Midnight Thunder

“Thank you.” Cade took the paper, opened it to check the signature and refolded it. “You have my cell number. If he gives you any grief about this after he sobers up, let me know.”

“I doubt he will. I’ll wager that by tomorrow he’ll have rewritten history. He’ll tell everyone he gave you the deal of a lifetime because he’s such a great guy and he felt sorry for you.”

“He can make up any story he wants as long as he leaves me and this horse alone.”

“I think he will, but if I get any hint that he’s on the warpath, I’ll give you a holler.”

“Thanks, Douglas.” He shook the foreman’s hand. “Don’t forget. We’re going to have that beer someday soon.”

“I’m counting on it.”

Climbing into the truck, Cade glanced around at the place he’d called home for eighteen months. It hadn’t really been home, of course. Thunder Mountain was the only place that fit that description. Thornwood had been a lousy boss, but Douglas had made up for that. So it was with mixed feelings that Cade put the truck in gear and pulled away from the Circle T.

He’d made it to the main road by the time Ringo decided to show himself. The gray tabby crawled from the space behind the passenger seat and settled himself on the worn upholstery. Immediately he began to purr.

Cade sighed. He should probably turn around and take Ringo back to the Circle T. “Look, I’m heading over to a ranch that may have a territorial barn cat for all I know. You might not be welcome there. Then what?”

Ringo blinked at him and purred louder.

Cade’s chest tightened. He’d never had a pet of his own. Dogs and cats had been a constant presence at Thunder Mountain Ranch, but they’d been loved and cared for by all the boys. Cade remembered each one fondly, but he’d never felt the deep connection that he’d formed with Ringo. Apparently Ringo returned the sentiment, because here he was ready to follow Cade wherever the road led.

“Okay, cat. We’ll figure it out.”

As if he understood that the matter was settled, Ringo curled up on the seat and closed his eyes.

That kind of trust was rare in this world. Cade hadn’t experienced it often. He could count on one hand the people who trusted him like that—Herb, Rosie, Damon, Finn, Douglas. Not Lexi.

If Ringo was offering him that level of trust, he’d be a fool not to take it and be grateful. He’d also be very careful not to betray it. He knew what abandonment felt like, and he wouldn’t wish that on any creature.

Lexi might think he’d abandoned her, but he’d been very careful not to make promises he couldn’t keep. That’s what he told himself whenever guilty memories of her anger and her tears plagued him. She’d had expectations he couldn’t meet. According to Lexi, some things were just understood. Not in his world. He was a guy who spelled everything out, and he’d never, ever said he’d marry her.

The Bar Z was only a forty-five-minute drive from the Circle T. About halfway there, Cade’s cell phone rang. He pulled it off its holder on the dash, expecting a call from his buddy or maybe from Douglas.

Instead he stared in disbelief at the name on the screen. Lexi Simmons. Damned spooky, as if she’d tuned in to his thoughts and picked up the phone.

But he didn’t believe in mental telepathy, and he knew she wouldn’t call because she’d magically tapped into his brain waves. He had a bad feeling that he wouldn’t like what he was about to hear. Heart racing, he answered while looking for a place to pull over.

“Cade?” She sounded the same, and her musical voice hurt his heart in ways it hadn’t hurt in years. “Can you talk?”

“In a minute.” He sounded out of breath and hated that. But he was having trouble breathing. Lexi. Dear God. “I’m driving and hauling a horse behind me. Let me get off the road.”

“Okay. I’ll wait.”

He set the phone back in its holder and eased to the shoulder so he wouldn’t jostle Hematite. Then he grabbed the phone again. “I’m here. What’s up?”

“It’s Rosie. She... Herb took her to Sheridan Memorial.”

He felt dizzy. “Why? What happened?”

“We won’t know until they do some tests, so we shouldn’t jump to conclusions, but—”

“Damn it, Lexi! What’s wrong with her?”

“She might... She might have had a heart attack.”

“No. Oh, no.” Panic gripped him. “She can’t. She’s too young. She can’t have a heart attack. She—”

“Maybe it’s not that. But Herb’s scared. He asked me to come and take care of things here.”

“Did he ask you to call me?”

“No. I’m doing that on my own. I thought you should know.”

