Troubled Hearts

by Jolie Cain

  Troubled Hearts

  Book Two of the Hearts of Dixie series

  Jolie Cain

  Published 2008

  ISBN 978-1-59578-433-9

  Published by Liquid Silver Books, imprint of Atlantic Bridge Publishing, 10509 Sedgegrass Dr, Indianapolis, Indiana 46235. Copyright © 2008, Jolie Cain. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Liquid Silver Books

  http://LSbooks.com

  Email:

  raven@LSbooks.com

  Editor

  Georgia Woods

  Cover Artist

  April Martinez

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  Prologue

  Katherine stepped off the elevator and turned toward her husband’s office. Her high heels made a clicking noise on the hardwood floors. Nervously, she reached up to make sure her hair was still in its neat bun on the nape of her neck, just as Raymond liked it. Perhaps she shouldn’t have stopped by the office because he had a lot of work piled up he had to finish. But she was on her way home and wanted to tell him what the ob-gyn had told her about her failure to conceive. Even though Raymond was in his late forties, twenty-five years older than Katherine, the doctor had said there was no reason why he couldn’t father a child. And she had passed her physical with flying colors. The doctor had some suggestions, and she was eager to see Raymond’s reaction to all the doctor had said.

  When she neared the end of the hallway, she heard someone calling her name. She glanced back and saw Beau approaching her from the other end of the hall. Katherine hesitated a moment before turning to wait for him. Her stepson was a good-looking young man of eighteen, and he aroused in her feelings that were as unwelcome as they were undeniable. As he moved towards her with that easy gait of his, she tried to ignore the effect he had on her. She always tried to keep as much distance from Beau as she could. She loved her husband; of course she did. Just because her marriage was going through a rough patch didn’t mean she didn’t love Raymond. It’s just that sometimes the way Beau looked at her when they were alone together, or the way his hand would brush against hers occasionally, struck a spark in her she couldn’t deny, try as she might.

  Unfortunately, with the way Raymond worked, even during the summer, it was left to Katherine to entertain Beau when he stayed with them. Whenever she swam with him in the pool, she was conscious of his gaze touching every inch of bare skin, a knowing look in his eyes whenever he saw her erect nipples. If they had to share a meal alone, the silences would sometimes lengthen uncomfortably, and she would look up from eating to see him focused on her mouth, a different kind of hunger heating up his eyes. Thank God Raymond had begun bringing Beau to the office to work a few hours every day. At least she had some time without having to worry about the temptation he presented.

  “Hello, Beau.” She smiled weakly at him as he drew closer.

  “Katherine, it’s good to see you. I missed you at breakfast this morning.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek, lingering just a second too long and bringing a hint of red to Katherine’s cheeks. “What are you doing here?” His eyes gazed into hers as he waited for her answer, standing a little too close and making Katherine hyperaware of the sensuous look in his hooded gaze.

  “Oh, I just needed to talk to Raymond for a minute or two, and since I was in the neighborhood, I thought I’d stop by and see him in person.” Katherine hated the breathless sound of her voice, knew it revealed things to Beau she didn’t want him to know.

  “I’ll come with you. I needed to talk to him about something, too.” He turned to walk with her, his hand sliding to rest in the small of her back, controlling her movement with a possessiveness that made her achingly aware of him. Katherine couldn’t suppress the slight shiver as the warmth of his touch penetrated through her thin blouse and hoped Beau hadn’t noticed. His jeans-clad thighs shortened their step to keep pace with her, and she tried unsuccessfully to widen the distance between them.

  “You’re a little casually dressed for work, aren’t you, Beau?” As usual, Katherine tried to use words to set a barrier between them. The disapproving tone, however, did nothing more than bring an amused glint to his eyes, as if he knew what she was trying to do, and she blushed. He had the ability to make her feel like a little girl playing grownup, despite the fact that she was the elder of the two of them and his stepmother.

  He just laughed. “I’m only eighteen, Kat. Dad cuts me a little slack because of that. Besides, I’m mostly just a gopher around here, anyway. You know, you’re only twenty-three yourself. You could stand to loosen up a bit in the clothing department yourself. Why do you insist on dressing like some fifty-year-old woman?”

