How Far Will You Go?

by Barbara Baldwin

  "Here. Hang on here, just for a second.” She looped his arm around the doorframe. Then she propped a shoulder against his chest and managed to get his jeans pulled up.

  "You're so sweet,” he started to let go of the door to touch her face.

  "Stay put,” she said in what she hoped was a stern voice. He was acting drunk but she knew he only had one beer at the bar. She had to wonder if the doctor had given him some pain pills that were finally kicking in after the Lidocaine had worn off in his arm. And she knew pain pills shouldn't be mixed with liquor.

  "Can you get in?” she asked, turning him around toward the cab. He managed to get his foot up high enough on the third try and with her help, he hefted himself onto the seat.

  "I really don't believe this,” she muttered as she scooted around the back of the pickup, grabbing her clothes as she went. She jerked her dress on and wadded up her underwear, stuffing it under the center armrest when she climbed into the cab. As she started the truck, she mentally gauged the distance to town and to the Rocking K.

  Lou moaned and slid towards her, his head coming to rest awkwardly against her.

  She had no choice.

  Chapter 4

  Louis and Ami Kincaid came hurrying down the corridor to where Kelly stood in the emergency room waiting area. She had called them as soon as she could after getting Lou to the hospital. The same doctor who had stitched him up was still on duty, but now she hadn't seen him since they wheeled Lou away.

  "Kelly, what's going on?” Lou's dad was a big man with broad shoulders, a barrel chest and salt and pepper hair. He stood before her impatiently tapping his hat against his leg.

  "I honestly don't know, Mr. Kincaid.” She shook her head. “I mean, there was a disagreement at the bar and Lou had to get stitches and—"

  "More stitches?” he interrupted.

  She hadn't wanted to say that, but apparently, Lou's dad already knew about the first time.

  "Actually, I guess he busted open what he had before. We were on the way home,” after great sex she thought but didn't say, “and he got all dizzy and sick. I—"

  "Miss Baker?"

  Kelly turned instantly to see the doctor standing outside the examining room curtain. He looked between her and Lou's parents without speaking.

  "Oh, this is Mr. and Mrs. Kincaid, Lou's parents. Doctor, what's wrong with him?"

  The doctor pressed his lips together.

  Louis Kincaid stepped forward. “Doc, I know Lou's not a minor, but for God's sake, tell us something."

  "Right now, he's resting comfortably and is no longer in any danger. He's asked that I contact a Domonic Harris. Do any of you know him?"

  The name sounded familiar to Kelly but she couldn't quite place it. She shook her head.

  "I'll do it.” Mr. Kincaid immediately snatched his phone from the clip at his waist and punched in a number, turning his back to speak in low tones Kelly couldn't overhear.

  "May I see my son?” Ami Kincaid spoke for the first time. Unlike her son and husband, Ami was small in stature and very soft-spoken, but she had given Lou her Dakota heritage with her dark hair and gentle eyes. Kelly took her hand and squeezed it.

  While Mr. Kincaid was still on the phone, the doctor pulled back the curtain to allow Kelly and Ami entrance into the exam room.

  * * * *

  He'd been drugged. That thought kept running through Lou's groggy head as he lay on the hard hospital bed. He hadn't been coherent enough when Kelly brought him in to know what was going on, but after he came to, the doctor told him that his blood work showed traces of Ecstasy, a variant of MDA. Lou knew XTC was often called the love drug and the doctor had said under the right circumstances it could be a powerful aphrodisiac. He had apparently ridden out the high while making love to Kelly, but then he had dropped like a stone.

  He just couldn't figure out how it had gotten into his system. He thought back over the fight, remembering a twinge in his arm he had thought at the time was his stitches. When Lou asked the doc to go over him with a fine-toothed comb, he had found a puncture wound in his arm, apparently where the drug had been injected.

  Lou's thoughts were interrupted when Kelly and his mom came into the room. Crap, she would have to call his folks.

  "Hey,” Kelly said softly.

