Or a ghost.
She was certainly wide awake now.
She flung the covers away and sat on the side of the bed, raking her fingers through her hair. She flinched. How the hell could she be this sore? She flexed her fingers, then rolled her shoulders. And she had another day of milking to get through.
Damn, she needed at least a gallon of coffee.
She glanced out the window as she stood. There was a tree not far away and nothing was moving on it. Not one little bit of wind to cause the eerie noises she’d heard.
Okay, that made her feel a whole lot better-not.
Her robe was on the end of the bed so she grabbed it as she made her way to the kitchen. She really needed caffeine.
After washing her face, Nikki grabbed a diet soda she’d hidden deep in the icebox. It was supposed to have something like ten times the amount of caffeine the other ones had. A Twinkie from her stash and she was all set. It wasn’t the healthiest breakfast, but, oh well.
She took a long swallow of the drink. Oh, good Lord! The bitter, syrupy taste clung to her taste buds. She grimaced. Did people really drink this stuff? She wasn’t so sure the caffeine was worth it.
After pouring the foul-tasting drink down the sink, she dug out a normal diet soda. She could live without her regular jolt of caffeine for a few days. And she didn’t need to light the stove, which was fine by her.
Laughter bubbled out of her. Damn, she was good. So good that she ate another snack cake, then quickly disposed of any evidence.
“I am The Barracuda.”
As she went back to the bedroom to dress, she realized she’d better come up with a game plan. She was tired of the cabin, and as much as she liked Cal, she was ready to get back to Fort Worth: traffic, pollution, and people.
Ah, but she would miss him. And the sex had been pretty good, too.
She stopped at the bedroom door. The closed bedroom door. Now dammit, Nikki knew she’d left it open. This wasn’t funny. Not one little bit.
“There are no such things as ghosts!”
The door slowly opened a crack, all by itself.
She hugged her middle, then nudged the door open the rest of the way with her foot. The bedroom still looked the same. There were no mists floating around.
God, she was being so ridiculous. It had to be the wind. That was all it could be. The cabin sat on a hill and the window was open. The door had probably caught a little bit of breeze.
She quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and a top, then made her way to the outhouse. The deodorizers were doing their job. No one would get the better of her. She’d show Cal a thing or two.
Not that she wanted to linger, though. She quickly exited the structure, then went inside and washed her hands at the pump.
Thinking of Cal reminded her of something: he was in and out yesterday. She smiled at what that thought conjured, then quickly sobered. She would need to keep him more in her company today if she was going to get any information. She had to get him talking about Cynthia. That shouldn’t be too difficult. Not for The Barracuda.
She went back outside and grabbed the milk bucket off the back porch and made her way to the barn. Bessie Two let out a low moo of welcome. Nikki stopped at the fence and patted her on the neck. She had to admit she kind of liked the cow.
Oh, God, that was priceless. Her friends would laugh themselves silly if they knew she was going soft over a cow. Not that they had anything against animals, but they knew it wasn’t her thing. The closest she’d ever come to a cow was when she’d bought her leather sofa.
Oh, yeah, now she felt better. That could be Bessie Two’s mother Nikki was parking her butt on.
Bessie mooed.
On second thought, it was Italian leather, so she really doubted it was one of Bessie’s relatives.
“Hey, girl, you ready to let me milk you?” She hoped the cow was in a good mood. She started toward the barn but turned at the last second. “Go to the bathroom first or I might not give you any breakfast.”
Before she stepped inside the barn, she let her eyes adjust. No crazy roosters or a waddling raccoon that she could see. Cal had said two scoops of feed. She could do this. She wanted to do this.
Actually, wanted wasn’t exactly the word she would use, but she had a feeling Cal would show up this morning and she was ready to prove she could milk. Besides, it would make her lie about why she was here seem more plausible.
Two scoops of feed, then she would milk the damned cow if it was the last thing she did.
But after ten minutes, she began to wonder if she could buy a gallon of milk in town and fill the bucket. Would Cal notice? Yeah, probably. He’d been right when he’d said fresh milk didn’t smell the same as milk bought at the store.
Before she managed to get a quarter of the bucket, she heard the familiar sound of Cal’s pickup. She smiled when she heard the cabin’s front door slam, then slam again. And a few seconds later, his heavy tread as he walked inside the barn. Nikki bet Cal had thought she would still be in bed.
Damn, she was good.
She looked up. “Good morning.” She feigned cheerfulness. “You were so right when you said I’d enjoy my experiences on the ranch. I think I’m getting the hang of milking, but I’m still not as fast as you.”
He frowned as though he was surprised she was still there, let alone milking Bessie Two.
“I’ll finish if you’d like.”
She laughed. She was definitely the consummate actress. “I think you might have to. The cow would probably be grateful, too.”
When he sat on the stool with his back to her, she shook out her arms and fingers. She’d had no idea her fingers could ache this much. And she didn’t even want to think about churning more butter, but her smile was wide when he looked at her.
She should’ve been on the stage.
“I thought you might like to go riding today,” Cal said, not buying her smile for one minute. She hated milking and it was as plain as the nose on his face. Revenge could be sweet. And it was about to get even sweeter.
Horseback riding would be the straw that broke the camel’s back. Bye-bye reporter.
“Riding?” Her voice squeaked. She cleared her throat. “On a horse?”
He chuckled. “That’s the usual way when you’re on a ranch, and you did say you wanted to experience everything.”
Her smile looked pained. “I’d love to, if you don’t mind that I’ve never been on a horse.”
He liked the way she accepted a challenge, though. “Of course. You might want to change into a pair of jeans, though. You did say you were going shopping?”
“Yes. I bought jeans.”
They took the bucket of milk to the house and strained it. “You’ll have time to gather the eggs before I get back with the horses.”
Her smile was still pasted on. Her face kind of looked like those of some of the actresses he’d dated who’d had Botox injections one too many times.
She nodded. “I’ll meet you on the front porch.”
“Great.”
Boy, did he have her number. She didn’t want to ride a horse, but she was trying hard not to let her fear show. Not that he’d let her get hurt or anything.
He went out the door and climbed inside his pickup. He had a feeling the rest of the day was going to be as interesting as it had started.
Chapter 14
Celeste snuggled down in the bed. It felt so good to sleep on luxurious sheets and…
She pushed the cover down and glanced at the clock. Drat! It was after eight. Being late her first day on the job wasn’t good. Not that Brian had actually set a time. She was pretty sure it wouldn’t be noon, though.
After a quick shower, she pulled on a pair of white slacks and a bright yellow top. As much as she loved her robes, they had a tendency to get in her way when she was giving a massage.