Betting on Love

by Alyssa Linn Palmer

  The man lunged up, sending Fleming back two paces, towering over him. “Piss off, you pig.”

  Fleming caught the man just above the elbow, turning him toward the door. The man shook free and shoved Fleming back. Elly stifled her gasp and hurried into the bar. Eric and Alex were working, and Alex looked at her in surprise.

  “El?”

  “Eric, Officer Fleming is dealing with Charity’s ex. I’m worried something’s going to happen.”

  “Dammit.” Eric followed her into the restaurant side to the hostess stand. Officer Fleming was there with another cop now, and they’d subdued Charity’s ex, who was sprawled on the floor, his hands cuffed behind his back.

  “Are you all right?” Elly asked, moving into the entryway. She stayed carefully clear of the man on the floor.

  “Just fine,” Fleming said. “Tell Charity she should talk to a lawyer about getting a restraining order. I’ll be happy to give my side if a judge has any issues.”

  “I’ll tell her.”

  “Come on, upsy-daisy.” The other cop helped Fleming hoist the man to his feet, and they took him out to their cruiser. Elly let out a breath.

  “Where’s Charity?” Eric asked, still staring after the strange threesome.

  “Upstairs. I should go talk to her,” Elly said, “let her know what happened.”

  “I have to get back to work, but if she needs a ride home later, I can take her.”

  “I’ll tell her.”

  Upstairs, Charity listened as Elly related all that had happened. “I can’t afford a lawyer.” She rubbed her eyes. “I wish I’d never met that asshole. But he seemed so nice.”

  “The next guy will be,” Elly said. “And by the way, Eric said he’d take you home later, if you needed a ride.”

  “That’s sweet of him.” Charity smiled as she pulled her dark hair back into a ponytail, smoothing it with her hands. “He’s about as sweet as Alex. You’re lucky to have her, you know.”

  Elly wasn’t entirely sure that was the case. “I don’t have her. We’re just friends.”

  “Don’t look like that,” Charity said. “She has to flirt with customers for the job and tips, and she’s always been a bit of a player, but so are we all. Just the way of the world in a restaurant, you know? She loves you. I’ve never seen her take any other girl for a ride on her bike. No one gets to ride. Except you.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Elly said. Her cheeks warmed and her heart did a little skip of joy.

  “Trust me,” Charity replied. She rose. “I know you have to get back to work, but come into the bar when you’re done, and I’ll buy you a drink.”

  *

  They stayed till closing, and Elly hadn’t had such a good time in a long time. Her cheeks hurt from grinning, her sides ached from laughing at Charity and Eric’s jokes. Alex came by to put in her two cents every spare moment she had, and each time she did, her hand would rest on Elly’s shoulder, or tease a lock of her hair. Elly felt each touch like a brand.

  When the doors were locked, she and Charity helped Eric and Alex tidy up, wiping tables and straightening chairs.

  “I’ve never gotten out so early,” Alex said as they walked across the parking lot to their vehicles.

  “All those extra hands,” Eric said. He put a hand on the small of Charity’s back. “You’re still up near the college, right?”

  “Yeah, in that apartment.”

  “It’s on my way home. See you guys tomorrow.”

  Elly paused at the driver’s side door of her car. Alex leaned against it. “It’d be a shame to end tonight. It’s still early.”

  Elly rested her hand on the door handle, debating. Spending the rest of the night with Alex would be fun, but that’s all it would be. She thought of Charity’s ex, and of what Charity had said about Alex, that she was a player. Maybe if she didn’t expect anything more, then she and Alex could just have some fun. Tonight. Tonight only.

  Alex leaned closer, giving her a nudge, seeming to realize she was teetering. “My place, or yours?”

  Elly thought of the paper-thin walls at her place, the way she heard every movement of the tenants upstairs. She’d have to leave Alex’s place later, but she could deal with that. Just tonight. “Yours. I’ll follow you there.”

  “See you in a few.” Alex pushed off the car, sliding her arm around Elly’s waist. They kissed, and Elly slid her hands inside Alex’s leather jacket. She could smell Alex’s perfume and the leather, and she loved it.

