Texas Girl Grit

by Shelley Stringer

  My voice waivered shakily. “I didn’t mean a trip, Liam. I need to leave Austin. I’ve got to go away for a while. And my doctor said I needed a break from the stress.”

  “I know that, Baby. I’m going to make sure you rest enough.”

  “I need time alone,” I repeated.

  “What the hell are you saying?” Liam growled angrily.

  “I just need time away from you,” I whispered. If I’d done this face to face, I would have folded. “I need some alone time. If I could have a break, maybe a few weeks at the farm? The campaign won’t miss me right now, with everything that’s been going on in the press. I’ll take Masen and spend some time with him before the baby comes.”

  “I understand the stress you’ve been under. But why do you need to be away from me?” he demanded. “Is this about Texanne and the damned scenes she made at the hospital?”

  This was exactly the out I needed. He’d hurt me with his betrayal and weakness with Texanne. And wasn’t it my insecurities about my reputation and his that the threats about the sex tape played into?

  “Yes…no, I mean…maybe,” I hedged. “I’m confused. And all the conflict with your family and your injury has me twisted up. All the threats by the cartel and that anonymous stalker who leaked the abortion to the press…It’s too much. I need time to think.”

  Liam’s voice changed, turning softer. “Don’t do this, Baby. I know I’ve been out of it, and I know Texanne’s interference has caused problems between us. I’ll ask her to quit the campaign. I should have done it long ago, I should have thought of you first,” he swore, his voice gravelly.

  He seemed sincere. It broke my heart hearing the lengths he was willing to go to get me to stay. He almost sounded as if there was nothing between him and Texanne. The newest video said otherwise. But I had to go. I couldn’t risk the release of the sex tape. The thought of my face and naked body during the throes of an orgasm plastered all over the internet made me sick, and the panic I felt at the possibility of it being released brought me back to my resolve to keep it hidden. I still couldn’t believe a private sensual moment between the two of us had been exploited, and made to seem dirty and twisted.

  Telling him I was leaving him was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I’d prayed once I figured out how to get past the video and threats that I could come back to him. But adding his own video with Texanne made my prayers useless.

  “Just come back to the hospital. We’ll talk about this together. Please give this some more time. I know you’ve been stressed,” he reasoned.

  “It’s more than stress. I was going to come by, but I had to go. I just had to,” I repeated, closing my eyes at the desperation in my voice. The vision of Liam pulling Texanne down to him, her lips closing over his…his moan…

  “What the hell is wrong?” he exploded. “Why can’t you come back to the hospital?”

  “I saw you with her,” I whispered, closing my eyes as I watched the video play again in my head. The images were now burned on the backs of my eyelids, playing every time I closed my eyes.

  “Who? What are you talking about?”

  “Texanne,” I whispered.

  “Jesus, Babe, I already told you she hasn’t been back in my room. I’m sorry she was here before you,” he said, thinking I was talking about when they’d first called me back after he regained consciousness.

  “Not then, Liam. I saw a video. I saw you pull her down to kiss her,” I sobbed, choking on the words.

  “Are you shittin’ me? What video? There is no video, and I’ve never kissed her. Damn it, Kelly! Now you’re making shit up to give you an excuse to run!”

  And we were back to my running. My running. Just let him believe it. You have to go.

  “That’s…that’s not all of it. I’m just tired,” I admitted, my voice breaking. “I need some time to sort things out.” At least it wasn’t a lie. I still had to figure out how to get rid of the sex tape. “We’ll be at the farm,” I finished.

  Liam’s tone changed, sounding resigned as he sighed, accepting my mind was made up. “Take Scott. I’ll ask a couple more of the guys to go with you. You can’t be there alone, not with all the threats.”

  “That’s not necessary. No one has to know I’m gone,” I began.

  “That’s bullshit and you know it!” Liam exclaimed. “We are always being watched—by this unknown blackmailer who has you so spooked, by the media, and by the cartel. They wouldn’t hesitate to get to you to hurt me. You are taking Scott and that’s final,” he yelled.

