When Sam entered her, tears welled in her eyes. Emotion so thick she could almost see it swirled between them. She hadn’t known she’d been so empty until he filled her at that moment.
She loved this man.
Suddenly, she knew she always had.
It was because of her love for him that she hadn’t told him about Duke. She hadn’t wanted to wreck his life, to trap him. He would not understand her logic. She wasn’t sure she understood it herself. She only knew the truth of it in her heart.
His thrusts became harder, and even without the clitoral stimulation she thought necessary, an orgasm rose within her.
They came in unison, panting and heaving, until they were a mass of naked limbs tangled together, breathing heavily.
“That was amazing,” Sydney said.
He grunted, his eyes closed.
“I have to get to the rodeo.”
“I know. I’ll take you.” He didn’t move.
“It’s okay. I can get there myself.”
“No, I want to go with you. We can talk on the way about what we’re going to do.”
“All right.”
They showered in each other’s arms and then dressed. After a quick stop at the hotel for Sydney’s racing clothes, they got to the rodeo without much time to spare. Sydney had given Sapphire a workout the day before so the mare was in good shape.
She needed the purse.
She couldn’t let Sam ride that huge-ass bull.
Sam left her to prepare Sapphire. He’d be in the stands, he assured her, cheering her on.
Sydney groomed Sapphire, trying like hell to concentrate on the race. Her visualization was stunted. She couldn’t picture the race. She couldn’t picture winning.
Instead her mind conjured images of her baby boy on the run with her parents. She’d failed Duke, and she’d failed Sam. What was she going to do?
Right now Sam seemed rational, but who knew what would happen when they finally caught up with her parents and Duke?
Damn it, Sydney, focus!
She tried to concentrate on Sapphire. Nope, wasn’t working. She continued grooming on autopilot, knowing full well she should be bonding with her mare instead of ruminating. The race and the purse depended upon her and Sapphire being in perfect sync.
“That’s my girl,” she said to the horse. Normally she talked in soothing tones while grooming. She hadn’t today. She hoped Sapphire would be okay.
Once finished, she and Sapphire headed to the arena to await the start of the race. Sydney was set to go second to last.
One by one, she watched the other racers, each time thinking they did something better than she did. She had beaten most of these racers the other day, so why was she doubting herself?
Because now there was something more at stake. Not just the purse.
Duke.
Sam.
The two most important people in her life.
She’d never have a life with both of them. Duke was her parents’ son now. The most she’d ever get as the birth mother was visitation, and she could have that now as his big sister. What would Sam get?
Probably nothing.
Of course, if he married her, he could be Duke’s brother-in-law. Sydney shook her head. That wouldn’t be enough for Sam. And though he professed to love her, he would never marry her just to have his son. He was too honorable for that.
He had to trust her first.
She had to find a way to make him trust her.
How? How could she? She’d betrayed him in such a terrible way already. She’d kept him from his son. She wasn’t sure she could ever forgive herself.
And now her parents, her beloved parents, had run rather than face losing the little boy they adored.
She had gotten herself, her son, her parents, and the man she loved into one fine mess indeed.
“Syd, you’re up next,” Sharla Perkins, the racer behind her, said.
Sydney jerked out of her stupor. She hadn’t even seen the racers ahead of her go. She had no idea what kind of competition she was up against.
She and Sapphire headed forward.
“Next up is Sydney Buchanan of Nevada,” the announcer, Mark, said. “Sydney won a handsome purse in her first race. Let’s see what she can show us today.”
Yeah, let’s see for sure.
She closed her eyes. But instead of images of her and Sapphire, working as one, only dark visions of her parents running away appeared.
Sapphire. Must see myself with Sapphire. Why isn’t this working?
No more time to stall. She had to go.
She opened her eyes, signaled to the judge, and raced forward. With the force of a tornado, Sydney took Sapphire around the first barrel perfectly. She looked straight ahead and galloped toward the second, taking Sapphire around in the opposite direction. Thank God! One more to go. She aimed toward the final barrel.
Thundering applause rushed from the stands. She could do it. She was doing it. Sam was out there watching. She’d do it for him, for Duke, for all the mistakes she’d made.
God, the mistakes…
A millisecond later, Sapphire knocked down the final barrel.
Her throat constricted, Sydney raced back and crossed the electric eye. She didn’t see her time.
It didn’t matter anyway. Even if she’d made her personal best, the barrel would cost her a five second penalty. She wouldn’t place.
She dismounted and petted the mare’s nose. “Great job, sweetie.”
A local girl approached her. “Tough break,” she said.
Sydney tried to feign nonchalance. “It happens.”
The girl smiled and went on her way. Sydney took Sapphire back to the stalls and cleaned her up.
After she’d taken care of the mare and blown the congestion out of her nose, hoping she’d shed her last tear, she went out into the stands to find Sam.
She walked for a while, her brain in a haze, seeing only blurred faces in front of her. No blurry Sam. When she’d nearly given up, he appeared.
“Lord,” she groaned under her breath.
Next to him, jabbering in his ear, was none other than Rod Kyle.
