“I thought you would have learned before that Erin is off-limits. You don’t get to see her or be with her,” he growled. “We told you before, stay the hell away from her. She is too good for you.”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Maybe she is, but she’s a big girl and she can make her own decisions now.”
“Not when it comes to you. I’m serious—stay away from her,” he warned.
I smirked. “Are you her keeper? Are you going to throw her in jail if she talks to me? Are you going to throw me in jail? That’s right, you like to intimidate and scare guys that don’t know any better. News flash, Sheriff,” I said with a sneer. “You don’t intimidate me in the slightest. It will take a much bigger man than you to run me out of here now.”
“I’m not joking, Jacob. Stay the hell away from her. She doesn’t need your bullshit. Leave her alone,” he hissed.
My smirk faded and I got very serious. “It isn’t going to work this time. I’m not about to be intimidated by some small-town sheriff. I’ll leave her alone when she tells me to do so, but Philip, fair warning, I don’t think she’s going to be telling me leave her alone,” I said with a smile, unable to resist poking him just a little. He certainly fucking deserved it after the hell he’d put me through.
He glowered. “You sure about that?”
I nodded. “Positive. Whatever happens between me and Erin and I is none of your business. It wasn’t your business back then either. I damn sure mean to make it a lot clearer this time. You won’t interfere with my life a second time.”
Philip looked like he had something to say about that, but I didn’t give him the chance. I put the truck in drive and hit the gas, forcing him to step back. I pulled out of the parking lot, being careful to use my blinker. I wasn’t going to give him a reason to pull me over and give me a hard time. I wasn’t going to be the troublemaker. He could try and fuck with me, but it wouldn’t work. I knew my rights, and I was not about to let his podunk ass bully me.
He and his dad thought they were king shit because they wore badges. They could intimidate some people, but not me, not anymore. Now that I had a taste of Erin, I was hooked. I was ready to go the distance and make her realize I was back, and I intended on winning her heart. I drove out to the inn, my mind jumbled with a million different thoughts.
I needed to make her see she wanted me. I felt her want, her need. Now, I just needed to ease back into her life and prove to her I wouldn’t run out and leave her high and dry again. Those days were gone. Once she agreed to be mine, she was going to be stuck with me. I parked the truck and headed inside the small room. I couldn’t wait to get a house of my own. I had it in the works, but damn if the paperwork didn’t take forever. I needed to settle in, show Erin what I could offer her, and make her see I was a man capable of taking care of her. I had gone out and done what I had to in order to give her that life we had dreamed about together. I could give her everything.
10
Erin
Friday night was on a constant repeat in my head. I couldn’t turn it off. I kept replaying it all over and over, wondering what in the hell had gotten into me. I couldn’t blame alcohol. I had two drinks. I wasn’t stone-cold sober, but I wasn’t drunk. He’d been on my mind since I had seen him that day. Then he touched me, comforted me, and I was lost. I wanted to know what it would be like to be with him one more time. My body craved his touch, and I was helpless to fight it any longer.
I shuddered at the memory of his kiss and the way he had felt inside me. It had been so much better than I remembered. Sex with a very adult Jacob was very different from sex with the younger version. Granted, we were still in the front seat of a truck, but there were some pretty big differences in the way he felt.
A happy squeal reminded me I was on duty. I was lounging on a chair in the backyard of the Welsh mansion with all three kids playing one of the giant yard games. They were going back and forth between the pool and the games set up on the lawn. We were taking it easy today and just hanging out, not worrying about math or running errands.
That left me with way too much time on my hands to think about Jacob. I wanted to believe he had changed. He seemed sincere, but I had never been able to resist his charms. Like that night in his truck. I still couldn’t believe I had done that. I was the one who’d initiated the sex. I was the one to blame. I acted like there were no consequences when I knew better. I had thrown caution to the wind and mounted him without a care in the world.
I knew better. Dammit! My lack of caution back in high school could be explained by youthful immaturity. I didn’t have the luxury of claiming that now. I couldn’t help the smile that spread over my face as my mind traveled back to those days. I remembered the first time Philip brought Jacob home after school. I had been a typical teenage girl with a raging crush. I had flirted and made a complete ass out of myself, embarrassing Philip. My dad assured Philip it was just a phase and it would pass.
It didn’t. That crooked little smile had turned me inside out. I remembered going to the lake and watching him and Philip swim. I also remembered the many times the two of them got in trouble together and Jacob apologizing to my dad for dragging Philip into one mess or another. I knew Philip was often the instigator, but Jacob always took the fall and my dad always believed their story.
It was that bad-boy side of Jacob that drew me in. He had a hint of danger to him that sparked my inner rebel. I had always been a good girl living under the thumb of my very strict father. When I turned eighteen, that crush I had on Jacob became a full-blown infatuation. We’d snuck a few kisses here and there, and we had spent countless hours together talking and just being together, but it had never gone any further.
