Intimate Secrets Page 4

  “Josie? Are you all right?”

  They both turned at the sound of the voice behind them past the open tack room doorway. Mildred stood in the light, her expression worried. In her arms, she held a sleepy-eyed Ivy.

  “Ivy woke and was frightened,” Mildred said. “We came down to look for you—”

  Clay stepped from the doorway and Josie rushed past him to take Ivy in her arms.

  “Ma-ma,” Ivy said, and snuggled against her.

  Josie heard Clay’s quick intake of breath as he came out of the tack room. She cradled her daughter to her, bracing herself as she turned and let her gaze rise to his.

  He stared at her, then Ivy, his dark eyes wide with shock for the second time tonight. “I knew it,” he whispered. “I damn well knew it.”

  “I understand you’ve already met my daughter Ivy,” Josie said, bracing herself for the inevitable.

  He dragged his gaze from Ivy’s face to her own. His expression darkened, like a storm rolling in.

  “I always wondered why you left Texas in such a hurry,” he said, his words striking her like stones. “I guess I know now. At least one of the reasons. Did Odell know he had a daughter? Or is that just another of your well-kept secrets?”

  Chapter Three

  Josie with a baby! The same little girl he’d seen in town with the elderly baby-sitter he’d mistaken for a grandmother. Hadn’t the toddler reminded him so much of Josie that he hadn’t been able to resist taking a closer look?

  But the little girl hadn’t had Josie’s incredible blue eyes. Now he realized that was because the baby had taken after her father. Odell.

  He should have known. This at least explained part of Josie’s hurried departure from Texas. No wonder she hadn’t told her family.

  He stared at Ivy for a long moment, surprised by the emotions that rushed him. She looked so much like her mother. In fact, she was the spitting image of Josie—except for the eyes.

  This could have been my child.

  The thought came out of left field, blindsiding him.

  Josie hugged Ivy protectively to her, telling herself she shouldn’t have been surprised. She should have known he’d see Odell in her daughter. Should have known he’d question if Odell had known she was pregnant. Still, she felt sick inside. What would he do now?

  Or was that the least of her worries?

  She looked into his angry face, trying hard to understand what it was about her that made him so angry with her. “Odell knew I was pregnant.”

  That seemed to surprise him. “You told him?”

  “He guessed,” she admitted.

  Clay frowned. “That must have been what the two of you were arguing about that day by your barn. I’m sure Odell wanted nothing to do with a baby.”

  She looked down at her daughter. Ivy had fallen asleep again, her tiny cherub cheek warm and pink against Josie’s shoulder, the dimpled arms locked around her neck. Odell had been furious about her pregnancy. She shivered at the memory of his threat.

  When she looked up again, Clay’s gaze seemed to soften. “So you struck out on your own. Just the two of you.”

  Was that grudging admiration she heard in his voice?

  “What did you use for money, Josie? I know you didn’t take much with you when you left.”

  So much for admiration. She knew what he was implying. “I worked.”

  “Pregnant?”

  “I did what I had to do,” she said stubbornly, unwilling to admit how she’d really managed alone, broke and pregnant. Unwilling because she was ashamed of what she’d done. And it really wasn’t any of his business.

  “You know I’m going to find out the truth.”

  “My life doesn’t have anything to do with you.” Even as she said it, she knew that wasn’t true. Clay was definitely one of the reasons she’d left Texas.

  “We should get the baby to bed,” Mildred interrupted.

  They both looked over at her. Clay seemed to have forgotten she was standing there, she’d been so quiet. And Josie had been distracted. Clay did that to her.

  “Yes, you should get your baby to bed,” Clay said. “But you and I aren’t finished, Josie. Not by a long shot.”

  She feared that was true as she slipped past him and headed back up the hill to her cabin with Mildred beside her.

  “Who is that man?” Mildred asked when they were out of earshot.

  “A neighbor of my family’s in Texas. I used to work for him.”

  Mildred said nothing, but Josie knew the older woman realized there was a lot more to it.

  “He’s the man I saw at the grocery store,” Mildred said. “What does he want?” She sounded worried.

