by Alexa Davis
“Seems like stupid kid games, and I’m too old for it. But Jason has already tried to make himself a victim to avoid responsibility for his actions. So, I guess it’s kids we’re dealing with, and kids’ games will have to do.” I rubbed my hands over my stubble. “Let’s get the bonfire started before Mom has to come find us to do it.” I downed the last of my beer and tossed the empty in the barrel in the corner. Logan and Tucker did the same and left Caleb and Jackson to finish theirs, still hovering over the laptop like a couple of crackpot conspiracy theorists.
The fire blew sparks up into the night sky, adding their number to the stars shining brightly above us. I never got tired of seeing how many stars were visible out there, unseen by the people in Austin. I figured they just had the wrong idea of a night life. I tipped my beer back for a swig and watched the huddle of women sitting on logs we’d set up as consumable seating.
By the end of the night, there was no wood, no beer, and no food left to show we’d been out there, just the smell of campfire and good memories. Exactly the way we needed it to be.
Rachel came and found me as the light burned low and the last log was being pushed into the embers. She rested her head on my chest and my arms automatically went around her when she sighed. We stood in the dark, the fading firelight dancing at our feet as I held her close, wondering what I could do to keep her safe, always. It wasn’t until she slid her hand down my stomach to my jeans that I realized that perhaps, safety was no longer something she worried about.
We slipped away without goodnights, leaving our guests to my parents to bed down for the night in the guestrooms of the big house. Rachel pulled me along, laughing, until we reached my front door. Her eyes got dark and pensive, and she pulled her bottom lip into her mouth as she ran her hand down the front of my pants, squeezing the bulge that was getting bigger by the minute. I moved out of reach and slipped past her into the cabin, pulling her in with a quick jerk that spun her into my arms.
I knew I wasn’t going to make it to the bedroom, so I pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor, then took her down to the couch and kneaded and kissed her breasts as I held her in place with my body. She arched her back under me, and her nipples were hard in my mouth, making me harder than ever. My jeans were too tight to leave on any longer, I stripped out of them and then took hers off, leaving her panties for the moment.
I rubbed my fingers over them until they were soaked as I licked the scars on her belly and used them as the path back up toward her breasts. I teased her nipple in my mouth until I drew a moan from her, then jerked at her panties. They tore down the center of the soaked fabric and I plunged into her, then lifted her up and twisted her on top of me. I squeezed and massaged her breasts as she rocked on me, holding me so tight inside her I thought I would explode before the pleasure could take her.
Finally, she fell forward so her breasts were pressed against my chest and I held her as we moved in harmony. I kissed her as she came screaming into my mouth, until her screams died to helpless moans as I licked and sucked on her tongue. Trembling, she collapsed onto my chest, only lifting her hips in perfect rhythm to bring me throbbing to the edge and over as I held her hips down on me.
We lay there for an eternity, drifting in and out of sated drowsiness until she shivered from the cold night air on her back. I carried her to bed and she curled up at my side and sighed. I kissed the top of her head and drifted off, so sleepy I didn’t know if the last words in my head of “I love you” were spoken out loud or just thought as my head hit the pillow and the world disappeared into black.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Rachel
The morning was loud, busy, and yet completely uneventful. The extra mouths to feed woke up long after the men had eaten, cleaned up after themselves, and scattered to take care of their assignments. Daniel and I had overslept, but still had time to take a ride together before his brothers and my family assembled for breakfast.
As we walked up to the table, our mothers were speaking with much gesturing and animation to Tracy, Freddie, and Amanda. Verica had eaten with the men and was tailing Pete, which he seemed to be enjoying very much, so I wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t involved with the henhouse gathering. All the talking stopped like a switch had been flipped the moment my mother saw me.
“Good morning, Rachel, honey. How are you this morning?” she asked in syrupy tones. My guard went up immediately and I sighed, rolling my eyes at Daniel.