  Katherine stiffened. “Please, I’ve asked you before not to call me Kat. I don’t like it. My name is Katherine. And I dress as I please. Your father doesn’t have any complaints. He likes what I wear.”

  “My father is an idiot, Kat. He’s tried to turn you into an old woman before your time so he won’t feel so guilty about robbing the cradle. But I know underneath all that starch and polish of yours is a real, warm, beautiful woman.” He reached out a hand and pulled her to a halt. She refused to look at him, glancing nervously up and down the hallway, hoping for someone to walk by, but the hall remained deserted except for the two of them.

  She laughed shakily. “Very funny, Beau. What, are you trying your lines out on me? I’m sure your new little girlfriend will be very impressed. But I’m not really interested in playing any games with you right now.”

  “Oh, I’m not playing any games, Kat. I just know what you are, no matter how much you try to hide it. You’re a woman. A woman made for touching, for kissing, for tasting. A woman who needs a real man, a man who knows how to handle her.” He leaned closer, and she felt his hot breath on her face. “My father has never understood you. Understood what you really need, deep down. Not like I do. I see it in your eyes every time I look at you, sweetheart. I can give you what you need, Kat. And what’s more, you know it.”

  “You have no right to talk to me like this, Beau. My God, I’m your stepmother. What in the hell are you thinking?” Katherine’s voice reflected her shock, and she tried to pull away. He had never approached her so deliberately before, as if he didn’t care what he said or who heard him.

  His grip on her tightened, one hand reaching out to her jaw and turning her to face him. “You think I don’t know that, Kat?” His fingers rubbed gently over her cheek. “You think I don’t know that every night you crawl into my old man’s bed and let him put his hands all over you? Let him shove his cock up inside you and fill you with his cum?” His jaw hardened and his eyes burned into hers. “You think I don’t wish that it was me in there instead? And you know what else? I think you wish it, too. Do you cry out my name when you cum for him?”

  She gasped, unwillingly aroused at his blunt words. She tried to pull away, but he held her too tightly. “Stop it, Beau. Stop it, right now!”

  He shook his head. “There’s something between us, kitten. There’s been something between us since the first time I saw you. You’ve tried to deny it, but I see it in your eyes when you let your guard down. There’s a need in you, Kat. A need my father has never fulfilled.” His face drew closer to hers, and she stood there, frozen, knowing he was about to kiss her. “You want me, Kat. You want me to do things to you my
father never imagined. Never dared. Naughty things. Wicked things.” He nuzzled her earlobe and dragged his lips across her cheek. “Leave him, Kat. Divorce him. You aren’t happy together. And then we can be together, and do all of the things we’ve both been craving. I’m getting tired of waiting, sweetheart.” His mouth drew closer and closer to her own, but just before their lips met, she managed to jerk away.

  “No. Stop it, Beau. I mean it. Just stop it right now. You don’t know what you’re talking about. I love your father, and he loves me. We’re very happy together.” She turned and hurried down the hall, practically running in an attempt to get away from him before she gave in to his seductive suggestion, to the desire to submit to him that increased every time she saw him. Her hand reached out to the doorknob in Raymond’s office just as Beau strode up behind her.

  “Kat, running away won’t change…” He started to speak, but she ignored him and pushed the door open without knocking.

  The sight that met her gaze had her speechless with dismay. Raymond stood in front of his desk, his pants open and a young brunette kneeling in front of him, eagerly sucking his cock into her mouth. His hands were buried in her hair and his head bent so he could watch her as she serviced him. At the sound of the door opening, his head came up. “Fuck, I thought I told you to lock the door, Eileen … Katherine, shit!” When he saw his wife standing in the doorway, he pulled Eileen’s head off his cock, and it bounced in the air.

  Eileen turned to stare at them before turning back to Raymond. “Oops! Sorry, I forgot.”

