by Joanna Wayne
“That’s it in a nutshell. But whether the creep is lying or not, I can’t believe any judge would rule in favor of that jerk. I don’t see Constance going anywhere.”
“What about you, Riley Lawrence? Where are you running off to next?”
“Is that what you think I do, run off?”
“It is. First ill wind slaps you in the face and off you go, running to find what you don’t even know you’re looking for.”
“Sounds like you’ve got it all figured out.” Which was a lot more than he did.
“I think it’s time you quit running. It won’t protect you from bad moments in life. Nothing will. It might keep you from finding true happiness, though.
“All I wanted to do that day I found Charlie’s body was run and never stop. Ran myself into a heart attack that I prayed I wouldn’t live through.”
“I’m glad you did,” he said.
“So am I now. I still miss my Charlie every second of every day, but that don’t keep me from knowing how blessed I am to have Pierce and Grace in my life. It don’t keep me from lovin’ and laughin’ and getting downright soggy-eyed when Jaci gives me a hug and calls me Grandma. Don’t keep me from loving it when you Lawrence boys are all at my kitchen table like the old days.”
“I’ll come back and visit more often. That’s a promise.”
“I’d like that, but I’m still saying that maybe if you stopped running around the country long enough and just looked around you, you might find that the best thing for your soul is right here.”
He couldn’t argue with that.
But what if he tried and everything went wrong? What if he made promises he couldn’t keep?
Was that what he was setting himself up for now? If so, Dani deserved better than that.
Dani swung through the screen door that went on every spring to let the breeze in and keep the mosquitoes out. His brain screamed that he should run for the hills for both their sakes.
His brain was fighting a losing battle.
* * *
IT WAS A slow but steady climb up the sloping incline. Riley and his stately, chestnut-colored quarter horse led the way.
Dani loved riding behind Riley. She liked the tilt of his head and the sway of his body, seemingly in perfect harmony with his horse.
He looked like a man who owned the world and yet she knew he owned nothing except what fit in his truck when the need to roam hit him again.
They were opposites in so many ways. She felt most at home in her bakery. Rising before the sun to light her ovens and start rolling out her first batch of cinnamon rolls was balm for her soul.
That was not a portable life.
But she couldn’t knock Riley’s choices, either. Reveling in the view of rolling pastures, meandering creeks and myriad wildlife was more exhilarating than she’d ever imagined. If she lived to be a hundred, she doubted she’d ever tire of sharing moments like this with Riley.
Not that she’d ever get the chance to find out.
Riley reined in his horse as they left a cluster of cedar trees and entered a clearing. She followed his lead.
“This is a good place to give the horses a rest and let them drink their fill of water.”
She looked around as he dismounted, her breath catching at the magnificent view. Off to the east were rolling pastures as far as she could see.
To the west was a slow-flowing stream. Riley led his horse there and tethered him to a low branch of a mulberry tree.
“The gorge at Lonesome Branch,” Riley said as he helped Dani from the saddle. “Best view on the Double K Ranch.”
The gorge. His special place. He’d bought her here to his special place. Emotion welled until she felt her heart was caving into her chest.
He tethered Dani’s horse and then reached for her hand. “You haven’t seen the best part yet.”
“No, but I can hear the waterfall.”
They walked together to the edge of the cliff. The water from the stream cascaded over layers of huge boulders and made a steep drop to the bottom of the gorge.
She stared at the drop-off, her mind painting the vivid image of Riley as a boy of fourteen poised on the edge of the precipice, struggling to come to grips with his fears and grief.
He was no longer that boy. He was every inch a man. Strong. Virile. Tough enough to face a grizzly. But somewhere inside that hulk of masculinity, a remnant of that frightened boy must still exist.
“I always compare this place to life,” Riley said. “There’s always a cliff waiting just around the corner. One false step and you plunge over the edge. That’s why I go for the gusto. Do it all before you fall.”
“I guess that worldview is okay if it works for you.”
“What’s yours? Maybe I’ll adopt it.”
She gave the question serious thought. “I suppose it’s find the place that’s home to your heart and then live life to the fullest, without regrets, every day.”
“And that place for you is Dani’s Delights in Winding Creek, Texas?”
“It definitely feels that way now.”
He walked back to where the horses had waded into the cool stream. For a second, she thought he was upset with her and ready to saddle up and ride back to the house.
Instead of untying his horse, he reined it back to the bank and began unloading his saddlebag. By the time she joined him, he was spreading a lightweight blanket in a grassy area a few yards from the bank.
She grabbed one corner and helped him straighten it. He went back for two small tote bags. He set them on the blanket, hunched down and started unloading small containers of deviled eggs, veggie sticks, purple grapes, cheese and crackers.
“You come prepared.”
“With a little help from Esther.” He pulled out a bottle of white wine, uncorked it and filled two plastic glasses.
Dani’s heart beat faster, her pulse climbing.
This was the chilled wine he’d ordered. He’d been talking to Esther. The wine was meant for Riley to share with Dani at the gorge at Lonesome Brach.