  “He’s here investigating a robbery.”

  “He’s a policeman?” Mildred asked, sounding surprised but also relieved.

  “No, he’s a former deputy sheriff, but he’s here unofficially.” She could tell Mildred feared that he meant her or Ivy harm. “Don’t worry. He’ll catch his crook and be gone soon.”

  They walked in silence to the cabin, each lost in her own thoughts.

  “You know, I might go on home, if you think you’ll be all right tonight,” Mildred said when they’d reached the cabin. “With all the excitement, I’m wide awake.”

  Josie understood perfectly. Mildred said she cleaned when she was upset. Something told Josie that Mildred’s house was in for a scrubbin’. “We’ll be fine.”

  Mildred bid her good-night after making certain that Josie had her pepper spray handy.

  Josie watched her leave, worrying that Clay’s departure wouldn’t be that simple. Nothing with Clay had ever been simple. And she now had Raymond Degas to worry about as well.

  AS CLAY LEFT THE STABLES, he heard the high-pitched whinny of a horse. He looked toward the pasture and spotted a stallion standing in the moonlight watching him. The image gave him a start, the horse reminded him so much of Diablo. But while Diablo had been black as midnight, this horse was a blood bay. Like Diablo, though, it stood at least seventeen hands high and had that spirited, wild look in its eyes.

  The stallion watched him warily, then took off as if touched with an electric prod, disappearing into the darkness, leaving Clay with one lasting impression. That horse was dangerous. Just like Diablo had been.

  But he knew that wasn’t why he’d gotten rid of Diablo. Even after the horse had almost killed him, he’d sold him because Diablo reminded him too much of Josie and an unforgettable dream he’d had about both of them.

  Once at his truck, he drove up the road, parking out of sight of Josie’s cabin. Then, taking his bed-roll, he cut through the pines until he could see the cabin without being seen. He tossed down the bag and plopped down on it.

  Raymond Degas would be back. Not tonight, probably. But sometime. Clay was betting that Raymond hadn’t found what he’d been looking for. And when he returned, Clay intended to be here.

  When the lights blinked out in Josie’s cabin, he tried to get some sleep, but he couldn’t quit thinking about her.

  Seeing her again had shaken him, much more than he wanted to admit. She was more beautiful than even he remembered. And the baby—

  Odell’s child, he reminded himself.

  He tried to think about the jewels and his quest for them, rather than Josie. But it was impossible.

  He’d often wondered if Josie had somehow been involved in the robbery. Raymond leading him right to her left little doubt that his suspicions about her had been warranted. It gave him no satisfaction, though.

  But if she’d been in on the jewel heist, then why was Raymond rummaging around in the stables in the dark instead of just asking Josie for what he wanted?

  Clay swore. Unless Josie had double-crossed Odell and Raymond and taken the jewels.

  That seemed pretty far-fetched, considering the woman was pregnant at the time. But with Josie O’Malley he wouldn’t rule out anything.

  He even blamed her for the dream that had plagued him for the past two years. A
dream he now thought of as That Damned Dream.

  He’d started having the dream after being bucked off Diablo not once—but twice in twenty-four hours. The dream was always the same: Josie O’Malley riding through a creek toward him on the large black horse, the Texas hill country behind her, the horse’s hooves throwing up water droplets that hung in the moonlight. Josie coming out of the darkness of the live oaks and into the moonlight, wearing a yellow dress, her shoulders bare, the wet cotton clinging to her skin. She was buck-naked beneath the dress! Her nipples dark and hard, pressing against the soaked fabric as she dismounted and came to him where he’d fallen from the horse, her blue eyes filled with a longing that matched his own.

  Definitely a fantasy dream. It disturbed him that he’d had it at all. He’d never thought of Josie like…that. Nor did he want to.

  On top of that, the dream mocked him with the incredible impossibility of it. Josie had been riding the horse that had thrown him and then run off—Diablo, his wild green-broke stallion, and she was way too inexperienced to ride a horse like that, let alone one as unpredictable as Diablo.

