“You’re drinking lemonade. Don’t you want a beer?” Harper asked, tipping her bottle back to get some more.
I glanced over at Clay. His back was turned, and I was sure I could get away with it for long enough to gulp a bottle down. But I didn’t want to be ungrateful after how much kindness he’d showed me, and he’d already made it clear he didn’t think I should drink.
“Maybe later,” I murmured. “So, when’s the baby due?”
Alana smiled and put a hand on her belly. “Two weeks. We’re getting married on Tuesday.”
“Wow.” I didn’t know what to say. “You must be excited.”
“Yep. Lawson’s gonna take care of my baby as if it was his own. Can’t ask for more than that,” she said.
“The baby’s not his?” I covered my mouth and felt a blush beginning as I realized that probably wasn’t the sort of question people should blurt out.
“We got together when I was five months pregnant, so, no.” She frowned, as if something about that time was difficult to think about.
“Do you have a dress?” I asked, trying to move the conversation back to the wedding.
She smiled even more widely, pulling her phone from her pocket and opening Pinterest. She talked me through every little detail of the courthouse wedding she and Lawson were planning, narrating her wedding Pinboard.
“...You can come to the big party, afterwards. It’s going to be here, in the yard.”
I nodded. “Thanks, but I’ll probably be gone by then.”
“This place has a way of making people stay,” Alana said. “Isn’t that right?” She turned to Harper.
“I guess. How are you planning on going anywhere? There’s no way Clay will allow you to resume hitchhiking,” Harper pointed out.
“I just thought I’d go back to what I was doing before I came here,” I replied.
“He won’t let you,” she reiterated.
“Jeez, Harper, you make him sound like a dictator,” Alana scoffed. “The guys are all protective, but they’re not assholes,” she explained. “He’ll probably get you a bus ticket or something. I don’t know. Where are you going?”
“Los Angeles. I’m going to be an actress.”
Harper outright rolled her eyes.
“Did I do something to offend you?” I asked, not wanting to sit here while she was being obviously hostile.
“No. Nothing. Why?”
“Because you’re acting weird,” Alana said bluntly, before I had a chance to reply.
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to break into acting?” Harper demanded. “Have you even ever been in a commercial?”
“No, but—”
“Then stop wasting your time being a dreamer and go find something sensible to do.”
“Like drive a bus across America for several years?” Alana asked, giving Harper a pointed look that was lost on me. Harper colored red and immediately stopped talking.
“Least I paid my way,” she grumbled after several seconds of silence.
“I’ll pay for things. Just as soon as I find work.” I felt like she took issue with my entire existence, and I didn’t understand it.
“Food’s up!” Lawson called. Alana was the first to get to her feet, moving slowly. I stood up next, but I didn’t want to rush over there by myself in case Harper said I was only here for beef or something equally stupid.
“Don’t you dare try to screw over Clay,” Harper growled as she leapt up and pushed past me.
“Hey!” I yelled, as I fell to the grass.
“What’s going on?” Lawson demanded as I got to my feet.
“Your little gold digger apparently can’t balance,” Harper shot at Clay. Barrett rolled his eyes.
“Harper, how many of those have you had?” he asked, nodding to the beer in her hand.
“Three. Why?”
“You’re on lemonade for the rest of the evening. Now apologize to Clay’s guest.”
“No.”
Barrett gave her a stern look, that would have made me wilt.
“Young lady, if I have to ask again you’ll be getting caned in front of everyone here.”
I gasped in shock. Would he really do that? I looked to Clay but he wasn’t laughing.
“Sorry.” She didn’t sound very sincere, and she was talking to the grass rather than me; it was just so awkward.
“That’s fine,” I replied, trying to smooth things over although I still didn’t understand the animosity.
“C’mon, Kinsley, let’s get some barbecue.” Alana’s voice was overly-cheerful. I followed her to the grill and we got a plate of beef each. There was a little station to one side, where we took bread and sauce.
