Forever Wild: A Camden Ranch Novel

by Jillian Neal

  Indie was only more confused. They really were nothing alike. She knew Luke’s mama was only teasing, but it bothered her. Was she really the only person that saw him for all that he was? Everything she’d ever understood about the way she loved and adored Luke Camden sharpened its focus. He wanted her to stay, and she kept running away. Why did she just keep hurting him like that?

  Luke came off the field when the rag tag team of defensive players headed on. Grabbing a water bottle from one of the Styrofoam coolers, Indie raced towards him.

  “You’re amazing.” Now she was the one gushing.

  “Not bad for an old has-been,” he chuckled and downed the water with one compression of the plastic bottle.

  “Not bad at all, and you’re not a has-been.”

  She rolled her eyes at his grunt of disagreement. His t-shirt had been discarded before the game began. Sweat glistened on his pecs. The sweet scent of corn and grass coupled with his musk on the cool breeze as it filled her lungs. His jeans rode deliciously low on his hips. Her mouth watered, and her heart played the part of the missing marching band.

  “You are really sexy, though,” she informed him.

  His eyebrows lifted and her favorite half-grin played on the corners of his lips. “And what does that get me, sweetness?”

  “Mmm, lots and lots of things.” She planted a full, craving kiss on his mouth.

  A moment later he took over the kiss, tossing the water bottle aside and wrapping her up in his sweaty embrace instead. He didn’t seem to care that most of the residents of Pleasant Glen and at least fifty people from out of town were now watching their display. Or, maybe, he was showing everyone who she belonged to. That thought sent electricity zinging throughout her body. She pulled him closer, and his low rumbled moan slipped down her throat and nestled itself firmly in her heart.

  Another round of applause and wolf-whistles broke out from the crowd. Grant jerked his brother back to reality. “We all know how much you love her, man. Save the celebrating for the end of the game. We need our quarterback.”

  Luke shot a cocky smirk around to his teammates. “You all can wait another minute or two.” With that, he settled back in and extended the kiss.

  Eventually, Brock and Tucker forcefully dragged Luke back onto the field. Everyone was laughing and having a great time. Sweet, encouraging grins were sent Indie’s way from everyone in attendance, everyone except her mother. Carolyn was still pouting with the mayor. She’d refused to eat or socialize with anyone. No one seemed too concerned with this, and the lack of attention her fit was receiving only served to make her more unbearable.

  “All right, Miss Indieanna, I know I ain’t supposed to do this, but it kills me to see my son miserable, and you know I love you just as much as Luke. What can we do to get you to stay, sweetheart?” Jessie broached carefully, stepping out of her bounds but trying desperately not to offend.

  “I really do want to stay, Mrs. Camden. You know I love him. It’s just …” she threw a weary glance at her mother,” … it’s a lot to consider. I have to figure out how to be here with her and … I don’t know how to do that.”

  “I understand. I really do. I came up in Denver with a mama who didn’t like me much more than yours seems to like you, but I learned eventually that she did and does love me. She just never really knew how to show me that. I ran here. I let Ev sweep me off my feet and right into a life I’d always wanted. I let him love me until he’d filled the voids my parents left behind. I think that’s all Luke wants to be able to do for you. But you have to be here to let him. If that’s what you want.”

  “I know. I think it is what I want, but I’m so scared I’ll screw up again and hurt him. That’s what I don’t want. I can’t do that again.”

  Instead of pointing out that her refusal to stay and marry her son was what was hurt him the most, Jessie Camden just smiled. “You see all of those boys you grew up with out there, trying desperately to hold on to something that’s been long gone for well over a decade?” She gestured to the players huddled up on the field. Indie nodded. “What they’re trying to recapture is important. It’s worth holding onto, even if it’s only for tonight. The past makes us who we are and gives us the foundation to become who we’re meant to be. The hardest part of living is trying to figure out what to hold onto and what to let go of. And letting go sometimes takes a whole helluva lot more courage than holding on ever will. Holding onto memories that only serve as a reminder of pain, that’s like grabbing the wrong end of the branding iron, sweet girl. You think you’re gonna make your mark on your enemy, but you’re the one that always ends up getting burned.”

