Love Me Or Lose Me

by Rita Sawyer

  Her sister sure in hell wasn’t making this easy. “Want to tell me about him?”

  “Them,” Scarlett said softly.

  Darcy gasped. “What? Them as in how many?”

  “Just two. Not at the same time, but there’s two guys I’ve been considering.” Her sister’s confession kind of made sense if the guys were the two Darcy had in mind.

  “Thinking about in what way? Like take me to bed and ravage me, or let’s start picking out wallpaper together? Don’t just sit there, tell me everything. ”

  Scarlett burst into laughter. Darcy figured that was a good start. She needed her to stop sulking if she was going to get her to talk. It took a few minutes for her sister to get herself under control, but once she did Darcy didn’t waste any time.

  “So these guys are they hot? Oh, the guy at the store, is he one of them? Who is the other one? Do either of them know about our brothers? Wait, do they know about each other?” Darcy had peppered her with question before she realized she wasn’t giving her a chance to answer.

  “Is it my turn?” Scarlett asked when Darcy finally managed to bite her tongue.

  Darcy opened her mouth to say yes, but snapped it shut and nodded instead.

  “The guy from the store is Shaw. No, he hasn’t met any of the family.”

  “Another secret.” Darcy was in awe, because she had no idea how her sister was managing to keep anything from her nosy brothers, not to mention their mother.

  “Well with the way things stand there’s no sense introducing him.” Scarlett dropped back into her chair and curled her feet up under her.

  “Where do they stand?” she hedged.

  “We had coffee a few times, which led to lunch. Then we did the dinner and a movie thing. Now he wants to make it more and I’m not sure I’m ready.”

  Darcy knew exactly what her sister was feeling. “What about the other guy? Who is he?”

  “Kyle.” Scarlett stared at her for a few seconds, then said, “You don’t look surprised.”

  “I’m sorry, but I saw the way he smiled at you. Actually they both seemed interested, but don’t worry, I don’t think the guys noticed.” Which was a really, really good thing.

  Scarlett groaned. “But sooner or later they will. Add that to the fact I’ve gone into business for myself and didn’t tell anyone. You know they’re going to freak out.”

  “It’ll be good for them to see you don’t need them to make your decisions. As for the business, I’ve been thinking about that. You’re a chatty thing and blogs seem to be all the rage so why not start one. You can showcase your work and if people want to know more they can leave you a comment. But we can talk about all that after we figure out what to do about your men.”

  “They’re not mine.” Scarlett’s lame protest just proved what Darcy had suspected.

  “But you’d like for one of them to be. Why don’t you tell me all about Shaw? Sexy name by the way, does he get bonus points for that?”

  “Maybe if it’s a tie.” They both laughed. “We met at the craft store. He was there with his two nieces. One of them walked into me and he apologized like crazy. Then I ran into him a few weeks later and he invited me for coffee. It seemed like when I went shopping, he’d pop up. Finally I mentioned what a coincidence it was. He admitted he had a shop not far from there and had been keeping an eye out for me.”

  “Well, a bright yellow SUV does kind of stand out,” Darcy volunteered.

  “I love my car. Now stop interrupting. Like I said things progressed and we’ve gone out a few times. Now he’d like to move our relationship to the next level. I basically told him I need to think about things. He’s giving me time, but I can tell he’s not happy about it.” Scarlett’s shoulder drooped a bit.

  “You like him a lot?” Scarlett nodded and Darcy asked, “Why?”

  “He likes kids, has manners, a good job, is sexy as hell, and he’s a good kisser. What more can a girl ask for?” She was right, but obviously something was holding her back.

  “I don’t know, but I think you’re looking for something. Tell me about Kyle?”

  “You know him.” Darcy made a face and Scarlett went on. “He’s got a lot of the same qualities Shaw has. I wouldn’t know how he kisses. But there are a lot of downsides to getting involved with him. To start with he’s good friends with Rhett. I wouldn’t want to cause a riff between them. Plus he has a fan club in town. The biggest thing is he’s a protector. I already have three of those. I want someone that will be there for me, but not tell me what I should do all the time.” Scarlett made some really good points.

