She could forgive Jack, but she still wasn’t sure how to handle Aidan.
“I think you need to give this time, baby girl,” her mother said.
“I have a lot of that now. Aidan quit my job for me.”
Her mother smiled. The light joy on her face made her seem years younger. “He’s a Dom all right. Such pushy men, but there’s nothing like a good one. Ask yourself something. Did you love that job?”
“No, but it was mine. What am I supposed to do now?” She knew she was being stubborn. She’d been thinking about quitting the job anyway. She had money in the bank. She could always find another crap job.
“What do you want to do? Because it occurs to me that Aidan is offering you a chance. Between Aidan and Lucas, you don’t have to work if you don’t want to. I know that sounds unliberated of me, but given the fact that your stepfathers are multimillionaires, it’s not like you’ll be on the streets if something happens to Aidan or Lucas. You’re in a unique position, one a lot of women would kill to be in. You can follow your dream. You don’t have to work eight hours a day and then try to get some words on a page. Don’t you see? By making you quit a job you didn’t even like, Aidan is trying to give you what you need.”
“Shouldn’t that be my choice?” Again, she knew she was stupidly stubborn, but damn it, she wasn’t ready to concede yet.
“It is,” her mom said with a sad sigh. “It’s always your choice. Once the Dawson brothers figure out what’s going on with the attempt on your life, you can go back to Dallas and take up your old life. Lucas will follow you. Lucas will do whatever you decide. Jack can get you your old job back, or you can find a new one. I’ve heard McKay-Taggart is looking for a receptionist. You can spend your days annoying Big Tag. You don’t have to see Aidan again.”
Yes, she could always say no. She could have said no this afternoon when he’d driven his cock inside her, and she’d felt that connection she’d been missing since the day he walked out. Something had fallen into place this afternoon, some sweet sense of peace in a world that had been chaotic for too long.
God, she didn’t want to tell him what she’d done. Was that the real reason she was holding back? When she stopped thinking about the accident, she was happy with them. Lucas was thrilled. He was happier than she could remember him ever being. Was she willing to give it all up so she could pretend it never happened?
“Good lord, here comes trouble.” Her mom’s lips were pursed in a frown, and her auburn hair shook as she looked at something coming across the fair grounds.
“Hey, Lexi,” Bo said, coming up behind her. He had two bags of cotton candy. He opened his mouth, Lexi assumed to say something flirty and smart, but his eyes caught on the same thing her mother was worried about. “Damn. Come on. I can find us cover.”
Karen Wilcox led a small group of young women. They were all small-town princesses in tight jeans and tops that looked like someone had taken a Bedazzler to them. There wasn’t a natural hair color among them, but damn they knew how to tease that hair. Lexi had to smile because she was sure one of those women had added almost a half a foot to her height with her hair.
“That is so awesome,” Lexi breathed.
They slunk toward her like a bejeweled pack of hyenas. This was the way she used to view the world. Each and every incident was a wild thing, something she could use down the line. The world used to be a surreal carnival. There had been sadness, yes, but even that had lit something inside her. She’d felt with her every breath. Now she could see how shut down she’d been.
“I’m going to go get Aidan,” Bo said, backing off a little.
“Don’t you dare,” her mother said with a laugh. “My girl can handle this. There are only three of them. I got your back.”
“Mother, we are not starting a fight. Jack told you to stop that.” Her mom was famous for taking down younger women in bar fights. There had only been the one, but it was legendary. And Lexi had no intention of fighting with Karen. She greatly preferred the pen to the sword.
There was Karen. She was Blonde Number One. Lexi quickly named them in her head. Blonde Number Two was short with enormous boobs. She named the third Talon because she had the longest, reddest fingernails Lexi had ever seen.
“Well, well, lookie here. These are the women I told you about. These city slickers have come to grace our town.” Karen stopped in front of her. She smiled maliciously down at Lexi. She was wearing four-inch heels to a carnival.