Jacob had been insistent he couldn’t date because a guy didn’t date his best friend’s little sister. I thought it was total bullshit. Who cared what Philip thought? I sure as hell didn’t. I had a burning desire for Jacob, and I didn’t give a shit about the consequences. I loved the idea of doing something rebellious. Dating my brother’s friend, the guy my dad disliked and urged Philip to stay away from, was the perfect way to satisfy my need to buck the rules.
My dad was convinced Jacob was a born criminal on a path to prison. Once he and Philip graduated, my dad had less control over how much time Philip spent with Jacob, which worked out great for me because I was always with my big brother. I loved flirting with Jacob. I knew he was interested, and I very quickly learned the art of tease.
No matter how much I teased and propositioned him, Jacob always shot me down. I’d get a kiss or two, and then he would back off and tell me we couldn’t. I was not the kind of girl who took no for an answer. When I turned eighteen, I had tried to convince him I was legal. He was still not having it. After I graduated high school, I managed to get him alone again. The kisses between us were a regular thing, but I wanted more. I could feel he wanted me as well, but the dude had been stalwart in his decision not to touch me.
And then that night happened.
I got out of Marianne’s car, walking over the bumpy ground in the general direction of the glow from the bonfire. Marianne grabbed my hand, giggling softly as we approached the party taking place out in an open field far away from the long reach of the sheriff.
“I bet all the college guys are going to be here,” she tittered.
“I’m only looking for one in particular,” I said with a laugh.
“Girl, let it go. You’ve practically thrown yourself at him, and he keeps shutting you down.”
“No way. I have to have him,” I said, determined to show Jacob I was mature enough to be with him.
Music filled the air, coming from the open door of someone’s car. There were pickup trucks parked around the area, backed up close to the fire with the tailgates down. Young ladies and men were sitting on the truck tailgates, legs swinging as they drank from red Solo cups. I scanned the area, finding my target. There was a pretty blonde practically hanging off him. I stared at him until his eyes met mine. He said something to the girl,
hopped off the tailgate, and walked around the fire toward me. Our gazes held.
“Good luck,” Marianne whispered before moving off to get a cup from the keg.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, a frown on his face.
I shrugged. “I wanted to party.”
“Your daddy is going to kill you.”
“Not if he doesn’t know.” I smiled.
He shook his head. “How’d you escape the handcuffs?”
“I swallowed the key,” I said with a wink.
“Well, you’re here, I suppose you should make the most of it. Want a drink?” he asked.
“Sure.”
He left, coming back a minute later with a cup of warm beer. I tried to drink it, but it had been putrid. “Want to take a walk?” he asked when one of the partygoers cranked up his stereo so loud it was impossible to hear anything else other than the music.
I nodded, letting him take my hand and lead me away from the loud laughter that mingled with the country music pouring out of the speakers of the truck. We stopped in an area that was quiet with a few tall trees providing a nice breakup from the party. We sat down on a huge rock, and I made my move. I kissed him, letting him know what it was I wanted.
“Erin, we can’t,” he protested.
“We can. There’s no one around. I’m old enough. Philip never has to know,” I told him.
“I don’t want to piss him off,” he protested, his lips hovering over mine.
“If you don’t kiss me, I’m the one you should be worried about pissing off,” I said, grabbing the back of his head and kissing him with an intensity that revealed exactly what I wanted.
He stopped resisting and one thing led to another—
“Mom!” Ellie shouted.
I blinked several times, looking directly at her. “What?”
“Can we go in the pool again?” she asked.
“Yes, go ahead.” I waved a hand.
They all raced toward the pool, climbing in and happily splashing each other. I watched Ellie, thinking back to that night. I had thought I was having a little fun with Jacob. I did have fun, but I also ended up pregnant. Our secret romance wasn’t a secret for long. People at the party had noticed us slipping off together and it got back to Philip.
Pissed wasn’t the word I would have used to describe Philip’s reaction to the news. When he had confronted me about it, I didn’t deny it. I refused to deny how I felt for Jacob, which had been exactly the wrong thing to do. My rebellion had cost me far more than I could have ever imagined.
I didn’t know it then, but I learned later my dad had threatened to have Jacob thrown in jail for the smallest infraction. Jacob’s penchant for trouble meant it would only be a matter of time before my dad could bust him for something minor and turn it into something big enough to ruin his life. When they had confessed that they had told him to stay away from me, I didn’t talk to them for weeks. I had been so pissed at them, I was planning on running away and never speaking to them again. But then I found out I was pregnant.
I was eighteen, alone and pregnant with no job and no means to support myself. Jacob had fallen off the face of the earth. I had never felt so completely alone in my life. I finally had to swallow my pride and confess my sins—all of them. My dad had been disappointed and more than a little angry, but he helped me. He took care of me and let me stay at home. He cursed Jacob, and Philip vowed to hunt him down and kill him. Eventually, once Ellie was born, things settled down. Jacob was never spoken of again.
I sighed, thinking about what he must have felt getting run out of town. He was back, and it was clear he was hell-bent on revenge. I didn’t blame him. However, his idea that we could pick up where we left off and pretend like everything was okay wasn’t ever going to work. He would find out about Ellie. I knew how he felt about Philip for what he’d done. Jacob wasn’t the forgive-and-forget type. When he realized what I had been keeping from him, that anger would be turned on me.