“And this is why no one ever tells you what they’re getting people for Christmas, Mom,” I drawled as I speared some bacon onto my plate next to a healthy serving of hash browns. “You lack the guile to be sufficiently deceitful.” Tracy, who had known her long enough to truly understand her inability to even keep a secret, choked on her mimosa, laughing.
“Well,” my mother huffed. I instantly felt bad for teasing her, but she waved off my apology. “We were discussing your wedding. There is no better time for all of us to go into Austin and look at dresses and find you a planner than today, while we’re all together.” I gaped as I glared at Tracy and Freddie. I needed them to help me keep the whole wedding under control and not let my mother bankrupt my father again because of me.
“I thought we were just having it here, with basically the same people who are here now,” I stammered. Daniel snickered behind me and I felt a slap on my butt before he escaped into the house claiming a backlog of paperwork to get Verica on staff. “Mom, really. There is no need to go all out…”
Hannah made a shushing sound and led me over to a seat. “We know you want a small wedding and we will honor that.” I made a rude sound to express my disbelief. My mother glared at me but Hannah continued as if she hadn’t heard me at all. “Let’s just go ahead and go into town, that way, when you go back to school, you don’t need to waste what little time you and Daniel have together on the wedding.”
I pursed my lips and sighed. Shit, they had me. I knew it, and my friends had obviously heard and agreed to the same argument. I hated going back to school at all. I wasn’t about to give up one second of whatever time I could eek out to spend on the ranch discussing cake flavors and party favors. I nodded and left them to their conniving while I let Daniel know we would probably be gone until dinner. He laughed and kissed me and reminded me to have fun.
I dragged my feet, but took solace from the time I got to spend with my friends and invited Amanda to come along. We piled into Hannah’s SUV and made our way down to Austin while my mother made phone calls and tried to get us appointments with the best wedding planners in town. Considering how short the timeline was, I talked her into asking Hannah’s designer friend if she wanted to give it a shot instead.
As it turned out, as busy as she was during the Christmas season, she seemed delighted to take care of it all and only asked if her husband could come along, so they could still spend Christmas Eve together, which I would have felt like a heel saying no to on any day, let alone Christmas. By the time we reached the first bridal dress shop, even I was getting in the mood to try on all the princess dresses and pick one for myself. Of course, that may have been the Starbucks, but even a caffeine high is a legitimate reason to party.
I must have tried on twenty dresses before the mothers would let us try another store. I wanted to pick dresses for my bridesmaids, almost all of which were with me. I had taken the drive time to stress about how to not hurt any feelings, texting Daniel like I was in a hostage situation looking for an escape. He reminded me that he had four brothers to consider, so I decided in the end that everyone involved with making the Ranch my home should be included, even Amanda and Verica. I wondered what poor Verica would think of being thrown into this, but relief that I could just ask and let her decide was enough for me, for now.
I had my head in a tube of frothy, white fabric when I heard a muffled voice that sent chills down my spine. I wriggled my way through so I could leave the dressing room, taking tiny steps in the slim-cut column dress.
“Well, it looks like someone needs a helper in the dressing room!” exclaimed that voice as I peered out into the waiting room where my clan all sat. I looked in a mirror, and sure enough, my hair looked like I had been pulled through a wind tunnel, backward. Sara was standing in the doorway, eyebrows raised, smirking. “You step into those, darling.” She snickered before making herself at home on one of the available seats.
“What are you doing here, Sara?” I asked in a snarl. I fought the urge to pat my hair down and stared her down.
“I was just checking in on rumors,” she tittered. “It looks like you’ve gotten carried away with that little crush of yours.” She saw me flinch and went for blood. “How are you going to explain being here if Daniel finds out? How awkward.”
She lounged back in the seat, ignoring my mother’s gasp. I pulled my gloves off and made certain she could see the enormous diamond and filigree ring Daniel had talked me into wearing, grateful for his persistence.