Her mother opened her mouth to say something, but Lexi put out a hand, silencing her. “Don’t correct her, Momma. Willow Fork has three whole stop lights. Deer Run makes Willow Fork look positively cosmopolitan.”
“Is she insulting us?” Talon cocked a hip as she looked Lexi over. “She shouldn’t be. I have no idea what Aidan sees in her.”
Bo took a step forward. “This is Aidan’s fiancée. You need to treat her with some respect.”
“Technically, he hasn’t asked me to marry him again,” Lexi pointed out. She opened the bag of cotton candy. This looked to be an interesting argument. She might need the sugar.
“See, I told you he wouldn’t marry her.” Karen smirked as she slapped Blonde Number Two’s shoulder. “He’s trying to make me jealous. He’s making me pay for marrying someone else.”
Lexi gave her a thumbs-up. “Damn, you figured it out. I told him you were smarter than he thought you were.”
“When did you get to be so mean, baby girl?” But there was a smile on her mother’s face.
Lexi chose to avoid confrontations when she simply didn’t give a shit about the person confronting her. Oh, she would rail and fight Lucas and Aidan all day. They would find her very stubborn indeed, but if Karen needed this to feel decent about herself, then she didn’t care. If these girls wanted to think she’d been used to make Karen jealous, she was okay with it. The night was nice. She had a bag of cotton candy. Her body still hummed because the boys had been serious about those multiple orgasms. It was all good.
“Come along,” Lexi said. “We should go join the rest of them. Maybe a ride on the Ferris wheel will fix my broken heart.”
Actually, it did sound like fun. And so did those bumper cars. She bet Olivia would be a hell of a driver.
They all turned to go, even Bo, who seemed to feel a need to defend her but gave up when she smiled at him.
“You’re nothing but a big-city whore,” Karen taunted. “Aidan was never going to marry you. You’re willing to do all kinds of things a lady wouldn’t do.”
Lexi stopped and turned. That was utterly unforgivable.
“Lexi,” Bo said calmly, as though trying to figure out how to handle a dangerous animal.
“It’s all right,” she replied. “I need to make a few things clear to Karen.”
“Are we going to fight now?” her mother asked.
She almost snorted. “No, Momma. Relax.”
“You got something else to say?” Karen seemed ready to throw down. She probably watched way too much reality TV.
“I do. I am entirely insulted.”
Talon’s lips curled up. “I think that was the point. Karen told us all about what you were letting those men do to you in that barn. What a whore.”
They did not understand her. “I’m not insulted that you question my ability to attract two unbelievably hot men. I’m really not, but I won’t allow you to call me a whore. A whore accepts money in exchange for her favors. I only accept orgasms. I’m a slut. Seriously, get your lingo down.”
Karen finally looked confused. “What?”
“And while we’re at it, whore is overused. So is slut. If you’re going to insult your sisters, please expand your vocabulary.”
She was well aware that she was gathering a crowd. Several families stood watching, covering their little one’s ears, but obviously unwilling to miss the showdown between the queen bee and the city girl. She noticed Aidan and Lucas looking in. Aidan started to step forward, but Lucas stopped him, a bemused smile on his f
ace. She took it as permission to go all out.
“Let me give you some examples. First, whore isn’t exactly modern. Ho-bag, hookerbop, boom-boom girl, DPF—that stands for dirty penis face—chlamyidiot, hozo, slank…I like that one because it’s a great combo of slut and skank. You could go with dumpster if you’re really dirty. Now, that last one is a more urbane way of saying cum dumpster, but if you’re trying to be insulting, it really works.”
There was silence from the crowd and then snickers. One very properly dressed white-haired lady in a green polyester suit actually clapped.
“Nicely done, dear. I used to be an English teacher. That girl always needed a thesaurus.”
“You’re a crazy bitch,” Karen said, her face flushed. She looked around as though realizing how stupid she looked.
The crowd moved fast, hauling their children away as Lexi opened her mouth to give Karen a stern lecture on how common the word bitch was.
“You’re good, baby,” Lucas said, covering her mouth with his hand.
