by King, Lori
She wanted to tell him that it was her career, and her dreams for the future, but she heard herself answering, “Fear.”
He nodded as though that was the answer he’d expected. “Yeah, I can see that. You know, when I got out of prison I was terrified that I wouldn’t be welcome on the ranch, but Abe was sitting outside the gate in his beat up pick-up truck the day I was released ready to take me back. He never asked me why I’d done what I’d done, he just accepted that I’d paid the price for my actions and wiped the slate clean.”
“Can I ask what happened?” she said warily.
“Drannon and I were at a bar while I was home for a couple of weeks, and there was this guy there with his girlfriend and his buddies. He was acting like a drunk douchebag, saying shitty things about military men, and me and D in general, but I was holding my temper in check. We were getting ready to leave and I had to take a piss—er—sorry—I had to use the facilities. That same jackass had his girl pinned to the wall in the hallway and he was hurting her. I couldn’t walk away and leave her, so I broke a bottle over his head to get his attention, and then broke his nose.”
“Ouch. So how did you end up in jail if you were trying to help her?”
“That’s the kicker of the whole night. His girl told the police that she was just fine and they were just having a lover’s quarrel that I got in the middle of. Her words sealed my fate when the scumbag decided to press charges for assault.”
“Wow.” Lacy whispered, wondering at a system that would put a man in jail for defending a woman.
“Yeah, it was a low point in my life that’s for sure. Uncle Sam cut me loose when I pled guilty to the charges, and I had to do my time. I wish to hell it’d played out different, but it is what it is.” Vin shrugged his big shoulders, and rose to his feet. “I guess my point is that you can’t always determine the outcome of something before it happens. Maybe it turns out great, but maybe it goes to hell and you get hurt. You’ll never know if you never take the risk. I know my brother. He’s been my salvation and my rock since I was seven years old, and I have to tell you, if you walk away it will break him.”
“Vin—” Lacy started to protest his involvement. He didn’t know all of the facts.
“No, listen. He’s in love with you, Lacy, and whether you’ve said it out loud or not I know you feel the same about him. Don’t give up a chance at something good because it wasn’t on your prewritten plan to happiness. Plans change, sometimes for the best.” With that Vin picked up his book and headed to the door.
“Vin,” she called out, and he turned around. “Thanks. You’re a good brother to him.”
The muscular man nodded, and gave her a smile, “Yeah, I am, but only because he taught me how to be.” Turning away he disappeared out the door leaving Lacy to face a monumental decision alone.
It took her another half an hour to open her inbox. She goofed around wasting as much time as she could, and avoiding the inevitable. When she clicked open the file, her worst fears and greatest joys were in front of her. The email was there. She got the job. If she wanted it, she needed to be back in Chicago by March first.
Based on her original reservations with the ranch and her flight plans that would work just fine, but instead of feeling excitement, Lacy’s stomach was in a ball of dread.
Accepting the job meant leaving Drannon and Crawley Creek behind. In just days, everything she thought she knew about her life had changed. She was no longer Lacy Denvers, career-driven, motherless loner who avoided entanglements.
Now she was Drannon’s sweetheart, and an entrepreneur who could telecommute if she wanted. As long as she didn’t take the dog food company’s account she could work from anywhere in the world. If she took it, she would have the substance on her resume to build a solid company, and if she didn’t take it, she could face months if not years of mediocre jobs that would barely pay her regular bills much less push her career forward. It was a virtual Catch-22, because taking it would mean giving up what she had with Drannon for good.
After mulling over the job offer for twenty minutes or so, she shut her laptop without responding to it. It physically hurt to think about packing her bags and walking off the ranch next week, but the fear of staying sat like a lump in her throat, choking out her logical thoughts.
As she thought about all of the things that had occurred in the last four days, the biggest one was the simplicity of Drannon’s gift to her for her birthday and Valentine’s Day. Instead of trying to buy her a gift that was expensive and lavish, he’d given her a piece of his heart. He showed her something that was special to him, and in doing so, he’d reached deep inside her soul and soothed a part of her that had been aching all of her life. Her father hadn’t even been able to do that.
Her father.
It was in that moment Lacy realized her father hadn’t even bothered to call her on her birthday. Perhaps he was busy with work, or just forgot, but it still hurt. Thirty years had passed since Lacy was born and her mother died, yet the man still hadn’t been able to forgive the child he blamed for his wife’s death.
He had spent her whole life holding his affection back from his daughter out of anger and hurt, hiding away from the world in order to keep from getting hurt again. In fact, now that she thought about it, his example was where she learned to hide herself away behind a computer. She had always preferred indirect interaction with her peers because they couldn’t hurt her if she kept the distance between them. Was she doing that now with Drannon?
Was she using the job offer as an excuse to avoid taking a risk and possibly getting hurt? It was all so clear…or was it?
Lacy surged to her feet from behind the desk and ran to the bedroom. She was a woman on a mission now, and nothing would stop her.
“Lacy?”
Her father’s voice sounded confused, and she hurried to respond.
“Hi Dad. How are you?”
“Good. How are you?”
She felt her stomach twist in a knot. They sounded like acquaintances, not like a father and daughter.