  Darcy took a few minutes to digest everything Scarlett had said. She knew there wasn’t going to be an easy or instant answer to her problems. As she’d sat there and listened to her sister extol the virtues the two men, she couldn’t help but compare them to Thomas. It had confirmed what she already knew. She’d gotten really lucky when she found Thomas. Another woman would probably snap him up in a heartbeat. It struck her again that she may be asking too much.

  She was going to have a talk with her mother about foisting her romantic notions on her while she was growing up. If she hadn’t taught her to want a guy that would be devoted to her above everything else, then maybe she would be able to sit back and let her love life go with the flow. Instead thanks to all the romance novels her mother had let them read, she wanted a man that was going to be as devoted to her as she was to him. Thomas had been that way when they had first got together.

  “So what do you think I should do?” Scarlett asked.

  “Well it seems like you’ve already ruled Kyle out. But I’m not so sure about Shaw. Maybe you’re right about taking some time to think about it, or maybe you should just go for it?” Darcy had no idea which way she should go.

  If she wasn’t living so close to her family, she’d probably encourage Scarlett to give him a go. With her brothers so close by that might not be such a good idea. Of course if Shaw was able to hold his own with them maybe that would prove to Scarlett that he was the guy for her.

  “I’ve been evasive enough with Kyle that I think he’s bound to lose interest soon, but the more I run into Shaw the stronger the pull is to give in. Giving in would be so wrong, hopefully in all the right ways.” Scarlett’s admission sounded like another sign that Shaw may be more important than she realized.

  Darcy was starting to put together a clearer picture of what was going on. “Is that why you’ve agreed to go on a road trip with mom?”

  “Partly. I also plan on sneaking away whenever I can and search for some cool supplies.” Her sister smiled.

  “Damn Scarlett, your alter ego is a sneaky, horny, business woman.” Darcy was surprised her innocent little sister had it in her.

  ~* * *~

  Though the moon was high in the sky signaling that hours had past—he knew exactly how many, since he’d been checking his watch every half hour—Thomas still hadn’t heard from Darcy. At least her brothers had left him Cale’s Jeep since he refused to leave. He could have just gone back to Rhett’s and waited for her, but that didn’t sit right with him. Her brothers had all agreed that one of them should keep watch over the girls, and they were more than willing to let it be him. Truthfully he was hoping Darcy or Scarlett would have noticed him outside by now. He figured they would take pity on him and invited him inside.

  Instead, he’d sat there for hours waiting for nothing to happen. His legs were stiff and his back was starting to ache, but the thing he couldn’t take any more was the sappy love songs he’d been listening to. For Christmas he was getting Cale one of those satellite radios so he could get more than one station. At least it was warmer tonight than last night when he snuck up to the house to see Darcy. He climbed out of the car and stretched.

  The muscles in his back protested as he bent forward and touched the ground. He wasn’t ready to get back in the car so he decided to take a stroll around the house. Since he’d only been there for a few minutes that first night, he really h
ad no idea where he was going. He spotted a gravel path that seemed to lead around the side of the garage and decided to follow it.

  Chapter Nine

  Darcy and Scarlett were still lounging on the couch with their glasses of wine when Lulu lifted her massive block head and let out a soft whine. Darcy reached out to rub her head, but the dog lurched to her feet almost sending them both to the floor.

  “What’s the matter girl?” Scarlett asked as if the dog could answer her.

  Lulu bounded off the couch and stood there staring at them. When neither Darcy nor Scarlett moved, she huffed and walked away. Her nails clicked on the hardwood floors as she padded her way to the glass doors that led out to the deck and backyard. Scarlett continued telling her about her ideas to build a small addition to the house for a studio. Within a few seconds, Lulu let out a woof that had them both looking over to where she stood. Her snout was pressed right up against the glass and she was staring outside.

