Page 42 of Combust
“What happened?” Maggie asked.
“I didn’t have the sense God gave a prairie dog, and climbed into the saddle anyway. He decided to protest my presence.” Cade snorted self-deprecatingly at the memory. “The foreman and the other hands were laughing hard enough to split their jeans, seein’ me hanging on for dear life as that horse bolted down the length of a paddock. He was still goin’ full tilt when I saw that we were headed for the fence. It was five feet high and made from split logs. That’s when the laughter quit and the guys got real quiet.”
Maggie’s eyes widened. “Oh, no.”
“I was sure as all get-out that that poor horse was gonna to crash head-on into those timbers and kill himself and me, too. Instead, I found myself airborne as he cleared that fence, easy as you please.” Cade grinned. “He nailed the landing. I didn’t. I flew over his head as gracefully as a sack of meat.”
“And then your mount took off like he was being chased by a pack of hungry wolves?” Maggie asked, her tone sympathetic.
Cade shook his head. “Nope. It was the damnedest thing. When I came to, he was standing over me, snuffling me all over. I clambered to my feet, checked him over to make sure he hadn’t hurt himself, and talked to him real soft, pettin’ him and trying to calm him down. After that, well, it was like someone had flicked a switch inside him. He somehow decided that I was trustworthy and never bolted again. In fact, he turned out to be one of the best horses I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with.”
“Glad the story had a happy ending,” Maggie paused, her eyes alight with mischief, then added, “and that you didn’t crack your head open.”
“Folks do enjoy telling me that I’m thick-skulled,” he said amiably.
She laughed. “No wonder you fit in so well with the rest of the clan! Everyone says the Swanson are hard-headed.”
Having finished his story, Cade looked over the plates of food sitting before him.
His mouth filled with a rush of saliva as he took in the huge oval platter, heaped high with sliced brisket, spareribs, grilled sausages, and pieces of barbecued chicken. The mountain of meat was surrounded by white ceramic crocks containing extra barbecue sauce, macaroni and cheese, stacked squares of cornbread, chili, and coleslaw.
It was enough food to feed a family. Hungry as he was, he anticipated bringing home a whole passel of leftovers.
Maggie’s dinner looked equally enticing. Two enormous fish fillets, smothered in a blanket of pale, creamy sauce sprinkled with fresh herbs, stretched across her own large plate. A second dish held a stack of steaming cornbread squares and the crocks holding her side dishes.
“Like what you see?” she asked, flirtatiously.
He gave her a slow smile, and an even slower appraisal. “Everything looks mighty appetizing.”
* * *
They left Justin’s restaurant an hour later.
Filled with good food and dessert and carrying a container of leftovers that would provide him with a second hearty meal, Cade felt buoyant with the conviction that all was right with the world.Finally.
Maggie was holding his hand. He could smell her excitement and a faint, tantalizing whiff of arousal.
He was pretty sure she could sense the same radiating from him as he walked her to her car.
They came to a halt next to her Subie. She turned to face him. “Thank you so much for dinner. I had a really nice time.” She looked away shyly before continuing, “Do you want hang out for a while, or do you need to make an early start?”
His throat went dry. “Does ‘hanging out’ involve getting naked?” he asked, just to be absolutely certain of what she was offering.
She smiled up at him, her eyes shining. “I hope so.”
“Then early starts be damned. You’re welcome to stay as long as you want to,” he declared, unable to believe his luck. He lifted the takeout box and waggled it. “And I’ve got more sausage.”
She laughed.
He drew her close, and was just bending to kiss her when a loud, mechanical braying exploded into the cold night air. It came from the bag hanging from Maggie’s shoulder.
“Dammit!” Maggie tore herself out of his arms, dug in her purse, and extracted her phone, which continued to bray and vibrate.
She hit a button, and merciful silence fell. She frowned down at the screen.
“I’m so sorry,” she said. “There’s a medical emergency at the Riverside Inn. And I’m the closest first responder.”
Cade bit back a groan.We’re fucking cursed, he thought.
