Cody Read online

  She immediately opened her mouth for his invading tongue moving hers to tangle with his. Amber hadn’t dated at all in the years since her parents had died despite the invitations. She’d chosen to instead concentrate on the ranch and her riding school.

  She was swamped with feelings, a tingling feeling spreading through her body. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him back for all she was worth. After a moment, he drew his head back, looking deep into her eyes. “I’d ask you to invite me in, but I’m showing you how respectful I can be and saying goodnight here.”

  She sighed. “What if I tell you I don’t care if you’re respectful?”

  “Are you telling me that?”

  She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head. She’d love to ask him in, but she wasn’t sure she was prepared for what that would invite. It had been so long since she’d let a man touch her with more than a handshake she was worried she would be vulnerable to any man.

  He took a deep breath and straightened up, letting her go. “I’ll see you in the morning for my riding lesson then. Thanks for agreeing to go to dinner with me.”

  “Thanks for inviting me. I had a really good time.” She slid out the passenger door and walked quickly up to the house before she changed her mind. Amber had never been more tempted to go against her nature. She wasn’t sure what it was about Cody, but he was going to hold her heart in the palm of his hand in no time. She only hoped she could stay strong.

  Chapter Four

  Amber spent the morning on the phone. First she called Tanya and arranged for her to take her classes. As she’d expected the girl jumped at the chance to do the lessons for the week. “And you don’t have to pay me for it. Just give me four free lessons and I’ll be happy.”

  Amber smiled. “That sounds good to me!” The girl’s classes were all in the mornings so she could be there by four when her first students started to arrive with no problem. She agreed to stay in the house and feed the horses before school as well, relieving Amber of the stress of finding someone to do take over that chore.

  After she settled everything with Tanya and the girl agreed to come and get the key that afternoon, she started calling the local car dealerships trying to find a truck that would suit her for a price she could pay. She was talking to the third dealership when she noticed two vehicles drive up to the house.

  “I’ll call you back.” She stepped out onto the porch and watched as one man, driving a new pick-up truck, walked to her and handed her the keys. “What’s this?”

  The man shrugged and turned to get into the car with his co-worker and the two drove away. She walked out and looked at the truck, furious Cody had bought her a truck without her consent. Sure, she needed to have a vehicle. She was almost out of groceries and had to arrange to leave grocery money behind for Tanya, but she wasn’t going to owe him anything.

  When he drove up ten minutes later, Amber was seething. “What were you thinking? I told you I didn’t want you to buy me a truck!”

  He shrugged. “Think of it as the jewelry I’d have bought any other girl on the first date.”

  “You buy women jewelry on the first date?”

  “Sure. Women expect me to buy them things, because I’m rich. I don’t care. I usually have my brother do it.” He took her hand and led her out to the truck. “Have you looked at it? This thing is loaded. I got you seat warmers, a GPS, everything you could possibly want is there.” He looked at her with his warm eyes. “I didn’t have my brother do it either. I went to the dealership myself and picked out something I thought you would like that’s serviceable and would work well for ranching. Please say you’ll keep it.”

  “Are you going to constantly try to buy me gifts like this?”

  He shook his head. “I promise I won’t. If your dishwasher goes out, you’re on your own. I just feel like the accident was my fault, and I want to make up for it.”

  She stared at him in disbelief. “How could the accident have possibly been your fault?”

  “I wasn’t paying attention to the light.”

  “It couldn’t have had anything to do with my brakes being shot?”

  He shrugged. “I have no idea.” He stroked her cheek. “Keep it please?”

  She nodded. “Okay, I’ll keep it. You don’t need two brand new trucks.” She looked at the shiny blue truck, loving the color. “You have to promise me you won’t buy me any more extravagant gifts, though. I will not become dependent on you!”

  He swallowed hard. “I’m not trying to make you dependent on me. I like you just the way you are. I just want to help you.”

  She sighed. “Let’s go ride a horse.” She led him toward the stable and he immediately went to Midnight, the horse he always rode, and saddled him. “You’re doing a lot better with that.”

  He grinned. “Thanks.” He worked in silence for a moment while she saddled her own horse. “Are you going with me?”

  “Yeah, I found a substitute.”

  “You won’t regret it!”

  She shrugged, convinced that she probably would, but she needed the time away. She swung up into the saddle in one fluid motion and turned to watch him mount his horse. “I thought we’d ride outside the corral today. Maybe a slow ride around the ranch.”

  “Do you think I’m ready for that?”

  “I wouldn’t suggest it if I didn’t. I don’t let my students get hurt by pushing them too far too fast.” She waited until he was beside her before she walked her horse toward the path she liked to take around the perimeter of the ranch. I would take right at two hours to ride it all.

  She pointed out different things as they went past. He noticed a lot of things that weren’t in perfect repair as they rode. He hated she’d had to let so many things go so she could get everything back to what it once was.

  “Are you going to tell your brother everything you’ve done to get the ranch back up to where it used to be?”

  She shook her head. “I’m not planning on it. He already hates that I had to raise him. He won’t like it at all that I put my whole life on hold even after he was in college to make everything work.”

