by Sophie Oak
“Are you sure you want me to take you back there?” It was the first time Finn had spoken since they’d gotten into the car.
Of course she didn’t want to go back to the dilapidated two-bedroom house she shared with her sister. Val was going to be insufferable, but she didn’t have anywhere else to go. She’d thought about a motel, but they cost money. She had two hundred dollars in her bank account. Everything else had been spent on her wreck of a wedding.
Finn’s voice was ragged as he spoke. “I could take you back to my motel room, or we could just drive to Dallas. My condo has two bedrooms.”
She snorted. “Yes, obviously I would need a separate bed. You wouldn’t want to sleep with me. Hell, even the guys I have sex with don’t want to sleep with me.”
She could still see the leather couch that had been more enticing to Julian than the comfy bed. At least tonight he could sleep on a mattress since she wouldn’t be there.
She watched as Finn’s hands tightened on the wheel. “I only suggested the second bedroom because you’re pissed at me right now.”
“Sure, Finn, like I’m going to believe anything you say at this point.” Bitterness welled up, threatening to choke her. Finn turned down the road that led to her childhood home. She knew every bump and crack in this road. It was as familiar as the back of her hand, but it brought her no comfort. Going home this time felt like utter defeat.
“That’s not fair, Dani. I love you.”
“I thought you did. We don’t lie to the people we love, Finn. I would have been hurt, but I’d have gotten over it. That’s what friends do. Friends tell each other the truth, even when it hurts. I want to know one thing. I want to know why you lied to me.”
He paused as though trying to decide just how to put it. “I was scared I would lose you.”
“Bullshit. You knew how I felt about you. I told you so many times it was practically engraved on my forehead. I told you how much I loved you and that I wished you were straight. Every single time I got my heart broken, I went running to you and said the same thing. If only you weren’t gay… So you’re telling me that never once in all those times did it occur to you to say, ‘Hey, guess what, I like boobs’?”
“It’s more complicated than that.”
Dani shook her head. “No, it’s not. It’s very simple. You didn’t even have to talk. You could have just reached out and grabbed one.”
“Damn it, Dani, stop. Just fucking stop. This is serious.”
“Oh, I am serious, Finn. Don’t think I’m not. What did you expect me to do? Did you expect me to turn to you with grateful tears in my eyes and say thank you? Well, I can do that for you. Thanks. Thanks for lying to me. Thanks for making a complete fool out of me. Did you sleep with girls in high school?”
“No.” The answer came quickly, almost tripping out of his mouth. “Dani, I didn’t sleep with anyone in high school. I lost my virginity to a guy named Greg halfway through my freshman year of college. I swear I didn’t sleep with anyone in this town.”
At least she hadn’t had some bitchy girl laughing behind her back. Of course, she should have known that. If Finn had slept with someone in Willow Fork, everyone would have known it. “When was the first time you slept with a woman?”
His eyes were suddenly back on the road, his face a bright red. “About twenty minutes after I slept with Greg. His girlfriend was very open-minded.”
Dani huffed. Well, no wonder Finn had no interest in her. He was too busy having kinky sex. He probably thought she was some dried-up prude. She hadn’t felt that way last night. Something wicked picked at her, making her feel mean. “Julian’s pretty open-minded himself.”
Finn’s eyes were right back on her, burning with something righteous. “Julian’s a prick who took advantage of you.”
“At least someone did,” she grumbled.
“Do you have any idea what he’s into? You need to talk to Lucas. He knows this guy.”
“I don’t care what Lucas thinks. The only opinion that matters here is mine, and I really liked him.”
He’d been difficult and remote, and when he’d made love to her, she’d felt like the only person in the whole world. He’d been just as focused on her during sex as he was distant this morning. It had been an incredible experience. Of course, Finn had probably had a lot of those. Finn had ménage sex. The thought of Finn on his knees in front of Julian made her heart flip. She would watch and get hot while Finn got Julian hard enough to fuck her.
