“I can stand it, if you can.” Lily stood in the doorway glaring at Angie. “Or will you take the coward’s way out again?”
Angry, Angie jumped up and strode across putting her face right in front of Lily’s. “I was ten. I didn’t decide to leave you behind. Our mother made that decision.”
Lily’s face flushed pink. “Yes. She chose you, her golden child by the husband she really loved. Dad told me how she couldn’t forget her first husband and talked about him all the time.”
“That’s a lie. Your dad lies, and he’s a crook and a murderer. She took me and left to save our lives.” Angie regretted the words, even before her sister’s head went back as though she’d been slapped. Her face had paled.
“Oh, Lily. I didn’t mean to say that so bluntly.” Tears trembled on Lily’s eyelashes.
“I’d hoped when I found you and Mother we might find a way back, where I could be accepted. That isn’t going to happen. Father will always be there standing between us.” She turned and walked away, dejection evident in the slumped shoulders and bowed head.
“Lily.” Angie reached out her hand, but her sister shied away and ignored her. Silence fell in the room behind her. Angie didn’t want to turn and see the disgust on Samantha and Brent’s face.
Warm hands took hold of her shoulders and pulled her body back into his warmth. “Take a breath. Twenty-one years of hurt will take a long time to heal. You have to go very slow.” Angie sobbed, and Brent turned her and clasped his arms tight around her. His lips kissed the top of her head. “It’s going to be all right, darlin’. I promise.”
She looked up at him and tried to smile. “You always keep your promises.”
* * * *
“I do.” Mentally Brent crossed his fingers and hoped to hell he hadn’t made a fool’s statement. He rubbed her back as she silently cried against his shoulder. Was sending them to Montana the right decision? He hated the thought of being away from Angie for a day.
He heard Samantha go out the side door leaving the room to them. Brent carried Angie across the room. He sat in a large lounge chair with her in his arms.
“You don’t have to go to Montana with her. She does need to be out of the public eye. The press would eat her alive. There are going to be questions about what she knew or didn’t know.”
Angie raised her head. “I don’t believe she knew about his underground business.”
“Neither do I. That will eventually be resolved. There’s no reason for her to have to go through what she would if she goes home now. The FBI will want to question her, but I’ll ask Nate to do it. He’ll be better than anyone else.
Brent took hold of her chin and looked deep into her pansy eyes, more a dark purple today. “If you choose not to go with her, you may lose the only chance you have of reclaiming her as your sister.”
“I know. You’re right. This is going to be hard, but I have to do it. For myself, her, and Mom.”
“Good girl. I’ll come for you. Keep in touch with me by phone.” He kissed her mouth. “I think you’ll like my family.”
“I don’t already have enough pressure on me, but I also will get to know your family better and hope they like me. You remember I did meet them once two or three years ago.”
“They met Angie. I think they need to meet Diana, too.”
“Good luck on that wish. I don’t know who Diana is myself.”
His lips stroked softly across hers. He slid his tongue inside her mouth and slowly caressed the warmth. When he pulled back, his eyes shone a bright blue.
“To be whole, you need to find that part of yourself.”
“Who made you the great philosopher?” A flash of anger crossed her face.
“Maybe I’m touched in the head from your potent fragrance, sweet taste, and soft skin. Let’s go to my ranch and make love under the sunshine before I put you on the jet later today.”
Angie rose and took his hand. “That’s a plan I can agree to.”
Chapter Twelve
They’d said good-bye to Jackson and Samantha. Brent took the back roads, driving quickly toward their destination. Angie enjoyed the breeze coming in her open window. She hadn’t seen Lily again before they left. Well, they’d have plenty of time to see each other at Brent’s family’s ranch. They could talk or argue as the case may be.
Brent turned into the entrance to his place and headed around the back of the hill to the lakeside. A few birds flew across the sky, and in the distance she heard the faint sound of a train whistle. No one was anywhere around. An old, dry campfire was the only evidence his men had been there.
Reaching into the backseat, Brent handed her a blanket. “I’ll bring the towels. You choose a spot.”
“Are we going to get wet?”
“We might.”
Angie decided on a place partly under the trees, but still some sunlight shone through the branches. She spread the blanket up to the tree’s thick trunk. They could use it as a backrest.
Brent walked toward her carrying the towels and the small cooler Samantha had insisted they bring. When she heard their plans to visit Brent’s property, she’d quickly made sandwiches and added several bottles of soda to the cooler.
“Want to eat? Then we can talk and relax, before we do other more fun things.” His grin melted her heart. He was doing that a lot lately.
“Good idea.” Angie scooted and leaned against the tree.
He put the towels down and opened the cooler. A sandwich for her and him. He popped the cans open and handed one to Angie, before settling beside her.
“Tuna fish is one of my favorites,” Angie said, after taking a bite.
“I like bacon, lettuce, and tomato, but this is good.”
He stared out across the pasture filled with white, blue, and yellow wildflowers.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m visualizing the ranch. Do you agree building the house on the hill is the best spot?”
“Yes, and have verandas on all four sides so you can sit and enjoy whichever view you want.”
