by Jess Bryant
They’d already agreed knowing full well it put Zach in the hot seat. He had the uncomfortable task of either looking like an asshole by saying no again or agreeing and not showing up. Going wasn’t an option. He’d rather stand in front of his own tractor and let it mow him down than spend a night with a group of twenty-three year old girls.
“Look, Maddie I…”
The bell over the door at the front of the diner dinged. It wouldn’t have caused much of an interruption unto itself. It must have dinged at least a dozen times as customers went in and out while they’d been eating. This time it was different though because that one ding rang loud over the now silent diner. Everything fell into a hush and Zach followed the eyes of all the others to see what had caused such a disruption.
When his eyes landed on the face of the woman who’d caused enough of a disruption in his life to last a lifetime already he figured he should have known. Her blond hair was pulled into a messy ponytail on top of her head. She was wearing a rumpled cutoff sweatshirt that appeared to be at least a size too big and fell off one shoulder with a pair of holey jeans. She looked a little pale, her blue eyes a little too big on her drawn face.
Truth be told she looked like hell. Which was why he couldn’t for the life of him explain why his body reacted like a horny high-school kid that had just set sights on the head cheerleader in a mini-skirt. Damn Bluebell Montgomery Carter to hell if he’d do a thing about it though.
Chapter Eight
Blue could feel every set of eyes in the diner land on her. She could practically hear her own heart rate the silence was so thick. Obviously the gossip mongers had been busy while she was away in Amarillo but she was too tired to care. She wanted a latte, a real live latte instead of that sludge they served at the hospital or the black as night stuff Arlene made for the hands in the bunkhouse.
She knew her appearance wouldn’t help matters. No doubt the minute she turned her back they’d all be whispering about how awful she looked. She was going to let them. She’d been in her own personal hell for nearly two straight weeks so they could all go there if they thought she cared about what they had to say.
Still, when her skin itched she knew it wasn’t from one of the casual observers. It only took her eyes a second to pick up on what her body already knew. Zach West was here. Great, just great. She avoided direct eye contact. From the look burning on that handsome face he was still mad at her for what happened at Molly’s wedding.
Right now she was too exhausted to be humiliated. She’d be humiliated after she got her latte and some caffeine into her veins. She’d be humiliated after she got a decent night’s sleep. Right now, her brain was only working on auto-pilot so not even the memories that came from seeing him, the ones of his smooth lips or coarse hands on her body were going to do much for her.
“Oh, Bluebell. Hi!” A pretty young girl holding a pot of coffee careened towards her with a sad pout, “I was so sorry to hear about your daddy.”
It took her a couple extra seconds to place Maddie in the apron. Molly’s younger sister had always been a quiet, sweet girl. She’d been one of the only other unmarried bridesmaids so they’d bonded a little. She’d also been the crier. Blue returned her hug lightly and prayed the girl didn’t erupt into another fit of tears now.
“Thanks Maddie.”
“How’s he doing?”
She half expected to see the gleam of delight in the other woman’s eyes. No doubt every nearby table was waiting with baited breath for her answer. It would be all over town in a matter of minutes. The only reason she answered was that Maddie looked like she actually cared and it had been a while since somebody asked her that question with honest concern. She took a deep breath and shrugged.
“It’s touch and go still. He’s in and out of consciousness but the doctors said we should be able to move him home soon.”
Which was why she was back in Fate now. She’d come home to make the necessary preparations. Her father could come home from the hospital but only if she set up a home health care system. He needed a nurse and a bunch of pain meds and IV’s and other necessities to make him comfortable.
She hated that word. Comfortable. The doctors kept saying they just needed to make him comfortable. How was she supposed to get comfortable with her father dying? She couldn’t.
But he’d finally turned to her and scowled that if she was going to insist on putting her life on hold and sticking around she might as well figure out a way to get him home. He refused to die in a hospital in Amarillo. She refused to think about him dying at all but she’d eventually given in and offered to go back to the ranch to prepare it for him.
How was she supposed to prepare the ranch for his death? She had no idea where to start. Step one had been getting a freaking latte. That’s as far as she’d gotten in her planning.
“Well it’s good to hear he’ll be home. I’m sure he hates being cooped up in a hospital.” Maddie stroked her arm comfortingly.
“You have no idea.”
“I’d heard you were heading back to Denver after the wedding. Are you still leaving soon?” Maddie asked.
“No. I’ll be sticking around for a while.”
She shoved a loose hair behind her ear and tried to push down the nausea that came along with that statement. She had no idea how long a while would be. She was stuck in Fate just as she’d feared. She was stuck watching her father die and she had no idea how long that would take or if she’d even be able to handle it.
“Excuse me; I’m just going to get a latte.” She stepped around Maddie, “Thanks for asking about Daddy.”
“Of course, we put him on the prayer list at the First Baptist.” Maddie offered.
Blue moved to the counter but she kept her head down. She was fully aware that while a lot of the diners had at least pretended to return to their meals and coffee a particular set of green eyes remained trained on her. She might not have the energy to worry about Zach’s reaction to her continued presence in Fate but that didn’t mean she was oblivious to the dark cloud that hung over his head as he glared at her.
