She ended the kiss and laid her chin on his shoulder. Embraced in his strong arms, she sighed. This was where she belonged.
His hand came up and cupped the back of her head. “Well, we got our first fight out of the way. I have to say, seeing you angry and disappointed in me isn’t my favorite thing.”
“Then you should let me be right from now on.”
His chest vibrated against hers with his laugh. “My mom used to say, ‘You can be happy or right.’ I think in order for her to be happy, she let my father be right even when he wasn’t. He’s so used to getting what he wants, he can’t take it that I keep saying no.”
“You want to be right, too.”
“Are you trying to start another fight?”
She leaned back and tipped her head to look up at him. “No. I get why you held on to the land and what it means to you. I don’t understand your father’s compulsion to get it from you.”
“Maybe it ties to my mother’s letter and whatever he stole.”
Sonya’s gaze turned thoughtful. “What did she and your grandfather want to tell you?”
“Sonya.”
She turned toward her mother, though Austin didn’t let her go. “Hi, Mama. There’s someone I’d like you to meet.”
Chapter Fifteen
Austin stared past Sonya, amazed by the pretty, petite woman before him. Makeup hid most of the bruising along her swollen jaw and on her neck. Her dark hair hung in spiraling curls and stopped just above her shoulders. Her big brown eyes were filled with childlike innocence. The simple white blouse and lace skirt that stopped several inches above her knees, where even more bruises disappeared up her thighs, emphasized her youthful look. His gut tightened with anger and his heart sank with sorrow for all she’d endured and survived. Brown sandals showed off her cotton candy–pink painted toes. But her shy smile held his attention. The same smile he’d gotten used to seeing on Sonya’s face.
“Who’s your friend?” June asked Sonya, still eyeing him holding her daughter in his arms.
Austin reluctantly released Sonya, picked up the flowers, and walked over to June. He stood a couple feet away. He didn’t want to crowd her after what she’d been through.
Her gaze sharpened on him and her hands clasped together in front of her.
“Hello, Miss June. I’m Austin Hubbard. I’ve been working with Sonya on the ranch up in Montana. These are for you.”
“Why?”
He gave her a sheepish smile. He’d never tried to win over a reluctant mother. “I thought you might like them.”
“They’re beautiful.” She eyed the flowers with appreciation.
“So are you.”
June blushed and her eyes went soft with gratitude. Finally, she reached out for the flowers and held them to her chest, bent her head, and inhaled their heady scent. “Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome. Thank you for sharing your daughter with me. I couldn’t have gotten through the renovation on my house without her.”
Suspicion clouded her brown eyes. Her gaze darted from him to Sonya and back. “What are you doing here if your business is up north?”
“I didn’t treat Sonya with the respect she deserves.”
Sonya jumped into the conversation. “Austin, you don’t have to explain.”
He glanced back at her. “It’s the truth.” He faced June again. “Arguing with my father has a way of making me angry and say stupid things without thinking. I hurt Sonya and I’m sorrier than I can say. So I came here to apologize to her in person and bring you those.”
June looked past him to Sonya. They didn’t say anything out loud but carried on a whole conversation with one long look. Satisfied, June smiled softly. “I’ve got lunch set out by the pool. Would you like to join us?”
Austin looked to Sonya to know if she wanted him to stay or go. He held his breath and waited to see if she’d crush him or keep him.
She walked to him, linked her arm through his, and tugged him to come along. “You’re here, you might as well eat, though I warn you, I have no idea what’s going on at the pool right now.”
June giggled and held her flowers like a precious gift against her chest.
Adria—no, Juliana had brought him in through a side door, not the brothel’s main entrance. He didn’t know what to expect or how to act walking through this place with the woman he wanted and her mother who worked here. It felt unreal and as normal as meeting his girlfriend’s mother could be under the circumstances.
