Chelle shrugged and smiled. “We wanted to see you. Besides, aren’t you glad we waited for you? Last night was fun.”
“It really was,” Lucy agreed with a huge smile.
Sarah started taking supplies out of the refrigerator and cabinets, placing them on the island. “You and David are adorable together. I knew he liked you, but when I see him with you . . .” Sarah sighed dreamily. “Love is a beautiful thing.”
“We’re not in love,” Lucy corrected quickly. “We haven’t even been on a real date yet.”
Eyes round, Sarah said, “Really? The way you were all over each other, I thought—”
Chelle shot a look at Sarah, then said, “Lucy, whatever is going on between you and David, you both look happy, and that’s what’s important.”
Sarah handed Lucy a bowl and eggs to crack. “How do you feel about him?”
Lucy slammed the first egg against the glass so hard some of the shell joined the yolk in the bowl. She tried to dig it out and knocked the bowl over. Chelle righted it and handed her a napkin. Lucy wiped her hands nervously. “It’s happening so fast my head is spinning.”
Sarah took the bowl and started cracking the eggs absently. “David’s not usually one to rush into things. I bet he’s afraid if he looks away, you’ll be engaged to someone else again.”
Chelle shook her head and covered her eyes, but she was laughing. “Oh, Sarah. Is everyone from Rhode Island as blunt as you are?”
Wrinkling her nose at Chelle, Sarah replied, “I spent too many years worried about what I could and couldn’t say. I don’t care what you think; I’m not going back to that.”
Lucy crossed over to hug Sarah. “We love you just the way you are, Sarah. And what you said actually makes sense. In a blink of an eye, David went from not being in my life to working on my ranch. After this weekend, he says he wants to stay in the house with me.”
Chelle started making pancake mix. “What do you want?”
That wasn’t an easy question to answer. “I feel like I’m coming back to life. I don’t know how much of it is the business and how much is David, but he’s part of why I’m smiling today. When I came home, I made too many decisions based on fear. I spent so much time worrying I’d lose everything, I didn’t allow myself to enjoy what I had. I feel good when I’m with David. Good about myself and my life. If holding on to that feeling means saying yes to something that’s happening faster than I would have planned, then that’s what I want to do. I’m willing to risk the crash and burn if it means I can feel this good for even one more day.”
Chelle sniffed and blinked back tears.
Sarah looked as if she were doing the same. She walked over to retrieve a box of tissues. “Breakfast will never get made if we keep this up. I should warn you that I’m also more emotional right now because . . .” She touched her still-flat stomach. “I’m pregnant. We weren’t going to say anything yet, but I wanted to tell you in person, not on the phone.”
Chelle dabbed away her tears with a tissue. “I guessed that last night when you were sipping soda right along with Tony.” She hugged Sarah.
Life builds momentum, I guess. Just like things had gone from bad to worse, could they continue to get better and better? Lucy hadn’t thought it was possible to be happier than how she’d woken up that morning, but she knew how much Sarah wanted a baby, and she couldn’t have been more excited for her. Happiness came hand in hand with the knowledge that it didn’t tend to last. Lucy pushed that thought back. “How did Tony take it?”
Sarah laughed and waved at the tears that were still brimming in her eyes. “At first, I thought he was going to faint, then his eyes got all misty. He’s not good at expressing how he feels in words, but he’s been glued to my side ever since. If I sit, he’s there with a pillow for my feet. When we’re alone, he hardly lets me lift a finger. He thinks we need to hire help for the house, because now he doesn’t want me cleaning inside or out in the barn. I tried to tell him there is hardly anything going on yet, but pampering me is his way of showing me how excited he is.”
Lucy hugged Sarah briefly. “I am so happy for both of you.”
With a sad smile, Sarah cocked her head to one side. “I wish you lived closer. I’d love to share this with you.” She put a hand on one hip and looked out the kitchen window. “Tony and I will both miss David if he stays in Mavis with you. I guess I always imagined that a child of ours would grow up being his shadow the way Jace was.” Sarah turned back and made a face. “Not that I don’t want it to work out with you two. That’s the more important thing. It’s just that David has a natural way of bringing out the best in people—even kids. You should see Jace with him. He’s such a proud little man. Promise you’ll both make the drive up here often enough for our little one to know you both.”
Lucy nodded, but didn’t promise anything. Instead, she started setting the table. A light panic whipped through her. Promising to visit the baby with David would mean Lucy knew they’d still be together. She was still getting used to the idea of being with him when they returned to her house.
I know I said I’m willing to risk the crash and burn, but is it wrong to hope that just this one time things don’t end that way?
David stood with Tony and Mason near the paddock that held the troubled mare. Tony was updating David on things that had happened around the barn, but David wasn’t listening. In his mind, he was already in Lucy’s bed in Mavis, waking her with a cup of coffee and a kiss. He was pulling into her driveway and meeting her halfway, swinging her up into his arms, and kissing her senseless because they’d been apart for a few hours.
“How long is this going to last?” Tony asked Mason.
“What?” Mason asked.
“The stupid grin that tells me he’s not listening to anything I’m saying.”
