by King, Lori
“Can I at least go check on Marilyn now?” she asked with a frustrated sigh.
Hawke and Roman exchanged a glance and Roman shook his head. “She’ll be at dinner if it makes you feel any better.”
“No that doesn’t make me feel better. Why are you guys keeping me from her?” Lacy nearly stomped her foot in frustration.
“We’re not. We’re keeping you out of the kitchen.” Hawke answered automatically, earning a shove from Vin.
“Damn it, now she’ll want answers,” Vin growled.
Lacy looked at each of the four men, her eyes narrowing on Hawke’s fidgeting. He seemed like the weakest link. “Hawke, what’s going on?”
The blonde man shook his head and bit his lip, but didn’t answer. Roman gave her a grin, and Vin refused to meet her gaze. Drannon finally spoke up. “It’s Valentine’s Day. Don’t ruin the surprise.”
The other three men seemed to take that as their cue to leave, and Lacy was left alone with Drannon. “You’ve already given me a gift…”
He shrugged. “This one isn’t from me.”
Emotion and curiosity blended to burn in the back of her throat. Even the suggestion that these guys would want to do something for her when they barely knew her left her overcome with adoration for all of them. Her link to this family was growing, and she was becoming more and more aware of the temporary nature of her stay.
Nodding, she shoved her hands in the pockets of her sweats. “I guess I’ll go check my email then.”
“Lacy, wait…” He hesitated and she turned her back to him.
“Don’t say things that neither of us can handle hearing, Drannon. Not now.”
His arms came around her, drawing her tight to his chest, and he pressed his face into the curve of her neck. “I won’t, I promise. But if I’m going to avoid it, then so are you. Promise me you won’t open that email until tomorrow.”
“I—”
“Please. Let today be about us, and we’ll face tomorrow soon enough.” His plea meant more to her than she could have ever fathomed, and she found herself nodding in agreement without meaning to. “Good, now I think I promised to keep you in bed for Valentine’s day…”
She gasped as he scooped her up into his arms. “Drannon!”
“Shh. My brothers will come looking if they think they stand a chance of swaying you away from me, and you’re mine.”
Her arms were locked tightly around his neck as he bounded up the stairs two at a time with her in his grip. She was in awe of his physical strength, and said as much, making him laugh. He playfully flexed for her after dropping her on his bed and stripping his shirt off.
“This man candy is all yours for tonight, baby,” he teased.
She sat up and tugged her t-shirt over her head, tossing it his way when his eyes widened at her lack of a bra. “You’re going to have to go easy on me. I’m a little tender.”
“It’s a damn good thing I didn’t know you weren’t wearing a bra when we were sitting under that blanket watching the movie.” His breathing deepened and his eyes grew dark. Lowering to his knees in front of her, he pulled her pants off and pushed her onto her back. “If you’re tender, I’ll have to kiss you better again.”
His mouth was hot against her core, and she squealed at the first contact, feeling moisture flood her channel. Arching her back she propped her heels on his shoulders and relaxed her thighs so that she was as open as possible for him.
“Drannon, please!” she moaned.
His only response was a breath of cool air blown right across her clit. She could see and feel her legs trembling, and she gripped her own breasts, massaging them hard as he tongued her folds. He seemed to thoroughly enjoy her taste and her reactions. The louder she begged, the firmer he pressed his mouth to her.
Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, he pulled back, and added his thrusting fingers to her dripping wet opening. She could feel him stretching her well-fucked pussy, easing her muscles so that she could accept him without pain, and she let her head fall back. Staring up at the ceiling she shattered around his fingers, coming harder than she’d ever come before, and screaming his name.
They connected on a soul deep level as he made love to her, and when they finally slumped together on the bed they were satisfied and silent, both dealing with their own mixed emotions. Lacy wasn’t ready to admit out loud that she loved him, but she heard the words echoing in her head as a single tear slid down her cheek and soaked into the blanket beneath her.
Leaving Crawley Creek was going to kill her.
Chapter 11
“Close your eyes.” Drannon instructed as he led Lacy toward the dining room doorway.
“Seriously?” she asked, closing her eyes and shaking her head. Part of him wanted to squirrel her away upstairs for the rest of her stay and refuse to let anyone else share in any of the short time they had together, but his brothers had gone above and beyond to make tonight special. He couldn’t disappoint any of them.
“Seriously. They’re all waiting for us.”
Roman’s voice called out, “Yes we are! And we could’ve already eaten if you two hadn’t been napping, so get in here before it gets cold.”
Lacy giggled and Drannon rolled his eyes at his brothers teasing. Leading her into the dining room, he carefully blocked her view until he was sure they were ready for her. Once Vin lit the final candle, Marilyn began to sing softly.
“Happy birthday to you…happy birthday to you…”
The rest of them joined in as Lacy’s eyes shot open in surprise and then automatically filled with tears. It was a strange feeling to see her crying happy tears because he wasn’t sure he liked seeing her cry at all, yet she’d done it several times in the last couple of days. He knew she’d reacted to their lovemaking earlier, and it was a tough decision not to speak up and ask her about it, but he’d promised her space. He couldn’t break that promise now.
