Tempted by a Carrington

by Linda Hudson-Smith

  Lanier turned and glared at the woman.

  Noticing Lanier’s balled-up fists, Ashleigh intervened. “Let’s not dignify rudeness. It’s obvious she never learned how to carry herself with class.” With that said, Ashleigh steered Lanier out the door.

  “Thanks, Ashleigh,” Lanier remarked. “I wouldn’t have gone off on her, but I wanted to. I’d never embarrass myself, Dallas or any other Carrington like that.”

  Ashleigh took hold of Lanier’s hand. “I know that. Speaking of our guys, I wonder where they are.”

  “Austin is coming this way right now,” Kelly said. “He just spotted you.”

  Turning in the direction Kelly had pointed, Ashleigh’s eyes lit up. “Look at him. Isn’t he the most gorgeous man you’ve ever laid eyes on?”

  “One of three,” Angelica said. “My sons are amazing. Don’t leave out Beaumont!”

  Everyone laughed.

  Austin came up to Ashleigh and kissed her. “I was looking for you. Where were you?”

  “Restoring my pretty face,” Ashleigh flirted. “These hot lights are melting the skin right off my face,” she joked, batting her eyelashes. “I missed you.”

  “As much as I missed you?” Austin asked his wife.

  Ashleigh ran her hand down the side of his face. “More. Where are your clones?”

  Austin shrugged. “Don’t know. I haven’t seen them for a minute. They’ll pop up. Is everyone having a good time?” His gaze encompassed all the ladies.

  “It’s been fun,” Lanier enthused. “This house is to die for.”

  Ashleigh gave Lanier a sympathetic look. “We were having a ball until we ran into a lady with a nasty mouth.”

  “Correction,” Lanier said. “By no means was she was a lady.”

  Laughter broke out among the women. Then Ashleigh quickly explained to Austin what had occurred in the bathroom.

  “Sorry to hear that. You beauties are envied by lots of women. I hope you didn’t take the encounter to heart, Lanier. Dallas loves you, only you.”

  “Did I just hear my name?” Dallas walked up behind Lanier and wrapped his arms around her. Lowering his head, he kissed her neck and ears. “You disappeared. Where’d you go?”

  Tilting her head back, Lanier looked up at Dallas. “Ladies’ room, where we ran into an unladylike sister.”

  Dallas frowned. “Does anyone know her?”

  “Hmm, you might. Since she had you all hemmed up earlier,” Lanier remarked.

  Dallas felt a stab of anger rush through him, yet he was impressed by Lanier’s demeanor. She didn’t seem upset by whatever had occurred. “Don’t sweat it, babe. I don’t even know her. This is the first time I’ve ever seen the woman…and I hope it’s the last.”

  “Not if she has her way. She seems to think you can do much better than me.”

  Dallas heard a twinge of pain in Lanier’s voice. “She’s wrong. You’re the best for me…and I’m the best for you.”

  Lanier kissed Dallas full on the mouth. “That you are. You’re a blessing to me.”

  “You feel that way, too, huh?” Dallas kissed her back. He then rubbed his stomach. “I’m starving. Let’s go find something to eat.”

  Lanier smiled softly. “You go ahead and grab a bite. I’ll be right here.”

  Dallas lifted an eyebrow. “You’re not hungry?”

  Lanier shook her head. “Not now. I may get something later on.”

  Dallas kissed the tip of Lanier’s nose. “Don’t stray too far. I won’t be gone long.”

  She pointed out a couple of empty seats. “I’ll post up right here and wait for you.”

  He kissed her gently on the mouth and then strode off.

  Lanier sat down on one chair and placed her bag on the other to reserve it. As her mind took her back to the bathroom scene, she cringed. Lanier knew she shouldn’t give any thought to the injurious remarks, but it was difficult to ignore the intent behind them, especially when it had hurt her.

