by Aliyah Burke
She ended the call and shoved her phone back into her pocket.
“Stop here,” Vic said. “We’ll walk the rest of the way.” She paid the driver and urged Laciee out to the sidewalk. “Come on, let’s go grab a drink.”
“We have to get to your parents’.”
“We will be fine, you need this.” She slipped her arm through Laciee’s.
“Thanks, Vic.”
“You know I have your back. I’m sorry about this rift between you and Karis, but perhaps you need your space for a bit longer.”
“Perhaps.”
The sourness in her gut gave her more than a bit of doubt on that subject.
* * * *
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Judd asked Cian.
“Scared of having me near by, bro? I’ll try not to hog all the women. Although it will be hard for them to resist my Irish charm.” He stared down at his chest and affixed the badge. “I’ve been meaning to have something a bit slower in my life and seems like life in Branchwater is a lot slower than what I’ve been doing for the past six years.”
Judd crossed his arms and stared at the man who was becoming Branchwater’s next sheriff. “I don’t need any women, thank you.”
Cian finished fixing the star on his chest and returned to packing up Randall Bolton’s personal effects. Judd stared out the window and up the street. Changes had come to this town. Bolton had been taken out in handcuffs for his part in the cattle rustling and poisoning. Two of his deputies had also been arrested. That side of his life had since calmed down. What hadn’t was the need he had in his body for Laciee.
There’d been no communication with her since the night her father had shown up on his property. Laciee. He’d been swamped with running his ranch and getting it back on track after all the other side distractions that had been going on. Rosa continued to give him the silent treatment, and he wasn’t sure what to do with her. He realized she missed Laciee, but he wasn’t the one who left. That had been all Laciee, vanishing with nothing more than a note.
He clenched a fist. Off somewhere with that Italian bastard.
“You know you could just go after her,” Cian offered his opinion.
Whirling to face him, Judd lifted an eyebrow. “Go after her?”
The man flashed a smile. “Stop acting like you don’t know what I’m talking about. Or rather who. Laciee.”
“She left.”
“What is it with men and being too fucking scared to go after what they want?” Derision filled the feminine voice that spilled into the room.
Vic stood there in another body hugging dress that accentuated her curves in stunning fashion.
“Vic,” he said. “Is Laciee with you?”
“No. She’s in New York, pouting like you’re doing here. I’m tired of it. I’m seconds from kicking you in the balls for what you said to her so you have three seconds to explain yourself.” She flicked her eyes over Cian. “Irish.”
“Hello, gorgeous.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Judd protested.
“Bullfuckingshit. You said something about her and my brother.” Vic stepped closer, and he nearly covered himself in defense. “Let me let you into a little secret. Gian is more likely to come after you than he is Laciee. She’s one of my family. We took her in when she arrived in New York. She’s one of us. Hell, my mama wanted her to change her name to Carracci, but Laciee said she was keeping Dupree. Either way, she’s family. You basically called her out, saying she’s no different than her mother, just because she was around a handsome man. Laciee isn’t anything like that and since again, she’s too gentle, here I am back in this damn town to try and make her happy.”
“You can make me happy,” Cian added in.
“I don’t think you can handle this, Irish,” she said, without missing a beat. “So, I need to know if you’re going to grow up and go after what you want, or do I have to get her back down here? I’m tired of the tears from her and the despondent behavior from you. You’re the key to her happiness because she’s in love with you, but given how much rejection she’s had in her life she won’t put herself out there again, it won’t happen. I’m sure she’s going to be pissed I came here, but I am at the end of my giving a damn rope.” She poked him in the chest. “Be a man and go get the woman you want.” She tossed her hands up. “Christ, couples are too damn much.”
Pivoting on her heels she strode back to the door.
“Need a ride, gorgeous?” Cian called.
Vic stopped in the doorway and glanced over her shoulder. “Aren’t you busy, Irish?”