  He’d awoken the next morning, horseless, with a knot the size of Texas on his head, a terrible headache and no memory of what had happened. But with the ground under him instead of a horse, he had a pretty good idea what had taken place.

  It had been a fool thing, trying to ride Diablo. Especially in the mood he’d been in. He’d caught Odell Burton in his barn with Josie, gotten into a fight with him and made Josie mad. Although he’d won the fight, he still had the scar where Odell’s ring had cut him.

  In a foul mood by that time, he’d gotten half drunk and decided to ride Diablo. Not his best decision.

  The next morning when he limped back to the ranch, he’d seen Josie—again with Odell, but he’d had the good sense to stay clear of them both.

  That’s when he started having That Damned Dream. The last thing he’d needed was Josie O’Malley in his dreams. Having her around his ranch was trouble enough without conjuring up the feel, smell and taste of her the moment he closed his eyes.

  On top of that, she didn’t get over being mad at him from what he could tell. He and Josie had argued enough over how to break horses.

  Six weeks later, the jewels were stolen from the Williams Gallery in town where the collection was to go on display. He’d acted as a consultant on the security plans. In fact, he had a copy of the plans in his locked desk drawer at the ranch.

  That’s when the first inkling of suspicion about Josie started. When Brandon Williams, the jewel collector, called to ask if Clay still had his copy. Williams felt the only way the thieves could have pulled off the heist was with the plans.

  When Clay had gone to his desk, he’d found the plans—but someone had been in the locked drawer. They’d used a key, because the lock hadn’t been tampered with—and he had the only key.

  He’d assured Brandon Williams that his plans were there, keeping his suspicions to himself. Temporarily.

  With Odell Burton and Raymond Degas wanted for questioning in the heist, Clay wondered if one of them could have somehow gotten his keys. That seemed impossible. But Odell was always hanging around Josie.

  He’d saddled up and ridden over to the O’Malley ranch. Josie was by the barn. Clay wasn’t surprised when Odell came out of the barn, looking angry.

  He rode toward them, unable to hear their words, but he could see that they were obviously arguing. Odell had grabbed Josie’s arm, and she seemed to be trying to fight him off.

  Odell spotted him as he rode up and took off before Clay’s boot soles hit the dust beside Josie.

  “Don’t” was all Josie said when she saw him. She was crying and upset.

  Without thinking, he’d pulled her into his arms and kissed her. A crazy impulse. He hadn’t known it at the time, but it would be the last time he’d see her until today. It had been one amazing goodbye kiss.

  After it was over, she’d pulled back, confusion in her gaze. Her eyes had filled with tears. “What do you want from me, Jackson?”

  When he didn’t answer, she spun on her heel and left him standing with his reins in his hand.

  He’d watched her go, fighting the urge to go after her. What did he want from her? He’d told himself he didn’t know. Getting involved with Josie O’Malley was definitely out of the question. So he’d swung up into the saddle and ridden off, kicking himself for kissing her.

  The next day he’d discovered that she’d packed up and left Texas, lock, stock and barrel. At the time, he’d blamed himself. For kissing her. For being jealous and possessive when he had no right. For being angry with her for making him want her. Because by then, he’d realized that he did want her. Like he’d never wanted any woman before. He just wasn’t fool enough to confuse that with love and all that went with it.

  A week later Odell was killed in a fiery car crash. Raymond Degas had already disappeared, just like Josie. And the jewels had never been found.

  He’d been suspicious of Josie’s timing when she’d left. But now as he stared down at the cabin below him on the hillside, he didn’t kid himself that she wasn’t somehow involved, and damned if he’d let any feelings for her or her baby keep him from proving it.

  In the wee hours of the morning, he finally dropped off into a bottomless sleep. In the dream, Josie rode to him on a dark stallion, coming out of the creek, her dress wet and clinging to her naked body. A body he knew as well as his own.

  Clay woke, heart pounding, drenched with sweat. The bright sun told him it was morning. His aching head and the lingering memory of the dream assured him it wasn’t going to be a good day.

