by Dena Blake
“Well, you’re always welcome.” Kat’s voice withered as Rebecca’s words stabbed at her heart. She’d never meant to hurt her sister. She’d only wanted her freedom. Apparently she’d alienated Rebecca in the process. Elizabeth and Charles had probably done everything they could to poison Rebecca’s mind against her over the years.
Chapter Eighteen
It was a little past seven a.m. when DJ wandered across the road to Kat’s house. She’d meant to be up earlier but hadn’t had much sleep last night, and she’d had more than a few drinks while she’d waited in the bar hoping Kat would show up. She hadn’t shown, and it was close to midnight before DJ had left. She’d stood in front of Kat’s house, wanting an opportunity to talk to her, but didn’t see a light on in the place.
DJ had made a mistake. A phenomenally huge fuckup. If Kat would just give her a chance to explain, DJ would make her understand that she’d never intended to hurt her. She certainly had never intended to fall in love with her. Did Kat even know she’d captured her heart without trying?
As she’d stood staring, looking for some sign of Kat in the darkness, all she’d wanted was go inside, crawl into her bed, and make love to her. She’d even thought seriously about doing it. She’d knocked on the door but had no answer. She’d wanted to settle everything right then and there. But aggressive wasn’t the way to go with Kat, so DJ let her be for the night. Maybe she would be willing to listen this morning.
“Kat,” she said as she knocked on the screen door.
Virgil pushed the door open. “She’s not here.”
“Where is she?” DJ walked past him, searching the house.
“Left for Austin before sunup.”
Fuck! DJ slammed the screen door open and ran across the grounds to her car. She slid into the driver’s seat of her BMW and fired the engine. After jamming it into gear, she spun out in the gravel before picking up her cell phone and punching in Elizabeth’s private number. The phone remained silent, and she pulled it from her ear and saw the no-service message on the screen. She cursed and tossed it onto the passenger seat as she headed out the main gate.
It had never entered DJ’s mind that Kat would actually go to Austin. All she needed was Kat, Elizabeth, and Rebecca in the same room together—discussing her. She didn’t think things could get much worse, but if Kat got to them first, Elizabeth would manipulate the situation. Her current relationship ruse with Rebecca would complicate things even further.
DJ was just entering the Austin city limits when she tried to call again. The phone rang twice before Elizabeth answered. “Hello,” she said pleasantly.
“Hello, Elizabeth. How are you feeling today?” DJ asked calmly. She didn’t want to let on that anything was wrong.
“I’m doing much better, thank you,” Elizabeth said.
“Is Kathryn there with you?” DJ suspected she was. It was unusual for Elizabeth not to call her by name when they spoke.
“Yes, darling.” Elizabeth hesitated. “She’s right here. Would you like to speak with her?”
“No. That’s not necessary. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Please don’t let her leave.”
“I’ll see you then,” Elizabeth said sweetly.
* * *
After DJ burst through the door, she fixed her gaze on Kat, standing in front of the window looking out. DJ almost didn’t recognize the woman with whom she’d become so intimately acquainted. Dressed in a light-blue skirt and jacket, Kat wore her long, velvety hair twisted up and fastened neatly in a clip. She followed the line of Kat’s long, slender legs as they crept up under the mid-calf length skirt clinging to them. She was stunning.
“Dani, darling,” Rebecca cooed, barely touching her cheek with her lips. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today. Mother said she’d sent you off on some sort of adventure.” Rebecca snaked her arm around DJ’s and led her across the room. “Come. I have a surprise for you. This is my sister, Kathryn.” She tugged DJ closer. “Dani’s my fiancée.”
Kat turned, and her tentative smile dropped the instant she saw DJ. Shock evident in her eyes, she offered her hand reluctantly. “Hello, DJ.” Her voice was cordial but cold, and it stung.
“It’s nice to see you again, Kat.” DJ took Kat’s hand gently. Kat gave her absolutely no physical response, but she could see the fury smoldering in her eyes. DJ would settle for anger at this point. If Kat was angry, she was feeling something deeper inside.
