Never Too Late

by Alyssia Leon

  She sat back against the trunk, her arms wrapped around her drawn up legs, and stared out through a parting between the sweeping branches at the stream in the distance. The stream flowed endlessly along its well-worn path. The world was so uncomplicated here, with the faint fresh smell of meadow grass and green apples, and the busy chirping of birds overhead. This was Barrowdene before Jake had invaded her life, and it would never be so simple again. After he left, it would always be tainted by the tang of heartache she felt now.

  Closing her eyes, she curled up into a tight ball, and rested her forehead down on her knees. Once Jake left, Barrowdene would no longer even be a part of her life. It was too much loss. And it was taking more strength than she had right now to face it.

  The crack of a twig nearby had her head snapping up. The muffled thud of heavy footsteps sounded on the grass, and she listened with bated breath. Someone was coming closer. Uncoiling, she jumped to her feet and faced the way she’d come just as Jake pushed through the low branches of her tree.

  She stared at him, stupefied. “How did you know where I was?”

  “Nate told me.” He glared at her. “So you’d avoid me to come and mope here?”

  “I’m not moping,” she bit out, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. “And if I want to avoid you, that’s my business. There’s no need for you to come chasing after me.”

  He stepped closer, his eyes narrowing in fury. “It’s very much my business if you’re running from me.”

  “What are you doing here, Jake? Shouldn’t you be down the pub, deciding how soon you can finish Barrowdene and be out of here?”

  “Is that what this is about? You’re having a tantrum because I want to get this house done as soon as possible?” Taking hold of her arms, he pulled her close, his amber gaze intent on her. “I told you this wasn’t forever. Tell me you can accept that.”

  She stared back at him, tears pricking her eyes and her heart torn like a fresh new wound. “I… I can’t,” she whispered. “I’m not like you. I can’t do this.”

  “Dammit, Molly, don’t.” He reached up and stroked a thumb over her lips. “Don’t. We could end this now, but I don’t think I’m strong enough to walk away from you.”

  Not yet. But one day he would be. He didn’t need to say the words for his meaning to be loud and clear.

  She could walk away. She should. But her starved heart triumphed to feel his need for her even if it was only for right now. Blinking back her tears, she put the entirety of her heart into words he would accept. “I want you, Jake. I need you.” She gazed up at him. “Only you.”

  His eyes narrowed as he stared into hers, then on a harsh breath, he backed her against the tree trunk and covered her mouth with his in a kiss that demanded and took.

  As their mouths fused, they tugged and fumbled at each other’s clothes freeing themselves enough for hot skin to press against hot skin. And barely pausing, he gripped her by the waist and raised her before thrusting into her wet channel. He filled her instantly, stretching her impossibly, and she cried out with pleasure into his mouth, wrapping her legs around his hips and tightening her arms around his neck as he seated himself fully inside her. Then he was moving, slowly pulling out before plunging back into her, again and again.

  Her sex throbbed as it adjusted to his invasion, and she moaned, squirming against him, desperate for a fiercer rhythm.

  He tore his mouth from hers, and with a grunt of satisfaction rutted into her, his hard rolling grind rubbing her exposed clit and sending sparks shooting up her spine.

  “Oh, Jake,” she gasped.

  “Come for me, Molly,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m so ready to come deep inside you, but I want to feel your honey on me.”

  His relentless thrusts had her curling her toes as the electric pulses of her climax gathered and built in her. With a sob, she shook her head. “Jake… I need…”

  “What do you need, sweetheart? This?” He dipped his head and caught one taut nipple between his lips, shifting her at the same time so that her clit was even more open to his thrusts.

  It was too much, and she threw her head back on a sharp cry as her body tensed and spasmed, her orgasm shaking her to the core and making her tight channel clench and unclench around his thick shaft.

  With a groan, he thrust deep into her, his shaft swelling and pulsing as he shuddered in her arms and emptied himself into her.

  Then clasping her to him, he continued to stroke lightly in and out of her, his breathing harsh in her ear as she came down from her high.

