If the Dark Wins (Finley Creek Book 4)

by Calle J. Brookes

  “So what’s he doing here?” Ari asked, her own arms full of white bags.

  “The porch. I woke up and there he was. Half-naked and sweaty. Building me a new porch.”

  “Oh...what a nice pretty present that was.” Jillian sidestepped the new boards he’d laid down. “And I mean the porch, not the man. Just can’t like a Deane right now.”

  Jillian pushed past Lacy and headed into the dining room. While they hung out a lot at the Beck house, Lacy’s ranch had become their de facto place to be alone. She liked it that way.

  When her friends were there, it seemed more like the home it should be.

  “The governor seems like a nice man. I didn’t vote for him last time, but I probably will next time,” Ari went to the cabinet and pulled all three of Lacy’s dinner plates down. “Maybe it’s just him that is a pain-in-the-butt.”

  “Probably. Though Travis said his brother had a difficult time in Africa and is having a hard time adjusting to life back here.” Lacy felt compelled to point out. Maybe Holden-Deane wasn’t the most personable of COMs that she’d ever seen, but he was worlds better than Lanning had been. Or the man before that.

  He’d gone to prison on prostitution charges, of all things.

  “Maybe he should go back there. Get fed to the lions or something. Bet that would improve his disposition.” Jillian took the bar stool that was pushed up to the kitchen island. Lacy didn’t actually have a dining table. Yet. “Rafael Holden-Deane was always a real jerk. I didn’t remember him at first because I was around eight or so the last time I saw him, but he was with Elliot and Chance a lot.”

  Lacy did the math quickly. Chance was eleven years older than Jillian or so—and his cousin was less than a year younger. Rather like Jillian was a year or so younger than Brynna. Travis’ brother had to be a good decade older than Jillian. And they’d fought as children? So had Brynna and Chance. She refrained from mentioning how those two had ended up.

  Some things really didn’t change, did they?

  They’d painted the dining room walls a soft yellow, to go with the kitchen that she’d wanted bright and sunny. Lacy wanted her home to be filled with color again. Life. Light. She and Ari made do with the two shorter chairs that she’d found in the old shed behind her property.

  Her house wasn’t going to be a hodge-podge of crap any longer than it had to be. “Jillian, I think that is the meanest thing I have ever heard you say.”

  “Hmmm? Oh, I was being kind.” Her friend showed her teeth in a semblance of a smile. “He’s vile. And seems to have it out for me--already. But...let’s talk about someone else. So why was that pretty man fixing your porch?”

  “He said he wanted to.” Lacy forked some General Tsao’s onto her plate. “But I’m not stupid. I know what he wants.”

  “This is the first time I’ve heard of a guy fixing a girl’s porch just to get into her bed, though,” Jillian spoke frankly. Like she always did. She was usually extremely quiet, but when she spoke...she always made sense. “That’s...determination.”

  “I think that’s his middle name. He’s going to be renting the back one hundred acres or so. Fifteen percent over going rate. And to be honest, I need the money.”

  “Not to mention that he’s got that strong sexy rancher thing going on?” Jillian smirked at her. “Not exactly your type.”

  “So what is your type, Lace? In the entire time I’ve known you, I’ve been on more dates than you. And that’s been...exactly three. And one of those was with Jilly’s dad to that barbecue when you both had to work, so it doesn’t really count.”

  “I...” she frowned for a moment. “I guess I don’t really have a type. I know what I don’t like...” She and Jillian looked at each other and said it in unison.

  “No doctors. Ever.”

  “Well, he’s not a doctor,” Ari pointed out. “He’s gorgeous, works hard, and seems nice. Kind and funny. Why wouldn’t a woman want to date him?”

  “I can set you up with him if you’d like,” Lacy said, already knowing Ari’s reaction. Strong, confident men like Travis Worthington-Deane terrified sweet, shy Ari right out of her socks.

