Twice the Trouble

by Sandra Dailey

  The sun had gone down, only leaving a pink glow on the lower half of the horizon. Within the next half hour it would be dark. The barn would be even darker.

  He thought about the soft, loose hay covering the floor of the empty stall at the back of the barn. He’d let her say her piece, and then, maybe they could find a use for that stall. Make up sex, reunion sex, Lacey naked, clinging and panting under him. The pictures in his mind were enough to make a man drop to his knees and beg.

  She gave each horse a portion of oats from an old plastic pail. She stretched and turned and dipped her body in the graceful movements of a ballerina. With that chore done, she picked up a rake and began smoothing the hay in each stall. “Do you want to grab a bucket and start ladling out water, or are you going to just stand there and watch?”

  “I don’t know,” Alex answered. “The view is pretty good from here.”

  No snappy reply came back at him, only tight-lipped silence. Alex found a bucket and began filling it from a hose by the door.

  “What’s the problem, Lacey? You might as well spit it out.”

  She swung the rake up and slammed the end of the handle onto the ground. A small clump of hay fell from the tines onto her hair. Alex bit back a smile. She shook her head to toss most of the hay off. When the front of her tank top shook as well, his nerves began to vibrate. A small piece of hay lodged in her cleavage to tease him. His mouth went as dry as pocket lint.

  “You want to talk to me?” Sarcasm dripped from each word. “After five days without calling, you decide it’s time to talk?”

  “So, that’s the problem?” Alex couldn’t believe she was being such a girl. “I was busy moving my whole life and I didn’t call, so sue me.”

  “And that’s another thing,” Lacey moved closer. “You say you’re going to marry me, but you don’t even tell me that you’re moving. I had to find out from a message on your phone.”

  “I guess that was wrong. I’m sorry.”

  “Yes, you are sorry.” Angry tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. “You’re here one day and gone the next. It must be a habit of yours. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again. I can’t count on you, Alex. The next time you decide to move on, it’ll break my kid’s hearts. I can’t let that happen.”

  “Exactly what are you saying, Lacey?”

  She straightened her shoulders and stuck out her chin. “I’m saying it may not be a good idea to let you get so close. I’d rather you didn’t let them hang out at your house.”

  “For heaven’s sake, are you going to think I’ve left you every time I walk out the door?” Alex pulled his fingers through his hair. “I was just trying to get to know the kids before I end up living with them, which I will at least part-time, after we’re married.”

  “I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth. I’d rather live in my truck. I’ll probably end up there anyway, now that you bought the only house in town I could afford to rent.”

  “Don’t you dare cry poor to me, Lacey.” The bucket beside Alex’s foot overflowed onto his shiny dress shoe. He kicked it over and cursed. As he turned the hose off he continued, “I’ve seen your books. You bring in a ton of money selling livestock, vegetables, honey, and eggs. You stable horses and give riding lessons. You spend next to nothing after feed and maintenance costs. You’ve got enough money in the bank to put a twenty percent down payment on this place. Now you tell me, who’s being deceitful?”

  “That money is going to send my kids to college. I’m not touching a red cent of it! Do you think I want them to work like dogs for the rest of their lives, like me?”

  “You call that a college fund?” Alex shouted back. “How many kids do you plan to have?”

  “They’re all I’ll ever have.” Lacey’s voice was thick with emotion. “That’s why I have to do this right.”

  Alex took a step toward her, but she stepped back and hugged her arms around herself.

  “What do you mean by that?” he said in a softer tone. “I don’t understand. Make me understand what you just said.”

  “Why should you care?” she answered in a tiny voice.

  “I care a hell of a lot. I care about everything to do with you and I don’t like the way you said that. Just tell me what you meant, dammit.”

  Lacey stiffened her backbone and glared at him. “I’m sorry, Alex, but if we get married, I won’t be popping out any little Benson babies. No need to worry about buying an SUV with a big sloppy dog in the window. There wouldn’t be any soccer or ballet practices in your future.” She turned her back to him. “Maybe you should find someone more suitable.”