  “Surely he knows some of the sacrifices you made?”

  She shrugged. “Some maybe. He doesn’t know most of them though, and if I have my way, he won’t. I don’t want him to think he owes me anything.”

  “I can understand that. I hope he doesn’t figure it out.”

  They rode on in silence with her pointing out different things. They ran into Adam, her foreman, and she introduced the two men. Amber looked at Cody. “Adam put me on my first horse. He’s been part of my family for as long as I can remember.”

  The men shook hands, and she could tell Adam was sizing Cody up. “I mentioned this morning I was going on vacation for a week. Cody and I are going together.”

  “Where are you taking her?” Adam’s voice was gruff and he was built like a mountain. Cody wasn’t a lightweight, but there was something in the man’s eyes that scared him.

  “A private island in Tahiti. We’re going with my business partners and their dates.”

  “You the one paying a ridiculous amount of money for riding lessons?”

  Amber’s eyes widened wishing he hadn’t asked that.

  Cody just laughed. “Sure am. I’d pay even more if I had to. I wanted to learn from the best.”

  Adam nodded. “She’s the best all right.” He looked at Amber. “You be careful. I’ll hold everything down here while you’re gone.”

  They continued their ride and he pointed toward the bunkhouse. “Was that full at one point?”

  She nodded. “My first crush lived in that bunkhouse. I was only fourteen at the time, and he wouldn’t give me the time of day, because my father and Adam would have killed him.” She pulled back on the reins to look at the building for a moment. “It was full right up until my parents died. Only Adam lives there now. Hopefully it’ll be full again in another year or so.”

  By the time they reached
the stable again, it was past time for his lesson to be over. He unsaddled his horse and wiped him down. “I need to go home and pack.”

  “You don’t have your assistant do that for you?”

  Cody grinned. “Sometimes, but not usually. I have him pack if I’m in the middle of twelve things at once, but if I can take the time to do it, I do.” He leaned down and brushed her lips with a soft kiss. “I’ll be here around six to take you to the airport. Remember, it’s a tropical island so pack stuff for warm weather.”

  “I will.”

  She watched him go before turning back to the house. She needed to eat lunch and get everything packed before her students arrived. Tanya would be there at four to teach them, but she wanted to make sure to call each of her students’ parents and let them know about the change in plans for the week.

  When Cody pulled up in front of her house that evening, she had her suitcases sitting on the front porch waiting to be loaded. She didn’t take much, just a carryon and another suitcase filled with mostly shorts and tank tops. She brought one dress in case they did something that required her to dress up, but she really hoped that wouldn’t happen.

  She hated to have to dress up. When she’d been a teenager, she’d love to dress in the latest fashions and wear high heels couldn’t remember why now. She preferred her jeans and button up shirts. If she never had to wear a dress again, it would be too soon for her tastes.

  Cody put her suitcase into the back seat of the cab of the truck with his as she climbed into the passenger seat. She leaned back against the seat and sighed. It had been a hectic day getting everything organized and ready for the trip.

  “You excited?” he asked.

  She shrugged. “I’m glad I’m going, but I’m a little nervous. It’s not like me to take off and go on vacation with a man I’ve only known for a little over a week.”

  “It’s not like me to propose to a woman I met ten minutes before. I think we bring out the best in each other.”

  She laughed at that. “I’m just glad you weren’t serious about your proposal. I was starting to question your sanity for a while there.”

  He stopped at a stop sign and gave her an intense look. “Oh, I was serious. Anytime you want to say yes, you’re open to. I want to marry you.”

  She shook her head. “You know, sometimes it’s hard to tell when you’re joking.”

  “No, it’s not. I always have a goofy grin on my face when I’m joking. You can’t tell that I’m joking right now, because I’m not.” He turned back to the road and started driving. “We’re taking off from Alliance, so we’re almost there.”

  She took a deep breath, trying to regain her composure. Why did he always say things that threw her for a loop like that? “Why Alliance?”

  He shrugged. “Steven and I both live closer, so this is where we keep the corporate jets. Justin has to make the drive. He lives in Dallas near the office.”

  “Why is the office in Dallas and not Fort Worth? I’d have thought you’d want to be closer.”

  “I don’t know. Steven and I both knew we’d almost never go into the office. I’m there once a week or so, and Steven even less than that. Justin is there every day, though, so we let him find the location.”

  After he parked in front of the hangar, Amber got out of the truck. “Looks like Justin brought a limo.”

  “I thought about it, but I figured you’d clobber me after the truck thing today. I’m trying not to throw money around too much.”

  She grinned at him. “I appreciate that. I like you just fine when you’re not throwing money around. You don’t have to do that to impress me.”

  He gave their suitcases to the man loading the plane. “Are you excited?”

  “Yeah, but I’ve never really been anywhere like that. Are you sure it’s as wonderful as you make it sound?”

  Cody climbed onto the plane, pulling Amber along behind him. “I told you, you’re going to love it.” He rolled his eyes at Justin. “She’s worried she won’t like the island.”

  Justin laughed. “There’s something wrong with you if you don’t like the island. It’s incredible.”