“Damn right I should know! I’m a little north of Colorado Springs right now. I’ll get there as soon as I can.”

“Can you do that? Where were you going before I called?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m changing my plans.”

“But you’re hauling a horse.”

“And the ranch has a barn.”

“True.” She hesitated. “So you’re alone?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

He couldn’t help smiling. He knew that tone. She hadn’t liked his answer. “I have a cat.”

“Oh!”

“Yeah, he came along for the ride. Are there any barn cats at the ranch?”

“Not right now.”

“Dogs?”

“No, no dogs, either.”

“That’s just as well, then. Did you call Damon and Finn?”

“I don’t have their numbers.”

So she only had his. She’d kept it in her phone for five years. He shouldn’t read too much into that, but he already was. “I’ll call them. And if you hear anything more about Mom, call me. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Good. That’s good.” She hung up.

He wondered how she’d meant that and if she’d be glad to see him. The thought of seeing her made him nervous, but now that he had no choice in the matter, he discovered that he wanted to. His mental picture was five years old, so she’d probably look different.

Her hazel eyes would be the same, but guaranteed her hair would have changed. Women tended to do that, and she’d complained about her natural color. He liked the warm brown, but she might have dyed it or cut it.

When he’d talked to his foster mother on Christmas Eve, she’d said Lexi had broken up with her latest boyfriend. And now Rosie was in the hospital. How could he be thinking of Lexi and their screwed-up relationship when the mother of his heart was lying in a hospital bed?

First he called his buddy at the Bar Z to say he wouldn’t be arriving, after all. Then he used the conference-call function on his phone to contact Damon and Finn. He didn’t want to waste time repeating the news.

Eventually he got them both on the line. “Listen, I don’t have time to talk, but Lexi called from the ranch and Mom’s in the hospital with a possible heart attack. I’m driving up there now. I want both of you to get there as soon as you can arrange it.”

“Absolutely,” Damon said. “I’ll text you once I have a plane ticket.”

“Me, too.” Finn sounded scared. “Is she gonna be okay?”

“Yes.” Cade’s jaw firmed. “She has to be.”

2

LEXI DISCONNECTED THE PHONE, put on her denim jacket and walked straight out to the barn to prepare a stall for Cade’s horse. Forking straw onto the floor and hay into the feed trough was the kind of physical labor she needed. Even so, she couldn’t seem to stop shaking.

He’d sounded the same...but different. Older and maybe a little tired. She wondered where he’d been going with that horse at ten o’clock at night. And his cat.

Everything about the situation suggested that he’d been on the move, leaving one place to start afresh. Whatever his plans had been, he’d changed them immediately when he’d heard about Rosie, and that was gratifying. And endearing.

Knowing he was willing to drop everything to rush up here when the Padgetts needed him erased some of the resentment she’d felt over the years. He hadn’t come back to visit them in so long. Damon and Finn had been back a few times, but they didn’t have an ex-girlfriend they were trying to avoid. She’d heard mention of a reunion for all three of them, but that hadn’t happened.

She’d lost track of how many boys had been fostered at this ranch, but she guessed about two dozen, all told. The max at any one time had been eleven. In the last years of the program she’d given free riding lessons to any who’d wanted them. Since Rosie and Herb’s retirement, several of the other guys had paid visits to the ranch, and she’d driven out to say hello and catch up on their lives.

But the three men who called themselves the Thunder Mountain Brotherhood were the ones Rosie and Herb cherished the most. Lexi heard it in their voices whenever the Padgetts talked about them. She could understand the extra love they gave to those three. Cade, Damon and Finn had lived at the ranch the longest, so they were the ones Lexi remembered most vividly, too. Especially the frustratingly stubborn and sexy Cade Gallagher.

He’d been the first kid Rosie had taken in, the one who’d started it all. Rosie had worked with Lexi’s mom at the Department of Family Services in Sheridan, and when Rosie had decided to create a foster program at the ranch, Lexi’s parents had volunteered to paint bedrooms and set up bunks.

Eventually the program had outgrown the main house, so Lexi’s folks had helped build three log cabins and a washhouse for the older kids. Lexi had tagged along, and she’d become like a daughter to the Padgetts.

