When Petals Fall: A Cowboy, Second Chance Romantic Suspense (Chance Creek Book 1)

by A. L. Mercier

  He nodded, his jaw tight. "It's real easy to jump to conclusions but a total bitch to have to face the truth." She should have known better than that. His jaw was so tight his teeth were grinding, his nostrils flared in fury. He'd never have intentionally hurt her. Never.

  "Maybe, but you should have trusted me, Lizzie, and listened to what I had to say instead of running." Just hearing again about how she had sold him short all those years ago set his blood to simmering. He turned so he could face her head on.

  "Oh yeah?" She threw her hands up in the air. "What would you have done, huh?" She stabbed him in the chest with her index finger. "What would you have done if you had caught me half-dressed with a half-naked hunk standing next to me? Would you have waited around to find out if I had been sleeping with a so-called close friend?"

  "There is no 'so-called' anything. She is a close friend, and that's all she's ever been." It was way past time they got this cleared up once and for all, so it was time for the whole truth. "But I probably wouldn't have, no."

  "I didn't think so. First, you'd have beat the living shit out of the guy-"

  "Damn right I would," he interrupted.

  "-and then you'd have left, pissed off and thinking the worst. Well, being a woman, I skipped the ass beating and did the latter."

  "You're wrong. I might have been pissed, but I wouldn't have run away," he defended.

  "Oh puh-leeze."

  He nodded as he reined in his temper, but he still growled out the words. "I'd have left, sure, but only until I calmed down enough to actually hear what you had to say. Then I'd have listened, whether or not it was something I wanted to hear. I wouldn't have run hundreds of miles away."

  "Maybe and maybe not."

  "There is no maybe about it."

  "Whatever." She crossed her arms across her chest, again, in unconscious defense, putting some space between them, and that pissed him off even more.

  "But for me, running was a hell of a lot easier." Lizzie drew in a deep breath. "When I found you together, with her in the robe, looking like you both had just showered… it was like every insecurity I never realized I had become reality."

  "Lizzie…" He started to reach for her, then dropped his hand, knowing she wouldn't welcome his touch. Not now. Not yet. Not with so much still lying between them. And if he was honest, he wasn't sure he wanted to touch her just then.

  She whirled to face him, stark anguish on her face. "Do you know the first thing that went through my mind? I thought I wasn't hot enough for you in bed, so you'd found someone who was."

  "You were wrong. You were so much more than I ever imagined I'd find. God. So much more." He shook his head. "But you left me, Lizzie. Just like that." He snapped his fingers, his voice just as crisp as the sound. "That's a hard hit to take." His voice was rough, a mix of sadness, anger, and regret.

  "This whole thing could have been avoided if you had just told me the truth from the very beginning instead of keeping me in the dark." Her voice cracked and the first tear spilled over.

  "I'm sorry, Lizzie. But I was the only one Cami had to confide in, and when she asked me not to tell anyone that she and Adam were seeing each other, she was so desperate that I agreed. Then she got pregnant, and she lost it. With Adam's parents so controlling and richer than sin, she'd been afraid Adam's parents might try to take the baby from her, so she asked me to say I was the baby's father."

  "That's just stupid." She sniffled and wiped away the tears with her fingers.

  "I agree, but at the time Cami had no idea that the extremely wealthy Mr. and Mrs. Garrison would accept her, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, with open arms. But that's beside the point. I told her I couldn't do it, and that's the part of the conversation you didn't hear. Had you stuck around for a few more minutes, you'd have known the whole truth instead of taking the portion of the conversation you overheard and making accusations."

  More tears ran down her cheeks, and he wiped them away with his thumbs.

  "You should have told me the whole truth from the very beginning. That's what people in relationships do. They trust one another with everything." Her eyes were ablaze with conviction.

  "Some things can't be shared. No matter what kind of relationship you're in," he countered.

  "That's not true. It shouldn't be like that." Her anger was showing. Damn, she was beautiful when she was angry.