  “Yeah,” Indie’s glance wandered back to her mother’s pout. “I know you’re right. Just not always easy to let go of what you should, I guess.”

  “Not easy at all, but sometimes holding onto the wrong things keeps us from reaching out and grabbing what we know we really need.”

  “Anna … your mother isn’t feeling well. When will all of this,” the mayor gestured dismissively towards the game, “be over?”

  Startled by his appearance, Indie leveled a cold glare on her stepfather. Before she could rebuke him, Jessie, Cindy, and Megan stepped up.

  “Why did you just call her that?” Cindy huffed. “She hates to be called Anna. That isn’t her name.”

  How did she know that?

  “And she has always hated being called that, but you, Mayor Jenkins, seem to enjoy taunting her in any way you can. Is that because of her relationship with my son, or are you really just that asinine?” Jessie spat.

  “He calls her that because he wants to hurt her. I would know. I recognize the look. I used to see it on my own face way too often.” Megan squeezed Indie’s hand. “And he does it because he knows this whole damn town vastly prefers Indie and Ben to him. He’s jealous. Same reason he’s so awful to all of the Camdens. Grow a pair, mayor. The game will be over when it’s over. I seriously doubt anyone cares if you and Mrs. Jenkins leave.”

  Her would-be saviors circled closer, offering her love and support. No one had ever defended her directly to the mayor. Indie had no idea how to react. Suddenly, Luke’s sweaty steadfast arms were around her waist, pulling her closer. He’d left the game. “You okay, sugar?” His glare was fixed on her stepdad. “You need something, mayor?”

  “Carolyn expects everyone to be ready and at the mansion early tomorrow morning for photographs. This ridiculous party has gone on long enough.”

  “Says who?” Holly Camden chanted as she approached. “We’ll all be there in plenty of time to see Tucker and Mel say I do. Don’t mean we can’t do whatever the hell we want to tonight.”

  “Let the kids play, Ernie. My God, they ain’t hurting anything,” Ev Camden leveled his decree, wielding the respect of everyone in attendance. The fact that the entire town would readily follow his orders visibly infuriated the mayor.

  Tucker and Grant fell in at Luke’s sides. “Hear, hear, mayor. We got a few more plays and then we’re moving the party up to the creek. We’ll all be there when we get there tomorrow. Mel can walk down the aisle anytime she damn well feels like it,” Tuck informed him.

  And as any great politician does when faced with his outraged constituents, Ernie Perkins slithered backwards. He glanced nervously from Ev to Jessie, then to Tucker’s parents who’d come to see what the fuss was about. Indie couldn’t help but revel in the outcry of support. She’d never asked for any of their help, but they all offered it readily.

  Drawing in a deep breath of Luke-scented air, Indie swallowed down raw emotion. Maybe Jessie was right. Maybe she’d clung too long to a set of parents who didn’t want her or deserve her instead of reaching out and grabbing on to the people that really did.

  “I would think that you all would have enough respect for both Melony and Carolyn to want to be there for all the hard work that’s been done for a proper wedding. I’m sorry I clearly misjudged you all. If you want to stay and play, be my guest. This seems a bit of
an overreaction to me asking when the party would be over.”

  Ah yes, telling the opposition they’re overreacting, classic move. Indie rolled her eyes. “I really don’t think this reaction is only in response to your question, Dad,” she sneered. “I think we’ve all been pretty pissed off with you in general, and then the stunt you pulled trying to cater a damned barbecue has everyone a little on edge. Take Mama on home. I’m sure you have a full night of her bitching to get to.”

  “We were only trying to help out. That’s how I run this town — helping out our neighbors and caring for other’s well-being. Your mother and I are naturally concerned this could get out of hand.”

  “Oh, that’s rich.” Natalie Camden rolled her eyes.

  “She’s right,” Ev agreed. “Only person you’ve ever been interested in helping is yourself, Ernie, and these kids, who aren’t really kids anymore, are playing ball in a cornfield. Other than them all being sore tomorrow, what in God’s name could be wrong with that?”