She’d just turned thirteen at the start of the program, about the same age as the boys. She’d considered them awkward and unappealing, not worth her time, until one day soon after she’d turned sixteen.

The image of seventeen-year-old Cade coming out of the barn on a hot summer day, his shirt hanging open and his hat shoved back, still had the power to stir her. He’d been laughing about some prank Damon had pulled, and the flash of his white teeth in his tanned face had been the most beautiful thing Lexi had ever seen.

From that day forward, she’d nursed a massive crush, but she’d pretended the same indifference she’d always shown him. He’d had girls hanging all over him at school, and she hadn’t relished joining that crowd of groupies. She’d expected him to ask one of his giggling admirers to the prom.

Then, to her complete shock, he’d asked her. He’d even seemed nervous about it, as if expecting to be rejected. Heart pounding, she’d said yes, and in that instant, everything had changed. They’d become inseparable. High school had given way to community college, and exploratory touching had given way to hot, sweaty nights in the back of his pickup.

She’d assumed love, great sex and easy companionship would result in a proposal. She’d assumed wrong. Her lack of a ring had become a running joke among her friends, and she’d finally confronted him about their future.

They’d only had one big fight, but it had been a doozy. He’d learned that she expected marriage, and she’d learned he had no such ideas. He’d left town, and she’d cried into her pillow every night. Eventually her friends had staged an intervention and had set her up with somebody’s cousin.

That had gone well enough that she’d started dating again. Although she was currently unattached, she’d had two serious boyfriends since Cade. She’d told herself that she’d moved on.

But if just hearing his voice on the phone had turned her into a quivering mess, she’d been kidding herself. When he’d said he wasn’t alone, she’d felt sick to her stomach at the thought of him bringing a woman back here. Discovering he was traveling with a cat instead had made her giddy with relief. She wasn’t over Cade Gallagher, not by a long shot.

After putting away the pitchfork, she returned to the house and used her phone to look up the driving distance from Colorado Springs to Sheridan. Seven hours, give or take. That meant he’d show up before dawn. She had more than six hours to wait, and she should spend part of those sleeping. But that might be easier said than done.

She wandered through the house that she knew just as well as the one she’d grown up in. This rambling place with its five bedrooms, big kitchen with a rec room attached, comfy living room and wide front porch felt like home, too. Her little duplex in Sheridan was fine for now, but she dreamed of owning something like this eventually.

Maybe she’d play a little pool to wind down. The old table in the middle of the rec room had doubled as a dining table after the number of boys had topped out at eleven. A piece of thick plywood had been laid on top and folding chairs placed around it. In those days Rosie had hired a woman to help her cook, but the boys had been expected to clean up after themselves.

The balls were racked and the pool cues lined up. Maybe she wouldn’t play, after all. It would only remind her of Cade, his green gaze intense as he focused on sending the eight ball into the pocket. Damon sometimes beat him, but nobody else stood a chance.

Turning out the overhead light, she walked back into the living room. She sat on the cushy sofa in front of the unlit fireplace and pulled off her boots. How empty the house felt without Herb and Rosie. They were supposed to be enjoying their well-deserved retirement, not sitting in the hospital worrying about whether Rosie had a serious health problem.

It wasn’t fair, but getting to know the foster boys who’d stayed here had taught Lexi that life wasn’t fair. Most of their stories were sad and quite often had left scars. She’d seen Cade’s physical scars, but she hadn’t given enough thought to his mental ones when she’d demanded a commitment.

An afghan Rosie had crocheted lay across the back of the sofa. Lexi pulled it over herself and snuggled down on one of the soft throw pillows. Whether or not Cade had changed in five years, she certainly had.

Back then she’d thought marriage to Cade was all she wanted in the world. Instead her career as a riding instructor had expanded beyond her wildest hopes. She still taught locally, but her reputation had spread and she’d been asked to give clinics all over the state.

If her business continued to grow, she could expect to have requests from other parts of the country. Marriage was the furthest thing from her mind these days. That was something to hold on to as she dealt with her feelings about Cade.

Although he could still throw her for a loop, she wasn’t the needy woman he’d left. Yes, he’d been sex personified five years ago, but he could have changed, too. And with any luck, he’d grown fat.

