Tonight, she had dinner plans with her father. It would be just the two of them. As she walked up the steps of the cottage, she realized how full her life was right now. Family, friends and the attention of her fantasy man all put a smile on her face.
She no longer counted the days before she would return to New York and resume her life there. She was falling in love with Boone Springs again, something she thought would never happen. She questioned it every day, tried to find fault in her thought patterns, but that was just it. It wasn’t so much what she was thinking, but more what she was feeling. And those emotions were getting stronger every day.
“Daddy, I’m home.” She entered the house and found her father at the kitchen table, going through a big wooden box she’d never seen before.
“Hi, dear girl.” He quickly closed the box and latched it.
“What do you have there?” she asked, more than mildly curious now that he’d seemed so secretive about it.
“Just some things from the past.”
“Mom’s things?”
He nodded and shrugged. “Yeah, there’s some of your mama’s stuff in here.”
“Can I see?”
She sat down next to him, watching him carefully. Fear entered his eyes, followed by a look of resignation. Or was she mistaken? Maybe the box just held mementos. When her mother died, her father had given her keepsakes of her mom that she would always treasure, including a birthstone ring, her wedding ring, a favorite silver locket and a pair of diamond earrings.
“It’s just some old stuff. I haven’t gone through this box in a long time.”
“Why now?”
“Maybe because you’re here visiting.” Her father opened it and revealed a treasure trove of clippings and old ticket stubs to concerts, movies and dances. “I saved all this. I don’t know why.”
“I do, Dad. It’s a testament to your life with Mom. It’s like your history together.” She picked up a photo she’d never seen before, of a very young couple standing in front of a diner, obviously crazy about each other. “When’s this from?”
“Oh, sweet girl. That’s one of our first dates. I took your mama to some fancy restaurant and she took one look at the prices and said she’d rather have burgers and fries. Back then, I was working for my daddy and he was harder on me than on his crew. Said I had to work my way up the ladder if I wanted a piece of Thundering Hills one day, so money was tight and your mama, even then, had my back. She wasn’t going to have me break the bank to impress her. I think I fell in love with her that night, Drea. She was something.”
Tears welled in Drea’s eyes. But she wasn’t sad, not at all. She was truly amazed at the beautiful love the two of them had for each other. Clearly, her father had adored his Maria.
Drew shared several more memories with her and showed her a couple trinkets that made her smile. And then he brought out an unsealed envelope. He tapped it against his other hand a few times and turned to her. “Tell me, Drea,” he said, his gravelly voice sharper than usual. “You and Mason are getting close, right? I see the way he looks at you.”
What? Goodness, she wasn’t prepared for a question like that. “Dad, we’re working on the fund-raiser together. We both have a vested interest. And no, I could never get seriously involved with a Boone. You know why. I can never forgive them for what they did to our family.”
“Drea, my brain hasn’t gone to seed yet. I know you’re going out at night. I’m assuming you’re meeting with Mason. You’re a grown woman and it’s none of my business, but I got a reason to be asking.”
She felt heat rising to her face; she was probably turning the shade of a ripe tomato. “Dad, you know?”
“I do now,” he said without sarcasm.
“It’s... Mason and I...we’re just casual.”
Her father’s bushy brows rose. “Doesn’t matter. I’ve been talking to Lottie and she thinks I’ve been doing you an injustice. Maybe I have. Maybe I was just making myself look better in your eyes by putting the blame on the Boones all these years. I’m sorry, Drea.”
“For what, Dad? What are you talking about?” Her heart began to pound as dread overtook her. She’d never heard such remorse in her father’s tone.
“All those years ago, after your mama died, I let the ranch go to ruin. I couldn’t deal with the loss, the pressure and raising you. I was a terrible father, Drea. I know that, and I’m making amends now, by telling you the truth. I didn’t go to the Boones for a loan like I told you. They didn’t deny me. The fact is, I didn’t ask them to help me save my ranch. I practically begged them to take it off my hands. I knew they’d give me a fair price. I made the deal with them, specifically stipulating that the money would go into a fund for your college education. I didn’t trust myself with the money. I knew I’d drink it away. That’s at least one good thing I did. I wanted to protect you, from myself.”
Bile rose in her throat and she felt dizzy. “Dad...are you saying that they didn’t steal Thundering Hills out from under you? Are you saying the Boones paid for my education?”
He ran a hand down his face. “Yeah, darlin’ girl. That’s the truth. It’s all here in this personal agreement I made with Henry Boone.”
Drea snatched the envelope out of his hands, opened it and took out the written agreement. She scanned the contents quickly, her eyes keying in on words that verified her father’s claims until there was no doubt. “Oh my God. Why? Why didn’t you just tell me the truth?”
“And admit yet another failure to my only daughter? I was a coward. It was easier to let the Boones take the blame. To let you think they’d robbed you of your birthright, when actually, I was guilty of that myself. It’s eaten at me all these years. And now, Drea, I see you and Mason together, and if there’s a chance for the two of you, well, I couldn’t let that get in the way of your happiness. I couldn’t bear it, not again. Lottie said it’s about time.”