She was quiet long enough that he took it away. “You do that a lot.”
Aidan answered for him. “Well, angel, you have quite a mouth on you.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Not that I don’t love it.”
“Aidan, you can’t mean to do this,” Karen protested. “I’m done being put through hoops. I’m sorry I picked Carl over you, but he’s dead now, and we can be together. All you’re doing by running around with this…woman is causing a scandal. Can’t you see that?”
An unholy gleam lit Aidan’s eyes. “You think I’m causing a scandal now? How about this one?”
He reached out and dragged Lucas toward him, planting his lips on Lucas’s and kissing him for all he was worth. Lexi watched as everyone stopped and stared. Well, Aidan had certainly declared his intentions. For better or worse, he was out in the open.
“Well, at least the church ladies will stop talking about my beer drinking now.” Bo’s face was red, but he held his ground.
Her mother shook her head and put her arm around Bo. “Yes, I think Aidan has given them plenty to pray about.”
Aidan came up for air. “I’m not apologizing for loving someone. Not ever again.”
Karen huffed and hurried away as fast as her heels would carry her. Karen’s pack turned and trailed after her.
“Well, you could have warned me I was coming out,” Lucas said with a frown. “I would have thrown a party.”
The retired English teacher made her way to the front. “I am so glad about this, boys. I have been waiting for years. This town is so dreary. We need your kind to spice it up. I loved Will & Grace. I was not as happy about Queer as Folk, but that Will & Grace was so funny. Could the two of you do something about town hall? It’s so dingy. I’ve been trying for years to find a good designer.”
“I will get right on that, ma’am.” Lucas stifled a laugh.
Jack walked up to the group carrying Olivia under her arms and as far from his body as possible. Lexi stared at her little sister, who seemed to be wet from head to toe.”
“She fell into the trough at the petting zoo,” Jack explained.
“That’s not giving her enough credit.” Sam jogged behind them toting a giggling Josh. “She dove in.”
“I went swimming, Momma.”
Her mother’s face fell, and she took her youngest daughter. “Let’s get her back to the motel.” She shook her head as she looked at Lexi. “I hope your first baby is as easy on you as you were on me. The second is hell on wheels.”
Lexi knew her mother meant well, but the whole night dimmed. She’d already had her first baby. And she’d lost him.
And now she had to tell his father that she’d failed.
* * * *
Dwight tried to put on a calm face, but his stomach had been in knots since this afternoon. He’d thought when he’d managed to get Aidan home that he would be in control again. He was Aidan’s best friend, after all. He was the one who had stood beside Aidan in the hospital. Now he was the one Aidan ignored in favor of a couple of people he fucked.
Dwight stood by the popcorn stand and wondered what the hell he was going to do now. He’d thought if Aidan came back, he would get into his routine, which included taking his sleeping pills. It was only when he dreamed that he started to remember that day—the worst day of Dwight’s life. If Aidan remembered, Dwight’s whole life would be over.
He should have smothered that dumb cowboy while he was in his hospital bed. Better yet, he should have made damn sure the bastard was dead that day in Fallujah.
Dwight had lived with the guilt long enough that it had turned into a strange form of entitlement. He’d made a mistake. Everyone made mistakes. It wasn’t his fault. It was the goddamn US Army’s fault for putting him in the position. He’d had a few weeks training and then he’d been shoved into combat. Was it his fault he’d panicked?
The gun had gone off on its own. It was a piece-of-shit gun anyway.
What the hell was he going to do?
Karen Wilcox stomped through the fairgrounds, making a beeline for the parking lot, her face screwed up in a mask of rage. What had put that look on her face? Karen caught sight of him and turned on her heels. Dwight had the sudden urge to flee but held his ground.
“How could you? You told me he wanted me.”
Ah, so Aidan had finally had it out with the bitch. He’d been a pussy about it. It had been easy for Dwight to convince her that Aidan was just mad that she’d chosen someone else. Karen was thirty and there weren’t a lot of prospects in a town as small as this. Dwight had fucked her a couple of times, but she wouldn’t consider him for anything long term. Though Aidan might not have a ton of cash, he had land and that made him wealthy to these people. Aidan was the catch.
