He cocked his head to the side. “Oh gosh, didn’t she tell you?” He came over and patted me on the arm. “I’m sorry man. I thought she would have called to let you know, given the whole debacle with your proposal.”
“What are you talking about?”
“That must have been awkward for you, getting a rejection like that, huh? I always said there was something hinky about her.”
“No, you didn’t. You were just jealous that she liked me more than you when we were growing up.”
Matt’s lips curved into a slight smile, his eyes narrowing in derision. “That may well be the case, but I hate to break the bad news to you, bro. She’s gone.”
“What? Gone where?”
“She took off a couple of days ago, said she needed a break.”
I couldn’t believe it. Did she really resent me that much that she couldn’t even stay to see through the fake marriage?
Matt patted me on the shoulder again. “Sorry dude. Looks like you’re going to forfeit the farm.”
I took a large glug of my beer and slumped down on the couch. “I thought she would at least call me. Her mom said that she would speak to her.”
“Yeah, well, it looks like she made up her mind.”
A black cloud seemed to descend over me. I just couldn’t take it in. “Well, if she’s not here, then I guess it means you’re going to get the farm. Congratulations Matt. I’m sure you’re very pleased with yourself.”
“Yes, I am. Aren’t you disappointed that I’ve won?”
All my energy had drained out of my body. I didn’t want to talk anymore. “No, man. It’s what you wanted. Anyway, I’m exhausted from all this traveling. I’m going to get an early night.”
I ignored my brother’s smirk as I trudged upstairs to my old bedroom. I lay down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. I must have dozed off because I woke with a start a while later. I could hear the front door being opened, so I went over to the window and saw Matt crossing the field with a plastic food container in his hand. I wondered where he was going at this time of night.
Sitting on the bed, I began to feel uneasy about the way Matt was behaving. Something seemed off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I lay back and tried to get some sleep, but sleep eluded me, and I tossed and turned for the rest of the night.
The next day, I went across the track to Lana’s parents’ house. Marta answered and greeted me with a huge hug.
“Oh, it’s so good to have you back!” She exclaimed. “Lana must be so excited to see you again.”
I frowned, confused. “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. I thought Lana had gone away for a few days?”
“No. She’s over at the farmhouse. She decided to move back in to wait for your arrival.”
“That’s strange. She’s not at the farmhouse. Matt said that she wanted to get away to think.”
Now it was Marta’s turn to look confused. “Matt said that? But why would he say such a thing? It was Matt who told me that Lana had moved into the farmhouse. He seemed to know all about what was going on, and was happy that you two were getting engaged for real.”
Alarm bells began to ring. “What? But I haven’t spoken to Lana since before I left.”
“But that doesn’t make sense. She said she was going to call you. She realized that she does love you after all.”
I ran my hand over my head, panic beginning to rise within me. “What? Marta, this is important. When did you last speak to Lana?”
“Two days ago. I mean, it’s unusual not to see her but I just assumed she was catching up on her studies at the farmhouse.”
“Marta, we need to find Julio. I think something has happened to Lana.”
“What do you mean?” Marta’s eyes were wide with terror.
“I don’t know, but I strongly suspect my brother has something to do with it.”
“Call Julio and tell him to come to the farmhouse immediately. I’ll meet you over there.”
Marta quickly dialed her husband’s number and I ran out of the small house and back towards the farmhouse. Matt was nowhere to be seen. I looked through every room in the house and checked the loft. There was no sign of Lana or Matt.
Frantically, I dialed her number on my cell. Downstairs, I could hear the faint sound of a ringtone. I dashed downstairs and searched in the vicinity of the sound. I found Lana’s cellphone in Matt’s coat pocket.
Julio and Marta arrived and I showed them the phone. “I don’t think Lana left at all. I think Matt’s hiding her somewhere.”
Marta’s hand shot up to her mouth. “Oh my God! We have to find her! If he’s hurt my daughter, I’ll kill him!”
“Not if I kill him first,” I snarled, through gritted teeth.
We ran out of the farmhouse and took off in different directions. I sprinted across the field towards the livestock sheds and checked inside. “Lana! Are you in here?” I checked every corner of the large building but there was no sign of her.
I could hear Julio shouting her name in the distance. I took off in the opposite direction. After checking more buildings there was still no sign of her. One of the farmhands came over to ask what was wrong.
“Have you seen Lana?”
“No Gabe. Last I saw her was two days ago. Not seen her since.”
“Where was she headed to.”
He pointed towards the creek.
I trudged through the mud as fast as my feet could take me, my eyes desperately searching for a clue. I saw the old original buildings down at the creek and sped up. The first building was empty, as was the second. I was just approaching the third building when I saw Matt coming out of the entrance and bolting the door behind him. I crouched behind an old piece of machinery and waited as he walked past, whistling nonchalantly to himself.
Once I was sure he was gone, I ran to the building and banged on the door. “Lana? Are you in there?”
I heaved the heavy bolt up and opened the door wide.
Lana covered her eyes with her hands. “Gabe? Is that you?”
