Her gorgeous breasts brushed his chest, and he groaned as her beaded nipples scraped his skin. So exquisite.
He was about to take one of the beauties into his mouth when the muffled ringtone of the phone in his jeans on the floor, resonated through the room.
Damn.
Reluctantly, Dale drew back, then rolled off the bed to fish his cell from his pocket. One glance at the caller ID had him muttering a thankful oath.
It was Caspian.
Chapter Fifteen
“Cas,” Dale greeted, answering on the second ring.
“Why the hell do I have six missed calls from you?” Caspian’s voice was sharp, tinged with a mix of concern and irritation that only a brother could muster. “What’s going on?”
Barely knowing where to start, he inhaled and ran his free hand through his hair. “Not long after you shipped out on your mission, I got a call from Gabe, who told me Dad was in an accident.”
“Accident?” Caspian’s tone darkened. “What kind of accident? Is Dad okay?”
Dale glanced over at Sadie, who was quietly slipping out of bed and gathering her clothes. The sight of her glorious, naked body momentarily blanked his mind.
She caught his gaze and smiled, giving him a reassuring nod before disappearing into her bathroom and shutting the door.
“Dale? What the hell? Answer me,” Cas demanded, anxiety deepening his tone, regaining Dale’s attention.
Oh, yeah, right.
“Dad’s okay,” he quickly replied, then went into detail about the accident and all their father’s injuries.
Cas cursed in his ear so loud, Dale momentarily moved his head away from the phone.
“It could’ve been much worse,” he stated, after brining the device back to his ear. “He’s getting released from the hospital today.”
His brother blew out a breath, and the sound rustled through the phone. “You and your intuition. Good thing you dropped your packet, huh?”
The guy had no idea.
Dale debated on whether he should tell his brother the rest, especially since there wasn’t anything Cas could do about it at the moment. He was active duty, and Texas was too far from the Virginia base for him to travel if his team caught a mission while he was here.
The only reason Dale had called his brother’s phone that remained on base during missions, was because he knew Cas would want to know about their father’s accident, just as Dale would have if the boot was on the other foot.
He’d also want to know the rest.
“Yeah.” Dale cleared his throat, hoping Cas didn’t do anything stupid once he was up to speed on the events. “I’ve convinced him to stay at a safe house for now.”
There was a brief silence on the other end, and Dale could practically hear his brother’s mind racing.
“Safe house? What the hell, Dale? What aren’t you telling me?”
Exhaling, he hit the speaker button and set the phone on the bed before he started getting dressed. “There’s more to it, Cas. Someone’s been screwing around at the ranch, spooking the horses and trying to stir up trouble.” He quickly recounted every incident, including Sadie in his truck. “We’re not sure who it is yet, but the sheriff, Mac, Cooper, and the rest of the guys are helping me keep an eye on things.”
“Damn it, Dale. You should’ve told me sooner.” Caspian’s voice was tight, and Dale could tell he was struggling to keep his composure.
A smirk tugged at his lips, and he shook his head as if his brother could see him. “I did try, aboutsix times, plus I contacted some higher ups to try to reach you, but they said since it wasn’t a death in the family, it would have to wait until you returned to base.”
Cas spewed several curses at that information, and Dale cringed, knowing Sadie probably heard his brother’s outburst through the closed bathroom door. “I’m coming home. To hell with it.”
“No, Cas, listen to me,” Dale said firmly, trying to keep his brother from making a stupid decision he knew the guy would regret later. “You’re still active duty. Either drop your packet when your anniversary date comes up in a few weeks or try to get a few days of leave. But I swear, you don’t need to come home right now. We’ve got it under control.”
