Do you think you’d consider it?”
“No way. First, I like the idea of working with you on interesting cases. Second, Cade has wanted to do a back country environmentally friendly outdoors experience for people. No hunting, maybe some fly fishing, but really just showing people what this land is about. I think I’d enjoy that. Besides, being sheriff is mostly about paperwork and I hate paperwork.”
Kennedy leaned in, looked around, and said in a hushed voice, “Me too. Its why God invented smart, talented paralegals like Serena.”