  The mayor’s eyes narrowed in on Ev. Outright gall radiated in the air between them. Indie’s stomach tensed as she watched what was about to happen. Her heart leapt to her throat when Ernie’s fists clenched by his sides as his face reddened in fury.

  Luke eased Indie behind him as he, Grant, Austin, and Brock closed in ranks around the man that had raised them. Tucker, Wesley, and Duke Kilroy Jr. and Sr. joined the line. If Ernie thought he was going to hit Everett Camden, he had several fists anxiously waiting to prove him wrong.

  “How like Ev Camden to start a fight he knows he can’t lose,” Ernie spouted nonsensically.

  “I’m not starting anything. I’m telling you to leave my children and all of their friends be. I will fight for my kids. Maybe you should try it sometime.” He gestured to Indie and Miranda, who were both trying to see from behind the wall of men in front of them.

  Peeking out from behind Luke’s massive form, Indie saw what looked oddly like terror freeze in the mayor’s eyes. What on earth was going on? How had her baby sister’s rehearsal dinner barbecue turned into this?

  “And there you have it. Caught in the Camden web once again. We’ll see you all in the morning. Don’t be late,” Ernie huffed as he turned on his heels and stalked off.

  “What on earth is he talking about now?” Jessie demanded of her husband who appeared equally dumbfounded. “What web?”

  “Darlin’, your guess is as good as mine. You know everything I know. I told you what went on in his office that day. I ‘spose he’s still ornery about the land tax we argued over. Man’s more useless than tits on a bull. He’s hated us for years. Not a thing I can do about it, and I’m sure as heck not gonna lose sleep over it.”

  Jessie glanced around the gathered crowd and shook her head. “Come on, this is Tuck and Melony’s party. You all go have fun. Don’t let him take it from you. It’s not worth it.”

  Turning and pulling Indie back into his arms Luke had a somewhat delusional fantasy about their wedding being something akin to one of the McCoy daughters wanting to marry one of the Hatfield boys.

  Mayor Jenkins was dumber than a stump and twice as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. He always had been. He clearly always would be. Shaking his head, he debated asking Indie if she wanted to head up to the creek with everyone or if she’d rather go home and talk.

  Her pine-green eyes were alight with questions. “How does no one know why Ernie hates your daddy so much?” she whispered. “He seemed afraid of him.”

  “Sugar, if I even had a guess, I’d sure as hell tell ya. He got his panties in a wad when Dad took him to task about the taxes on Brock’s half of the ranch when the deeds were changed. That’s all any of us know.”

  Natalie and Holly both nodded their agreement.

  “He’s mad because he was looking to make a tidy profit off anyone who handed land down to their kids. The Kilroys, the Bradys, the Kennedys, the Pearsons, us, everyone who has multigenerational land,” Natalie explained. “Dad called him on the carpet. He lost a lot of money he thought was going to be the county’s and would ultimately fatten his paycheck.”

  The furrow of Indie’s brow said she didn’t believe that was it.

  “Yeah, and just where does our mayor think he’s going on my land?” Tucker gestured to a few swaying corn stalks in a nearby field. Someone was walking through them. Ernie was the only person missing. Was all of that some kind of distraction for something else?

  “Stay right here.” Luke brushed a kiss on Indie’s forehead and took off with Tucker and Wesley Kilroy.

  “Shh, shh, I want to see what he’s doin’,” Tucker hissed as they neared the field.

  Moving silently through cornstalks wasn’t an easy task, but Luke slowed his pace and made do.

  Wesley’s boot snapped a stick and the sound announced their arrival. Luke, Tucker, and Wes all stopped to puzzle over the fact that the mayor had dropped what looked to be a sandwich bag full of dirt he’d shoveled from Tucker’s field.

  “What the actual fuck are you doing, Ernie?” Tucker stepped out from behind the stalks.

  Ernie’s hand trembled. “Soil sample. It’s my right as the mayor of this town to make certain you’re using ethical growing practices.”

  “Uh, no, no it ain’t, and if you don’t get your ass outta my field, I’ll show you precisely where your rights end. Right about the line where the road turns into Kilroy land.”

