Vanishing Dreams: Vanishing Dreams (Devil's Bend #2)

by Nicole Edwards

  Lexi was surprisingly quiet, so Katie opted to talk to Sarah, wondering what was on her little sister’s mind but not wanting to dig too deep. The night was going too well.

  “He’s back,” Katie told Sarah, realizing she’d opted to pick the most serious topic she could have for their one night out that week.

  “Have you talked to him?”

  “Nope. But I saw him on Friday night.”

  Sarah’s eyes widened, and Katie was grateful she didn’t have explain all of the details. “He was at Cooper’s bachelor party.”

  “At D and L?” Sarah questioned, leaning forward, her curiosity obviously piqued.

  “Yep.”

  “Did he see you?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  “And?” Sarah inquired.

  “And he ran out. I wanted to explain, but he told me not to bother.”

  Sarah’s eyes darted down toward Katie’s belly. “Do you think he knows?”

  “I doubt it. But I’ve got to tell him. He deserves to know.”

  “Yeah, he does,” Sarah agreed.

  They’d both been on the same page as far as that was concerned from the beginning. There was no doubt in Katie’s mind that Dalton would be an incredible father, and she had to tell him. Until now, she hadn’t had the opportunity, because it wasn’t like he’d tried to reach out to her. And she wasn’t interested in leaving that sort of information on his voice mail, either. “He’ll have to talk to me sooner or later.”

  “You need to tell him now, Katie. You’re not gonna be able to go much longer without people finding out.”

  No, she wasn’t. As it was, last night when she’d told Dwayne that she wasn’t going to be able to work there for a while, he had called her on it. Obviously, if you were paying attention, her growing belly was pretty unmistakable. Especially when she was practically naked like she was up on that stage. Curious, Katie had asked him why he hadn’t said anything. Dwayne, being Dwayne, had shown his true colors. He was a greedy bastard, and he’d informed her that she was one of his most popular requests.

  Not that she’d been happy to hear that. Had that been a lifestyle she wanted to be in, it might’ve stroked her ego just a bit. Instead, it actually creeped her out a little.

  “I told Dwayne that Thursday’s my last night there.”

  “Good. I’m not sure how you can keep doing it without people realizing.”

  “It’s all about what you want to see,” Katie told her friend.

  “Maybe. But pretty soon, that,” Sarah said with a widening grin as she glanced down at Katie’s belly, “is gonna be all anyone can see.”

  Katie laughed. True.

  Her hand went to her belly, a gesture that had become so natural lately she didn’t even know when she was doing it half the time. When she was at The Rusty Nail, she made a point to avoid touching her stomach, although it took a lot of effort.

  At first, the idea of having a baby had been terrifying. She had cried for several days after taking the pregnancy test. But then she’d sucked it up and gone to the doctor, receiving confirmation that yes, she was pregnant. From that moment on, Katie had felt a little lighter.

  Taking care of Lexi hadn’t always been easy, and Katie knew she wouldn’t have been able to manage without Sarah, but it had been something that gave her purpose. She hated their circumstances, hated her mother for abandoning them, but she knew this was what she had to do. Despite her challenges, Lexi was a sweet, beautiful, smart girl, and Katie loved her more than she loved anyone.

  The thought of being a mother no longer freaked her out; it actually gave her something to look forward to. But she knew, without a doubt, she had to tell Dalton. And she had to tell him soon.

  Because keeping in him in the dark about this was not something she was okay with.

  Chapter Twenty

  Thursday night

  Dalton had absolutely no idea why he was there or what he thought he might prove by going down to Diamonds and Lace in the first place. After nuking a TV dinner and scarfing it down, he had needed something to do. Being back in Devil’s Bend was a lot harder than he’d thought it would be. Knowing where Katie was and what she was doing wasn’t helping matters, either.

  Cooper had called, asked if he wanted to stop by the bar, but Dalton had declined. He’d made an excuse that he had an errand to run and high-tailed it out of his house as fast as he could. He damn sure didn’t want Cooper to stop by and see his truck. That would be the first clue that he was lying about the errand.

  So here he was, sitting at one of the tables at Diamonds and Lace, waiting for the night’s main act to come on stage. He already knew it was Katie, thanks to the chatty waitress who’d brought him his first beer. He was pretty sure the blond with the big tits had made him from the moment he’d walked in the door, but she hadn’t gone all fan girl on him. Yet.

  The night was still young, though, just a little later than the last time he’d found Katie shaking her ass on stage for all of the horny cowboys vying to get close enough to see all her goods.

  God, the thought of those bastards ogling her just made him want to punch them in the face.

  And yes, he was a damned hypocrite, because his ass was sitting right there, at a table along the wall, waiting for her to come out.

  What he was trying to prove, he had no fucking clue, but for some reason, Dalton still wanted to see her. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get her out of his head, and the wide-eyed, surprised look on her face when he’d run into her in that hallway just a few days ago was still engrained in his brain.

  “Hey, honey, can I getcha anything?”

