Million Dollar Cowboy (Cupid, Texas #5)(80)

"Don't thank me," he said. "It was my fault the little critter got out in the first place."

"Not your fault. Dart is slippery. He's always looking for an opening. This is the fourth time he's run away since I took him in three weeks ago. I'm terrified he'll get out and I won't be able to find him. The desert is not a safe place for a kitten on his own."

"You've got your work cut out for you." 

"How's that?"

"You know what they say." Ridge's eyes met hers.

"What?"

"Once a runner, always a runner. Don't get attached."

"He's still young," she said, feeling strangely defensive of Dart. "I have a feeling he's going to make a great cat someday, and greatness takes time."

Ridge's eyes darkened, and an odd, humorless smile flitted across his mouth. "Then again, some animals just can't be tamed. Take Majestic for instance."

"That might be true, but I have hope," she said, surprised by a sharp tightness creeping through her stomach.

"And that," Ridge said, "is both your strength and your downfall."

"Meaning?"

"Sometimes things are hopeless. And nothing can hurt you more than false hope."

Kaia settled back on her heels, slowly shook her head. "That is the saddest thing I've ever heard."

"Oftentimes the truth is sad."

The tension in her stomach spread up to her chest, crawled like a hand to squeeze tight her throat. Was this his way of warning her not to have hope in their relationship?

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something that could change his mind, but before she could pry the words out, he yanked her against his bare chest and kissed her hard.

Instantly, the humming filled her head again. No joke. Not her imagination. If she believed Granny's legend, for better or worse, Ridge Lockhart was her soul mate.

In the midst of their earthshaking kissing, the phone in the pocket of his swim trunks buzzed. He ignored it.

The phone buzzed again.

And again.

And again.

"Dammit," he swore, pulling his mouth from hers.

"You turned it back on," she said.

"In the truck stop," he explained. "When you told me it was okay to check my messages. Hang on. I'll switch it off again."

He took his phone from his back pocket, glanced down at the screen, winced. "Oh no."

"What is it?" she asked, peering over his arm to see the screen. Saw several texts from Vivi.

Felt a lump of hard jealousy in her throat.

Ridge's face darkened, and in a controlled monotone he said, "Duke's had a massive heart attack. They're careflighting him to El Paso for immediate open-heart surgery."





Chapter 23




Ridge wished it were Kaia sitting in the cockpit beside him instead of Vivi. This was the first time he'd been alone with his ex-girlfriend since she'd become his stepmother, and it was uncomfortable as hell.

Vivi was a wreck. Her hair hung oily and stringy in her eyes, her makeup was smeared, her eyes wide and full of fear.

A pile of wadded-up tissues littered the floor of the plane at her feet. She kept clenching and unclenching her hands in her lap, and then alternately rubbing her palms back and forth over her bare thighs.

She wore Daisy Duke denim shorts, red cowgirl boots, and a white halter-top. When he'd asked her if she wanted to change clothes-she and Duke had been line dancing at Chantilly when he'd collapsed-she yelled at him there was no time.

He knew she was distraught so he let it go. But if this thing stretched out for several days, as it most likely would, she'd need something else to wear. He'd buy her some clothes when the stores opened tomorrow morning. She didn't seem capable of handling the task for herself.

And he felt . . .

Angry, hurt by what Vivi and Duke had done behind his back. And he was confused too. He thought he'd buried all that mess, but apparently, he'd just swept it under the rug. He hadn't forgiven their betrayal. Kaia was right. He'd spent ten years using work to run away from his feelings.



       
         
       
        

Kaia. He thought of her sweet face, her lush body, her kind heart. Regretted that he was not going to wake up beside her.

Selfish. He was being selfish. His father might not make it through the night and he was thinking about the hot morning sex he was missing.

C'mon, tell the truth. It wasn't the sex he was missing. It was Kaia.

He and Vivi flew through the night mostly in silence with no sounds save for her occasional sniffles and the hum of the airplane.

To keep his mind occupied, Ridge did what he always did in uncomfortable situations. He thought about work. Sending his mind to China, envisioning the contract negotiations going as planned even though in light of recent developments, he was going to have to call his second in command to trek to Beijing in his place to meet up with Phil and the legal team.