Rearranged

by Carreiro, Tina

  Wade sat up, and when he saw Carly’s legs stuck between two bales, he jumped up and ran toward her. He was beside Levi on the trailer in seconds. His hand reached out toward her.

  “I got her.” Levi growled.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

  “No. You didn’t.” Levi turned on him and pushed him back. For the first time, he saw fury in his brother’s eyes directed toward him. “You need to take your head out of your ass.” Levi lifted a bale off Carly and Wade approached again.

  “I said I was sorry.”

  “Yeah…” Levi pulled Carly to her feet and then turned on him. “You were throwin’ them too hard, but you’re too stupid to see she’ll catch anything you throw at her.”

  “She can leave anytime.”

  “Guys. I’m fine.” She placed a hand on Levi’s arm, and to Wade’s surprise, she wrapped her fingers around his wrist. “My foot got stuck between two bales, and I missed one. That’s why I fell. It really wasn’t Wade. At least I think it wasn’t.” She peered up at him. “You weren’t tryin’ to bury me in hay bales, were ya’?”

  “No. Are you okay?” He looked her over. The hay had left little red dots all over her legs. He sighed. Okay… that he meant to do, as payback for the shorts. A lesson he learned as a kid. Never wear shorts when baling hay, but it would have worn off in an hour or so. “I’m sorry, Carly. My mind was—”

  “Gone. I noticed.”

  “This isn’t goin’ to work.”

  “I’m not leavin’, Wade.”

  “I’m walkin’ back to the house.” He hopped off the trailer and started walking. Why, he wasn’t sure. Once he got his head cleared, she’d be there again.

  Chapter 26

  Truce

  Carly reclined back onto the rooftop. The stars burned bright overhead, and she waited to see the first meteor streak the sky. The night air cooled her skin, and the humidity wasn’t anything like Georgia. The Arizona breeze was much dryer. She could sit up on the roof all night, drinking in the stars and the quiet solitude of the darkness.

  Today had been a trying day. Wade had remained silent over dinner, and she was beginning to think maybe he was right. This isn’t going to work. Not the way she’d wanted it to anyway. Levi was right too. They’re both stubborn. She wanted Wade to talk to her—with his heart, not with the anger or annoyance he’d shown her. She’d had renewed hope this morning after he declared what he wanted to do to her, and then it disintegrated over bales of hay. She’d have to be the one to bend, and she’d do it if he’d just show her something beyond a sexual need.

  A meteor blazed a trail in the dark sky and she gasped at its beauty.

  “Carly?”

  She didn’t move when Wade called her name. She stayed flat on her back, her knee bent to prevent her from sliding down the gabled roof’s incline.

  When she heard the scratching of the tiles, she could sense his location. He was directly behind her, on the other side of the roof’s ridge. “Yes?”

  “I thought you only climbed down two story houses?” She heard the smile in his voice.

  “There’s a meteor shower tonight.”

  “I know.”

  “I did this back home.” She sighed.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be… I wore the Daisy Dukes on purpose. And the shirt.” The tiles scraped from his movements again. “Truce?”

  “Truce.”

  “Shake on it.” She arched her arm back, and her hand slid right into his. From the angle, she could tell he was on his back. He tightened his hand around hers, and she shook it once. Instead of releasing her, he held on and laid their entwined hands against the scratchy tile. Another bright streak lit up the sky, and she pointed with her free hand. “Look at that one!”

  “Where do you think the next one will come from?”

  “Over there by the little dipper.”

  “You look great, Carly.”

  His words threw her off guard, but not as much as the squeeze of his hand. “Thank you. I feel good.”

  “You seem stronger than when I saw you last. I knew you had it in you, darlin’.”

  Her stomach filled with warmth. He’d called her darlin’ and she’d longed to hear him call her that since she’d arrived.

  “I have a new life now, Wade.” He released her hand, and she heard him move. Turning, she lifted herself on her arm and looked over the ridge. His back was to her, and he had sat up. With his knees bent, he rested his arm across them. He lowered his head to his arm and then straightened, rolling his shoulders.

  “Yeah. It’s time you got back to that new life.” He started to slide down his side of the roof.

  “Wade. Wait… I need to talk to you.”