  Dalton raised his beer toward her, signaling he was good, or maybe he was asking for another. He didn’t know. Shit-faced drunk sounded like a damn good mood to be in right about now.

  As he watched the waitress strut away, his ears were assaulted by a low, throbbing bass line that rumbled through the building. The lights on the stage began to flicker, the strobe lights dancing across the black curtain that hung along the back wall.

  A rowdy group of guys up near the front began to whistle and cheer, building the hype and the excitement throughout the place.

  Next thing Dalton knew, there she was.

  Aww, damn.

  As much as he wanted to hate what she was doing, he still had a vast appreciation for Katie’s incredible body. He much preferred her to be flaunting all of those delicious curves just for him, though. Maybe in his bedroom, sprawled out on his bed…

  Not helping, cowboy.

  Dalton didn’t figure she could see much past the lights, but he tilted his hat a little lower, hoping to conceal himself from her view in the event she glanced out at the crowd. He found himself mesmerized by every move of her body, from the sensual sway of her hips to the way her hair caressed her skin. Damn it.

  Dalton’s body hardened, but it wasn’t completely from desire. One of the cowboys in the front started yelling out, telling her how much he loved her and how he wanted to marry her.

  That shit pissed him off.

  “How ’bout a dance just for you,” one of the wandering girls said as she passed by, her long, blood-red fingernail making a line across his chest.

  “No, thanks,” he grumbled, his eyes glued to the only woman in the room he had any interest in.

  “Are you sure, honey?” she asked sweetly as she moved even closer, the sharp smell of her cheap perfume stinging his nostrils.

  “Positive,” he growled, not bothering to look up at her.

  He knew he should’ve been polite, offered her a thanks, but no thanks smile, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Hell, at this rate, Dalton was going to wind up in the parking lot on his ass when one of those bouncers decided he was more than they cared to deal with tonight.

  His anger was ratcheting up. The last few months had helped to ease it some, but sitting here while Katie flashed her ass for every Tom, Dick, and Asshole waving money at her only set him back again.


  “If you’re interested in a dance, that one won’t help you out,” the other girl offered as she lingered beside him.

  That bit of news grabbed Dalton’s attention, and he tilted his head toward her, not quite making eye contact but lifting his head enough that he could see her face. Pretty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, a body to die for… Yep, she looked like half of the other girls in there.

  But she still didn’t hold a candle to Katie.

  “She avoids the crowd if at all possible,” the girl continued, her white silk robe falling open to reveal a barely there matching G-string and nothing else. Her breasts were firm, a little too much for his taste, her nipples a tantalizing shade of brown. Overall, she was incredibly attractive. Didn’t explain at all why his body didn’t give a damn that she was standing there half-naked.

  She didn’t do a damn thing for him.

  Now Katie, on the other hand… Lord, have mercy.

  “So no lap dances for her?” he asked curiously.

  “Not if she can help it. Not to mention, tonight’s her last night here.”

  Dalton lifted an eyebrow, trying to hide his surprise. “She’s leavin’?”

  “That’s the rumor,” the woman replied.

  Interesting. Not that it changed the fact that Katie was currently peeling off her bra slowly, with a wicked gleam in her eyes. He still preferred that sweet look she had offered him a time or two to that vixen routine she had going on. And when in the hell had she started wearing that much makeup?

  “I’ll check on you in a bit, honey,” the blonde said, smiling down at him as she ran her hand across her flat stomach.

  “I’ll be here,” he offered, turning his attention back to Katie as he tipped his beer back.

  When the music changed to an even more seductive tune, Dalton knew he was in for it. His current case of blue balls was threatening to turn into a fierce shade of electric blue before the night was over.

  And he didn’t know what the fuck he was going to do about that now that he was here.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  God, Katie was tired. And sore.

  Too much dancing in those freakish heels that Dwayne insisted she wear, and now her feet were killing her. Another reason she was grateful that tonight was her last night to dance up on that stage. Even if she could’ve hidden her protruding belly, there was no way she would’ve been able to wear those heels for much longer. Her ankles had already started to swell.

  It was nearly three o’clock in the morning, and Katie was more than ready to sneak out to her car and head home so she could fall into her bed. At this point, she didn’t even care if she changed into pajamas; she just had an overwhelming desire to schedule an appointment with her pillow. An eight-hour session would be fantastic.

  “Saying good-bye forever, huh?” Terrence asked when Katie approached the back door, where he was stationed.

  “God, I hope so,” Katie admitted honestly, earning a brilliant white smile from the big man.

  “Give me a hug, kid.” Terrence pulled her into his big, burly arms, and Katie went easily. There were few people she would miss in that place, but Terrence was one of them.

  “Take care of yourself,” Katie told him. “Tell Mona I said good-bye, and when that baby’s born, give her a kiss for me.”

  “Will do.”

  Katie took a step back when Terrence released her, trying to hold her emotions back. That seemed to be an overwhelming problem these days, what with the pregnancy and all.

  “Need me to walk you to your car?” Terrence offered as he held the door open for her.