  He could see the worry in both women's eyes and sought to reassure them without telling them the truth about what happened. “I'm fine, just a little dizzy spell. Probably due to the fight.” The minute he spoke, he knew he was in trouble.

  "Loukota Kincaid, you were in a fight?” This came from his mom, who never raised her voice but nevertheless, made him feel like he was twelve again and being reprimanded. He could tell by her voice that there was no sense explaining he had been protecting Kelly. His mom saw no sense in fighting for any reason.

  "Where's Dad?” he asked to take the heat off himself.

  "Right here.” His dad popped his head past the curtain. Lou caught his look and knew he had been in touch with Dom. His dad was the only one who knew how sensitive and dangerous his real job was. While he might not like the fact that his son faced danger more often than not, he protected his secret.

  Lou tried to scoot up in the bed, feeling awkward in a hospital gown and flat on his back. The minute he moved, he got dizzy again.

  "I'm sorry, but we need to get Mr. Kincaid into a room and settled,” the doctor said, stepping up to the side of the bed. “Go home and get some rest. You can see him again tomorrow."

  Lou endured the kiss his mom planted on his cheek and shook his dad's hand. Kelly stood to the side as they said their good-byes and left with the doctor. When he turned her way, she had a questioning look on her face but he really wasn't up to an interrogation tonight.

  "Come here.” He raised his good arm and she willingly came to the bedside. “Sorry I put you through this.” He lifted her hand and kissed the palm.

  She shrugged, but he could tell she was troubled. “I'll leave your truck at my house,” she said then hesitated. “Lou, I..."

  "It's all right.” He tugged her closer, then lifted his hand to her neck to pull her down for a kiss.

  "It's not all right!” she hissed. “You could have died while making love to me!"

  Lou burst out laughing, groaned at the pain it caused, and then chuckled. “Sweetheart, if I had, I couldn't have asked for a better way to go.” He sighed. “You were so incredible, so hot."

  "Lou!” She blushed, glancing around to see if anyone had overheard him, but the nurse was just now coming into the room.

  "I have to go. See you tomorrow.” She gave him a light kiss on the mouth and left.

  Long after he had been left for the night in a private room and after Dom had wheedled his way in to see him to discuss the case, Lou thought about Kelly. She was so loving, so caring, and so accepting. And now she might be in danger because of him.

  He had a good idea that the guys who jumped him at the bar were the ones who drugged him, so the whole fight had probably been a set-up. It could also mean they were in cahoots with the one at the plant the other night. And if they had him marked as a target, they knew about Kelly.

  Damn it, he had never wanted her to get in the middle of this job. The thought that she could get hurt sent an ache into the deepest part of his soul, because over the past week, he had irrevocably fallen under her spell again.

  The only way he could guarantee her safety was to make sure whoever was tracking his movements realized he wasn't seeing her on a regular basis. In fact, that he wasn't seeing her at all.

  * * * *

  Kelly was exhausted by the time she got home, took a shower and climbed into bed. She groaned when she set the alarm, knowing she had to get up early and work. She went back over the evening, trying to figure out what had gone wrong.

  From the furtive glances Lou had given the doctor and then his father, there was more than just a dizzy spell involved to land him in the hospital. She intended to find out exactly what it was. She cared
too much about him to just let it go.

  She hugged a pillow close, her thoughts turning to their time on the country road, madly making love like two starry-eyed teenagers. But what she now felt for Lou went a lot deeper than what she had experienced in high school.

  Truth be told, in high school she really hadn't minded when her friends suggested the dare, because she'd had a secret crush on Lou even before the Spring Fling. But being a stupid teenaged girl, she had let her friends’ opinions matter too much, and she had known that dating a member of the FFA who wore both glasses and braces would put her on the outs with them.

  So the dare had worked to her advantage, but when they had made love in the hayloft, she had fallen for him in a big way. She had panicked afterwards and by the time she came to her senses, he had left for college.

  Resolutely, she stared up at the ceiling in the dark. Lou was all things good and kind. He worked hard, had a great sense of humor and could dance like a dream. He stood up for her at the bar and when he looked at her, it made her go weak in the knees. If she wasn't careful, she could easily fall in love with the man.