“Oh, you’ve already met?” Rebecca asked, apparently observing the tension between them.
DJ didn’t take her eyes from Kat’s angry stare. “Yes. We’ve met.”
“When?”
“Just this past week.” Kat slowly slipped her hand from DJ’s and squared her shoulders. “Didn’t Mother tell you? She sent her looking for me at the ranch.”
Rebecca gave her mother a peculiar look. “That was the adventure you sent her on?” Her gaze snapped to Kat. “I had no idea.”
“Kathryn, why don’t you and Danica have lunch today?” Elizabeth suggested. “You can get to know each other a little better.”
“No need for that, Mother. I think I’m familiar enough with Ms. Callen.”
“Callen?” Rebecca’s brows drew together.
“It’s actually Callahan,” DJ said in a low, rumbling whisper.
“My mistake.” Kat narrowed her eyes and gave her a fuck-you smile. “I’m sure Ms. Callahan has some other unsuspecting woman to prey on.”
“Kat, let me explain,” DJ said softly.
“What’s to explain? My mother sent you in to close the deal.” Kat kept her distance and choked out a cynical laugh. “And you almost did it.”
She moved toward her. “Kat, you know it wasn’t like that.”
“Do I?” She threw her hands up in front of her, gesturing for DJ not to come any closer. “I’m not sure what it was exactly. But I do know it’s over.”
Kat’s words sliced deep in DJ’s heart. “Let’s go somewhere and talk.”
“Yes. Why don’t you two go down to the study,” Elizabeth interjected. “You can have a private conversation there.”
“No. I can’t do this right now.” Kat patted her sides looking for pockets. “Where are my keys?” she said absently, then brushed past DJ to grab her purse from the chair. She searched through it, found her keys, and hurried through the doorway to the stairs.
“Kat, wait,” DJ shouted, then turned to Elizabeth. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?”
“I haven’t done anything. Rebecca just told her the truth, didn’t you?” She looked over at Rebecca, prompting her to let out an annoyed breath.
“I’m sorry, Dani. I didn’t know.”
“Damn it, Elizabeth!” She took off out the door after her.
* * *
Rebecca had no idea what had happened, but evidently her mother had set it up. The only questions now were why her mother had sent DJ to see Kat at the ranch and what had happened between them while she was there.
“Mother, what the hell is going on here?” Rebecca stood next to the bed waiting for an answer.
A sneaky smile crept across Elizabeth’s face. “Apparently, Danica and your sister have become rather close in the past week.”
Her hands went to her hips. “You sent Dani off to have an affair with my sister?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Yes. I did.”
Rebecca raised an eyebrow. “Fully aware that she’s my fiancée?”
Elizabeth frowned. “We both know that’s just a fraudulent attempt to keep me out of your affairs.”
Rebecca crossed her arms and shrugged. The old bird was smarter than she thought. “You sent DJ there, knowing exactly what would happen.” Rebecca spread her lips into a half-smile.
Elizabeth’s smile was wide, as if she was satisfied her plan was playing out the way she’d hoped. “I had a suspicion.”
“And now your scheme has backfired on you.”
“It hasn’t completely gone bad.” Elizabeth’s brows drew in, d
efining the lines on her forehead. “Did you see Kathryn’s face? She’s fallen in love with Danica.” She tugged on the sheet and folded it down neatly over the blanket. “Now she’ll move to Austin to be with her.”
“I wouldn’t count on that, Mother.” Rebecca plucked her handbag from the nightstand. “Right now, because of you, she thinks Dani’s a cheating liar.”
“That will pass.”
Rebecca moved toward the door. “And when it does, what makes you so sure she’ll come to Austin?”
“She’ll come. She loves her,” Elizabeth said confidently.
Rebecca stopped and turned momentarily. “You know Dani grew up on a farm in Johnson City?”
“Yes. I’m aware.”
“She wanted to be a rodeo star when she was a kid.”
“She never told me that.”
Rebecca shook her head and smiled lightly as she turned to go out the door. “You should’ve done a little more research, Mother. You may have just lost your star lawyer.”