“Lottie?” It was the second time he’d mentioned her. “So everyone knew the truth but me?”
Her father shook his head. “Not everyone. We kept the terms of the agreement private. Let people come to their own conclusions. But the Boone brothers know, yes.”
“And you let me berate them, hate them, think the very worst of the people who actually saved your hide?”
“I’m sorry, Drea. Truly sorry.”
“Sorry’s not enough, Dad. Not nearly...enough.”
Limbs shaking, tears spilling down her cheeks, she dashed out of the room. When she got to her bedroom, she slammed the door and then slumped against it, slowly sinking into a heap on the floor. She’d been betrayed and lied to one too many times. Everything she thought she knew about her life had just been whisked away. Was she overreacting? Maybe, but why did she always have to be the grownup? Why couldn’t she be the kid, the one who needed tending, the one who needed comfort? She wanted to fall apart. She needed to. It was her right, something she’d been deprived of for too many years. She didn’t care if this episode would send her father back to the bottle. She’d lived with that fear for too long.
This was her time to grieve and she wasn’t holding back.
“Drea, please. I’m sorry,” her father said from the other side of the door.
“Go away, Dad. Leave me alone.”
It was a while before she heard him sigh heavily and walk away, his footfalls receding until there was no sound.
No sound but the deep, stabbing sobs racking her body.
* * *
It was after eleven when Mason got the text from Drea.
I need to see you tonight. Can we meet?
Mason was at home at Rising Springs, already in bed, going over the final details of the fund-raiser. It was hard to believe the event was coming up so quickly and he’d wanted to make sure he had everything covered. He didn’t like leaving things to chance. That’s what he and Drea had in common: they pa
id attention to details. She was having dinner with her dad tonight and they hadn’t planned on seeing each other, so getting this text message from her this late surprised him.
What’s going on? he typed.
Please, I need to see you.
At The Baron?
Yes, in thirty minutes?
I’ll be there.
Mason wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to see Drea. The nights when they weren’t together felt strange to him and he didn’t much like analyzing why that was, especially after the conversation he’d had with Larissa’s mother earlier in the day. She’d let him know she and Larissa’s father were driving to town, coming all the way from Arizona, and they wanted to see him. He knew why. They were coming to lay flowers on Larissa’s grave on the second anniversary of her death. Two years had gone by. Two. In one respect, the time had seemed to crawl by as he relived his wife’s final days and the singeing loss he felt even before she’d taken her last breaths. But it also seemed as if the past two years had flown by. How could it be both? And how could he have lived two full years without Larissa by his side?
Now, as he headed to the hotel to meet Drea, he was conflicted and guilt-ridden. His in-laws were coming to town. They were coming to help him grieve, to honor their daughter’s memory, to feel closer to her. But all he could think about was Drea.
Yet her ominous text message made him nervous. She’d never been cryptic before. She’d never initiated their meeting. So he pressed his foot down on the gas pedal and sped through the relatively empty roads leading to town. He made it in quick time and entered his suite before Drea got there.
He was just removing his jacket when he heard her knock.
He opened the door and she flew into his arms. He stood there stunned for a second, until her warm breath caressed his face and she planted a kiss on him that had him forgetting his first name. Hell, she didn’t come up for air, just kept kissing him, tearing at the buttons of his shirt, splaying her soft palms on his skin, making him sizzle, making him want.
He slammed the door shut behind her. He didn’t know where the hell this was coming from, but he wasn’t about to question it. Or her. His body reacted, as it always did from Drea’s touch, and he was immediately caught up in the urgency, the intensity. He tore away at her clothes, too, pulling her blouse out of her jeans, unbuttoning it between kisses. She removed her bra without his help and her beautiful breasts sprang free.
He was hard and ready. This aggressive, wild Drea was a big, big turn-on.
He held her long hair away from her chest and bent his head, moistening one rosy areola with his mouth, his tongue, causing the tip to perk up. She was gorgeous, too damn beautiful for his sanity. She whimpered, a cry of need that pierced his soul. She was on fire, hot and frenzied, and he wasn’t far behind. He removed the rest of her clothes, then his. But when he stopped kissing her to lead her into the bedroom, she shook her head and kept him right there, as if even the slightest separation would be too much for her.
After pressing her against the door, he had just enough time to grab a condom and sheath himself before lifting her back into his arms. Instinctively, she wrapped her legs around his waist and her kisses became softer, slower, as if she were savoring him, as if she were committing this to memory. Her soft mewling nearly killed him. He was too far gone to play games. His need to join their bodies was intense, ferocious. He picked up the pace, taking charge now, kissing her thoroughly, nipping at her swollen lips, tasting her hot skin and trailing a path down her throat.
He positioned her over him, his hands cupping her butt, and then guided her down onto his shaft. She was warm and wet and the look of pure pleasure on her face was so damn perfect.
It was fast, fiery, frenzied and about the most incredible thing he’d ever done with a woman. When she cried out, her throaty sounds of pure bliss sent him over the edge.
