Wrong Side of Love [Wayback Texas]

by Sylvie Kaye

  She shook her head.

  "Don't forget the fund-raising picnic for the school is tomorrow,” he announced to the shop in general. To her, he said, “I'll pick you up at noon as promised."

  He kissed a baby, listened to a complaint on a pothole, and recited the phone number of the water authority for a billing problem before he left, reminding her, “I'll be back in an hour for my haircut."

  "The mayor is one heck of a catch.” Patti-Pie sighed.

  "I tell Lili that all the time,” Suzie chimed in, her chin-length dark hair swinging.

  "Oh, Patti thinks just about every single man is a good catch. She could find something likable about a sidewinder,” Lili said. “Not that Luc fits that category.

  "I'd do him,” a woman under the dryer called out.

  Lili chuckled, pretty sure the woman was someone's grandmamma.

  "Luc and I aren't serious,” she clarified. “We're only having fun together until I leave for Austin."

  She crossed her toes on that one, hoping things didn't get serious. Her fingers were too busy blow drying Patti's hair.

  "When are you leaving?” Patti asked.

  "At the end of the month. But Suzie will be here. She's leasing the shop."

  "Is he up for grabs then?” Patti asked.

  Lili didn't answer, but with the constant chatter in the room no one noticed.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Nine

  Flags unfurled over the rodeo arena. Banners touting Wayback School Fundraiser snapped in the late April breeze. Today was a day for the townies. Only a few stragglers leftover from last night's rodeo mingled with the locals, and most of those cowboys were in the process of packing up their gear to leave.

  As mayor of Wayback, Luc was in his element, waving, smiling, shaking hands. As a private citizen, he'd rather be alone with Lili instead of holding her hand in a crowd. He longed to take her under the stands and have his way with her once and for all.

  But that wasn't going to happen.

  At least he didn't have to worry about Gretch today. Ned Brady had volunteered to watch out for her. They'd ridden in together in his pickup, and he'd promised to see her home.

  Gretch was doing her fair share of handshaking, he noticed. Her red head bobbed in every direction as she chatted with members of the Rotary, concerned citizens, and both the parents and school students. She was becoming quite the politician and heading up a few more committees. This school fundraiser for one, and another to do a study on community development.

  The aromas of hot dogs, burgers, and barbequed everything from chicken to ribs permeated the air and had his stomach rumbling.

  "Hungry, beautiful?” he asked, rubbing the top of Lili's small, hardworking hand as he held it in his.

  "The barbecue smells good.” Her blue eyes sparkled in the sunshine. Her curls bounced in the breeze.

  All he could think about was fisting her hair in his hand and kissing her until she gave in to what they both wanted, needed, craved. Lust gripped his balls so tight he physically ached with his yen for Lili.

  At the nearest food stand, he bought two barbequed rib dinners. He and Lili hustled over to the spectator bleachers and, balancing the Styrofoam platters on their laps, ate while they watched the kids below.

  In the arena, munchkin-size cowboys and cowgirls, wearing protective vests and helmets, rode the backs of sheep for however long they could stay on. It was billed as Mutton Bustin’ and the sheep gave the children their money's worth. Parents, adults, and especially the kids cheered and applauded.

  Both a parental clown and one from law enforcement worked together to pick the kids up, dust them off, and make them laugh after each ride. One gal waved to the crowd like a rodeo star. So adorable.

  Although all the children got prizes, the best time of ten seconds went to one little fellow who'd hung half-off near the sheep's belly the whole time. In the end, he had to be yanked from the sheep, he was so determined.

  Luc laughed at the kid's pluck, tears rolling down his cheeks.

  "Don't know why you're laughing. He could be yours he's so persistent,” Lili exclaimed between chuckles, wiping barbecue sauce from her fingers with a paper napkin.

  "That'd be nice some day.” He grinned, then turned a curious eye on her. He wondered how kids fit into her scheme of things in Austin. “How about you, Lili? Do you want kids?"

  "Yes, very much so. After I've seen and done what I set out to see and do.” She smiled, seeming content with her plans that didn't include him.