  “He’s already with me. We’re on our way to the farm.” There was total silence on the other end. “Bye, Liam.” I whispered.

  Our last words spoken to each other were in anger. I knew Liam was confused and hurt. I’m sure it felt as if I’d deserted him when he was the most vulnerable, and I almost couldn’t stand not being there—until I thought of Texanne waiting to swoop in.

  * * *

  My conversation with Tana wasn’t going much better than my conversation with Liam had. I was a sobbing mess the minute I heard her voice.

  “I’m leaving him. I needed an excuse…a way out of this blackmail, sex tape mess. Today, someone gave me an excuse,” I half sobbed, half whispered. “So, I’m taking Masen and going away.”

  “Shit! Don’t go anywhere! I’m coming to you,” Tana swore into her phone, her voice shaky as she was obviously trying to dress and hold her phone at the same time.

  “No! I’m…I had to leave, Tana. I’m in Fredericksburg, and almost to the farm. It will solve the problem with the stalker. Maybe they’ll back off, whoever it is. And it will give me some time to think. I have to leave, Tana!”

  “What the hell happened? Isn’t Liam coming home soon?”

  “Someone sent me a video.”

  Tana gasped. “Another sex tape?”

  “No, it’s not like that. It was Liam and Texanne. She was in his hospital room. She told him she loved him, and he pulled her down and kissed her,” I sobbed out, not sure if she could even understand me.

  “Okay, calm down. Are you sure it was him?”

  “Yeah,” I whispered.

  Tana sighed. “Well, you can’t go alone.”

  “I’m not. Scott is with me,” I said.

  She was silent for a beat. “Shit,” she muttered. “I don’t think being alone with Scott is a great idea either. From what Jen has told me, he’s got issues. Can’t you take someone else?” she asked.

  “He’s already offered. He’s supportive of me, Tana. I’m not sure I could have done this without him. Anyway, if I decide he’s not right for the job, I can get Liam to send someone else after I get settled.”

  “At least send me the video, Kel. Let me look at it. Get another perspective.”

  “Okay. I’ll forward it to you when I hang up,” I promised, tearing up at the thought of her watching it.

  “Call me when you get to the farm, okay?” she asked.

  “I will, I promise.”

  She sighed. “I don’t believe this. I love you, Kelly. Call me, day or night. I’m coming to the farm to see you in a day or two.”

  “Okay,” I whispered, the tears now falling. “Love you too.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  I watched out the living room window as Scott unloaded the SUV for me. After he had my luggage and Masen’s bags stacked on the porch, he pushed the front door open and pushed the baby’s bags in with his foot as he carried mine. After dropping them inside the door, he turned and pushed the door closed. “You’re not secure here. No alarms, and the glass on this front door is too easy to break in,” he grumbled, turning to me.

  I looked down at Masen, my only safety concern now. “Can you see to having someone install a security system?”

  “Liam already ordered it after you stayed here Thanksgiving. Crew will be out sometime this week,” he grumbled, carrying my luggage up the staircase.

  Masen had a lock of my hair fisted in his hand, chewing and drooling on it as he s
ilently watched me. I carefully unraveled my now damp hair and pushed it behind my shoulder.

  “So sorry, little guy. I know you already miss daddy. But it’s for the best,” I said, tearing up at the thought of Liam going home from the hospital alone. Masen began to fuss, so I rose to dig through his diaper bag to find his nighttime bottle.

  Scott appeared at the top of the staircase. “I put your bags in the master bedroom. Do you want to leave the crib in there?”

  “Yes, please,” I answered, moving to the stairs.

  He cleared his throat. “Not sure what you had in mind, but I think it best I take the couch to watch the downstairs entrances.”

  He was clearly uneasy about us being alone together, and I couldn’t blame him. I was as well. We hadn’t given much thought to our sleeping arrangements when Scott and Liam had insisted he go with me.

  “Sorry, couch surfing doesn’t sound comfortable. Why don’t you take one of the bedrooms?” I offered.