“Harper’s just had some real bad news,” Alana whispered. “Don’t take it personally.”
I nodded, although I still didn’t like being spoken to so rudely.
“Did you ever have homemade barbecue sauce? This stuff is incredible.” Alana poured a liberal amount on my bread before serving herself.
I looked down at my bread, which was now smeared with browny-orange stuff. “Thanks.”
“Anyway, how come you’re not drinking?” she asked, as we wandered back to the table. Harper was still locking horns with Barrett and I felt more confident talking to Alana.
“I’m eighteen,” I admitted. “So I guess when I said I’d have a beer later, I meant about three years.”
She raised her brows in surprise. “Does Clay know?”
“Yeah.”
“Small wonder he’s helping you. He must have been so worried when he saw you by yourself at the side of the road.”
“Something like that.” I decided not to tell her he’d hit me with his truck. After all, it had been my fault.
“It’s none of my business, but you know he isn’t like normal guys, right?”
“Yeah,” I tried to make light of it. “I heard he changes into a wolf when the moon is out.”
Alana laughed, then dropped her half-eaten sandwich. Her face paled.
“Lawson?” she called, sounding scared. “LAWSON!”
He was by her side immediately. “What is it, hon?”
“Water... ohmigosh. Water.” She began to cry. “It can’t be! I’m two weeks early!”
“Wait... that water? It broke?” Lawson asked.
I barely believed this was unfolding right in front of me.
“We didn’t even get married!” she sobbed. “We were going to be married!”
Chapter 6
“It’s a chain of accidents. When you step into Hollywood, you wind yourself into thousands of chains of accidents.” — Clark Gable
Kinsley
Lawson put his arms around Alana and held her while she took a moment to lament not getting to marry him before the baby came. “It’s all right, Alana. Everything will be okay. I’m gonna take care of it. We got plenty of time to get you there. Are you having contractions?”
She nodded. “I’ve been ignoring them. I thought they were Braxton-Hicks again.”
“Sit down and time them on my phone. We don’t want to go early.”
He put his phone on the table and Alana took it slowly.
“I think we’re gonna have to call it quits on the barbecue,” Lawson said to the rest of us.
“Do what you need, man,” Jake said, and the rest of us nodded or murmured agreement.
I helped box up the food and get it into the fridge. We’d done the last of it when Lawson’s voice called through the house.
“Harper!” He appeared in the kitchen and she turned to look at him.
“Yeah?”
“Go get Alana’s hospital bag. It’s at the foot of our bed. It’s purple.”
“Sure.” She walked off unsteadily and I wondered if she was the best person for any job right now.
“Clay? Think you can drive us to the hospital? Turns out my wife-to-be has been ignoring her contractions and we need to go straight over.”
“Sure.”
“I c
ould drive you,” Barrett offered. “If Clay wants to stay with Kinsley.”
“Thanks, but I think you and Harper need some alone time,” Lawson said pointedly.
“I’ll be fine in Clay’s house,” I said quickly, not wanting to get in the way of a new baby.
“Nonsense, you can ride along,” Clay replied. “C’mon, let’s get the princess to my truck. Kinsley, go fetch some towels to put down on the back seat. I don’t much care about the upholstery, but it’ll make Alana more comfortable.”
“We’re not married! The baby has to stay put!” Alana was saying as tears poured down her face. Lawson picked her up easily and I was in awe of his strength. Looking at Clay’s muscular arms, I imagined he could lift me just as readily.
“We’ll talk about the wisdom of ignoring labor pains when this is all over,” Lawson promised. “But when all’s said and done, it doesn’t matter if you’re married to me, I’ll take care of both of you just like you were my wife, and when we finally get our wedding day, it’ll be all the sweeter because our baby will be with us.”
Alana sobbed harder and I got a bit teary-eyed at Lawson’s thoughtful words and obvious affection for his future wife. They made such a perfect couple.