She was such a dope. Falling back into her old ways. Never really expecting guys to become serious about her. But she’d never felt about any other man the way she did about Riley.
She sipped her wine and then lay back on the blanket, her hands cradling the back of her head. Riley stretched out beside her and pulled her into his arms. When their lips met, she closed her eyes and melted into the thrill of him. This time there would be no pulling back.
Riley wasn’t a forever guy, but the glow from their lovemaking would warm her soul for the rest of her life.
Chapter Sixteen
Dani raised herself up on her elbow and laced her fingers through the fine hairs on Riley’s sun-bronzed chest. His eyes were closed, his hat lying beside him. His naked body was dappled by late afternoon sun rays that penetrated the leafy branches that had been shading them for the last two hours.
They’d made love twice. The first time had been a delirious rampage of passion. He’d kissed, nibbled and sucked every inch of her body until she was so hot and slick with desire that she was begging to feel his erection inside her.
He’d swept her into an orgasm so intense that she’d felt as if her chest might explode. She’d lain in his arms for long minutes after that, totally spent, basking in the afterglow and thinking she’d never recover. A few grapes and another glass of wine were all it had taken to have her hungering for more of Riley’s sweet kisses on her lips.
And on her neck. And on her breasts and her abdomen and the hot, slick pool at the triangle of her desire. The lovemaking had gone more slowly that time. He’d teased and tasted, brought her to the edge of ecstasy only to slow his rhythm again and again until she could take the sensual titillation no longer.
They�
�d exploded together in a frenzied eruption that rivaled the first time. And then sweet, honeyed contentment had flowed through her like warm cream.
There had been no soft whispers or throaty moans of love. She hadn’t expected it. Riley was who he was. She’d been warned before they even met.
She was who she was, too. And she was a woman in love. How could she not be in love with Riley Lawrence?
* * *
THE WOMEN HAD cooked the evening meal. The men drew KP duty. It wasn’t the way it had been when the Lawrence brothers lived here as teenagers. But even on the ranch, times had changed. No one complained.
Riley loaded the last of the dishes in the dishwasher as Tucker swept up and Pierce wiped down the counter.
“Anyone for a beer?” Tucker asked.
“Wouldn’t turn one down,” Pierce said.
Riley took three beers from the fridge and passed them around. The brothers settled back around the scarred kitchen table.
“Now that the women aren’t listening, are you gonna tell us about the fight that is making your jaw a new shade of purple?” Tucker asked. “And then explain why we didn’t get invited to the brawl?”
“To be honest, I didn’t see it coming until I saw my obnoxious opponent’s fist flying at me.”
Riley explained the situation, assuring them he gave better than he got.
“I don’t get the worry over a birth certificate,” Tucker said. “DNA would take precedence over that in any court of law.”
“As close as I figure, either Haggard knows the paternity test will come back negative or he fears it will,” Riley said. “In which case he’ll have as much chance at getting his hands on Constance’s trust fund as he does at winning a spot on the Dallas Cowboys’ roster.”
Tucker rocked his half-empty beer bottle back and forth on the table. “So you see this as a desperation dance?”
“Most likely.”
“Guess it was a gamble,” Pierce said. “If it had worked and Dani had been so frightened by his threat that she’d paid off, he’d have been up a million.”
“And that possibility was not as far-fetched as it sounds,” Riley said. “If Haggard’s name had been on the birth certificate and Dani could have gotten her hands on the money, she might have caved. That’s how frightened she is at the thought of that conniving bastard gaining custody of Constance.”
“And then she’d been opening herself to more blackmail,” Pierce said.
“Nothing will be completely settled until you get the lab results,” Tucker said. “And not even then if the results come back positive or maybe if it doesn’t.”
“Any word from your buddy with the FBI?” Riley asked.
“He called back to say he got the message and he’ll see what he can find.”
“That’s all I can ask. I’ve been thinking more about my prison visit with Dudley Miles.”
“Can’t even imagine what came over that man unless he got into his daughter’s stash.”
Riley downed the last of his beer. “There’s something fishy going on there. I can’t figure it out yet, but I’m not giving up.”
Tucker stood and gathered the empty beer bottles. “Unfortunately, I have to give up on all of you. I’ll be out of here Friday morning and doing my damnedest to stay personal with an ugly bull for eight seconds on Friday night.”
“You’re heading out quicker than I expected,” Riley said.
“And you’re sticking around longer than I expected. Not that I blame you. Just saying. But I’ve got a proposition for both of you before I leave.”
“Let’s hear it,” Pierce said.
“I’m challenging you to a brother-against-brothers chili cook off tomorrow afternoon. You don’t have a chance of winning, but the challenge will do you good.”
“Count me in,” Pierce said. “Ten dollars to the winner. I love taking you guys’ money.”
“I’ll be here unless something develops with the continuing Haggard saga,” Riley said. “See you then if I don’t catch up with you before that.
