The Divine Creek Ranch Collection Volume 4

by Heather Rainier

  “I love you, too. Thank you,” she whispered, embarrassed when her eyes misted with tears.

  “You okay? Are you hurting?”

  Lily sniffled and shook her head minutely. “No. I mean my ass is sore and I won’t be up for any marathon sex later tonight. What’s getting me is that I’m so happy with you and Del. I want it to work.”

  “Tell us what you need. Talk to us so we know. I want it to work, too. I knew this would be good between us.”

  “You just love being right,” she teased. She rested her head on his chest and he squeezed her tight. The happy pounding in her heart increased.

  “Yeah, that’s what it is.”

  Del returned a few minutes later, pulled the sheet up from the foot of the bed, grabbed the comforter, and threw it over them. He collapsed next to her and threw an arm around her hips and squeezed as he kissed her. “Feeling okay?”

  “Don’t think I’m strange for saying this but I feel better, stronger than I’ve ever felt before. I remember when I came here in the fall, feeling so broken, so fragile. Remember, Clay?”

  “Yes. You said you felt weak, like water just flowing through the cracks and washing away.”

  Del stroked her back with the tips of his fingers, and she shuddered and giggled at the involuntary response. When she turned and settled between them, Del patted her tummy and said, “It’s ironic that you used that metaphor. It’s widely believed that water was the force that created the Grand Canyon.”

  Clay nodded. “So you’re powerful after all. It just takes time.”

  Sounding sleepy, Del said, “I think we should go see that new tattoo artist. I can’t remember his name.” That thought triggered a realization, and Lily beamed.

  Clay asked, “What’s got you smiling so big all of a sudden?”

  Lily stretched and groaned luxuriantly at the pull of sore muscles. “I forgot all about the tattoo. Making love with you in daylight with the curtains open, I forgot all about it.”

  Clay leaned forward with a sappy grin and kissed her deeply, and Del squeezed her to him and did the same. She’d do whatever she had to, to keep her place in their lives.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Monday morning, Clay took Lily to the house in town to pick up clothing and her laptop. Now that the postholiday rush was over, she’d told him she planned to get back to her studies with a vengeance.

  Clay was helping Lily load everything when his neighbor Bill Hooper called out to him, “Hey, Clay! You got a minute?”

  Clay turned to him and grinned when Bill’s little girls ran out of the house, hot on their daddy’s heels. “Sure, Bill. What’s up?”

  The tall man in his midforties nodded at Lily and greeted her then said, “I thought you should know there was someone skulking around your house Saturday night. I went outside and investigated and didn’t see anybody, but when I looked out a window once I went inside, I saw someone walking across your yard. He was big, broad shoulders and tall. He was wearing a white ball cap and what looked like coveralls, like what a mechanic might wear. He walked a short way down the street and got into an older white pickup truck.”

  Clay noticed the panicked look in Lily’s eyes as she asked, “Did it have a black tool box?”

  Bill nodded, looking discomfited at her expression. “When he passed under the streetlight at the corner, I could see a black tool box across the bed.”

  Clay’s hands clenched into fists at the renewed threat to Lily but relaxed them when Bill’s eldest daughter, Trinity, grasped his hand.

  “Mr. Cook, are you gonna buy more cookies from us? They’re gonna be in soon and we’re reeeeeeaally counting on ya!”

  Clay squatted down to Trinity’s level and looked in her emerald-green eyes. There was no way he could turn the little saleswoman down, despite the amusement he saw painted on Lily’s face.

  “Trinity, haven’t I always been there for ya?”

  Trinity’s younger sister, three-year-old Angelica, went to Clay and hugged his neck. He could remember when she was a newborn, winning everyone’s hearts with her rosebud lips and pink cheeks.

  “Mithter Cway wiw ahways buy tookies fwum us, Twinity! Cuz he likes ’em!” She spoke at the top of her lungs while her mouth was next to his ear, but that was okay. He’d do anything for those sweet little girls. He knew when Angelica was old enough to be a Brownie and then a Girl Scout he’d be buying from her as well. He stood up with Angelica in his arms, and she giggled at how high she went. Turning to Lily, she lisped, “Mith Wiwy! You wanna buy my sissies tookies, too?”