  Perhaps Dallas could do better. But if that woman thought she was better, she would’ve been in for a rude awakening. Any woman who didn’t care about people wouldn’t attract Dallas. He wanted a woman like his mother. Lanier knew she wasn’t just like Angelica, but the other female wasn’t close to being the woman Mrs. Carrington was. Not only was she a wonderful wife and fantastic mother, but she was a pillar in her community.

  Hearing loud talking, Lanier looked to the left of her and saw one of the men from earlier. She was surprised he hadn’t been ushered out and told to leave the premises, since he clearly was a disruptive force. He was staggering quite a bit. It was hard to understand much of anything he said because he was mumbling. His stumbling around drew the attention of others.

  The tall man suddenly staggered forward and fell down close to Lanier’s feet. What looked like a full glass of red wine splashed onto her white dress and the stain spread rapidly, covering a large area. He looked up at her and said something she didn’t understand. The next thing she heard was him calling her a dirty name. Picking up her purse, she attempted to stand.

  As he tried to get up, too, he fell into Lanier again and knocked her over. Several men rushed to her side to help her up. Fear ripped through her and she suddenly felt frozen in time. She didn’t need to close her eyes to experience the violent visions and malicious verbal attacks that had kept her upset.

  The man had sounded just like Joseph when he had slurred his words. She was no stranger to the stumbling and staggering she’d witnessed repeatedly. Going into a darkened closet to hide and shut out the vulgar shouting was all too familiar. The thought of fleeing into a hiding place had already entered her mind. Though scared of the darkness, it had been more comforting to her than what she had witnessed from her parents.

  No young child should ever be faced with the choice of escaping into darkness versus seeing and hearing violence. Both options were frightening to her, but the darkness was the lesser of two evils for her. Inside the closet was a pillow she’d laid her head upon while she was curled up in a fetal position. Lanier hadn’t always been successful at blocking out the sounds of violence and vicious yelling and disrespectful name-calling.

  Hoping to flee from the disturbing images, Lanier tried to take flight toward the nearest exit. Her legs felt locked in place and vehement memories surrounded her. Finally, her feet managed to break into a full run…and she didn’t stop moving forward until she got outside, where she then took a minute to catch her breath.

  Somewhat dazed, she descended the steps and walked toward the parking area. Once she located the Carrington limo and its driver, she began to breathe easier.

  With her hands shaking badly, Lanier approached the driver. “Please, can you take me home and then come back for the others? I’m not feeling well. Mr. Carrington knows I’m leaving,” she lied, feeling terrible about it. Getting as far away from this mansion and the drunk inside was all she could think about. She’d felt threatened too many times in one evening. Re-experiencing the horrible memories of the darkest time of her life was extremely unpleasant.

  “Of course, ma’am, I’ll take you home. I’ll let one of the Carrington brothers know I’m leaving the area. That’s what they’d expect from me.”

  “Dallas already knows. Can we please leave now? I’m only getting worse. Mr. Carrington knows how bad I’m feeling.”

  The chauffer looked torn by what he believed was the right thing to do versus what was required of him. He had been hired by the triplets and thought he should take orders only from them. He felt that the stain on her white dress was in part responsible for her stressful demeanor. “It won’t take me long to locate one of them.” Without further comment, the chauffer went off to find one of the brothers.

  Totally stressed by the situation, Lanier suddenly s
wooned. She quickly grabbed on to the car’s door handle to keep from falling. Able to keep her footing, she checked the rear entry to see if it was open. Finding the limo unlocked, she got in immediately.

  Lanier laid her head back against the headrest. She kept going over what had happened inside, which made it hard for her to let go of it. Knowing what Dallas may’ve done to the man after he’d knocked her over made her grateful he hadn’t been a witness.

  She tried to remind herself that the man didn’t know her. He had reacted to the alcohol, a lot like Barbara and Joseph had done. Her mother had been a peaceful person before she’d begun drinking and drugging. It had been shocking to see her turn violent and nasty. Many of the obscenities spewed out of her mother’s mouth had put Lanier in a state of disbelief. The names Barbara had called Joseph were every bit as bad as the ones she herself had been called this evening. Two people had lived inside her parents’ bodies, two totally different individuals. She wondered if the strangers that had taken over her mother and father were truly gone.