“Where are you off to in such a hurry now?” Tucker asked. “Oh, never mind. Sorry I asked.”
Riley grinned.
It was great hanging with his brothers, but it was Dani he wanted to be with now.
* * *
JAMES HAGGARD WOKE up on the side of a country road behind the wheel of his old pickup truck. He groaned and grabbed his head, pressing hard against his hammering temples. He had no idea where he was or how he’d gotten here.
His truck smelled like vomit and sweat. He poked his head out the window and gulped in the clean air.
Revived a little, he worried the handle until he got the door open. He stepped outside, then grabbed on to the door as his head went spinning. It wasn’t daylight, but it wasn’t the pitch-black of night, either.
His right leg started to cramp. There was no way of knowing how long he’d been crunched up beneath the wheel.
Using the truck for support, he worked his way to the passenger side and then staggered into the woods to relieve himself.
Something scurried over his foot. He jumped and then fell backward, landing on his rump. Whatever he’d inhaled, injected or drunk with crazy Angela, he never wanted to touch again.
He sat there in the underbrush with mosquitoes buzzing about his face, and his stomach and head taking turns with the torture.
Slowly, disjointed bits and pieces of information popped into his consciousness. Something about a toddler buried in the woods. Crying that wouldn’t stop. A kidnapper. None of it made any sense.
The night grew darker. Finally James staggered back to his truck and passed out.
The next thing he knew, some frigging idiot was slapping him over and over in the face.
He opened his eyes as much as he could, which was only a slit. His brother was staring down at him.
“Stop hitting me,” James bellowed.
“Where the hell have you been? You smell like a latrine.”
James tried to focus on Lenny’s black eyes and misshapen face. “Somebody beat the crap out of you.”
“Because I was out trying to get you the million dollars that tramp in the bakery stole from you. It’s just like always, I try to take care of you and you just get drunk or high. I’m through saving you. You’re not worth it.”
“No. Don’t be mad at me, Lenny. I’ll do whatever you say. Anything. You’re too good to me.” His head kept pounding. He was going to be sick. Lenny would hit him again if he threw up.
“This is the thanks I get,” Lenny said. “You can’t even get your hands on the birth certificate for the kid you claim is your daughter.”
“She’s my daughter. Amber was crazy in love with me back then, same as I was about her. She would never have cheated. Not then. I’m sure of it.”
That made one of them.
* * *
RILEY WOKE TO the smell of coffee and Dani’s cinnamon rolls. He kicked off the sheets and reveled in the tender ache in his crotch and upper thighs.
In the hope of tamping down speculation, Dani had kicked him out of her bed and back to his bed before daylight this morning, but not before they’d made love for the fourth time in less than twenty-four hours.
Keep up that pace and he’d never be able to ride a horse again. Whatever kind of spell she’d cast on him, he hoped it lasted forever.
Forever?
He hadn’t known that word was even in his internal vocabulary. He threw his legs over the side of the bed and headed for the shower.
It was the last day of her impromptu vacation. He wanted it to be special and free of visits or calls from Haggard or his crooked attorney.
Riley would love to hear from Andy Malone but only if it was good news, whatever that might be.
&
nbsp; He ran the water in the shower until it was as hot as he could stand it before stepping under the spray. He wasn’t too keen on washing Dani’s scent and love juices off his body, but that just meant he’d have to acquire them again.
* * *
DANI SLID HER second pan of hot cinnamon rolls from the oven. The original six had disappeared with the first pot of coffee. These should go slower, since Esther had just placed a platter of bacon on the table and Grace was busy frying fresh eggs.
Riley was the last to join them. His brothers immediately started ribbing him.
“About time you made it up, Quick Draw.”
“Were you up all night researching losing chili recipes?”
“Are you kidding? I can beat you guys with chili made with my right hand behind my back.”
“Ten bucks says you can’t.”
Riley poured himself a cup of coffee. “You guys will bet on anything.”
“What are we going to do on my last day as a cowgirl?” Constance asked. “I hope it’s ride the horses.”
“I’m sure we can fit that in,” Grace said.
“How about me taking the females to a high school female barrel-racing event?” Tucker suggested.
“What’s barrel racing?” Constance asked.
“A rodeo competition. Both of you young ladies could be barrel-racing champions in practically no time if you worked at it.”
“Yes,” Constance squealed. “I want to be in a rodeo. I used to want to be a pastry chef like Aunt Dani, but now I want to be a cowgirl so I can live on a ranch and ride horses every day.”
“What time’s the competition?” Pierce asked.
“One o’clock,” Tucker said. “We can stay awhile and easily be home in time for me to embarrass you two in the chili cook-off.”
“I’m fixing to take a drive over to the Wallaces’ spread and look at some Angus breeding stock he’s looking to sell,” Pierce said. “If either of you guys has the time to come along, I’d appreciate your input.”
“How much stock is he selling?” Riley asked.
“All he owns, but I’m not interested in anything but the Angus. He’s planning to sell off a few thousand acres of his ranch come fall if he can get a decent price for it.”