  “Do you think there’s something out there?” Darcy hadn’t spent enough time around dogs to know what Lulu might be trying to tell them.

  “I doubt it. If there was the motion detectors would turn on the lights. Or at least they should.” Scarlett’s theory settled Darcy’s nerves.

  Another one of Lulu’s barks vibrated the air and Darcy said, “Maybe we should call Rhett, or Jarrett just in case.”

  Scarlett shook her head. “No way! When they come over and find nothing here I’ll never live it down. You know them, they’ll check in on me all the time. I’m finally getting out from under their watchful eyes. There’s nothing that could willingly make me invite them to come over and look around.”

  Lulu whined as she lifted her huge paw and batted at the door. “Well, maybe she just needs to go out.”

  “That should have been our first thought.” Scarlett put her glass on the coffee table as she got up. “See, if Rhett hadn’t put the notion that something had been here earlier into our heads then we never would have even considered it.”

  “You’re probably right,” Darcy admitted as she followed her to the door.

  Scarlett opened the door and Lulu bolted outside. As she had said the lights on the deck flared to life. For such a big, bulky dog Lulu was damn quick. Darcy scanned the yard, but there was no sign of her.

  “Should we call her back?” she asked and Scarlett shook her head.

  “We’ll let her run around a bit so she’ll get worn out. I’m not waking up in a few hours to take her out again.” Scarlett was the one with experience, so Darcy just nodded in agreement.

  Suddenly, off in the distance, Lulu let out a succession of loud barks. Darcy was going to ask Scarlett if it was all right, but forced herself not to. She walked over and sat in one of the chairs on the deck. Lulu could still be heard running around and barking off in the distance.

  “How much land do you own?” She should have asked as soon as she saw the place.

  “About seven and a half acres. Why?” Scarlett dropped into one of the chairs next to her.

  “I was just wondering if there was anyone close by that Lulu would bother?” Up until a few hours ago Darcy would have freaked out if she ran into her.

  “Rhett and Jarrett are my closest neighbors. She must have found something to chase out there. Probably a bunny rabbit or something.” Scarlett leaned back and closed her eyes.

  “Or a skunk.” Darcy laughed as Scarlett lurched to her feet.

  “Lulu! Come on girl.” Scarlett clapped her hands then let out an ear-piercing whistle.

  Lulu’s barking got louder, more urgent. Scarlett ran into the house and Darcy heard some banging and cursing. When she came back out she was holding two flashlights, a leash, and Darcy’s sneakers. Darcy held her hands out and Scarlett handed her a flashlight and the shoes.

  “Wait for me.” Darcy dropped the sneakers to the deck and stuffed her feet in leaving them untied.

  The two of them headed into the yard, calling Lulu and whistling, hoping to get her attention. She didn’t come to them, but she didn’t run away either. Darcy could tell they were getting closer because Lulu’s barks were getting louder. The beams from their flashlights hit the grass and trees, but there was no sign of Lulu. Finally, Scarlett spotted some tree branches moving off to the right. They went that way and sure enough about six feet away they found Lulu.

  She was standing on her hind legs with her front paws braced on the tree. At least that’s what Darcy thought, but as they got closer she noticed there was a person between her and the tree. Scarlett whistled and Lulu turned her head. Darcy saw it was Thomas she had pinned to the tree.

  “Thomas?” She shined her light in his face and he grimaced.

  “What the hell?” Scarlett ran forward and grabbed onto Lulu’s collar.

  It took both of them pulling and Thomas pushing to get Lulu off of him. Even then Scarlett had to wedge herself between the dog and Thomas to get the dog’s attention. It took a bit of doing, but Scarlett managed to get the leash hooked onto the collar

  “I’ll take her up to the house so you can find out what he’s doing here. It’s late so he may as well stay. You can use the bed in the guest room when you’re ready.”

  Neither of them said anything as Scarlett ran off toward the house with the dog trotting along at her side. Darcy would have, if she could have focused on just one of the dozen questions that were bouncing around her mind. Thomas closed the distance between them and took her hand in his. The warmth of his skin against hers settled her racing thoughts.