  "I was all that Cami had. I couldn't break her trust." His voice even in tone now, his belief in what he had done still as strong today as it had been back then.

  She stared at him in disbelief, then flatly stated, "Not even with me."

  He sighed. "No. Not even with you."

  She nodded, then angrily swiped at her tears. "If someone hides something from someone, it's a lie by omission, and that person automatically thinks the person who lied is guilty of something."

  Wait a minute. Was there more to this than she was saying? Had she been… He met her gaze dead on. "Did you feel left out? Is that what it was?"

  "Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed.

  "I'm not, but you're being unreasonable. Two people in a relationship sometimes can't share everything and to expect that isn't logical. I can only wonder if you were jealous of my relationship with Cami."

  "Yes!" she exploded. Her, "Yes, damn it, I was!" came out as a cross between a sob and a shout, and he could only watch as she fought to keep her composure but quickly lost the battle. "You and she had secrets, and you and I had secrets… I was eighteen. I didn't get that you could be friends with other women and not want them. Seven years ago, I thought you cheated on me with the other woman who you had those secrets with!"

  "I would never cheat on you. Ever." They were shouting now, and fucking-A it felt good to get it out. "How the hell could you even think I could betray you like that?"

  "I was eighteen! Try rationalizing any of this to an eighteen-year-old who just finds out—" She broke off, her eyes going wide before lowering to the hands folded in her lap.

  "Finds out what?"

  She shook her head and sniffled again before meeting his gaze. "Finds out or at least thinks that the love of her life is having a baby with someone else. If you had explained…"

  She was holding something back. He could see it in her eyes. But he wouldn't push. Not yet. "You didn't give me a chance, goddamn it! I fucking loved you. I'd have never done anything to hurt you. And you left. You just walked away without so much as a fucking backward glance! That cut deeper than any goddamn knife ever could."

  She nodded, tears continuing to fall. "You think I didn't look back?" she shouted. "Well, Mr. Fucking-Know-It-All, I looked back plenty. And you followed me everywhere. In here," she said, her voice softening as she pointing to her head. "And in here," she whispered with her hand over her heart. "You were always there. Always."

  Her voice broke, and it broke his heart. So did the only thing he could do. He told her the truth.

  "So were you."

  Then he reached for her, pulled her into his lap. She buried her head into the crook of his neck, his hand stroking her hair and back as he held her, letting her cry. He knew she cried for all they had lost because they'd both been idiots. Seven years lost due to lack of communication.

  He soothed her as best he could. With each caress of his hand, her tears subsided, and she relaxed into his body, and he welcomed her warmth. After seven long years, he still loved her with everything he had.

  "Then why didn't you come after me?" she asked against his shirt.

  "You were the one who left." He soothed a hand across her back. Lord, how he'd wanted to, and he nearly had. At least a half-dozen times. But it wouldn't do any good to go there now. They were past it. Finally.

  Lizzie sighed. "So I was."

  "Dad had a heart attack that day, and I had to take over things at the Rocking K. Apparently, Dad was sick long before he let me know it, because we were running so far in the red that we were just about to go under."

  "I knew about
Leo's heart, but I didn't know it was the same day. You had to take care of Amy and Ryan then, too?" she asked between sniffles.

  "Yeah. Thank God I had help. Mrs. Maguire came to help out some. She brought a few of the girls from town over to play with Amy while she cooked meals and cleaned. Your mom helped a lot, too. A few of the men rotated taking turns to help keep things going out on the range." He let out a deep sigh of resignation. "My whole world fell apart in one day."

  "But it worked out."

  "I'm not sure about that. Yeah, the ranch is making a profit again, but I'm not sure about the kids." He laughed humorlessly.

  "They're not kids anymore."

  "No, they're not. Ryan was easy as he was already eighteen when Dad had the heart attack, but Amy." He blew out a breath. "She sure was and still is a handful."

  She'd bet Amy was, and she just knew Jake was handling it with his usual competence. Life had thrown him a curve ball—and she had too—and yet, he was still here, optimism firmly in place. She sat up.