He kept his eyes on the floor and let Sonya lead him down the hall into a large living room filled with soft sofas and tall plants that gave each section the idea of privacy. A man sat in the corner of the sofa, lounging back against the cushions, his dress shirt open to midchest, a whiskey in one hand, cigar in the other, and a woman wearing a skimpy purple dress kneeling between his legs, her big breasts spilling out of the dress and filling his lap as he stared down at her and they spoke in quiet tones.
Austin shifted his gaze to the French doors that led out to the back patio. Sonya squeezed his arm. He glanced down at her and she smiled and shook her head, silently teasing him for getting caught gawking.
“It’s not a sin to look.” June gave him a smile that matched Sonya’s and held the door open.
“Uh . . .”
Sonya patted his arm as they approached a wood table laden with a platter with strips of medium-rare steak, tomatoes, lettuce, cheddar cheese, a bowl of fresh fruit, and a basket of sliced bread. A pitcher of iced tea with sprigs of mint sat behind three glasses, plates, and sets of silverware wrapped in linen napkins.
June planned this lunch for three.
He bet Juliana had not only brought him to Sonya but gone to June to let her know he’d come to see Sonya.
He held a chair out for June, nudged Sonya over to the chair across from her mother, and helped her sit, then took the chair between them. With his back to the woman sunbathing nude in the lounge chair behind him and the couple making out in the pool who looked like they were ready to take things all the way any second, his view remained on the two beautiful women sitting with him and a stone wall covered in a vine with bright pink roses blooming in profusion.
Sonya tried to hide her smile, but failed miserably at holding back another giggle at his expense.
June laid out slices of steak on a piece of bread to make a sandwich. “Austin, how long will you be in town?”
He took a plate from Sonya and began making his own lunch. “Unfortunately, I’ve got a lot of work on the ranch and am booked on the evening flight home.” He stared at Sonya. “I know Sonya wants to be here with you, but I’m hoping she’ll consider coming back to work soon. I’ve come to rely on her.”
“She’s so good at what she does,” June agreed. “I don’t know where she gets all those smarts with numbers. Me, I can barely keep my checking account register straight. It’s better to let her handle the accounts.”
“I agree. Which is why Roxy put Sonya in charge of the project. But she’s good at more than numbers. You should see the house. It’s better than I hoped. And she can swing a hammer like Thor. She likes demolition.”
June laughed and eyed Sonya with appreciation. “There’s nothing my girl can’t do. Though I wish she’d let me help once in a while. She wouldn’t even let me pay for college.”
Sonya set her glass down and stared at her mother. “You need that money to settle somewhere when you leave this place.”
June squished her mouth into a pout. The two really did have a lot of the same mannerisms. “I can support and take care of you.”
“You did, Mama, when you came here.”
June turned to him. “She means when I got away from my family and the two pimps who weren’t much better than them. Those were some bad years.” June fell silent for a moment, lost in her nightmares. Fear and regret shined in her expressive eyes. “But now we live here. A beautiful mansion, good food, and kind friends.”
And that’s when he underst
ood why June ended up working in a brothel. She’d been taught all she was good for was sex and doing what a man wanted. Uneducated, her self-esteem ground right out of her, she didn’t see any other options. She wanted to take care of her daughter and found that here she could give Sonya a beautiful home, a family of sorts with her sisters, and food and money to keep her safe and happy. Simple things everyone wanted. Maybe June went about it in a different way, but it was the only way she knew how to achieve it.
“Sounds like you turned those rough times into a good life for you and Sonya. Her love for you and her sisters shines through when she talks about all of you. I don’t have any siblings, but as a kid, I’d always wished for a brother or sister.”
June stared at Sonya, but spoke to him. “I was always here for her, but it was best that she stay with her sisters. She needed that kind of stability and home life. I wasn’t any good at helping her with her homework. With my hours, I slept well past the time she needed to be up and out the door to school. But we spent time together in the afternoons. I loved our shopping trips and going to the movies. I used to go to her school functions, but then I stopped. People can be cruel. They whispered about the girls, us, this place. I didn’t want to shame my daughter.”
