by Lexi Blake
“Hey, Laura, heard about the wedding.” A smiling couple danced around them. They were middle-aged and looked like the oddest couple. The man was expensively dressed, but the woman looked like she’d been cast as Annie Oakley. She wore all-white Western wear, with the exception of her shiny red boots and cowboy hat. The woman was the one who had spoken. Rafe kind of wanted to punch them both.
“I’ve reserved the diner for your reception. I don’t think you should hold it in a barn, dear. And Pastor Dennis said he would perform the ceremony, but you have to give him a couple of days’ notice because he gets feed deliveries every Thursday.”
“I am not getting married in the Feed Store Church, Stella,” Laura said flatly.
The woman named Stella simply gave her a bright smile. “I don’t see why not. Stef and Jen are. It’s lovely once you get rid of the smell. Jen selected a nice potpourri to mask that horsey smell. Why does feed smell like horses?”
“She could use the estate,” the older man interjected. “Stefan wouldn’t mind. He didn’t use the estate because it wasn’t Bliss-oriented enough. Oh, it would be lovely. Especially in the spring.”
The minute that couple danced away, another took their place. A man in a cowboy hat swayed with a tall, lovely brunette. She was dressed more chicly than the rest of the group.
“I’ve already got plans for your wedding dress! And I already have your measurements, so I can start working as soon as possible. I’m seeing something fitted and very elegant. How do you feel about a satin sheath?” the brunette asked.
“I don’t feel any way about it, Brooke,” Laura said on an obviously frustrated sigh.
“Now Brooke, I had plans for you after this wedding business is over,” the cowboy replied, seemingly just as frustrated.
The brunette rolled her eyes. “That’s not happening, James. I told you once before, I am not going to be your next one-night stand, and I have no intention of staying in Bliss. And you should be happy about it because both of my brothers would kick your ass if I played around with you.”
“They could try.” The man named James nodded Laura’s way. “Congrats, Laura. You’re getting an amazing man in Wolf. I heard the town is going to throw you an engagement party next week.”
Laura stopped in the middle of the dance floor. She fairly vibrated with frustration. “I am so done with this.”
Rafe wanted to protest the loss of her closeness, but she was already leaving.
She turned and stomped toward the raised stage where there was a microphone and a DJ. The DJ, who appeared to be a teenage boy, and his twin brother stopped the music right in the middle of the song as though they had been planning for this particular eventuality. All heads turned Laura’s way.
“What the hell did you do?” Cam asked as he forced his way through the crowd.
“I don’t know. She said she was done with this.” He was at a loss. “I was actually getting through to her.”
Cam’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, I saw how you were getting through to her. You practically humped her leg.”
“I did not.”
“You were rubbing your penis all over her,” Cam complained.
“I was dancing with her.” And if dancing had happened to bring his penis in close contact with her body, then so be it.
“Well, you didn’t do it right. Now I don’t have a chance to rub my penis on her. How is that fair?”
He was about to reply when Laura began to speak.
“Good evening, all you lovable busybodies,” Laura announced, looking perfectly comfortable taking the stage. She adjusted the microphone like a pro.
“Hey!” one of the cowboys, Rafe couldn’t remember if it was Max or Rye, called out. “Shouldn’t Wolf be up there with you if you have a big, formal announcement to make?”
“No, asshole,” Laura said and flushed suddenly. She looked back at the boys standing by the stereo. “I am so sorry to have cursed like that.”
One of the boys waved his hand. “We’ve heard them all.”
The other nodded. “Yeah, we actually thought asshole was Max Harper’s name for a couple of years.”
“Bobby!” a woman’s shocked voice rang out.
“Sorry, mom.”
The crowd hooted, even Max.
“Well, I’m sorry, anyway. I do have an announcement to make. I would like to tell you all that you suck. I’m not engaged. I was trying to keep my pathetic single status under wraps, but I know you all believe that the truth will set us free.” Another loud cheer went up, and Rafe heard Cam breathe out. “There. Now Nell can start talking again. My little lie was the only thing that kept Nell and Henry from vocally protesting, so please enjoy.”
“Animals are people, too!” Nell yelled.
A collective groan went through the crowd. Laura gave them a jaunty salute, a wide smile on her face.
“She’s happy here,” Cam said, his lips spread in a wide grin.
Yes. She was happy. And he had to figure out how to get her to come home with him. Rafe realized he had his work cut out for him.
* * * *
Laura winked at the Farley brothers and started down the steps. A hand came out to help her down the last step, and she looked into the eyes of Stefan Talbot.
“Congratulations on coming clean,” he said in that deep voice of his.
“Well, I didn’t have much of a choice,” she replied. “If I hadn’t, this town would have planned the whole wedding and sent me a bill.”
His lips quirked up in an affectionate smile. “You might be right about that. I’m afraid this whole town takes an active interest in you. Nate’s already called all of his old contacts at the DEA. He managed to get the details on those two feds sniffing around you.”
She felt her stomach turn. This was exactly what she hadn’t wanted to happen. She didn’t want her two worlds to meet. She wanted her old world to go away and her new world to not ask any questions.
