by Debra Kayn
She whispered, “I need you.”
A low, sexy growl rumbled his chest. With a concentration she’d never seen on his face, he slid into her with such gentleness, it brought tears to her eyes.
She moved with him, the sparks igniting into little bursts of pleasure. She whimpered as he stroked her insides, taking her to a place only he knew about. His jaw muscles spasmed in tight control, growing more desperate with each thrust. Higher and higher, he brought her around, faster and harder.
The intense pleasure was too much. She reached her peak and screamed his name. In the back of her mind, she heard him call her, but the moment suspended her in time. She lost herself in the convulsions exploding throughout her body, leaving her breathless. Their sated bodies meshed into one.
He rolled to his side and kissed her once again. She clung to him fiercely as he stroked her hair down her back, soothing her as she came down from the high of their lovemaking.
“Are you okay?” He rubbed his chin against the top of her head.
She nodded. “Yes. Now I am.”
“I love you.”
She pushed up on her elbow and gazed into his face. “I love you too.”
The phone rang beside the bed. Roy Lee cussed under his breath. “I gotta answer that, it could be dispatch and I told them to call me at home.”
Margot sat up and hugged her middle, cool from the loss of his body heat. She left the bed and pulled one of his T-shirts out of the bureau.
“Hello?” Roy Lee sat up. “What the hell is he doing over there this time?”
She hurried and shoved her arms through the sleeves, and turned to Roy Lee. Her breath caught in her chest at the anger etched across his face as he glared in her direction. Right away, she knew what had happened without him saying another word.
Margot left the room to escape the guilt swelling inside of her. She picked up her clothes, and dressed. She should have told him the moment he walked into the house instead of hopping into bed.
He came out of the room, threading his belt through the loops and thunder erupting in his steps.
“If you know why Ryan’s at my dad’s house, spill it now. You’ve got two minutes before I hightail it out of here.” Roy Lee sought her out, and she had to turn away. It was too late now. When Roy Lee got upset, it was better to let him work out his anger, instead of forcing him to talk things out.
“W-what did he say…?” She pinched the shallow indention at the base of her neck.
Roy Lee thrust his foot in his boot. “I don’t know what kind of trouble Ryan brought to my parents, but my dad’s upset and wants me to come over right away. He said it’s important.”
She squeezed her eyes shut and let her chin fall to her chest. “I didn’t want you to find out this way. I wanted him to tell you all together.”
“You know what kind of bullshit he’s pulling?” He slipped his pistol into the holster and picked up his badge off the table.
“Yes,” she whispered.
He stopped beside her. She reached out to him, but he stepped away. “I need to get over to their house. I’ve never heard my dad sound the way he did.”
“Roy Lee, wait. Let me tell you.”
He grabbed his car keys off the table. “I gotta go.”
Without another word, he was gone. Margot stood in the kitchen, the snub from Roy Lee breaking her heart. He had no idea what he was walking into, or how his life as he knew it was going to change.
Chapter Fourteen
His dad stood in the open doorway waiting for him. Roy Lee slammed the car into park, exited the vehicle and moved toward the house in record speed. Instead of the lively man he was used to seeing, his dad appeared to have aged overnight.
Tom’s dusty brown hat sat askew, his shirt untucked, and the way he kept rubbing his lips together the way he was prone to do when worried had Roy Lee wanting to hurt the person who brought stress into his parents’ lives.
“Son…” Tom blocked him from rushing past him into the house. “Let’s talk out here.”
“What the hell is going on?” He studied his dad. “Is Mom okay? She’s not hurt, right?”
“No. She’s upset, but she’s your mom, she’s stronger than all of us.” Tom inhaled deeply. “I know she’s hurting, and it’s all my fault. I can’t believe this is happening, but Ryan—”
“What did Ryan do?” He studied his dad.
That’s what I’m gonna tell you, son. I know this isn’t something you’ll want to hear, and to tell you the truth, it isn’t something I ever planned to hear myself.” Tom straightened his hat and shook his head. “But we can’t go back and change anything, we have to accept it and move on.”