I scrambled to the ground and she huddled into my embrace. “Oh my God, Lana! Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No,” she sobbed. “He just wanted to keep me here until it was too late to save the farm.”
I kissed her forehead and squeezed her tight. “I’m so sorry, Lana. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m so glad to see you Gabe Dawson. I’ve never been so glad to see someone in all my life.”
I cupped her face in my hands. “When I arrived, Matt told me that you had gone away to clear your head. When you didn’t call me, I just assumed that you didn’t want to talk.”
“He took my cellphone when he locked me in here. I was just about to call you when he grabbed it from me.”
“He told your mom and dad that you were staying over at the farmhouse, so they didn’t even know you had gone missing.”
“Oh my God, Gabe. He’s lost his mind!”
I hugged her again. “It’s okay. I’ve got you now. You’re safe.”
She buried her face in my chest and cried. I dialed Julio’s cell and told him that I had found his daughter. We arranged to meet back at the farmhouse.
“Are you okay to walk?” I asked her gently.
“Are you kidding? I could literally run away from this dank old building.”
She took my hand and we stood up together. On our way back to the farmhouse we bumped into Marta and Julio, and they had a joyous reunion.
After we finished hugging it out, Julio took me aside. “What are we going to do about this, Gabriel? I feel like wringing every last breath out of him with my bare hands.”
I nodded towards the farmhouse. “He doesn’t know that we found Lana. Marta should take her back to your own house. Call the Police. You come with me to talk to him.”
Marta took Lana back into their house and Julio and I continued on to the farmhouse. Before we entered, I turned to Julio. “Let me do the talking.”
Julio nodded grimly as I opene
d the door and we went inside.
Matt was sitting on the couch having a beer. He smiled pleasantly at us as we sauntered in.
“Hey fellas, come on in. Nice to see you Julio, there’s beer in the fridge if you want one.”
I casually walked to the fridge and pulled out two beers, handing one to Julio before setting the other one down on the table.
“Hey, Matt. Where did you say Lana was again?”
Matt froze for a moment before taking a gulp of his beer. “I don’t know exactly where she is dude. She could be anywhere.”
“But I thought you said she had gone away for a few days? Is that right?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“That’s real strange,” Julio interjected. “I could have sworn you told Marta that Lana was staying here.”
Matt shifted uncomfortably in his chair.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the cellphone. I found the number I was looking for and pressed the dial button. Matt’s cellphone rang in his pocket. He dug it out and checked to see who it was. The color drained from his face.
I smiled at him. “Aren’t you going to pick that up? It could be an important call.”
Matt gingerly pressed the answer button and held the cellphone up to his ear. “Hello?”
Still smiling, I held up Lana’s cellphone to my ear and spoke. “Why did you have Lana’s cellphone in your coat pocket, Matt?”
He gulped as I ended the call and slowly placed Lana’s cellphone on the coffee table.
Julio stepped forward. “I think you’ve got a lot of explaining to do, son.”
Matt’s eyes darted from Julio to me and back. I could practically see the cogs whirring in that devious brain of his. He stood up quickly and made for the door. Both Julio and I lunged for him and tackled him to the floor.
“What the hell were you thinking, you crazy sonofabitch!” I yelled into his ear. He struggled against us, but Julio pinned him down. “Did you honestly think that this was the answer to anything? I’m ashamed to call you my brother!”
Lana walked in with her mom and two police officers. She pointed to Matt. “The one being held down. That’s Matt Dawson. He’s the one who locked me up.”
Julio and I backed off as the police officers pulled Matt to his feet. They arrested him and bundled him out the door, all the time Matt was yelling at me and blaming me and dad for all of his ills.
Lana slid her arm around me and reached up to kiss me on the cheek. “Your brother has some serious anger problems he needs to work out.”
I kissed her back. “Don’t I know it. I’m just glad you’re okay, Lana. I don’t know what I would have done if he had hurt you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Lana
By the time mom and dad left the farmhouse I was ready to drop from exhaustion. Gabe helped me up the stairs and into the shower. I stood as he gently sponged me clean, taking care to wash all the dirt of the last two days out of my hair.
The water was warm and soothing on my stiff muscles. I moaned as he massaged my shoulders then placed a delicate kiss at the nape of my neck. As the water cascaded over us, I turned to look up into his beautiful blue eyes. Goosebumps appeared on my flesh and I shivered.
“Are you cold?” He asked, concerned.
“No. You’re just a sight for sore eyes.”
He broke out into a broad grin, which I matched with my own before pulling him towards me and kissing him as if my life depended on it. When we came up for air, he struggled to catch his breath. “I wasn’t sure I would ever get to experience that with you ever again,” he admitted.
I could feel his pain. “It’s safe to say that we’ve both been a little stupid over this whole thing.”
“That we agree on,” he conceded.
“And I think it’s safe to say that we’re now on the same page?”
He suddenly looked unsure. “I…think so?”
I tilted my head back and laughed. “Oh for goodness sake, Gabriel Dawson. Do I need to explain it to you?”
A smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth. “Maybe, a little.”
