Page 37
Doyle’s brain caught up, processing the situation. “Shit,” he repeated.
There’d been some sort of explosion in the wood burning oven. The front metal panel was blown open, and the entire surrounding area sported a blackened coating resembling a too dark shadow.
“What happened?” Doyle asked, setting the shotgun back down to join Sadie squatting before the mess.
Danger over, he took a moment to look at her. She’d changed quickly enough, back in her see-through white blouse and a simple, long skirt that promised to be just as thin. Doyle swallowed. Her hair remained partially up and curled, so she seemed half-dressed, which made him harden uncomfortably despite the fact she wore more clothes than most women he knew.
“Teddy!” Sadie called, shaking him out of it. “Get your behind in here now.”
Pale as Doyle had ever seen him, Teddy crept out of the shadows of the bedroom doorway at the far side of the table. Incriminating soot spread over his freckled face like a black hole blotting out the stars.
The boy looked guilty as hell, and Doyle cringed, understanding. He remembered a time as a child when he’d been experimenting in the backyard and accidentally set off a booster rocket filled with slime—harmless, but a mess, nonetheless.
Standing, Doyle glanced at the table to fill in the blanks.
“What in the name of—” Sadie started
“You tried making TNT—er, dynamite. Didn’t you?” Doyle interrupted, understanding.
Teddy’s head dropped forward so he stared at his feet. Doyle almost couldn’t hear him say, “I didn’t know it was so flammable.”
“My shotgun shells!” Sadie spotted the open shell casings on the table as well. A small mound of gunpowder still sat undisturbed on the surface along with other ingredients that made Doyle repress a smirk.
“Sorry, Ma. I was just trying to make a boobytrap for anyone that comes poking around. I thought maybe that’d make you feel better about leaving me alone at the ranch.”
Sadie’s anger slowly morphed into a fit of giggles until she fell to the floor right in the black spot.
Relief flooded Doyle, and he supported himself on the corner of the table as he deteriorated into a fit of laughter as well.
Teddy stared between them, open mouthed and eyes glinting. “You two are crazy, but I’m grateful you saved my behind from the switch, Wally.”
Doyle nodded through tears.
“I’ll clean it up, Ma, I promise, but I got to go finish cleaning the barn first. Target’s out with Darcy, and I’m afraid the mule’s gonna scare her into a fit.”
“You go ahead,” Doyle said, recovering enough to offer a hand to Sadie. “I’ll help your mom.”
Teddy shook his head in wonder and left out the back door, yelling over his shoulder, “Your dress is in a heap back here, Ma.”
At the offer, Sadie placed her hand in his, and Doyle heaved her to her feet. Their bodies pressed against each other. He steadied her with a hand at her waist, his thumb stroking the soft skin of her back through the thin fabric. Tears in her eyes from laughing so hard made her irises glow gold and green like some beautiful sprite-like creature.
“What am I going to do with that man-child?” she whispered.
“He got the ingredients right, he just didn’t understand the power behind them. I did something similar, but thankfully not as dangerous, when I was his age.”
“Too smart for his own good. Too smart for me.” Sadie shook her head, and her bottom lip poked out in a trembling pout.
Doyle cupped her face with his free hand and stroked the tender flesh of her lip, drawing a sigh from deep inside of her. This time, when his body reacted, he didn’t try to quell it. She needed to be taken care of in a way she deserved. She needed to feel cherished, worshipped, and most of all, to understand that she deserved so much more than life had given her.
He could give that to her, even if only the once.
Hyper aware of how amazing her body felt against his, Doyle dipped his head to catch that beautiful lip between his teeth. The sound she made as he drew back, slowly releasing it, kindled a fire inside him as hot as the gunpowder explosion.
He needed this too. It was destined from the moment he saw her aiming a shotgun at him.
The next dive to her mouth was nowhere near as slow or careful. They met each other on equal terms, tongues stroking, hands grasping any available clothing to rip off the other.
Nimble, calloused hands tugged off his jacket and pulled off his vest and shirt. She stood back to catch her breath and take an admiring look that made his cock even harder. It was the mischief in her eye that did it. She knew what she wanted, and he wanted it too. More than anything.