“I’m not sure what you mean, Sara,” I replied coolly. “But please, if you’re staying, let me introduce you.” She rolled her eyes and I continued. “Sara Abbott, this is my mom, Mrs. Martinez, Daniel’s mother, and my good friends, Tracy, Fredericka, and Amanda.” Her eyes already widened at the sight of the ring, went wide as plates as I introduced Hannah, whom I realized had never actually met Sara. I left Amanda out of it, but she looked ready to throw in for a catfight without any help from me.
“Of course, little friends from school, you must be so excited,” Sara tossed an obligatory insult at my girls and I wondered for a moment if she’d lain in wait until I was wearing a dress I couldn’t move in well-enough to beat her up.
“Oh, not me,” Amanda chimed in, causing Sara and I both to start and look in her direction. “I know Rachel through Tucker. We’ve been dating for a few months and we live together.” Sara finally looked uncomfortable.
“Well, isn’t he lucky,” she managed to choke out. “I suppose he had to go somewhere once I stopped taking his calls.” She recovered and I saw Tracy lay her hand on Amanda’s arm.
“Now, now, Sara,” I spoke up. “We understand that screwing your father’s married friends is a task that requires a great deal of planning and attention to the details of your lies. It’s only understandable that you wouldn’t have time for anyone else.” She glared at me and I couldn’t help but gloat a little, despite my little “inside voice” yelling at me to stop. “It must be difficult, never being the woman your men actually want to stay with. Don’t worry about Daniel; the Hargrave men know quality when they get their hands on it.” I smiled broadly. “I guess he was just waiting for the right kind of woman, one worth admitting he was with.”
I spun on my heel and sashayed into the dressing room before signaling for help from the shop assistant, who was shiny eyed and giggling as she undid my dress.
“You looked so cool and calm out there, and you just told her off. You told her so good.” She snickered as she slid the dress down my body and I stepped out. Nonetheless, I’d lost my appetite for dress shopping and told the girl I’d need to come back and finish later. She seemed sympathetic as she penciled me in for a later date and I changed into my own clothes.
Outside, I let my feelings known as gently as I could for the sake of my poor mother. I texted Daniel and told him she’d found me. He promised to take care of it, but I asked him to leave it alone.
I didn’t tell him that the last thing I needed was for her to decide I was challenging her and actually try something with Daniel. After all, there wasn’t much he could do aside from ask her nicely to stop. That witch didn’t know the meaning of the word. I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to convince my mother that lilies weren’t only for funerals and laughing over absurd ideas for centerpieces that we found at the decorating stores and Tai Pan Trading Company.
I was more grateful than I could express when we finally pulled up in front of the big house just as Patty was ringing the dinner bell. Daniel looked surprised when I kissed him as long and deeply as I did when he greeted us at the door, but he knew better than to say anything about it. No matter how hard I tried to accept the good that had come into my life, there was always an ugly undercurrent to rip the peace and contentment out of my hands.
Once we were alone, Daniel finally made me aware of the lies and gossip that Sara had been spreading on Jason’s behalf, and the threats of a lawsuit against his family. I thought I would buckle and cry. I wanted to curl up in a ball and hide. But I had run out of tears, and they’d run out of ways to make me afraid. I made Daniel promise not to do anything to risk his livelihood or self-respect. Then I asked him to sleep in his own bed and leave me to mine. I needed time to think and didn’t want my inevitable tossing and turning to keep him awake. I could see that he was upset by my request, but he let me kiss him goodnight and left without a fight.
I wasn’t sure how to proceed, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let either our respective past lovers, or the ugly contamination of both of them together, steal our joy or our love. Texas Tango was now the crown jewel of the Hargrave empire. Verica would race him better than anyone could expect, I knew it in my bones. I wasn’t going anywhere. Not when we were so close to ushering in a new era for both our families and Lago Colina.
I plotted and made a decision around the knot in my stomach. I wouldn’t tell Daniel. He would never agree. But, I wouldn’t handle it alone. I laid my head on my pillow and fell into the deep sleep of one who has made up her mind, for better or worse, without fear of the consequences. Though, the action I had to take scared me a little.
