Adam didn’t care, didn’t love her. If he had, he wouldn’t have given up. He’d have fought for her like Killian did. That one drove her insane with his pursuit. Sending her flowers, leaving her messages, Rachel had even heard the man had even tried to take an ad out in the paper. Killian’s behavior explained why she got all those looks out in town. Hopefully, he got a lot of laughs for making them front and center in the summer’s gossip column.
Everybody wanted to know if and when she’d take him back. Heather said the men were even betting on it. All the attention didn’t make it any easier to stand her ground. Neither did knowing she was wrong about damn near everything. That pained her the most because it gave her heart leverage to argue its point.
So what if Heather was right and Dickles had some old score to settle with Killian and Adam? Killian could have told her about it instead of going out to Camp D and threatening the man. And even though Watts had said Killian had never threatened him, he had had Watts checked out.
When Watts had called the day after she’d dumped Killian and Adam, Rachel had half suspected they’d put him up to it. Her pride had to know, no matter the embarrassment in asking if her boyfriend had arranged Watts’s co-operation. Rachel still didn’t know if she trusted Watts’s answer. After all, cops covered for each other.
None of it mattered, anyway, because Adam—
“Rachel?” Her name was followed by another round of banging, way too soft sounding to be one of her deputies’ heavy fists. Neither Killian nor Adam sounded that high pitched, either.
“Patton?” Rachel asked the door before she opened it up to find her answer beaming at her from the porch.
Patton’s grin only grew as she did a quick once over of Rachel’s frumpy appearance. “My God, you look like hell.”
“Good morning to you, too,” Rachel snapped. She was in no mood for Patton’s lively obnoxiousness or her bossy pushiness. Not that glaring at the other woman saved her.
“You need coffee.”
Without even asking and acting like they were close enough friends to give her the right, Patton walked right past Rachel and started finding her own way toward the kitchen. Sighing at the realization that she didn’t have what it took to intimidate dominant personalities, Rachel closed the door.
That’s why it would never work out with Killian and Adam because she was too much of a wimp. They walked all over her. She didn’t have a clue how to stop them, much less Patton Jones, who was tearing up her kitchen from the sound of it.
Sure enough, when Rachel wandered into her kitchen Patton had half the cupboard doors open. She had managed to find the coffee and start the maker but still rooted around in Rachel’s pantry unit. It took her a moment to swing back around with a bag of sugar in her hands. The instant her gaze lit on Rachel, Paton went back to smiling.
“I figured you’d need the sugar.”
“Yeah.” Rachel reached down the counter and pulled the little bowl of the sweet stuff forward.
“Oh.” Patton chuckled. Shrugging, she chunked the sugar back onto the shelf. “I guess maybe you’ll get it from here, huh?”
“Perhaps that’s best,” Rachel agreed. “And while I’m at it, maybe you could tell me what the hell you are doing in my house at seven in the morning?”
Patton puckered up proudly at that question. “I’m here to help you.”
“Is that right?” Rachel really hoped not because she knew what kind of help Patton offered.
“Now, I know we’re not real close friends—”
“Not really.”
That grumpy response didn’t faze Patton in the slightest. “But I am moving back to town permanently, and I’d like to start setting roots down. So since I like you, I figure you could be my friend, and friends help each other out.”
Rachel debated how to respond to that. She probably didn’t want to know what Patton did, but getting her out of the house would be way too difficult. That would require energy. So she’d give Patton until the end of her first cup to say her piece. Rachel had conditions, though.
“If this has anything to do with Adam and some tramp he’s taken up with at the club—”
“What?” Patton’s confused expression gave Rachel a little reassurance this conversation wouldn’t turn into a nightmare. “Adam hasn’t been to the club in weeks. Not since you took him off the market…You don’t really think he’d do that?”
“Why not?” Rachel shrugged, fishing out two mugs from the cabinet. “It’s what men do, isn’t it?”
“Only losers,” Patton retorted with total disgust.
