I was about to speak, but my lawyer beat me to it. “Don’t think too long. Sheriff said after tomorrow, he can’t make the charges go away.”
We were told we weren’t being recorded. So my lawyer had given it to her straight.
“Let the sheriff know your decision and I’ll bring the paperwork back for you to sign,” he declared.
She glanced at me like she was a wounded puppy. I wasn’t affected like I used to.
“You aren’t coming back?” she asked me.
“No. This is the last time we’ll ever see each other as far as I’m concerned.”
“Jake…” Her dramatic pause only had me rolling my eyes until I met hers. “I did love you.”
I chuckled because it was utter bullshit. “Too bad I can’t say the same. The person I thought I loved never really existed, did she?”
I didn’t wait for an answer. I got to my feet. But before I could exit, the door was open enough for me to hear her say, “Rory told me once he stuttered as a child.”
Then the door closed and I tried not to think about what she said. For all I knew, she was taunting me again, pressing my buttons when she knew she had no other card to play.
I waited outside as my lawyer stayed in there a few more minutes.
Sheriff Taylor walked over. “How’d it go?”
I shrugged. “She doesn’t deserve to be set free.”
“She won’t.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he continued.
“I can drop the assault charges, but she was found with several illegal substances that are logged into our system. I can’t make it all go away.” He winked. “That’s why you needed to get down here today. I’ll explain things to her when we take her to court tomorrow. She’ll see she’s getting a better deal. Without the assault, the court might be more lenient on a first-timer.”
My lawyer came out and snagged my arm. “I need to talk to my client.”
Sheriff tipped his head and I was led outside.
“What the hell was that all about? Adopting a kid?”
“I didn’t think,” I said.
“You’re damn right you didn’t. She wants cash.”
I half laughed. “Of course she does.”
My lawyer looked pensive.
“It might make it easier if you give it to her.”
There was no way. “She can rot in jail before I give her anything more than lenience.”
He studied me. “There’s no guarantee she’ll be found guilty.”
I shrugged. “That’s a chance I have to take.”
“You’re being bull-headed. But I’ll do what you want.”
What I wanted was to erase Tara’s presence over the last few days. What I wanted was to bury myself deep in Honey and forget Tara existed.
“Did you hear me?”
I jerked my head up and he asked me again the question I missed.
“Are you confident Jamie is yours?”
I wanted to say yes. I wanted to believe she was biologically mine. But the truth could be far different.
15
Honey
When Jake walked in well after dinner, the sun had disappeared behind the horizon. His smile barely reached his eyes when he saw Ford and Jamie playing Candy Land. He went over and rested a hand on his father’s arm before placing a kiss on Jamie’s head. Then he came over to me and kissed my cheek, greeting me warmly. But I knew something was troubling him.
I didn’t pry, not yet. I let him eat his dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. He disappeared in his office and I rounded up Jamie to get her ready for bed. Once that was done, I had Ford read Jamie a story while I went in search of Jake.
There was something we needed to talk about. I knocked softly before entering at his “Come in.”
He sat behind the huge desk, but it didn’t diminish him. Rather he looked even more imposing with his hand holding up a paper he was reading. I gave him a minute and finally he glanced up. He set the paper down.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, now wholly focused on me.
“Nothing.” Nervously, I clasped my hands. “I just had an idea.” I wasn’t sure how he would take it, so I just blurted it out. “I thought maybe you should get a security system.”
He sat back and his brows furrowed. “You don’t feel safe?”
“No,” I backtracked. “It’s not to keep anyone out. It’s more to—”
“Keep someone in,” he finished for me, piecing it together.
“More to keep tabs on… Ford. He disappeared the other day and they have these self-contained systems that don’t need outside monitoring you can buy online. We could use it to alert us if someone opens a door. Then with security cameras, we’d be able to see where…”
“He went?”
I nodded. “It would be an app on our phone. We would get instant footage if he was leaving because you and I alone can’t watch him twenty-four hours a day. You need to sleep, shower, pee, and work.”
“And you too.”
I lifted my shoulders and let them fall. “It’s my job.”
“Again, not twenty-four hours a day. It’s a good idea. Can you show me the system you’re interested in?”
I’d bookmarked a few on my phone and pulled it out to show him. He waved me over. When I just came forward to reach across the desk, he snagged my hand and drew me to his side of things. Then I was in his lap.
His lips met mine hungrily and voraciously like he’d eaten his dinner. I felt like I’d walked over hot coals, I was so turned on. He pulled back.
“I’ve wanted that all day.”
“So you say.” The smile I gave him was as flirtatious as my words.
“Maybe you should show me your pictures before we christen Dad’s desk.”
I giggled but brought my screen in view and pointed out the highlights of each system.
“Reasonable,” he said.
We were interrupted when Ford ducked his head in. “Is it safe?”
We’d both forgotten that I hadn’t closed the door. I tried to scoot off Jake’s lap, but he tightened his hold around me.