I knew in the end Daniel’s dreams were too important for me to not do anything at all. And, if I dreamed of Daniel in the embrace of another, no one could blame me. The woman was a virus; she infected everything she touched.
Chapter 24
Daniel
I texted Jackson before I went to bed. I would help him get anything he needed to take Sara out of the picture forever. I tossed and turned on top of the covers, too angry and worried that my anxiety-ridden love would bolt this time to sleep. Sleep must have won the fight eventually, but in the morning, I felt like I’d been run over by stampeding mustangs.
My brothers and I went for a ride together, and Jackson explained how to get Sara to talk on his video. To me, it seemed like science fiction from comic books, to get her talking about her double life and have him record it from a distance, but he promised he could make it work without me having to wear a wire like a cop movie cliché.
I texted Sara, using what Rachel had told me as an excuse to talk in person. She immediately agreed, and her reply was so instantaneous and positive that I wondered if she’d already figured me out. I made up a reason for all of us brothers and Caleb to go into Austin, and even Rachel seemed happy that we were including Caleb as family and take him with us on our outings. Caleb didn’t say a word, just shrugged and climbed into the truck before anyone could see the worried look on his face. I thought to the day before; the kid obviously took after his honest and guileless mother.
I noticed Tracy and Freddie acting suspicious as they stood by their car, but I chalked it up to my own paranoia that the family was going to figure out the stupid and childish thing we were about to do and ignored the itch between my shoulder blades that warned me of trouble.
I had suggested to Sara that we meet at a café down the street from her condo where we used to get breakfast after I’d spent the night with her. She readily agreed, and I made certain that we dropped off the younger guys around the corner so they had time to set up shop. The cloak and dagger made me feel like an idiot, but I reminded myself that Rachel was worth the embarrassment and the bad taste the encounter would leave with me.
Sara was either over or underdressed, depending on your point of view. She looked like she’d been to a party and not gone home yet, her dress cut low in the front and high on the thigh, leaving little to the imagination. She sat at a table not ten feet from Jackson and failed t
o recognize him in his daily uniform of the nerd: a graphic tee under a button down shirt with a newsboy cap and cargo shorts. Geek chic, Rachel had teased him. The only thing he was missing, according to her, was a pair of Vans to round out his look.
Caleb sat with him and even to me, it looked like they were playing an engrossing video game on the café internet connection. I strode toward Sara, rubbing my damp palms on my jeans again. She posed for me when she realized I was watching her, tossing her hair back over her shoulder with practiced nonchalance, arching an eyebrow and refusing to look up until my shadow blocked the sunlight that was shining in the window across her side of the table.
“Well, hello, stranger,” she drawled, looking up at me over the menu she’d been perusing. “I wonder why you suddenly had the urge to get a hold of me.” She smirked. I pulled out a chair and sat, choosing my words before I spoke.
“You need to leave Rachel alone,” I spat out, angrier than I thought I was, once I was looking her in the eye. “I don’t know what is wrong with you, but you take it elsewhere because enough people, have enough dirt on you to ruin you.” She blinked long and slow, then took a deep breath.
“This is not the conversation I thought we’d be having,” she purred. Her menu fell to the table and she leaned forward, giving me an even better view of what she thought were her best assets. “I don’t know what you think I would want with that skinny little—” I cut her off before she could finish.
“No. Enough, Sara. I already have enough information from enough people that I could expose every dirty little secret you think you keep so well.” I sighed. “Speaking of which, does Daddy know you’re sleeping with his married best friend? Would he think that’s good for business?” She turned scarlet and hissed at me. “I won’t stoop to your level unless you make me. I have enough respect for myself not to engage in the games you play. But, if that is what it will take for you to leave my family alone, then I will burn you.” I spread my hands on the table. “So, what’s it going to be?”