  She wrapped herself around him and rested her head on his shoulder, breathing him in. Lilayni was right. If this was all she had, then all she could do was enjoy it while she had him.

  16

  Jake’s car disappeared down the driveway, and Molly lowered her hand from waving them off. He and Lilayni were headed for the airport, and she stood on the porch steps, staring after the now out-of-sight vehicle, with the bright evening sun hot on her skin.

  The afternoon had passed in a flurry of activity with Tim’s men arriving in a van and a truckload of equipment following behind. Within hours, the front of Barrowdene was covered in scaffolding like rusty iron shelving, and everyone, from Nate and Nan to the stable girls, had wandered by to ooh and aah in anticipation of the changes promised. Excitement hung in the air, like waiting for a butterfly to burst forth from its cocoon. Barrowdene would soon change and emerge, transformed and new. But she felt nothing. She flamed alive in Jake’s arms like a golden fire and died like a wisp of smoke when he was gone. And on the day the house she loved stood complete and proud, he would be gone forever.

  She made her slow way back to the cottage. The place was quiet, save for the calls of the stable girls in the field as they taught the children to ride.

  Tim and his crew had left, Jake having arranged rooms for them at Halstead’s guest houses. She smiled, grateful for his thoughtfulness. She and Nan would have struggled to cook and clean for so many people at once.

  Then her smile faded. Everything he did, he did with planned purpose. Even when it came to his need for her. He was waiting for that need to wane, and he was so confident it would, he’d put a time to it—a week. But she had no such luxury. Her love was a part of her, and he would be there in her heart when she drew her last breath, whether she wanted it or not.

  She rounded the side of the house to the stables and froze.

  Brian was chatting to one of the stable girls, looking casual in jeans and a dark t-shirt, one shoulder against the wall and that easy smile on his lips as he leaned towards the girl. She wasn’t much older than eighteen, and she touched her chestnut braid self-consciously and gazed back at him, enraptured.

  He must have come through the orchard path, and Molly gave quick silent thanks he hadn’t arrived earlier when she and Jake had been there. She glanced back the way she’d come. She could hide out in the house until he left. But as she took a tentative step back, he looked up and saw her. With a quick word, he sprang away from the girl, whose face fell when she saw Molly.

  Cursing her own hesitation, Molly wrapped her arms tightly around herself and waited as he approached, icy walls already slamming into place in her mind.

  “Why are you here, Brian?” she asked with a scowl.

  He grimaced. “Not quite the greeting I was expecting, but I guess I deserve it.”

  “You guess? You can’t seriously believe I’d be happy to see you after the last time.”

  “No.” He rubbed the back of his neck with a hand, momentarily appearing at a loss for words. “Look, Molly, just hear me out, okay? I need you to.”

  Pain filled his eyes. Pain too raw to fake. Her ice shield thawed a little and she gave a small nod.

  He let out a harsh breath. “Things have been bloody difficult, and I don’t have anyone else I can talk to.”

  A tinge of sympathy rose in her, but she watched him warily. Showing weakness in front of Brian wouldn’t do. But she closed her mouth on
what Sophie had told her about the arguments between him and Abby, and waited for him to fill the silence.

  “I’m leaving Abby.”

  She gasped. “Are you serious?”

  “It’s not working,” he said, a frown creasing his brow. “I wanted it to, but there’s too much between us. It’s not possible.”

  Dazed, she shook her head. Sophie had said Abby loved him. He had to realize that. “Brian… I barely know Abby, but she loves you. Everyone sees that.”

  “Trouble is, I don’t love her.”

  Molly’s face fell, her heart reaching out to Abby. She understood all too well the pain the other woman must be in.

  “Abby knows I don’t love her,” Brian’s narrowed gaze held her. “She’s been delighting in taking it out on me.”

  “She’s hurting right now. It’s not her fault.”

  “No, Molly, it’s yours.”

  “My fault? How?”

  “You’ve never left me. You’re always there in the back of my mind. It’s like you’re a part of me.”