  Chapter Four

  He bathed in the icy creek, hoping the cold would rid him of the images of Josie, her body flushed with desire. But while the freezing-cold water curbed his desire temporarily, it did nothing for his mood.

  He called Texas, dialing Brandon Williams’s number. Four days ago when he’d called Williams to tell him that he’d gotten a lead on the stolen jewels, the man hadn’t been exactly appreciative.

  “I’d put that unfortunate incident behind me,” he snapped. “Nice of you to call and remind me of my loss.”

  Williams, a physically fit man in his late forties with a small fortune and an appetite for expensive things, was a pain in the neck. Clay couldn’t wait until he could return the jewels to the obnoxious man and hopefully prove to himself that the thieves hadn’t gotten the security plans from his desk.

  “I got a lead on Raymond Degas.”

  That had definitely surprised Williams. “Really? Where is he?”

  “On the move. I intend to stay with him and see where he takes me.”

  Williams believed he’d never see his precious jewels again. That was enough of a challenge for Clay, even if he hadn’t felt he might be responsible.

  “Have you found my jewels?” Williams asked now without preamble.

  He gritted his teeth, his already-bad mood darkening. He wished now he hadn’t promised to call Williams daily. He wanted to say, “Get the money ready to return to the insurance company,” but instead he said, “Not yet.” With Raymond out of hiding, Clay had the feeling that it was just a matter of time before he found the jewels, and he couldn’t wait to see Williams’s face when he handed them to him.

  “I’m making progress,” he told Williams. “He broke into a local ranch here last night.”

  “Really?” Williams actually sounded interested.

  Clay told him about the tack room break-in, but left out anything about Josie. He didn’t want Williams to know that he suspected Josie, let alone that Raymond led him right to her.

  “Keep me informed,” Williams ordered, and hung up.

  Clay turned off his cell phone and cursed. He wanted this over with as quickly as possible. Also, the less time he spent around Josie, the better. He knew Josie felt the same way about him.

  He finished dressing and rubbed his jaw. He needed a shave and a decent night’s sleep. A
s he headed toward her cabin, his stomach growled and he added food to his list of needs. He could smell coffee and cinnamon toast. He stopped at the sight of Josie on the porch, having breakfast with Ivy. A shave, food and sleep weren’t all he needed.

  His conviction to nail her for the robbery faltered as he watched her with her daughter, watched how loving, tender, patient and sweet she was with Ivy.

  He smiled at one distinct memory of her as a kid trying to ride some rough stock her father and older brothers had forbidden her to go near. He’d watched her from the fence rail, knowing the minute her father and brothers turned their backs, she’d try to ride that blamed green horse.

  She hated anyone to tell her she couldn’t do something and she resented her bossy brothers. Unfortunately, that day she’d gotten bucked off and broken her arm. But Clay had always admired her grit.

  He frowned and pushed the memory away, reminding himself that she was now in a different trouble league. Jewel theft. And this time, he wasn’t silently cheering her on from the sidelines. He was the one who’d have to take her down, and he feared she was up to her pretty little neck in this mess. He just hadn’t figured how yet.

  When the blue Honda drove up and the woman he’d seen last night in the stables went up to the cabin to stay with Ivy, he followed Josie down to the stables, keeping himself hidden. He figured she knew he’d be around and fairly close, but he didn’t want her to see him. Not yet, anyway.

  He’d expected her to disappear into the stables for several hours of horse feeding and stable cleaning. Instead she reappeared moments later, leading the wild stallion he’d seen last night toward a round, enclosed pen. The horse jerked at the halter she had on him and snorted and kicked.

  His chest constricted. Anyone could see that the stallion was dangerous. Especially in the wrong hands. What did Josie think she was going to do with the beast?

  He followed her until she disappeared into the door of the pen, the stallion obviously upset and anxious. On the far side of the building, he found another door. Inside, a small viewing area had been cut out of the side of the enclosure. He opened the door and slipped in. The area was small with a single bench. It ran in front of a long, narrow window that looked down into the pen. He didn’t sit but stayed back in the shadows to watch.