Chapter Seventeen
“Look,” Sam said, “I’m not interested in all the documentation you have. I know the kid is mine. The DNA results will be in today, tomorrow at the latest. In fact, they might be in right now. I haven’t checked my phone in a while.”
“What I’m trying to tell you is that Roy and Carrie Buchanan are not who they seem to be,” Rod said. “I thought for sure you’d be interested.”
“You think I’d trust anything you told me?”
“Look, I get that Sydney’s not going to marry me. I’m not thrilled about the gossip and shit it’s going to create. My father had his own reasons for wanting me to marry her, and her family had a lot to do with it. He’s livid about the broken engagement.”
“What the hell would her family have to do with it? And why the fuck does your father care who you marry? Jesus Christ.”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you. I found some information—”
“What exactly have you found, then? And why were you looking?”
“Fair question. I started looking to find a way to keep Sydney from breaking our engagement. My father wanted the marriage more than I did, and my father doesn’t ever do anything without a reason, so I dug deeper.”
“Say I want this information,” Sam said. “What’s it going to cost me?”
“You need to leave Sydney. Give her up.”
Sam shook his head. “You’re dreaming. I have a child with that woman.”
“But you’re not in love with her.”
“That’s none of your goddamn business.”
Rod’s meticulously groomed eyebrows shot up. “Shit, are you telling me you’ve fallen for that manipulative little tramp?”
Sam grabbed Rod’s collar. “You want another punch in the face? ’Cause I can sure arrange it.”
“Ease up,
ease up.”
Sam let him go.
Rod rubbed his neck. “Christ. What a mess you’ve gotten yourself into.”
“Nothing like the mess you’re gonna be in if you ever say anything like that about Sydney again.”
“Fine, fine.” Rod rubbed his jaw. “Are you willing to give her up?”
“It depends on the information. Why don’t you give me a preview, and I’ll think about it?”
“Fair enough.” Rod moved closer to him. “Sydney has an older brother.”
“Yeah. Blake. He worked for one of my brothers-in-law for a while. But I already know that. Anything else?”
“Blake had a falling out with his parents some time ago. He left their ranch to make it on his own. He lived here for a while, working for your brother-in-law, and then got caught up in a scandal involving the mayor’s daughter.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know all that. The mayor went to prison for shooting Blake. The daughter miscarried. Tell me something I don’t know.”
“From here, Blake went to San Antonio and got into some real trouble with crime bosses in high places.”
“So?”
“So I’d bet you don’t know what caused the falling out in the first place. Why Blake left his parents.”
“Probably because he’s an asshole and they kicked him out. The guy’s clearly a loser.”
“That may be, but it has nothing to do with why he left. Blake wasn’t kicked out. He left of his own accord.”
“Why?”
Rod’s lips curved into a sickening smile. “That’s the information I have. Roy and Carrie Buchanan are not what they seem.”
“Yes, you already said that.”
“So will you leave Sydney?”
For that? For “Roy and Carrie aren’t who they seem to be?” Not only no, but hell no.
“No, I will not leave Sydney. Now get the hell out of my sight.”
“Speak of the devil,” Rod said.
Sydney approached. The sadness in her dark eyes nearly broke Sam’s heart.
“Nice race,” Rod said.
“Fuck you,” Sydney said.
“Get out of here,” Sam said to Rod. “I have no more use for you.”
“You have no idea what you’re dealing with,” Rod said.
“Then I’ll figure it out on my own. Now go, before I kick your ass into next year.”
Rod shrugged. “Don’t say I didn’t try.”
“What’s going on?” Sydney asked when Rod had left.
“He’s a pain in the ass, but he did say something worthwhile.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m not sure yet. We need to talk to someone.”
“Who?”
“Your brother.”
“I haven’t talked to Blake in years.”
“He’s here in town, isn’t he?”
“I have no idea. Last I heard he was in San Antonio.”
“No, he came back here. Harper and Amber know him.”
“They’re busy with wedding plans.”
“True. But we can easily find him. He used to work for Chad. I’ll give him a call.”
“Okay. Whatever you think is best,” Sydney said. “I’m going to call the foreman at our ranch and see if Mama and Daddy have come home yet. They’re still not answering the land line. I’m going to call our neighbors, too.”
“You do that. But first—” He pulled her to him for a hug. “I’m sorry about the race.”
“No, I’m sorry. We needed that money, Sam.”
“We’ll make do. I have credit cards and a good job with Zach. We’ll be fine.”
“I have my purse money from the race the other day. It’s in the safe in my room.”
“Good. We won’t use it unless we have to.”
“I want to use it. This is all my fault. I want to help.”
“That’s sweet of you. All right. Let’s make our phone calls, and then we’ll go grab a bite to eat and figure out what to do next.”
* * *
Blake hadn’t changed a bit.
He was still a good-looking and feisty cowboy, though he seemed a bit more humble. Clearly he’d been taken down a few notches over the last several years. Happiness swelled in Sydney’s heart. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed him.
Sam had gotten his number from Chad, and Blake had agreed to meet them for dinner in the privacy of Sydney’s hotel room. They ordered pizza, and Blake came with a six pack of Bud.