  "You're amazing, Jake Kramer."

  "What I am is tired." Tired of chasing dreams, tired of chasing what might have been rather than what could and should be. "I turned everything around, except what happened with you." And that was next on his list.

  She sniffed and turned those big green eyes up to him. Damn she was cute, even with mascara raccoon eyes. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

  "Oh. Thanks. God, I must be a total mess," she said wiping beneath her eyes.

  "You're beautiful."

  She shook her head. "Even for you that's stretching it." She wiped her eyes and then blew her nose with a very unladylike enthusiasm, and he smiled.

  "We yelled at one another," she said with a bit of surprise. "We've never yelled."

  "I'm guessing the occasion called for it."

  Lizzie nodded. "Yes, it did."

  "So, what now?"

  "You know Katie and I are opening a business in Jackson Hole."

  "Yeah, so?" The smile faded.

  "So, I'm not going to be staying in Chance Creek."

  "This is not a news flash." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her forehead. "You worry so much about what's coming that you forget to enjoy what's already here."

  "I like to plan."

  "I like to live. Would you like to live with me, Lizzie?"

  She shook her head at him, in that way she had that had her curls sliding across her shoulder. "I think dating might be better place to start." She placed her hand on his chest. "Tonight was a good first date."

  He looked at her and saw she truly meant it. He leaned forward so his forehead touched hers. "You're an amazing woman, Elizabeth Anne Thomason, dealing with the past and putting up with my jackass attitude all in one night."

  "One more jackass in my life could be just what I need."

  He heard the huskiness in her voice and his mind shut down to all the negative thoughts as his body took him in a more positive direction. "It could?"

  "Yes. Why don't you kiss me, Jackass Jake?"

  "It would be my pleasure," he pressed his lips to hers. It was like stepping back in time to their very first kiss he thought as he brushed his lips lightly across hers. The one under the oak tree when she turned sixteen. He had meant it to be a chaste happy birthday kiss, but it turned into so much more. Kind of like this one—taking on a life of its own.

  How could he resist? She was so sweet and tasted like heaven. He ran his tongue across the seam of her lips. All he could think was that kissing her was like coming home. When her lips parted and her tongue brushed against his, he knew he was right.

  He took the kiss deeper. His tongue thrust against hers and she moaned, pressing her breasts against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to straddle his lap, her back braced against the steering wheel, her knees on either side of his hips. He rested his hand on her stomach, and when she arched against it, let it drift up to glide across her breast. He slid his hand down and lifted the hem of her pretty pink sweater and along with it the silky top beneath. He deftly unhooked the front clasp of her bra and then covered her beautiful tits with his hands.

  He kneaded the smooth skin of her bare breast, brushing his thumb across her nipple, drawing a whimper past Lizzie's lips, a fresh wave of arousal lancing through him.

  "Take them off, baby." He needed wanted full access to her and right now her clothes were getting in the way.

  Lizzie pulled the tops over her head, arching her back, and pressing her feminine heat against his throbbing cock. He thrust his hips up once, twice, seeking more. Always more.

  She worked on his tie and he began undoing the buttons of his shirt. He yanked the shirt apart and he pulled her against him, flesh on flesh. He groaned at the breathtaking feel of her hardened nipples grazing his chest, occasionally chafing his own nipples, each time triggering a jerk from his cock. He skimmed his hands up the smooth expanse of her back pressing her closer yet not close enough.

  She rubbed against him, chest to chest, groin to groin. Her heat seeping through her pants and his as she moved her crotch up and down the length of his already impossibly hard cock. Just a few touches of Lizzie's body had him ready to explode. With her, it went beyond physical and delved into the emotional, heightening and sensitizing every touch, every kiss, every sigh.

  He halted her movement and lowered his head to take one of her nipples into his mouth. Her head dropped back on a moan, her hair spilling down her back. Beams of moonlight flowed through the windshield of the car, silhouetting Lizzie as her lips parted on a sigh and her eyelashes fluttered shut. The look of dazed passion on her face sent his heart soaring.