Damn. One night with Julian Lodge and she was a lustful pervert.
But what was perverted about it? What she and Julian had done hadn’t hurt anybody. Why should it matter that she had fantasies that were slightly outside the mainstream? She’d spent her entire life being a good girl and what had it gotten her? She was forgotten in the community until someone needed something. Finn had found other girls to sleep with. Her sister treated her like crap. The one crazy thing she’d ever done in her whole life had netted her a night in bed with a veritable sex god.
Maybe being good was for the birds.
“Dani, I don’t like the look on your face.”
“Too bad, Finn.”
Dani was about to let loose, to tell her lying best friend that she didn’t give a damn, and he could go to hell. The smoke rising from her house made her stop. She felt her mouth drop open as Finn turned, and she could see a plume of gray smoke rising from her front yard. “What the hell?”
“Is that your house on fire?” Finn hit the gas, charging forward. Up ahead, Dani could see that the house was fine. The yard was not. The yard was littered with piles of trash, and it was, or had been, on fire. The small Willow Fork volunteer fire truck was out front, and they had put out the fire. They were rolling up the hose as Finn stopped the car. Val was in the front yard talking to a man in uniform. His name was Andy McKenna, deputy and resident all-around asshole. Dani squinted. A piece of bright pink fabric stuck out among the char. Dani’s heart sank. She knew what that was, or rather had been. It was a big pink elephant Finn had won for her at the county fair when they were sixteen. She’d moved it to Jimbo’s along with everything else she owned in the world. Now it was gone.
“What the hell happened?” Finn’s question came out as a shocked gasp.
Dani slammed out of Finn’s SUV and made a beeline for Val, who had a judgmental frown on her lovely face as she listened to Andy. Dani heard Finn’s door slam and felt him behind her. Despite her anger with him, she was damn glad she wasn’t alone.
“Well, look who decided to crawl home.” Val’s frown got deeper, putting creases on her face.
Andy turned toward Dani, a glare in his cold, dark eyes, and a smirk on his face. “Looks like you pissed someone off, Miss Bay.” He emphasized the Miss. “Take a look around and tell me if you recognize any of this stuff. Your sister was sleeping, and when she woke up, all this crap was in her yard, and it was on fire. She seems to think it has something to do with you.”
“Shit,” Finn hissed as he surveyed the damage. He kicked at a pile of books. A half-burned copy of Keats’ poems disintegrated before her eyes. Dani saw his face go red, but this time it was all about anger. He turned to Andy McKenna. “Are you going to call that fucking redneck in for questioning?”
McKenna stared through Finn, not bothering to take off his mirrored sunglasses. “I have no idea who you’re talking about, son. And I would appreciate you watching your fucking language around an officer of the law.”
Dani had the most insane urge to clock the son of a bitch. He was a year Finn’s junior. The “son” was pure insult. She felt her face flush. She wouldn’t get a lick of justice out of this man, but she felt compelled to push anyway. “He’s talking about my ex-fiancé. He obviously dumped my belongings here and then torched them. There has to be something illegal about that. If nothing else, isn’t there a burn ban?”
McKenna’s lips quirked up. “Now, Miss, if I were going to write a ticket for ignoring the burn ban, I would have to wr
ite it to the homeowner. That would be you, correct?”
“Obviously she didn’t destroy everything she owns.” Finn’s jaw was clenched in impotent anger. His fists pumped at his sides.
Tears burned in the backs of her eyes. She looked over at her sister, the woman she’d put her life on hold to raise, to put through school. She was shaking her head and rolling her eyes.
“After yesterday, who knows what Danielle would do?” Val proclaimed. She stood there in the jeans and flouncy top Dani had bought for her birthday and shook her head, looking at her sister like she was a pest to be dealt with.
Everything she owned. The truth raced through Dani’s system like a wildfire. All her clothes, her books, the chair her mother used to rock her in, all gone. Even her car was at Jimbo’s shop. She had nothing but her purse and the clothes she’d gone to the church in yesterday. Finn had picked those things up. It was the only reason she had a damn thing in the world. Her hands started to shake. Finn’s arms came around her.