  Clay stifled a snort of laughter as Lily assured little Angelica that she certainly would. Bill looked on in amusement and said, “They are both born saleswomen just like their mom.”

  Angelica clapped her hands on Clay’s cheeks so she had his undivided attention. “My daddy thayth we can thell ice to the Ethkimos! You know some Ethkimos?”

  Clay shook his head and replied seriously, “No, I don’t but I’ll keep my eyes open for them.”

  “Good, cuz I gottz ice in the fweether for dem!” She kissed his cheek as he put her down and held out his arm for Trinity to hug so she wouldn’t feel left out.

  He could recall when Trinity was this age, and by her slight pout he could tell she missed being the baby. She smiled and said, “Same as last time?”

  Clay nodded affirmatively. “Yup. Just bring me what ya got.”

  Trinity arched an eyebrow and smiled like she had a deal for him. “They’ve got a new flavor coming out.”

  “Sure, sweetie.”

  Trinity did a fist pump and hollered, “Yes! I’m gonna win the contest again!”

  Bill Hooper laughed at his predicament and mouthed the word “sucker” when the girl’s attention was elsewhere. Clay wouldn’t have it any other way. But he was going to have to do something about that deep freezer full of cookies.

  Remembering the reason for the conversation, he released the girls, and Bill sent them off to play. “Thanks for letting me know about our visitor, Bill.”

  “You’re welcome. Sorry you’re having troubles. I hope everything’s okay. If you need me for anything, just let me know.”

  “Well, I’ll be here tonight. If he shows up again, we’ll have us a chat.”

  After Bill excused himself, Lily said, “Clay, one thing I can tell you about JT. He’s a creature of habit. Monday is always a busy day and he’d never leave the shop for a day during the week. He doesn’t trust Dirk or anyone else. If we see him again, it’ll be on a weekend.”

  Clay wrapped his arms around her waist and sighed heavily. “We need to talk about filing a restraining order.”

  Lily nodded and looked at the ground, seeming to weigh her words. “I know but I’m afraid all that will accomplish is provoking him. He’s very conniving and will see that as a challenge.”

  “We’ll be ready for him. That’s all the more reason for you to stay at the ranch, which I’m glad we kept quiet.” Checking the text message that had just arrived on his phone, he added, “Del’s waiting for us at the shop.”

  Lily’s eyes took on an excited gleam. “Good. I can’t wait. I’m ready to get started.”

  * * * *

  Del helped Lily from his truck and held the door to Divine Ink open for her. He looked around in approval at the clean conditions and decidedly nonstereotypical surroundings. It was located in one of the redone retail business spaces in the historic Divine downtown shopping district sandwiched between the Empire Theatre and Sanger’s Furniture, which had been in that location since opening day in 1897.

  The bell on the door jingled, and moments later a man in his mid-thirties appeared around the partial wall that separated the reception area from the back of the shop. The interior walls were the original bricks which had been recently uncovered and restored according to the standards of the downtown Divine revitalization committee.

  The taciturn dark-haired man, whom Del assumed was the owner, Seth Carter, nodded as they met halfway at the rec
eption counter. He was tall and dressed neatly in jeans and a T-shirt. Both arms were adorned with intricately designed, full-sleeve tattoos.

  “How can I help you?”

  Del identified himself and introduced Lily. “Two friends of ours, Grace Warner and Maya Warner, recommended you to us. Lily has a tattoo she’d like to have redone, and I’d like to talk about getting a tattoo as well.”

  Seth nodded and looked directly at Lily. “Can you show me the tat? I’d need to see it to get an idea of what I could do for you?” Del could sense the appreciation in his hooded gaze and suppressed the slight, territorial edge he felt. Lily was beautiful and there was no hiding that fact or keeping other men from admiring her…at a distance.

  Lily blushed, glanced at Del, and then back at Seth. Del wanted to say something to make this easier for her, but she seemed to come to grips with the situation.