“I remembered where I put it,” Ford declared.
“Put what?” Jake asked, as his father came into the room and made a beeline to a file cabinet on the far side of the desk. I widened my eyes at Jake, silently pleading he let me go. He only grinned.
“Dad taught me all about the birds and the bees. He knows what’s going on. And if you sit here, maybe he’ll hurry up and leave me alone.”
Jake laughed when I playfully slapped at his arm.
“That’s right. I also taught my son to always keep a good woman close lest any man get other ideas.” Ford turned to face us with a twinkle in his eyes. “I found it.”
He held up some papers and then plunged into a story that astounded us both.
“I played cards with old Woodrow along with others before he married Jacque. There was this one night I was on a roll. Woodrow was nearly out of money but determined to win back all he lost. On the last hand, everyone had else had folded except us. Woodrow was sure he would win. He wagered more than he had on the table. I let him make the bet sure he’d win and he could get back some of the money. He laid out a full house with kings and queens. But I had four aces.”
“What’d you do?” Jake asked.
“He was a proud man. He told everyone right there that he would pay me the money he owed me and would use the farm as a lien. Old man Landry was there.” Landry was my current family lawyer’s father. This must have happened before he passed the reins down to his son. “He had him draw up the loan. Woodrow stipulated the terms. He would pay me back with interest until he was paid off or the farm would come to me upon his death, whichever came sooner.”
Ford held up the paper. Jake set me on my feet and walked over to his father to study the document.
“How much did he bet?” I asked absently.
Ford looked at me. “A lot. Martha wouldn’t have been pleased. Then you add the interest.”
He shrugged.
“Did he pay?” Jake asked, handing it back.
Although we both assumed since he was telling us this story, it was likely the man hadn’t.
“No, he didn’t. I never had the intention of taking his farm away.”
Jake pointed at the paper he held. “So why are you showing me this?”
Then the conversation became a match between father and son.
“I thought maybe you could use this as leverage.”
Jake started shaking his head. “I will not coerce her.”
“Son, I’m not asking you to strong-arm her, but you can use it as a tool.”
I’d never seen them at odds. So I moved over to where they stood near the front of the desk and faced Jake.
“What’s going on?”
Jake, whose brows were knitted together, turned fierce eyes on me.
“I guess you should know what you could be marrying into. It’s sink or swim time in this household. We’re doing fine now, great even. But that means we are in demand. I need to raise more cattle in order to fill future orders. If I can’t, my buyers will take their current and future orders elsewhere.”
“That means more land,” I said.
“Yes, I need it for cattle to graze on—accessible land. I have two options.” He pointed out the front window. “The Ned’s land bumps up to ours, but there is a narrow pass to get there.” He pointed in the opposite direction to the wall. “Or Jacque’s land and she wants to sell.”
“And be your wife,” I added.
He grudgingly nodded.
I glanced at Ford. “And you think if you shared this document, you could persuade her to sell especially since technically it’s your land.”
Ford nodded and Jake balked.
“If you wanted that land, you could have taken it.”
“I could have. Honestly, I’d forgotten about that. Shortly after, his first wife died. Bets were the last thing on our minds,” Ford said.
I turned to Jake and took his hands in mine. “Let me talk to her.”
There was hurt in his eyes. “You agree with him?”
“It’s not about sides. This is about your ranch, your family, your daughter. I’m not saying seize the land out from under her and leave her penniless. But maybe she can see reason. It’s not like she doesn’t want out. You aren’t forcing her off of land she wants to stay on it.”
His fingers slipped through mine before he tossed them up in the air.
“Fine. But I’ll talk to her. I’ll make my offer again, but if she doesn’t accept, I will not take the land by force.”
Ford grumbled something, handed the document to Jake, and left.
I slipped my hand up to cup Jake’s cheek. “Are you mad?” I asked him once we were alone.
He covered mine with his own. “No. I just hate the idea of this.”
The contract he held shook in his hand.
“Don’t do it then.”
He blew out a breath that fanned my hair.
“But what you said is right. I would do whatever I have to in order to protect my daughter’s future. But I won’t compromise my principles.”
Then he kissed me soundly, leaving me to melt against him.
“You know, Ford helped me flip your mattress over and I put fresh sheets on the bed.”
“Did you, now?” he asked. I nodded. “And what if I want to sleep in your bed?”
“That’s fine with me as long as you’re with me.”
“Now that’s the best thing I’ve heard all day,” he said.
He moved in to kiss me, but a tiny voice stopped any further debauchery.
16
Jake
“Daddy, is Mommy coming back?”
Honey and I traded a knowing glance before she excused herself from the room. I’d kind of hoped to avoid this conversation until I had concrete information to give.
I was also surprised it hadn’t come up. Then again, it was likely she’d talked to Dad and he’d given her some answer that had appeased her until now.
“Grandpa said she had to go away for a while.”