  A lump formed in Alex’s throat. He’d never thought he wanted children, but Jenna, and even Jerrod, was starting to get under his skin. Suddenly he felt as though something very precious had been lost. He laid his hands on her shoulders. “What happened?”

  Lacey took a deep breath and sighed. “Let’s just say the twins’ births weren’t under ideal circumstances and leave it at that.” She turned toward him looking weary and sad. “I’m tired. I need some alone time.”

  “I understand,” Alex pulled her into a hug, as much for his own comfort as hers. He breathed in her sweet scent. She smelled like home. “I’ll be back tomorrow, though. I’m not giving up.”

  “I don’t know what you want from me,” Lacey whispered.

  “I want you to marry me, for no other reason than you want to. I want to get back what we lost all those years ago.”

  “I need more from you than that, Alex.”

  “What do you need?” Alex bent his knees to look her in the eye. “Just tell me and it’s yours.”

  “I don’t know. I just need…more.”

  Suddenly a loud clanging sounded from the direction of the house. Alex jumped back. “What the hell is that?”

  “It’s the emergency bell.” Lacey jogged toward the door. “Someone’s in trouble.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alex’s heart thundered as he raced through the back door behind Lacey. The only light in the house was in the living room. As they reached the doorway, they could see Jenna and Jerrod sitting quietly on the sofa, side by side. They looked thunderstruck, but why? There didn’t seem to be a fire, no flood, no blood.

  “What’s going on in here?” Alex’s voice boomed louder than he’d intended.

  “So, what the boy told me is true.”

  Lacey visibly jumped at the sound of her grandfather’s voice coming from a chair turned away from them.

  Clarence Carlyle stood and slowly faced them. “You two are at it again. At least you had enough sense to take him to the barn with the other animals. Your children don’t need to witness your shameless behavior,” he sneered.

  “That’s enough, Mr. Carlyle,” Alex snapped.

  “Didn’t you get the message all those years ago, young man? You’re not needed around here. You’ll bring nothing but heartache to my family, just like you did before.”

  “What are you talking about, Granddad?” Lacey asked. “What message?”

  Alex never looked away from the old man. He knew without having to ask.

  “I’m cleaning the trash out of my house.” Clarence reached for a large old shoebox on the side table. “I brought you your part of it, boy. Now take it and go. Don’t ever come back here.”

  He removed the lid and emptied the box on the floor. A pile of envelopes grew around Alex’s feet. They were all unopened and yellowed with age. Alex recognized them, though. They had the U.S. Navy logo on the top corner and Carlyle’s address was written in his own handwriting.

  Lacey dropped to her knees and gathered handfuls of the letters. She looked as though she were in a trance. She was barely breathing. Suddenly, she let out a frustrated scream. Jenna whimpered and called for her in a tiny voice, but Lacey’s eyes had narrowed onto her grandfather. An expression of sheer hatred soured her pretty face.

  “Why did you do this?” she shrieked. “I needed these and you to
ok them. You’re an evil, horrible man.”

  “Don’t you talk to me that way,” Clarence bellowed. “My son’s life was ruined because of you, and still I took you in.”

  “How can you say that?” Lacey sobbed as she clutched an armful of the letters to her chest.

  “He was my only son, my only child. He was all I had. He would have followed in my footsteps. But then your mother came along and turned his head. She got pregnant for you and I lost him. He could have been somebody, but instead he chose to make a living digging in the dirt, just like you’re doing. When he was gone, I got saddled with you, a moody, ungrateful little snot. It didn’t take you long to turn into a trollop, just like your mother.”

  Alex’s hands opened and closed repeatedly at his sides. He wanted to make a fist to drive through Clarence’s face. But the old man was too fragile and the kids didn’t need to witness such violence.

  Jerrod jumped to his feet. Tears ran unashamedly down his cheeks. “I won’t have you talking to my mom that way, Granddad. You’d better leave. You’re the one who’s not welcome here.”