  "And you know what, Kelly Jean Baker? That might not be a bad thing at all,” she said into the night. “Only this time, you aren't going to panic and run away."

  * * * *

  Kelly fumed; she sputtered.

  "Hey,” Mr. Holliday squawked, quickly moving his hand back from his coffee cup.

  "Sorry.” Kelly grimaced as she mopped up the spilled coffee. It was probably a good thing her mom owned the café or she'd get herself fired.

  "What's the matter, girlie?” Mr. Holliday asked.

  Kelly sighed. “It's been a whole damn week, oops, sorry."

  He chuckled. “Not like I haven't heard that before. Let me guess; that young man who was in last week? You want to see him again."

  She looked at him in surprise. “How did you know?"

  "I may be old, but I'm not dead."

  Kelly had to smile. Mr. Holliday could always make her feel better, even when she didn't want to.

  "It's just that we,” she paused, knowing she couldn't say what they had done. “We had a date, sort of. I met him at Sam's last week."

  "And he hasn't called you since?"

  "Exactly. I had to take him to the hospital, but he's out now so there's no excuse."

  "You put him in the hospital?” he asked incredulously.

  "No, there was a fight and he needed stitches, and ... well, it doesn't matter anyway. He hasn't called and I'm just a little mad."

  Mr. Holliday glanced down where she had sloshed coffee around the perimeter of his cup. “A little?"

  "Okay, a lot. I mean, what kind of guy does what he did and then never bothers to call?"

  He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again and shook his head, grinning.

  Kelly blushed, figuring he guessed what the, what he did meant.

  "Seeing as how you're one of those really modern ladies, why don't you just call him? Isn't that what you gals do nowadays?"

  Kelly thought about that. She was liberated, and it wasn't like she and Lou didn't have a history—a very recent history. Why shouldn't she call him? Better yet, why not just go see him? She had told herself she was going to go after what she wanted this time.

  "You're right, Mr. Holliday.” She whipped off her apron, walking to the end of the counter.

  "I didn't mean right now. Where's my lunch?"

  "Becky will get it for you. It's not like we have a lot of customers, present company excepted."

  "Of course,” he smiled at her. “Good luck."

  Kelly told Becky to call her mom if things got busy, then she grabbed her purse and practically flew out the door.

  All the way out to the Kincaid ranch, Kelly tried to decide how to approach Lou. If she confronted him about not calling her, he would probably react negatively. Maybe she should just say she was worried about him. That wasn't a lie, because she had stewed continuously since the accident. His friend, Dom, had picked his truck up the morning after, and by the time she stopped at the hospital, he was already gone.

  She turned off the highway onto the gravel road leading to the Rocking K ranch. Surely he would be happy to see her. Surely she hadn't been a one-night stand.

  She was in a state by the time she pulled up in front of the brick ranch style house. She turned off the Jeep and sat for a minute, trying to get her emotions under control. She stared at the bright colored flowerbeds flanking the walk and bordering the house. Lou's truck was parked over by the barn to the left of the house. Kelly didn't see any other vehicles and didn't know if Mrs. Kincaid worked outside the home.

  When she finally felt ready to face him, she knocked on the door and waited. She was getting ready to knock again when she heard footsteps.

  "Kelly, what are you doing here?” Lou's brows pulled down in a frown when he opened the door.

  Well, so much for thinking he missed her. In fact, he didn't look at all happy to see her. She glanced to the side, willing her eyes not to tear. She just didn't need this.

  * * * *

  Lou's resolve not to be involved with Kelly dissipated completely when he opened the door and saw her standing there, shifting from foot to foot. He knew he should keep his distance, if only for her protection. But damn, she looked so good and he wanted her so bad.

  "I...” she started and Lou could hear the tremble in her voice.

  He didn't think; didn't consider the consequences. He just reached out and took her in his arms and kissed her, stopping any comment she would have made.