“Oh, my God!” Lacy said, her trembling hands covering her lips. “You guys didn’t have to do this.”
In the center of the table was a casserole dish they usually used to make lasagna in, and it was filled with a lumpy looking cake covered in chocolate frosting. Several melting candles dotted the surface. His brothers all glowed with pride as Lacy reacted to their surprise.
“Sera once told me that everyone deserves a celebration of their life once a year. It’s a blessing to be given one more day with family and friends, much less one more year.” Hawke said, drawing everyone’s attention at his surprisingly philosophical thoughts.
Lacy nodded, “She was absolutely right. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart.”
“Don’t thank us yet.” Roman said, snorting out a laugh, “You haven’t tasted it.”
Marilyn shook her head, “Usually, I would have made the birthday cake, but with me not feeling so spritely today the boys got it into their heads to raid my cupboards. It’s a good thing I keep a spare cake mix on hand, or who knows what you might have gotten. They threw out two different bowls of batter.”
“Three.” Hawke corrected, “That last one was Romeo’s fault.”
“How was I supposed to know there was more than one kind of sugar.” Roman protested.
Drannon laughed along with the rest of his family, as Vin retrieved the dish full of pasta and sauce for their supper, and Hawke cut the cake into large slices for everyone. He watched Lacy interact with his brothers and the other woman who played such a large role in his life, and he couldn’t help but fall completely over the cliff. There was no way he could lie to himself or Lacy and say this was all meaningless.
“So, Marilyn, how did you come to be at Crawley Creek?” Lacy asked, redirecting the conversation as she licked frosting from her fork and then twisted spaghetti onto its tines.
The older woman took a piece of garlic bread and then replied, “I was another stray the Crawleys took in, believe it or not.” She paused to take a bite and continued, “I was married to my childhood sweetheart, but
he was shipped off to Vietnam four days after our wedding. He came back with a traumatic brain injury, and he was never the same. A few years after he came back, he—” She stopped, emotion clogging her voice.
Lacy was horrified, “You don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry!”
Marilyn shook her head, “You would think after forty years it wouldn’t hurt so much to talk about, but it does. My David committed suicide, and because he was my whole life I found myself without a purpose. Like a ship on a cloudless night with no compass. I didn’t know what to do with myself. We’d had no children, and my parents were aging quickly. I met Sera at a church meeting, and we became friends. She was such a good listener… Anyways, when the money from David’s life insurance ran out, I came to work for Abe and Sera, and I’ve never looked back. They were my guardian angels as much as they were there for these boys.”
There was a heavy silence as everyone absorbed the impact of Abe and Sera Crawley’s legacy. They’d been two people with large hearts that were open to everyone, and they’d managed to create a family where there was none.
“I wish I could have met them.” Lacy said softly. “They sound like great people.”
Drannon nodded. “The best.”
“You know Sera used to wear her hair braided just like you do.” Marilyn said conversationally. Lacy looked at Drannon, surprised that he hadn’t mentioned that when they talked about her hair earlier.
“Really?”
“Oh, yeah,” Hawke said, nodding, “I can’t remember many times when her hair wasn’t braided. She even used to loop it up over her head like a rope or something. I always wondered how she kept it up there.”
Lacy laughed, “Women have special little devices called bobby pins and barrettes.”
Hawke flushed a bit, and grinned back, “I know what a bobby pin is. I remember trying to pick the lock on Lauren’s diary with one once or twice.”
“Who’s Lauren?” Lacy asked.
“She was one of the kids who stuck around longer than most. We took her under our wing when she came to the ranch because she was like one of the guys. She could shoot better than any man I know.” Drannon said, and Lacy tasted the bitter grains of jealousy on her tongue at the pride in his voice over another woman.
“So, she’s your foster sister?”
“No, she was never actually a foster kid, she just had to leave her mom’s house more than once to avoid getting the shit beat out of her. Every time she went back to her mom’s care she ended up back at Crawley Creek a couple of months later.”
Feeling guilty that she’d been jealous, Lacy shook her head. “I can’t imagine what she went through. It was good she had you guys. How many kids actually lived on the ranch?”
Everyone at the table laughed, and Drannon answered, “Too many to count. Abe always joked that he should replace the front door with one of those metal turnstile the bus station has.”
“Do you still see Lauren or any of the others?”
“I talked to Lauren last week via email.” Hawke said.
“You did?” Vin’s eyes were wide with surprise, but his tone was rough. “Why didn’t you tell me you have her email address?”
“I didn’t know you wanted it,” Hawke said with a shrug. “She’s good. Living in Little Rock right now.”
“I still talk to several of them,” Roman added. “And some of them come back to see the old place every now and then. Crawley Creek leaves a mark on everyone who visits.”
Lacy nodded in agreement, as she finished off her dinner, “Yes, I can see how it would. It’s a special place.”
She could envision what the ranch might have looked like to a child who was broken and devoid of anything special in their lives. Drannon had spoken of Abe and Sera with such pride and awe that she knew they must have been special people, but hearing about all of their good deeds made her wonder at her own life. What was she really doing to make an impact on the world? Branding a bag of puppy chow? It seemed superfluous in comparison. She wanted to share in the experience of giving a child the love they needed to grow, but a baby wouldn’t fit into her future plans, and besides, she wouldn’t really know what to do with one.