  “You won’t talk to me that way, boy,” Clarence growled. “I’ll take my belt off to you.”

  “You touch either one of these kids and I’ll rip your heart out and feed it to you.” Alex’s voice came out like a clap of thunder. “You’ve done all the damage you’re going to, old man. Now, get the hell off of my property.”

  Minutes later, Alex stood on the front porch, feet spread and arms folded. He watched Mr. Carlyle’s car turn onto the road and disappear. Beside him, Jerrod stood in a matching pose. Even Buck looked satisfied as he sat at the foot of the steps looking out.

  “Rip his heart out and feed it to him? I like it. Thanks, Alex.”

  Alex grabbed the boy in a headlock and ruffled his curly hair. “Don’t mention it, kid. It took a lot of balls to stand up for your mom, the way you did. I’m proud of you.”

  The male bonding moment was cut short when Jenna stepped out the front door. “Alex, I’m not sure if mom is okay. She’s crying a lot.”

  Alex dropped his head with a sigh. “I’ll take her upstairs and help her get ready for bed. Can you make her a cup of tea and bring it up?”

  “Sure.”

  Before Jerrod could follow Jenna into the house, Alex took his arm and held him back. “Look, I know I said I wasn’t staying, but I can’t leave her like this,” he whispered. “I’m going to spend the night, and I’m going to sleep in her room. Is that going to cause a problem with you?”

  “I guess, if it’s okay with her, it’ll be okay with me. But you are going to leave the door open, right?”

  Alex chuckled and shoved Jerrod through the door ahead of him. “If we didn’t already have Buck, you’d make a great guard dog, boy.”

  In her room, Alex settled Lacey into her bed, and then stripped down to his T-shirt and boxers. He slid under the covers beside her and sat with his back against the headboard. He pulled her against his chest to rest her head on his shoulder.

  Lacey was half asleep, but her breath still caught in occasional gasps from crying so hard.

  Now that the truth had come out about his letters, things would be different. They could finally get back on track.

  A tap sounded on the door and he looked up to see Jenna with Lacey’s tea.

  “Come on in, sugar.”

  Jenna handed Alex the cup and watched as he held it to her mother’s lips. “Mom will probably kick my butt for saying so,” she whispered, “but you look good there. She needs somebody like you to help her out sometimes.”

  Alex smiled. “Good night, Jenna,” he said in a low, teasing voice.

  “Good night, Alex,” she mimicked. She walked back through the door and began to pull it closed.

  “Jenna. You can leave the door open.”

  Jerrod had been man enough to stand up for his mom.

  There was no need to drive him crazy.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Alex was technically awake, but he refused to open his eyes. Once he did, the spell would be broken. He’d have to get out of bed and start his day. Nothing in the world felt better than he did at that moment. He hated to give up the warm softness of Lacey’s body against his.

  Lacey had been his only real relationship before the accident, and they’d had to sneak even a kiss. In all his thirty-two years he’d never slept an entire night with a woman in his arms. She fit him perfectly, from her head tucked under his chin to her round bottom snuggled between his legs. It was no wonder that he’d slept more soundly then he had in years.

  Her scent was a mixture of wild flowers, sunshine, and clean linen. He buried his nose in her hair to inhale it deeper. Perhaps it would lull him back to sleep.

  “Mom?” a soft whisper came from over his shoulder. “Mom…”

  Alex grudgingly opened one eye and rolled toward the intruder. He slid his legs over the edge of the mattress and sat up pulling a pillow over his lap. Now was not the time to discuss morning wood with a preadolescent boy.

  He scrubbed his hands over his face, and then let them travel through his hair. He looked at Jerrod through that one squinted eye. “What time is it?” he whispered.

  “It’s almost seven o’clock,” Jerrod whispered back. “I’ve already done my chores and Jenna is just about finished with hers. Mom’s usually up by now. Is she okay?”

  “She had a rough night. I think she could use a little more sleep.” Now that Alex had things under control he tucked his pillow against her back. “What’s the problem?”

