by Dawn Brower
“I’m telling you, I didn’t have sex with anyone that night. Did I get drunk? Yeah. I don’t know who Missy’s baby’s daddy is. I know it isn’t me. I remember everything from that night, and all I did was go to sleep. She passed out next to me or someone else put her there after I was asleep. I don’t know what their end game is, but it’s a media frenzy I hadn’t planned on dealing with in the early stages of my career. If only I knew why they were doing this to me, or if Emma had stood by me, it would be more bearable. I’m floundering here, lost with no one to turn to for help. Vitoria is a pain in the ass, but if not for her, I don’t know what I would have done.”
Ginnifer turned her recorder off and placed it in her pocket. She had enough to write the article and would work on it later that evening. The sooner it was written, the quicker it would hit publication. She had enough time to get it in the next edition before it went to print. This was a story that would make the magazine fly off the shelves. Hot new football quarterback embroiled in a hefty sex scandal, priceless. She was going to do the man a solid, though, and write in how it ruined his relationship with the hopes that Emma read it. Maybe if she saw it in print, she would be more willing to forgive him. Besides, it humanized him and made his struggles real to the readers. They needed to connect to him in a way they could understand, and losing the love of his life would help them to relate to him.
She turned toward Colt and rested her hands on the table. “I think that’s all we need. Don’t worry too much about it. At least you know that some of the truth will come out. When will you have the results from the paternity test?”
“Next week. Honestly I’m not really worried about it. Not the baby, anyway. Like I said, I know it isn’t mine. It’s the hassle and losing Emma over this mess. Nothing else I can do but follow Tori’s instructions.” He raised his hands in frustration.
“Chin up, it might get better. You just have a rough patch to get through. Come on, I’ll walk you to your car. We got done in record time. Look, we have a whole fifteen minutes to spare. The asshat, as Tori called him, won’t have a reason to boot you out.”
Colt let out a small laugh at her attempt at a joke. His smile brightened with pleasure. “Yeah, Wes and Vitoria sure didn’t hit it off. Don’t get me wrong, she is a sexy woman, but sometimes she comes on a bit too strong. She is kind of Wes’s type, though. I’m surprised he reacted so negatively toward her.”
Well, isn’t that a bit of interesting news? Ginnifer couldn’t help but wonder why the sexy cowboy had pushed Tori away. The reporter in her smelled a story she was dying to dig into. No doubt Tori would be just as willing to dig up dirt on Wes Novak as well. The man had sneered at her and degraded her in front of an audience. If Ginnifer didn’t look deeper, Tori might dig a hole she wouldn’t be able to get herself out of.
“Tori isn’t all she seems to be. She only comes on strong to get a point across. Inside she is a marshmallow. All squishy sweetness, don’t let her sharklike outer appearance fool you.”
Colt nodded his head in agreement. “She knows how to get the job done and isn’t afraid to jump in full throttle. I can’t say I’ve seen that sweet side, but I respect her. She hasn’t steered me wrong yet.”
They got up and strolled toward the door as Tori pushed it open. She walked in carrying her luggage and grumbling about jerks and getting even. It was humorous to watch her struggle with the overly large suitcase as she pulled it over to a nearby bed in the cabin. She looked up at Ginnifer with surprise falling across her face. “What?”
Ginnifer hid a small smirk by flattening her lips and shook her head. “Nothing, nothing at all. I’m going to walk Colt to his vehicle. Did you get everything out of it?”
Tori was a bit flabbergasted. Her hands began to flail with her continued frustration. “Yeah, believe it or not, I only have the one suitcase.”
Ginnifer raised one of her eyebrows in amazement at Tori’s pronouncement. “Um, you do realize that is a ginormous suitcase, Tori. I could fit both of my bags in it and still have room to squeeze myself next to them inside that monstrosity.”
“Whatever,” Tori said as she waved her hands at them. “Get Colt out of here before Rambo decides to go all first-blood on him.”