  The man her friend finally did end up with would be a quiet, gentle poetic soul without an ounce of arrogance or domination in him anywhere.

  Ari was made for a soft romance with a man who was as gentle as she was.

  Jillian, however, she was dead set against getting involved with anyone right now at all.

  She hadn’t always been.

  Hell, they all had almost died--but Lacy didn’t blame Jillian for that. No one did.

  Except maybe Jillian.

  “He has kissed me. And I’ve let him. But it’s not going to go any farther than that. I swear. He may be hot, but...I’m smarter than that. We’re neighbors, and it’s best to keep it friendly. Because it’ll end, and then I’ll be surrounded by him forever. Not exactly something I want right now.” On that she was resolute--her house mattered most. Her house and her career. She wasn’t about to jeopardize either one of them with an ill-planned romance with her boss’s brother and the one neighbor that surrounded her.

  When the time was right, she might consider making room for a man. But that would have to be one she seriously trusted.

  And that meant probably never.

  For all that Jillian didn’t trust herself, Lacy struggled with trusting a man with herself enough for anything long term.

  She’d given it a lot of thought and she knew exactly why she felt that way, too.

  A man doing things he shouldn’t when she’d been too naive to know not to let him had left more than a lasting impression. It had left scars that would probably never heal.

  They finished the Chinese. And that’s when the real fun began.

  28

  He managed to get both of his brothers out to his place for dinner that evening. Marc’s kids were with his former sister-in-law, so his brother was at loose ends.

  Rafe was a harder sell, but Marc stopped by the Barratt--Rafe really needed to find himself a house soon--and dragged him out of his hole.

  It wasn’t anything fancy, just men-food. Steaks from beef Travis had had slaughtered the year before, microwaved potatoes and baked beans--from a can. Not bad, for three single guys hanging out.

  “So... what brought this on?” Marc asked.

  “Neighbor. I was over at her place when her little friends showed up. They kicked me out, stating it was girl time.” Travis shrugged. He wasn’t ready to say too much about her. Not yet. Not until he had the girl figured out. “I felt a threat to my manhood. There was this little redhead shooting daggers at me, and a brunette eying me like I was going to gobble them all up. Figured you two would understand.”

  “If it’s the three women I think you’re talking about, I do understand. They…leave a lasting impression,” Marcus said.

  “Travis, do we really need to hear about the flavor of the week? You’ll outgrow this tendency one of these days.” Rafe settled into the big recliner and propped his feet up. Travis looked at his brother.

  The man dwarfed the chair, didn’t he? He wasn’t used to seeing his brother in jeans anymore, that was for sure.

  “She’s not the flavor of the week. I like her. And I’m going to be renting some acreage from her for my grasses project. But I couldn’t resist playing around with her and her friends. The day I outgrow three beautiful women is the day you bury me, Rafe. I don’t know, you might try getting laid sometime. Might help your disposition. Heard you’ve been a bit surly lately.”

  “Who’d you hear that from, your cows?”

  “The mules, actually. No. A... friend...works at the hospital and mentioned it. Everything going ok?”

  His brother’s face darkened. Marc was silent, working on a salad in Travis’ kitchen. That was Marc’s way; quiet and information gathering.

  Rafe cursed. “Hell no. That damned Lanning made a real mess of things, then screwed up and ended up on medical leave.”

  “Th
at the doctor who was shot in the parking lot back this winter?” Marc asked.

  “That doesn’t excuse the mess he made of the hospital before that happened.”

  “No, I suppose it doesn’t. So, Travis, have you slept with her yet?” Marc changed the subject deliberately.

  Travis wasn’t about to go there with his brothers. Not with Rafe being Lacy’s boss. He wasn’t even about to tell his brothers her name. Not yet.

  Because she wouldn’t want him to.

  And her trust mattered.

  29

  Logan hid behind the old garden shed for what must have been hours. Just watching. Lacy didn’t have curtains over the big wall of windows leading into the front of her home. The light showed him just exactly what he was missing. The fun, the laughter. The joy in life.

