Balk (Home Stand #2)

by Lacy Hart

  Kristin peeled back one of the roses to reveal the microphone and smiled.

  “You bitch!” Richard screamed, getting everyone’s attention as he lunged towards Kristin.

  Wes grabbed Richard from behind and pulled him into the men’s room. He dragged him over towards the stalls, where Wyatt dutifully held a stall door open. Wes spun Richard around and dunked his head into the toilet, holding him there while Richard thrashed about. Wes pulled Richard’s head up, letting him gasp some air, before dunking him down again.

  “I think that’s enough, son,” Wyatt said calmly.

  “Are you sure? I think I could do this all night,” Wes said, pushing Richard’s head further down.

  “I can take it from here, Wes,” Beth Nash said as she entered the men’s room.

  Wes released Richard’s scalp, and Richard panted for air.

  Beth took her handcuffs out and cuffed Richard and began to haul him out of the men’s room. When they came out, Kristin was standing there with Karen. Kristin walked right up to Richard and glared at him.

  “I would love to take a swing at you right now,” Kristin said, “but I’m not going to give you the satisfaction of me putting my hands on you.” Kristin walked over and took Wes’ hand.

  Karen looked at Richard as well.

  “I’m not too proud,” she said and proceeded to kick Richard Trainor in the groin, causing him to double over. “Have a good night, Dick!” She yelled at him as he crumpled on the floor.

  “You really should be more careful, Dr. Trainor,” Beth said as she pulled him to his feet. “It’s easy to trip and fall in these cuffs.”

  Kristin turned and gave Wes a big kiss and then led him by the hand out towards the dinner.

  “You’re amazing,” she said to Wes.

  “Me? You’re the one who got all that out of him,” Wes said. “You can be very persuasive when you put your seduction on.”

  “Oh, you have no idea, Mr. Martin,” Kristin said, blowing into Wes’ ear. “Maybe you’ll find out a little later.”

  Epilogue

  The fundraiser was a huge success, and not because Wes was in attendance. More than one person remarked to Marion Harris how they felt about Kristin and the library and how she was the best thing that ever happened to the library. Tens of thousands of dollars got raised that night, allowing Kristin to move forward with making plans to earmark some of that money for new summer programs, enrichment programs, more activities for seniors, new books, and plenty of other issues.

  The next night brought about Izzy’s debut as Ariel in the Little Mermaid. Wes managed to convince the Wild Things to give him a few days off so he would be sure to be there for his daughter, and Izzy reserved seats upfront for her father, Kristin, and her grandparents. The high school put on a fantastic show, and the singing, dancing, and costumes were top rate. Izzy got more than one curtain call and a standing ovation when the musical was done. Wes made sure to have a huge bouquet of roses to present to Izzy, and all Izzy could talk about for the rest of the night was how she was looking forward to the shows next year, her senior year in high school.

  “Dad,” Izzy said over a celebratory pizza party at Wyatt and Jenny’s, “this summer there is an acting camp in Pittsburgh. It’s six weeks long, and… well, I really want to go.”

  “I don’t know, Izzy,” Wes said to her as he picked up a piece of sausage pizza. “Those camps are pretty expensive. I only make $725 a month now. We need to watch what we spend.”

  Izzy’s mouth was wide open as she stared at her father.

  “Wesley behave,” his mother commented.

  “Okay. Let me see the pamphlet, and we’ll see what we can work out.”

  “Thanks, Dad!” Izzy said, kissing him on the cheek before heading off to her room to get the pamphlet.

  “You know, if Izzy is away for six weeks, you’ll be all alone in that big house while I am playing,” Wes said to Kristin. “Maybe you want to come on the road with me for a bit and keep me company. You know, stay in cheap motels, eat fast food, sit on wooden benches in small stadiums. It’s pretty swanky. And don’t forget Emil will always be around too.”

  “As tempting as that sounds, I might have to pass,” Kristin said, wiping a bit of sauce that sat on Wes’ nose with a napkin. “Karen is going to be out for 2 weeks for her honeymoon, and then we have all those new programs starting up. I don’t know if I’ll have time.”

  Wes looked disappointed, but Kristin then chimed in.

  “I’m sure I can take a week of vacation at some point,” she said, elbowing Wes.

  ****

  Friday, May, 22nd was the day of Karen’s wedding. Staff, caterers, decorators, and more had spent the hours and days before the wedding prepping the barn and the areas around it to make it all look gorgeous. A large white tent sat outside the barn with the bar and a photo booth for people to pose for pictures. Tables were elegantly decorated throughout the barn, and clear light bulbs had been strung across the entire area. Down by the lake, where the ceremony was, seats had been arranged so that they were facing the archway covered with white flowers that sat in front of the lake. Tiki torches had been placed to light the way as the sun went down, and Brian waited at the archway as Karen rode up in a beautifully arranged carriage that was led by two of Wyatt’s most beautiful horses.