  “I’d need a little more privacy.” She gestured to the storefront windows. “The tattoo is in a private location but I don’t mind showing it to you.”

  Seth nodded as though this were a common occurrence and gestured for them to follow him. Beyond the partitioning wall was his work area, which included cabinets and neat countertops, the tools of his trade, a padded chair and table, all in a well-lit, clean-looking space. Grace had told Del she was impressed with Seth’s hygienic standards and his professionalism. He reminded himself of that as he thought of Lily undressing so he could see the tattoo. In the truck, she’d told him she’d dressed specifically to make this easy on everyone.

  Seth took a seat on a rolling stool. “Where’s the tattoo located?”

  Placing her hand on the spot, Lily said, “My lower abdomen.”

  “May I see?” He gestured to the padded table, which was very much like one in a doctor’s exam room only set a little lower.

  Lily hopped up on the table, lay down, then unzipped her black trousers while Del drew near to her.

  Lily took his hand, and he realized he must be throwing off serious territorial vibes when he looked in her eyes and she mouthed, “You okay?” Taking a deep breath as she moved her blouse and revealed the dark mark, he nodded.

  Seth slipped on latex gloves then turned to her. He froze when he saw the mark and rested his elbows on the padded table for a few silent seconds, letting out a long sigh. He looked closely at the tattoo, touching her only as much as was needed to draw down the edge of her undies so he could see the entire thing.

  When Seth looked up at Del, he was practically singed by the heat and anger he saw burning in Seth’s eyes. “Please tell me you’re not JT.”

  “Fuck no.”

  Seth nodded in satisfaction and looked at the tattoo again. “He put his name on you? Were you a slave?” His tone was neutral, but Del could see the indignation in Carter’s eyes as he glanced up at her while he looked at the design.

  Lily’s cheeks were bright pink as she hesitated, shook her head negatively, then as the crease between her brows deepened, tears filled her eyes and she nodded. “I need for it to be completely gone. I’m sorry to get emotional. I promised myself I wouldn’t. Can you fix this please?”

  She sniffled, and Seth lowered his eyes as he reached for a box of Kleenex on one of the work counters and handed it to her.

  He examined the mark again. “This is mostly line work. No color. It would take some time but I could do it. Did you have a design in mind?”

  “Not yet. We wanted to find out first if it could be covered. Do you have pictures or designs?”

  “Sure. I can show you a catalog of other art I’ve done or you can bring in your own image. I’ll do a lot of line work to disguise this and using color will help camouflage as well. I can show you some designs that would work well and we can also look online. You can cover up now.” Seth turned to him and asked, “How about you, Mr. Cook?”

  “Call me Del. I think I’d like something that goes with what she gets.”

  Lily looked at him in surprise but then seemed thrilled by the notion as her cheeks pinkened again, and she smiled hugely.

  “But no names this time, I hope,” Seth said as he pulled two photo binders from a row of such books and placed them on the table after she sat up.

  Lily lifted the first into her lap and flipped through it. There were tattoos of all different kinds, animals, reptiles, replicas of black and white photos, and all sorts of fantasy-type tattoos. Dragons, mermaids, fairies, and angels.

  Lily’s lips popped open, and her fingertip landed on an image. Del smiled when he realized what she was looking at. She looked up at him and beamed happily.

  “Phoenix! A phoenix.” She smiled at Seth. “Would a phoenix work?”

  Seth nodded in obvious approval. “Lots of color, quite a bit of outlining. It’s a good choice. If you like that, could I make a suggestion?”

  “Sure.”

  Seth pulled over a rolling stand that had a laptop on it and navigated to a website. He scrolled through several pages before he found what he wanted.

  “There are a lot of phoenix images to choose from. You can Google it at home, too, but this is what I wanted to show you.” He turned the laptop so they could get a closer look and Del nodded. It was a photograph of a model with the phoenix positioned over her abdomen and wrapped around her left hip, with the tail undulating down about twelve inches of her thigh.

