Read With Your Heart: a small town romance

by L. B. Dunbar

  My fists flew into action, and the rest was witnessed.

  Trent went to the hospital for severe facial damage. He’ll have black eyes and a broken nose, maybe loose teeth and a swollen lip. He deserves so much more. My fingertips on his neck definitely left soon-to-bloom bruises and should be a warning. He doesn’t deserve to breathe her air.

  We’ve hardly spoken since we arrived back at her place. After giving our statements, we retrieved our rides from the restaurant. Driving my bike is cold and dangerous on the snow-covered roads, but it’s all I have. I trailed Tricia home. Without an invitation, I followed her into the house. She led me up the stairs and pointed at the bathroom.

  “I just want a quick shower,” she finally says to me, and I nod.

  “I’ll check on Lys.” If I can shield my sister from all that’s happened tonight, it will be a small blessing. At least I’ll get things right somewhere.

  However, I don’t want to let Tricia leave my sight, so after a brief wave to Lys and a suggestion to go to bed soon, I let myself into the bathroom. And hear Tricia’s sobs.

  My girl held it together for a long time, both tonight and in the past, and she’s reached her breaking point. I strip from my clothes and enter the shower. She doesn’t even look up surprised. She turns and falls into my bare chest, hands covering her face.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she mutters.

  “You have nothing to apologize for.” I wrap her in my arms and press her against my skin, wishing I could take away all her pain and wipe away all her memories of him. We stand like this for several minutes until her sobs subside . . . and then her lips come to my chest. Her mouth opens, and she sucks at my skin.

  “Tricia, baby, whatcha doing?” I’m not going to be able to disguise what she’s doing to me. Between the fight and holding her naked against me, I’m rock hard, but I wasn’t going to pressure her in any manner. I just want to be here for her.

  Her mouth moves to my nipple. She runs her tongue over it and nips at the tight point. I flinch at the sensation, and her mouth opens again, sucking at the sensitive skin. I hiss in response. My fingers slip up into her dark, wet hair and tug her head back.

  “What are you doing?” My voice growls because I’m on edge. I’m trying so hard to ignore my stiff dick pressed against her wet skin, but I can’t pretend I’m not excited if she’s going to taste me like this.

  “I want to feel you,” she whispers. “I want to know you’re really here.”

  “I’m here, baby.” I bend enough to take her mouth, the kiss more aggressive than I should be with her tonight. I quickly slow us down and pull back.

  “I need you,” she says, her voice quiet while her eyes beg me. “Please Leon. I need you.” I’m thinking she means we need to move to her bed. Instead, she spins before me. She takes my hand and slides it down the front of her body, moving my fingers to her heat.

  Sweet Jesus. I growl her name again.

  Her head tips back to my shoulder as her backside presses against me, slowly swaying side to side over my dick.

  “I want you inside me,” she says as the water streams around us, and I slip two fingers into her, giving her what I think she wants. She rocks on them, taking me into her and keeping up her sultry dance against my bare skin. My mouth lowers to her neck, nipping at her skin and moving to her shoulder. She twists her head, and our mouths connect as she takes my fingers deep. She pulls back, her mouth open, and I know she’s on the edge. I’d touched her body numerous times before I left, but I’ll never get enough of her. She breaks around me, and I capture her moans as she comes on my fingers.

  As she settles, she surprises me again. She leans forward and places one hand on the tile. Her other hand blindly reaches behind her and tugs at my dick. Her warm palm is heaven around me, and she squeezes, sliding her hand over me, moving me in such a way that my tip taps her ass.

  “Tricia,” I warn her.

  “Inside me,” she says. “Please. I want to feel you.”

  “Baby, are you sure about this?” I want nothing more than to distract her from any thoughts about anything other than the two of us here at this moment, but I don’t want her to regret this five seconds after we finish. We haven’t even talked yet.

  “Leon, please.”