He tightened his hold on her, feverishly moving, his body desperately seeking the ultimate prize. Then, making one deep, long, final thrust with his hips, he let out a groan of contentment that shattered him.
He was done.
Totally destroyed.
He held on to Drea and carried her to the bedroom.
That was when he got a good look at her face. Her pretty green eyes were rimmed with red.
She’d been crying.
Mason lay with Drea nestled in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. He stroked her arm, absorbing the softness of her skin. She was quiet now, seemingly drained of energy. Why had she been crying? He had no clue. She’d come here like a woman on a mission, and it was only afterward that he took note of her distress. “Are you okay?” he asked quietly.
“No,” she replied. “I’m not okay. I haven’t been okay for a long time, Mason.”
The sadness in her voice nearly broke him. “Why?”
She sighed deeply, her voice brittle. “I found out the truth about Thundering Hills tonight. My father told me...everything.” She nibbled on her lip a moment and then continued. “At first I didn’t believe it. My entire life I was led to believe one thing, only to learn that none of it was true.”
She lifted her head from his chest and those sad, sad eyes touched something deep inside him. “I’ve misjudged you, Mason. I’ve been awful to you.”
He rubbed her shoulder and smiled. “What are you talking about, sweetheart?”
“I hated and resented you for years.”
“I know.”
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth? Why did you let me go on hating you? Why did you lie to me all those times? It wasn’t fair, Mason. It wasn’t fair to let me go on believing the worst about your family.”
“It was the way your father wanted it. He made a pact with my dad to keep the terms of their agreement a secret. He must’ve had his reasons for keeping you in the dark. And as far as we’re concerned, I always thought you’d figure out on your own that you didn’t hate me.”
She frowned. “Because you’re so darn irresistible?”
“Because you’re a smart woman and eventually you would see me for the man I really am.”
“To think I’ve blamed your entire family, I’ve had terrible thoughts of them all this time. I thought you were all greedy and now I find that it wasn’t anything but kindness and generosity. The Boones are responsible for me getting my college degree, for heaven’s sake.”
“Your father did right by you, Drea. At least in that way, he put your needs above his own.”
“He didn’t want me to see him as a complete failure. He told me so tonight, how he put the blame for our loss on the Boones. It wasn’t right or fair of him and I let him know it. I was really hard on him tonight.”
“Is that why you’re so upset?”
“Yes, it’s a lot to take in.” She ran her hand down her face, then gently tapped her cheek. “Do I look terrible?”
“You look beautiful, Drea.”
He sat up on the bed, drawing her with him, and wrapped his arms around her. “Did he say why he chose tonight to tell you?”
“It was your aunt Lottie. She told him it was time for me to know the truth. Gosh, I wish one of you would’ve told me before now. I’m feeling betrayed...by everyone. But I also think the two of them were conspiring about...”
“About?”
“About us... They think—no, my father knows I’ve been seeing you. He said he didn’t want my feelings about the Boones to stand in our way.”
“Our way?” Mason wasn’t sure what she was getting at. She was leaving after this weekend. She had a life to go back to.
“I think he meant just in case we fall for each other,” she said, so softly he could barely hear her.
Mason bit down, keeping his mouth clamped shut. Drea had to know going in he wasn’t available. Not emotionally. Not in any way. Just the thought of a permanent relationship made him shudder. H
e wasn’t ready for anything like that. He didn’t know if he ever would be. The thought of loving someone again, and losing her, scared the hell out of him. Yes, if it was going to be any woman, he’d want it to be Drea. But he just couldn’t...go there again. Call him a coward, but his head and his gut told him no, no, no.
“I mean,” she said quietly, “we aren’t falling for each other, are we?”
There was such hope in her voice, such tenderness, as if the answer could break her.
He shifted away from her on the bed. Here they were, stark naked after a blistering night of wild sex. He felt closer to Drea than any woman he’d met in the past two years. He liked her, admired her and cared deeply for her. Yet he didn’t have an answer for her. He didn’t know what to say. She’d already been hurt enough.
All he could do was speak the truth. He stared into the distance, keeping his back to her. “You’re leaving in a few days, Drea.”
He hoped like hell the words came off gentle, kind. It was a statement of fact. Not a yes, not a no. Well, maybe a no. He’d made it clear he wasn’t committing to anything.
He turned to her finally and stared into her eyes, hoping to see understanding, a note of agreement. But all he saw was her attempt to mask pain.
It hurt like hell seeing the emotions pass over her face, one after another, as she tried to conceal what she was really feeling. At this moment, she didn’t have to hate him; he was doing a pretty good job of hating himself.
“Right,” she said quietly. “I... This has been great. But it’s...nothing.”
The nothing stung. She hadn’t meant it to, she’d merely been searching for words, and he hated that he’d put her in that position.
She rose then and headed for the living room, where she’d left her clothes. “I’d better get home. It’s very late and we have a big day tomorrow. Sean and the band are coming.”
“Drea?” Mason got up and followed her. “Let me drive you home.”
“Really, Mason. I have to go. Just know I don’t h-hate you anymore.”
Texan for the Taking Page 13
