Wild at Heart

by Rhonda Laurel

  Chance reached into the nightstand and pulled out a condom. He quickly tore it open and sheathed himself. He licked one hard, peaked nipple, then gave attention to the other. He kissed slowly down her stomach, and her breath hitched when she felt his tongue make contact with her clit. He laved and suckled down there too as she rocked back and forth by the steady rhythm, but she lost it when he inserted two fingers into her. He primed her until she was writhing. She braced herself as he shifted positions, parted her legs wider with his, with his weight on his knees, then entered her with a deliberate force that sent shock waves rippling through her body.

  Like she’d guessed, he was an attentive, thorough lover. Time stood still for hours as nothing else made sense but the two of them being together right now. He let out a primal growl that could only mean he was ready too. When it was time, they climaxed together. Chance collapsed on top of her as they both tried to get their breathing under control.

  “That was amazing,” she panted.

  “You haven’t seen nothing yet.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “I say we spend the night making up for lost time. Technically, we’ve been dating for a while.”

  She grinned. “Think you have the stamina?”

  “I guarantee it.” He kissed her as he pulled the covers over their heads.

  * * *

  Shannon pulled the covers over her head, hoping to get a few more minutes sleep. She heard Chance moving about the room and hoped he’d be getting back into bed soon. They’d made love until the sun began to peek into the room and finally fell asleep as its shadow made its way to the bed.

  They had one more day of paradise, and then they were to return to Texas. Tate’s party was in a couple of days, and there was still so much to do, like finding the perfect outfit. It sounded silly, but it would be her first time out with Chance as real boyfriend and girlfriend. She wanted the night to be special.

  “Good morning.” He kissed her.

  “Good morning to you too.” She smiled. “What time is it?”

  “Time to get up. We have a busy day ahead of us.”

  “We do.” She yawned. “I want to stay in bed.”

  “Daylight’s burning, Ms. Stanton. We have a full schedule. Put on a swimsuit and meet me downstairs in front of the house in a half hour.” He kissed her again before he left.

  Shannon dragged herself into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She got ready, making sure she wore her bathing suit under her shorts and top. She stuffed some essentials in a bag and headed downstairs. Once she got outside, she saw Chance sitting on a scooter.

  “Your chariot.” He grinned.

  She laughed. “You have an aversion to four wheels, don’t you?”

  “When in Rome.”

  She climbed onto the back of the scooter and wrapped her arms around Chance. As soon as they wound down the long road that led up to the house, they were on the main road. It was a beautiful island with quaint houses. It was a beautiful, sunny day and there was a good breeze blowing. She felt free. They stopped at a beach. She marveled at the blue water.

  “We’re going snorkeling.”

  “Yes!”

  Chance took her hand and led her down a path to a small building and told the attendant they wanted to rent a catamaran to go snorkeling. They were lucky there was a boat, snorkeling gear, and an instructor available. Chance paid the man, and they headed to the boat. They were greeted by a friendly older man who said the tour was four hours. They set sail until they found a perfect spot. They listened to the instructions, but they’d both done it before, so it was no big deal. Once they splashed into the water, the real fun began. There were so many things to see as exotic fish and plant life were all about. Chance was as much at home in the sea as he was hiking in the mountains. She liked that there were so many layers to him. He was a renaissance country boy, even though he’d never admit it.

  They climbed onto the boat and dried off. The sun was glistening perfectly off the water. She could have stayed there forever with him, gazing out at the serene landscape.

  “Do we have to go back?” she lamented.

  “I’m afraid so.” He pulled her into his arms. “But we could always come back. Would you like to come back with me?”

  “I’d love to.” She smiled.

  His cell phone pinged, notifying him of a message.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Rafe. He said he’s decided to go ahead and propose to Leigh this weekend. He’s given up on Joe.”

  “Well, he’s moving on with their lives. It’s a good thing.”

  “I was hoping Joe would do one thing right. I guess I was wrong.”

  Shannon hugged Chance, wishing she could make things right for him.

  * * *

  Chance rang the doorbell, hoping today he’d have better luck. He had time to spare before he got Tate’s birthday present. After going on that pick with Dean, he’d finally found the inspiration he needed to pin down a gift. It was something Tate definitely didn’t have, and it was something they could do together. Isabelle was right, as usual. He and Tate had nothing to lose by getting closer and everything to gain. Now he wanted to do something for his sister. Despite not wanting to see the man, he’d give it another go to track down his father. This time he was taking the fight to the front lines. He’d just swing by Joe’s house to see if he was home. The attempts to catch him at work were an epic fail.

  It was a quaint little house with an immaculate lawn. There were flowers planted and a birdhouse near the oak tree. Pretty serene landscape for a cantankerous man like Joe. It was probably his wife’s doing. Dee Dee seemed to be the antithesis of Joe’s personality. At least it seemed that way the few times he’d seen her.

  The door opened. It was Dee Dee, Joe’s wife.

  “Hello, Dee Dee, I’m not sure if you remember me. I’m—”

  “I’d know you anywhere, Chance! It’s like looking at a younger version of Joe.”

