Taming the Troublemaker (The Hills of Texas Book 3) Page 5

  At least, that was the reasoning she chose to go with.

  Mostly because a small part of her didn’t want him to walk away like that. For one of those people who always seemed to be surrounded by admirers, Autry struck her as very… alone… all of a sudden.

  Autry turned to face her with his eyebrows raised. “What do you suggest?”

  “I still have the tomato sauce. Why don’t you do that and shower. Then you can go.”

  He regarded her for a long minute, then shrugged. “Okay. Thanks.”

  Chapter Three

  Autry forced Beth back inside. Once the door closed behind her, he stripped out of the stiff orange jumpsuit the police had given him at the station. He doused himself in the tomato sauce, scrubbing particularly hard over his face and chest where he’d been sprayed the worst. Then he went around the side of her house where she’d pointed out the hose and rinsed off.

  Darkness had brought lowered temperatures, and he fought off weak ass shivers as he wrapped up in what Beth had assured him was one of her oldest towels. One she didn’t mind throwing away if the skunk smell ruined it. The scrap of fluffy white terry cloth hardly covered the important bits as he kicked off his soaked boxers, but she’d have to deal with that.

  He paused at the door, not entirely sure what to do. Did one knock when naked except for a towel and requesting entrance? Or should he just walk in? Beth hadn’t been the one to call the police earlier. Likely it had been one of her neighbors, who was now getting quite a show. Two shows in one day. Lucky them.

  With a growl of irritation, mostly with himself, he knocked.

  A few seconds later, Beth opened it for him, cell phone at her ear. In the time he’d been dousing himself in tomato sauce, she’d obviously showered and dressed in fuzzy yoga pants of some sort and a long-sleeved T-shirt she’d obviously had since college. Nothing sexy, but he had to force the immediate physical reaction to her to settle. No hiding it in what he was sporting at the moment. She paused and lowered her gaze, taking in his state of undress and how the miniscule towel didn’t quite wrap all the way around.

  He waited for a blush or a smirk. Instead, he got an amused snicker hidden behind her hand. Then she waved him inside.

  “For the skunk,” she whispered, pointing at the phone.

  He followed as she led him down a long, narrow hallway. With Beth distracted, he let himself take in the details of her home. The place was definitely a work in progress. He could tell she’d refinished the original hardwoods in the family room space but was still working on the dining room area. Tools and cloths lay scattered and only about a third of the room was finished.

  Was she doing that all herself?

  The small hallway sported tons of framed pictures, mostly of her with her sisters. Lexi and Juliet were beacons of gorgeousness, often dressed way beyond what most women did in the area. Usually between the two was Beth, quirkier, her sense of style a blend between fifties, cowgirl, and schoolmarm.

  Autry paused at a picture of Beth in what appeared to be her classroom—a dry-erase board behind her filled with neatly printed instructions, a desk in one corner, also neatly organized, and a row of shelves with books underneath the windows. A man dressed up like the Crocodile Hunter, stood close by while a massive snake lay draped across her shoulders. Beth, instead of appearing terrified, was kissing the damn thing while trying to contain a grin, dimples on full display.

  When she realized he had paused, Beth did too, turning back to face him while still talking to what he assumed was animal control.

  “In the back,” she answered. “Yes, in a cage.” She listened for a moment. “Yes, ma’am, I’ll be home all night.” Another pause. “Thank you.”

  She hung up and backtracked to peer over his shoulder, then chuckled. “I had the guy from the Frampton Wildlife Preserve come give my class a presentation last year. The snake’s name is Monty Python.”

  “You kissed it,” Autry said, then immediately wanted to smack himself in the forehead. Way to state the obvious, Einstein.

  Beth’s smile only widened. “The kids got a kick out of it.”

  “You did too, it looks like.” Autry tried to hold in his unmanly cringe. “I hate snakes,” he muttered. “Jennings got bit by a cottonmouth as a kid when we were swimming in a pond. After that—” He made a face. Why was he telling her all this anyway?