  Logan watched them and ached. They were so beautiful, so light and perfect. So not the darkness that had filled him for so long.

  They mixed installing flooring with dancing and singing and laughing. Each was so unique. They were so...so...perfect. A man would be blessed to have any one of them. Their life would be filled with light, real light, wouldn’t it?

  Jillian Beck dig a sexy little wiggle that had Logan’s gut tightening unexpectedly. The brunette, he still couldn’t recall her name, floated around the newly finished floor with moves that showed years of ballet instruction. Graceful, ethereal, in a way. Lacy twirled and shook and had him so damned turned on he thought he was going to lose control of himself right there in her yard.

  Instead he just watched. And longed for more. And wondered what it would take to have the three of them living like that for him. If they would just look at him…

  He bit back a curse when the door opened and three sweaty, laughing women tumbled outside. They were singing something and it shocked him at how beautiful the sound was.

  It had to be close to midnight now and they were singing and laughing.

  And living.

  That’s what it was about them, about her, that caught him. Lacy was living.

  Not like he was, trapped into something he could not escape. Trapped by those damned pills that had been such a guarantee two years ago. Trapped by the lure of easy money and a years’ long friendship that had never once steered him wrong. Until now.

  Trapped by his loyalty to the only two real friends he had left.

  Trapped to the hospital. To the cold and empty home he had in the best part of town.

  It was nothing at all like this little dilapidated ranch that glowed with warmth.

  With love.

  He wanted her love.

  And she was giving it to Travis Worthington-Deane.

  How was that right?

  He stayed exactly where he was until long after she and her little friends had returned inside, smoking a joint to relieve the pain he felt from the shooting. He’d healed, of course he had. He’d had the best medical care after it had happened. But Logan had always found smoking something to take the edge off.

  It calmed him. Just like it had all those years ago in college when he’d been competing with Marcus Deane. He should have known better. No one successfully competed with a damned Deane. Now he lived that reality every day.

  It calmed him. So much so that he didn’t realize he was holding the lighter to the edge of the backboard behind the shed until it was far too late.

  He had nothing to put the fire out with, and wasn’t about to risk hitting the well nearby.

  Not with them right there so close.

  Logan had no option.

  He took off toward his parked SUV at a run.

  30

  Lacy smelled it before she saw it. Smoke. That was never something to take lightly, not in this part of the world, this time of the year. “Do you smell smoke?”

  Jillian stopped singing--it was close to one in the morning and they were getting stupid with fatigue--and sniffed. “Yes. Too strong.”

  They hurried outside. Flames reached the sky, devouring her little garden shed. Lacy yelled, and ran for the hose around the back of her property. Kevin and Elliot had repaired her well for her a month earlier. It worked, but she knew it wouldn’t be enough.

  She didn’t have anything of value in that shed--she’d picked through it within days of moving in, looking for anything from her family that might have been shoved in there--but if the fire spread over the dry grasses...

  Her house would be threatened.

  Ari had the phone to her ear, Jillian was already pulling on the second hose beneath the porch. It could be hooked up inside the house, if needed.

  “Get the ground around the shed if you can!” Jillian yelled. “Hurry!”

  They did the best they could.

  If they could just keep the fire from spreading to her house until the fire department got there...

  Somehow.

  TRAVIS HEARD the horses freaking out before he smelled it. Smoke. He cursed and grabbed his boots--he’d been asleep for several hours, ranch work started early after all--but this wasn’t something he could ignore.

  He ran out onto the porch to see Hank, his top hand, already checking the horses.

  “Where is it?” Travis yelled.

  “Not us!” Hank called back.

  There was only one close neighbor it could be.

  Travis looked toward Lacy’s place and saw the glow in the distance. “Shit! Get the hands!”

  “Already done and Eibert is getting the water truck!”

