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Chapter 12
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Cattenach Ranch Chapter 13
After the doctor left and assuring herself Amy was okay in the guestroom, Olivia took a shower and made her way downstairs. Comfy in a pair of loose sweats and a tank top, she figured she'd heat a cup of tea and crash. Her limbs were as useless as Jell-O and, any second, she was going to collapse. The house was quiet and dark, but a light shone from the direction of the kitchen, along with the murmur of muted voices. Heading that way, she found Aunt Mae, Nakos, and Nate at the table drinking coffee. They all looked up at her and started talking at once.Olivia waved her hand. "I helped Amy get washed up. She's trying to relax. Her brother Kyle's with her now." She leaned against the doorjamb and rested her head. "Hank says she doesn't think any ribs are broken, just bruised. Same with her face. She gave Amy a shot for pain and a script. I'll fill it tomorrow when I grab clothes from her house.""Think she'll eat something?" Mae rose and went to the fridge. "Soup?""Sure. That's so
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 14
Warm hands cupped her cheeks and Nate's face blurred in front of her. "Close your eyes. That's it." His hoarse, low tone caressed her ears. "Think of a happy memory. Something that happened here."Justin's grin immediately came to mind. Once, they'd been brushing down the horses after a ride, and he'd nailed her with a stream of water from the hose. Except, her cocky brother hadn't paid attention to what he was doing and tripped over a bucket. Lord, she'd laughed so hard her side ached."There you go." Nate grabbed both her wrists. "Keep your eyes shut." He guided her a few steps forward and moved behind her. Taking her hand, he set it on something soft. "Touch is a sensory. Keep that memory while you're doing it." Under his direction, he had herpet whatever was beneath her palm. "Open your eyes."They were standing in front of one of the stalls. Leia, their youngest gelding, held her nose close to the gate, enjoying the attention like the princess she was named after.Smiling, Oli
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 15
The ceiling above Nate's bed creaked for the eight-hundredth time from Olivia's incessant movement. He rubbed his eyes and glanced at the dog next to him. "You should've slept with her instead of me tonight."Bones set his head back down, tail wagging.Two hours since they'd returned from the barn, and it appeared neither was going to get any rest. Hell, she needed it bad, too. After her ordeal, she'd be no good to anyone as a zombie. Yet, she paced. And paced. He wondered if it was what he'd said that made her restless or if it was the day's events. Which was worse?Andgreat. The image of her on the ground and a gun to her head materialized again. Nothing would erase it. Swear to Christ, he didn't think he'd ever been so scared shitless. If he had, he couldn't recall.Perhaps it was his connection to Justin, Nate's time on the ranch, or his unfettered attraction to her, but his sun rose and set with Olivia Cattenach. Try as he might, he couldn't explain it and he didn't see a way
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 16
She was at it again. Her gaze dipped to his torso. Roamed over him with interest and fascination in the cornflower depths. Lips slightly parted, she drew a barely audible inhale and, with a flutter of her lashes, met his gaze once more.The air crackled between them the longer they stared.He'd never been particularly sensitive about his body, but the way she looked at him left him exposed and unnerved. And turned-on. Stranger still was the array of emotion in her eyes when she focused on what was above his neck. Half the time, he couldn't keep up. Right this second, he could've sworn she was shoving aside shadows in his mind and checking corners for secrets.Finally, she nodded as if she'd discovered something. "You said earlier you've never been touched."His heart puttered and quit pumping. She didn't have to use her hands for him to feel her. Her gaze was enough. And where was she going with this?"You like it when we do. I can tell." Her eyes narrowed a fraction. "However, yo
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 17
While Hank examined Amy early the next morning for a follow-up, Olivia figured it was a good time as any to grab her friend some things from her house. Nakos and Nate had teamed up on her, though, and now she had a rigid Nate next to her in the passenger seat along for the ride. Heaven forbid she go anywhere alone."I find breathing is a necessity most days." She glanced at him and back to the two-lane highway. "You should try it." Poor guy was tense enough to give concrete a run for its money."I'm breathing.""In and out? In succession?" He turned his head with a baleful narrowing of his eyes. "I'd breathe a lot easier if you hadn't tried to sneak off this morning to the house of the very man who put that bruise on your forehead."Hooray. Another Nakos. On steroids."I'm fine, Nate. Chris is locked up and I didn't sneak."Returning his attention ahead, he offered nothing more.They had other things to discuss, anyway. "Wanna talk about last night?""No."Too bad. "Why not?
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 18
Panic clutched her airway, giving her the answer. She no more wanted him to leave than he seemed to want to. "Go where?"He shook his head, jaw ticking. "It won't matter.""Of course, it matters." He had no one. She'd suspected it before, but the notion gelled the more she got to know him."I don't" He closed his eyes and sighed. "You don't what? Don't matter?" Lord, her stomach rioted. The longer he stood not answering, the hotter her eyes burned. Her heart cracked for the troubled, scared kid he used to be and the broken, misguided man he'd become.Justin must've known. The realization slapped her in the face like the brisk wind off the mountains. Maybe her brother hadn't had the whole story, but enough to know sending Nate to her was the last gift Justin could give his fellow soldier before dying. Tears clung to her lashes and she closed her eyes."I'll do whatever you want, baby. Just tell me.""Stay." Lunging, she wrapped her arms around his waist and gripped his shirt. "I
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 19
Nate petted Bones from a living room chair, wasting time until Olivia and Amy proved to him they'd call it a night. Every evening for a week, they'd taken a walk after dinner, and he'd learned to stick around or they'd go without him. Maybe he was paranoid, but he didn't give a damn. Until his heart stopped pounding when he didn't have a direct visual on Olivia, he'd keep being paranoid.The girls came in from the kitchen and took a seat on the sofa. Amy's bruises were fading to an ugly shade of yellow and green, and every day she moved a little better. The sight of her no longer sent him into a homicidal fit, so there was that. And Chris was probably going to end up serving fifteen to twenty at a prison in Casper. Nate would take it.Mae passed Olivia a mug of tea and glanced at Nate. "Want anything?""I'm good. Thanks." She always asked like it was her job to wait on him. He didn't care for it, but it seemed habit for her. "Are you guys staying in?""Yeah. I'm too tired to move.
Cattenach Ranch Chapter 20
"Olivia, what are we doing?" Despite better judgment, he did what she asked and nearly swallowed his tongue when she straddled his thighs. A hand on his shoulder, she pushed, encouraging him to lay back. She was maybe a hundred and twenty pounds, leaving him to wonder how she became the dominant one between them. Then again, if she requested he bark at the moon, he probably would.Settling his bent arm behind his head, he hissed at the cool planks against his back. She leaned over him, her wet strands a curtain, and he stopped breathing altogether. The rain had stopped, but droplets fell from the canopy of leaves. Between that and the darkness, she looked like a sexy version of a sprite."You taught me something about memory replacement when we were in the barn. I'm going to return the favor." She kissed his jaw and he closed his eyes, confused and fascinated. "Why did you work for people who sold cocaine?"His eyes flew open. "Olivia. We're not" "Answer me and I'll reward you."
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