  “Get a room!” Eric called across the parking lot. They broke apart, and Alex laughed.

  “You’re just jealous,” she called back.

  “You bet.”

  Elly heard Charity’s laugh.

  “Come on, babe, let’s go home.” Alex headed to her bike, and Elly unlocked her car door and slid inside. She followed the bike’s taillight out of the parking lot and, in what seemed no time at all, pulled up in front of Alex’s place.

  They barely made it inside before they were kissing again, dropping jackets, stumbling down the hallway toward the bedroom. When she nearly tripped over her trousers as they slid down to her ankles, Elly put a hand out and leaned against the wall to pull them off. She left them in a puddle on the floor and Alex tugged her forward again, into the bedroom.

  “If I’d had a few minutes to spare, I’d have taken you into the storage room at work and locked the door,” Alex confided, her voice husky.

  “You wouldn’t.” Elly looked at her in surprise.

  “I would have.” Alex chuckled. “Don’t look so surprised. You think that’s never happened to anyone at Parry’s?”

  Elly thought of the diner back home, where something like that would have gotten out to the entire town if it had happened. “And no one notices?”

  “If they do notice, they don’t really care,” Alex said, catching the hem of Elly’s shirt and pulling it over her head. Elly shivered in the cool air, dressed only in her underwear. She sat on the bed and pulled the throw from the end of the bed around her as Alex undressed, tossing her clothes into the hamper.

  “It wasn’t this cold last time,” Elly said as Alex turned back toward her.

  “I turn the heat down to save money,” Alex said. “We can crawl under the covers if you want.”

  Elly rose and Alex pulled back the coverlet and sheet. She slid under and Alex slid in beside her, flopping the blankets over them.

  “Now, where were we?” Alex’s cool fingers found Elly’s bare stomach and moved lower, stroking the insides of her thighs. Elly found herself getting warmer, and she shifted onto her back, letting her legs relax and fall open.

  Alex slipped a finger into Elly’s wetness. “You’re warm now,” she said. “But you need to get warmer.” She ducked under the covers and pulled them back up so Elly was covered to her neck. Elly could feel Alex’s warm breath on her skin, and the large lump under the cover went lower and lower.

  When Alex’s tongue flicked her clit, Elly started in surprise, then relaxed. She tried not to giggle at the silliness of it all, seeing the lump that was Alex moving under the covers, the tickle of her fingers down Elly’s thighs, but finally the ludicrousness of it all made her burst out laughing. Her breath caught in her throat as Alex took her clit into her mouth, sucking hard, her teeth rasping gently against the sensitive flesh. Elly gripped the coverlet in both hands and tilted her hips up, feeling the tremor in her belly, the need building.

  She tried to keep her legs still, tried to keep from accidentally stifling Alex under the blankets, and she shook from the effort.

  Alex’s fingers curled up into Elly’s G-spot, stroking in time with her movements on Elly’s clit, and that was all it took. Elly gasped, and the gasp turned into a whimper as the orgasm swept through her. Perspiration prickled behind her knees, at the small of her back, between her shoulder blades.

  Alex moved up, poking her head out from the covers, her black hair in static-charged disarray. “Warm now, aren’t you?” she teased, and Elly s
tarted to laugh.

  She reached out, stroking Alex’s hair, trying to smooth out the errant strands, and failing miserably. She laughed, a deep belly laugh. “Down to my toes,” she said between laughs. “You look a sight.”

  Alex came up beside her, resting on the pillow. “The curse of long hair,” she said, tweaking one of Elly’s curls.

  “I guess.” They looked at each other and Elly swore that the tension crackling between them wasn’t just the remnants of Alex’s static electricity.

  Alex took her hand, and a spark arced between them. “Your hands are warm too,” she said, bringing Elly’s hand to her lips, her tongue darting out, lightly teasing the tips of her fingers. She moved Elly’s hand down to her chest, and Elly took over from there, cupping Alex’s left breast, her thumb stroking over the nipple until it puckered. She leaned forward, her lips tracing where her hand had been, her hand moving lower, under the covers.