  “Well,” Jerrod shrugged sheepishly, “I’m hungry and Jenna is threatening to make breakfast. I’m not exaggerating when I say that you could sink a battleship with one of her biscuits. She always gets shells in the eggs and burns the bacon. I can make coffee, but that’s about it for my cooking skills.”

  “Put the coffee on, kid. I’ll clean up and be down in a minute.” Now that Alex had his body under control, he stood and stretched. “You and Jenna are about to get a crash course in how to make breakfast the Benson way.”

  When Jerrod had left the room, Alex turned back to look at Lacey. She looked like a life-sized doll as she slept on her side, all curled up. Her hands were pressed together under her cheek and her feet were peeking out from under the sheet. He noticed the way her lips were slightly opened in a sexy pucker. He’d pay a million bucks to have those soft perfect lips touch every inch of his body.

  Dammit, he had to get a lock for that door.

  ****

  When Lacey opened her eyes the sun was above the tree line outside her window. She figured the time must be after nine. She hadn’t slept this late since the twins had been born.

  She’d awakened once during the night and found Alex’s arms around her. She’d stayed as still as a statue not to wake him. She couldn’t face him after what had transpired in her living room last night. The things her grandfather said, the letters he’d kept from her. She had accused Alex of lying and it had been her own grandfather who had deceived her. The sad thing was, she wasn’t surprised. He’d said horrible things about Alex all along.

  Last night, Alex hadn’t only witnessed her grandfather’s ghastly behavior; he’d seen her fall apart. Strong, responsible Lacey had come apart at the seams. He’d had to take care of her, carry her to bed, and feed her tea. How could she ever face him again? He’d probably raced for the door before daybreak.

  Looking in the bathroom mirror, she saw that her eyes were still a little swollen. She pressed a cold, wet cloth to them. She’d just started brushing her teeth when sounds came from downstairs loud enough to be a herd of buffalo in her kitchen. They were accompanied by a chorus of howls and laughter. What were those kids doing?

  With toothbrush in hand, she raced down the stairs and into the kitchen. Sliding to a stop in the doorway, Lacey found Jerrod lying on his back in the middle of the floor. Alex was over the top of him with Jenna on his back. It was an Alex sandwich. They were all laughing hysterically.

/>   Lacey nearly choked on her toothpaste when she saw Jerrod’s face covered in peanut butter. All three offenders froze in place and turned looks of wide-eyed innocence her way. They slowly got to their feet and faced her.

  “We really screwed up this time, kids,” Alex mumbled. “She’s so mad, she frothing at the mouth.”

  Both kids turned red and covered their mouths. Their eyes watered from the effort it took not to laugh.

  Lacey rinsed her mouth, and then picked up the overturned peanut butter jar. “Would someone please tell me, what’s going on?”

  Alex cleared his throat and squared his shoulders. He gave her a serious expression. “I’m sorry. I had no choice. Your son called me a sissy. He had to be punished.”

  Jerrod scraped a finger down his cheek and into his mouth, looking unrepentant. “I stand by what I said, Mom. The man wears hair gel.”

  “I tried to stop them,” Jenna added. “I was just getting ready to make lunch.”

  “Lunch! What time is it?” She checked the clock above the stove. It was eleven-thirty.

  Alex was still glaring at Jerrod. “If I didn’t gel my hair it would look like that mop on your head,” he growled.

  “I want you kids cleaned up in fifteen minutes,” Lacey demanded. “I’m sure Alex has his own work to get back to.”

  The twins left the room grumbling under their breaths.

  “It sounds like you’re kicking me out,” Alex said. “If it’s because of the peanut butter thing…”

  “It has nothing to do with peanut butter. I’ve just got a lot to do and I need some time to think without you crowding me.”

  Alex looked like he’d just been slapped. “I do have some things to get done, but next time you get mad at me, we’re going to talk it out. You can’t keep pushing me away, then get upset because you haven’t heard from me. It’s not fair and I’m not going to put up with it much longer.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you threatening to leave again?”