  Instead of laughing at him though, Beth reached over and squeezed his arm. “It’s spiders for me.” She gave a delicate shudder. “God and I are going to have a talk about those when I get up there.”

  Autry grinned and swung his gaze to her. He’d sort of expected to find her watching him. Maybe because most women of his acquaintance would be, especially given that he was standing in her house half-naked, albeit still smelling of skunk and now tomato sauce. Instead she was smiling fondly at the picture.

  She blinked and focused on him, but no flirtatious smile came. “Let’s get you cleaned up.”

  Again, not a flirtatious note in a single syllable of that sentence. Autry cocked his head and followed, curiosity piqued. All women of all ages and creeds flirted with him. Beth had locked her purse in his truck to get his attention. She’d kissed him like he was oxygen and she needed to breathe.

  Hadn’t she?

  The petite blonde in question waved him into a miniscule bathroom. “Towel is there. The hot water takes a while.”

  Autry turned and put one arm up overhead against the doorjamb while holding the towel with the other, leaning toward her. “Thanks, Beth.” Deliberately he pitched his voice lower, quieter, a move guaranteed to have most any other woman leaning in to hear, a sparkle of feminine reciprocation in her eye.

  “No problem,” Beth chirped apparently unmoved. Then spun and walked back down the hall, completely and utterly oblivious.

  “I must be losing my touch,” Autry muttered.

  As he shucked the towel, a pile of clothing on the small laminate counter caught his eye and he paused. Then picked up a man’s button-down shirt, about his size, along with jeans, and even a pair of men’s socks.

  “Beth Cooper.” He shook his head. “What on earth are you doing with men’s clothing in your house?”

  As far as he knew, Beth had never had a boyfriend to speak of. He thought the woman was a virgin. She practically had the word tattooed on her backside. So, what the heck?

  And why do I even care? Autry pushed down the unaccustomed snip of irritation and chalked his reaction up to simple curiosity.

  A long, blessedly hot shower involved multiple rounds of soaping down with Beth’s almond-blossom scented bodywash, which, while much girlier than his standard bar of soap, was still better than skunk or tomato sauce. Autry sniffed himself after he toweled off, but so many smells were involved, he couldn’t figure out if the skunk was coming or going.

  Quickly he dressed in the clothes Beth had provided, then gathered up the towel, which he fully intended to burn along with the rest of his clothing and wandered out into her family room. Except Beth wasn’t there.

  A low murmur of voices caught his attention out back, and he retraced his steps back down the long hallway of the shotgun-style home, passing her bedroom on the way. He’d sort of expected a pristine, super feminine space with lots of white. Instead, that quick peek revealed mission-style furniture, a basic blue comforter, and clothes scattered everywhere. Who knew miss perfect would be a mess in her private space?

  The continued murmurings outside drew him away to find Beth on the back porch framed by the door, which stood open. The rain made a racket against the roof of her awning, masking the sound of voices. Whoever she was talking to stood out of sight. He could see, however, that the trap with the skunk was gone, and he assumed had been loaded into the animal control truck.

  “Robert Marin has a deer lease close to Fredricksburg and we release them there,” a woman with a familiar voice was saying.

  “Good.” Beth beamed, and Autry paused at an unexpected kick of warmth and pride. He�
��d been the one to save the animal and put that smile on her face and make those dimples come out to play. Damn if that didn’t feel nice.

  He cleared his throat as he moved closer and she turned, that sunshine expression brightening even more. “Did you hear? Our skunk will find a happy home.”

  Our skunk, as if those words were the most natural thing. Autry shook off the odd thought. “And far away from Dan.” He moved closer and paused when he discovered who was out there with her. “Holly?” he asked as he swung the screen door open. “Why is a large animal vet dealing with this?”

  Cash’s wife turned to face him with amusement dancing in her eyes and her belly, swollen with the twins she was close to delivering, swinging wide. “Because Beth is always bringing me critters to fix up, and Luke won’t let me work on the big animals right now.”