  "Hey, you two.” Gretch climbed the bleachers with Ned holding her at the elbow, helping her along, as if she needed the assistance.

  "Brady, have a seat,” she said to Ned while she plopped down next to Lili.

  Ned continued to stand.

  "I was wondering if you'd like to serve on the community development committee.” She smiled right at Lili.

  Lili sputtered unable to get her refusal out fast enough. “I'm leaving Wayback soon. Haven't you heard?"

  "Luc never said a word, and I don't trust in gossip.” She looked from her to him and back. “I thought you and my brother were an item."

  He grinned. Leave it to Gretch.

  "Luc and I are only friends,” Lili said, smiling at all three of them.

  "Uh-huh.” Gretch's tone said she doubted there was an ‘only’ about their relationship. She stood. “Brady and I have to get going. We have a lot of people to touch base with and talk to before the fireworks tonight."

  Ned didn't look like he was chatting anybody up with his arms crossed over his chest and his jaw set tight. But Luc knew his sister couldn't have a better man watching her back.

  Ned tipped his hat to Lili, shrugged at Luc, and helped Gretch back down the bleachers, holding her elbow again.

  "Those two are so cute together,” Lili cooed.

  "Cute?” He scratched his jaw. “I don't see it."

  "You will. I have an eye for these things.” She nodded, stacking their empty rib plates on top of each other.

  "If you have such an eye, why can't you see how much I want you?” He held her eyes with his.

  "I can see it. I just can't allow myself to get caught up in it."

  He smiled, pecked her on the lips. “You will."

  * * * *

  Lili had a wonderful day. They played toss games, the money going to the school fund. They ate and drank, the profits also going to the school fund.

  And they danced. Under the stars on the outdoor planks set up for the festivities.

  She snuggled against Luc's tall, athletic body and closed her eyes and let herself go. She let money and work worries slip away. The only thing in her world at the moment was the sexy man holding her in his arms and the music they swayed to.

  His jaw nestled her temple. His hand rested on the cleft of her butt, its heat radiating through the denim of her jeans, sending sizzling urges clear through to her core.

  She was aware of his every heartbeat and breath, his every nerve and muscle as their bodies moved in sync, slow and natural.

  "Hmm. You smell great, tonight. What's that called?"

  "Soap.” She grinned up at him. “No, it's really called, Lilies. Kind of appropriate, don't you think?"

  "I like it. I'd like to see you wearing it and nothing else,” he whispered. “I've dreamed of your naked body."

  "You have?” she said for something to say while she stared into his eyes.

  "Uh-huh. Have you dreamed of me naked?” He winked. “Don't go shy on me,” he teased, his voice bedroom low.

  "I've given a thought or two about you in the buff. Running my hands over your muscles, licking your skin—"

  "I get the point. No need to show everybody my rising interest when I walk off the floor."

  She nudged her hips closer to his, cuddled his groin with her crotch. “Oh, you are hot for me, aren't you?” She purred into his ear so no one around them would hear.

  She'd pretty much made up her mind that
tonight was the night. She'd indulge her fancy and have her way with Luc. The hell with waiting. She needed some rollicking fun in her life now. And Luc was more than ready to rollick.

  "What are you doing after the fireworks?"

  "Whatever you want, beautiful."

  She sucked in her lower lip about to make her proposal when something popped and the sky lit up.

  "It's too early for fireworks.” She looked at the darkening sky and then at her wristwatch. The scheduled time was nine sharp. It was barely eight-thirty.

  A loud murmur went through the crowd. People began running. A siren sounded.

  "A fire,” someone shrieked.

  "That's the direction of my spread.” Luc grabbed her hand and ran toward his truck. Flipping his cell open, he hit speed dial for the fire company.

  She heard the screech of sirens rent the air and echo through the phone. By the time he hung up, they were jumping into his pickup. She'd barely slammed the passenger door when he punched the gas and they sped off, gravel kicking up from the rear wheels and spraying the fenders.