* * *
Kat rushed down the stairs and out the front door. When she’d realized who DJ actually was, Kat had suddenly felt very foolish. It was just like a scene from a bad movie, only the audience of two was on the edge of their seats taking in every word she’d said. She had to get out of there before she lost it.
DJ caught up with her and took her arm before she could start down the front steps. “Wait a minute.”
Kat yanked her arm, trying to break free. “It all makes sense now. That’s why you left me standing there that night on the porch.”
DJ held firm, swinging Kat around to face her. “Just let me explain.”
“What’s to explain? You’re engaged to my sister.” Kat’s voice wavered as she tried unsuccessfully to disguise the pain crushing her heart. “Have you told her you slept with me?” she continued, desperately trying to hold back the tears.
DJ shook her head.
Kat mustered up all the venom she could. “You’re a liar and a cheat, and now you’ve been caught.”
“I’m not cheating on her.”
“Then why doesn’t she know about us?”
“How could she know? I’ve only known about us for a few days.” DJ let out a heavy breath and released Kat’s arm. “Rebecca and I did go out a few times.” She rubbed her neck. “But it wasn’t serious.”
“You’re engaged. If that’s not serious, I don’t know what is,” Kat said as she spun toward the steps.
“We’re not engaged. Elizabeth just thinks we are.”
Kat whirled back around. “Why would she think that?” Kat’s voice softened. She didn’t know what to believe.
“You know your mother as well as I do. She likes to make other people’s decisions for them. Rebecca and I decided it was easier to let her think we were, so she’d stay out of our love lives.”
Kat knew her mother was very controlling. It didn’t surprise her. “Meaning?” Her tone spiked again.
“Meaning, we’re not engaged.” DJ threw up her hands.
“Apparently, Rebecca doesn’t know that.”
“She knows. Believe me, she knows.” DJ closed her eyes and shook her head. “She doesn’t want to be with a woman.”
“You sound disappointed.”
DJ’s eyes snapped open, and her gaze returned quickly to Kat’s. “No. Not at all.”
“So, you thought you’d give the older sister a try?” Kat was on an emotional roller coaster as her anger spiked again. “God, I can’t believe this. I should’ve known it was too…” Kat’s voice cracked.
“Too what, Kat?”
Kat could see the question in DJ’s eyes, and her heart hammered. “Too fucking good to be true.”
“But it is true, Kat.” DJ wrapped her arm around Kat’s waist and inched her closer. “You’ve done something to me I can’t explain.” Her voice was a whisper, emotion spilling out in her words.
Kat pushed out of her arms. “Jesus, DJ. I didn’t even know your real name until a few minutes ago. How am I supposed to know who you are?” Her mother had called her Danica, Rebecca had called her Dani, and Kat knew her as DJ. Her name was as phony as the woman she’d proved to be.
“What about you? The makeup, the suit, the hair. I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“Isn’t this what you want?” Kat’s lips trembled as she fought to keep her voice steady. “A corporate woman?” Kat motioned down the front of her with her hands. “Well, take a good last look, because this woman is not moving to Austin.”
“God, no, Kat. This isn’t what I want. This isn’t you.” DJ removed the clip from Kat’s hair and let it fall to her shoulders. She moved closer, and Kat sank into her arms as DJ touched her lips gently with her own. Kat reached up, took DJ’s face in her hands, and plunged further into the kiss. The familiar bounce in Kat’s belly surfaced as DJ’s tongue joined Kat’s in the erotic dance she’d had the pleasure of performing only a few times but had come to crave.
Kat ripped her lips away and stared into DJ’s eyes. “You know, that right there, and that wonderful thing we did the other night?” Kat waited for DJ to nod. “There was so much more.” She shook her head. “That was just a taste of what we could’ve had, you and I.”
“We can still have it, Kat.” DJ pressed her lips to Kat’s again.
The kiss had been bittersweet. Her strength was weakening as emotions battled between what she wanted to do and what she couldn’t. What she’d already done. Kat couldn’t continue to have these feelings for a woman involved with her sister. What the fuck was I thinking? Sleeping with someone after knowing her for only a few days.
