Lone Star Burn_Whiskey & Women

by Stephanie Haefner

  Raelyn shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  “Honey, what’s wrong?”

  Raelyn looked up at her. “Nothing. Everything’s fine.”

  “It’s that boy, isn’t it?”

  She tried to hold her tears back, but she just couldn’t anymore. Her mom pulled her into her arms and smoothed her hair.

  “Love is a tricky thing. It feels amazing, but it can all come crumbing down in a heartbeat.”

  “I wanted to make it work, but obviously he didn’t.”

  “If I had known what this was going to do to you, I never would have asked you to come home. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I wanted to be here for you.” Raelyn pulled out of her mother’s embrace. “He didn’t trust me. He was hurt in the past and she destroyed him. Nothing I do or say will change that. And I hate him for thinking I’m like her.”

  “I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of disloyalty. Your father’s adultery almost killed me. So I can relate to what he’s going through. Maybe he just needs some time.”

  Raelyn reached for a tissue and wiped her nose. “Time won’t fix this. He’s already moved on, or actually, moved back into the life he had before me. He doesn’t care. He’s over me.”

  “But he said he loves you, right?”

  Raelyn nodded.

  “That means something, especially coming from someone who’s been hurt in the past. It doesn’t come easy. I bet he’s hurting just as much as you are.”

  “He’s hurting, all right. And soothing his heartache by fucking someone else.” Raelyn’s eyes went wide as she realized her cursing slip. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I used the word fuck a lot when I found out about your father and little Miss Perky Tits.”

  Raelyn laughed and sank back into her mother’s arms, so glad that they’d mended their relationship, so glad it was better than it ever had been before. She just wished she had Hayes by her side. Then everything would be perfect.

  *

  Hayes left the real estate agent’s office, a weight falling from his shoulders. Finally. In about a month they could close on the house. Soon his daughter and mom would be here in Fort Mavis with him. He’d see them every day and get to hug his little girl instead of blowing her kisses through his iPhone screen on Facetime. All the work he’d done the last couple years was finally paying off. Everything was falling into place.

  So why wasn’t he happy? Something felt off. Something was still missing. And it didn’t take long for him to figure it out.

  Raelyn

  She’d once asked him what made him happy. He’d told her sex and whiskey and nothing else. He didn’t tell her the third thing. No one knew about Hannah. But then she’d caught him red-handed, or rather, pink-handed, at the toy store with a doll in his hand. He told her, but not because he had to. He wanted to. And he’d started to realize that the other things on his list really weren’t all that important anymore.

  Well, the whiskey, anyway. Sex was still real damn important, but not in the way he used to think. The only sex that mattered was the kind that meant something. Sex with the right person. Love. He’d found love with Raelyn, something he hadn’t thought he’d ever find again, hadn’t thought he wanted to find. The risk was too huge. But she’d made him feel again. She’d made him believe he deserved it.

  What the fuck was he doing? He had to find a way to get her back in his life. In whatever capacity she was able. He’d do whatever he had to do to make it work. Dallas wasn’t all that far away.

  *

  Saturday night, Raelyn drove to the restaurant by herself. Her mom had an appointment beforehand and would meet her there. Laney and Sawyer were driving in from Fort Mavis and weren’t stopping at the house.

  “Reservation for Parker,” she told the hostess.

  She checked her iPad. “You’re the first to arrive. Follow me.”

  The hostess led her toward the back of the restaurant, past happy couples and families, smiling, some celebrating. Raelyn should be happy, too. Radiation was over, and hopefully they’d never hear the word “cancer” again. Her relationship with her mom was better than ever. But she just felt miserable. She wasn’t in the mood to celebrate. And with this being one of her favorite restaurants, that was saying a lot.

  “Here you are,” the hostess said, motioning to a tiny table with only two chairs, one of the best tables in the house, overlooking downtown Dallas. The restaurant sat on top of one of the tallest hotels in the city.

  “This can’t be right. There’s four of us.”

  The hostess checked her iPad. “The reservation says party of two.”

  “There must have been a mistake.” She closed her eyes and breathed deep, wishing she could go home and get in her bed.

  “There isn’t a mistake.” The voice came from behind her, a voice she’d recognize until the day she died.

  The hostess smiled and winked at her, then walked away. Raelyn’s heart raced in her chest, tears springing to her eyes. Was he really there? She was afraid to turn around and find her brain was playing tricks on her.

  She felt a warm touch on her arm and Hayes stepped in front of her. She drank him in. Dark jeans that fit him just right, a blue and while plaid button-down shirt, tucked in. He’d had a haircut, but not too much gone, thank God, and it was neatly combed back. His beard was trimmed, the scruffiness of it gone. She met his crystal blue eyes and still felt as if she could lose herself in them.

  “I know I don’t clean up too good,” he said with that smile she adored. “But I tried.”

  “You look great,” she said, holding herself back from jumping on him and inhaling his scent. She’d missed it so much. Missed him.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  He pulled a chair out for her and she sat. He sat, too. This was so awkward. She didn’t know what to say. There were so many questions. So many things that needed to be said. She didn’t know where to start. And would any of it matter?