  That was right. He vaguely remembered the hawk with the damaged wing, the baby squirrels who’d been abandoned, and a few other similar situations. Only he hadn’t known Beth had been attached to those.

  “You shouldn’t be working at all,” he pointed out with a nod at the belly. Who cared what her partner in the large animal veterinary clinic had to say? What did the doctors say? “Aren’t you scheduled to deliver in four weeks?”

  “Four weeks and two days, but who’s counting? This is my last week at work, and Luke is waiting in the truck, so I didn’t have to lift anything.” Holly grinned. “I hear you’ve had quite an evening.”

  Autry scowled. “I already got it from Cash—”

  Holly held up her hands with a laugh. “Beth told me her side of the story. Sounds like Dan Fogelman deserved a good thrashing.”

  Beth had been standing up for him? He cast her a quick glance, but she gazed back with an expression of total virtue.

  Holly snagged his attention as she stepped forward to give his eye a closer look in the dim glow cast by the single lightbulb out back. “Looks like you got some of it, too.”

  He shrugged, taking a step back. He’d seen the eye in the mirror and didn’t need the reminder. His family was never going to let him live this down. “I’ll be fine.”

  She gave a nod. “I’ll talk to Cash once he’s calmed down.”

  He didn’t miss how Beth’s eyebrows shot up, or the speculation that drew her lips into a secret smile. Autry shook his head. “No. He can damn well talk to me and let me explain it.”

  Holly rolled her eyes. “Suit yourself.” Then she muttered something about stubborn Hill men.

  “I’m not being stubborn. He is.” And now he’d been reduced to the grumblings of a twelve-year-old boy. This night couldn’t get any worse.

  Except, no doubt Cash had already informed their parents of the situation—of Cash’s version of the situation at least—and that meant he’d be heading home to an earful from his father. “Did he tell Dad?”

  “Not yet.”

  Relief swept through him at the reprieve.

  “Actually, I think Cash was most concerned about Beth’s involvement,” Holly offered as she tucked a strand of her long hair behind one ear.

  “Me?” Beth squeaked, blinking rapidly.

  Holly put her hand on Beth’s arm and gave her a squeeze. “You’re not exactly Autry’s type.”

  Beth snorted. “Duh. The good news is, he’s not mine either.”

  “Hey,” Autry reached out and tugged a strand of her hair that stuck out from the rest. “I don’t have a type.”

  She sounded way too happy to check him off her own list. Not that he should care about that, except he couldn’t get that damn kiss in Harry’s parking lot out of his head. Both women turned to face him with equally dubious expressions.

  “What?” he protested. Then flashed a grin. “I like all women.”

  “All women of a certain… disposition,” Beth corrected.

  Holly chuckled.

  Autry shook his head at her. “Are you calling my girlfriends easy?”

  “Nope.” Beth flashed him a challenging smile. “If a woman likes sex as much as a man, that’s her nevermind, and good for her. I’m calling you easy.” She winked, probably in an attempt to soften the blow.

  Usually, Autry wouldn’t be bothered by his reputation, but somehow, no matter how subtly she’d put it, having Beth say so didn’t sit well tonight.

  “Ouch.” Holly bit her lip when Autry aimed an irritated glance her way.

  He cleared his throat, trying to stuff down the weird sensation of being embarrassed for himself, and fell back on bravado. He pulled his grin back out, gratified to see Beth swallow as he aimed the full force of his practiced charm her way. Proof that she wasn’t totally immune. “I’m anything but easy, Elizabeth Cooper.”

  After a long blink, she lifted a single eyebrow, apparently unimpressed. “I don’t even know what that means.”

  Holly, glancing back and forth the between them like she was watching a game of ping-pong, chuckled. “A woman immune to Autry. Who’d have guessed it’d be a schoolteacher?”

  Beth suddenly laughed, her face lighting up. “A schoolteacher is immune to the trickeries of all boys, including men who still act like boys.”

  Autry dropped the towel on the wooden picnic table to put his hands on his hips. “One who saved a skunk and got arrested for you, I’d like you to remember.”