  She sucked in a breath. “You can’t mean that. You don’t. What game are you playing, Brian?”

  His bark of laughter was mirthless. “I wish to God it was a game. I’ve never stopped loving you, Molly.”

  “Don’t!”Her hands shot up, palms out, warding him off. “You shouldn’t be saying this.”

  “You wouldn’t have stopped me before.” His lips curled back in a feral grimace. “It’s Hennessy, isn’t it? You stupid little fool. You’ve fallen for him.” He grabbed her hands. “He won’t give you anything, but I’m here for you.”

  “You never were before.”

  “I thought I was doing the right thing. But this is what I want. Us. Together.”

  She stared at him. Of course she had no future with Jake, and there had been a time when she’d thought she could be happy with Brian. Could she still be? They’d both made mistakes. Could they put it all behind them?

  “I’m taking Abby back to London today, and I’ll end it there.” His grip on her hands tightened. “Leave Hennessy, Molly. I’ll look after you. It’ll be just like before, you and me. We’ll go somewhere else and start again without a bunch of nobodies dissecting our lives.”

  “Leave Appleby? I… I can’t.”

  “You don’t understand. I’m asking you to marry me, Molly.”

  She snatched her hands from his. “Marry you?”

  “Isn’t that what you wanted? I want it too.”

  The words she’d once longed for him to say. They’d been gold once. Now only dust. An image of Jake loomed large in her mind, his laughter, his caring, his touch, and the thought of being with Brian suddenly repelled her.

  “I can’t,” she said, stepping back from him. “We wouldn’t be right together.”

  He stared at her in disbelief. “This is about your Nan again, isn’t it? She’s like an old bag you’re determined to chain yourself to and drag around. You’re signing your life away for her.”

  “Don’t say anything about Nan,” she said through gritted teeth.

  “Why not?” He pointed to the house beside them. “Were you planning on growing old here until your Nan’s dead and buried? Bloody hell! Everyone knows the two of you will be out on the streets once Hennessy packs up and leaves. What then?”

  She glared at him. “I’m not incapable, Brian. I can look after Nan and myself well enough.”

  “On the pittance Martin pays you? If Francine hadn’t turned a blind eye, you’d have been out begging long before this.”

  His words fed her doubts and anger surged through her. It didn’t help that Martin was all in pieces. She might be lucky to have a job at all in the coming weeks. “We’d have managed then, just like we’ll manage now.”

  “Sure you will. You should have said yes to me, Molly. I’d have kept you like a queen. You’d have wanted for nothing.”

  “Except love,” she bit out. “You’re the only king and queen in your world, Brian. There’s no room for anyone else. You’re not really in love with me. I’m just another conquest to you.”

  He laughed. “And you’re suddenly such an expert on love. Where’s it coming from? My god! You don’t believe Hennessy loves you, do you?”

  “I know he doesn’t,” she muttered.

  “But you want him to, don’t you?” His eyes glittered with malice. “Poor silly Molly. Did you think the gift of your body was enough to make him fall for you? Well, guess what, darling, your body is ten a penny for a man like that.”

  All of a sudden, she hated the very sight of him. “I’m finished talking to you, Brian.” She shoved past, determined to get to the sanctuary of Rose Cottage. “Don’t ever come here again.”

  Catching her arm, he spun her back to face him. “Don’t be in such a rush. This is getting interesting. What are you really hoping to get out of Hennessy?”

  “Nothing! Unlike you, I don’t try to get things out of people.”

  “It’s Barrowdene, isn’t it? You think he’ll marry you and then you and your Nan get Barrowdene.” He laughed. “You have a billionaire camped on your doorstep and you’re out to trap him for a crumbling old house. Only you could be that simple, Molly. It’d be funnier if I thought the stupid bastard would fall for it.”

  “Go to hell, Brian! And I hope Abby has the sense to kick your slimy backside to the ditch.”

  And yanking her arm from his grip, she fled with his mocking laughter following her.

