Return to Abundance
The Abundance Series- Book 2
Shanna Swenson
Contents
The Abundance Series
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Epilogue
Afterword
Blurb for Escape from Abundance
About the Author
The Abundance Series
Novels by Shanna Swenson
Abundance: An endearing romance novel
Return to Abundance: Book 2
Escape from Abundance: Book 3
Coming- Summer 2019
Return to Abundance is an original work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Shanna Swenson
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
This book is dedicated to my father, Murray Malcolm “Tex” Marshall. This “Daddy’s girl” is missing you now more than ever!
Also, to my first “beta readers”- my friends, Jen P and Terry K! You ladies helped me to find the courage to keep writing!
Prologue
“Well Hell… I fold!” Buck Jenkins called out and slammed his cards face down on the table.
“Ha,” Scottie Warden piped in, a smile of triumph on his face, “and how about you Nate?” he asked, looking over at Nathan Butler.
It was Friday night; Poker night at the Rusty Spur. He, Scottie, Buck and Rick had all been playing Texas Hold ’em on Friday nights for the last few months. Nathan and the three other men sat at one of the many card tables adjacent to the small bar surrounded by the aura of classic country music and cigarette smoke. Instead of looking at Scottie, Nathan’s gaze flew over to the bar where Jordan Tate, his sister’s best friend, sat sipping a beer where she was perched on the bar stool.
It wasn’t unusual that she was here on a Friday night and alone to boot. Jordan was single and had been for a long time now. She lived alone and didn’t seem to have any intention of settling down any time soon. It made her an easy target for a man like Nathan Butler. A woman with no ties, no strings attached, no qualms about having a one-night stand. It was awfully tempting... Not just the fact that she was unattached and unscrupulous, but she was also drop dead gorgeous.
Her deep auburn hair was long and curly as it flowed down her narrow shoulders. Her pleasantly shaped rear end was covered by a short gray pencil skirt and her back cloaked by a silky red button-up blouse. Her slender legs were crossed in front of her and he admired the length and curvature of them as he followed them down to her red high heels. Nate fought the urge to smile at his sudden arousal and won. Happiness was a human emotion that he could no longer feel.
Jordan wasn’t a slut. She’d had her fair share of men, but she wasn’t a girl who kissed and told. Jordan was just…well… passionate. Passionate. Free-spirited. Nonchalant when it came to sex… or so the story went. She’d had herself some one-night stands, he’d bet. She’d dated a few local guys, exclusively, and according to sources she’d been faithful to them while they courted her. Her reputation was, for the most part, intact. The problem was that she was a little too passionate, too free-spirited. She didn’t stay in a relationship too long and tended to move right on after the previous one was over. She never wanted commitments, so none were given. Thus, Jordan Tate was, to this day, available in every sense of the word.
But just because she was available didn’t mean she was easy. She was also bold, feisty and took no shit from anyone.
She upheld a steady job at the bank, she went to church, and she was respected in his town.
Nathan calmly pulled his cigarette out of his mouth then and tapped it against the ash tray then placed it back into the corner of his mouth. He took another swig of his beer, making no effort to hurry this game along. Scottie’s eyebrows raised then, his impatience starting to show.
“Nate, you gonna answer me sometime tonight?”
Nate just gave him a cold, hard stare from beneath his silver Stetson.
Most people in his small town of Abundance avoided him like the plague. He was belligerent, rude, and downright cruel to all those in his path. These three men, however, seemed to neither notice nor care.
He looked back down at his cards and sighed then he looked back up at Scottie. Scottie, in turn, gave him a daring glare.
“Will you show your fucking cards already?” When Nate declined the demand, Scottie threw his cards down in a devilish smile. “Fine then, I guess I win again. Can’t bet two pair.” His hand shot out toward the pile of dollar bills they’d all thrown in for wagers, but Nate’s hand immediately and roughly covered Scottie’s.
“Not so fast there, Scottie,” he drawled slowly, deliberately.
Scottie’s scowl was murderous and again Nate almost smiled, if only he had it in him to do so. He seemed to enjoy other people’s misery. It was a mockery to his own.
“What if I told you I had three of a kind?”
Scottie’s jaw dropped then his anger took over, and Scottie jumped to his feet, pulling his hand out from under Nate’s. “You cheatin’ son of a bitch!” he roared. By then, Nathan was standing too, his arms crossed over his chest in an act of defiance.
“I didn’t cheat,” Nathan stated matter-of-factly, his voice inhumanly calm.
“The hell you say! I shouldn’t let your cards count since you wouldn’t show ‘em in the first place.” His finger pointed at Nate’s chest. “If you didn’t cheat then why did you take so long to show your cards?”
Nate looked at him but for a moment before giving a gentle shrug as if nothing in the world mattered to him…which, in all honesty, it didn’t.
“Fuck you, Nate!” Scottie once again roared. “You sorry bastard! I’m done with your bull shit. If you don’t wanna play fair, then fuckin’ leave.”