“Maybe in your world,” Rachel said, because Patton lived in the world of beauty and privilege. “But down here with the normal people, it’s a common enough occurrence. Men need variety. It’s genetic.”
“Variety? That’s the best argument you’ve got?” Patton shook her head. “You know not all men are victims of their dicks and Cattlemen least of all. Hell, their whole thing is to be in charge, to control themselves.”
“Patton,” Rachel groaned out her name, “why are you even arguing with me on this? You’re the one who gave me Killian’s and Adam’s files. You know I know how short-term their attention span is.”
“You can’t hold that against them.” Patton gave her a look like she was the dumb one in the room. “Of course they didn’t settle down with any of those women. They’re club women. Nobody’s there looking for happily ever after. They’re just having some fun until they find it.”
“Then how am I supposed to know if I’m just another stop on the happy train?” Rachel shot back because she didn’t believe in converting bad boys. People were the way they were. Killian and Adam liked diversity.
“Well, you could start by taking note of the fact that Killian’s making an absolute fool out of himself over you.” Patton actually laughed. “That he’s willing to make such an ass out of himself has to mean something.”
“Yeah, that he doesn’t like to lose.”
The ding on the coffee maker chimed, giving Rachel the distraction of pouring out the cups. The minute delay in their conversation didn’t stop Patton from latching back on to her point.
“He might not like to lose, but trust me, Cattlemen only place sure bets when it comes to women…Ah, I saw that look.” Patton nodded as Rachel busied herself stirring in her sugar. “You’re thinking that you are a sure bet because in the end, you don’t think you can resist them. You know what that means?”
“Patton—”
“You’re in love with them.”
“I am not.” Rachel began to try and explain that she wouldn’t discuss this with Patton. Not that Patton gave her the chance.
“Wow, you really are butt-ass dumb.”
Rachel’s mouth fell open, shocked by Patton’s blunt rudeness. “Excuse me?”
“You had it all, didn’t you? All the happiness and pleasure and assurance that you belonged somewhere in this world, were irreplaceable to somebody, and you just tossed it out the nearest window.” Patton paused to consider her own words. “That’s a pretty damn dumb thing to do.”
Patton’s words really irritated her because Rachel had been carefully avoiding the fact that she’d brought all this misery down on her own head. She wasn’t dumb. She was right. “I had my reasons.”
“Yeah?” Patton cocked a brow. “Like what?”
“I don’t have to explain any of this to you.”
Patton snorted. “You ain’t got shit. Hey! Give that back.”
Patton reached for her cup, but Rachel took a step back, keeping it out of the other woman’s range. With a pointed look and the coldest tone she had, Rachel ordered her, “Get out of my house.”
“So that’s the way it is, is it?” Patton settled back and shook her head. “You just throw everybody out and run away from the confrontation, too damn scared to fight. You’re going to end up lonely if you aren’t willing to fight for what you want.”
“Out!”
“Fine. I’ll go, b
ut you remember one thing, Rachel. Nothing in this world will make you as happy as love. Nothing.” With that, Patton twirled and sauntered out of Rachel’s kitchen, leaving her stunned and amazed at the other woman’s audacity. Scenes like this were why Rachel had always stayed clear of Patton. There was nothing wrong with that.
Rachel’s parents had had a long and happy marriage. They hadn’t found a need to shout and yell at each other. In fact, she couldn’t remember any argument where her parents had shouted or cussed at each other. They’d raised her to be civilized and polite, a proper lady.
Damnit, she would not end up lonely because of that. Rachel stormed off to the bathroom, swearing that she’d be happy. She didn’t need all the drama and craziness. What Rachel wanted was a nice, calm, easygoing man. One who didn’t feel a need to try and control every detail of her life. More importantly, she’d find a man who loved her back.
It would just take a while to find that man. Hopefully, by then, the idea of being touched by anybody other than Killian and Adam wouldn’t fill her with disgust and shame. Pausing by the couch to stare at her makeshift bed, Rachel had to admit to the depressing possibility that her repulsion might be a lifelong condition.