  Katherine’s shock held her still for a moment. The emotional roller coaster Beau’s words had stirred in her was nothing compared to what she felt in that instant. The house of cards that she had built over the last three years came crashing to the ground. She stammered, “Raymond. My God, Raymond…” She shook her head from side to side, wanting to deny the truth of her own eyes. Pressing a hand against her stomach, she tried to quell the nausea that flooded her. What a fool she’d been. Her own words, the words she’d just spoken to Beau, echoed in her mind … we’re very happy together. What a joke. And the joke was on her.

  Incapable of thought, she turned and crashed into Beau, who was standing directly behind her. His hands reached out to grasp her shoulders, but she jerked away from the pity she saw in his eyes. “Let me go.” Her eyes brimming with tears, she looked at him pleadingly. “Please, No more. Just let me go.”

  Beau clenched his hands as Katherine disappeared from his sight. Then he turned to face his father, who was zipping up his pants, an annoyed look on his face.

  “You really are a bastard, aren’t you?” Beau spoke emotionlessly as his father helped the little bimbo to her feet.

  His dad shrugged. “Easy come, easy go. She was beginning to wear out her welcome anyway. She was never that fun in the bedroom department, you know. Breaking in a virgin just isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Now, Eileen here, she’s a lot more fun and a hell of a lot more accommodating. Aren’t you, honey?”

  The brunette giggled and snuggled next to his father.

  “Aren’t you going to go after her? Talk to her? Apologize? Something?” Beau clenched his fists, fighting to keep from popping his father in the nose. He couldn’t believe his father’s attitude, although he didn’t know why he was so surprised. Raymond Dalton had never cared about anyone but himself.

  “Go after her? Why? For a tearful scene and a demand for a divorce? I don’t think so.”

  “Dammit, aren’t you worried about her? She was pretty upset. She shouldn’t be driving. What if she gets in a wreck?”

  “If you’re so worried about her, why don’t you go after her yourself?” Raymond’s face creased in a sardonic grin as he saw Beau’s start of surprise. “You think I don’t know how you feel about her? Hell, I wouldn’t have kept her around as long as I did if I hadn’t known how much it killed you to know I could have a piece of that ass whenever I wanted to.”

  Beau felt the blood drain from his face. He had never realized just how much his father hated him until that moment. There had always been a distance, a coldness between them. But he had just attributed that to his father’s personality. He wasn’t an affectionate man and never had been. Over the years, Beau had tried hard to please his father, but after a while he had given up, realizing they would never be close. So they didn’t love each other. That was one thing. But this? This malevolent hatred that he saw on his father’s face. Where had that come from? And why had he never seen it before? “What? What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Your mother turned you against me with all of her lies. I’ve seen the way you despise me; it’s in your eyes every time you look at me. You have her eyes, you know. She used to look at me the exact same way. Well, I had something you wanted. And it wiped that look out of your eyes.” He laughed, an ugly sound. “I never wanted a fucking kid anyway. And after you were born, that’s all she talked about; all she thought about was you. She loved you more than she ever loved me. Hell, if I hadn’t knocked her up, I never would have married her in the first place. She was a cold bitch at the best of times. And she taught you to hate me, didn’t she?”

  Beau saw red. Pushed past the breaking point, he spat out the truth. “Yes, I despise you, you sonofabitch. But not because of anything Mom ever said. But I saw the way you treated her. All the nights you made her cry over you. You are a worthless piece of shit. I don’t know why I even tried to have some kind of a relationship with you. I guess because Mom thought that a son should love his father. I did it for her. I gave it my best shot. But that’s done now. I’m outta here. And if she’ll go with me, I’m taking Katherine, too. She deserves a helluva lot better than you.”

  He turned and raced down the hallway. Waiting on the elevator, he planned what he would do next. Katherine would head to the house. He would follow her and talk to her there. He would take her away from all of this crap and show her what she meant to him. God, the expression on her face when she’d turned to him. The pain, the betrayal. He couldn’t stand it knowing how much she was hurting right now.

  When he got to the house, her car was parked out front. He ran inside and up the stairs, calling her name. At last he found her in her bedroom, haphazardly throwing clothing into a suitcase she had opened on the floor.