“Mama . . .”
“Don’t make excuses or say it didn’t bother you. I embarrass you.”
Sonya held her hand out over the table.
June took it.
“You amaze me, Mama. I know who you are. Strong. Resilient. Kinder than anyone I’ve ever known. You love me with everything inside you. You sacrificed and fought hard to give me a good life. Others would have given up or sent me away after going through what you’ve been through. Not you. You held on. I love you. End of story.”
Austin reached out and brushed his hand over Sonya’s hair and laid it on her shoulder, squeezing softly. “You’re sweet.” He glanced back and forth between them. “I miss my mom. I wish I’d told her more often how much I loved her.”
Sonya squeezed her mom’s hand and released it. “Is there a way to reconcile with your father?”
He sat back and sipped his tea. “Maybe if I understood what happened. I thought everything was fine before my grandfather died. He’s never been an easy man, but there was a respect between us as father and son. When I wouldn’t sign over the land or sell it to him, everything changed in the blink of an eye.”
“Your grandfather ran cattle on the ranch back in the day.” Sonya set a bowl of fruit in front of him. “Do you know if the land has any gems or minerals worth mining? Your father wants it for a reason.”
“I’ve thought of that, but haven’t been able to find the records.” He sipped his tea, hoping the caffeine would wake him up. “I wanted to hire a geologist but I used up the bulk of my money paying the property taxes and settling my grandfather’s debts.”
“I’ll look into getting the property records at the county courthouse. We can get a geologist out there to survey the land and take some samples.”
He leaned forward and propped his forearms on the table edge. “Does this mean you’re coming back?”
“Who else is going to keep you on schedule and on budget?”
“If anyone is going to bark orders at me, I want it to be you.”
“I don’t bark.” She leaned toward him, planted her elbow on the table and her chin in her palm, and gave him a wicked smile. “But you might like my bite.”
He side-eyed June to gauge her reaction, which was nothing short of amused. Sonya flirting relieved the last of his fear that they wouldn’t work out their issues and find their way back to being friends and a lot more.
He leaned in and kissed her. “So far, I like everything about you.”
“You two are adorable together.” June popped a fat red grape into her mouth and chewed, smiling the whole time. “You should call and get a reservation to go back on his flight.”
Sonya hesitated, waiting to see what he thought of that.
He picked up her phone and handed it to her. “Please come home with me.” He didn’t know what she thought of the way he phrased that request, but he’d said exactly what he meant.
She sat back and started typing on her phone.
June waved her hand toward his plate. “Eat. Tell me about the house. What have you done so far?”
He told her about the renovation, his plans for the stables, and his anticipation of getting the horses and cattle on the property and finally running the ranch the way he’d always wanted. Lunch flew by with easy conversation and a better understanding of June and Sonya and their complicated but loving relationship.
He went back to the cottage with Sonya and stood in her bedroom doorway with his shoulder propped against the frame as she packed for their flight. Like Sonya, the room was perfectly put together. No clutter. No fuss, no muss. She liked things neat and tidy, cool soft blues and white for the bedding. Warm wood dressers and night tables. Gleaming glass lamps. Pictures of her with her sisters in silver frames. Black framed photos of her graduation from high school and college. Sweet photos of her and June. A picnic under a tree on a checkered blanket. June teaching her to swim in the pool. June smiling proudly up at Sonya sitting atop a horse holding a championship barrel racing ribbon.
Sonya zipped her suitcase closed and looked around the room to be sure everything was in its place and she’d left nothing behind she’d need in Montana.
“You had a good life here.” He notched his chin toward the photo of Sonya and her sisters back when they were little girls eating ribs and corn on the cob, their faces smeared with sauce and butter and smiling big, happiness in their eyes.