Smiling at the thought of a pudgy Cade Gallagher, she drifted off to sleep. Of course she dreamed about being naked in his arms. They were making wild love that caused the headboard to bang against the wall. Odd, because she’d never shared a bed with him, just the back of his pickup.

He called her name, and she... Hold on a minute. That wasn’t a headboard banging against the wall. That was someone knocking on the front door. Cade.

“Lexi?” More knocking. “You in there?”

“Yeah!” She threw off the afghan and scrambled to her feet. “Coming!” Then she thought of her dream and giggled. The grandfather clock chimed four thirty. He’d made damned good time considering he’d been pulling a horse trailer.

Finger-combing her hair, she padded in her sock feet over to the door. Adrenaline pumped through her as she unlocked it. Please let him be fat. Her prayer went unanswered. Cade stood in the glow from the porch light looking lean and muscled. The stubble on his chin added to the image of a virile man in his prime.

Dark lashes framed the moss-green eyes she’d seen so often in her dreams. Concern shone there, and her heart lurched. He was still one hot cowboy, maybe even hotter than he’d been at twenty-three. Her body responded with embarrassing eagerness. She clenched the doorknob.

“Any more word?” He sounded exhausted.

“Uh, no.” She cleared the huskiness from her throat. “Sorry.”

He sighed. “Didn’t think so. You said you’d call.” He held her gaze as if looking for something in her expression.

If he hoped to find longing, it was probably there. Once upon a time, they’d found comfort in each other’s arms. “You got here fast.”

“Yeah.” He took a step closer.

She held her breath. Would he pull her into his arms for a warm hug? Bad idea. A hug could easily become something more. Would he kiss her? Would she kiss him back?

With a low curse, he backed up again. “I should...get to the hospital.”

“Right.” Good. He was restraining himself. Better for both of them. “Just unhitch the trailer and go. I can take care of your horse.”

He gave her a crooked grin. “I’m not so sure about that. How’s your rendition of ‘Red River Valley’?”

“Excuse me?” His grin sent her pulse racing again. No other man’s smile had that effect on her.

“Never mind. Let’s start with the cat. His name is Ringo.”

“For the drummer?”

“No, for the outlaw from the Old West. He’s a stowaway, so I don’t have anything for him. No food, no litter box, nothing.”

“I can rig up a temporary litter box. And I’ll bet Rosie has cans of tuna in the pantry. She still makes that casserole with the potato chips.”

“I loved that casserole. Haven’t had it in five years.”

“I’m sure she’ll make it for you.” Then reality hit her again. “I mean, after she comes home and...and feels better.”

Cade’s expression grew fierce. “She’ll be home. And she’ll feel better.”

“Of course she will.” She shared the underlying panic that made him glare at her that way. “They’ll figure out the problem, and she’ll be good as new.”

“I’ll get Ringo.” And the brawny cowboy left the porch to fetch his cat.

Lexi found that sweet, even more touching than if he’d arrived with a dog. Guys were supposed to love dogs, but it took a secure man to bond with a cat. Obviously she was still hooked on Cade. All he had to do was show up looking adorably rumpled with a cat in tow and she was ready to hurl herself into his arms. She’d have to be careful.

He came back cradling a gray tabby. “He’s used to staying in the barn, but I’m afraid if I leave him out there and take off, he’ll run away. He mostly wants to be wherever I am, so he might come looking for me.”

Lexi wasn’t surprised. Cade had always been a magnet for animals—and people. She was only one of many who’d longed to be close to this warmhearted but complicated man. As she stepped back from the open door to let Cade walk in, Ringo eyed her as if suspecting she had plans to separate him from the person he adored.

She had enough experience with cats to know that releasing Ringo into a large house where he could find all sorts of hidey-holes was a bad idea. “Let me open a can of tuna, and then we’ll take him into the guest bath so he’ll be contained in one spot. The tuna might distract him enough for you to slip out of here without too much fuss.”

“Good idea.”

“I’ll be right back.” She started toward the kitchen.

“You look great, by the way.”

She glanced over her shoulder to find him watching her with warmth in his green eyes. “Thanks. You, too.” Her heart beat faster as she hurried into the kitchen. She knew that look far too well. It had gotten her into a lot of trouble in the past. She didn’t need that kind of trouble now.