By now, Rick and Buck were standing as well and taking in the scene before them. Buck had a painful look on his face as if he were watching the end to a sad movie.
“Fine,” Nathan murmured and picked his beer up from the coaster it sat on. “You’re just a damn sore loser.” With that, he turned and slowly ambled toward the exit door.
As he’d expected, Scottie was right behind him. He roughly grabbed Nathan’s arm, stopping him.
“What did you say to me?” Scottie’s eyes mirrored anger and hate, and Nathan felt a flutter of pleasure as he watched the emotions take over Scottie. Nathan shrugged again. He was too drunk to care. “What’s your damn problem, huh?”
“I don’t have a problem with you, Scottie.” That was a true statement, for the most part. He didn’t have a problem with Scottie. Anyone else would have served the purpose. Nathan could pick a fight with just about anybody; Tonight, it happened to be Scottie.
“You’re fucking crazy, Nate. Do you know that? Crazy! Maybe you should have stayed in the damn circuit. Getting tossed from those bulls has loosened a few screws in your head!”
Buck came up then and tried to reason with Scottie, knowing that they’d all had too much to drink and that someone was about to get hurt.
&
nbsp; “You know,” Scottie said, ignoring Buck altogether. “This shit didn’t start until after you killed Troy Cameron.”
There! Finally! He’d touched the nerve. Nathan let the one emotion he could feel rise and take hold of his entire body. The anger, the hate, the fury, all balled into one. He almost took pleasure in remembering that day. It kept him humble, made him realize exactly what he had the power to do to another human being.
The entire bar was so silent that one could hear a pin drop; they were all waiting to see Nathan’s reaction to what Scottie had said. The anticipation was thrilling. Nate felt the blood pounding through his body, bringing him to life, bringing his anger to life. He stared at Scottie, unblinking. Buck held his breath, waiting.
“That’s what all this has been about, hasn’t it, Nate?” Scottie murmured. He didn’t know when to stop, did he? He just had to get in his two cents worth…Was he anticipating getting his lights knocked out or was he oblivious to the look in Nathan’s eyes? Either way, Scottie wasn’t backing down without a fight. Nathan didn’t answer, just waited, waited for the rage to take control of him. “It’s made you crazy… Killin’ him? Hasn’t it?” Scottie asked slowly then paused again, his face red as a beet. “That bastard deserved to die!”
“That isn’t for you to decide,” Nate answered menacingly, slowly enunciating every syllable.
“No, you got to be the one to decide that, huh?”
It was as if a gun had gone off in Nate’s head; the starting signal, the flag that said “GO”. It all happened so fast. He saw only red as the rage took hold of him as it had so many times before, and he lost control of his own body. He felt like The Hulk. Once the rage took over, there was no going back... anyone in the way took the brunt of his fury. He was attacking Scottie, watching as his own fists ravaged his friend’s face, jabbed his ribs, threw upper cuts to his abdomen. It felt as if Nate was outside of his body, watching like a bystander, helpless to stop himself. Scottie’s misery was nothing compared to his own. Scottie had asked for this, welcomed it even. How dare he speak as if he had any idea what Nathan felt! No one knew what he’d felt, what he still felt.
Buck was pulling at him then and Nathan was no match for Buck’s massive strength. He felt himself relaxing, the anger dissipating like a storm cell losing the last of its might. Then Scottie ran at him, his fist connecting with Nate’s jaw so fast, so hard that it threw his head back violently. The motion sent pain ricocheting through his entire face. Nate’s eyes rolled back in his head and he blacked out…
When he came to, he was aware of a warm breath in his face. It smelled of beer and peppermint. He was aware of another scent; a sweet, floral, feminine scent then a soft, warm hand touched his cheek. He opened his eyes, slowly and they once again fell on Jordan Tate. She was bending over him, a stern look on her face. Her sexy, curly hair fell down over her face, framing it. He groaned as the pain in his jaw suddenly hit him and tried to move his body to a seating position only to come up short.
“Hand me an ice pack, will you, Louise?” Jordan demanded and slung her long auburn hair off her shoulder. She looked back at him and shook her head. “Nathan Butler…” she scolded. “What have you become? You’re completely out of control. Your parents would be so upset if they could see you.”
Nathan grunted, he didn’t want to be preached to like some disobedient two-year old. He was a grown ass man, dammit, and he could act how he pleased. She was telling the truth however, and it struck a nerve. He would never want to bring pain to his family. Even though that’s all he seemed to be doing lately…
He tried to sit up again only to fall back. The jolt caused him to groan again. He felt as if he’d been hit by a ton of bricks, his head throbbed.
Jordan splayed her hand on his chest, holding him down. “Easy there, cowboy. You took a hard hit… Thanks, Louise.” She placed the cold compress to his jaw, it made him jerk, sending more pain through his head. His mouth filled with a litany of vulgarities. “Whoa now, that’s no way to talk to a lady.” Her face lit up then and she displayed her straight pearly whites in a beautiful smile. Nathan felt warmth spread through his chest and realized that he too was smiling at her. He frowned suddenly. He wasn’t supposed to feel happiness, he didn’t deserve it.