“I’m great. In fact, I have some news.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“I got fired.”
He was silent for several moments before he asked, “And that’s good news?”
“Yes, it is.” She giggled into her cell phone imagining the look on Leo Denvers’ face. “Because I got fired, I decided to start my own company and take a vacation.”
“Well that’s good. Where did you go?”
“North Dakota. I’m there now, in fact.”
“That’s not the first place I would have guessed, but I hope you’re enjoying your stay.”
“I am, but that’s not all. See, I wanted to come here because I’ve always wanted to ride a horse, and you never let me as a kid.”
“What? It’s not like we had a stable full—”
“Wait, I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I just meant that I wanted to fulfill a childhood dream, and in doing so, I actually met someone. Drannon Russo.”
“And this Drannon is important to you now?”
“He is. In fact, I think he’s more important to me than my career is.”
Leo was silent on the other end of the phone, but Lacy let the silence hold. She wasn’t going to do her father’s job anymore. If he had something to say, he needed to say it.
“I’m happy for you, but dear, you know that vacation romances don’t usually last.”
“I know, but I also know that’s not what this is. Can I ask you something, Dad, and you have to promise to answer me honestly?”
“Of course, Lacy, what is it?”
“If you’d known about mom’s health problem, would you have asked her to give up the pregnancy?”
Dead silence filled the phone line between them again, and she nervously picked at her nails while she waited for the answer she didn’t want to hear. When her father spoke again his voice was tight with emotion.
“I don’t know. I loved your mom Lac
y. She was my entire world.”
“I know, but Dad she loved me that much. So much that she was willing to give up everything to give me life.”
“She should have told me.”
“Yep, she should have, but would it have changed anything?”
Leo sighed heavily. “No probably not. Your mother was stubborn, and she had a plan for her life. She wanted a family, and nothing was going to stop her from having one.”
“I know someone like that,” Lacy said with a small laugh.
“I didn’t know how to be a dad, Lacy, but I did try my best.”
“I’m in love with Drannon, Dad, and although he hasn’t said it yet, I know he loves me, too. I’m staying in North Dakota, Dad. I just wanted you to know because you’re my father.”
“Okay. I hope you’re not doing this because you lost your job.”
“No, that might be the reason I ended up on the ranch, but it’s not the reason I’m staying. I’ve just recently realized that the best laid plans should always be written in pencil because they’re going to change.”
“Your mother would be proud of you, Lacy.” Tears clogged Lacy’s throat, and she sniffed into the phone without responding.
“Well, best of luck to you both. I need to go. I have a dinner engagement tonight.”
“Okay. I’ll talk to you later then.”
“Oh, and Lacy? Happy birthday.”
She choked on her pain, and in that moment, she realized that her father was who he was, and it wasn’t up to her to change him. It was more important that she change her expectations, and live her life based on her own needs. He was right, her mother would have encouraged her to pursue love, and she would have been proud of her.
“Thanks Dad. Have a good night.”
The click of the phone was his only response, and Lacy brushed her tears away. With a new iron-clad understanding of what she needed in this life, she tossed her phone on her bed, and went to send an email to the dog food company. Once she clicked Send, she could get on with her life.
Drannon was in the barn again when she found him in the middle aisle doing something with the stirrup on a saddle. He looked up and smiled. “Hey! You should be inside where it’s warm. What are you doing out here, sweetheart?”
“I was just inside checking my email, and there was a response from the company I’ve been waiting to hear from.”
His smile was still on his face, but his eyes dimmed. “Really? What did they say?”
She moved close, holding her surprise tightly behind her back so that he wouldn’t see it. “They offered me the job. I can start March first.”
His shoulders visibly deflated, but he continued to smile with forced joy on his face. “That’s great. They’ll be lucky to have you.”
“There’s only one problem…” She paused, and his smile slipped from his face. “You see, something special happened on Valentine’s Day this year, and I’ve suddenly found that I can’t take that job.”
Hope flashed in his brown eyes as she drew close enough to reach out to him. Pressing one hand to his chest, she leaned forward, and he had to tip his head to hold her gaze. “Do you see this…”—she gestured and he took her arm in his big hands, making her wrist look tiny against them—“here on my wrist?”
“That’s a rope burn. Damn, I’m sorry sweetheart…”
“That’s right; it’s a rope burn, because a big, sexy cowboy roped me for Valentine’s Day this year. He tied me down and had his wicked way with me.”
Drannon’s eyes slid from tawny to green and his nostrils flared. “And what’s a little scrap like you going to do about it?”
“Nothing. I’m happy to be tied down for him. In fact,”—she held up the rope she was hiding behind her back and grinned wickedly—“I’m hoping he’ll let me have a go at roping him this time.”
Drannon’s adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and Lacy felt his cock thicken against her stomach. “What are you saying, sweetheart?”
“I’m saying that I want to stay. For now, for a while, forever if you’ll have me. I came to North Dakota a sad and lonely shell of a woman who had no idea what it was like to take a risk and enjoy a little freedom. Somehow, I’ve found myself falling in love with a cowboy who had a soul-deep wound of his own, and needed me. If you still want me—”
“I want you!” He interrupted her with a hard kiss on her lips. “I love you, Lacy Denvers, and I want you, for now, for a while, and forever. Roped and tied to my bed, or riding Toto through the hills. I love you.”