  Were Barbara and Joseph really back to their old, kind, loving selves?

  Dallas slid into the backseat and sat close to Lanier. Concern was etched on his face. As he tried to put his arm around her, he felt her resistance. “What happened in there to make you run away without telling one of us?” Noticing the large red stain on her dress gave him a good idea why she’d left the party. Now he needed to know how the dress had been ruined.

  His tone had sounded accusatory to Lanier. She pointed at the stain. “It should be obvious. While you were off doing who knows what, I was dealing with one of the drunken men from earlier. That’s who spilled the wine on my dress. Do you need to interrogate me further?”

  “Interrogate? Is that what you think I’m doing? Dumb question, since it’s obvious. Asking you why you left is only one question. An interrogation is a barrage of inquiries.”

  Old childhood memories had helped Lanier’s negativity to resurface. She couldn’t help wondering if he was embarrassed by her actions. Because he’d left her alone on several occasions she had begun asking herself where he had gone and what he had been doing.

  Was it possible he actually knew the woman who’d made the nasty remarks? If she didn’t know him, how would she know he could do better? Better than what?

  Negative thinking had finally led Lanier back to Casey’s comments, making her wonder which one of them hadn’t been telling the truth.

  “Maybe you’re the one who should be interrogated. Why don’t you tell me why you disappeared so much in there? You left me alone a lot, which put me at the mercy of others.”

  Dallas couldn’t believe her questions—and her negative misgivings had him fuming inwardly. “I left your side three times. Getting drinks for us was one. Using the men’s room was another. Lastly, I went to find more food. I couldn’t have been gone more than ten to fifteen minutes each time. What happened to the new Lanier? Speaking of interrogations, is there anything else you want to question me about?”

  Lanier’s eyes burned with fury. “As a matter of fact, I have several questions. Do you know the woman who was all over you? And have you been flirting with Casey and trading flirtatious emails with her like she says? I also find it odd that a woman you don’t know would say you can do better than me if she doesn’t know you.”

  Dallas glared back at her. “This one takes the cake. I’ve had it with all this negative energy. I can’t do this anymore. You are never going to fully trust me. No matter what I do to show you I love you, no matter how many times I tell you, you still don’t believe me.”

  Dallas slid across the seat and exited from the door he’d entered. He stopped for a minute, trying to get his anger in check. His heart wanted him to take her in his arms and disprove what it knew she believed. But as he pondered the things she’d asked him, he got even angrier. At this point, taking her into his arms was the worst idea, especially since she’d resisted his touch earlier. Trying to help Lanier get rid of her negative thinking was absolutely futile. Although it was something he had never wanted to believe, she hadn’t left him with any reason to be hopeful. He hadn’t been able to change her mind. Beating a dead horse was useless. It was time for him to let go—and bitterness and frustration had him slamming shut the car door.

  Dallas walked over to the limo driver. “Please take Miss Watson home. Her dress is ruined and she’s really upset. The rest of us are staying until midnight, when the party ends.”

  Understanding the situation, the driver nodded. “I’ll take her home and return.”

  Later that night, Dallas wore a brooding expression, as he sat up front with the driver. His brothers were in the back with Ashleigh and Kelly. He’d sat up front to keep from ruining their good moods. He was less upset that the woman he loved had tried to leave the party without telling him. Being taken down to the mat about Casey and another woman that he didn’t even know had hurt him deep inside. She hadn’t once mentioned that leaving her alone made her uncomfortable. Lanier made it seem like she was accusing him of hooking up with the woman who had insulted her.