  Damn, I can’t deny her, so I don’t. I bend at the knee, hike one of her legs up on the tub’s edge and slip into her—bare. My eyes roll back. It’s never felt like this. Her heat. Her heaven. This is everything I’ve ever wanted and didn’t know I was missing in life.

  “I’ll pull out,” I assure her. I just want these minutes of pleasure because it’s not going to take long. She rocks back, swallowing me deeper into her from this angle, and I thrust inward, sheathed to the hilt. I don’t pause and take the breath I desperately need. I hammer into her, filling her over and over again. My hands clutch at her hips and one of hers reaches back to hold my hip. We move as one, dancing the best dance until I can’t take it anymore.

  Her name is quick on my lips as I pull out. I press against her, my dick wedged between us as I jolt against her spine. We both suck in deep, exaggerated breaths. Her head lowers to the tile and mine rests on her shoulder. So many thoughts race through my mind, and I’m prepared to spill them all when she turns to face me. Her hands cup my jaw as she slips under the shower spray to rinse.

  “Thank you.” She whispers her gratitude through soft kisses, and I feel like she’s stolen my words. I should be thanking her for being in my arms, being pressed to my skin, and for giving me what I hope is a second chance at us.

  The water has turned cold, and I help her step out of the tub once she turns off the faucet. I figure I’ll settle her in her bed and then take my old room.

  “Don’t leave me,” she quietly begs, and my heart skips because that’s exactly what I don’t want to do. I don’t question if she’s certain because I don’t want her to question me. Being with her is where I want to be. I scoop her up and carry her to her bed. After pulling back the covers, we both climb in, and she curls into me. If she was afraid of me after what she witnessed earlier, she doesn’t give a hint. Any doubts I’d had about her actually hating me have been washed away in the shower.

  She lies with her face pressed to my chest. With arms curled between each other, she allows me to hold her close.

  And I’m still wondering why she did it.

  Why did she step in front of me?

  Why did she roll over me?

  Why did she try to stop them from arresting me?

  I was an innocent man, and that was reason enough to let me go, but her actions said more.

  “You’re a damn foolish woman.” I snort, tugging her tighter to me. Her head shifts, and she glances up.

  “What do you mean?”

  “They were pointing guns at me. What were you thinking stepping in front of me?”

  “I didn’t want them to shoot. They misread the situation.”

  They definitely had, and in some ways, I was glad Tricia came to her senses enough to explain I wasn’t the bad guy. But I understand how it looked with her frightened and plastered against his truck. Me pummeling her husband into the dirt. It looked like a carjacking gone wrong. Then she stood up for me.

  She stood up for me.

  “Don’t you ever place yourself in harm’s way like that again,” I demand, squeezing her once. “Promise me.”

  “They were the good guys,” she whispers.

  “But one of them shot at us, and it could have gone all wrong.” My voice breaks, and my head lowers to hers, our foreheads meeting. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, but my body still trembles.

  “It could have hit you,” she whispers, and her hand slips around my waist, palm flattening on my back.

  “It could have hit you. Do not do that again,” I command, holding her as tight as I can, breathing in her scent. Pure. Clean. Fresh.

  “I was protecting you,” she says, and I pull back only enough to catch her eye. The la
mp light remains on in her room. I don’t want her afraid of the dark.

  “Let me protect you,” I reply. My skin ripples knowing I almost didn’t. I almost didn’t have her back like AJ said. I almost lost her heart. “I could have lost you.”

  Please God, don’t let me be too late.

  “We have so much to talk about,” she states, and it’s true. I heard her statement at the station, and it took all my strength not to seek out Trent and finish the job I’d started. He doesn’t deserve to live—and I mean that with every fiber of my being—but I would not kill him. I would not seek revenge on him the way I sought revenge on Hector. That’s too much wasted, negative energy. I choose to live with my girl and harming someone would not lead me to fulfilling my dream.