  “That’s what I keep telling her!”

  There were two seats across from where Justin and Sarah had settled. Cody pointed to one and sat in the other. Amber looked at Sarah. “He points and expects me to just do as he commands.”

  Sarah nodded. “Justin told me on the way here that he’s keeping me like I’m a lost dog or something.”

  Amber settled into the seat Cody had indicated for her. “These men need to be taken down a notch.” She kicked off her boots and stretched out in the chair wiggling her toes. She’d been up before dawn trying to get everything organized so she could leave.

  “Only one?” Sarah looked over at Justin. “I think twenty or so would be better.”

  A stewardess came from the front of the plane. “You need to buckle up. We’re about to take off. I’ll serve dinner once we’re in the air.”

  Cody tilted his cowboy hat back onto his head. “What are we having?”

  “The same thing you always insist on having when you fly. Salad, steak and baked potatoes.” She walked back toward the front of the plane.

  Justin smiled. “Sounds good to me!”

  Cody turned to Amber. “Did you get everything settled at home?”

  She nodded. “Tanya is there teaching the kids now. It felt strange leaving them, but I know her and I know she’s going to do a fabulous job. I’ve considered hiring her several times in the past when I felt overrun with students.”

  “You should. You’d still make money off of her work. You wouldn’t lose a thing and would actually end up ahead.”

  Amber nodded. “I need to think about that.”

  “What did you do today?” Sarah asked Justin.

  “I got all my charts and graphs in order for the meeting.”

  “On your day off?” Sarah made a face.

  “That is a day off for him,” Cody cut in. “He’s always loved playing with numbers and making stupid little graphs. I swear, when we were in college, we had new little graphs shoved under our noses daily. Finally, we had to tell him to stop wasting ink or the company would go under.”

  Sarah gave Justin a look. “Really?”

  He shrugged. “I find charts relaxing. I know, it’s weird, but it works for me.”

  Sarah looked at Amber with wide eyes. “Do you find charts relaxing?”

  Amber shook her head. “I’ve never found anything having to do with money relaxing.” Just stressful.

  “What do you do to relax then?”

  Amber smiled. “I ride my horse. I still live on the ranch where I grew up and I take long rides through the countryside.” Or she would if she ever had time. Sundays were the only days she took for herself, and she usually spent them catching up on laundry and housework.

  Sarah nodded. “I’m not much of a horse person, but I can see that as relaxing. I’m so glad you don’t make charts.” She said the last in a loud whisper, and then cut her eyes over to Justin to see how he’d react.

  Justin glared at Cody. “Thanks, man. I’m glad you’ve got my back.” Amber felt like giggling at the annoyed sound of Justin’s voice. It was obvious the men had known each other forever and genuinely enjoyed being together.

  “Someone has to!” Cody took Amber’s hand in his and rubbed his thumb over her palm, sending shivers up her spine.

  “I know all of your embarrassing secrets, you know.” Justin had a look on his face that told Amber he would be happy to share them with her anytime she wanted to ask.

  “I don’t get embarrassed.” Cody smiled at Amber. “I’d be happy to go on a long relaxing ride with you anytime.” He’d make sure he scheduled a massage after, but he’d go anytime she wanted.

  “What do you do to relax?” Amber asked him.

  “I cook.” He didn’t seem to be embarrassed by the fact either, which surprised her. She saw him as more of a country boy who thought t
he women should do the cookin’.

  “You cook? Like grilled cheese sandwiches and stuff?”

  “Nahh…like cordon bleu stuff. I actually took some classes after college for fun.” He didn’t mention that sometimes he put on his chef’s hat and apron and cooked for the sheer joy of it. Cody often dropped off meals for people he knew were having a hard time, just to help them out. He did it anonymously, because he didn’t want anything out of it because he just enjoyed cooking and helping people.

  “You’ll have to cook for me sometime.” Amber hated to cook. She would rather do just about anything than spend time over the stove. She ended up eating a lot of frozen meals and sandwiches as a result.

  “I’d love to.” His hand covered hers.

  She looked into his eyes. He was the warmest most affectionate man she’d ever been around. Sometimes she wondered if he could possibly be real or if she was dreaming him. And then he did something crazy, and she knew he was real again.

  The stewardess came then with their meals. A table folded down out of the wall to put their plates on.

  Once they were done eating, and the meal was cleared away, Cody pulled out a deck of cards. “Spades anyone?”

  Sarah shrugged. “Sure.”

  Amber frowned. “I guess, but you’ll have to teach me. I’ve never played.” She hadn’t had the whole college experience where people sat around playing cards, and her family had never been into them. She didn’t hang around with the other girls a lot at boarding school, because she was too busy in the stables, so card games were pretty much beyond her.

  Cody nodded. “You’re Justin’s partner then.”

  “Why do you always stick me with the people who have never played?” Justin glared at Cody.

  “Because I like to win, of course.”

  Amber caught on quickly, and they played two games. Cody and Sarah won the first, but Justin and Amber edged them out in the second. By the time they were finished with the second game, Amber was exhausted. “Is it time to sleep yet?”