“I’m not following you. If that asshole did something—”
“Cool your horses, son.” Tom laid his hand on Roy Lee’s shoulder. “This lays on my conscious, and I’ll be the one making things right.”
“Dad?”
“Before I met your mom, I served in the Army.” He gave a half laugh. “Like boys that age—and we were boys playing at being men—any free time was spent getting drunk and causing trouble. Oh, we weren’t doing anything wrong, just out to have fun and get away from the physical and mental exhaustion placed on us while serving our time.”
“I know, Dad. You’ve told me many stories ’bout your Army days.” Roy Lee jammed his hands in his pockets. “What’s this gotta do with—?”
“Apparently, I wasn’t careful enough on one of those fun weekends away from base, and I ended up getting a woman pregnant.” Tom dropped his hand. “If I’da known…”
“Oh shit.” Roy Lee stared at his dad.
The truth of Tom’s confession suddenly making this morning’s situation even clearer, and his empty stomach burned. He could tell by his dad’s expression that he wasn’t going to like the rest of what Tom had to say.
“Ryan’s your older half brother, son.”
His dad might have accepted Ryan’s story without any doubt. Unfortunately for Ryan, a con artist didn’t easily fool Roy Lee.
“Your momma—”
Roy Lee bristled. “She knows?”
Tom nodded. His smile softened. “Of course, I would never keep something like this from her. She’s my strength. I called you over, because she needs you. She’s putting up a brave front, but having you here will give her comfort.”
Roy Lee sank back against the siding of the house and sighed. He couldn’t imagine the pain his mom must be going through learning her husband of thirty-one years had a child right before meeting her. Especially since she and Dad had tried for years to have another child after Roy Lee and failed. God, he’s only a couple years older than I am.
“Maybe he’s lying, Dad.” Roy turned his head and spit on the ground. “We don’t know him for from a pile a shit on the ground. I’ve had my eye on him since he hit town, and knew something didn’t ring true. I even pulled a background check on him. He’s cleaner than the inside of your garage. What thirty-something-year-old man doesn’t have something in his past?”
“Listen to me, Roy Lee. I’m only going to say this once. I understand how you’re feeling, but I can do no more than accept that Ryan’s my son. I slept with his mother. The timeline adds up, and unless circumstances change and I find out differently, I expect him to get the respect I want you to receive. I’ll not have you bad mouthing Ryan.” Tom leaned over and studied Roy Lee’s face under his hat. “What the hell happened to your eye?”
His blood froze in his veins. “Despite the laughable way your supposed oldest son dresses, he packs a mean punch.”
“Jesus, Roy Lee. You’ve been fighting with him?” His dad shook his head in a way that would only make a grown adult feel ashamed of his actions. “I want us to go inside and talk with Ryan. He’s worried ’bout how you’ll take the news, and to tell you the truth, I think your mom needs you. She’s not saying much, and acting nice as can be to Ryan. I know she’s hurt though. We all are, but let’s band together. We Hansons don’t shru
g off our responsibilities.”
Inside the house, soft laughter filled the living room. Roy Lee hid his surprise over finding his mom tittering over something Ryan said. He stepped over behind the chair, laid his hands on his momma’s shoulders, leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“You okay, Momma?” he whispered.
She nodded and reached up and patted his hand. “Yes, dear. Sit down and get to know Ryan. It turns out that his favorite cake is chocolate with German chocolate frosting, just like you. Isn’t that interesting?”
He grunted, noticing the way her hands shook and her cheeks were void of color. “I’ll stand, Momma.”
Not taking his gaze off Ryan, he held his ground, not giving Cityboy an inch. If it were up to him, he’d throw him out of the house, and then hire a private detective to find out what brought this guy to Pike. He was positive it had nothing to do with finding a long forgotten father and reconnecting.
“I want to apologize for breaking the news this way, Sheriff…Roy Lee.” Ryan scooted to the edge of the couch. “I honestly didn’t come to cause anyone any heartbreak, or interrupt your lives.”