  “I’ll know if someone tries to get in. I’m a light sleeper. Besides, Aaron and Bud are coming out and we’re going to take shifts inside and out.”

  I nodded. There was no use in arguing with him. I was sure Liam had given him orders to be followed, and Aaron and Bud were a part of the usual security team at our house. Wearily, I climbed the staircase with Masen.

  “Kelly?” Scott murmured, reaching out to grasp my arm as we passed. “What it’s worth, I understand your decision to leave. Know things haven’t been great, and you’ve been under a lot of stress. No one’s gettin’ through me, don’t worry. If you need to talk, I’m here.” He then hurried the rest of the way down the staircase and out the front door.

  My stunned expression probably offended him. I’d thought him anti-social and cold. But Jen had fallen hard for him, so I was willing to try to get to know him. With him as my personal bodyguard for the next few weeks, I decided it would be a good time to start.

  Exhausted after the whirlwind of packing and our quick run to the farm, I settled in and immediately feel asleep with Masen beside me. The buzz of my cell phone woke me. I shook my disorientation at not being at home off and answered it.

  “Hello?”

  “What the hell? I finally have a love life, and you’re wrecking it, Cat.” It was Jen. I should have called her after I called Tana.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to upset your life too. Tana must have called you,” I guessed.

  “No, Scott did. What the hell? You are supposed to talk this out with Liam, remember? I thought we’d talked you out of leaving him.”

  I sighed. “Yeah, well…that was before a Mexican drug cartel shot our living room to hell, put my husband and one of my besties in the hospital, and I promised God if he let Liam live, I’d leave him like the blackmailer’s want me to and sort all of this out. Besides, Liam and Texanne made it easy for me and I used the opportunity.”

  “About that,” she began. “I’m not buying it. It’s too fishy coming right after the blackmail video, and obviously from the same person. And besides, Liam’s not the type. I’m training in family counseling, you know. Coving-stud doesn’t fit the profile,” she finished.

  I shook my head, patting Masen’s round behind as he stirred beside me. “He’s totally the type and you know it.”

  “Unh-unh. No way, not the way he is with you. He adores you, Kel.”

  I teared up, whispering, “Maybe I’m not enough.”

  There was silence on the other end.

  “So, Scott called and told you? I told him he didn’t have to come with me,” I said.

  “I know. He told me, but he said he didn’t feel right letting you go alone. And I agree. He’s the best at what he does, you know.”

  I heard pride in her voice. It made me smile.

  “Yeah, I know. That’s why Liam insisted he come with me. I know this is bound to put a kink in your plans with him, though.”

  “Yeah. He called to tell me our dinner plans were off for Christmas Eve, but he’d call me in a few days after things settle. It’s fine. Besides, I need to spend as much time as possible with my mom while she’s in Austin,” she finished.

  “I’m sorry, Jen.”

  “Me too, Kel, but not about that…about you leaving Liam.”

  I nodded, choking up and not able to speak.

  “I’ll call you in a few days. Maybe I could come to see you, and while I’m there, make a little booty call?”

  I giggle-snorted. I was a bawling mess. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Take care of yourself, Cat.”

  I hung up as Masen came fully awake. At least I had him to occupy my mind when things hurt too much.

  * * *

  For the next several days, I cried. I ate. I took care of Masen.

  I baked cookies. Scott, Aaron and Bud ate them.

  And I slept. I went to bed every night when Masen went down. The pregnancy exhausted me. The physical and mental drain weighed me down so, despite the medicine the doctor had put me on, I was depressed. My heart ached with every thought of Liam. It was Christmas Eve, and I wondered if the windows had been fixed at the house. I wondered if Liam had repaired the tree, or if he’d taken the decorations down I’d painstakingly placed in the doorways and on the mantle. They were probably shattered and shot all to hell, anyway. I hadn’t even checked the living room the few times I’d been home to sleep while he’d been in the hospital. I worried the furniture was still a mess, full of bullet holes, or if Liam had already ordered new. Was he sitting in our living room, assembling the play gym and ride-on toy we’d bought Masen for Santa to bring?