  Immediately the smile disappeared, replaced by a moue of contrition. “You’re right. I’m sorry.”

  That was it. No ifs, ands, or buts. No qualifying. No turning it back on him like many women of his acquaintance had been wont to do. A simple apology.

  “I’d better get going,” Holly interrupted, pulling Autry’s attention. “See you Friday at the ranch?”

  Autry grimaced. That was right, they were doing a family dinner Friday night because Will and his new wife, Rusty, were coming home after having spent the last two months on her family ranch in Wyoming where they split their time. Even Carter, was coming in from Austin to be there.

  A family get-together just in time for him to get nothing but teased about this by all his siblings. Terrific.

  “You should bring Beth,” Holly said. “If she tells them the same story she told me, no way would they could give you a tough time for tonight.”

  Autry’s gaze slid to the woman at his side. Now there was an idea. Beth Cooper would make a fantastic human shield. No way would Dad not take her seriously. Everyone in the area trusted Beth. Look at how she’d handled tonight. He’d still be in jail if Cash had his way.

  “I’d hug you, but…” Holly waved at his person then at her belly.

  “Yeah. Yeah.” Autry and Beth followed Holly inside and walked her to the door.

  As she said her goodbyes, a flash of lightning lit up the sky, showing the roiling clouds overhead in stark relief before quickly being shrouded in darkness. Almost immediately the bark of thunder boomed overhead.

  Holly grimaced and got ready to run out into the rain, still coming down in steady sheets. “You’d better get home. There’s another line of storms coming with high winds,” she warned.

  “Hold on.” Autry reached around Beth to grab an umbrella he’d spied beside the door. Stepping out onto the porch he popped it open. “Come on, preggers. You’re not slipping in the rain on my watch.”

  As fast as she could waddle, he helped Holly out to the truck, giving Luke—still waiting in the driver’s seat—a friendly wave. Then ran back to the house where he left the now-soaked umbrella on the porch and stepped inside.

  “You know… I think you might be a good man, Autry Hill,” Beth murmured.

  He paused inside the door and turned to find her gazing up at him with a fresh-faced kind of innocence—her still-damp hair curling around her ears and her face scrubbed clean of makeup thanks to both of them getting soaked earlier. The stirring of interest inside him was coming as less and less of a surprise.

  He cocked his head. “Back at you.”

  That brought out a shy smile. “Thanks.” Her smile grew to a grin, dimples wickedly in sight
. “I always wanted to be a good man.”

  Autry huffed a laugh at the tone to her voice. “Don’t sound so shocked about me being a good person.”

  Beth sobered and shook her head. “I’m not.”

  Really? His family was so surprised, they didn’t even want to hear the truth, happy to believe he’d been the one in the wrong in this entire scenario. Which stung more than he wanted to admit.

  “Want a ride to the court tomorrow?” The words popped out before he’d consciously thought them.

  Beth’s eyebrows, which he suddenly noticed were a light brown rather than the same pale color as her hair, went up. “Uh… sure. Thanks.”

  “Pick you up at nine?”

  “I’ll be ready.” She stepped forward, hand on the door, like she expected to shut it behind him.

  “Do I still stink?” Putting off getting home had to be why he kept hesitating to go.

  Without hesitation, Beth moved in closer going up on tiptoe to sniff his chest. She scrunched up her nose. “Yup. But not as bad.”

  “Awesome.” Only somehow, he couldn’t get upset about it right this minute. Not with her standing close and watching him with eyes full of trust. Like she expected him to always do the right thing with her.

  Normally, he’d flirt about now, just to see her blush and stammer. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her check, the now familiar almond-blossom scent of her bodywash evident this close.

  “What was that for?” she asked, putting a hand up to the spot he’d kissed.

  “For standing up for skunks and stinky cowboys.” Autry winked then strolled outside, a new lightness to his steps.

  Chapter Four

  Beth had no clue what one wore to a… what was this anyway? A trial? A sentencing? The problem was, she was an elementary school teacher—which meant broke as well as having a limited type of wardrobe. She didn’t even own a suit.