Stef put a steadying hand on her elbow. “Stop. I can see by the look in your eyes that you’re worried about Nate finding out about what happened in DC. Well, you should know that almost all of the men know.”
“They do?” Wolf had told her, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it.
Stef shook his head. “No one comes into my town to stay without a background check.”
There was a reason his fiancée called him the King of Bliss. Stef took his town seriously. “Well, I’m glad to know I passed the test.”
His face lost its previous bright smile, but he continued to look at her with a softness in his eyes. “What happened to you wasn’t your fault. Not even the part where you got fired from the FBI. You didn’t realize that reporter was taping you, did you?”
Shame filled her. She didn’t like to think about Jana. “No. Jana had been my friend for a long time. I was a bit surprised she sold me out the way she did. But it was my fault. I shouldn’t have talked about it.”
Stef patted her shoulder. “Well, I understand how hard it is to forgive yourself. I really do. Anyway, it was obvious to me that you needed a place to stay and maybe a second chance. Why do you think the cabin you’re in was so cheap?”
Laura stared at him for a moment, surprised he would even make the statement. “It was part of the deal I made with Bart Vickers. He needed someone to work the day shift at the gas station, and he happened to own…damn, I’m stupid. You own it all, don’t you?”
His head tilted slightly in acknowledgement. “I have my fingers in every pie in this town. I’m Bart’s silent partner in the gas station, and I owned most of the cabins in the valley at the time. I’ve sold them off as needed. I like to take care of my family.”
She knew she should be upset about the deception, but there was genuine love and compassion behind most of the things Stef Talbot did. “Well, I thank you. And I would like to buy my cabin. Now that everything’s out in the open, there are a couple of old bank accounts I can get into. I should be able to come pretty close to market value.”
He nodded. “I’ll have my lawyer draw up the paperwork immediately. I am glad to know you won’t be leaving us.”
She was startled at the thought. “Why would I leave?”
His shoulders moved up and down negligently. “It’s obvious to anyone who sees you with those two men that you have a past.”
“Yes, and that’s what it is—the past.”
It wasn’t going any further. It didn’t matter that her libido had come back online for the first time in years. For five long and lonely years, she’d had nothing but her vibrator. Even that hadn’t gotten much use. At first, she’d tried because she wanted to make sure everything still worked. Her parts functioned, but her heart wasn’t in it. The only times she’d worked herself up to a froth had been when she thought about them. When she’d pictured Rafe’s handsome face working over her or the way Cam’s shoulders bunched as he climaxed, that was the only time she could enjoy it.
“You know we found out a lot of things about those two,” Stef said, his voice all smooth and silky. “They appear to have spent an enormous amount of time and money searching for you.”
“They feel guilty.” But the words were starting to ring hollow.
She let her eyes seek them out. They stood together talking. Rafe looked intent on what Cam was saying. They had always been an odd partnership. Rafe was the big-city hottie who understood fine wine and good clothes. Cam was a backwoods, gorgeous nerd who cared far more about his computer than when a wine was bottled. He liked beer and watched an enormous amount of science-fiction television. Yet they fit together. Somehow, someway, Rafe and Cam had become halves of a whole.
Once there had been three pieces to their puzzle. Had they honestly missed her? Were their emotions more than simple guilt?
Stef’s voice broke through her thoughts. “They put their lives on hold. Can I ask you a question?”
She wanted to say no but had a feeling Stef would press anyway. “All right.”
“Did you love one of them?”
Tears clouded her eyes as she shook her head.
Stef nodded. “That’s what I thought. You loved both of them.”
Her throat felt far too small. She couldn’t even manage a yes. She looked at them. Really looked at them. They were older. Rafe had lines across his forehead that hadn’t been there before. There was a slump to Cam’s shoulders that she didn’t remember. She’d missed them. God, she had missed them so much.
They started to walk toward her. She took a short step back, but the stage was behind her.
“You could run again.” Stef didn’t sound enthused about that choice.
“No.” She was done running. She’d found her home.
“Then I want you to think about what you were looking for when you came to Bliss. You were looking for a second chance.”
She had been looking for a place to hide. “They hurt me, Stef. They just about killed me.”
She could have sworn his eyes misted for a moment before he spoke. “We do that sometimes. We do it to the people we love the most. We do it precisely because we love them. I know you’re scared. In the end, this is all the time we have. I would take it if I were you. I would take it and milk it for every moment it’s worth, and if it all falls apart, at least you have a home now and people whom you can always count on. Holly will stand by you, and Nell will protest at their front doors if they hurt you again.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at the thought. She’d never had friends the way she had them here. And she’d never loved the way she had with Rafe and Cam. What if she could have it all? Even if only for a few days?
Stef leaned in. “It’s better to hurt because you tried with every ounce of your soul than it is to regret not trying. My wife taught me that.”
“She isn’t your wife yet.” The wedding was still a few days away.
“Oh, but she is. I see now that she was always my wife. She’s the other half of my soul. The wedding is merely a party. The marriage is already well under way. It was rocky in the beginning, but I wouldn’t change it.” Stef took a step back as Rafe and Cam walked up to them.