  When they hit the road to his place, the fire engines were turning onto the roadway ahead of them, lights flashing, sirens screeching. A convoy of vehicles, forming a parade of headlights behind them, raced to assist a neighbor in trouble.

  Once there, Luc dashed from the pickup toward the flaming house. The firemen unrolled hoses and neighbors piled out of their vehicles.

  The barn with livestock and the other outbuildings were untouched by sparks so far. Gretch and Ned led a mare and her foal from the stables. Bobby Lee was rounding up squirming, yelping pups and handing them off to Lili, who ran them over to Gina and Maggie. The two pregnant women were waiting a ways back in Maggie's truck. Nash and Hawk both had full grown dogs in their arms.

  Her heart ached for Luc. The home that had been in his family for generations was on fire. His heritage. Lili wept.

  Smoke and soot billowed into the sky. Crackling flames leaped from the first floor window, licking the wooden framework, eager to devour the upper level.

  Shouts. Firemen. Hoses. Water. She stood in the crowd, watching helplessly. Huddling into her arms, she shivered, although it was a warm night. A hose was diverted toward the outbuildings to water down the roofs so stray embers didn't ignite the hay.

  Within the hour, the firemen had the fire under control and smoldering. Cold water hissed on hot metal, probably from the stoker or the wood stove, she wasn't sure. The crowd began to disperse. Only close friends remained.

  She would've comforted Gretch, but Ned had his arm around her. Then she spotted Luc, sitting on the grass in front of the scorched fence. His head was in his hands, his back rounded, his posture forlorn and heartbreaking.

  She walked over and sat down beside him and rested her hand on his thigh. They sat like that for a long time. She wanted to give him space, but she wanted him to know she was there for him if he needed her.

  Eventually, he looked up and rifled his fingers through his hair. His face was blotched with soot and his hair wet and spiked where his fingers had passed through. His words sounded hoarse and throaty when he spoke.

  "A Fremont has lived in this house since Wayback was founded.” He closed his eyes, briefly. “So much that's irreplaceable has been lost."

  She rubbed his thigh, tried to offer him the touch of human comfort. She didn't know what to say or if he expected her to say anything. At a loss for words, she sat silent.

  Gretch hurried over and stood before him like a prisoner awaiting sentence. Soon Ned stepped up beside her, then Bobby Lee and Nash and Hawk and their wives joined the small circle of friends.

  "Do you think it was Lowry?” Hawk asked, having had firsthand experience with the firebug when he burned Mercy Creek's barn down.

  "What reason would he have?” Luc dismissed the notion. “It was probably a faulty house wire. Although we had the house rewired to code last year.” He looked to Gretch, who nodded that indeed they had.

  Nash shook his head, shucked his hands into his pockets. “I talked to one of the firemen earlier. They found an empty gas can in the backyard. They're figuring arson."

  "What's Lowry got against me, us? I'd think he'd be burning down Owen Grainger's place. Owen's the one who'd most like to see him locked up. I just want him gone."

  "It's because of me.” Gretch stepped forward, her fancy tooled boots wet and muddy and likely ruined for good. “I spit in his eye, and he's come back to spit in mine."

  "He's one vindictive son-of-a-bitch,” Ned swore and pulled her into the protection of his arm.

  "Don't go blaming yourself,” Luc said to his sister.

  Hawk tactfully changed the subject. “Ned works for me so he and the animals will board over at our place."

  "And Gretch.” Maggie stepped up. “We can't separate her from her livestock."

  Or from Ned, Lili thought.

  "I don't have the heart to walk through the house later when the ashes grow cold.” Gretch's lips quivered. Tears shimmered on her cheeks. “The living room was hardest hit. Generations of family photo albums were on the bookshelves. Great-grandma's quilt hung on the wall and granddaddy's shotgun was in a gun rack over the fireplace."

  Luc shook his head as if words failed him.

  Hawk and Maggie urged Gretch to come along with them. Ned left her side to roundup the livestock. After Gretch hugged her brother, the weary band departed.

  "I'll wait with Luc until the fire's completely out. Might be hours.” Nash kissed his wife, Gina, and sent her home.