Kat heard footsteps on the porch and pushed out of DJ’s arms. She looked up to see Rebecca staring, her vivid blue eyes burning through her like lasers. She was clearly letting Kat know she’d crossed the boundaries. Kat scrambled down the steps and climbed into the huge dually truck she’d parked in the drive. The starter whined momentarily before it caught, and then she threw it into gear and let the tires squeal as she sped down the road and out the gates.
* * *
Rebecca had stood in the front doorway and watched the reunion unfold, and it oddly tugged at her heart. Her sister and her ex-lover kissing right in front of her, and she didn’t have the slightest twinge of jealousy. She must be going soft. Kat had clearly been shaken at the sight of her watching. Rebecca didn’t know by which—the kiss or because she’d been caught.
Rebecca took a step down the stairs. “Comparing sisters?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “That was some fireworks show upstairs.”
DJ held up a finger in warning. “Don’t start.”
“I didn’t start anything…DJ. Is that what she calls you?” Rebecca laced her voice with sarcasm. “But apparently you have.” She continued to tease, ignoring DJ’s commanding tone, which she’d become familiar with over the past few years.
DJ dropped down and sat on the steps. “Don’t tell me you’re jealous.”
Rebecca shook her head and smiled. “Not in the slightest.”
DJ rubbed her face. “Then why did you tell her we were engaged?”
Rebecca lifted her shoulders. “I didn’t know you knew her. I was just keeping with the ruse.” She touched DJ’s shoulder and sat down on the step next to her. “And I had no idea the two of you were involved.”
“Well, now you know.” DJ let out a heavy breath. “That is, if she’ll still have me.”
Rebecca let a quiet laugh escape her lips. “Wow. You really are smitten.” She put her hand on DJ’s back and traced the Western outline of her shirt before stroking her hand across it. “What happened to never settling down?”
A slow smile crept across DJ’s face as though she were reliving a memory. “Kat’s different. She’s not like any woman I’ve ever known.”
Rebecca rested her head against DJ’s shoulder. “Any woman?” She’d thought she might have made some impact on DJ. She let out a sigh and wrapped her arm around her.
DJ twisted to look at he
r, and her brows drew together. “You made the break with me, remember?”
“Well, I certainly wasn’t going to let a woman with a reputation like yours break my poor little heart.”
“Break your heart?” DJ chuckled. “You always have to be in control, don’t you?” She brushed the hair from Rebecca’s face. “It never would’ve worked out for us.”
“You mean the penis thing?”
“Exactly.”
Rebecca rocked her body against DJ’s. “But we sure had fun, didn’t we?”
DJ smiled and nodded. “Yes, we did.”
Rebecca played with DJ’s soft curls and then tugged on the collar of her shirt. “This look suits you. Maybe Kat does too.”
DJ stared at the ground in front of her. “I don’t know how it happened…I think when you finally meet your other half, you understand why you let all the others go.”
“You don’t owe me any explanations.” Rebecca curved her lips into a soft smile. “She’s in love with you, Dani.”
DJ’s head flew up, and her gaze snapped to Rebecca. “You think so?”
“It’s pretty obvious.” Rebecca propped her chin up on DJ’s shoulder. “And you’re in love with her.”
DJ nodded. “God help me, I am.”
“Well then, if you can remove Mother from the middle, maybe it will all work out,” Rebecca said, being careful not to show any jealousy in her voice.
“You’re being remarkably gracious about this.”
Rebecca shrugged. “If it were any other woman, I’d probably be upset.”
“Is it because she’s your sister or because you’ve found someone new to occupy your time?”
“Now who’s jealous?” Rebecca said, giving DJ a light slap on the shoulder.
“Would it matter if I were?” DJ asked, leaning back on the heels of her palms.
Rebecca shook her head and smiled. “Not really.”
“You’re something else, you know that?” DJ laughed lightly, stood up, and offered Rebecca her hand. “I need to find Kat.”