  “Not tonight,” I tell her, knowing we need to let things rest. She needs sleep, if it can even come to her, and I just want to lay here and feel her against me. Know that she’s safe. Know that I’m at her back while reflecting on the fact that she shielded my front, and what that might mean for my future. Our future.

  + + +

  “Where are you going?” she questions as I roll out of bed early the next morning.

  “Work, baby. Dixon gave me my job back after I explained what happened.” I’m grateful the man understood a bump in the road. I told him about my sister running off, my parents’ deportation, and then stalling to settle a score before coming back to Elk Lake City.

  “Did you settle it?”

  “Decided against it.” I sighed. “Picked something bigger than revenge.”

  Dixon eyed me a bit. “What’s that?”

  “Hoping to make my girl love me again.”

  His brows rose high at that one, and then he barked at me to get dressed.

  As much as I want to stay in this bed all day and assure Tricia that she’s safe, I cannot let Dixon down again. A second chance is all I get. I don’t want to push for a third.

  “I want you to call in sick. Stay home. Stay in bed. I’ll be back later,” I assure her. I’m not going anywhere. I need to check out of that miserable motel I’ve been at because I’m not leaving this house unless she plans to move. Then I’ll be following her wherever she goes.

  Tricia shifts on her bed. She slept in one of my large T-shirts while I slipped into my sweats. I miss her silky nighties.

  “It’s too much of a hassle to make lesson plans. I’ll just go into work.” She sits up, but I gently try to push her back.

  “You should rest. Give yourself a break.”

  “It’ll be better for my head if I’m busy,” she says, and I get that. I so get that. Her eyes meet mine, and I take in this precious moment. Her in her bed. Me sitting next to her. I’m happy she’s speaking to me and even happier to be in this position. I’ve missed seeing her first thing in the morning. I want to start every day like this, minus the weight of her ex lingering over us.

  “Okay, pretty lady. Then I’ll see you here later.” There’s a question in my statement, but I’m not taking no for an answer. Without giving her a chance to reply, I lean in to kiss her temple and then stand.

  “Wait,” she calls out, reaching out a hand for my arm. “You missed your meeting with Dixon before. Is he giving you a second chance to show him your drawing skills?”

  “I haven’t brought it up again. I don’t want to push him. He’s already giving me a second chance, but someday . . .” I say with a shrug. Someday, I might feel better about my job, making it more about art and a secret passion than just a place to work.

  “You should still show him soon,” she pushes, and my lip curls into a half smile.

  “Okay, baby. Now go back to sleep for a bit.”

  “No, I’m up. Is it safe to take your bike?” It snowed again late in the night.

  “It’s all I have. I’m saving up for a truck. I’ll get there soon.” I tease her with the word. And I will. I’ll get where I want to be soon enough.

  For right now, the most important thing to me is getting back into her heart.

  Lesson 25

  In a manner of life or death, choose life.

  [Tricia]

  “So Leon’s back?” Emily teases me through the phone later that evening.

  “What were you thinking?” I reply, realizing when Leon gave his statement that Jess and Emily were trying to set us up.

  “I was thinking you needed to see each other. You just needed to talk.”

  “How did you even know he was back?” I ask with a laugh. It’s a small town, but it’s only been days since Leon returned.

  “He came to see Jess.”

  “He did?”

  “He wanted advice. Said he’d made a huge mistake and he wanted to win you back.”

  My mouth falls open in shock.

  “How do you feel about that?” Emily asks me, and I don’t know how to respond.

  Is he really here to stay, or is his return another layover until the next big drama for him? We haven’t really spoken about his absence, but we’ll need to get there. We also need to talk about the level of violence he unleashed when he pummeled Trent. I can’t be with another man who thinks with his fists. Then again, I’ve never felt safer than I do with Leon in my bed. He pulls me into him each night, breathing me in until I fall asleep, and surprisingly, I don’t dream. I don’t think about Trent, what he once said, what he did, or the loss of our child. It breaks my heart still to realize I’d be having a baby in the months to come. My mother might have been right—like she usually is—when she said it wasn’t in God’s plan to give me a baby with a man like Trent.