  There were twenty missed calls on my cell from Liam, ten new voice messages, and too many texts to count.

  I hadn’t checked any of them. Not looking at my phone was almost impossible. Rising from the bed, I moved to the dresser and picked up my cell. I was drawn to the window as I worried, my finger hovering over the voice messages. Finally touching his name, I gazed out into the cold, misty morning as I heard his voice for the first time in days.

  “I know you probably won’t listen to this, since you won’t return my calls or texts,” then he blew out a breath, “but I have to keep trying. I won’t give up on you, Kel. I call Scott three or four times a day. He says you are okay. Resting a lot. That’s good, Baby. If that’s what you truly need, then I’m glad. But you could rest here with me.”

  My breath hitched, hearing the pain and confusion in his voice. The beep signaling the end of the call had me selecting the message before. I hadn’t had enough of his beautiful voice.

  “Hellcat, please call me back. None of this makes sense. I’ve never touched Texanne, and I wouldn’t want to. You are my whole world. I haven’t done a great job of convincing you how much you mean to me, and I’m sorry. I can’t help but think something happened before the attack at the dinner party. I’m going to get to the bottom of it, I promise.”

  I clicked my phone off and sank down on the side of the bed. Tears spilled over once again as I gazed out at the light rain now falling. When my cell buzzed in my hand, I almost dropped it. A glance at the screen informed me Ellen was calling me. I hadn’t talked to her since I left, and I owed her that much.

  “Ellen?”

  “Kelly. I’m sorry, I know you’ve needed time away, and that’s why I haven’t called. But I thought you’d want to know,” she began.

  The hair rose on my neck. “Know what?” I asked breathlessly.

  “Ethan rushed Chelsea to the hospital yesterday. Pre-eclampsia again. Only this time, it happened earlier. She and the baby are both in danger, and they’re taking the baby early.”

  “Isn’t it way too soon for the baby?” I asked, mentally calculating the months in my head.

  “Yes,” Ellen answered softly. “Not quite twenty-eight weeks.”

  “When?” I rose from the bed to change clothes and wake Masen, who was napping in the port-a-crib.

  “Now. They just took her in.”

  “I’m on my way.”
/>   Chapter Twenty-Seven

  S cott drove me and Masen into Austin and straight to the hospital, with Aaron following behind us. As soon as he pulled up under the covered parking at the entrance, I could see Liam waiting for us at the curb. I knew he would be at the hospital and I’d been trying to mentally prepare myself.

  Scott cleared his throat, turning to me.“Want to see him now or find another entrance and call Ellen?”

  My heart melted a bit more toward Scott. He was more attentive than I’d given him credit.

  “No, this is fine.”

  Liam moved to my door. He looked great, as if he hadn’t been shot and in the hospital.

  No word was spoken as he opened the door and waited while I unbuckled Masen from his car seat. As soon I lifted him free, Liam had him in his arms, cradling our son into his neck as he kissed him on the head. I held my breath, trying to swallow my tears down and my emotions with them. When I moved to step down to the curb, Liam wrapped his other arm possessively around my waist to steady me.

  I gave no resistance as he pulled me close to his body and kissed me on the forehead. I didn’t have it in me. His lips were heaven, gentle, his kiss pouring all his love and emotion into the one touch of his mouth.

  If he’d met me with a glare, full of confrontation and arguing about why I’d left, I would’ve been ready. For some reason, I wasn’t prepared for this...for him to act as if his breath had been restored, and some outside force had kept me away.

  And it had. He just didn’t know.

  God, how I loved this man. I would be even more devastated to leave him this time. But I didn’t want to think now. I was in his arms, and I felt safe for the first time in weeks.

  Liam nodded over the roof of the SUV to Scott, who lifted his chin in acknowledgement and got back in the vehicle to park it. Liam took the diaper bag from me and threw it over his shoulder as he guided me into the hospital.