Cam strode up like an angry bull, his eyes assessing Stef the way he would a perp in an interrogation room. “What did you say to her?”
Rafe was all about her. His hands found her shoulders. “Bella, you’re crying. Are you all right?”
Rafe’s hands on her felt wonderful, but she was worried that Cam was about to start a fight. She moved between them. “He was saying that I should dance with you. It’s only fair. I danced with Rafe.”
Cam turned, his attention shifting from Stef to her in the blink of an eye. “What?”
He stared down at her like he couldn’t quite believe what she’d said. And his eyes weren’t exactly on her face. A laugh escaped. That was Cam. He wasn’t good at hiding what he felt or wanted. He’d never been able to play the games he needed to play to move up with the Bureau. Rafe had smoothed the way for him because they were friends. She loved the fact that Cam almost never had a mask on.
She reached out and took his hand. “I said I would like my dance now.”
He nodded. “Okay.”
She had to lead him to the dance floor. He shuffled behind her, an almost shy look on his face. She moved to the center and stepped close to him, putting her arms around his neck. His handsome face turned mulishly stubborn.
“If this is some trick, you should know that I’m not leaving. You can’t say that you gave me my dance and now I have to go. If you think that you can send me back to DC after one measly dance, then you don’t know me.”
She laid her head against his chest. It felt good to hear the beat of his heart. “I know you, Cameron Briggs. I would have to get a tow truck to haul your ass out of town if you didn’t want to go.”
Slowly, his arms came up and surrounded her. He clutched her like he was afraid she would slip away. “I missed you, baby. I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too, bella.” Suddenly Rafe was right behind her. He stepped in, and his arms circled her waist. He was careful to move in time with Cam, and soon they were swaying to the music. All three of them were dancing together, the men forming a protective circle around her.
“Well, that was fast. It didn’t take those two long to move in once the truth was out,” Holly said as she danced with Pastor Dennis, who ran the Feed Store Church.
She felt Rafe stiffen and start to move back.
Laura took a deep breath, thinking about Stef’s words, and let her hand drift around to Rafe’s waist to keep him close. He moved back in.
Pastor Dennis took them in with a smile on his face. “All good things flow from admitting the truth with an open heart.”
“Not all of them,” Holly grumbled.
“Crap, what happened with Caleb?” Laura tried to look around, but she couldn’t see the doctor.
Holly shrugged. “Same old, same old. I asked him if he wanted to go back to my place and talk, and he suddenly remembered some very important surgery he had scheduled. For tonight. Without a nurse. Or a hospital. I give up on him. I’m going to satisfy myself with my prison love letters.”
Holly gave her a sad smile as the pastor danced her away.
Poor Holly. Caleb was breaking her heart, and they had never even gone out. Would Holly be happier if she had at least gotten to be intimate with the man who hurt her? Would she regret it? Or would she do what Stef had said and forgive herself and be happy that at least she had tried?
“Did you come back for the case?” She didn’t pull her head from Cam’s chest. She simply asked the question and prayed they had the right answer.
Cam’s head touched the top of her own. “I don’t care about the case anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I want to kill him for what he did to you, but I’m here because I’m crazy about you, Laura Rosen or Niles, or whatever you call yourself.”
Rafe breathed against her neck, the warmth reassuring. “We’re here for you, bella. Nothing else. We talked about the case becau
se we thought it would force you to spend time with us. We’ve been looking for you for years because we don’t want to live without you.”
Well, that was a pretty fine answer. Tears in her eyes, she stopped dancing, disentangled herself, and started toward the parking lot. She’d gotten ten feet when she realized they weren’t following. She turned, and they looked like lost puppies.
“I’m going home. I thought we could talk better at my place. Do you want to come home with me?” It was as plainly as she could put it. She wanted them. Life was too short to not try. If it all went bad, she would always have Bliss. She and Holly could be nuns together. Maybe Alexei had a friend in witness protection who needed some letter loving.
But before she tried that, she was going to have at least one more shot with the two who had gotten away.
They ran to catch up, each taking one of her hands as they walked into the night.
Chapter Eight
Cam slid into the back of the SUV beside Laura, his hips brushing against hers.
Rafe turned the engine on, though Cam could see plainly through the windshield mirror that he wasn’t thrilled about being left with driving duties.
Cam didn’t care. He wasn’t about to let her sit by herself. She’d invited them back to her place. He wasn’t exactly sure what that meant relationship-wise, but the look in her eyes had dared him to try. He wouldn’t turn down that challenge.
Rafe turned the key in the ignition, and the SUV purred to life.
“You need to take a left on the highway to get back to the valley.” She sat forward, her body bending over.
“I know how to get to your place.” Rafe’s voice was flat. His whole body betrayed his lack of enthusiasm for the current seating situation. Cam had been faster. He’d tossed Rafe the keys and climbed in the back with Laura. It was only fair. Rafe had gotten to dance with her first. “I can be there quickly.”
Cam didn’t need a long time. He had her to himself for the time it took to get from point A to point B. He wasn’t going to waste a minute.