“Never too busy for you. Besides, I think my brother could use some time to think something out for himself.”
Her lips kicked up slightly. “Let’s go then.”
Judd watched Cian hurry to the door and Vic before they both vanished. He didn’t care. All he’d focused on was the fact she’d said Laciee loved him.
He swiped his hat off the desk and went for the door in a few long strides.
* * * *
Ding. Dong.
Laciee slid the tray of baked ziti into the oven and bumped the door shut with her heel. Pushing the button on the timer, she left her phone there and padded to the door to answer it. She wasn’t sure who it would be. Vic had a key to her place and tended to walk in without asking prior.
For the second time in one year she was stunned to see the person on the other side of her door. Karis. Her half sister’s tatty jeans fit her in a way only Karis could pull off. Her oversized sweatshirt made her look smaller still and the tips of her brown cowboy boots peeked out from the bottom of her pant legs.
She glared at Laciee and pushed by her, letting herself into the apartment.
“Come on in, why don’t you,” Laciee said.
“I don’t know why the fuck you thought hanging up on me would mean the conversation would be over.” She dropped her bag on the floor and shoved the door closed with her hand. “I would think after all these years you would know me a bit better than that. So, if you want to act like the spoiled brat, then fine, I’ll be the adult and come to you. That way, when you’re done with this fucking self-pity I’ll already be here to talk.” Karis crossed her arms and dared her with nothing more than a look to say anything.
“Wyatt know you’re up here?”
“Unlike you, who runs off in the dark, I told him.”
The jab was a good one, and she fought the wince. “Is that what this is going to be, you pointing out how pathetic and bad I’ve been? Because if it is, pick your goddamn bag up and get out.”
“No.” Karis took herself to the couch and stretched out on it. “I’m staying. Like it or not, Laciee, we’re family. You don’t just get to decide we aren’t anymore. It doesn’t work that way.”
“Apparently it does if you go by your father’s actions.”
Karis exploded from the sofa and glared at her, hands propped on hips. “He’s not perfect. I get that. But at least he tried, Laciee.”
She rolled her eyes. “Too little, too late for me. I don’t need him now.”
“Of course not, the almighty Laciee Dupree has done it all on her own and needs no one in her life.”
“Exactly,” she snapped.
“You’re so full of shit. If that were the case, you wouldn’t be so close to Vic and her family.”
Laciee fisted her hands. “So what, I’m not allowed to have friends now, mom? If I’m not going to talk to the family, I should be in my room alone?” Sarcasm dripped off her tone.
“Christ, you’ve become a whiny bitch. Get over it. Shit happened. I never stopped loving you. I’m sorry that when I was a teenager I didn’t stand up to my father or mother to defend you. Okay, I was horrible. I get it, and I’ll most likely burn in hell.”
“Oh stop trying to be a goddamn martyr. It’s not at all becoming.”
“Then why are you doing it?”
“Because I’m allowed, goddamn it! Not you. Not you, who grew up in the large h
ouse with the servants. Me, the one who grew up in the clapboard house with the whore drug addict mother that tried to sell me to feed her habit. Me, the one who lost her grandmother, the only one who protected me. The one who then had to fend off the guys at school because they wanted to sample something of the Dupree line.” She took a deep shuddering breath. “The one who ate alone in the cafeteria because I wasn’t allowed to sit with others. That’s who.”
Karis stood there matching her glare for glare. “Feel better now?”
“Not really, no.”
“That’s not who you are, Laciee. That helped shape you, but you need to stop letting that define you. You’re so much more than that.” She took a few steps toward Laciee. “Look at you”—she waved a hand around—“you’re living in New York. You have a wonderful job that from all accounts you love. You’re surrounded by friends and family and are no longer alone. Vic, Gian, their entire family—they would have come to Texas for you if you’d not told them you were okay. Why can’t you focus on that, Laciee, instead of the one who left Branchwater scared?”