  His jaw ticked. He did not look like Joe. Or at least he didn’t think he did. He didn’t have a constant snarl and untrustworthy eyes.

  “Get on in here,” she said.

  He was reluctant to go inside, but the look on the woman’s face was one of warmth. His mother never had that look on her face whenever Joe came around.

  “OK.”

  “That’s a very nice hog you’re riding.” Dee Dee closed the door and started straightening up.

  “Thank you.”

  “Excuse the mess. I wasn’t expecting company.”

  “I’m the one who should apologize. It’s poor manners to show up unannounced.” He scratched at his beard.

  “You’re not a guest. You’re family.” She fluffed a pillow on the couch. “To be honest, I never thought I’d see either of Joe’s boys come for a visit. Leigh has come by once. Have a seat and I’ll get you a glass of lemonade.”

  Leigh mentioned she’d brought Joe a birthday present last year and had left it with Dee Dee.

  “You don’t have to bother.”

  “Of course, I do.” She scurried into the kitchen.

  He looked around the house. It was very tidy, despite the fuss Dee Dee was making. He suspected the cleaning was a nervous mechanism, like when Leigh pulled on her ear when something was bothering her. His mom folded laundry to get rid of anxiety. Isabelle tapped her foot on the floor. And Shannon did an incessant finger comb of her hair. He’d picked up on the little idiosyncrasies on the women in his life, especially if they were important to him.

  Shannon was becoming important to him, that’s why he was here. He’d come to see Joe to demand he stop screwing around and return Rafe’s call or he was about to be left out a new chapter of happiness with his daughter. But why should he care what Joe missed out on? This screw up would be bound to make Leigh cut the cord for good, and they’d have a normal, happy extended family sans daddy drama. But Leigh was the only person who still had faith in Joe. A small part of him didn’t want to see his sister let down again.


  He’d also come to see Joe for himself too. He’d stayed away from Joe hoping the distance wouldn’t trigger any of Joe’s lesser qualities like his volatile temper, abuse of women, and infidelity. Chance wanted to compare himself to his father to make sure he wasn’t approaching any of those mile markers in his own life.

  When had Joe started drinking so heavily to the point that he lashed out and started hitting on women? Chance never had these tendencies, but now that Shannon was in his life, he had to know he wouldn’t hurt her someday. Tate, who’d had the most time and agony with their father in his formative years, seemed to be dealing with it just fine. Tate fought back those demons to be happy with Isabelle. He wanted to do the same to be with Shannon.

  Dee Dee came back into the living room with a tray with a pitcher and two glasses on it. He took it from her and set it down. He watched as she filled the glasses and handed him one, then took a seat in a recliner.

  “Joe’s going to be sorry he missed you,” she said.

  “Where is he?”

  “He’s on a haul to Colorado. He should be back soon.” She sipped her lemonade. “I wish he didn’t need work so hard. But the doctors’ bills have been piling up, and we have to keep a roof over our head.”

  “You have a lovely home.”

  “What’s new with you? How’s the wilderness store?”

  “It’s coming along.”

  “We drove by there one time when we went to Knoxville, but Joe didn’t want to stop.” She picked at the arm of the recliner. “But it looked like a lovely store.”

  “Thanks.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

  Dee Dee kept rattling on about different things, and he didn’t have the heart to stop her. She really was a sweet woman. Like Leigh, she had a different view of Joe that didn’t include some of his past behavior. She didn’t show any signs of being abused, which was good. If Joe had managed to be a better person late in life, that was a good thing. But he still didn’t have it in him to wipe the slate clean. A part of what had shaped him as a man was due to an absentee, abusive father. He didn’t want to re-write history. Chance had become a good man anyway. He’d had mentors in his life and a strong-willed mother.

  “Do you know when Joe will be back in town? I was hoping to talk to him in person sooner rather than later.”

  “He should be back any day now.”

  “I have to go.” He stood. “But can you tell him to stay put when he gets back in town?”

  “Is something wrong?” She walked him to the door.

  “No. Actually, everything is right, and he has a chance to be a part of it.” He stopped. “Leigh Ann’s boyfriend Rafe is going to propose, and he’s been trying to be traditional and ask for her hand, but Joe’s been very hard to pin down the last month.”

  “He’d said someone stopped by to see him at work. He didn’t know what it was about.” Dee Dee put her hand to her throat.

  “Rafe’s got the ring and everything. He could have just foregone this, but he knows Leigh has such a delicate relationship with her dad. Despite how I feel about him, Leigh’s always willing to give him a second chance. Rafe was just trying to take her feelings into consideration so she could have her storybook wedding. It would be a shame if Joe couldn’t be part of it.”

  “I’ll see if I can talk some sense into him.” Dee Dee swallowed hard.

  “Thanks.” He smiled. “The lemonade was wonderful.”

  He went out to his bike, jumped on, and went on his way. That had to be a lie from Joe about him not knowing who’d come looking for him. He was sure Rafe informed the dispatcher who he was, but he wasn’t going to argue that point with Dee Dee. The ball was in Joe’s court. He just hoped the man would do the right thing. And now he’d fulfilled his promise to Shannon that he’d give it one more try to reach out before he wrote his father completely out of his life.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Shannon tried to steel her nerves as she walked into the diner. After all the scurrying around she’d done this afternoon, she was in no mood for bad manners or a bad attitude.