“Towels,” Clay reminded me. I headed off into Lawson’s kitchen and looked around until I saw a laundry basket with neatly folded items. Two big bath towels sat at the top, so I hurried back to the others with them. They were slowly making their way to Clay’s truck. We made a funny sort of procession. Lawson carried Alana, Clay led the way, and I brought up the rear with the towels. We had the doors open and Lawson was placing Alana on the back seat when Harper appeared, looking pale and worried.
“Here.” She shoved the bag at me. “Good luck, Alana.” That was all she said before she walked off to the third house in the little cluster.
We got Alana comfortable. Lawson sat with her in the back, and I got into the front with Clay.
Jake saluted us as he went back to the stables. Barrett touched his hat, silently bidding us a good journey, before he turned away, presumably to find Harper. Then, we were carefully making our way down the dirt road to the highway.
I’d never seen anyone have a baby before, and I was a little worried Alana might give birth in the truck, but Lawson and Clay didn’t seem overly-concerned about this. Clay put on the radio, and he and Lawson talked about dull farm things while the truck turned onto the highway.
Alana was mostly quiet, and I reflected that she probably had a lot on her mind. I felt bad for her, that she so clearly wanted to be married before this moment came, but at the same time, I was also excited that her baby was coming, even though I’d barely known her for an hour. She was obviously looking forward to meeting her child, even if she was stuck on the whole wedding thing right now, and I conceded it must be difficult to have to abandon such important plans all of a sudden.
“The baby isn’t going to come in the truck, is it?” I asked at last, because no one else was addressing this.
“Hospital’s an hour and a half away. Think we got more than enough time to get there,” Lawson said.
“Babies don’t come out as soon as the waters break. Even with the contractions so close, it’ll take hours,” Alana said. Oh. I’d had no idea.
“All you ever see on TV is people rushing to the hospital as soon as the waters break,” I explained. “I don’t know anyone who had a baby. I mean, there were a couple of girls in my high school but I only knew of them.”
I was babbling. I pressed my lips together and stared out of the front window, watching the scenery go by, or what was left of it. The sun had set completely, now, and there were just streetlights and black blobs that might be trees or giant robots for all I knew. I sometimes had dreams like that. When I was little, I’d get so scared, I’d go crying to my mom in the night. Her solution was to put a lock on my door. Now I knew better than to trouble anyone with my bizarre and vivid nightmares. There was no one to protect me from the bogeyman. I would make my own way in life, and save myself.
The memory made me more determined than ever about leaving the ranch and getting to California. I had my plan, and diverging from it when I was so close to realizing my dreams was crazy. Clay was hot, sure, and did things to my body that I didn’t completely understand, but I couldn’t throw away my chance at an incredible career. Not for a guy. That would be the dumbest thing in the entire universe.
All the same, a wobbly feeling in my gut urged me to call my mom and let her know I was okay. I ignored it.
* * *
Clay
We got Alana to the hospital, where they did some testing and so on. Lawson went in with her, but I stayed outside in the waiting room with Kinsley, who was quieter than usual.
“You okay?” I asked her.
“Sure.” She hesitated, but I could tell she wanted to say something else. “Never seen someone having a baby before.”
“Me either. But I think we did a pretty good job of getting her to the right place. I mean, we didn’t accidentally drive her to Dunkin’ Donuts. We got her to the hospital, and once they’ve decided what’s going on, you and I can drive back to the ranch and let Lawson and Alana do what they need to.”
“How long will it take?”
“Probably hours. Then she’ll need to stay for checks and so on, I guess. I have no idea how long it all takes in total, but I’m guessing we won’t be summoned to fetch them for a day or two, at the very least.”
She nodded. Babies were a complicated mystery to me, but I knew enough about calves to fill in a few of the blanks when it came to people.
“We’re being taken to room four-one-two,” Lawson said through a crack in the door.
“Okay, boss. Call me when you need me. Keep me updated, too.” I saluted him and stood up. Even just a few minutes on those badly-shaped plastic chairs was enough to make me want to leave.