  Karen and Brian exchanged their vows in front of family and friends, and Kristin smiled proudly as Karen’s maid of honor. She gave quick winks to Wes throughout the ceremony as he sat near the front in a debonair black suit. Once the Justice pronounced them man and wife, Karen practically leaped into Brian’s arms and kissed him, almost knocking him over into the lake. Kristin went over and gave her best friend the biggest hug possible before the happy couple walked back up the makeshift aisle and into the carriage to head up to the reception.

  The crowd steadily thinned out down by the lake as Wes walked over to Kristin, who was watching the carriage disappear up the trail.

  “It was a beautiful ceremony,” Wes commented, putting his arm around Kristin as they looked out over the lake.

  “It sure was,” Kristin sighed.

  “You did a hell of a job pulling all this together in such a short time. You should be proud of yourself,” Wes told her.

  “I didn’t do that much,” Kristin said, playing down her role. “I made some phone calls, set up a few meetings, scheduled decorators, that was about it.”

  Kristin turned to look out over the lake.

  “If I had more time, I think I could have made it even better. This is an ideal spot and has lots of potential. All in all, though, I think it went pretty well.”

  Kristin watched as some swans swooped down towards the lake and skimmed their way into the water, coming to rest not far from the shore.

  “You think you can do better then?” Wes remarked from behind Kristin.

  “I’m pretty sure I could,” Kristin said. She spun around to look for Wes but didn’t see him right away. She glanced downward and saw him down on one knee.

  “I know it’s not ideal to do this on someone else’s wedding day at their wedding, but I couldn’t think of a better moment or a more special place for us,” Wes said to her. “Kristin, there is no person that I want to spend the rest of my life with, through the good, bad, crazy and everything else, and goodness knows we’ve had plenty of everything else.”

  Kristin let out a brief laugh, but tears of anticipation were forming in her eyes.

  Wes flipped open the ring box he held in his hand.

  “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes… yes, I will,” Kristin said softly.

  Wes stood up so he could place the ring on Kristin’s finger, and the two embraced and kissed by the light of the torches and the moon.

  “Any thoughts about when you might like to have the wedding?” Wes remarked as the two walked over towards the picnic area that was so special to both of them.

  “Hmmm, I’m thinking in the fall, around September,” Kristin said
as she considered it.

  “Really, I would have thought you would want it in the spring or the summer. That’s a long time to wait,” Wes said.

  “Well, the weather will be perfect then, with the leaves changing and all here on the farm. And I want to make sure I can fit into my dress,” Kristin said as she walked under the tree nearby.

  “What are you talking about?” Wes quizzed. “You can fit into any dress you want, and I don’t care about any of that anyway. I’m marrying you, not a dress.”

  “It’s just that if we have the wedding too early in the year, I won’t fit into the dress I like, Wes,” she emphasized, looking down.

  Wes looked down and saw Kristin with her hands rubbing over her stomach, and then looked back up at Kristin.

  Kristin smiled and nodded at Wes.

  “You’re… are you sure? How far along? When did you find out?” Wes rattled off question after question until Kristin put a finger up to his lips.

  “I had a pretty good idea when I was getting sick all the time that something was going on, and then when I went to see my doctor, she confirmed it for me. The baby is due in December.”

  “Kris, that’s wonderful!” Wes exclaimed, lifting her off the ground and then putting her back down gingerly. “That’s perfect, it will be during the offseason.”

  Kristin narrowed her eyes.

  “Really, that’s what you’re worried about?”

  Wes took Kristin’s hand as they started to walk back towards the barn where the reception was.

  “Of course not, I was joking,” Wes said seriously. “I wouldn’t care when the birth is. I’m just glad it’s happening.”

  “So am I,” Kristin said. She kissed Wes on the cheek, standing on her tiptoes.

  “Sounds like it’s going to be a busy year for us,” Wes said. “The baby, a wedding, Izzy graduating high school, I hope I can handle all of it.”

  “We’ll manage just fine, Mr. Martin,” Kristin added, swinging hers and Wes’ hands as they held each other.

  “I believe you’re right, Ms. Ar… future Mrs. Martin,” he corrected.

  “Damn right!” Kristin squealed as she ran up the pathway.

  Steamy Romance Excerpts from Lacy Hart

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  Excerpt From

  Burnt

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  “I never stopped thinking about you Sophie,” he said to me. “Not for one day. I always figured you met someone else at school, someone perfect for you, and you just moved on. That’s why I never came back to Canon. I couldn’t bear the thought of hearing about you being happy with someone else.”

  I embraced Travis tightly, holding myself against him. I could feel my eyes welling with tears.