Mason laughed and clapped a hand on David’s back, bringing him back to the present. “You really should play it cooler, David. You’re putting your heart right out there for her to trample.”
“Speaking of trampling,” Tony said in a can-we-get-back-to-business tone. “One of the hands was kicked pretty badly this morning while walking her from her stall to the paddock. Luckily, there were men around to stop her. She wanted to hurt him. I get most horses, but I don’t get her. I’ve never said this before, but I’m ready to put that horse down. She’s got a mean streak.”
Mason looked from one man to the other. “Isn’t that a little extreme for a kick?”
David looked the horse over again. “It is. You’ve had the vet out to look her over?”
Tony nodded. “He didn’t find anything and said what I’ve been thinking. She’s dangerous. I won’t keep a horse like that here, and I’ll be damned if I let her go somewhere else.”
David stepped into the paddock and closed the gate behind him. He walked up to the horse and spoke to her softly. “What’s going on, girl? What has you so angry?”
She pinned her ears back. Horses rarely kicked without giving plenty of warning that one was coming. She was giving him a not-so-subtle warning.
David stood where he was. He was in a better mood than normal, and that spilled over to how he felt toward the horse. He wanted to see her get past whatever was holding her back. He continued to talk softly to her.
She reared up, and if Tony hadn’t pulled David back, she might have landed a direct front kick to his chest. Tony half dragged David out of the paddock and closed the gate.
“Holy shit, that was close,” Mason said.
“Now you see why she has to go,” Tony said.
David, his pride dented, said, “What’s wrong with you? She’s been here a week, and you’re ready to give up on her? Put her down? Since when is that our policy?”
Tony’s eyes narrowed. “First, it’s no longer our policy. You moved on.”
Mason interjected, “Do cowboys cry? Because this is really touching. David, he misses you.”
Both David and Tony shot Mason a quick glare.
Tony co
ntinued, “Second, Sarah is pregnant. No child of mine will be around a horse like that. Ever.”
David’s irritation with Tony fell away. He smiled. “You’re going to be a father?” As joy for his friend swept through him, he gave Tony a bear hug that surprised both of them. “I’m so happy for you.”
Tony pushed him away, but smiled. “I’m going to be a father. No matter how many times I say it, I can’t believe it.”
Mason’s smile was just as wide and genuine. “Looks like we have several things to celebrate this weekend. Tony, I’m happy for you, too. Really, this is the good stuff.”
“Thanks,” Tony said. “It is.”
David looked over at the mare again. Tony’s reaction to her made sense now, especially considering what had happened with Kimberly. Still, one week was nothing when it came to giving a horse a chance. “Ship her to Mavis. I’ll see what I can do with her.”
“Don’t turn your back on her,” Tony warned. “We were thinking about asking you to be the baby’s godfather.”
David’s chest tightened with emotion. “I’d be honored.”
They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Mason said, “David, I looked into what you asked me to. No one had specifics, but it sounds like that area abuts one being assessed for a deep oil reserve. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but sometimes when a find like that is made, big offers come in for the land around it in case there are veins or other pockets of oil. I wish I had more to give you, but it sounds to me like Lucy’s neighbor is a gambling man, and he is betting the land out there will soon be worth a lot of money.”
Tony asked what they were talking about, and David brought him up to date with what had happened when he arrived on Lucy’s ranch.
“What a piece of shit,” Tony said.
“Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Mason concurred.
“Lucy’s ranch manager, Wyatt, worked for York for a while. He thinks Ted’s dangerous. I don’t want to scare Lucy, but if that kind of money is involved, my gut tells me he’s right.”
“What do you need?” Tony asked.
“I don’t need anything yet,” David said. “But I appreciate knowing I have backup if I do.”
“Always,” Tony said.
Mason chuckled and lightened the mood with a joke. “For a miserable bastard, he has his nice moments, doesn’t he?”
When both Tony and David gave Mason a look, Mason said, “I really wish I’d known both of you when I was making movies. I could have nailed that fuck-you-I’m-a-cowboy glare.”
They continued to stare him down for a moment, then broke into huge smiles because really it was too good a day not to.
Chapter Fifteen
Later Sunday night, Lucy heard her phone ringing. She instinctively started to roll over to reach for it, without fully waking up, but was held in place by a strong arm across her waist. The call was instantly forgotten as David pulled her naked body back to spoon with his.
“Who calls at midnight?” he groaned into her ear.
“No one good,” Lucy answered. Having David in her house, in her bed, was both wonderful and confusing. There was no denying how good being with him felt. They’d spent a comfortable day with their mutual friends, laughed and talked the whole flight back, and made love tenderly before falling asleep in each other’s arms. It had been the perfect day followed by the perfect night—so good it was hard not to worry. Was she missing something, or was David truly as wonderful as he seemed?
The phone call went to voice mail. A moment later, her phone beeped, announcing a message. The persistence of whoever was trying to contact her birthed a hope that her brother might finally be reaching out to her. She eased out of David’s embrace and turned on the light beside her bed. “I need to see if it’s . . .” Her voice trailed away when she glanced back at David.
