Gambling on a Dream

by Sara Walter Ellwood

  As if a dark veil lifted from her eyes, she realized the truth about Wyatt, and the fact that he honestly believed that horseshit made her angrier than she’d been in a long time. She shifted to face him. “You egoistical, chauvinistic idiot!”

  He narrowed his eyes and sat up in his chair, but before he could respond, she said, “You left me, not because of my losing the baby, but out of some caveman notion that you should have saved me? Is that why you left me? You couldn’t stand that a woman took a bullet meant for you?”

  “No. It’s not about you being a woman and me being a man. It’s hard to explain. I feel the same way about my dad.” Standing, he ran his hands through his hair, setting the chestnut strands standing on end and askew. He paced to the windows and turned with his shoulders drooping like a great weight sat upon them. The pain shining through his eyes had her gasping. “It’s because I love you so damn much I’d rather die than see you hurt.”

  When his words seeped in and their meaning fractured her anger, something warm filled the cold places in her heart. Hadn’t she fallen so desperately in love with him because of his compassion for others? Despite the pain in her knee, she tossed the melting bag of peas aside and stood. He stepped forward as if to stop her, but she shook her head and held out her hand to halt him.

  Swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, she asked, “Don’t you get it? I’ve always felt that way about you. That’s why I had to stop that thug.” She put her hands over her flat stomach and closed her eyes against the terrible truth. “I didn’t think about our baby in that moment. All I could think about was you.” Tears burned her sinuses, and she didn’t stop them from flowing. She didn’t have the strength in that moment. “I know it’s awful, and I know you will probably never forgive me, and there isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about our beautiful baby boy.” She opened her eyes and sucked in a breath at finding him standing only inches from her. He laid his hand on her cheek, and she leaned into the warm callused strength of his hardworking palm. “But I couldn’t let you be taken from this world, Wyatt.” She couldn’t manage more than a whisper as she drowned in the fathomless blueness of his eyes. “You’re too damned special. I know you’re nothing like Jock Blackwell.”

  He wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her. His soft lips were firm on hers and his tongue demanded entrance. She leaned into him and opened, offering him her total surrender. Clinging to him in a way she never thought she would again, she gave him everything as their tongues danced and teeth nipped.

  He broke away panting for air. Before she could catch her own breath, he swung her into his arms.

  “Wyatt?”

  He searched her eyes, and a small unsure smile touched his lusciously moist lips. “Just let me take care of you for one night. Okay?”

  She shivered at the husky quality in his voice and nodded. A few moments later, he laid her down on his bed. Unable to do anything but watch him, he slowly removed her shoes and socks. As he began massaging her aching arches, she leaned back and moaned.

  When he stopped, she opened her eyes to him unbuttoning her blouse. The fire in his eyes when they met hers was hot enough to burn her to a crisp, if she hadn’t been already a flame with her own desire. She reached for the snaps of his shirt and yanked it open. He shrugged it off as she caressed over the scattering of dark curls covering his chest.

  Leaning forward, he set her skin blazing as he kissed and nipped the skin below her ear. She gripped his hair and pulled him from her neck. His gaze swirled with fear of rejection and questions.

  She licked lips that still tingled from his kiss earlier. “Make love to me, Wyatt.”

  A wicked grin lifted one side of his lips, and his eyes darkened to the color of a twilight sky. “It would be my profound pleasure to do so.”

  She couldn’t stop the giggle as he nipped her shoulder and flicked open the front clasp of her bra. The laugh quickly died when he pulled back and touched the pucker above her left breast where the bullet had entered her chest. He leaned over, and above her lips, he whispered, “I forgive you. Now, you need to forgive yourself.”

  She gasped from the force of those words. “I forgive you. Don’t you ever leave me again.” Forgiving herself had never occurred to her, but she realized in order to fully heal the emptiness inside, she had to. She caressed his handsome face, the stubble of the dark beard on his cheek enticing her fingers.

  The passion of his kiss took her breath away. When they separated, panting from a lack of air, wanting to feel skin on skin, the need to join as one drove them to frantic motions as they got rid of the rest of their clothes.