  “That’s why I never asked your mother about you,” I said, choking back the tears. “I didn’t want to know that you were doing well, with someone else. The thought broke my heart. There’s never been anyone else, Travis. It’s always been you.”

  Travis broke our embrace and kissed me again, even more passionately than the first one. He put his hands around my waist as he kissed me over and over, and I never wanted that to end. We slowly walked each other over to the couch, where we sat down next to each other and kept kissing. I could feel my body getting warmer with each touch and embrace. Every time his lips touched mine I felt like it was taking my breath away. Travis began to kiss my neck, and I could feel the light stubble on his face rubbing against the nape of my neck. I felt myself lowering myself down onto the couch, so I was laying down, with Travis practically on top of me. My body was pressed against his as he kept kissing my lips, cheeks, and neck. I could also tell that he was clearly aroused himself at this point.

  “Travis,” I whispered breathlessly as he kissed me again, “let’s.. let’s go upstairs.”

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  Sarah sat back up next to me and brought her lips to mine. What started out as a soft kiss quickly turned to a more passionate one, and I could feel her mouth open slightly against mine. We held our kiss together, and I could feel my hands instinctually start to roam up and down her back. Somewhere in the back of mind, I knew it had been a long time since I had kissed or felt anyone like this, and I may have felt a little more tentative, and perhaps even a little scared about where things may go.

  Even with this feeling deep in me though, I found myself wanting Sarah more and more. As we kept kissing, I could feel her hands roaming on me as well, over my shoulders, across my neck, and eventually down across my chest. It was as if neither of our hands knew exactly where else to go at this point as we waited for one of us to make the next move.

  My brain and body finally started to coordinate things as we stopped our last kiss. I could see a familiar look in Sarah’s eyes, one of hope and passion, one that I had only ever seen in one other woman in my life, until now. I took Sarah’s hand and helped her up from the couch and led her down the hall to my bedroom.

  My bedroom was hardly what I would call ready to entertain any guests, but at this point, I didn’t think either of us really cared that much. Sarah and I walked over to the bed and sat down next to each other and resumed our kissing. Within moments our actions were getting more heated and eager. I found my hands moving from her back slowly around her waist and then moving up, gently cupping her breasts in my hands as we kissed. Our kissing stifled a light moan and sigh from Sarah as I touched her. Before long, my hands were at the hem of her shirt, lifting it up and over her head. Sarah quickly did the same to me so she could guide her hands over my bare chest.

  I could feel myself leaning my body to Sarah’s, getting closer to her as my arousal heightened. I moved closer to her, guiding her body back onto the bed, so we were lying next to each other. Our hands continued to explore, with my hands gliding over the front of her bra to the back clasp so that they could undo the hooks. Once undone, I began kissing Sarah’s left shoulder, slowly pulling the strap of the bra down over her shoulder until I could easily free it from her arm. I did the same with her right shoulder, starting by kissing her lightly on the nape of her neck and working down. I could feel her breathing becoming more rapid, her skin getting hotter before I was finished kissing and taking her bra off completely.

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  “So, Damian,” I said to him, finishing off what was left in my wine glass, “how is it that a rich, good-looking guy like you isn’t already attached to someone?”

  “You think I’m good-looking?” he said to me with a grin.

  I pushed my shoulder up against him to give him a little shove.

  “Are you going to answer me? You peppered me with questions all night.”

  “Fair enough,” he said, emptying his wine glass. “I’ve spent so much of the past few years focusing on the work we do that I just haven’t had time to devote to anyone, and, to be honest, I don’t think I have met anyone in the past that I would want to be attached to.”

  I took notice of how he said “in the past” as he looked at me.

  “But there must be all kinds of beautiful starlets and models that would love to go out with you,” I asked him, brushing a stray hair from in front of my eyes.

  “I don’t know about that,” he chuckled. “I’ve had dates with models and actresses, sure, but a lot of that stuff is set up by PR people so they can get good pictures for some magazine or website. I don’t think I ever went out with someone like that more than once. I have less in common with them than I do with you.”

  I looked over at Damian and could see him staring deep into me. He slowly leaned down and kissed me, softly at first, but with greater strength as the kiss endured. I put my hand up to his cheek and held his lips to mine. We moved even closer to each other, our bodies pressing against one another as we balanced to avoid falling into the pool. Kiss
after kiss lingered longer and longer until I could feel myself losing my breath and Damian slowly parted his lips from mine.

  “That was nice,” I said softly.

  “I thought so too,” he said in a hushed tone before leaning back in to kiss me again. Just as we started kissing more deeply, with Damian putting his arm around me, we heard the door open and close. I broke the kiss quickly and saw Damian look over as I turned to see who was there. It was James standing there.

  “I’m sorry to interrupt you, boss,” James said. “I didn’t know you still had company. Good evening, Ms. Barton,” he said politely.