“To start I’m going to build a small cabin right here by the trees. One big room and a bath. Then once the big house is done, the cabin can be a guest house.”
Brent had finished his sandwich. He moved Angie, so she lay between his legs and against his chest.
His outdoor, woodsy scent swirled around her head. She loved to lean against his firm chest and have his body surrounding the rest of her.
“Can you imagine the cows in the distance and”—he pointed to the east—“horses running across the prairie. I love working with horses.”
“It’s good land. You’ll have a beautiful ranch.”
He kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear, “We’ll have a beautiful ranch. I picture you at the house, or out riding across the pastures with me. I picture you having our baby.”
A thrill went straight through her. A baby with light-blue eyes and thick brown hair, just like his or her daddy. Angie wanted to trust him. She should. After all, he rescued her. She’d seen Jackson and Samantha’s happy marriage, and Drake and Janice’s. It was possible.
Warm hands soothed along her arms, gathering her closer. “You’re doing some heavy thinking. Give up. I won’t stop until you say yes to me.”
“Yes, forever?”
“That’s the only deal I can live with,” Brent said in a firm tone. He ran his tongue around her ear and down her neck. Shivers ran up her spine and desire settled in her lower abdomen. All he had to do was look at her to make her want him, and when he touched her, her whole body came to attention.
Her heart beat rapidly, and moisture wet her lower lips. Her pussy tingled with the need to have him inside her. His hand slipped between the opening to her blouse and held her breast. His thumb rubbed across her puckered nipple.
“You have on too many clothes, sweetheart.” He undid the buttons to her blouse. Then he held her away from him for a minute, to remove both her blouse and bra. Now his hands covered bo
th breasts. Her breath caught, and she raised herself more firmly against his palms. He slipped her down on the blanket where he could lean over her and suckle first one breast and then the other.
One of his hands moved to the button on her jeans, undid it, and slid the zipper down. Moving his hand under her panties, his fingers separated her wet folds and lightly pinched her engorged nub at the same time he grazed her nipple with his teeth. A dart of electricity sparked from one point to the other. Her body shook with desire.
Moving away, he pulled her jeans and panties down. Then he yanked her boots off, and the rest of her clothes. His eyes roamed up her body from her curvy legs, to her small waist, and lush breasts.
“I could sit all day and just look at you.” He grinned. “Maybe not all day. At some point I’d have to go inside that sweet pussy.”
“If that’s what you want cowboy, I’d say you’re overdressed. I want to see what I’m getting before I decide to let you in.” Her teasing voice brought a wicked smile to his face.
He stood straddling her body. Very slowly he unbuttoned his shirt and let it slip to the ground.
“Is that enough or do you need to see more?”
“I want the whole package, cowboy.”
* * * *
Brent put his hand on his silver belt buckle. “Did I tell you I won this at a rodeo?” He gave her a slow, sexy smile and saw the hunger in her eyes and the impatience. “When I was seventeen, I rode this wild bull and managed to stay on the longest. A miracle I’ve never repeated.”
After unfastening his buckle, he slid the button out the hole, and the waist to his jeans was loose. In one quick, smooth move he pushed his clothes down to his boots. He sat, took off his boots, kicked the pants to the side, and stood to face her.
“What do you think?”
Angie rose and walked around him. Her eyes left a trail of heat wherever she looked. Moving closer, she trailed her fingers around his waist to the front.
“You might just do.”
“I’d expected a better report than ‘just do.’”
She kissed his chest under his chin and roamed from one side of his chest to the other. Her tongue licked his nipples while her hand slid over his six-pack and curled around his hard cock.
Her soft, warm hand had heat rushing to every cell in his body. He was on fire for her. When her wet mouth covered the top of his dick, a zing went straight to his brain. His fingers caressed her soft hair and helped him balance and not fall in a heap of desire at her feet.
As her tongue tasted along the underside of his cock, her finger ran around the crest at the top. His insides were being tossed around in a whirling wind, his chest straining to breathe, and in a moment he was sure he was going to explode.
Angie moved her body up, keeping it against his all the way. “I don’t think you really enjoyed that,” her teasing eyes taunted him. She moved her breasts back and forth across the hair of his chest. He was drunk on her fragrance. Her fingers still rubbed his cock.
Brent lifted her and swung her to the ground. “Now it’s my turn.”
He spread her legs wide. He tasted her sweetness and tormented her nub, with his teeth and tongue. His fingers moved into her opening, and she moaned.
“What do you want, darlin’?” He looked up at her.
“You inside me.”
“Then I pass the test?” He bent and rubbed his tongue across her nub again. “I want you to be sure.”
“Yes, I’m sure. You’re my choice.”
Brent loved hearing the tremble in her voice. He lay on his back. “Then come ride me, sweetheart.”
Angie straddled him and put his cock at her opening. Gradually, she took him inside her. Her wet heat clenched his dick tight. He put his hands on her waist and helped her move up and down more quickly. Pressure built, and he pushed harder up to meet her.
She threw her glorious hair back. It hung in a sheet of gold around her shoulders and down her back. Her pansy eyes locked with his. Ripples began deep inside and swelled into his chest. He gasped and pushed further into her pussy.