  Once they were both naked, Wyatt took his sweet excruciating time to lavish her feverish skin with caresses, kisses, and nipping. From the healing cut on her forehead, to the scar above her breast, to her sore knee, and every place in between. He spent a long time on her breasts until she arched off the bed and fisted her hands in his hair. She was a trembling mess by the time he skimmed his lips over her tummy. Shifting between her legs, he leaned over her. She was more than ready for him and welcomed him into her as he thrust forward. Closing her eyes and moaning his name, she wrapped her uninjured leg around his hips and her arms around his neck as he filled her.

  He buried his face into her neck as a groan escaped from deep inside of him; then he slowly pulled out and thrust in again. “Oh, God, Dawn, I don’t know how I’ve lived without you.”

  She gasped at the meaning of his words and held him, breathing in his musky, outdoorsy scent. The heat of his body covering her comforted as he moved within her again, and the coil of her climax tightened. So many sensations she’d forgotten built within her as she let her heart soar and break free from the years of doubt and pain.

  “Wyatt, I love you!” she screamed when her orgasm hit, taking her to a place she was sure she’d never been.

  He moaned deep into her neck as he thrust into her one last time and trembled as she held him.

  * * * *

  Time stood still as Wyatt let her words and the bliss of his climax flood him. When he found the strength to pull away, he sought her gaze. Had she meant what she said, or were the words something tossed away in the heat of passion?

  She gasped as she tried to catch her breath. In her eyes, he saw an opening to her soul he’d never noticed before. Shifting his weight, he leaned over her from the side and brushed his fingers through her long, black hair, spread over his pillow. “Did you really mean that?”

  She licked her swollen moist lips and slowly nodded. “I never stopped loving you.”

  Joy he hadn’t let into his heart for a long time filled it to bursting. He smiled and kissed her. As he pulled away, he cupped her face and caressed his thumb over her high blushed cheek. “I never stopped loving you. I tried. But I never quite got you out of my blood.”

  A beautiful smile curved her swollen lips and lit up her moist eyes. “Where do we go from here?”

  He couldn’t believe they were having this conversation. “First, we have to catch ourselves a murdering drug dealer, and you have an election to win.” He shrugged as the future he’d always dreamed of spread out in front of him like a bright patchwork quilt. “I don’t know, maybe then we find out what kind of rancher I am and what kind of rancher’s wife you might become.”

  Her eyes widened as shock replaced her smile. He hoped like hell he hadn’t spoken too soon. “Wyatt?” She gasped and laid her hand over her heart. “Are you…”

  Clearing his throat, he covered her hand, and it fluttered in his grasp as he squeezed. “Not now, but I hope someday you’ll be ready.”

  She sniffed and a tear escaped the corner of her eye. “Luck would have it I have almost seventeen hundred acres of prime pasture right next door waiting for a rancher to let loose some cattle.”

  “Do you have a rancher in mind?” Was that hoarse voice his?

  Pulling him to her, she whispered before capturing his lips. “Yeah, I do.”
/>   Chapter 16

  With her elbows planted on the table, Dawn rested her chin on her hands and watched Wyatt make breakfast. He had to be the sexiest man alive while he flipped pancakes and fried bacon. His jeans fit just right, and it wasn’t a stretch to remember what that incredible tight ass looked like naked.

  Glancing over his shoulder as if he sensed her staring at him, he cocked an eyebrow, and a lopsided grin tilted his lips. “I can almost see the X-rated thoughts in that head of yours.”

  She laughed and leaned back in her chair. “Guilty as charged. What will you do with me, Lieutenant McPherson?”

  He turned away from the stove with two plates in hand, one stacked with steaming golden pancakes and the other heaping with fragrant crispy bacon. As he sat next her, he set the plates on the table. He leaned toward her and kissed her. “Oh, Sheriff Madison, be careful of what you’re asking. You might find yourself in trouble.”

  Before she had a chance to respond, a loud bang sounded from the entry as if something had been thrown at the front door.