  Seth pointed at the design and said, “Phoenixes have long, feathery, intricate tails, which is part of the appeal. I can place the body of the phoenix over the image you want to cover, and if you’d like we can do this with the tail. It all depends on how far you want to go.”

  Lily smiled but then frowned. “Um, aren’t I a bit…fleshy in that area to accentuate it like that?”

  Seth didn’t hesitate when he shook his head. “I think it would look better on a curvy figure, myself.” He scrolled down a bit and showed the image from the front and said, “Del, we could do the same image over a pectoral and wrap the tail around your shoulder and down your bicep.”

  Lily smiled at him. “What do you think?”

  Easily, Del replied, “I like it.”

  The symbolic nature of the phoenix wasn’t lost on him either. Lily was rising from the ashes and he was, too. He’d thought about getting a lily to symbolize her but had decided he’d rather show solidarity with her in this way. Clay would probably decide to get one, once he heard about it.

  “Go home and think about it,” Seth said as he tapped keys on the laptop. “Google it and make sure that’s the design you want and think about if there are any particular colors you’d want.” He printed out a copy of both pictures for them and handed the images to Del. Seth gave him a ballpark figure for both and said, “We can talk about price when you come in again.” Del wondered at the low estimate.

  Lily stood up. “Thank you, Seth. I’m relieved to know you can do it.”

  “I hope Karma catches up with the person who did that to you,” Seth said quietly as he put the binders away. “Let me know when you decide.”

  Del nodded and guided Lily back out to the front reception area, gratified by the outrage he’d seen in Seth Carter’s eyes but glad Lily was once again covered up. He didn’t like another man being able to see such an intimate part of her body.

  Lily’s phone rang, and she excused herself to answer it.

  Del took the opportunity to turn to the tattoo artist to ask, “Your price seems a little low.”

  “I just opened my doors a few months ago. I’d do hers for free if I could afford to. Give me a few referrals and we’ll call it even. Some people have some serious kinks and I’ve seen some pretty graphic ink in the time I’ve been doing this. That tattoo on her…it’s just wrong.”

  Del nodded and shook the man’s hand, feeling like maybe he’d made a friend.

  Lily returned to where the men stood. “That was Jack Warner. He invited me out to see the progress on the house.”

  After thanking Seth again, Del escorted her out to the truck. Since they were on that
side of town, Del took a detour after letting Clay know, and they stopped by her house. The signs of construction were all around, and she seemed pleased by the visible progress. The sense of desertedness was gone from it, and the workmen who were still there smiled when she complimented their efforts.

  Lily seemed pensive on the drive back to the shop, and when Del inquired she said, “To be honest, I haven’t given the house much thought lately. I feel guilty about it. It was the lifeline that got me back to Divine, the house I spent part of my childhood in. I should feel excited about the work progressing, but I don’t. It’s just…meh,” she said with a shrug.

  “They say you can’t go back home.”

  Lily shook her head negatively. “You can’t. It’s true, even though I own the building. It hasn’t been home since I was in the seventh grade.”

  Del sincerely hoped that was because she was thinking of his ranch or Clay’s place as home now.

  “Del, would you mind if we stayed at Clay’s house tonight? I know he wants to be there after hearing that JT was snooping around.”

  Del shook his head. “I don’t like the idea. I know you think he won’t come during the week, but I don’t trust him.”

  “But you’ll be with me the whole time. With both of you there, I’ll be safe. I don’t want to be away from either of you. I need you both.”

  Del let out a chuckle when she looked at him with her lower lip stuck out. How in the hell could he resist giving her what she wanted? “Okay, if Clay agrees, I’ll go along with it. You know that pouty lip isn’t always going to work with me.”

  He could barely keep a straight face when she blinked at him innocently and then giggled. “I know. I don’t take you giving in to me lightly. There’s this fantasy that’s been going through my mind, ever since Christmas evening.” She went on to explain that it involved a piece of Clay’s furniture.

  “Well, since you put it that way, what did you have in mind?”

  By the time she finished explaining as they pulled up at the shop, his cock was on board with the plan, too.