“I was luckier than Roxy. My mother loved me. She came to see me all the time. Adria and Juliana’s mother isn’t as bad as Roxy’s mom, but she can be selfish, too.” She traced her finger over the picture frame. “After the terrible places we’d stayed, this place truly was heaven. Peaceful. A chance for a normal life. It may have been different than the way other kids grow up, but I was happy here. My mother was safe. No one ever hurt her at Wild Rose Ranch. Big Mama and the security guards made sure of that. That’s all I wanted. When I knew she had it, I don’t know, I could breathe.”
Austin went to her and wrapped her in a hug and kissed her on the head. “I want you to be able to breathe when you’re with me.”
Her hands slid up his back and she buried her face in his shoulder and held on.
He gave her a minute and just held her close, letting her know from now on, she was safe with him, because somewhere deep inside her was a little girl who’d never truly felt that way.
She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “I’m glad you came.”
“Nothing and no one could have stopped me.” He met her on the way up and leaned down and kissed her. He lost himself in the feel of her body pressed to his, the taste of her on his tongue, and the way his heart eased having her this close. “Come on, sweetheart. We don’t want to miss our plane.” And if he kept kissing her, he’d have her laid out naked on the bed beside them and he wouldn’t let her go until he’d satisfied his need for her.
If that was even possible.
They held hands in the car, through security, and at the gate. When they boarded the plane and he realized they weren’t sitting together, he left his seat and approached the guy sitting next to her. “Hey, man, you mind taking my aisle seat two back so I can sit next to my girlfriend?” He notched his chin toward Sonya. For a split second her eyes went wide when he called her his girlfriend, but then she smiled up at him.
The guy looked at Sonya like he’d be sorry to miss getting to know her during the flight, but grabbed his bag out from under the seat, and stood. “Sure. More room for me.”
Austin stood back while the lady sitting on the aisle let the guy out. He took the middle seat next to Sonya. “Hey, sweetheart.” He put his hand on her thigh and squeezed.
She put her hand over his. “Hey.”
Scrunched in the middle, he tried to m
aneuver his seat belt on without bumping shoulders with the annoyed lady beside him. Sonya unbuckled and put the armrest up between them. “Switch with me.” She stood and he slid over. He held her hips as she lifted her legs over his and took the middle seat.
“Please get settled and buckle your seat belt,” the flight attendant advised. “We’re almost ready to go.”
He and Sonya buckled in. Sonya surprised him and took his arm, settling his hand between her thighs. She leaned into his side and snuggled against his arm. He kissed her on the head and settled in for an uncomfortable flight with his hard cock pressed against his fly the way the beautiful woman beside him was pressed against his body.
“Were the furniture and mattresses I ordered delivered to the house?”
Great. Now all he could think about was the king-size bed in his new room. “Yes.”
“That’s good.”
Was that more flirting in her voice?
He glanced down.
Her gaze shifted from his lap to his face. “Are you uncomfortable?”
“Very.”
She smiled. “Me, too.”
He squeezed her leg and she clenched her thighs around his hand. Yeah, she was hot for him, too.
“I can’t wait to see the house.”
He leaned down and nuzzled his nose at her ear and whispered, “I can’t wait to be alone with you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Sonya walked in the front door ahead of Austin, flipped on the lights, and stopped short and stared in disbelief at the transformation. The contractors and cabinet guys had performed a miracle in an amazingly short period of time.
Austin set aside her suitcase and stood behind her. “What do you think?”
Overhead canned lights had been added in the living room and kitchen. The hardwoods gleamed. In this light, the wall color looked like a creamy subtle soft yellow. The stone fireplace had been brushed of cobwebs and dust and washed down so the colors in the stone shined with multitoned grays with white-and-black veins. The opening into the kitchen had been widened and trimmed in stained wood that matched the baseboards and window casings and contrasted with the white crown molding. The white cabinets in the kitchen matched the island. The marble countertops gleamed white with gray-and-black veins. The dark hardwood floors that ran through the house were perfectly matched in the kitchen.
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