Ginnifer laughed as they left Tori to unpack in the cabin. Ginnifer and Colt quickly walked to his car, and he got in and left immediately. Wes was nowhere to be seen, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t watching for Colt. He didn’t want to take any chance of meeting up with the Novaks again and was in hurry to leave. Once Colt was in the Jaguar and safely on his way from Novak Springs, Ginnifer was able to let out a breath of relief. It was short-lived, though, when she heard someone behind her say, “Was that Colt Lewis? What the fuck was he doing here?”
Ginnifer turned to find Dallas standing behind her. Sweat was already dripping down the front of his navy T-shirt. It was sticking to him like glue, and Ginnifer had to stop herself from reaching over to peel it off of his chiseled body. Damn the man had a nice chest, and she hadn’t even had the chance to see it bare yet. She licked her lower lip and looked up at him. His eyes were battling equally between lust and anger as he looked from Ginnifer to the departing car down the ranch’s long driveway.
Looking directly into his cobalt-blue eyes, she asked, “Does it matter? He’s gone.”
“Hell yeah, it matters. He isn’t welcome here. Ever.”
“Yeah, I got the memo from Wes and Emma. No worries, he won’t be back. Ever,” she said, sarcasm dripping through every word.
A devilish smile formed on his lips. “Well, since he’s already gone, how about you and I take a break together?”
How did the man jump from being pissed to flirting with her so fast? Ginnifer’s hands curled up into fists. He frustrated her and made her want to hit something. It didn’t help she never did get any caffeine in her system.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Of course it is. Did you ever get some coffee?” A gamine grin settled on his face.
Ginnifer groaned at his mention of coffee. It was already late morning, and it didn’t look like she was going to get her daily indulgence. Damn him, why did he have to remind her she didn’t get any this morning? She would have to make do with a nap and hope for the best in the afternoon. She glared up and let her irritation flow out of her. “I don’t have time to trade barbs with you right now and have way more important things to do. I’m going back to my cabin to deal with Tori. Bye, Dallas. I’d say it was a pleasure, but well—that would be a lie and I try to keep things simple.”
Dallas’s lips curved up into an even more sinful smile. “I’ll take that as a no on the coffee. I was willing to give you a cup. You should’ve taken me up on my offer. It would have been worth it.”
A look of disbelief came across Ginnifer’s face. The man took conceit to a whole new level. “Nothing would’ve been worth putting up with your company any longer. You make me want to scream.”
He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. “I know. I bet you can’t wait until your mouth releases that scream of pleasure only I can give you.”
Her mouth gaped open in surprise. She couldn’t believe he actually went there. Well actually she did; the man knew no boundaries. Oh God, she didn’t know how much longer she could deal with his sexual innuendos. It had been less than a day, and if she had allowed her hormones control, she’d have been crawling all over him the moment they met. She sighed in frustration. If only she had the energy to find out if he could put his money where his mouth was—yeah he would definitely hear her scream. Ginnifer didn’t have time or the stamina to deal with him at the moment, though. She looked over at him and raised her eyebrows, unable to resist saying, “Oh, I can scream right now. You want me to demonstrate?”
His mouth formed a sexy half smile with laziness filling his drawl, “Definitely, give me a taste of what I have in store for me.”
She should have known better than to bait him. Ginnifer rolled her eyes at him. “Never min
d. Go play with yourself, Dallas. I’m not here for your entertainment. I’m sure you can find a way of getting satisfaction all by yourself. I don’t have any desire to indulge you right now.”
She turned and started to walk away when she heard him say, “That’s ’cause you’re running scared, Gin. If you want to experience true ecstasy, you know where to find me.”
She stopped and looked back at him with a sneer on her face. “Don’t hold your breath.”
All she could hear as she walked away was his laugh thundering across the wind. Bastard knew how much she desired him. It was almost futile to resist him. She was determined to hold off as long as possible, though. Ginnifer had a lot on her plate. The first thing was a nap and then an article to write before dinner. Dallas Novak would have to wait until she wanted him so much she couldn’t resist him any longer. What he didn’t know was that Ginnifer didn’t really believe in denying herself once she made up her mind about something. She had already decided she was going to give Dallas Novak the ride of his life. But she would choose the time and place and wouldn’t be goaded into doing something until she was good and ready.