“It’s all right, baby. I’ll take care of you.” His breath was warm against her neck.
She suddenly wanted to call Julian. She wanted to call him because he would come and take care of the problem. He would step in and shield her, and she wouldn’t have to worry about anything. If Finn tried to deal with this, he would get in trouble. He might get hurt. No one would hurt Julian.
He hadn’t given her his number.
She stepped out of Finn’s arms and turned to face Deputy McKenna. “I would like to file a report.”
“You don’t have any witnesses.” The deputy frowned at her and crossed his arms, showing his obvious disinterest in the process. “Val here was asleep, and there are no close neighbors. I already called Jimbo, and his mother is willing to say that he dropped these belongings of yours off late last night since you made it real clear you weren’t moving into the house he bought for you. I doubt this crap burned all night.”
No help was forthcoming from the Willow Fork Sheriff’s Department. It didn’t really surprise her. Andy was Jimbo’s drinking buddy. There was no way he took her side over his. The thought that Andy would do his job with no bias was completely laughable. “So you aren’t going to do anything at all?”
He shrugged as the volunteer fire department finished packing their equipment. “Unless you have an alibi, I would back off, Dani. Everyone knows you aren’t acting much like yourself lately. A lot of folks around this town are thinking you’re out to get as much attention as possible.”
Val stepped forward, getting between Dani and the deputy. “Back off, Dani. You can’t prove you didn’t do this. You don’t want to get into more trouble than you already are. Everyone is looking at us like we’re the trashiest family in Willow Fork, and that’s saying something.”
“What is wrong with you people? There’s no way she did this herself. That’s ridiculous. She was out at Jack Barnes’s ranch,” Finn countered.
Andy laughed, a sharp, short bark. “Yeah, I wonder what she was doing out there.”
“A man who’s way better looking than you.” Dani ignored her sister’s gasp of shock and turned on her heels to walk into the house. No one would help her. She might be able to force them to make a report, but unless she had irrefutable evidence, these good old boys would protect their own. Jimbo would get away with his revenge.
She walked up the rickety steps and started to slam the door, but Val was there following her.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Val’s claw clamped down on her elbow, whirling Dani around to look at her.
“I’m tired, Val. I’m going to bed for awhile.” Her old bed was still here. Val hadn’t gotten rid of it yet. She would curl up and try to forget that any of this ever happened. Maybe she would wake up and find out it was all a dream and Finn was still gay and her world was still crappy, but familiar.
“This is my house.” Val got between Dani and the hall that led to the bedrooms. She looked model perfect for a woman who’d just gotten up. Dani had to wonder if she’d taken a flat iron to her hair before she called the fire department.
“It’s still half mine, Val. Where do you expect me to go?”
“I don’t know. Anywhere but here. Look, Dani, I’m not trying to be a bitch, but there’s nothing left for you here. You should go somewhere else. No one is going to accept you in Willow Fork. Go to Dallas with Finn, and let me buy your half of the house. You’re gonna need the money. It’s what we agreed on in the first place.” Val’s flip-flop tapped on the linoleum.
A heavy weariness permeated Dani’s body. She hadn’t slept much the night before, and the emotional roller coaster of this morning was taking its toll. She was sore, tired, and wanted nothing more than to cry herself to sleep after a nice long shower. “We decided that when I was moving. I can’t move now, Val.”
“Of course you can. It’ll be easy. You don’t even have stuff to pack. You can move to Dallas with Finn. You talked about how much you wanted to do that before Mom died.”
Finn stood in the doorway. Her heart skipped a beat. He was so gorgeous. His shoulders were broad and his body fit, but his face was what always caught her. She’d had so many fantasies about that face cuddling close to hers, those sensual lips saying “I love you” as he worked over her.