“I bet there’s a ton of barbecue waiting to be eaten back at the ranch,” I pointed out. Kinsley smiled, then stopped herself.
“That might be nice,” she muttered.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
“Just... I don’t want you thinking I’m freeloading,” she said in a small voice. I took her hand and paused for a moment.
“Why would you worry about that? I offered to let you stay, I took you to the barbecue, and I’m suggesting we eat the leftover food when we return.”
“Sorry. I just worry. Harper seemed to think I was some sort of gold digger. And I promise I’ll get out of your way by tomorrow.”
I felt a strong flash of annoyance about Harper’s behavior. I hoped Barrett was disciplining her this evening, because I was tempted to do it myself. She had no right to make Kinsley feel unwelcome, or like a freeloader. Especially since Harper stayed at the ranch for months, before she and Barrett decided they were officially dating, and no one ever questioned it or made her feel bad.
“Don’t you pay Harper no mind,” I said in a low voice. “If I want to give you things, that’s between you and I. And you can stay as long as you like.”
“Thank you, but I really don’t want to be a nuisance,” Kinsley murmured.
“Darling, you couldn’t be a nuisance if you tried. Now let’s go get that barbecue.” I led the way out of the hospital, wishing there was some reason for Kinsley to stay longer.
* * *
Kinsley
“Do you think Alana will be okay?” I worried for the thirtieth time as Clay parked his truck back at the ranch.
“She’ll be fine.”
“Should we save some barbecue for her and Lawson? I’d feel so bad if I ate it all and they never got a chance to have any.” I was still thinking about the things Harper had implied about me, along with worrying about whether Alana and Lawson would be okay at the hospital. “I feel like it’s wrong for us to enjoy the party food while they’re gone.”
“They can have another barbecue when they get back. Stop stressing.”
I wished I could.
His hand was on the front door when I brought up another worry.
“You know I’m not just here to eat your food, don’t you? Harper’s not right about that.”
He sighed heavily.
“Follow.” His tone brooked no argument.
The minute we were indoors, he took my hand and began pulling me to the stairs.
“Where are you...?”
“Shoes off,” he ordered at the bottom of the stairs.
I obeyed, too surprised and intrigued to argue. I’d thought our plan was to eat dinner, since we’d abandoned it to drive to the hospital, but instead, he took me to his room.
“Take off your panties and kneel on the bed.”
I nodded and did it. For some reason, I’d always felt happiest when I was following direction. Maybe that was one big reason why acting called to me so strongly.
When cold liquid covered my butt, I squeaked and attempted to sit up. He swatted my ass hard.
“Stay put.” His tone made it clear I couldn’t argue with him.
“Will you at least tell me what you’re doing?” I asked.
“I’m putting a plug in your ass.”
“WHAT?” I squeaked in surprise. Did people really do things like this? “You can’t!”
A cold solid thing pressed against my rear opening and I hissed in protest.
“This is my ranch, little miss. I can do whatever I like.”
My head was disagreeing with him fervently. Stretching sensations gnawed at my untouched butt as he breached it for the first time. But my pussy was wet and aching. I didn’t know why but it needed this.
“You’ll feel better once it’s inside,” he soothed, making it clear he wasn’t giving an inch on this.
“Unlikely,” I grumbled, as the plug spread me even wider.
It felt enormous, like he was trying to stuff an inflated balloon in there. “It’s too big! You’re going to break my butt!”
“It’s the size of my third finger,” he replied. That was not what it felt like.
Finally, it started getting narrower, then suddenly it was in and the flared base pressed against the outside of my ass, preventing my cheeks from completely closing around it.
“But I’m eating and drinking in a minute... aren’t I?” Doubt crept into my tone. Was he going to tell me I couldn’t have food this evening? I was so hungry after our long drive!
Take Me Hard: Arizona Heat 3 Page 6