Drannon would be a great father. The words flitted through her brain, and she immediately cursed herself for the stray thought. She was leaving North Dakota for good next week, there was no way she should be entertaining thoughts of children with anyone. She needed to stay focused on the future, and complete the plan she had in place.
Yes. That was what she needed to do, but was it really what she wanted to do?
Chapter 12
The snow hadn’t piled up as much as the weatherman predicted, but the roads were impassable because of drifting, and Drannon knew that Vin’s offer to handle all of the daily chores while Lacy was at the ranch was an opportunity he couldn’t ignore, so for the last couple of days they’d done nothing but enjoy each other’s company. She’d resisted checking her email as far as he knew, but it would happen eventually. At some point they’d have to return to reality and he wasn’t looking forward to it.
Lacy was a woman unlike any he’d ever known. She was intelligent, witty, down to earth, and as sexy as any centerfold he’d ever seen. He wanted her with a strength that came from deep in his core, and the more he had of her, the more he wanted. It was almost like an addict’s obsession with their drug of choice. His body responded to her slightest touch, and he wasn’t sure how he was ever going to let her go. She’d captivated him from the first moment their eyes had locked, and now she’d captured his heart. He was thankful for the chance to be with her, but with every second of silence he was contemplating how he could convince her to stay.
All his life he’d lost the things that were important to him. His mother, his career, his marriage, even his freedom for a time. Why should he have to give up this happiness? He knew Lacy had a career goal, and he had no business asking her to give up her dreams, yet he couldn’t help imagining a future with her staying on the ranch. They would open their doors to foster children just as Abe and Sera had, and build a life here on the family ranch as he’d envisioned himself doing.
“Hello?”
Her voice broke into his deepest thoughts, and he looked down to where she was lying cradled against his side, her head on his chest. Her brown eyes were staring at him with rapt curiosity, and her lips curled up in a sexy smile.
“There you are. What’s got you so quiet all of a sudden?” she asked.
For just a moment, he considered laying his heart bare. Telling her everything, and letting her turn him down flat. Being heartbroken would be easier now, rather than in a few days when she had to leave, but he couldn’t do it.
“Nothing. I thought you were drifting back to sleep, so I was trying to let you rest.” He ran his fingertips over the curve of her hip. Her skin was petal soft, and she smelled slightly flowery from their shower before they’d tumbled into bed the night before.
“I don’t usually fall right to sleep after sex, but I have to admit, you’ve worn me out lately.” She teased, pinching his nipple.
“Ouch, hey!”
“It’s only fair that I get to do to you what you’ve done to me,” she said, pinching the other nipple.
He feigned shock and let out a small growl. “Women don’t play with men’s nipples.”
“Oh really?” She sat up slightly so that she could put her mouth over the nipple closest to her, and he gasped at the tingling sensation. She looked pleased when she pulled back. “You can’t tell me you don’t like it.”
“It’s not manly,” he argued. He loved her playful side.
She slid her hand to his cock which was thickening once again in spite of the exhausting efforts of the past night. “Feels pretty manly to me.”
“Keep it up and he’ll prove how manly he is.” Drannon teased.
“I’m not sure I can go again,” she said with a giggle. “My body is aching, big time.”
A shaft of pride went through him that
he was the man who brought her to the edge over and over leaving her exhausted and satisfied. Pulling her flush against him, he kissed her softly, putting every ounce of emotion inside of him into the connection between their lips. Even if she wasn’t ready to hear him say the words, he needed to show his feelings somehow. With slow, sensuous movements, he made gentle, sweet love to her again.
It took nearly a week for Lacy to gather her courage and turn on her laptop. They had yet to lose power at the ranch, but to her the twelve inches or so of snow was a blizzard of monumental proportions. Drannon just laughed it off as a small snow burst. The temperatures were bitter cold, and late in the afternoon the wind seemed to blow the snow so it was almost impossible to tell if it was snowing again, or just whipping up the same old stuff. As beautiful as the surrounding environment was, she knew she couldn’t keep burying her head in the blankets and pretending everything was okay, so today when Drannon went out to check on Dorothy, she made her way downstairs to the study.
The door was open, and she found Vin draped over the dainty chaise lounge. His massive frame dwarfed the piece of furniture in a comical way and she giggled drawing his attention from the book he was reading.
“Lacy, hey.” He hurried to sit up and find a more upright position as she moved into the room.
“Oh don’t mind me. I just came down to get online for a bit.” She said, heading across the room to take a seat at the large desk.
Vin let out a heavy sigh, and put his book on the coffee table. “Time to get back to the real world, huh?”
She nodded, and bit her lip to keep from tearing up. The last thing she wanted to do was show Drannon’s brother how much leaving would affect her.
“Does D know you’re still planning on leaving?” Vin asked.
“Yes, we’ve talked about it. I can’t just drop everything and move to another state for a man I’ve just met.”
Vin’s blue eyes narrowed, and he leaned forward propping his elbows on his knees. “What’s stopping you?”