  "I'll wait, too,” Bobby Lee offered. “Mayor can stay with me in town afterward."

  "No. He'll stay with me,” Lili said.

  [Back to Table of Contents]

  Chapter Ten

  Staying with Lili wasn't the wet dream Luc had thought it would be.

  Plopping onto the sofa after she'd gone to bed, he propped his bare feet up on the coffee table, and flipped the TV remote on.

  He had his own bedroom. He had his own bathroom schedule. He had his own kitchen cleanup chores. He also had an ever-present boner.

  Like a pup ready to hump her leg at the slightest lick of attention, he looked and listened for her at every sound.

  Sticking his hand behind his head, he recalled last night. Lili in her nightshirt in the hallway on her way from the bathroom made sleeping damn difficult. Those long legs and creamy thighs, the faint outline of the downy triangle between her thighs, and her tempting nipples peaked beneath the soft cotton had him hornier than a mating screech owl.

  With little privacy to relieve himself.

  Yeah, blue balls were becoming a way of life.

  He settled on the sports channel. Tomorrow was Sunday, and she didn't work on Sundays. He'd have all day with her.

  Except for the morning. He stared at the TV, not hearing the baseball scores. Tomorrow morning he had a date with his sister to assess the damage at the homestead. He and Gretchen hadn't had the hearts to walk through the place since the fire. But they couldn't put it off forever.

  He crossed his ankles and tried not to think about the ranch house or Lili. He couldn't take another sleepless night.

  * * * *

  The outside frame of the house, or what was left of it, was blackened with soot. The stone chimney and fireplace stood alone, abandoned by its wall. The glassless sashes of the windows gaped like brooding eyes.

  Luc shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, feeling helpless. The singed smell burned in his throat. The devastated condition of their home made him want to cry.

  Deciding to get the ordeal over with, he yanked his hand from his pocket and grabbed his sister's elbow. Together they strode forward.

  Gretch shivered as they entered what would've been the front door. She broke free of his hold and clutched her arms around herself. “I can't believe it's all gone."

  The living room and dining room and den were burned beyond recognition. Charred wood and debris crunched beneath his boots as he wal
ked further into the scorched framework. He picked up a bit of metal here—the hammer from his granddaddy's shotgun—and a piece of a chair there—a rung from his mother's rocker—only to toss the remnants back down again.

  "There's nothing here to sift through and save.” Gretch put her hand to her head in disbelief.

  "Come on. This may be the worst of it.” He made his way into the back of the house and the kitchen. The kitchen was intact for the most part, but sooty, with the enamel paint on the backdoor and window sills bubbling like an oozing disease. “This isn't bad, aside from the smoke and water and heat damage,” he mocked.

  Gretch picked her way through the room and rescued two pans that the water hoses had knocked to the floor. Holding one in each hand, cruddy with rust already setting in, she said, “These were Grandma's baking tins."

  He shrugged, not knowing what to say to comfort her. He felt like hell. Hollow and hopeless. “I loved this house. I'd hoped to raise my family here."

  His throat choked and it wasn't from the lingering smell of smoke. His kids would never sit around the oak table or taste fresh-baked biscuits from those tins.

  "We still can.” She stacked the tins on the porcelain sink and looked around as if desperate to find something salvageable.

  He walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

  "We still have the land.” She sucked in a deep breath of the foul air and propped her hands onto her hips. “Wayback is progressing, and it's about time the Freemonts do the same. We'll build a new house on this spot."

  "We'll see,” he said, not eager to tear down what generations had built. “Let's take a look upstairs."

  They wandered back into the entrance hall where the stairway had been. The steps were toast. Broken and crumbling, they were too dangerous to navigate.

  "I'll get a ladder from the barn.” He bolted from the house, relieved to breathe fresher air.

  Lugging the ladder back up the pathway, he felt betrayed by the sunshine dogging his steps when the homestead loomed ahead, like a shadow of itself. Dark, deserted, destroyed.

  Once he propped the ladder against the exposed, blackened floor joists, they negotiated their way upward. The second story was much like the kitchen. Dark with soot and mildewed from water.