  There was no hesitation in Kelly as she leaned into him, returning his kiss with an almost desperate hunger. Kissing her was like coming home. It felt like he belonged here, wrapped in her arms, acknowledging the tease of her tongue on his lips by opening his mouth, taking her inside.

  "Oh, baby, I've missed you.” He sighed against her throat as he kissed a hot path down her neck.

  "Then why—"

  "Shh, not now.” He continued nibbling her soft skin, inhaling the scent of lemon. He cupped her breast, molding it to his hand, feeling the nipple pebble beneath his palm.

  "Lou, who was at the door?” His mom's voice broke through the passionate haze that enveloped him.

  "Shit.” He forced himself to take a step back, but he still felt her erotic pull. He took a deep breath, willing his voice to sound normal.

  "It's Kelly. I'm going to take her out to see the horses.” Before his mom could intercept them, he grabbed Kelly's hand and hurried her off the porch.

  "You seem recovered,” Kelly panted and he realized he was practically dragging her, his strides much longer than hers. He slowed somewhat but didn't stop. He had only one destination in mind.

  "I'm fine,” he answered her statement. The drug hadn't been enough to permanently harm him, and Lou was finally feeling more like his old self. Of course, the doc hadn't been too happy when Dom had picked him up from the hospital the morning after he had been admitted. He didn't have time to lie around in a hospital bed; he wanted to catch the bastards who were the cause of his problems.

  But those thoughts flew by the wayside as he entered the barn with Kelly in tow. The instant he stepped into the dim, musty interior, he turned and she walked right into his arms.

  "Lou, I didn't come out here for this.” She put both hands on his chest, but he noted she wasn't pushing very hard against him.

  "Do you have a problem if I did?” He had told himself over and over not to get involved; that he was a danger to her. But his body wasn't listening to what his head was telling him.

  The past week had been pure hell, and Dom had told him if he couldn't keep his mind on his work, he might end up back in the hospital. Ashford had made him put Tasha into the rotation and bring her up to speed on the investigation. He had done that, but he wasn't about to lie back and let others do his job.

  He had talked to Sheriff Todd Schmidt, giving him a description of both the Hispanic who had jumped him and th
e three guys at the bar. So far, Schmidt didn't have any leads other than he didn't think they were local because he knew everyone in five counties.

  Kelly put a palm against his cheek, then lightly slid a finger down the scar on his cheek. “Lou, tell me what's going on. Why didn't you call?"

  "I did, remember. Every day for two—"

  She smacked him on the chest with the flat of her palm. “Be serious."

  "Okay. I want to make seriously hot, passionate love to you, right here, right now."

  He watched her eyes dilate, and regardless of her head shaking at him and her mouth pursing into a frown, she was just as turned on as he was.

  "Remember that first time?” he questioned as he pulled her gently towards the loft ladder.

  "Lou,” she dragged his name out, but she followed him, albeit reluctantly. When he got to the ladder, he turned her around in front of it and pinned her there with his hands on the wood frame.

  "Tell me you don't want this, and I'll stop.” He said the words but didn't know if he could.

  She gave an exasperated little sigh. “Lou, it's not that I don't want this. I just don't think I can do a hit or miss, on again off again, affair."

  He knew what she was asking of him, but he couldn't tell her about his job without endangering her. He had to keep her safe, and the only way he thought he could do that was to stay away from her. Now that he realized what an asinine idea that had been, the best he could think of was to keep her ignorant. Because she was smart and curious, that would be difficult, unless he kept her distracted.

  That prospect he could handle. “Sweetheart, there's nothing to worry about,” he purred, “except maybe whether you can shinny up this ladder as fast as you did ten years ago."

  * * * *

  Kelly knew Lou was trying to distract her, and her body was more than willing to let him. In fact, her mind was shutting down as her senses came alive under his questing lips and she gave herself up to the passion he ignited. She would let Lou think she was easily persuaded, but she was not letting go of the idea that he was in some kind of trouble and he needed her help.

  "Up. Now,” Lou ordered hoarsely, turning her to face the ladder.