“Because we’re one and the same.”
“No,” she said, wrapping Laciee in a hug. “She helped make you the strong woman I see before me. I know you have Vic for support, but I’ve never stopped believing in you, Laciee. I love you as well. So does Judd. We want you to come home.”
She stepped back from Karis, shaking her head. “Really think that’s the smartest thing to do?”
“You belong there.”
“I had your mother arrested for attempted murder. My mother spread her legs for your father, which is why we’re related. I don’t think that’s the place for me.”
“I disagree. She brought that on herself. We never knew the depth of her hatred until now. She did your hotel room, the grave, as well as your car. We still need to talk about all that, but first I need a shower, so I’m going to take one. Do me a favor though, look at this picture and your reflection now while I’m gone.”
Karis took a photo out of her pocket and placed it in Laciee’s hand before swiping her bag and heading to the bathroom. With a sigh, Laciee looked down at the image, heart seizing. She stood beside Kilburn, her hand on the gelding’s neck.
There was no need to compare this her to the one she was now. Her skin shone with a healthy glow and she witnessed the happiness in her own expression. Now there was sadness. Perhaps she’s right and I do need to go home.
Chapter Seventeen
Judd slammed the door to the cab and stepped out, instinctively tensing as he gazed about the urban jungle. All the people and all the noise, he hadn’t any clue how anyone lived this way and did so happily. Barely there two hours and he was ready to knock the first man he saw off his horse and ride like hell out of the city. He paid the driver, tipped his hat, and stared up at the building before him.
There’d been snow early and the biting wind whipped down the streets, carrying with it the pungent odor of fuel and emissions. Shaking off his wandering thoughts, he made his way to the door and pulled it open. His boots clacked over the tile entryway as he made his way to the mailboxes and past to where the elevator was. He waited for the car and spun his hat in his hand.
“Wondered when I’d see you up here, cowboy.”
He turned to find Vic striding across the floor toward him. Judd gave her a nod and said, “Vic.”
“She’s not home at the moment.”
“Where is she?” The doors slid open and Vic entered before reaching out and tugging on his jacket to pull him in as well.
“Out running some errands, no point in you waiting down here, come on up and I’ll let you stay in my place or let you into hers. Either way.” She crossed her arms and looked at him. “Honestly, I thought you would have beaten me back here. Did Karis call you?”
“No, why?”
“Karis showed up here a while ago and the two of them had a chat. That little woman is a bit pushy.”
He arched an eyebrow at her statement. Vic laughed and departed the elevator once the doors slid open. “Come on, cowboy. I’ll make you feel at home until she returns.”
Judd followed her down a hallway covered in green carpet. The place wasn’t ugly, but as a man who needed the wide-open spaces, this was stifling to him. Inside Vic’s apartment, she left him and went to change from her dress into something else. Since she told him to make himself at home, he walked around her living room, taking in all the art she had on the walls and the figurines that lined the bookshelves.
“Not what you expected from me?”
“No, can’t say it was,” he said in response without turning from the Thomas Blackshear Sisters Forever A Time to Share statue of two black women who obviously shared a great deal of feeling for one another.
He turned and found another shock for the tight fitting clothing had vanished and the woman before him had pulled on a pair of green and pink flannel pants as well as a dark blue sweatshirt. Her smile informed him she expected that to shock him as well.
“Good.” She checked her phone and walked to the kitchen where she got them both a can of Pepsi. He preferred Coke, but he’d take this for the moment.
“Thanks,” he said.
“Go make yourself at home. She just sent me a text saying she was on her way back and was stopping to pick up some of the items I’d asked her to get. She’ll be here in about forty minutes.”
Forty minutes seemed so long, but considering the length of time since he’d seen her, he could take this little bit more. Vic filled the time by talking about this and that. Not really requiring a response from him but just chattering.