  “What are you doing here?” Darcy was surprised by her breathless tone.

  “We decided one of us should stick around for a while, and I volunteered. After meeting Lulu up close and personal, I can see it was unnecessary.” His explanation made way too much sense since he’d made the arrangements with her brothers.

  “How long have you been here?” She let him wrap his arm around her shoulder as they started toward the house.

  “All night. I was sitting out front by the driveway with a clear view of the house. I needed to stretch so I decided to take a short walk.”

  “And you ran into Lulu.” She added for him.

  “Yeah. I’m sorry if I spooked you guys.”

  Darcy laughed. “We thought you might be a skunk.”

  “I’ve been calling myself a lot worse.” He looked over at her and said, “I’m sure you have, too.”

  She wanted to tell him he was wrong, but she wasn’t going to lie. “Just a little.”

  They climbed the steps of the deck together. Darcy didn’t want him to let her go just yet so she directed them over to the cushioned love seat. He sat down and pulled her into his lap. Darcy let herself relax enough to rest her head on his shoulder. She raised her hand and cupped his cheek. He lowered his head to press his lips to hers.

  He dropped his head to the seat back and said, “I think now would be a good time to talk.”

  “You sure about that?” She didn’t want to bring up things right now that would surely ruin the mood.

  “Yes.” He grasped her hips and slid her back on his knees and looked her in the eyes. “I’m not going to take this any further until we do.”

  His confidence had once been a positive trait, but at that moment it pissed her off. “Thomas, have you ever felt unsure about anything?”

  “Your love,” he confessed.

  Darcy jerked back with a loud gasp as if he’d slapped her. “When have I ever given you a reason to doubt that I love you!”

  “The day you walked out our door.” He sounded truly hurt by her abandonment.

  “It wasn’t because I don’t love you.” She tried to scramble off his lap, but he held her until she stilled.

  They stared at each other. “No, it was because you doubted my love for you, which is worse.”

  “I don’t see how.” She felt the tear roll down her cheek, but refused to acknowledge it.

  “Because it means I failed you.” He used his thumb to wipe the tear away. />
  ~* * *~

  Thomas hated to see her cry, but he finally had her alone, and he wasn’t sure if that was going to happen again anytime soon. He wasn’t about to let this moment go by without trying to fix what was wrong. Or at least explain why it had happened. Tears or no tears, he needed to do this. She deserved the right to feel free enough to ask him whatever she wanted without her brothers and sister overhearing her every word. He knew she’d hate for them to see her cry. Honestly, he still harbored the slight hope that he wouldn’t have to grovel in front of them either.

  “Darcy, I know you tried to talk to me. I should have listened. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you. In a way, I’m glad you left me.”

  “Why?” she sniffled.

  “Because it made me realize just how much of an idiot I am.” He decided to take her smile as a positive sign. “I was trying to prove to my father and uncle that I’m ready to take over the firm if they go through with their plans to retire. I put everything else in my life including our relationship on hold. But every night when I climbed into our bed and wrapped my arms around you, I knew as long as you were there, I could make all the sacrifices. Without you, it just wasn’t worth it.”

  “Your father wants you to take over?”

  “He did, but I turned him down.”

  “I thought that had always been the plan?”

  “I’ve made new plans. I don’t want to end up like him and my uncle. They spent their lives devoted to the firm. It didn’t matter that their marriages fell apart, or that they barely saw their kids. I don’t want that kind of life and I told them so. Neither of them was happy, but given the choices, I think they’ll come around.” If not, that was fine with him.

  “Thomas, I know how much following in your father’s footsteps means to you. I won’t be the one to keep you from achieving your goals.” She tried to get up, but he pulled her back down.

  “Honey, without you, nothing is worth it. I talked to my cousins and told them basically the same thing I told my father. They were all relieved, because none of them want to turn out like my uncle. I think we’ve found a compromise that will suit everyone’s needs. You saved not just me, but all five of us.”