“It’s good to see you, Sis,” he said. “How are Mom and Dad?”
Sydney let out a sigh. “They’re fine, as far as I know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We’ll get to that,” Sam said. “Right now we have a lot of questions for you.”
“Starting with why you left home,” Sydney said.
Blake took a long drink of beer. “That’s a story for sure. Why, though, do you want to know now? It’s been a while since I’ve been gone. You were expecting, I believe, when I took off.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to the baby?”
“It’s a long story. But first you need to know that the baby is Sam’s.”
“What? You fucked my baby sister and left her pregnant?” Blake stood.
“Stop, stop,” Sydney said. “I was a willing participant, and he didn’t even know I was pregnant.”
“I heard Mom and Pop adopted a kid after I left. Was that…?”
“Yeah.”
“I see. Well, spit out your story then, Sis. If you expect me to be honest with you, I expect to know why you’re asking.”
“Fair enough,” she said.
After she and Sam had told the story, Blake opened another beer.
“Any more pizza?” he asked.
“We can order more.”
“Nah, I’m fine. That’s a heck of a story. Mom and Pop flew the coop, huh?”
“That’s what we’re assuming. Evidently they thought Sam would try to take Duke away from them.”
“Yes, I can see where you might think that.”
“What other reason would they have for leaving?”
“Probably none. Unless they thought you were about to uncover some stuff.”
“Uncover what? What on Earth are you talking about?”
“Okay. I’m going to tell you why I left. Why our parents and I are no longer on speaking terms. And just so you know, I’ve missed you, Sis.”
“I’ve missed you too.”
“This is all great, but could you start talking please?” Sam said.
“Mom and Dad aren’t who they appear to be,” Blake said.
“That’s just what Rod said.” Sam opened a second beer. “What are you talking about?”
“Who’s Rod?”
“My ex-fiancé,” Sydney replied. “Evidently he did some digging on me and inadvertently found out something about Mom and Dad. He tried to get Sam to pay for the information, but he wouldn’t. Rod’s the one who told us that you weren’t kicked out—that you left of your own accord.”
“Rod’s right.”
“What could be so bad that you left your pregnant little sister behind?” Sam said.
“I felt bad about that,” Blake said, “and I still do. But as long as you didn’t know what I knew, I figured you were okay. But I can’t tell you how much I’ve regretted leaving you there.”
“Know what?” Sydney’s heart lurched. “What in the world are you talking about, Blake?”
“Mom and Dad have kind of a Romeo and Juliet story,” Blake said. “They were the children of feuding houses.”
“What?”
“Didn’t you ever think it was weird that we never knew our grandparents?”
“I guess I never thought about it.”
“Both of our grandfathers are criminals, Sydney.”
Sydney sat, numb, her mouth in an oval.
“Big bad criminals. Mafia.”
No, couldn’t be. “The Buchanans and the Ciancios? They
’re mob families?”
“You are as naïve as I was. I’d never heard of either family, but then we grew up in rural Nevada. We were ranch folk. We went to county schools. But yes, the Buchanans and the Ciancios are both mob families out of Chicago.”
The pizza in Syd’s stomach threatened to come up. “But our ranch—it’s been in the family for generations.”
“Nope. Dad bought the ranch.”
Sydney’s body felt limp. “He lied?”
“Syd, he’s been lying to you for years.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“Irish and Italian mob don’t mix. But Mom and Dad fell in love. They weren’t much older than the real Romeo and Juliet. Plus, Dad especially hated the mafia life. This gave him a great excuse to leave it behind.”
“I wonder why their parents never came after them,” Sydney said.
“Why would they? They weren’t causing any trouble. They just wanted to be left alone.”
“I guess that makes sense.” Sydney took a drink of water. Sense? Really? None of this made any sense.
“So this trouble you got into in San Antonio?” Sam said.
“With a distant cousin on my mother’s side, Paul Donetto. I figured I’d be safe, being family and all. I found out family doesn’t mean jack to these people. When Michael killed Fredo in The Godfather, that was pretty close to reality.”
Icy worry gripped Sydney’s neck. “Are you still in trouble?”
“No. Donetto and I are even. I’m in no danger. I can’t talk about it to you. There are things I’m not at liberty to divulge because I made promises to people. To friends.”
Sam snorted. “You have friends now?”
“Yes, I do have friends, believe it or not.” Blake turned to Sydney. “I’m telling you that Mom and Dad didn’t kick me out. I left.”
“Okay. Now tell us why,” Sam said. “Just because Roy and Carrie came from criminals doesn’t mean they are criminals. Why is this important?”
“In a perfect world, it wouldn’t be. They’d have gone off together and made their own lives and left it all behind.”
“Isn’t that what they did?”
“They tried.”
“And?” Sydney gulped.
“They couldn’t cut it. The ranch was never very profitable. The best thing they did was get you and me trained in rodeo arts. We actually have some talent, though God knows where it came from. A long line of mobsters who could make a living in the rodeo, I guess, though they’ll never know it.”
Trusting Sydney: The Temptation Saga: Book Six Page 13