She clutched at a bear that had seen better days. It was missing an eye and looked like it had been through a hurricane, with matted fur that spiked in areas. I’d given that to her when she was small and told her he would protect her from all the monsters she’d feared that came out at night.
I drew her over to a chair and I sat to pull her up in my lap.
“Sweetheart, your mom won’t be around for a while.” I couldn’t crush her spirit and say forever. “But you can write to her.”
She didn’t latch onto that. Instead, she asked a different question.
“Does she like me?”
Though she hadn’t stuttered, she had slowly spoken the words.
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “Of course she does. What’s not to love?”
My daughter didn’t ask more questions about Tara.
“Can Honey be my mommy then?”
I felt the smile grow on my face. “Maybe?”
“Can I a-ask her?”
I could image Honey’s face. But the last thing I wanted was for Honey to agree to marry me because Jamie wanted her as a mommy. Though it felt good to know that my daughter was agreeable to having Honey in our lives permanently.
“I think you should just tell her how you feel.”
I brushed a hand down her head.
“T-t-that I w-want her as a mommy?”
I shook my head. “Tell her how you feel here.”
I pointed to the center of my chest.
“That I love her?”
I nodded and my girl gave me the biggest smile. She scooted off my lap and skipped to the door. I grinned to myself about to go peek in on the conversation when the call came.
“Yeah, Landry?”
He didn’t beat around the brush.
“She signed.”
Those were the best words my lawyer had delivered to me.
“She agreed to everything? It’s done?”
“She tried for money, but I held firm like you asked. So it will be finalized once I file the paperwork in the morning.”
“Can you go first thing? Once she finds out she’s not being released, she may try to back out.”
I explained what Sheriff Taylor had told me.
“Fine, but I’m billing you extra for all of these after hours.” I laughed. “Don’t get too happy. I’ll be sending you my bill tomorrow.”
I chuckled because it was worth it.
By the time I made it to the living room, Jamie and Honey were locked in an embrace. Honey’s eyes opened and held mine. Her grin was equally as dazzling as my daughter’s.
“Can you read me a story tonight?” Jamie asked her.
“Of course.” Honey held out her hand and Jamie took it. “I watched my girls go.”
There was only one more thing I had to do and then everything would be right in the world.
17
Honey
I hadn’t gone to Jake’s room after reading Jamie a story. She had asked me the most startling question. She wanted me to be her mommy. She said her dad told her not to ask me. But she said me being her mommy was what was in her heart.
Jake, Jamie, and Ford had been heaven sent. I was thanking my lucky stars when I opened my door. There sitting on my bed was Jake.
He waved me over and I went. The damn man was way too sexy to say no to. He pulled me in his lap.
“What’s it with you and me on your lap.”
He moved his hips, his erection evident on my ass.
“Why do you think?”
God, this man.
“Sugar—”
“Dammit, I love it when you call me that.”
His voice was rough and husky.
“Sugar… sugar… sugar,” I taunted.
“Stop talking.”
He drew my head down to ravage my mouth. His tongue swept in with purpose and determination. His punishing k
iss was like a brand, marking me as his.
“You’re mine, Honey. Now and forever.”
Then he tipped back, taking me with him. Stealthy, he rolled me underneath him to grind that very male part of him between my thighs. Then he was nudging my legs open to settle in between them.
“I need you,” I begged.
It was one of those times where pride didn’t matter. His teasing was only making me needy, more than I’d ever been before.
“Please,” I cried again.
He wasn’t an egomaniac, but a damn smirk that was far too sexy bloomed on his face.
“Please what?”
“Fuck me,” I said in the crudest way.
Apparently, he liked it and didn’t wasting time either. My clothes disappeared like he was a magician. Then after protecting us from who shall not be named, he was inside me.
I couldn’t get enough of this man and the way he made not only my body feel, but my heart. I didn’t think I’d ever been so happy.
When I came, he swallowed my screams at the same time healing my heart with his love. What was I waiting for? All I needed to do was say yes, and my life would be complete. But the words didn’t come. I hoped they would before he gave up on me.
A week or so later, when Jake stirred early as usual, I reached for him, not ready for him to go.
“Come with me this afternoon?”
I reluctantly opened my eyes. “Where?” I asked sleepily.
“I need you with me.”
Jake didn’t often ask for anything. So even without an answer to my question, I couldn’t say no. Then he was gone and it was time for my day to begin.
After breakfast, I dusted, passing the time.
Ford so far hadn’t needed me full time for care. In fact, he’d started to do little projects around the house to keep his mind busy. As I worked on a grocery list for us and the hands’ bunkhouse, he came over to the counter and sat on a bar stool.
“I think it’s time to buy new furniture,” he announced.
That was random. At first I feared he’d slipped into the past as he sometimes did.
“Tired of the old furniture?” I asked.
Ford and all his wisdom held my gaze. “It’s time you and Jake make this your home.”
Sugar: A Single Dad Romance (Honey Book 2) Page 7