  Lanier’s mistrust of him had always been painful to deal with, but he’d begun to feel better when it looked as if he was making some progress. If it wasn’t clear to him before, he was dead wrong, and that was now crystal clear. He’d put so much energy into getting her to trust him, but he’d failed miserably. He couldn’t win this battle and he didn’t see this war continuing. He wasn’t embarrassed by Lanier, had never been ashamed of her, yet she believed he was. All she would’ve had to do was tell him she wanted to leave. Earlier in the evening he had assured her of that very thing.

  Why hadn’t she trusted me enough to tell me what had occurred? Trust was the issue.

  She had actually blamed him for leaving her alone to fend for herself. He hadn’t been gone for more than a few minutes each time.

  Lanier just wasn’t getting it, nor was she feeling him. Dallas was starting to realize he wasn’t the one to help her get it. He couldn’t make her confident, nor could he get her to move out of the shadows of her past and into the future. He wasn’t embarrassed by her leaving; it was just how she’d gone about it.

  Lanier was too beautiful of a woman to walk among dark shadows and ashes.

  Dallas bid farewell to Ashleigh, Kelly and his brothers at his house. Before he reached the front door, he heard Austin calling out to him. He walked a few steps back to meet his brother.

  Austin put his hand on Dallas’s shoulder. “Man, we know some of what happened tonight, but we don’t understand why you won’t tell us everything. We’re your brothers, and there isn’t anything you can’t share with us.”

  Dallas sighed. “It’s a private matter, Austin. Let it go.”

  Austin feigned a punch at Dallas. “Like hell I will. You’re obviously upset. Houston and I aren’t leaving here until we know what happened to send Lanier running from the party. I know there was a woman who’d said some pretty nasty things to her, but that happened early on—and she’d seemed fine afterward.”

  Dallas had a pleading look on his face. “Don’t leave your wife waiting like this, Austin. I’m sure Ashleigh is worried enough about Lanier. Don’t give her anything more to fret about.”

  “Okay, I won’t. Go on in the house, but you need to answer the doorbell when I ring it. If you don’t, I will use my emergency key. Take it as a threat or a promise. It’ll be fulfilled.”

  Determined to get to the bottom of his brother’s problems, Austin walked back to the limo and got inside. The anxious look on his wife’s face broke his heart. “It’ll be okay, sweetheart. Dallas needs us tonight. Houston, we need to stay with our brother. We’ve never left each other alone during dark times. The driver can take Ash and Kelly home. We can drive one of Dallas’s cars back to the ranch.”

  “Houston, I’ll go to the ranch with Ashleigh and w
ait for you, if that’s okay,” Kelly said.

  “I’d love that,” Ashleigh remarked before Houston responded.

  Smiling, Kelly nodded. “I’ll stay until the guys get back.”

  “It may take us a while, Kelly,” Houston remarked. “We’re not leaving here until Dallas is in much better shape.”

  Ashleigh laid her hand on top of Houston’s. “Kelly can spend the night in a guest cabin or in a guest room inside the main house. We’ll figure it out. Now go and help Dallas. He needs you guys, whether he’s admitting it or not.”

  Austin and Houston kissed the women before exiting the limo. They exchanged worried glances as they approached Dallas’s front door.

  Dallas hated that he had inconvenienced his brothers, but he was happy to have the support. Seated on the leather sofa in his family room, he explained what he’d heard about Lanier’s experience with the intoxicated man. “He’s the same guy that was involved in the earlier brawl. I don’t know who he is, and neither do my teammates. Did you guys know him?”

  Both Austin and Houston shook their heads.

  “What are you the most upset about, Dallas?” Austin asked.

  “The mistrust in me that Lanier continues to harbor. It’s so unfounded and totally baseless. I’ve never done anything to make her distrust me. I’m tempted to go over to Haven House and have it out with her, but it’ll end badly if I go now. I’m too upset to be rational. Besides, it’s after two in the morning. If she wanted to talk, she could’ve reached me on my cell.”

  Houston pressed his lips together. “What else do you want from her, Dallas? You already know what she’s been through. She can’t seem to shake her horrible past…and that’s understandable. You may have to be patient for years to come.”