  He stood in the open doorway and watched her frantic movements. “Kat, I…”

  She didn’t look at him. “Just shut up. Go away, Beau. Leave me alone.”

  He walked into the room and grabbed her shoulders, turning her to face him. Tears filled her green eyes. “Dammit, Kat, be mad at him. Hate him. He’s a bastard. But don’t hate me.”

  She jerked out of his hold. “I don’t hate you, Beau. This isn’t about you. It’s about your father and me. Did you know he was having an affair? Did everyone know?” She crossed the room, and then turned to face him. “Did they?” He couldn’t hide the truth from her. He knew she could read it on his face, and her own face crumpled. “I feel so humiliated. My God. I’ve been living a lie. My life is a complete lie, and everyone knew it. Everyone except me. They’ve been laughing behind my back all this time. Or feeling sorry for me. That’s even worse.”

  She paced back and forth, running her trembling fingers through her hair and scattering the pins until it lay in a red spill across her shoulders. Even in the tension of the moment, Beau couldn’t stop the tightening in his guts as his eyes absorbed her stunning beauty. Her pale skin was like ivory satin, with none of the freckles that one usually expected on a redhead, and Beau craved a taste. Just one taste. And her mouth was so achingly tender and erotic he wanted to cry with his need to crush it beneath his own. With her hair cascading down her back, she looked no more than sixteen.

  “Kat, what do you want me to say? He’s a bastard. He cheated on my mother. He cheated on his second wife. It was inevitable that he would cheat on you, too. He is incapable of monogamy.”

  She turned her back on him. Her head bowed down, she stood there for long momen
ts. Finally, she asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?” Her voice was low and husky from the tears she was obviously trying to hold back.

  He walked closer to her, stopping just behind her. “How? How was I supposed to tell you something like that?”

  “I don’t know. I just wish someone had told me. My God, we were trying to have a child. For the last year, I have been trying to get pregnant. Do you think I would have wanted to have a child if I had known my husband was sleeping around on me?”

  Beau was stunned. “What on earth are you talking about? My father can’t have any more children. He had a vasectomy years ago.”

  She spun around. “A what? No, that’s not possible. Raymond agreed. I’ve been seeing a doctor, having tests run. We’ve even talked about fertility treatments. You’re lying.” Her laugh sounded almost hysterical. “You’re lying, Beau.” She repeated weakly, as if trying to convince herself.

  Beau shook her. “I’m not lying. I didn’t know you were trying to get pregnant. God, don’t you think I would have told you if I had known? He got the vasectomy right after I was born. Mom told me. He never wanted children. He sure as hell never wanted me.”

  “No, I don’t believe you.” She shook her head in denial.

  “My God, wake up and smell the truth here, Kat. You can’t be that blind. Not now. My father played you for a fool, and you swallowed it without a question. You let him turn you into some little Stepford wife, dressing like he wanted you to, wearing your hair like some old-maid schoolteacher. Catering to his every fucking whim.” He could hear the bitterness of his words as he relived all those weeks and years of watching them together.

  Her hand came up and slapped him across the face. “Shut up! Just shut up.”

  His face burned from the blow. “What? You can’t deal with some straight talk, Katherine?” He sneered out her name. “Has he made you that afraid of a little honesty?”

  “Fuck you, Beau! Fuck you!” she screamed at him.

  “Fuck me? Fuck me?” He grabbed her hand and pulled her against him. “No kitten. Fuck you!” His mouth crashed down on hers, and he shoved her roughly against the wall. Pushed beyond his limits, Beau felt his control spiraling away. Grinding his lips against hers and forcing hers to part, his tongue took possession of her mouth with a hungry need. Months, years of denial exploded in both of them, heightened by the events of the past hour. Katherine shoved against his shoulders, trying to escape from the passionate demand of his mouth, until he captured both wrists and pinned them to the wall on either side of her head. He lowered his body against her struggling one, effectively pinning her and stilling any movement. His mouth plundered hers, forcing her response.