Rosie’s pantry was neatly organized, which made the tuna easy to find. As Lexi carried it over to the electric can opener sitting on the counter, she heard Cade murmuring to the cat. The soft rumble of his voice stirred more hot memories, damn it. She shoved the tuna under the can opener’s blade so the sharp buzz of the motor could drown him out. She’d seriously underestimated his ability to arouse her just by being Cade.

Then his murmurs turned to a surprised “Hey!” A second later Ringo wound his furry body through her legs, his plaintive meow announcing that he’d smelled the tuna.

“Sorry about that.” Cade appeared in the kitchen. “I didn’t anticipate his leap for freedom. He’s probably really hungry.”

“How about you?”

“I’m fine. I’ll get something after I see Mom.”

“Okay.” Lexi tamped down the urge to offer a sandwich for the road. She didn’t need to leap into her former role of nurturing girlfriend. He was a grown man who’d managed to take care of himself without her help for the past five years.

Instead she opened a cupboard, took out a shallow bowl and dumped the tuna into it. “I’ll bet if I carry this into the bathroom, he’ll follow me. You might as well go unload your horse and save some time.”

“Hang on—let me see if Mom has carrots.” He opened the refrigerator door and rummaged in the vegetable bin with the ease of someone who’d done it thousands of times. “Perfect. I’m outta here.” He edged the door closed with his hip and backed out of the kitchen while keeping his attention on the cat. Ringo stayed right by Lexi’s feet and continued his frantic meowing.

Once Lexi heard the front door shut, she walked down the hallway and into the guest bath with Ringo in hot pursuit. She set the bowl on the tile, and he buried his nose in it. Quietly she backed out and closed the bathroom door. Later she’d find something to use as a litter box.

After putting on her boots and jacket, she stepped outside in time to see a large black horse backing slowly down the trailer ramp. Cade had a gentle grip on the lead rope. And he was singing.

He had a decent voice, one of the few things about him she’d forgotten over the years. She remembered it now as she listened to his rendition of “Red River Valley.” The kids had sung it around the campfire at Thunder Mountain. Back then she’d joined the others in making fun of the sentimental words, but tonight they made her heart ache.

Cade completed the maneuver and paused at the bottom of the ramp to reward the horse with a piece of carrot. Apparently a sound track helped the animal behave. Her career had brought her in contact with a riding instructor who encouraged her students to hum or sing when they were nervous. Lexi had adopted the technique for calming uneasy riders, but she hadn’t considered using it for the horses. Now she would.

She waited until Cade finished his song before she left the porch and walked slowly over to him. The horse’s coat gleamed in the dusk-to-dawn spotlights that illuminated the circular drive. “He’s a beauty, Cade.”

“I had to buy him so I could get him away from my former boss. If he’d stayed there, he would have ended up dead sooner or later.”

Lexi shuddered. “Then I’m glad you bought him. What’s his name?” She approached with care.

“Hematite. He was abused as a colt, dismissed as a discipline problem by the time he was two and sold cheap to my boss less than a month ago. Thornwood expected me to straighten him out.”

“Looks as if you’re making progress. He unloaded well.”

“And I’m damned glad he did. There were no guarantees.”

“It’s dumb to make guarantees where horses are concerned.” Lexi surveyed Hematite. “But as of now, he seems docile enough. Want me to take it from here? I know you’re eager to get to the hospital.”

“I am, but I think it would be best if I lead him into the barn. Just let me know where to put him.”

“Follow me.” She wasn’t about to push it. Cade knew his horse, and she didn’t relish the thought of dealing with an unpredictable animal tonight. Swinging open the double barn doors, she turned on the lights along the aisle between the rows of stalls. “Second one on the right. I laid down fresh straw and put a flake of hay in the feeder. Water’s turned on, too.” She walked ahead of him and opened the stall door.

“Thanks. This is great.” He led Hematite into the stall, unhooked the lead rope and rubbed the horse’s neck. “You’re safe now, buddy. I’ll be back to check on you in a few hours.”

Hematite bumped his nose against Cade’s arm. Then he walked over to the hay rack and began to munch.

Cade let out a breath as he left the stall and latched it behind him. While he coiled the lead rope, he gazed at the horse. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think he understood what I just told him. I’ve never seen him so relaxed.”