He was up on one elbow, and the beauty of him momentarily wiped all thought from Lucy’s head. He wasn’t one of those polished city men. He was ruggedly attractive. All man. And when he looked at her that way, she felt like she belonged to him in a timeless, primal way. His hair was still askew from her hands running through it, gripping his head while he’d worshipped her sex with his relentlessly talented tongue. And it was even better than I’d imagined the other night when he’d described it to me. Lucy shook her head to clear it and reached for the phone. “That’s odd,” she said.
“What?” He leaned forward to caress her bare shoulder with one hand.
“The caller ID says I called myself.”
“Don’t answer those calls. It’s usually a telemarketing scam.”
Lucy shrugged. Had she been home alone, she might have been nervous. That was the natural side effect of watching scary movies when she was younger. She couldn’t imagine anything bothering her while David was there. Then she checked her texts, and a shiver went down her spine.
David was instantly beside her, looking over her shoulder at the phone.
Lucy read the message aloud. “It says, ‘Burn in hell, whore.’”
David growled. “Who sent it?”
Lucy handed him the phone. “Me.”
David took the phone and did a quick Internet search. A moment later, he typed in a symbol and numbers. A recording came on saying that the call had been traced and gave a department at the phone company to call if they had questions. David said, “The phone company website says it usually takes three calls for law enforcement to take it seriously, but I’ll talk to them about this tomorrow.”
Lucy took her phone back and, with a shaking hand, laid it on the bedside table. “Forget about it. It’s probably a stupid prank.” The last thing Lucy wanted was to make a big deal out of it and bring possible attention to the nature of her new business. Mavis wouldn’t be as accepting as Fort Mavis had been.
David pulled her into his arms. “I can’t forget it. We’ll follow up on this tomorrow. People can’t hide as well as they used to. They think they can, but there’s always a way to figure out who they are.”
Lucy arched back from him. “I’m not asking you, David. I’m telling you that this is my home, my town, my business. I don’t want to involve the police in a prank phone call at this point. If you’re going to stay here with me, you need to respect that.” She thought about how Ted hadn’t done anything in response to David showing up. He might be spiteful, but she doubted he was dangerous. Looking deeper into this would only bring more attention to her. That was the last thing Lucy wanted.
“If?” Emotion darkened his eyes.
There it was again, the panic that welled up inside her. No matter how good being with him feels, I can’t let my life spin out of control again just when I feel like I’m finally getting my footing back. “I told you I need to prove something to myself, and you said you being here wouldn’t stop me from doing that. Well, here’s the first test of that. I don’t want to tell anyone about the text or the phone call. I don’t want you to do anything about it, either.”
David ran a hand through his hair. “I won’t sit back and pretend it didn’t happen.”
Lucy looked down at his chest and said, “Then maybe you should leave.”
“That’s it? You’d end what we have just like that?” He snapped his fingers.
Lucy imagined the worst-case scenario and asked herself if she could survive it. She didn’t believe anyone in Mavis knew about her business, but if David riled up the law enforcement, they would. One prank message wasn’t as scary as the idea of the whole town turning against her. There was a chance Wyatt would not want his family at her ranch if he knew. She’d lose him and the other men.
And where would that leave her? Alone. Scared. Vulnerable.
Not one step further than she’d been when she accepted help from Ted. She didn’t want to be that person with David. She would not be that person ever again.
Lucy raised her eyes to David’s. “I’m asking you to drop this. If you can’t respect my wishes enough to do that, then what do we have? What exactl
y would I be ending?”
David’s instincts told him Lucy was wrong. The text wasn’t a prank; it was a warning. A sign that trouble was coming. He wanted to tell her that for her safety. And for that reason, he didn’t care what she wanted him to do; he would protect her.
There was a chance he’d lose her. She wasn’t making idle threats. He could see the desperation in her eyes and hated not being able to instantly fix all her problems. He couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t want anyone to know about the text, but he knew how people reacted when they felt their back was up against a wall.
If they’d met somewhere else, in different circumstances, he would have taken it slower. She was right to feel rushed. They should have dated first, taken more time to get to know each other before bringing their relationship to this level.
Circumstances were not different, though. If he were given a chance to do the last two weeks over again, he would make all of the same choices. Once Wyatt had told him he didn’t think Lucy was safe, David’s course had been set.
He’d spent too much time wanting her and thinking he’d lost her to have spent a week on her ranch and not end up right where he was. He could have gone back to staying in the bunkhouse when they’d returned from Fort Mavis, but his need for her overshadowed his normally patient nature.
He didn’t like the line she was drawing in the sand. It put him in a no-win situation. On one hand, he could respect her wishes and not get involved, but if the texts were from Ted, it meant he was becoming bolder and more dangerous. If David was going to protect her, he needed to know whom he was dealing with. Which meant he needed to find out more about the text. If he didn’t want Lucy to throw him off her ranch, he’d have to do it without Lucy knowing he had.
Which meant deceiving her—something David hated introducing into their relationship.
He pulled her back into his arms and hugged her to him. The excitement of feeling her naked body flush against his faded momentarily against the emotions raging through him.
Taking Charge Page 16