I got down on one knee and looked up at him. He took a sharp intake of breath as I leaned in and kissed the tip of his cock. “Will you marry me?” I asked, planting a kiss along his cock as I enunciated each word.
He stumbled against the wall in the shower and shuddered. “Uh, could you be a little more clear?”
I grinned and took his cock inside my mouth, slowly working it deeper inside and pulling back out again. He shivered violently. Smiling, I slid his cock inside my mouth again and began to swirl my tongue around the head, flicking the tip of my tongue on the glans. I gently took his balls in my hand and massaged them, my finger sliding over to his perineum, gently massaging that sweet, tender spot. He groaned and shuddered as I teased his balls with my fingers, and licked and sucked all the way down the length of his shaft.
It felt so good to have him in my mouth and I hummed in delight as I enveloped his shaft again. He seemed to like the vibrations when I hummed, so I continued to make the noise while moving into a rhythmic pattern, milking his cock with my mouth.
“Fuck, this feels so good,” I mumbled with my mouth full.
He grasped my hair and began to guide my head, and I let him control the pace and depth for a few minutes before I took him as deep as I could, and the tip of his cock hit the back of my throat.
As my throat closed and spasmed around him, he grunted loudly, and his eyes almost popped out of his head when I pulled back and looked up at him. I coughed violently and laughed at the same time.
“Well aren’t you talented, Ms. Torres!” He exclaimed, before he grabbed on to the wall of the shower as I dove back in and continued to suck him until he was at the point of no return. Just at that point, I withdrew completely and stood up, entwining my hands with his.
“Was that clear enough?” I licked my lips and grinned at him.
“Crystal, Ms. Torres.”
“Good,” I mouthed, before grasping his cock and stroking it with my hand. He pushed my hand out of the way and pulled me up off the ground and held me up against the shower wall, at waist height. I wrapped my legs around him and felt his rock hard cock probing my entrance. The anticipation of having him inside me again was almost too much to bear.
Once inside me he thrust long and deep. I buried my head in his shoulders and cried out as he rocked us back and forth, my fingernails digging into his back as I urged him to fill me up.
“Yes,” he growled as he carried me through to the bedroom and threw me down on the bed, water dripping from us both.
I tossed my head back and opened my legs. “Come on then, Mr. Dawson. You have your own bit of explaining to do.”
He flipped me over on to all fours and grasped my hips.
“Ouch!” I yelped, as his hand smacked my ass. Ooh, I kind of liked that.
He spanked me again, and I jumped as my flesh burned with the sting of his hand. Then he spanked me again, and again, and I found that after every hit, I was pushing my ass out for more.
“Well, aren’t you quite the kinky little miss,” He chuckled.
“You’re going to have to find out for yourself,” I retorted, before he landed a good and hard one on my ass cheek.
Before I could recover from the sting, he plunged his cock inside my dripping wet pussy and began to fuck me hard. He continued to spank me and I bucked against him, egging him on, willing him to hit harder. I never knew he could be like that and it thrilled me unlike anything I had ever experienced before.
I turned my head round to look at him and he had a determined look of satisfaction on his face. He ran his fingers through my hair and grasped a handful in his hand, pulling my head backwards in position as he fucked me.
The more vicious he became, the more I reacted to him. Before long, I was in a wild frenzy, bucking against him as hard as I could. Then he was on top of me, his weight bearing down, and I grasped hold of his arm and held tight as we found
our rhythm.
“Where have you been all my life?” He growled.
“South Dakota!” I quipped, earning another resounding slap on my ass.
Together, we fucked and fucked all over the bed, and on the floor, against the wall, and standing up, before we staggered on to the floor and lay panting, trying to catch our breath.
Finally, Gabe turned and patted my leg, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
“It would seem, Ms. Torres, that my father was right.”
Chapter Seventeen
Lana
We decided to marry the next day. We didn’t need a fancy wedding to prove our love. We married in the town hall with mom and dad as our witnesses. The day after that, Gabe was transferred the title and inherited the farm.
Mom and dad were relieved to still have a home and couldn’t stop thanking Gabe. It was nice to see them finally able to relax after everything that we had gone through.
A week later, we asked Matt to come over to the farmhouse. I had to admit I was worried about his reaction, but he seemed to have calmed down, and was genuinely sorry for all the trouble he had caused.
Gabe handled the meeting well. He offered Matt a portion of the land to develop in any way he chose, as well as funds from the estate to help him build his own house. Gabe also asked him to stick around and help with the management of the farm, since dad was nearing retirement. Matt was genuinely shocked to be offered anything and left the farmhouse in tears. We all agreed it would be best if he stayed with a friend for a while so that he could get his head straight.
A few weeks later, I asked Gabe to come on a special journey with me. He agreed, and so we came to be standing at Kyle’s grave in the cemetery. I slid my arm around him as we looked down at the headstone.
“You must be wondering why I brought you here?”
“I’m not sure, but I can guess.”
“Well, I just wanted you to be here with me as I say goodbye to my old life. I will never forget Kyle and he will always have a special place in my heart.”
Single Daddy's Valentine: (A Small Town Fake Fiancee Romance) Page 8