“Good, because, cowboy, it’s your turn for a little rope burn,” she answered with a wicked smile as she rose up on her toes and kissed him with every ounce of love she never knew she had.
Who knew that this year she would find the best Valentine’s birthday gift ever…
A cowboy.
Epilogue
Lacy woke to a cool breeze against her warm skin, and she blinked in the moonlit room.
“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”
She turned to find Drannon lying next to her, the covers having been pulled off her and bunched between them. A wave of déjà vu washed over her, and she frowned at him.
“Haven’t we done this before?”
His laughter wiped away any irritation she might have had at being woken in the middle of the night, and she scooted closer to him, pressing her body as close to him as she could.
He kissed her forehead. “I’ve got something special to show you.”
“I’ve seen it. Last night, I saw it twice before I fell asleep. If we keep going at this rate, your pecker will fall off from overuse.” She grumbled, nuzzling his collarbone.
“Not that, you perv.” He rolled off the bed, and stood looking down at her naked form. “Damn. If you keep looking at me like that I might change my mind about the whole thing.” He tweaked her nipple and she giggled.
“What time is it?”
He shrugged. “Early, or late depending on how you look at it. Come on. Out of bed, sleepy head.”
He passed her her clothes and waited by the window as she dressed. Her curiosity piqued, she followed along silently as they moved through the quiet house and out the front door. She was thankful there was no need for cold weather gear in the middle of June, but she found herself shivering with anticipation instead.
Drannon noticed and instantly grew concerned. “Do you want me to go back and grab your jacket?”
“No, I’m good. I’m still waking up, but I’ll be fine. What are we going to see?”
Unlike last time, Toto was nowhere to be seen, and Drannon was leading her into the pitch black yard. The one thing she’d yet to get used to living here was the vastness of the space around them. In the daylight, she could see for miles in almost every direction, and at night that same expansive feeling turned claustrophobic.
“Shhh, we don’t want to disturb them if we can help it.” Drannon tugged open the heavy barn door and directed her into the stuffy space. The smell of animals and hay filled her nostrils, and she smiled. Who’d have thought that it would all become so familiar to her after only a few months?
A soft sound drew her attention to Dorothy’s stall, and she knew what he’d brought her to see. “Oh, my God!” She tried to keep her voice down. “The foal! She had her baby?” Rushing to the wooden plank enclosure, she stood in awe as she took in mama and baby.
The tiny foal was its mother’s mini-me, and looked beautifully awkward moving on spindly legs around the small space.
“Aww, I’ve never seen anything so cute in my life. How’s mama?” she asked Drannon as he moved up to stand behind her, his hands resting on her hips.
“Mama’s great, and so is baby. It’s a girl, and she’s perfectly healthy.”
Dorothy whinnied a bit, and Lacy laughed. “Of course she is. She’s one of Dorothy’s babies. Isn’t that right, sugar?”
The horse lifted her nose closer to the gate, accepting Lacy’s affectionate pat to her nose. She and Dorothy had become fast
friends even though Toto was still Lacy’s regular mount. The whole ranch had been anxiously awaiting the overdue birth of this baby.
“When did—”
“Hawke came and got me a few hours ago. She was nearly done by the time we got here. Just like a woman to do things on her own time,” Drannon said playfully, kissing Lacy gently.
“You like it when I do things my way, so I don’t want to hear it. Thank you for waking me. I’m so glad I got to see her.”
Drannon shook his head, and tugged her away from Dorothy’s stall, “That’s not all of the surprise. Come on, Hawke should have everything ready.”
Following along in confusion, Lacy was flabbergasted to find Toto saddled and ready just outside the barn. How had Hawke managed to do that?
“All set for you, D. I’m gonna go in and catch some Zs while I still can.” Hawke said, passing the reins to Drannon.
“Thanks, Hawke. I owe you.”
The blonde man kissed Lacy’s cheek and whispered, “Have fun,” before he disappeared into the darkness in the direction of the house. Her eyes had adjusted to the moonlight now, and she could see that Toto was saddled, and a blanket was draped over his neck.
“What’s the blanket for?” she asked as Drannon gracefully lifted himself into the saddle and reached for her. She was seated in front of him in the blink of an eye, and she settled back comfortably against his chest.
“You’ll see. Be patient.”
That was all Drannon would say. She tried several times to get him to tell her where he was taking her, and when she realized they were headed in the direction of the Turtle Mountains, she tried to get him to confirm their destination.
“We’re going the same way as last time. Are you taking me to the valley for an early-morning camping trip? If so, I should have grabbed a few supplies before we left.” Her voice was the only recognizable sound. Creatures in the trees called out to their relations, and the dense growth on the forest floor crackled beneath Toto’s hooves.
She was out of her mind with frustration and curiosity when the break in the trees appeared, and she got her first glimpse of the mountain range. The peaks were lit up by the just-risen sun, but the valley was still in heavy shadow.