  “I don’t know how to feel, but I know I’m safe with Leon. I like how he makes me feel about myself, and I like how I think I make him feel.” He told me he loved me when I said I hated him. And he didn’t back down from that declaration. He repeated it.

  “From the way he looks at you, it’s obvious how he feels about you and how you make him feel. He loves you, and you make him feel loved in return.” Emily says all this with a dreamy sigh in her voice. She knows all about complicated love, but I’m so happy she and Jess were able to work things out.

  “I heard about last night,” she continues. “It’s obvious he’d take a bullet before he’d let anything happen to you.”

  “Let’s hope it never comes to that.” I shiver when I recall how Trent threatened to shoot me in the back if I ran. I remember the rifle laying unconcealed on his truck seat. He could have been arrested for that action alone. He wasn’t arrested, though, not for any of it, and I’m wondering what the sheriff’s playing at by setting Trent free. I filed a restraining order against him for now, and I want that divorce.

  “How are you today?” Emily implies after what happened last night. Her voice softens. I’ve already had to calm my mother and assure her I’m safe. I simply told her Leon was back and that seemed to make all the difference to her.

  “I think I’m going to be okay,” I tell her, and I do feel that way. If Leon and I can talk, I think we have a real chance…at something real.

  + + +

  Later, Leon calls me to tell me he’s working late, picking up some of the slack from the time he was gone. I tell him I’ll set aside a plate for him, and Lys and I eat together.

  “Leon told me you’d like to stay here,” I begin, before hesitating on the addition because of the absence of your parents. I don’t know the deportation process well enough to know if their parents can easily return to the United States or if this will be a permanent arrangement. Leon’s going to need to file for guardianship of his sister since she’s still a minor. That’s just one more thing we’ll need to discuss.

  “I do want to stay here,” she says, her eyes drifting up to me. There’s concern in them. She’s lost so much. Her parents, her sister, and her brother who disappeared for two weeks.

  “How are you doing with everything?” I don’t need to spell it out for her.

  “I miss my parents.” She shrugs. “But I like it here.” She took pride in helping me paint th
e walls in my living room and dining room, and I’m letting her decide on a color for her own room. Once we learned Lena wasn’t returning, I told her the space was all hers, and she reminded me that she’d never had her own room until she moved here. I know the feeling. I shared a room with my sister growing up, and then I’d shared a cabin with my husband. It’s nice to have a house I call my own.

  “I’m happy you’re here,” I tell her, and I’m rewarded with a large smile. Of all the Ramirez children, Lys might have the best chance at an easier life, at least for now.

  When we finish eating, she goes to her room to do her homework, and I start the dishes. It’s a familiar pattern for us now that some of my home renovation projects have finished. I needed the distraction each night while Leon was gone, and Lys and Levi were willing participants in the destruction of the carpet and freshening up of the walls. I’m still missing a living room couch and tables, and I’ve decided refinishing the dining room table and chairs I inherited with the house will be next on my list of improvements. I’m considering wood cleaning and stain colors in my head when my cell phone rings again.

  “Levi?”

  “Tricia, can you come to the house?” His voice trembles.

  “Levi, what’s wrong?” I shut off the faucet and squeeze my phone in my hand.

  “It’s Trent.” Dammit. Is this another trick?

  “Levi, I can’t really—”

  “I know about the restraining order, but it doesn’t matter anymore.” His voice drops lower. He’s not quiet, just unreadable.

  “Levi, what is it?” I turn my back to the sink and rest my backside against the edge of the counter. I hang my head because I’m not going anywhere near the Walker’s property, but Levi sounds really upset. “What did Trent do to you?” It’s the first thing I can think of. Trent did something to his brother. Did he take out his frustration on Levi? Did they go at it in Trent’s anger? Because if I know anything about Trent, I know he’s both angry and frustrated about last night.