  * * *

  Molly paused among the lush green vegetables of the kitchen garden on her way to Barrowdene house and sniffed in the grassy citrus scent of the tall, potted lemon verbena beside her.

  The past nine days had been a whirl of activity. Tim had exceeded expectations. It had taken an army of people to do it, but the builders had finished and left yesterday, and the decorators were right now moving to the upstairs bedrooms, having finished downstairs. Every room had been done to her specification, with Jake just a presence, letting her take the lead. It had been the most invigorating time of her life and she should have been happy, proud of what she had helped accomplish, but the end had caught up with her. It was right around the corner.

  Rose Cottage stood behind her, but she hadn’t slept there since the day Jake returned from taking Lilayni to the airport. Jake’s bedroom was more familiar now. Their days had been long and busy, and when she collapsed with him exhausted into their bed at night, there had been no time for the future, no time for worry, only time for each other. Theirs had been balmy summer nights spent worshipping each other’s bodies, and for a while it had been all too easy to pretend this way of life would last forever.

  She walked on towards the big house, the cotton material of her blue summer dress swinging above her knees. The evening was warm and she had no need for a cardigan. These past few days she’d lived in jeans and t-shirts, with her hair scraped back in a tight ponytail and her face bare. But she wasn’t as stupid as Brian had implied. Seeing her in a dress wasn’t going to make Jake fall madly in love with her all of a sudden. No, she was wearing this for herself, not for him, even though he’d be expecting to see her first thing when he returned to Barrowdene today after half-a-day spent elsewhere.

  Nan was a dark shadow outlined against the glass of Barrowdene’s kitchen window, and Molly let out a breath. She had to be more practical. Jake’s time at Barrowdene was done and she and Nan would need a new home. Martin was still in London and she hadn’t been able to contact him, and because Jake hadn’t mentioned him, she’d kept quiet, but really this had only one ending. It didn’t look good for Martin, and there was nothing she could do.

  They couldn’t go back to how things had been. She had to find another job, and soon. She could only hope Belinda’s jealous vitriol hadn’t destroyed her chances of finding some sort of employment in the village.

  She reached the kitchen door and the chug of an industrial lawn mower started up faraway. A team of gardeners had arrived this morning to work on the grounds wi
th Nate, and it sounded like they were still at it.

  The first thing she saw on entering the newly refurbished kitchen were two red-rimmed cherry pies cooling on racks on the counter. The air was thick with the fruity buttery smell of more pies about to finish baking.

  Molly peeked into the large ovens of the new range. “You made four?”

  “One is for you and Jake tonight. The other is for Nate. And these two here…” Nan indicated the pies on the counter. “I’m taking to the women’s committee meeting later.” She gave a knowing smile. “You won’t be coming with me, of course.”

  Molly shook her head. Nan knew she was with Jake day and night now, but neither of them had felt the need to discuss it. “Do you need help with anything?” she asked brightly.

  “Well, now that you’re here, you can take those pies out of the oven for me. They’ll be done in a bit.” She stretched her back and then hobbled over to a chair and sat down.

  With a frown, Molly dropped to her knees beside Nan and inspected her left leg that was still encased in light support stockings. “Have you been straining your leg today?”

  “Oh, it wasn’t that bad until now. And it was to be expected really, what with all those people to make tea and coffee for. I felt like a proper tea lady. It’s a mercy I didn’t have to cook for them as well.”

  “You should have told me. I’d never have let you run around like that.”

  “You helped plenty enough with all that fetching and carrying. I couldn’t ask for more.” She patted her leg. “There, it’s feeling much better already. I just needed to sit down for a few minutes.” The oven timer began an incessant beeping. “That pie is ready. Best get it out before it burns.”

  With a defeated shake of her head, Molly stood and pulled on oven mitts as Nan chatted in the background.

  “It’ll be easier now the builders have finished. A handful of painters and decorators aren’t too much of a bother to keep watered.”

  Molly pulled open the oven door, and hot air wafted over her face. “You’re not to do anything over the next few days. I’ll see to everyone’s tea.”