“Thanks again.”
“Here, let me get you that latte.” Maddie gave her another pat on the shoulder and slipped behind the counter while Blue awkwardly perched on one of the stools. “We were all wondering where you disappeared to during Molly’s reception. You left so early we didn’t know what went wrong. I guess now we do.”
Her head jerked up before common sense could tell her not to do it. Her eyes met Zach’s. He was sitting close enough to hear the conversation and his eyes narrowed. His dark brows furrowed and she ducked her head again.
Something had definitely gone wrong alright but it hadn’t had a thing to do with her father. Still, she’d thank her lucky stars if the people in town chalked up her rushing out of the reception to him. It was better than the alternative.
“Yeah, I had to go because of my daddy. That’s why I couldn’t stick around and say goodbye. I wasn’t thinking clearly.”
That deep chuckle that made her insides quake echoed in her ears. Zach was laughing at her. Let him, odds were he wouldn’t contradict her story since she’d all but left him with his pants around his ankles. That had to be as humiliating for him as it had been for her right? She was going to have to bet on it.
“I wouldn’t have been thinking clearly if I got the call my daddy was in the hospital either.” Maddie assured her, “Your latte will be just a couple of minutes. It’s a new machine but it’s a little slow setting it up. We don’t get much call for those around here.”
“No problem.” Blue kept her head down, thinking to remain as invisible as possible and then changed her mind, “I’ll just run to the restroom while I wait. Be right back.”
She slipped off the stool and practically raced down the back hallway to where she knew the bathrooms were located. She didn’t need to use it. She just needed somewhere to hide out for a couple of minutes until she could make her escape. She couldn’t sit out there in th
e diner amid the silence of their judgment knowing the place would erupt in gossip when she walked away. She should have known better than to stop in town but she’d been half-asleep and in desperate need of decent coffee.
Washing her hands she took stock of the mess that she looked like in the chipped mirror. She’d lost some weight since she didn’t have an appetite the past two weeks. Arlene kept shoving food at her and she kept giving it to the nurses. How she was supposed to eat when she felt like throwing up most of her waking hours was beyond her.
Still, she needed to give her body something to work with if she was really sticking around the ranch. Living on a ranch was hard work. She was going to need her energy as much to deal with that place as to deal with her stubborn, difficult father.
Blue wiped away a mascara stain under her eyes only to realize it was a dark circle. She gave up all hope of righting her face or her life right then. She couldn’t deal with anything else until she had at least ten ounces of warm brown liquid coating her stomach.
Apparently Fate had different ideas about that though because when she stepped back out into the hallway she came face to face with its one citizen she’d been set on avoiding. Her mouth went dry and her eyes darted around the half-lit hallway. She was semi-alone with Zach West and the last time that had happened he’d had his hand in her panties. Damn.
No, double damn, because despite being exhausted, despite being embarrassed, humiliated even, her body still heated under his dark gaze. He was wearing slacks; something he hadn’t even donned for the wedding, with dress shoes and another polo. This one was a light blue and only emphasized his sun tanned skin and the coiled muscles below.
Seeing him look so good she finally stopped blaming herself for letting things get out of control the night of Molly’s wedding. She was lucky to have come to her senses when she did but it was staggering she’d been able to walk away from him really. She deserved a good-girl medal or something.
“What are you doing here?”
His eyes narrowed, “Are you going to ask me that every time we run into each other?”
She swallowed hard and shrugged. He had a point. Couldn’t she think of anything else to say?
“It’s nice to see you again. You’re looking well.”
“Thanks.” He snorted this time and his gaze raked down her from head to toe and then back up, he met her eyes when he said, “You look like hell.”
“Wow. Okay. Thanks.” She shook her head. Obviously he was still upset. She was having a tough time caring since she’d been thinking about how hot he looked and he was telling her she looked like a mess.
“You run out of makeup or something? I think they sell that stuff over at the pharmacy.”
Her chin tilted up of its own accord, “Thanks for the tip.”
“Just trying to be helpful. Most of the ladies around these parts don’t go out without the full arsenal of liner and mascara and all that crap. Guess now I can see why.”
“Well so much for the gentlemen cowboy act huh?” The words fell out of her mouth with a snarl before she could think to contain them. She’d have slapped her hands over her mouth if she’d thought fast enough. She shouldn’t have brought that up; bringing it up only brought back other memories, ones she did not want to discuss with him ever.
His green eyes flashed and a smile curled at his lips but it wasn’t the same easy, flirtatious one she’d liked so much on that handsome face. This smile was decidedly dangerous, tinged in something darker. She knew her mistake the minute she’d made it. She wasn’t dealing with the nice guy he kept on the surface. The man towering over her now was unquestionably more hazardous than that.
“I told you I wasn’t a gentleman but in case you didn’t hear me, I think getting you off in a church parking lot should have more than proven that point.”
Her cheeks flushed. She should have known he was going to bring it up. He wanted to talk about it. Her life just kept spiraling further out of reach.