Chapter Ten
Ginnifer stormed into the cabin and slammed the door shut. Pissed wasn’t quite the word to describe the level of anger flowing over every inch of her body as she made her way across the room. In all her life she had never been as furious as she was in that moment. When she told Dallas she had to deal with Tori, she had meant it. There was about to be a reckoning, and she wouldn’t be held responsible for the damage inflicted. Tori was lounging on her bed browsing through a fashion magazine and chewing on her bottom lip. Her legs were crossed at the ankles, and she was leaning against the headboard as she flipped the pages. She didn’t even bother to look up when Ginnifer stalked toward her with a purposeful stride. As she neared the bed, Ginnifer noticed the wires of headphones peeking out from behind Tori’s long caramel hair and her phone sitting next to her on the bed. Music blaring through the headphones completely blocked out all the noise of her surroundings. Tori must seriously need some de-stressing if she was listening to music. It was her way of drowning out the world around her and recalibrating her senses. Well, too damn bad. They had some things to discuss, and Ginnifer didn’t give a rat’s ass if Tori needed to relax. Stomping the remaining distance to the bed, Ginnifer yanked the headphones out of Tori’s ears and angrily said, “You created a mess, damn it, and now it’s time to help fix it. Get off your ass and help me figure this shit out.”
Tori looked stunned at Ginnifer’s angry gesture. It didn’t take her long to gain her composure. She raised one eyebrow, looked up at her, and said, “What the hell crawled up your ass and died? Since when are you the psycho bitch in this relationship? Who the hell are you and what did you do with my best friend?”
Ginnifer started pacing back and forth across the cabin with her arms flying up and down. Each motion jerked out as her anger heightened. Her face was flushed red, and her breaths came out in heavy pants. She began to talk nonstop with each step of her foot across the wooden floor. “I’ve had the worst twenty-four hours of my life. First, I had jet lag from hell. I get here to be damn near groped by this hot cowboy who turns out to be Emma’s older brother, Dallas. The things that man has said to me—I, wow, there are no words to explain it all. He is so sexy and he always leaves me feeling flustered. Never in my life has a man made me feel so twisted up inside. And damn it, you—you, it’s your fault I haven’t had any coffee today. If you hadn’t woke me up this morning, I wouldn’t be the raving bitch I am right now. Why the fuck didn’t you answer your phone when I called back?” Ginnifer had stopped ranting to look at Tori with daggers shooting from her eyes and her lips pursed up in displeasure. Her hands rested on her hips, and she started to tap her foot, waiting for a response from Tori.
Tori’s lips curled up into a half smirk as she watched her best friend rant and rave about the hell the past day had been for her. She looked her over, amusement glowing through her periwinkle-blue eyes. “Well, aren’t you a hot mess? I must meet this Dallas if he has you all hot and bothered. Clearly he’s of better stock than Wes is, that bastard. You won’t believe the crap he said to me when I went back to get my bags.”
If Ginnifer was capable of getting any angrier, steam would start pouring out of her ears to relieve the pressure building inside of her. Damn Tori and her selfish nature. It had never bothered her before. She began to feel her face crawling toward the color of a ripe tomato. She stopped, and with barely controlled fury compressed inside, demanded. “Why would I care what Wes said to you? Maybe you should’ve gotten the whole story out of Colt before dragging him here. Did it ever occur to you to check everything out before deciding it was a good idea? All of them went through some unnecessary anxiety because you took a shortcut to get what you want. Did you even hear a word I said?”
It looked like Tori had been ignoring everything that Ginnifer had said. She continued to flip through the magazine and stopped occasionally to admire something on the pages. She set the magazine aside and grabbed her purse off a nearby table. Tori pulled a file out of her purse and started to run it across her well-manicured nails in nonchalance. “Of course I did. You met a hot man that gets your motor running. The rest is incidental. Damn straight I did my homework. I knew that Emma was his ex. It didn’t mean anything to me in the grand scheme of things. It’s why I didn’t tell him exactly where we were going until we were almost here. He never would have come otherwise. The article needed to be written, Ginny. I’m sorry it stressed you out, but I have to look out for the best interests of my client. You do understand that, right?”