  “I’m good. Thanks, though.” It wasn’t as if she had far to walk. For their safety, the girls were given the parking spots closest to the back door, and to ensure no one was lurking around who shouldn’t be, the parking lot was lit up like the surface of the sun.

  Even with that small measure of security, Katie double-timed it to her car, because despite all of the lighting and the big man standing guard by the back door, she had always hated this part of the night. More than once, she’d been confronted by a drunk guy who was hoping to get a little more than just a dance. And more than once, she’d kindly had to refuse. Only one of those times had the guy gotten physical, but that had been enough to scare Katie senseless.

  So much so that she’d relied on Terrence’s kind offer of an escort for months after that. Only recently had she begun to feel a little safer, at least enough to walk the thirty or so feet to her car on her own.

  Once she was in her car, she locked the doors and started the engine, not wanting to hang around to invite trouble. A minute later, she was pulling out onto the street, heading toward Devil’s Bend. The drive took roughly thirty minutes at this time of the morning with little traffic to fight through, and on days like this one, she was grateful for that. She was too damned tired; keeping her eyes open was a bigger chore than even driving.

  It wasn’t until she was pulling down the street that led to her apartment complex that she noticed there were headlights in her rearview mirror. A cold chill ran down her spine at the thought of some guy following her from the club. As it was, it was after three in the morning, and the entire town of Devil’s Bend was probably tucked into their nice warm beds.

  Everyone except her.

  Her attention swung back to the headlights shining into her rearview mirror. Had they been there the whole time? How had she missed that?

  Was she supposed to go home? Or somewhere else? And if the latter, where?

  Holy crap.

  The never-ending questions weren’t helping her at all.

  Her skin began to tingle from the warning that her brain was sending, and her hands were now shaking as they white-knuckled the steering wheel. Katie glanced at her small apartment complex off on the right side of the road. The place was so small she didn’t stand a chance of losing her tail in the parking lot, so she knew not to bother with that.

  Maybe she could go into town.

  No, that was stupid. The only place that might have people hanging out was The Rusty Nail, and they would just be Eric or Tessa closing up.

  Katie didn’t want to bring them into this if she could help it.

  When her cell phone rang, Katie nearly leapt out of the moving vehicle. Her heart raced as if it were a contender in the Kentucky Derby. She glanced down at the screen, hoping it was someone who might be able to help her as she pulled into the small complex. It was that or she would end up on the wrong end of a dead end road.

  She hit the talk button and waited, unable to get her voice to work enough to greet the caller.

  “It’s me, Katie,” came the familiar voice on the other end of the line.

  “Dalton?”

  “Yeah. Pull into your apartment. I just want to talk.”

  The relief had her nearly dropping her phone. That was until her brain made the connection that Dalton was the one following her. As happy as she was that he wasn’t some creeper stalking her, Katie still didn’t want to face him.

  Not like this.

  Darting a look into the rearview mirror, Katie noticed the makeup that was still caking her face.

  Shit.

  “Come on, Katie. Just talk to me.”

  Katie couldn’t even find the words to answer him, but she did find enough brainpower to direct her car into her parking spot. The one right next to her was empty, meaning that the young guy living in the apartment below hers was probably spending the night with his girlfriend, something he did quite frequently these days.

  When she put the car in park, Katie pulled the phone from her ear and looked at it. She knew Dalton was still on the other end, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t utter a single word, so she hung up.

  And that’s when she sent up another silent prayer. God should be used to it by now, she rationalized. It seemed she sought his help more and more these days.

  Good thing, too, because she saw what happened when she relied on her own instincts to do the right thing.r />
  ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

  Dalton knew it was risky following Katie home, but he hadn’t been able to help himself. Partly because he’d wanted to make sure that she got home safely, but more so because he wanted to talk to her.

  All the questions he wanted to ask her seemed to be on constant repeat in his head, and spending the last few hours watching her hadn’t helped him one fucking bit. In fact, he wanted to fire them off one at a time and wait to see if she would lie to him again.

  Since he hadn’t come face-to-face with her tonight, he had opted to do a little investigative work on his own. It was funny how much a woman would talk when she thought she was going to earn a big tip. And that was exactly what Jessica, the blonde stripper with the big tits, had done for most of the night. In his defense, he had left her a big tip. Bigger than he had originally intended, but the information she had given him had cemented a few things for him.

  One of them being that it was time to confront Katie and figure out just what the hell was going on.

  Climbing out of his truck, Dalton took his time making his way behind the vehicles. Rather than invite himself in, which he was pretty sure would get him shot down in a heartbeat, he lowered the tailgate and took a seat while he waited for her to join him. He didn’t care much that it was after three o’clock in the morning; he just had the driving urge to talk to Katie, to understand what was motivating her, to ask her why she felt she’d had to lie to him. The conversation with the stripper at the club had told him so many things about this woman. But everything he had learned just didn’t add up, which was why he still had a hard time believing half of it.

  Katie didn’t rush around to the back of the truck, and at one point, Dalton thought she might’ve disappeared on him. He didn’t make a move to encourage her to get out of her car, but he did toss a glance over his shoulder to make sure she was still there.