  Elly felt the curve of Alex’s hip, the hollow of the inner hip bone, and then the soft curve of her belly, which tensed as she moved her hand over it, relaxing when she stopped and just rested it there. Ignoring Alex’s indrawn breath, she teased both of her nipples, one after the other, bringing the pink peaks to attention. She pretended to have forgotten that her hand rested on Alex’s belly, feeling Alex shift and squirm under her, tilting her hips, doing everything she could short of asking for Elly to move her hand lower. Kissing the spot between Alex’s breasts, Elly smiled to herself and finally moved her hand.

  Alex’s relieved sigh was worth the wait.

  She’d give Alex a mind-blowing orgasm, then leave her wanting more.

  *

  Alex’s bones felt like liquid, and she sank into the soft bed, Elly beside her. She could fall asleep like this, in the warmth, and the heady afterglow. Never had she felt so content, not with Will, not with Jan, or any of the others she’d taken home from the bar, and definitely not with Heather.

  The realization came to her as she lay there under the duvet, Elly by her side.

  This was more than just sex. Not just friends with benefits.

  Alex’s heart stuttered and skipped a beat, and her free hand, the one not resting on Elly’s thigh, tensed and fisted in the sheet.

  She heard Elly sigh, felt her shift and turn over. Then Elly threw back the cover and slid out, standing beside the bed.

  Alex sat up. “You’re leaving?”

  Elly gave her a startled look, as if she thought Alex had lost it. And maybe she had. “I always go home to sleep.”

  “Stay?” Alex said, patting the bed.

  “You sure?” Elly asked, sounding hesitant.

  Was she? She wasn’t entirely sure, but she’d come this far.

  “I’m sure.”

  The smile on Elly’s face was worth it.

  “Right. I’ll be back.”

  Alex flopped back on the bed after Elly had ducked out of the room, letting out a breath. She heard water running in the bathroom. When Elly came back, she turned out the light and slid back into bed, and they shifted and moved together until they were both comfortable.

  Elly shifted one more time. “Sorry, my foot was tingly.”

  “No problem.” Alex found herself shifting again so that their feet touched but there was a bit of space between their torsos. She heard Elly yawn.

  “Good night, Alex.”

  Alex closed her eyes, listening to Elly’s breathing. “Good night, El.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  The road ahead stretched before her, and Elly put her foot on the gas, though she knew she would be over the limit. Maybe Alex’s habits were rubbing off on her. She still couldn’t quite get her head around Alex inviting her to stay the other night. As much as she wanted to call Alex and ask her outright, she couldn’t. She wanted to get back to the farm and meet with Hamilton, go over the contract and see Noreen, and then start the business of packing. Her stomach twinged and she gripped the steering wheel. Selling the farm to Hamilton was the best she could do, and the money meant she could start over, settle into the city and take the time to get a real job, not just waitressing. Her parents might have been disappointed, but they weren’t here now to tell her otherwise.

  Noreen met her at the farm, a folder under her arm, and they settled at the kitchen table after Elly put the kettle on for tea.

  “I’ll be honest with you,” Noreen said as she opened the manila folder, taking out several stapled documents, “word’s gotten around about your selling to Hamilton Farms. I don’t think it’s going to go over well.”

  “I know Jack is not happy about it,” Elly replied, “but that’s his problem.”

  “I don’t think it’s just Jack,” Noreen said tactfully. “I ran into Mrs. Calderwood in town earlier while I was grabbing a coffee, and she told me that she was disgusted you’d sell to a man like Hamilton.” She handed Elly the first, thickest document. “This is the purchase agreement.”

  Elly looked down at it, the legalese in endless paragraphs on the page, blurring into a mass of incomprehension. She flipped through it slowly, but even though she read carefully, a lot of it was over her head. “What did Mrs. Calderwood mean, a man like Hamilton? Does she know him?” Her decision was hard enough, but to know that Mrs. Calderwood disapproved made it all the worse. A breeze blew in the open window, bringing with it the scent of the fields, that mix of loam and damp grass. The scent of home.