“Well, who wouldn’t want you, darlin’?” Dwight had found that she was very susceptible to flattery. All he had to do was tell her she was hot, and she suddenly was willing to listen to anything he said.
Karen’s face was bright red with rage. “And you didn’t mention that he’d gone queer. It was one thing when he was fucking that whore to get back at me, but I can’t sleep with him now. He’s kissed another man. I can’t believe it. He humiliated me in front of the whole town. Everyone’s going to say I made him gay.”
Dwight’s mind raced with the possibilities. And if everyone had seen that drama play out, then maybe he could use it to his advantage.
“He’s insane. You could make a gay man straight with that body. Come on, darlin’, you deserve a drink. Let’s take your car.”
He walked with her, nodding at the people they passed. Everyone they walked by looked at the blonde with sympathy. They talked about her behind their hands. Dwight could tell she was getting more and more worked up with every pitying glance. Her shoulders got tight and her fists clenched. By the time he got her to her SUV, she was practically vibrating with rage.
He opened her door. He had a plan in mind, and it might work. Dwight had talked to Aidan moments before Karen had found him. He’d intended to gently introduce the idea of taking his sleeping pills, but Aidan hadn’t had time to talk. He’d told Dwight not to wait up. He, Lucas, and Lexi planned to stay for a while. That was fine with Dwight. It gave him a little time to do what he needed to do.
“Why don’t we get you a drink, darlin’?”
Karen nodded. “Yes, I think I could use one.”
Or five. Once he had her drunk, she would talk and then everyone would know how angry she was. She was the perfect scapegoat.
Dwight pulled out of the parking lot and aimed toward the bar. If he had a bit of luck, maybe his problems would all go away.
Chapter Fourteen
Two hours later, Aidan opened the door of his truck and handed Lexi up, wishing he could go back to that moment when she’d been triumphantly happy. After the smackdown with Karen, she’d practically glowed. She’d been Lexi, sweet and incredibly sarcastic. Something had happened to shut her down again, and for the life of hi
m he couldn’t figure out what. Had it been him kissing Lucas in public? He doubted it. Lexi had never been afraid of what other people thought.
The cab was quiet as Lucas got in and shut the door. Aidan shuffled around, putting off that moment when he had to sit beside her, when her hand didn’t find his thigh the way it used to.
With a heavy heart, he got in and started the truck. He didn’t miss the way Lucas’s hand slid over hers, their fingers entangling. They were so close. They were a unit, and he might never be one of them. He might be able to worm his way in, but they would always have had those years together without him. They had bonded because they’d survived his desertion.
Did he have the right to even try?
Maybe he should try to find them a new Dom. It was obvious they were happier with one. Lexi had been responding. He pulled the truck out of the parking lot and decided to try to understand what had gone wrong.
“What happened back there, Lexi?” He kept his voice quiet. He was as non-threatening as possible. He would never order her to tell him. There would be no punishment if she chose not to trust him, just an aching sadness in his heart. “One minute you were giving Karen hell and the next you shut down.”
He pulled onto the one-lane highway. At this time of night, it was full dark once they left the neon lights of the fair grounds. The moon was new, so the only lights in the night came from his headlights. It felt like they were the only three people in the whole world, and yet he was alone.
He thought she might ignore the question. For a few minutes, the only sound was the soft thudding whirl of the tires on the pavement.
“I’m fine,” she finally said in a small voice that lent not one ounce of credence to her words.
Aidan felt his whole soul sag. She was shutting him out.
“Lexi.” Aidan could hear the warning in Lucas’s tone.
Aidan glanced over, and Lexi’s face had hardened into a stubborn mask. “I’m fine. Maybe I don’t like small-town carnivals. Maybe I don’t like having to deal with Aidan’s old high school girlfriend calling me a whore.”
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