* * * *
“Okay, so I figured it all out.”
Killian shoved Adam’s breakfast out of the way to plop down his notebook. The arrogant gesture earned him a dark look from his partner, a harder look than normal given how little sleep Adam had gotten over the past two weeks. His friend’s condition showed, but Killian didn’t say boo about it given Adam’s attitude of late.
The man had gone from outright cranky to a complete bastard. Killian knew what the cure was, but hell if Adam would listen to him and actually try to seduce his way back into Rachel’s bed. Well, Killian didn’t intend to wallow in his misery. One way or another, he was going to fix this.
“Dare I ask what you’ve figured out?” Adam grumbled, barely paying any attention to the flow chart Killian had painstakingly made.
“See,” Killian said, pointing to the first item on the list before sliding his hand down the rest, “I thought since I tried all the polite civilized things Mom told me to do—”
“Mums said to woo the girl, not stalk her.”
She’d also said to wait three weeks and give Rachel time to cool down. Killian didn’t see any reason to delay, but Adam had taken Mums’ advice and memorized it down to the letter. Now Killian basically had to listen to his damn mom all day. It really made him regret starting Adam down this annoying path.
“I’m not stalking,” Killian shot back as he went rummaging for his own breakfast. “I sent her some flowers.”
“Every other day.”
“I left a few messages.”
“About five hundred.”
“Will you shut up?” Killian slammed the refrigerator door. There wasn’t anything in it but beer, soda, and leftover takeout. “At least I’m trying. What are you doing but sitting around repeating what Mom says?”
“We’re supposed to be giving her space and moving slowly,” Adam repeated Mums’ mantra, “not taking out humiliating ads in the paper.”
Killian would give Adam that one. It had been kind of a lame idea, like eating cold pizza in the morning, but a man had to do what he had to. Opening the refrigerator to fish out the oversized box, Killian could take at least some comfort that nobody had seen how desperate he’d become.
“It’s not like they ran it.”
“Thank God for that,” Adam muttered. “We don’t need to be the biggest laughingstock ever.”
“Is that what you’re worried about?” Killian already knew the answer. Adam’s hard and difficult childhood might have made him stronger than most, but it had also made him more sensitive. It made him somewhat of a ticking time bomb in Killian’s eyes, one that could blow the situation up even worse. Adam’s grin did not soothe Killian’s worry.
“I want to get Rachel back.” Adam paused before adding, “and then she’s going to pay.”
“Yeah?” Killian chunked he pizza box onto the counter. “Well, there isn’t going to be any getting Rachel back unless she’s willing to talk to us first. All those flowers? In the garbage can. Those messages, unreturned, and that damn ad never got run. We’ve been cut completely off.”
That really pissed Killian off because he still didn’t know what they’d done. He knew Dickles had done something, but he couldn’t very well ask the man what. With Rachel not speaking to them, Killian was left completely in the dark.
With his mom handing out stupid advice like waiting for three weeks, Killian had been forced to shamefully turn to his last hope—the Internet. Boy, had he been shocked by what he’d learned online. Killian had always known the fairer sex tended to confuse things, but he’d never realized how twisted women tended to be. Of course, he couldn’t use this newfound information if Rachel wouldn’t talk to him.
“Which is why I’ve come up with this plan.” Killian used the tip of his pizza to gesture to the outline he’d come up with last night. Adam glanced down, growing a scowl as he stared at Killian’s scribbled handwriting.
“Abjunction?” Adam lifted the little notebook to glare even harder at the page. “You mean adjunction? No. That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Abduction, dude.” Killian rolled his eyes. “Adjunction, I don’t even know what the hell that is.”
“It’s when you join—Wait a minute!” Adam slapped the notebook down onto the counter. “Did you say ‘abduction?’ You’re thinking of kidnapping Rachel?”