  Noreen shrugged. “She probably does—she seems to know everyone. I suppose she’s worried about a corporation taking over the land. They’re not exactly good stewards most of the time, you must admit, even though they say they are. You’re pretty close to town, and it’d affect them.”

  Elly frowned. “I figured he wants to use it for a cattle ranch.”

  “Cattle are all right, and a ranch is decent. I suppose the flat home quarter and the next one over are what he’s eyeing. And you have river access too.”

  “We’ve never had cattle here,” Elly said. “My father always grew crops.” She paused on a page. “Can I specify what they can use the land for, if they buy it?”

  “Afraid not,” Noreen replied. “Aside from environmental issues, they’ll use it for whatever they need it for.”

  “Have you read this?” Elly indicated the agreement. She rose from the table and went to pour their tea, then brought the cups back.

  “I did. It’s standard. And they’ve given me copies of the documents they’ll register against the title until the sale goes through. You’ll have to sign the agreement, then sign the documents to transfer title.”

  Elly looked up, her gaze going to the window and out over the expanse of fields, her hand cradling her cup. Could she?

  “Take your time with it,” Noreen urged. “There’s no rush, at least, not quite yet. I don’t think Hamilton will wait forever, but you have a few days at least.”

  “Is it a good price, do you think?”

  “Half a million? It’s nothing to sniff at. If the farmhouse was in better shape, you might have sold it to a family, since it’s big enough to hold a whole crew of kids.”

  A family. Her heart ached, but she tried to ignore it. What if a family had offered for it? That was how the farm should be. But she was being an idealist, like her mother. “It does need work,” Elly admitted, acknowledging the worn floors, the somewhat threadbare carpet on the stairs, and the general aged feeling of the place. But it was home. She swallowed. Soon it wouldn’t be home at all.

  Noreen rose. “I’ll leave you for now. Read over the agreement, and then give me a call.”

  “I will.” Elly walked Noreen to the door, then watched as she got into her truck and drove away. She was about to go back into the house when she saw Jack’s truck rumbling up from the opposite direction. Would he ever leave her alone? He pulled into the driveway and got out, slamming his door with a bit more force than necessary.

  “So you’re going to sell,” he said, not giving her a chance to say hello. “And to Hamilton, of all people.”
>
  “I can’t stay here forever, Jack,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “But to Hamilton? Do you know what his farm corporation does?”

  “Ranching mostly, isn’t it? Cattle?”

  Jack made a face. “If only that was all of it.”

  Elly had no idea what he meant. Her father had been the one who had kept abreast of other farms, not her. “Then, what?”

  “Feedlots, El. Hamilton’s been trying to buy up land since the slaughterhouse in Fort Macleod expanded.”

  “But they don’t do cattle—”

  “You really want your land to be used as a feedlot for horses? Where do you think the old horses go, or the unwanted ones, or those wild ones you see? It’s barbaric. No one should be eating those animals, killing them.”

  Elly stepped back at the vehemence in his voice. “Hamilton didn’t say anything about that to me,” she said, knowing she sounded defensive. Her stomach churned. A smelly, cramped feedlot, with confused and panicking horses, on their way to slaughter.

  “Of course he wouldn’t.” Jack’s tone was scornful. “He probably painted some pretty picture, a small cattle ranch, all that nonsense.”

  “Well…”

  “Thought so.”

  “I haven’t had any other offers on it,” Elly pointed out. “Do you have half a million dollars?”

  “You know I don’t. But I’d pay in installments,” Jack offered. “And you know I’m good for it.”

  “Installments won’t help me, though, Jack,” she said. “How can I start a new life if I can’t afford to live?”

  “Your big fancy job in the big fancy city should take care of that.”

  “It isn’t that easy, and it’s not a big fancy job,” she retorted. She felt behind her for the handle of the screen door. “I need to go back in, I have work to do.”

  Jack lingered at the foot of the porch steps, his hands in his pockets. “Don’t sell to Hamilton, El,” he said. “Hold on to the land longer. Someone else could want to buy it, and it wouldn’t have to be a feedlot.”