  The water truck was kept filled and used to deliver water to the farthest fields. Or used when the time came to help fight fires. Travis and his men were a part of the Value Volunteer unit--though his ranch was closer to Value, he was still in Finley Creek County, barely.

  He grabbed his phone next and tried calling her. Just to try.

  Nothing.

  He wasn’t waiting for the water truck. He ran for his own truck.

  When he made it to Lacy’s, he gave a small prayer of thanks that the house wasn’t engulfed.

  He knew what the place meant to her. Wouldn’t want her to have to stand and watch it burn, along with all her dreams--and memories.

  The brunette had a bucket and was busy wetting down the area around Lacy’s house. The very porch Travis had built himself just that day.

  She was all pale, big-eyed, and scared.

  The expression went straight through his gut.

  He found the other two with hoses pointed at the small barn behind the house. They weren’t wasting any effort trying to stop the flames, but were keeping the ground around it wet to keep it from spreading.

  Smart, these ladies.

  “Lacy! I saw the fire, honey. Give me the hose. Go help keep the area around your house wet. I’ve got a water truck on its way!” Even as he said it, he heard the heavy sound of the engine.

  “Thank God!”

  He and his men had the fire out in less than ten minutes; by that time the fire engines and the Value TSP sheriff were pulling in.

  He’d forgotten a third of Lacy’s ranch was just over the Barratt County line.

  The sheriff, a tall lanky guy that Travis had seen around a time or two headed right for...

  Lacy. As if he knew her.

  “Doc? Honey? What happened?”

  “Sheriff Addy.” Lacy coughed, scaring the shit out of Travis for a moment. Her friend, still in her scrubs, stepped closer. The harsh lights of the sirens turned her red hair even redder. “Give me a minute to catch my breath.”

  “Lacy, sit!” Jillian ordered. “I told you that you were too close to the smoke.”

  Travis looked at the redhead. “You explain.”

  “Jillian, how did the fire start?” the sheriff had Lacy’s elbows in his hands and he lowered her to the ground gently. Travis leaned down next to her.

  “We were inside, finishing up the trim on Lacy’s dining room. We smelled smoke. That’s all we know.”

  “There wasn’t any lightning tonight,” one of Travis’ ranch hands added. “I was out
checking the calves and saw the first flames over at the W-Deane.”

  Travis knew what the man meant. The sky was a perfect starry Texas night. No storms for miles.

  “We’ll figure it out,” Travis said. “Do I need to take her to the ER?”

  He was going to be the one to take care of her, of that he had no doubt. Fear had him wrapping his arms around her before he thought it through. Travis just held her close.

  LACY HAD TO ADMIT, having him wrapped around her at the moment helped her find her composure again.

  It was over. The fire was out. Her house was safe.

  Mostly thanks to Travis and his men. “I’m ok. Just a little charred. I can breathe, and I know what to watch out for.”

  “Did any of you see anything?” the sheriff asked.

  “No. We were inside and had the radio up,” Jillian said. “We were out here an hour or so earlier, when Ari spilled the bucket of glue everywhere and it got a little strong in there. But we went back in and cleaned it up, opened all the windows in the house. Haven’t been out since.”

  “Anything combustible in that shed?”

  “It was empty, I think. There may have been a cattle trough in there. I think. I was planning to put flowers in it eventually. Some really old garden tools. No gasoline or kerosene, or papers or even rags. I was contemplating turning it into a garage, having someone move it closer to the house, since it matched the trim already on the house.” Now that the fire was gone, Lacy felt the tremors of adrenaline aftershock hitting her.

  Travis pulled her closer. “It’s ok, honey. The house, you and your little minions, you’re all safe.”

  She nodded and fought the urge to burrow closer to him. She forced herself to pull back. “Let me up. I need to get up or I’m going to stay down here. I hate fires.”

  Another TSP vehicle pulled in, this one with Finley Creek emblazoned over the side.

  A tall man in jeans climbed out of the passenger side. One she recognized. “El? What are you doing here?”