“She’s home,” Vic said. “I told her I’d be right over for my things. So you can go to her apartment. I’ll give you my key to just walk in. It’s what she would expect me to do. Just give it back to me before you leave and please be aware that I want some of those items she brought for me so…oh forget it, I’ll walk you down there and unlock it. This way when you’re having lots of dirty nasty make up sex, I can sneak in and get my food.” She pushed to her feet. “Come on.”
At her motion, he rose and followed her back to the door. She could talk an elephant to death, but the way she felt about and protected Laciee he couldn’t find fault with the woman. When she paused before Laciee’s apartment, Vic turned and faced him.
“You hurt her again I’ll hunt you down on that ranch of yours and leave the remains for the buzzards, we clear?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
She held his gaze for a moment before she turned away, apparently satisfied by what she’d seen in his eyes. With a motion of her wrist, she opened the door and practically shoved him in the door. “Have fun,” she whispered behind him before calling out loudly. “I’m here, Laciee.” Then she shut the door behind her, leaving him alone in an apartment with a woman who didn’t know he was there.
He gazed about her place, spotlessly neat. The air smelled of a light floral scent that made him think about beaches and sun. Wood flooring had thick colorful rugs dotting it. Not a lot in the way of furniture and it looked all Ikea. For a moment, he wondered if she’d put it together or had some man done it for her.
He shook his head, accepting he was in love with the woman. A bag with a paramedic logo on the blue material sat packed by him. She had flowers on almost every surface and again he wondered were they from a man or something she’d done for herself.
Judd cleared his throat and opened his mouth to announce himself when her strong voice streaked up the short hallway.
“Thank God, I’ve been waiting to tell you this. I ran into Mark again on the way back. Some men don’t know how to take no for an answer. Can you believe he thinks I’d actually date him again? We had one date years ago and damn it, the man lives with his mama, and not to mention has a small dick he sure as hell doesn’t know how to use. At least not to my satisfaction. Anyway, he was trying to convince me to give him another chance, said things would be different. I asked him if that meant he didn’t live in t
he basement anymore but had moved upstairs to be on the same floor with his mama. I know I was rude, but crap on a cracker, Vic, the dude is almost forty. I think he should be able to live on his own.”
Footsteps from the hallway preceded her next words. “You’re being awfully quiet. You have something on your mind?”
He tossed his Stetson on the table by the door and watched her walk into view, carrying her shirt wearing pants and a bra. “A lot actually.” Lust slammed him with the force of a steer hitting the rail when he wanted his mate.
“Shit!” she screamed, dropping the shirt on the floor. “Judd?”
He didn’t respond, just strode across her floor, his boots marking his arrival. When he reached her, he slid his hand along her cheek before delving it through her hair. Then he dragged her into his arms and kissed her. Poured all the worry he’d had and the anger he’d felt over her leaving into it. Thrust his tongue deep into her mouth where it tangled with hers.
Her body, which had been stiff for one moment, melted into him. Her arms curved around his neck, and she pressed as close as she could to him. Her moans were music to his ears. His cock couldn’t possibly get any harder than it was at the moment. He skimmed one hand down her back, relishing her silken skin beneath his palm once more.
He dipped his fingers below the waist of her jeans and she whimpered, hips bucking into him. Judd fisted his hand in her locks and tugged her away from his mouth, so her head tipped back. Her eyes were hazy with desire, lips wet and parted, as she panted softly.
His decision was made in that moment, if it hadn’t already been once he’d walked into her room. He flicked open her bra and tucked his head to capture her left nipple in his mouth the second it was free of the blue material that had held it prisoner.
“Judd,” she cried, back arching as she slapped a hand on the back of his head, holding him closer.
He suckled hard, swirling his tongue around the pebbled tip before scraping his teeth over it. Her body trembled beneath his administrations. He repositioned his arm to carry her and moved them back down the hall she’d just walked up. On his left was the bathroom and he bypassed that, heading straight for the single door at the end of the hall.