  “What the hell?” He rushed into the entry, unlocked the door, and threw it open.

  Dawn had followed him to the doorway of the kitchen and leaned on the frame. “What happened?”

  He ran onto the porch, but no one was there. “I don’t know.” He picked up a brick with a piece of paper wrapped around it and held it up. “But I think this is what hit the door.”

  He headed toward her and removed the rubber band and a sheet of copy paper. “Damn.”

  As she watched his face turn from one of curiosity to anger, her gut tied into knots. “Wyatt?”

  He handed her the paper. “You better read this.”

  The print was typed and in bold. She turned and leaned her backside onto the counter beside the door, taking the weight off her sore knee. “This is your warning, bitch. Drop out of the race for sheriff or the whole world will know you were pregnant and had an abortion while you were in Dallas, and that Wyatt McPherson was the father.”

  Only her family had known about the baby. Until yesterday, not even her best friend had known she’d once been pregnant. Did Wyatt’s family even know? She looked up and swallowed. However, the reactions from his family and their friends didn’t scare her, something else did.

  Wyatt took her hand and helped her back to her chair. As she dropped into the seat, he kneeled before her. “We both know this isn’t true.”

  “But I was pregnant. I did lose a baby.” She stared at the paper in her shaking hand. “If the lawyers for the bastard who shot me find out our past relationship, they could have reason to request a mistrial. It was your testimony that put Eduardo Guerrero behind bars for the duration of his miserable life.”

  “You can’t drop out of the race, Dawn.” He took the note from her and tossed it aside, and then he held both of her hands. “First of all, you didn’t have an abortion, and there’s no proof I fathered the baby.” He swallowed and shook his head. “We should come clean with our closest friends and family, but as for the rest, they can go straight to hell.”

  She nodded as a thought slithered into her mind. “If I drop out of the race, Chet will be uncontested.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Why would the killer want Chet to be sheriff?”

  “Because Chet is convinced my brother is the suspect and would spend all of his resources trying to prove it, buying the real killer a chance to get away.” She closed her eyes as the gravity of everything swamped her. “We have to find the killer before he has a chance to make another move.”

  Her cell phone ringing startled her. Wyatt handed it to her, and she answered. “Sheriff Madison.”

  “It’s Agent Green,” said the male voice of the FBI agent-in-charge also working the case. “We found the truck that stopped at the Quick Fill the morning Larson was killed.”

  She looked at Wyatt. “Agent Green, I’m going to put you on speaker phone. Lieutenant McPherson is here with me.”

  As she set the phone on the table and put it on speaker, Wyatt sat in the chair beside her. “Agent, go ahead.”

  The agent cleared his throat on the other end. “As I was saying, the truck in the surveillance video from the Quick Fill the morning Larson was killed is owned by North-South Transport. When we finally found the truck and stopped it just north of the border, it was filled with textiles from Alvarez Textil.”

  “Will the driver talk?” Dawn fisted her hand as she remembered her conversation with Wyatt the other night regarding the Mexican textile company owned by relatives of the Cotreras Cartel, one of the biggest drug organizations in Northern Mexico.

  “Yeah.” The agent chuckled. “He’s talking, especially after we found bags of cocaine sown into the shoulder pads of the garments and threatened to charge him with the murder of Christopher Larson.”

  “What’s he saying?” Wyatt leaned over the table as if he was afraid he’d miss what the agent said.

  “He pulled up at the Quick Fill to deliver a shipment of coke, when a kid with a switchblade knife attacked him. According to the driver, the kid was demanding more money. The owner of the Quick Fill, Gene Murphy, pulled the kid off him and turned the knife onto the kid, stabbing him in the chest. Murphy and the driver then carried the body behind the Longhorn where y’all found him.”

  Dawn gasped and stared into Wyatt’s wide eyes. Gene Murphy was the killer? When the silence grew too long for the FBI agent waiting on the other end, he said, “You still there?”

  Wyatt swallowed and shook his head as if to clear it. “Yeah. It’s just a shock that’s all. We’ve known Gene for a long time.”