  “I’ve had all I can take for one day, darlin’. How about we talk tomorrow?” He looked over his shoulder, and the sadness in his eyes brought wetness to hers so fast tears instantly rolled down her cheeks.

  “Okay.” Her answer was gentle and the heartache in her tone evident. She hadn’t felt the need to sit by her mama’s grave in a long time, and she needed that now, more than ever. She’d left everything behind for a fresh start, hoping her roots would grow wherever Wade lived. Tracy was so certain she’d grow better here… country wisdom was usually good advice. Both Tracy and Levi must see something she doesn’t. She trusted them because what did she know about relationships? Tomorrow, she’d make a decision, and if she had to uproot herself again, then that’s the way it was meant to be. If her daddy taught her one thing, it was you couldn’t make someone love you.

  * * * *

  Wade stepped inside his bedroom window with a heavy heart. Yeah… she did look good, and he loved her enough to let her go. He just couldn’t do it. She wanted to talk, and tomorrow he’d do just that. He couldn’t believe he was thinking this, but maybe a talk with Levi about abandonment issues wasn’t a bad idea. If Levi thought there was something holding him back in life, then he’d trust his opinion even if he felt like a pussy doing it. Once Carly was gone, he’d work on them.

  He felt this rage building inside him sometimes, and it reminded him of his father. The thought tore him up because that’s the last thing in the world he’d want to be. The man had demons, but he guessed the war could do that to a person. Still… it’s no excuse to treat your kids like shit. His mother leaving didn’t help his father’s attitude.

  “Women leave, son. Don’t trust a damn one of them. They are the evil of the world, and it all started with that damned apple.” His father spewed those words like a broken record. Of course, he found out later, after his father died, that his mother had cheated on him when he was overseas. Wade always wondered if that’s what pushed him over the edge. His father loved his mother, wholeheartedly and obsessively. After he’d found out this information, a lot of his father’s drunken ramblings had made sense. And now, they sat in his stomach like cement. He felt like this toward Carly. It was uncontrollable at times, and he felt like the Incredible Hulk. He’d die before he’d hurt her, but he wanted to pound any man that looked at her wrong, including his brother. The thought was alarming. He felt the same love for his brother, in a different way of course, but the same protective instinct. He’d give his life for his brother just as he would Carly.

  He undressed and slid into bed. Pulling the extra pillow over, he tucked it under his arm. His head came up, and he stared at the fluffy goose down as if it had a heartbeat. Why in the hell did his pillow smell like Carly? Jesus… he had it bad. He inhaled deep. Her scent was soothing until his cock hardened. He sighed, reaching down to adjust himself. The simple touch of his hand caused him to wince. It’d be another sleepless night, but tomorrow he’d have a chat with Miss Scarlett. God, that woman was fire and he yearned to feel her burn.

  Chapter 27

  Broken and Branded

  Wade rode toward the training pen from the backfield. He’d avoided everyone the entire morning, and was trying to get his thoughts in order after a sleepless night.r />
  When his erection had finally given him a break, he’d fallen asleep, only to wake up harder. He was prepared to take matters into his own hand during his shower until he heard Carly’s voice from the hallway. He snuck out, and wasn’t in the best of moods from his lack of release and sleep. His eyes went to the pen. What he saw had him digging his heels into the horse. Pulling the reins back, he stopped short of the round wooden enclosure. He looked at Levi who stood outside the pen with his boot resting on the lower rail and his arms folded over each other on the top rail. How can he be so relaxed? His eyes darted back inside the pen.

  “Why is she on a horse?”

  “You’re just full of brilliant questions lately. She’s ridin’ it.” Levi turned toward him. “That’s what you do with horses.” A look of surprise rolled over his expression. “What are you doin’ on the black horse? I thought you didn’t—”

  “Since you didn’t get rid of him when I asked, I figured I’d take Lightnin’ for a ride. We go way back. Maybe you’d like to explain to me why he’s here?”

  “How’d you know?”

  “Now who’s the brilliant one?” Wade looked back toward the pen. “Get her off that horse, Levi.”

  “You’re the one bitchin’ that we’re behind. She offered to help.”