Earlier she had said that she hadn’t known what Novak Springs meant for Colt. It shouldn’t surprise her that Tori lied, but in that moment it did. Ginnifer was ready to pull every strand of Tori’s blonde hair out of her head. She was willing to bet everything she owned that Tori would look hideous bald. Let’s see how well her flirting attracted a man when she looks like a plucked chicken. She paused a minute in her thoughts to admire the creation her imagination had pulled inside her mind. It didn’t take long for her to find the humor of it all. The image was so amusing she started to laugh hysterically and had trouble breathing. Gasping for breath with each eruption of laughter made Tori sit up and take notice of the hilarity causing Ginnifer to grasp her chest and fall over on her bed.
“What the hell is so funny?” Tori asked.
All Ginnifer could manage to get out were the words, “hairless chicken.”
“I have no idea what your problem is, Ginny, but this is ridiculous. Seriously, what is going through that brain of yours? What the hell does a hairless chicken have to do with what we were talking about? You do realize chickens don’t have hair, right? They have feathers, damn it stop laughing.”
Ginnifer had finally managed to get her breathing under control and sat up on the bed. The smile never left her face as she pictured what Tori would look like without any hair on her head. Comical didn’t even come close to describing what that image looked like floating through her brain. She really didn’t want to explain that Tori being bald was her amusement of choice, so she shrugged it off. “No need to worry about it. I am seriously slap happy right now and desperately in need of a nap. I want you to know one thing before I crash until dinner, though.”
Tori raised her eyebrow questioningly at Ginnifer. “What’s that?”
“If you ever pull any of that bullshit on me again, I will quit speaking to you. Listen to me when I say this. I’m not a tool in your repertoire to use to further your agenda. What I’m supposed to be is your best friend, and if you want my help, you owe me all of the details. I don’t give a fuck what your reasons are, we’ll be done forever if you pull another stunt like this. Do you understand me?”
Tori pursed her lips in displeasure. “Loud and clear, Ginny. I honestly didn’t comprehend what the big deal was, though. If it means that much to you, I won’t do it again.”
“Good
. Now I need to get some shuteye. Do. Not. Wake. Me,” she said, stressing the last four words to make sure her point got across. She knew she was being a raging bitch, but she honestly couldn’t stop herself. The best course of action was to get her much needed rest. Reaching down, she untied her shoes and kicked them off onto the floor. Once that was completed, she pulled the covers down and slid under them. As her eyes closed, she only had one thought before she let herself fall into oblivion. Nothing had better disturb her in the next several hours.
***
After Ginnifer left to go to her cabin, Dallas went in search of his brother and sister. He found them in the kitchen drinking a glass of lemonade and snacking on some of Mrs. Henly’s oatmeal raisin cookies. Emma’s face was devoid of color except dark shadows forming under her eyes. Wes’s was close to resuming its natural color, but his cheeks were still tinged with red. They both hadn’t had enough time to adjust to their recent visitor’s arrival and departure from Novak Springs to completely regain their composure. Dallas strolled into the kitchen, grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, and filled it with lemonade. Setting his glass down on the table, he pulled a chair out and sat down. A plate of oatmeal cookies was in the center of the table, and he grabbed one off of the plate and broke it in half. Before he shoved half into his mouth, he said to the room in general, “So who wants to explain to me why Colt Lewis was driving away from the ranch?”
If it was possible for her face to get any whiter at his words, Emma’s would have. She looked up at him and explained, “I told Ginnifer it would be okay to do a brief interview today. It didn’t occur to me to ask who she’d be interviewing or why. If I’d known, I’d have told her no. Seeing him here was a shock.”
Wes slammed his fist on the table and practically screamed, “That bastard knew. He didn’t have to come here and prance around in front of you.”