  “Keep us posted on the processing of the blood analysis from the Demello scene.” She was numb. Gene was their killer?

  “I’ve requested a rush on it. But if the kid can ID him, it would be quicker. I’ll let you know as soon as I find out something.”

  “Thanks, Agent Green.” She disconnected the call and leaned back in the chair. The air rushed out of her as she closed her eyes. “Well, it all makes sense now. The killer wants Chet to be sheriff because he would never suspect his own brother-in-law.”

  When she opened her eyes again, Wyatt had his cell phone out. “I think it’s time to find out if Tyler Demello is awake yet.”

  * * * *

  “I won’t allow it. My son just woke up.” Elizabeth Raines crossed her arms before her. “Up until now I’ve been able to keep his name out of the paper, but it’s only a matter of time before someone figures out he wasn’t in an accident.”

  “All you ever think about is yourself.” Dr. Tony Demello scowled at his ex-wife. “He’s my son as well. Tyler wants to talk to them, and I think it’s the right thing to do. The sooner he identifies who did this to him the sooner the authorities can catch the creep.”

  Dawn bit her tongue to keep from saying the comments running through her mind. The woman was back to her egocentric self. By the eye roll she caught Wyatt trying to hide when he lowered his head, she knew he thought the same thing.

  Wyatt shifted his hat in his hands. “Mrs. Raines, we won’t be long.”

  Elizabeth looked from Wyatt to Dawn. “All right, but you only have five minutes.”

  The nurse let them into the room after Dr. Demello instructed her to do so. The FBI guard nodded in silent salute as they passed by and entered the door.

  The dim room smelled of antiseptic, and the beat of a heart monitor provided a constant reminder of how close this boy came to losing his life. Dawn limped over to sit on the stool next to the bed.

  Tyler watched her. “What happened to you?”

  She smiled and shrugged. “You and I have something in common, I guess. The bad guy wants us dead.”

  He glanced at Wyatt as he stood behind her and licked his dry lips. “I guess I’m lucky to be alive.”

  “You could say that.” Wyatt’s deep voice trembled through her. “Tyler, do you know who did this to you?”

  He closed his
eyes and slowly nodded. “I don’t know his name, but I recognized him before he stabbed me.”

  She looked over her shoulder at Wyatt. Excitement bubbled up at the prospect of finally having enough evidence to arrest the killer. She pulled out a photo of Gene Murphy. “Is this the man who stabbed you?”

  He squinted at the photo and nodded his head. “That’s the guy who runs the gas station in town. Yeah, he’s the one.”

  Dawn’s heart stopped as the implication settled on her. “Are you sure?”

  Tyler shifted a shoulder under his green hospital gown. “Yeah, I’m sure.”

  She stood with help from Wyatt’s hand on her elbow. “Thank you, Tyler.”

  Before they could rush out of the room, his weak voice stopped them. “But there was another guy there too. A sheriff’s deputy.”

  Dawn was happy Wyatt was still holding onto her. The betrayal that someone in her department was a dirty cop shook her to the core. Killing kids was one horrible thing, but they had also murdered one of her best deputies. How someone could get that close to Doug and put a bullet in his chest now made sense. Doug had known his killer just as they had suspected. “Do you know who the deputy is?”

  He nodded again and swallowed. “Deputy Hendricks.”

  They rushed out of the hospital as Wyatt called the Texas Rangers and she called Tilly. “Tilly, Demello woke up and told us who stabbed him. Keep everyone there and sitting tight. I’ll be in as soon as I can.”

  “Who?” His voice shook with the question. He wanted these bastards off the street as much as she did, especially after they killed Doug, who Tilly had taken under his wing when the kid first started on the force. She couldn’t trust Tilly not to do something stupid, like going after Chet or Gene alone. That could end up getting him killed.

  “I’ll tell you when I get there.” She glanced at Wyatt as they rounded his truck to get in. “It’s probably best if we keep this on the down low. I don’t want anyone else to know Demello woke up. Got it?”