“Then why did you?” He glanced from his dad to Ryan. “Obviously, you felt the need to come clean now?”
There was a long, protracted silence. “I didn’t want to see Margot suffer for being my friend. She’s kind and caring. When she learned the truth, she—”
“What?” He snarled the word as if he’d stepped into a bear trap. “Margot knew?”
Ryan nodded. “She was under the misunderstanding I-I had a crush on her. I wanted to make sure she understood why I was acting strange, so I confided in her. I enjoy my job here in Pike, and I cherish Margot’s friendship.”
“Jesus…” He stepped forward.
Jane stood up and moved between Ryan and Roy Lee. A tear escaped under her glasses. “Not in my house, son. There will be no fighting under my roof. I know this is a surprise to everyone in the family, but we can’t change what has already happened, we can only accept what is the truth and move on. It’s not Ryan’s fault or your dad’s that they didn’t know about each other. Ryan deserves our understanding.”
His pager vibrated against his hip. He yanked it off and read the screen. “I gotta go.”
Not wanting to leave his mom upset with him, he leaned over and wrapped his arms around her, and whispered, “I love you.”
She patted his cheek. “I know you do. I love you too. Everything will be okay, son.”
He nodded, not trusting himself to blurt out what he thought would happen. He’d get to the truth if it killed him. He walked to the door. His parents didn’t deserve added stress when they were supposed to be enjoying their golden years.
“Emergency?” Tom opened the door and stepped out of the way.
“Yeah, there’s a fight outside of Valenciennes’ Place and Sam wants me to come over and clear the area.” He stepped outside, hesitated and turned back around. “I’m not gonna tell you what to do, Dad, but be careful. Please. Don’t trust everything the…Ryan spouts.”
“Roy Lee.” Tom frowned.
“I know, I know. This is your business, but be careful until you know more ’bout him. Mom’s taken a shock…I’ll call and check in after I go take care of this situation.” Roy Lee jogged out to the car.
Roy Lee was in no mood to work. Instead of going to the office and writing a report after moving the crowd out of Valenciennes’ Place, he called Sally and told her he was going on-call for the rest of the day. One of the benefits of patrolling a small town, he could take care of business while on duty.
He then placed a call to his mom. She was resting, and he told his dad he’d come by tomorrow to talk. He pulled away from the curb and headed north. It was time for Margot to talk.
Never in his life had he been consumed with so much anger at Margot. Not when she’d ratted him out to his mom when he broke one of the windows at school with the hard ball, nor when she’d turned up her nose at their friendship in junior high and made her girlfriends more important in her life.
For her to keep the kind of secret that had the potential to rip his family apart more than stung, it made him physically sick. They were supposed to trust each other, share with each other, and this whole time she’d kept him in the dark while scheming behind his back. He turned the air conditioner on high and let the blast of air hit him in the face. If she believed he’d roll over and take the news he had a new brother without a word, she was wrong.
He pulled into Double M Veterinary Clinic and parked in a non-parking area close to the door. Stomping up the steps, he hoped she wasn’t with a patient. He didn’t have the time to wait any longer. He wanted answers, and they had damn well better be the ones he wanted to hear.
One second he stood outside the door and the next, he was ushered back to Margot’s office behind a closed door. Infuriated, his tongue refused to work and all he could do was stare at Margot. He didn’t even know her.
Gone was the overconfident woman he loved more than life. In front of him stood a woman whose lips trembled. She hugged herself instead of him. Guilt played across her features, and added to his anger.
“Are you okay?” She reached out to touch his face, but lowered her hand back down when he curled his lip and growled.
“Did your love for me not include telling me the truth? You’re real good at keeping secrets. How many more things are you hiding?” He barely got the words out.
She shook her head wildly. “None…just that one. I-it wasn’t my secret to tell, and—”
“The hell it wasn’t. Do you have any idea what kind of hell my parents must be going through right now? The guilt alone is killing my dad. The least you could have done is told me first, so I could have helped them.”