  “I miss you, sweetheart.”

  With just those few words, her heart leapt and a tear trailed down her cheek. The questions and concerns were gone. “I miss you, too.”

  “I was an asshole. And I’m so sorry.”

  “Me, too.”

  “I can’t lose you,” he said, taking her hands in his. “I let my insecurities take over and it was so wrong. I know you’re nothing like her, and I hate myself for even suggesting it.”

  “I’m sorry I left.”

  “You had to. Laney told me about your mom. I’m so sorry. I wish I’d known. But it doesn’t matter. I should have trusted you to come back to me.” He kissed her knuckles. “Because I do trust you. With my life. And I need you to know, nothing happened with Trixie. She was just being a friend.”

  Raelyn nodded. “I know.”

  “You’re the only one I want, darlin’. Forever. I love you.”

  She sucked in a breath, her body filling with flutters. He’d said he’d loved her at the park, but not like this. “I love you, too. So much.”

  He jumped from his seat and yanked her to him, a hand at the nape of her neck, the other on her back. Hers instantly wrapped tight around his neck. He kissed her, connecting them, and a feeling of peace washed over her. This was right. It was where she was meant to be. Wrapped in Hayes’ arms.

  “Ahem.”

  Raelyn pulled back to find a waiter standing a few feet away from them. She giggled, her cheeks heating to a thousand degrees, and adjusted her dress. It had gotten a bit disheveled in the kissing process. “Sorry,” she said.

  “No worries.”

  They retook their seats and the waiter filled their water glasses. “Can I bring you something from the bar?”

  “I’ll have a glass of your Pinot Noir, please.”

  “And you, sir?”

  “I’ll have whatever she’s having.”

  “Really? Are you sure about that?” Raelyn asked.

  “Yeah.” He flashed that super sexy grin at her as he took
her hand in his. “I don’t really have a taste for whiskey anymore.”

  Epilogue

  Raelyn finished off the last coat of paint in Hannah’s new bedroom and set the roller back in the pan. She wiped the moisture off her brow and looked around. Not too shabby.

  “That is definitely pink.” Hayes came in behind her, wrapping his arms around her tight, a kiss to her neck, the scent of hay and sweat permeating the paint fumes. It was totally turning her on.

  “And she’s gonna love it.”

  He’d just finished his day of work at Magnolia Acres, the only job he had now. The only one he needed. The school bus would be dropping Hannah off in a little while. They’d do homework and start dinner. Later on they’d read to her and tuck her in.

  The house wasn’t even close to being in any kind of order yet, but Hannah was perfectly fine sleeping in Grandma’s room for now. Soon she’d be able to set up her new big girl room, complete with kitty cat posters on the wall and the canopy bed Raelyn’s mom had gotten out of storage.

  Raelyn had moved in with Hayes when he closed on the house. It had just felt right. She enjoyed building a life with him, Hannah, and LuLu, fixing up the house together, laughing, loving each other. She got her job back at the diner, but was starting to think she might like to take after her sister and start her own business. Fort Mavis could use a nail salon, and her research had shown there was not a waxing studio within a hundred-mile radius.

  Hayes’ grip on her tightened, one hand on her breast, the other between her thighs, rubbing on the outside of her cotton, paint-splattered, shorts. “How much time do we have?”

  “About an hour before Hannah gets home. And your mom shouldn’t be back til at least four.”

  “Plenty of time,” he said as he pinched her hardened nipple through her tee shirt and bra. They headed for their bedroom, a trail of clothes in their wake. It was a treat to do it in an uninhabited house for once. No need to stifle her moans or muffle her euphoric cries. Life with a family meant they had to be a little more tactful about their love-making, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

  They lay in bed sweaty and satiated. The pillow talk that had once been about their favorite sexual positions had turned to family and everyday life.

  “Are we still meeting your mom, Laney, and Sawyer for dinner on Friday night?” Hayes asked, then sucked her nipple into his mouth.

  “Yep. I have a feeling there’s going to be an announcement.”

  “Yeah? Like a wedding bells kind of announcement.”

  “Laney’s been extra giddy lately.”

  It was the happiest Raelyn had ever seen her sister. The happiest any of them had ever been, for that matter. Raelyn, Hayes, and Hannah spent lots of time in Dallas, and her mom visited Fort Mavis often, too. Mom had even started dating someone. The cancer was gone, their family was mended, and everyone was in love. Life was good.

  “Daddy! Raelyn!” Hannah’s little voice bellowed from downstairs. “I’m home!”

  They jumped out of bed and scrambled for their clothes, laughing as they did. This was what life was about. Raelyn had found the person that completed her, made her smile, understood her, and made her feel amazing. Hayes wasn’t what she’d ever imagined for herself, for her future, but when she’d landed in Fort Mavis, and laid eyes on him, she took a chance. It was a crazy ride to get here, but the ride was just getting started. And she was ready for all of it.

  But hopefully no more arrests.