  He'd never wanted another woman the way he wanted Lizzie, and he wanted to see her climax. There was nothing more beautiful than watching Lizzie fly. He needed to see it again. He was hungry for it, ravenous to bring her that pleasure.

  She arched her back, seeking more, and he gave it to her as he sucked her nipple deeper, harder into his mouth. His cock ached with need as she lifted and lowered herself, her pussy gliding along his shaft.

  He flicked his tongue against the tip of her breast, then, once again, wrapped his lips around her nipple, suckling softly, then harder, watching Lizzie bloom as she gave herself, lost herself in the moment, the beauty of her silhouetted against the pale moonlight something he would never forget.

  Her hips picked up the rhythm of his pulse, fast and furious, her fingers running through his hair, pulling his mouth harder against her breast. He gently bit the tip of her nipple and she gasped. She ground herself against him, so sensuously, he was on the verge of coming right there.

  The tingling sensation started at the base of his spine and spread outward. He clenched his teeth and fought to hold back. It was no use, he was going to explode and soon, but if he was going over the edge, he was taking her with him.

  He drew her mouth down to his, his tongue plunging deeply within the recesses of her mouth, then retreating, only to repeat the movement, mimicking the vision he had in his head, his cock thrusting into her hot, wet sheath.

  She cried out as she ground herself against his pulsing cock, leisurely and languidly, her nipples abrading his chest. He needed to see her go over the edge, she was close, so very close, and he knew just how to get her there.

  He teased the tips of her nipples, lightly with just his fingertips, as he had done in the past, heightening her pleasure. A few feather-light touches alternating with a few pinches had her crying out. Her body jerked against his, heat and cream pouring out of her. The look of pure ecstasy on her face did him in. He thrust hard against her once, twice, and he erupted. The sensation of pleasure so extreme it bordered on pain as the climax rushed through him as he came in his pants, spurt after spurt, like a teenager, but at this very moment he couldn't seem to give a damn.

  Their ragged breathing filled the air as he held her in his arms. She handed reached for her purse and pulled out a tissue and he
lped clean him up. He felt no embarrassment. Not with Lizzie. She knew she'd always turned him on, and that sure as hell hadn't changed. After tucking the tissue into the small garbage bag hanging beneath the dash, she pressed back against him.

  He wasn't sure how long he held her up before she sagged limply against him. He lazily ran his fingers up and down her back. Her warm, smooth breasts were pressed against his chest, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, her face turned in to his neck, and he knew he'd come full circle.

  He knew without a doubt he never wanted to spend another day without Lizzie in his life. Seven years ago he'd loved her with every fiber of his being and he may be a fool, but he loved her even more now. She'd left him once, not just to run from trouble but to run from him. This time would be different. If it took the rest of his life, he'd show her just how right they were together—or die trying.

  If she hadn't already dropped off into sleep, from the sounds of her slow, even breathing she would shortly. He sat her upright and she let out a moan of protest as he pulled her camisole back over her head and straightened it as best as he could. He turned with her in his arms and exited the car.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, and he carried her up the stairs to her loft above the barn. In sleep, she trusted him so deeply and easily, yet in wakefulness she was wary of him. That was something he needed to work on.

  He pulled the key from her purse, unlocked the door, then walked her inside the loft. He carried her to her bedroom, and while she clung to him, he pulled back the covers then gently lay her on the bed. He removed her shoes, then her pants before pulling the covers over her limp body. He kissed her, his lips lingering for a brief moment against hers. He pulled the cover a little higher before straightening to his full height.

  Just as he turned to go, she grabbed his hand. "Don't go, Jake."

  "Are you sure?"

  She nodded. "Need snuggles."

  So did he. From her. Only her. He stripped off his clothes, boots, and hat as she stripped off hers, and crawled in beside her. She snuggled close, her head resting on his chest, his arm wrapped around her holding her flush against him.