How would he react? Would he hate me? Would he try and fight for custody? My stomach churned at the idea of Ellie being dragged into an ugly mess. What kind of revenge would he seek when he learned he had a daughter?
I rubbed a hand over my face. I was going to have to come up with a plan and fast. I was already on borrowed time. Someone in town would tell him about Ellie. Hell, Larry might even mention the fact I had a daughter. I was playing with fire. I either had to tell him or resort to drastic measures. I didn’t know what those measures were but running away was the first thing that came to mind. I knew it would only make matters worse. One of my dad’s favorite sayings was your sins will always find you out. That had been proven true time and again.
I did not want to be on the other end of Jacob’s wrath if he had to chase me. I was going to have to bite the bullet and tell the man he had a daughter. I groaned, pushing the plan to a back burner for now. That was a lot easier said than actually done.
11
Jacob
Thinking about anything other than Erin’s lush body over mine was next to impossible. I knew I had work to do and that I was slightly obsessing, but that didn’t stop me from reliving every second from the very moment we kissed until she collapsed against me, wet and spent in the front seat of my truck. I couldn’t think about that right then. I had spent all weekend thinking about it. Now, it was time to figure out how to make Burning Butte welcome Western Energies. Maybe welcome was a strong word. If I could get them to simply allow us to do a job, they would see we weren’t there to destroy their small town or make it into a sprawling metropolis.
There was a rap on my door before it was flung open. I looked up to see Larry, a scowl on his face as he closed the door behind him. It didn’t look good. “Larry?” I said.
He sat down, looking very unhappy. “We’ve got a problem.”
My stomach sank. Somehow, he’d found out about me and Erin and was going to warn me away from her. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. Larry couldn’t dictate my personal life. My mind was already working in overdrive, thinking about the many arguments I would put forth about why I could and would be with Erin.
“What problem would that be?” I asked, keeping my voice even.
“I just left a city council meeting,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “You would have thought I walked into enemy territory. They are all going to block the expansion. They say there are some zoning laws that prohibit us from doing any kind of oil drilling out there in the middle of nowhere. I don’t even think half of them knew the area I was speaking about!”
I sighed, expecting as much. “I warned you this would be an uphill battle.”
“Uphill! They won’t even let me get my damn foot in the door. I’ve already called my lawyer,” he growled.
I winced. Suits and lawyers who wore them would go over with the city council about as well as a lead balloon. He was fighting the fight like he was in a city. Burning Butte did things a little differently. He needed to speak their language and acknowledge their angst over losing the way things had always been done. It was going to be one of those situations that required nice, thick, sweet honey to lure them. A pissy, vinegar-filled attitude was only going to make the situation worse.
“Larry, I think there is a better way,” I started.
“There better be. My lawyer said this thing could be tied up in court for years. I’m not here to burn money. I’m here to make money. I can’t afford to sit around paying a legal team and not bring in a profit,” he complained.
I nodded. “I understand.”
“I need real results,” he reiterated.
“I get it.”
“What’s your plan to help the people around here understand this could be very good for them?” he asked, putting the problem squarely in my lap.
I grimaced, not really having any better ideas to offer. “I don’t know. Yet. I’m working on it.”
Larry shook his head. “This is a big deal for us.”
“I know. I’m not givin
g up. I’m just looking for the right angle to go at this,” I told him, not wanting him to think he’d wasted his time and energy hiring me.
“Maybe you were right. You’ve been gone too long, and the people here consider you an outsider.”
“I told you I wasn’t on great terms with a lot of the people around here. But that doesn’t mean I can’t find a way to make them like you, the company, and maybe even me,” I said with a grin.
He looked me right in the eye, completely serious. “I don’t think I have to tell you if this doesn’t go through, there is no job for you. This job was created for you at Western Energies. If we can’t drill, I’ll need to sell this division. I can’t guarantee the next owner will keep you on.”
“I understand.”
He rose to his feet and walked to the door, pausing to look back at me. “I encourage you to find a way in with these people sooner rather than later. If you have to suck up to the whole damn city council, do it. We need this.”
I nodded. “I’m working on it.”
He left me alone, the weight of the world on my shoulders. My entire goal in coming back to Burning Butte was to be successful. If I lost my job, I would only prove all of them right. They could laugh me right out of town a second time, and there was a damn good chance I would lose Erin for good.
I had to dig deep. There had to be common ground somewhere. Once I found it, I could promote. If there was something the town needed that Western Energies could provide, beyond the obvious jobs and influx of business to the various shops and restaurants barely getting by, I could use it. Western Energies had endless resources.
“What does Burning Butte want?” I murmured, tapping my pen on the pad.
I thought back to my days growing up here. What did I wish we had? I smirked, thinking back then I would have liked a sports bar or a nice place to play basketball with the guys. There was only one thing I wanted in Burning Butte now. Erin. Erin was what I wanted and needed.
Bad Boy’s Secret Baby Page 6