“Please…Roy Lee.” She stepped toward him.
He held up his hand. “Stop. I don’t want to hear another world out of your mouth.”
“But…”
Unable to stay in the room, he backed toward the door. “I gotta get out of here.”
Ignoring the cry for him to stay, he marched through the waiting room and back outside. He had a fleeting thought to go back to Valenciennes’ Place, but Margot probably told her sister and Sam about what should have stayed within the Hanson family. Talk ’bout being stuck, I’m knee-deep in shit with nowhere to go, except home.
Chapter Fifteen
Propelled by the toe of her boot, the swing on the porch of the McDougal ranch set a gentle motion and soothed Margot’s broken spirit as she recovered from telling her sisters she’d still received no word from Roy Lee. She wiped her cheeks with her hands. Two weeks had gone by since he walked out on her and wouldn’t listen.
He wasn’t answering his phone, and he’d taken an unexplained absence at work, leaving retired Jeb Cutlom to protect the town. She sniffed. It wasn’t like Roy Lee to up and go somewhere without letting someone know where to contact him.
“Who told you he left Pike? Maybe he’s gone fishing. You know he likes to go down to the river, pitch a tent and get away from it all.” Bisette continued to snap green beans into the bowl on her lap.
Val shifted in the rocker. “I did. Sam’s taken over the chores at the Hanson ranch for the last couple of weeks. Roy Lee wouldn’t even tell Sam where he was going, because he knew Sam would tell me, and I’d tell Margot. I could slap him for hurting you, Margot.”
Margot heaved a sigh. “I deserve what I got. I should never have kept Ryan’s secret from Roy Lee. At the time, I believed I was doing the right thing for everyone involved. I thought the news would be better accepted coming from Ryan, than from me.”
“I agree.” Chantilly carried over another bucket of beans and set them down by Bisette’s feet. “If you would have told Roy Lee, he would have gone for blood. It wouldn’t have ended pretty.”
“The man is so stubborn. Once he works through everything, just watch, he’ll come back. He’s always been quick on the trigger, but he’s sensible. He’ll work out his
problems in his own way, and when he does, I’m sure he’ll let you tell your side of the story.” Val lifted the ends of her blouse and fanned the air. “God, it’s hot. I can’t wait until summer is over.”
“You’re huge.” Margot studied Val’s pregnant stomach. “You must be miserable in this heat.”
Val laughed. “I can’t believe I have almost two more months of growing this baby. Some days I think I’m going to crumble under the weight.”
“Everything still going okay?” Margot sipped her lemonade.
“Perfect. The doctor is happy with how things are moving along. The baby is a good size. I’m consoling Sam and only working two nights a week, but I have to tell you it’s driving me crazy. I rather stay busy. Sam doesn’t let me do a thing at the ranch.” She grinned.
“He loves you. That’s how he should act.” Chantilly sat on the porch rail. “Roy Lee loves Margot too, you’ll all see.”
Margot wasn’t so sure. During the year they’d dated, Roy Lee had never pushed her away. Sure, they had little tiffs, but he’d physically stayed near her. Even when she did the pushing while dealing with Stuart’s illness, he’d always stayed beside her. This time she’d messed up completely and chased him away from his own home.
“Okay, that’s enough glum talk for the day. I’ve got news that’ll make you all happy, and it’ll make me ecstatic to finally have all of you off my back.” Bisette stood up and planted her hands on her hips. “Soon as Val has the baby, I’m going back home.”
Margot continued pushing the swing. The snap, snap, snap of the beans popping in Chantilly’s hands continued, and Val tied the ends of her shirt in a knot above her round belly.
“Oh, come on, you guys. Isn’t that what you wanted to hear?” Bisette flicked her hair behind her back.
“Are you going to sing?” Margot turned toward Bisette without losing the rhythm she’d set on the swing.
“Yes!” Bisette’s arms came up before she brought her hands back down and slapped the top of her bare thighs below the hem of her shorts.