  “If I were you, Tucker Kilroy, I’d bear in mind whose daughter you’re marrying tomorrow, and on whose land you’re marrying her.”

  “Fine. I marrying Ben Harper’s daughter on the county’s land. Don’t even strain my mind to bear that.”

  “Carolyn was right. Melony could’ve done so much better.” With that, Ernie stomped out of the field and left Kilroy land.

  “What the hell?” Wesley lifted the sack of dirt.

  “No idea. It’s like Dad said, he’s a useless as tits on a bull,” Luke scorned.

  “Ain’t it obvious? He’s trying to get me in trouble for something. He’s been trying to ever since I started dating Mel. He had the county out here a few months ago checking for something I’d never even heard of. He’s an asshole. Never gonna change.”

  Luke had no reason to think Tucker was wrong, but the whole thing sounded off to him. At that moment, he needed to get back to Indie. He’d worry over Ernie later. She needed to talk, and he was going to prove to her that he was capable of helping her work through anything without pressuring her into something she wasn’t ready for.

  It took him less than a minute to locate his sweet baby still talking to his mama. “You wanna go up to the creek with everyone, doll baby, or you wanna head back to the ranch? Your dad and Diana left together a little while ago. I’m paying him to keep letting her stay over so you’ll have to stay with me.”

  “Funny.”

  “Come with us, Indie,” Melony begged. “This night has been crazy. I want you to come.”

  Luke knew she’d never turn down her little sister. Indie Harper was loyal through and through.

  Her gaze flickered from Luke to Tucker, to Luke’s parents and brothers. Right then, he knew he was in for a long night. He needed to get her to talk even if it was in his bed long after the impromptu bonfire at the creek. Whatever had shaken her, whatever she needed to know, he wanted to show her that he’d be right beside her to figure it all out. Still having no idea how to convince her that she was nothing like her mother, all he knew was she wanted to take things one day at a time. So that was precisely what he was going to do until he figured the rest out.

  He stared unabashedly at her luscious ass when he helped her up in his truck. Damn woman drove him insane with need. He’d never get enough. Getting her to stay this time became more dire with every passing moment. His very breath depended on knowing she was his.

  She leapt as soon as he cranked the engine. “I want to know what is going on with Ernie and your parents. That was weird, and don’t deny it.
”

  “I ain’t denying a thing, sugar bee. Your stepdaddy is more than a few bricks shy of a load. He was out in Tuck’s cornfield taking some kind of soil sample with his hand and a sandwich bag. Crazy as a loon’s what he is. You want to pick everything apart, I’ll be right there with ya, but I honestly got no idea what the hell he’s thinking. Tuck says he’s trying to get him in some kind of trouble with the state. Maybe that’s it.”

  “There’s more to it than that. I just know. If that were all he was up to, what would that have to do with your family? I may hate Ernie, but I know him well enough to know there’s more to it than him getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar or cornfield or whatever. And what in God’s name is wrong with my mother? Catering a party someone else was throwing is extreme even for her. Melony’s wedding has driven her right off the cliff of sanity, and she was only hanging on by a thread before.”

  “Your mama’s always wanted to show off for the town, baby,” he measured his words carefully. “Nothing new there either.”

  “The whole thing is just weird. I keep feeling like I’m gonna wake up and the entire last week is gonna be a dream. I don’t like this.”

  A slight sense of panic crawled up Luke’s spine. “What’s this exactly?”

  “Not you. I love being with you. But Mama’s finally gone off the deep end. Ernie’s up to no good. I don’t know how I know. I just know. Dad has a girlfriend. Megan Morgan is nice. My little sister is marrying Tucker Kilroy. Cue the Twilight Zone music.”

  Chuckling, Luke laced his fingers with hers. “Things do change. This is the first time you’ve been home for any length of time in years. I know it seems like a lot, probably overwhelming, but I’m right here if you want to talk about any of it.” There. That was good. He settled into this conversation, relaxing as he followed the line of pickups headed towards King’s Creek.

  “Even you’ve changed … a little.”

  And just like that tension hardened his muscles yet again. “Thought you liked the changes I’d made?”