“I can’t move to Dallas. I might cramp Finn’s sex life.” Dani saw Finn pale but turned away. He wasn’t hers to comfort anymore. She turned and walked down the short hall. After she slammed the door, she sank to the bed. Though exhausted, it took her the longest time to fall asleep.
Chapter Eight
The bartender opened a small cabinet and pulled out a bottle of Scotch. Julian sighed at the thought of something civilized. He might be at a place called The Barn, but it looked like the Scotch, at least, was a connection to his privileged world.
The bartender set two glasses in front of them and poured out a finger apiece. Julian frowned and slightly shook his head. The fellow was obviously well trained as the line of pure amber liquor went up in Julian’s glass. Beside him, Jackson chuckled lightly.
“You should probably just leave the bottle, Kevin. My friend had his first full day of ranch work. Never been on a horse before.”
Kevin smiled and nodded in a deferential fashion that made Julian believe he was a man who was usually tipped well. “Absolutely, Mr. Barnes. Cigars, sir?”
Jackson shook his head shortly and turned, his eyes flashing around the bar. Samuel slid onto the stool beside him, a smirk on his ridiculously perfect face.
“She’s in the bathroom with Christa. Your cigar habit is still a secret.” Samuel slapped his Dom on the back affectionately and nodded as he was passed a beer.
Julian stared at the two. There was so much about the way their relationship worked that he didn’t understand. For years he simply let it slide, but now he found he wanted to know why Jackson did the things he did. “And you keep this a secret why?”
Jackson took a quick swallow of his Scotch. “I keep it a secret because I married a nurse. She takes particular exception to smoking. It’s why I rarely do it.”
“Then simply tell her to accept it.” That was the way it worked. Jackson was the Dom and Abigail the submissive. That’s what a sub did. She submitted to the will of her dominant partner.
Jackson and Samuel both broke into fits of laughter, further confusing Julian. His muscles ached. He probably had bruises in places where he didn’t want bruises. He now understood why they called it punching cows since he’d given serious consideration to doing just that. Cattle, it turned out, were not very smart creatures. They did not mind and couldn’t care less where they defecated which, at least twice that day, had been on him. He was sick of cows, sick of horses. He was sick to death of feeling like he was the only one who didn’t get the joke. To top off his perfectly horrible day, he’d gotten word from Candice that several threatening letters had made their way into his personal box, and the reporter had called again.
And he missed Danielle. He
’d spent the whole day wondering if Finn was taking care of her. This was his vacation. No wonder he’d never taken one.
“Sorry, Julian,” Jackson said, coughing a little. “It’s just there are some things on which our wife is utterly unmovable. My healthy lungs are one of them.”
“Yes, I’d forgotten how vanilla you’ve gotten,” Julian replied, well aware that there was a nasty little tinge to his voice. “Abigail took your balls as surely as Samuel paid someone to take his.”
“Hey! My balls still work perfectly,” Samuel stated. “The boys still jingle. They just don’t jangle anymore, if you know what I mean.”
He didn’t. He was pretty sure he didn’t understand anything. Scotch. He understood Scotch. He took a sip. The smoky flavor was a pleasant sensation as it burned slightly down his throat. “I would have dismissed you had you done that as my slave, Samuel.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” Samuel leaned forward and grabbed the bottle. He refilled Jackson’s glass and did the same for Julian. “You would have done exactly what Jack did. You would have tanned my ass red.”
A little smile curled Jackson’s lips up, making him softer, younger looking. “Well, I spanked you until you actually used your safe word.”
“Damn straight I did. Only time I’ve ever used my safe word. He was pissed at me.”
Jackson turned to his partner, his voice deepening. “I wasn’t pissed that you had done it. I was pissed that you hadn’t told me. I hadn’t approved of the doctor. I hadn’t checked out the procedure. If you ever do anything like it again, you won’t come for a month. You’ll take care of me, but there will be nothing for you.”
“Oh, are we talking about Sam’s balls again?” Abigail frowned as she slid onto the stool next to Samuel. “Are we ever going to stop talking about this?”
“You, too. You won’t come either. Never again.”