  When she went to the Twelve Horseshoes to talk to John Jacob about a plan on how to handle Joe, she was at the end of her rope. She explained that she wanted to track down the wayward McGill and make him come to terms with the fact that his daughter was happy and a great guy wanted to be traditional and ask for her hand. She was pretty passionate about it, and by the time she stopped talking, she was out of breath. She wanted to do this for Rafe and Leigh. But she also wanted to do it for Chance. This was weighing heavy on his heart, and she wanted to help fix the problem.

  What she wasn’t expecting was John Jacob offering to go with her. Teri-Lyn thought it was a good idea too. She told John Jacob to leave his pistol at home and not to let Joe get his blood pressure up. Joe just needed a few stern words, and Shannon was just the person to do it. So after going to the trucking company and finally getting a real answer from the dispatcher, they were on the road tracing Joe’s steps until they found his truck parked in the parking lot of a truck stop with an adjoining restaurant.

  He was sitting a table in the back corner getting ready to eat the meatloaf the waitress had just plunked down on the table. But today’s trouble was worth it. She was on a mission for true love.

  She ran her hand through her hair and proceeded down the aisle.

  “Can I help you, sugar?” a woman in a waitress uniform said.

  “I found the person I’m looking for, thanks.” She pointed at the booth. As she took her final steps, she took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking. This plan had to work.

  “Joe McGill?” The words tumbled out of her mouth.

  He looked up. “I sure am, honey.”

  “You probably don’t know me, but I’m Shannon Stanton. I’m…” She wanted to say girlfriend, but she’d deal with one revelation at a time. “I’m a good friend of your son Chance.”

  “Chance would know someone as pretty as you.” The smile on his face was replaced with a frown. “Is he OK?”

  “Yes. Yes.” The man wasn’t a total jerk; he did look concerned that she had bad news about Chance. “Chance is fine. I’m actually here about Leigh and her boyfriend Rafe. They’re fine too. So are Tate and his family. You have adorable grandkids, by the way.”

  “They’re not my grandkids. They’re John Jacob and Teri-Lyn’s grandkids,” he said with sarcasm dripping from his Southern drawl.

  “It’s your own fault for not knowing them.” She put her hand on her hip.

  “What is it you want, Missy, other than to give me an update on my kids?” He gripped his fork. “It’s not like they want to tell me how they’re doing on their own. Do they even know you’re here?”

  “Rafe has been trying to track you down, and he’s gone out of his way to be polite. He wants to have an important talk with you, and he’d rather do it without you being belligerent.”

  “If you tracked me down, so can he. If he’s man enough,” Joe huffed. “Apparently he’s not, since he’s sending a woman to do his dirty work. I hope he doesn’t think he’s going to marry my Leigh Ann. He probably didn’t get the inclination until she took off as a music star.”

  “That’s not true. Rafe is not like that.”

  “What do you know?” he fired back.

  “Because I know him. Rafe is kind, intelligent, and courageous. He’s a good man, and he loves your daughter.”

  “He’s not good enough for her.”

  “You don’t even know him.”

  “Joe, cut the crap and talk to the man,” John Jacob’s strong, familiar, authoritative voice said as it came toward them. She immediately felt at ease. “Are you giving my goddaughter a hard time?”

  “John Jacob.” Joe stood. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “I’m here to whip your tail if you don’t listen to what Shannon has to say.”

  John Jacob and Joe stood there looking at each other like two Old West gunfighters at high noon. She didn’t know what
to do, but she knew not to get in the way. Neither one of them were blinking, and they were starting to garner the attention of the crowd in the restaurant. There was too much riding on Joe being agreeable, and they had to get back for Tate’s birthday party.

  “Everything OK, Joe?” someone seated at the counter yelled out.

  “Yeah,” Joe answered. “This pain in the ass used to be a good friend of mine. Hell, he still is. Wouldn’t you say, John Jacob?”

  “Joe, liking you and hating you is the same difference to me. Now, are you going to listen to Shannon, who happens to be your youngest boy’s girlfriend, or not?”

  Shannon furrowed her eyebrows. So John Jacob and Joe weren’t friends, but they didn’t sound like sworn enemies either. She’d heard about their tumultuous history. But she suspected they had an understanding about each other.

  “Speak your peace, young lady.” Joe motioned for her to sit in the booth.

  Shannon took a seat in the booth, and John Jacob sat next to her. The waitress came over and asked if they wanted anything. She asked for a water. She looked at Joe, and it wasn’t hard to see Chance was his son. But the facial features were about all they had in common from what she could tell.

  “I’m here to prevent you from making the biggest mistake of your life,” she said.

  “It’s too late for that,” Joe replied.

  “Well, I’m here to stop you from losing your daughter if you keep screwing around and avoiding the man who wants to marry her.”

  She couldn’t help but notice John Jacob smile. Nice words weren’t going to work, and she was on a tight deadline. She only had a few hours to convince the ornery coot to do right by his daughter.