“How is he?” Buck’s rough voice called out.
“Oh, I think he’ll survive. He’ll have one hell of a bruise though and a sore jaw for a couple days,” Jordan answered. “Nice hit, Scottie.” She laughed, a sexy, musical sound.
Nathan heard Scottie mumble something unintelligible. Nate somehow felt that he’d gotten the better end of the deal; he’d gotten several good hits in at Scottie.
“Dammit Butler, I’m putting that bar stool and table on your tab. You jackass,” Louise grumbled.
Jordan laughed again and called to Buck. “Hey, will you help me get him home?”
Anger surged through Nate then. “I can take my damn self home…” He was able to get himself to a sitting position as he took his cowboy hat from Buck and shoved it back down over his shaggy hair. He placed the compress back on his jaw. His head screamed in retaliation, and he brought both his hands to his face then as if he were trying to hold his skull together.
“Yeah, sure you can…” Jordan answered and rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you stand up and show me that you can, Nate?”
The look he gave her was murderous as she stood and crossed her arms over her well-proportioned chest, waiting for him to do as she asked. He wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of seeing him struggle, so he just expelled his breath in defeat, watching her eyebrow raise in triumph.
Buck came up then, and they got on either side of him and helped him to his feet. “I’ll take his truck. You take him in your car, and I’ll let you bring me back here, if you don’t mind,” Buck said. She must have nodded at him because she didn’t speak.
They began slowly walking him toward the door, and Nate caught Scottie’s glare. It wasn’t an evil scowl as it should have been. It was more a look of pity than anger, and it pissed Nathan off. The last thing he wanted from anyone was pity. He only glared back then turned his attention to Buck.
“You wreck my truck and so help me…”
Buck only laughed.
Once he was settled in Jordan’s Chevy Malibu, protesting only momentarily when she buckled him in, he was quiet.
She slowly peeled out of the parking lot and heading west toward the ranch. Each jolt of the car sent new sharp pains running through his head, and he groaned as he tilted his head back and rested it on the headrest.
“You deserve it, you know,” she mumbled. “You could have just walked away from him. You knew you’d end up fighting him. Any little thing someone says to you tends to set you off.”
She was referring to the last three fights he’d been in. They’d all been barroom brawls that he’d started; no surprise there. The Rusty Spur wasn’t the only bar to take damages. The police had been called the last time, but the charges against him had been dropped. He silently thanked God for that one… The last thing he needed was to have to call his brother-in-law at two in the morning and have him bail him out of jail. Yeah, fat chance! Jack would have told him to go straight to Hell.
“Do you enjoy getting beat up, Nathan? Are you just achin’ to get hauled off to jail for public intoxication or disturbing the peace?” she asked, both her hands on the steering wheel. He didn’t answer, he knew that he’d become a bit of a disturbance. “You know, the people in this town are starting to get tired of this endless charade, right?” she asked then sighed and was silent for a while as she drove. He was the first to break it.
“So, I guess your gonna run and tell Natalie all about what happened tonight.”
“I wasn’t plannin’ on it. It’s not my story to tell… She’s your sister after all!”
He’d always liked Jordan... Now, he appreciated her secrecy.
Nothing spoiled his mood more than people running and telling his eight-month pregnant sister all
about his run-ins. Natalie never said anything. It was just the look she gave him; the look of disappointment, the look of…pity.
It had been close to a year since Nathan had killed Troy Cameron, his sister’s ex-husband, in an attempt to save his sister, Natalie, his brother-in-law, Jack, and Nate himself. He’d shot Troy once through the gut with a rifle as he came at them with a butcher knife. Nathan would never forget the lethal look on his face, the blackness in his eyes, the emptiness in his smile. Nathan had shot him without thought, without hesitation, without blinking. Troy had fallen in the foyer of Nathan’s parent’s home, right in front of the stairs, in the home that Nathan now lived in. Yes, it had been a year, but the memory was still fresh and probably always would be. The fact that he’d killed Troy in his own home was a constant reminder, as if he needed one in the first place… the memory would always haunt him.
“One day you’ll thank me for this,” Jordan replied, interrupting his reverie as they pulled onto the narrow drive that led to the ranch.
Nate looked up at the lit archway that read Starlight Valley Stables. It had been his mother that had named it. The, now, 300-acre horse ranch had been in operation for over 30 years now. His father, David Butler, had always run a tight ship, training, breeding and raising horses of various breeds. He had worked hard for decades and put everything he had into the ranch. Just six months ago, his father had handed the ranch over to Nathan. The irony was that he’d always dreamed of taking over when his father retired. He’d wanted nothing more in life than to be his father’s heir, to be as successful as his father had been. Now, his heart just wasn’t in it. He loved what he did, working with the horses, but he had loved it more, so much more before…
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