* * * *
Adam didn’t know the number of a good shrink, but he intended to start looking for one because Killian needed medical attention now. His friend had obviously lost all reason right along with his sanity. Mums had given them very good advice. They wanted this thing to be serious, so they should take it seriously by moving slowly, taking their time, and not abducting Rachel in the process.
That argument should have sounded logical, but there Killian sat on the truck’s bench seat, grinning. It made Adam’s knuckles whiten over the steering wheel. They’d argued so long about Killian’s new plan they’d be late for work. For all that, Adam suspected Killian still intended to harass Rachel.
Hopefully, though, he wouldn’t be kidnapping her. Adam would so beat the crap out of Killian if he did. Adam had plans for Rachel and wouldn’t be tolerating Killian screwing them up any more than he already had with all his pathetic begging.
That wouldn’t win Rachel back. Adam had come to some honest revelations over the past two weeks. Rachel might not love him, but that didn’t stop him from loving her. It put her in a position of power, though, that he wouldn’t tolerate. If he had to endure being made weak and vulnerable by his emotions, then he’d make sure her addiction made her more so.
That’s what she was, addicted to them, to the sex. Adam knew how to use that kind of power to get exactly what he wanted. What he wanted was Rachel in his bed, in his life, under his control. All things he could have if Killian didn’t go and screw everything up with one of his crazy schemes.
Glancing over to where Killian grinned on like it was a shiny, happy morning when, in fact, it was overcast and miserable didn’t fill Adam with much optimism. Maybe he really should send Killian to an asylum for a while, if for no other reason than to get his friend the serious help he needed.
Pulling into the station’s back lot, Adam tucked the truck neatly under the shade of the azalea that grew out of control along the gravel lot’s edge. At the jerk of the tires coming to a complete stop, Killian nodded and turned toward Adam.
“Okay,” he commented as if they’d been holding some kind of conversation. Killian had slowly gone a little nuts as far as Adam could tell. “I’ll hold off on snatching up the girl, but what do you think about some gifts? I mean really thoughtful gifts, because you remember how she was with Alex on her birthday.”
“Somehow I don’t think trying to buy Rachel’s affection is going to work. That’
s not very respectful, and that’s what we’re trying to prove here, how much we respect her.” Adam felt like a damn record. Every five minutes, he had to repeat something Mums had said. Not that he was a mama’s boy, but the lady had made sense. “Remember, we’re going slow this time.”
Killian snorted, shoving open his door. He still managed to get in his favorite complaint. “Wasting time is more like it.”
Rolling his eyes, Adam pushed out his own door. He wouldn’t have wasted his breath in responding to that one, but even if he had wanted to respond, Adam wouldn’t have gotten the chance. Before either of them could even close the door, Killian’s name started to echo across the lot. A man jogged toward them, looking oddly familiar, though Adam knew he didn’t know the guy.
“Deputy Killian Kregor?” Despite his run, the man didn’t sound the least bit out of breath as he pulled up to a stop. He had a certain ex-military feel to him. Adam could almost peg him for being a cop but not from around these parts.
“Yeah?” Killian slammed his door. Apparently suffering from Adam’s curiosity, he squinted at the guy. “Do I know you?”
“Officer Watts.” The shorter, stockier man extended a beefy hand toward Killian before offering it to Adam as he came around the tailgate. “I’m sorry, I don’t…”
“Deputy Whendon,” Adam answered the leading comment with some hesitation. Not because he didn’t want to but because now he had placed the man.
“My partner,” Killian filled in. “So you’re Watts, huh? You’ve been helping Rachel with her little project. And I’m going to assume the fact that you’re now here looking for me isn’t good news.”
Killian said just what had Adam worried. Watts didn’t make that sensation die down with guilty sigh. “I don’t know if it’s good or bad or whatever, but I heard you asked about me. The word is that Rachel used to be yours.”
Penn, Jenny - Rachel's Seduction [Cattleman's Club] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 34