Her eyes glazed as her orgasm hit. Her pussy’s inner walls quivered and clenched his cock, sending a wave of pleasure flowing up through his body. He let himself go as the ravenous wave drowned him.
When he was able to speak, he turned his head and looked at her. “That was a small sample to hold you until I get to Montana.”
“I’m not sure I can handle a full-out feast.”
“I’m counting on it.”
They lay, hands clasped, and stared at the sky through the trees. After a few minutes, he rolled toward her.
“We’ll take a quick swim to cool off. By the way, I discovered our lake is cold because it's fed by a natural spring. After our swim, we'll dress and head for the airport.”
“If you insist.”
Worry had turned her pansy eyes darker. Picking her up he ran into the lake. The cool water was a shock to their hot bodies. He threw her out. She splashed and went under. As he knew she would, she came up smiling and going after him. At least for a few more minutes, he’d got her mind off of her sister.
* * * *
Brent kissed her and turned her toward the steps to the plane. “Remember, as soon as the worst of this blows over, I’ll come for you.”
“You better.” Angie twirled around, kissed him hard again, and ran up the steps. She waved one last time before moving inside the plane’s large lounge area. They’d gotten back late, and her sister had already boarded. Angie glanced across at the woman who was now her closest relative. Lily met her gaze for a second before looking back at the magazine in her lap.
Angie took a seat to the far side from where Lily sat. She looked out the window and waved at Brent, Samantha, and Jackson. The plane revved its engines, and they began to roll down the runway. She clenched the arms of her chair. She’d never liked to fly, and hadn’t in many years. She concentrated hard on being calm. When the plane leveled off, she took a deep breath and relaxed her arms.
The plane’s light indicated seatbelts could be unfastened. Angie was surprised when Lily got out of her chair and came across to sit right in front of her.
“I was rude. I’m usually a very nice person. Finding out our mother was dead shocked me. I'll never be able to hear her explain why she took you and not me, too. I've been shocked and angry with everything that's happened.”
“You have a right to be. That’s the way I felt when she uprooted me. She took me away from everyone I knew to a place filled with strangers.”
“Tell me about her, please.”
Angie smiled thinking about her mom. “She loved you. I saw her grief even though she tried to hide it. She was a loving person. We only had each other because she feared getting close to someone who might expose us to danger. And she loved flowers. Most of my garden, she planted. Reading was another passion of hers, and especially on rainy days. She said rainy days were made for reading.”
“I’ve always said that. I love to read, too.”
“Then you got that from her. Me too, but I also like to bake, especially when I’m worried or upset. Right now I have a chocolate cake, two dozen brownies, and a spice cake going to waste at my house.”
“I like to cook, but not particularly baking. I can do it if I have to.” Lily looked out the window. A sad expression came across her face. “My father was always good with numbers. I got that from him. I graduated this year with a masters in accounting. That’s what is so hard to understand. He made good money without having to do what he’s accused of.”
“Perhaps for him there was never enough. How did you find me, Lily?”
“With the computer. I did a genealogy search on Mother. She’d told Father that she had Scottish ancestors. I tried several names before I found a McElvaine that seemed to appear from nowhere in Oklahoma. There were others, but that one and the McElvaine in Texas seemed the best places to start. It was a wild guess. I’d never been out west, and the traveling gave me a chance t
o sightsee and possibly find my family.”
“But we’d left Oklahoma City years ago.”
“True. Papa said Mother was working in a bank when he met her. I tried them first. Went to every branch in town. At one of them I met a woman who when she saw me asked if I was Mother’s daughter. I explained we’d gotten separated. I said it was because of a divorce, and I wanted to find her.”
“She knew where we were?”
“In a weak moment when Mother was upset, she told this lady, who had become a friend, that she had to leave. She’d probably head south. She told her, her husband had been abusive. The lady promised not to tell anyone, and hadn’t until she shared the information with me.”
“I’m glad your father wasn’t as good at searching us out as you’ve been.”
“Well, twenty-one years ago the internet wasn’t available and widespread like it is now. And father never has liked to mess with computers. He has others do the work for him. He has one man that is especially good. He probably found my information on my desktop computer. I have my laptop with me.”
Angie thought of the man she’d called the hulk and wondered if he’d been the one to find her.
“After talking to the lady at the bank, I drove directly to Saddle Creek.” She looked at Angie’s neck. “Did my father do that?”
She considered lying and telling Lily his man tried to strangle her, but it would come out later. They didn’t need lies between them.
“He did.”
“You must hate me.”
“No, why would I? I’m amazed by how you found me, and at your determination and tenacity. Especially, when you had no idea how meeting us would turn out. You’re very brave.”
“Thank you.” Lily blinked her eyes and turned her face away.
“Can I hug you?” Angie asked. She stood and took a step toward Lily.
Lily got out of her seat and faced Angie. “Yes.”
Angie wrapped her arms around her sister. Tears came into her eyes. She had family again. A knot of hurt and pain in her chest, that she’d lived with for years, began to soften. She stepped back and saw tears in Lily’s eyes.
Cameron, Paige - The Billionaire Maverick Bargains for a Wife [Wives for the Western Billionaires 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) Page 11