“Then again, most ladies don’t run out on a man after he gives her an orgasm without so much as a thank you so I figure we’re about even on manners.”
“A thank you? That’s what this is about?” She rolled her eyes, “Fine. Thank you Zach, thank you oh so very much.”
“It’s a little late for that now baby-doll.” His gaze lowered to her mouth. “And you still owe me one… actually I guess that makes two now.”
Her mouth actually fell open, “You’re not actually implying that I’d… because you…” She couldn’t make the words come out. She was appalled.
He laughed, “An orgasm for an orgasm? Why Bluebell, you’re going to make me blush. Ladies don’t talk like that. I just meant that test drive of the Audi of course.”
She’d been raised to be a lady no matter what he might think. Sure letting a virtual stranger up her skirt in a church parking lot wasn’t exactly proper but she had manners. She knew that when a person tried to rile her she was supposed to smile sweetly, bless their heart and walk away. And he was trying to rile her and doing a really good job of it, so much so that combined with her exhaustion she couldn’t keep her smart ass response from rolling off her tongue.
“You think that one orgasm is worth driving the R8? Hardly.”
One corner of his mouth slid up, “Oh I suppose you’ve had better?”
“Yep.”
“Bet none faster though,” his smile widened, “I barely touched you and you went off like a firecracker.”
Damn him for pointing out the obvious. She had never come from a man’s touch that fast. Ever. And that was embarrassing to admit even to herself let alone the stranger that’d done it to her.
“Your ego is too big for your own good.”
“My ego is backed up by the facts.” He took a step closer in the small hallway, “And you already know how big the rest of me is so it shouldn’t be that surprising.”
“You’re really not going to let this go are you?” She stepped back and collided with the wall. Her funny bone smarted but there wasn’t a thing she found funny about her current situation. She winced and rubbed it with her index fingers.
“Blue? Bluebell are you back there? Your latte is getting cold.” The sound of Maddie’s voice came closer and she breathed a sigh of relief and took the opportunity to put a couple extra feet between herself and the overwhelming man in front of her.
“Payback’s a bitch Bluebell.” He shook his head and ignored the intrusion.
“I’m coming Maddie. Be right there.” She called as the other woman stopped at the mouth of the hallway and stared between them curiously. The last thing she needed was gossip that she’d been in the back hall of the diner with Zach West making the circuit. “I was just thanking Zach for asking about Daddy.”
“Oh okay.” Maddie shrugged but remained where she was, waiting for her.
Zach chuckled that dark rumble that made her insides ache, “Yeah. As I was saying… it’s good to know you’ll be in town for a while. I’ll be seeing you around Bluebell.”
She bit her lip to keep from laughing. It wasn’t so much a goodbye as a threat. She should probably have been worried but she wasn’t. Zach was definitely a big, overwhelming guy but she didn’t believe a threat coming from those lips no matter how dark his edges might be. If he’d wanted to get payback he could have grabbed her at the wedding, kept her from leaving. That wasn’t his style.
“Bye Zach.”
She followed Maddie back to the front of the diner and paid for her latte. Still, she was going to be in Fate for a while which meant she’d have to do a better job of avoiding him. It shouldn’t be that hard. It was a small town but she lived on a ranch outside of town and so did he. Their paths wouldn’t cross that often and she figured she’d held her own against him pretty well even if it did.
That thought kept her company as she got in the R8 and tore out of town. With the windows down and the stereo blasting Carrie Underwood it was easier to pretend she was just out for a drive, rolling dow
n the road without a care in the world. It was easier to pretend her life wasn’t falling apart all around her.
The house was dark as she pulled to a stop in front and for that much she was grateful. Arlene had been visiting her father, taking her spot by the side of his bed while Blue was away. Bobby had taken a load of cattle over to Lubbock. None of the other hands would dare set foot in the house which meant she was alone for a little while and could take a nice long shower and then an even longer nap.
The quietness of the house when the big oak door slammed behind her caught her off guard. She’d always hated how quiet this house was. It hadn’t always been that way. Her mother had often left music playing as she went from room to room. She’d leave a television going in the background while she read a book or cooked supper. Some of those instances were memories, she was afraid most of them were simply stories she’d heard over the years from Arlene and Alice though.
Much like her bedroom, nothing in the big ranch house had changed in the years she’d been away. She hadn’t really expected it to. Despite growing up in the house nothing in it had been changed from the time she was five years old other than her bed and her clothes growing with her until she left.
The same large framed photograph of her mother, father and herself as a baby hung above the fireplace. The same smaller pictures dotted the other tables, some from the baby beauty pageants her mother had entered her in, some of her done up in her rhinestone boots and cowboy hat with her father. This had been home for the girl in those pictures; she wasn’t sure what it was to her now.
She’d told her father she was home when he tried to send her away. Had that been a lie? The truth she’d never seen for herself? Nowhere else had ever felt like home either so by default did that make this ranch and Fate her home?
Her condo in Denver was fantastic but it was a rental property like all the others had been. She’d never owned a piece of land or a house. She’d always known there was no point because with her job she’d be moving again in a few years and she’d just wind up losing money on it. It had worked for her for the past few years.