  “That’s a hundred thousand dollar horse, Levi. Get her off the damn horse.” His voice rose, and it grabbed Carly’s attention. She narrowed her eyes at him and pulled the horse into a tight turn. Wade watched the horse’s ears go back and he threw his head twice.

  “Which one’s more valuable to you?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “If you want her off the horse, get her off your damn self.”

  “Carly.” His heart hammered against his chest. The horse seemed twitchy. Or maybe he was just twitchy. “Get off the horse.”

  “You avoided me all mornin’, and now you want to talk? Always on your terms, well you can kiss my ass.”

  “The horse is unstable… get her off of it before she gets hurt, Levi.”

  “You need to talk this shit out, brother. Yesterday… was not cool.”

  “I will, if you get her off the horse.”

  “Did you know she traded a pillow out of your room last night, just to smell you?”

  The horse reared up, and Carly corrected the action. Then it bolted toward a barrel. Instead of rounding it, the horse went straight over the fence. Carly fell forward with the horse’s landing and dropped the reins, but held on to the saddle.

  “Fuck!” Wade yanked Lightning in the direction of the runaway quarter horse. In a heartbeat, Levi was riding beside him.

  “Go to her right,” Wade yelled and pointed his finger.

  “I’m on it!” Levi grabbed a rope from the saddle, swinging it over his head in a continuous circle.

  “Come on, Lightnin’… get her.” The horse bolted forward. His brother was right with him. Levi pulled back, allowing Wade to get ahead. Once Wade was parallel with the quarter horse, he reached over, slid his arm around Carly’s waist, and pulled her into his lap. Levi let loose of his rope and snagged the runaway by its neck before securing it to his horse.

  “We good?” he yelled over to Wade.

  “Yeah.” Wade’s eyes traveled over Carly. Her breathing was as rapid as his. “Head back, we’ll catch up with you.” His brother turned without a word, but the relief on his face was visible. Carly wriggled in his lap, and he tightened his arm around her. He put Lightning into a gallop and headed toward the barn in the back. It was the closest place he could think of to give him the privacy he needed. “When I tell you to get off a horse, you listen.”

  “Put me down, Wade, and I’ll walk.” She twirled her hands into his shirt, holding on as she adjusted her seating.

  “No. And stop squirming before I drop you.”

  “The horn is stickin’ me in my backside.”

  “Darlin’, that’s not the horn stickin’ you.” When he stared down at her, her gaze sparked a fire in his sac.

  “Why are we goin’ into the barn? Take me to the house.”

  “I do believe you told me to kiss your ass.” He slid her to the ground and quickly followed her. His boots shifted the hay layering the ground as he walked to her and placed Lightning’s reins in her hand. “Tie him up to that post.” He pointed and then turned toward the large double doors.

  “What are you doin’?”

  “Since you’re a flight risk, I’m lockin’ you in.” He heard her breath hitch as he slid the large piece of wood into the notches. The inside darkened, but within seconds, the sun’s light filtered in from the top loft window. He turned, drinking her in, the sight of her like a glass of iced tea on a warm summer day. Her denim skirt was longer than the one she’d worn the other day, but was still above the knee with a white lace trim. He’d bet her skin was marked red where the skirt pulled tight as she tried to ride a horse in the damn thing. Raised on a farm, she knew how to dress for a day’s work, so he had to assume she wore this just for him. Again. Her shirt was a mixed teal and white, made out of that same cock hardening material she’d been wearing. Angel wings spread across her breasts with six-shooters in the middle. The shirt was perfect for her, showing both her soft and tough side. He wondered if the asshole she’d married knew that.

  Wade spread a blanket over the hay in a small cove he found surrounded by bales stacked two and three high. His fingers rubbed his pocket, finding comfort in the familiar bump inside. “Sit.” He pointed to the blanket. His tone was rough, but she’d almost gotten herself killed, and it weighed heavy on him.

  “I’ll stand.” She crossed her arms at her chest and glared at him.

  “Will you sit down? Dammit. You wanted to talk…”

  “Fine.” She looked at the blanket, and then hopped up on the bale of hay instead.

  “When I tell you to dismount a horse, you get off of it.”

  “I was fine, until you started yellin’ at me.”

  “You didn’t see the horse from my view. It wasn’t fine.”

  “You probably spooked it from yellin’. That’s all you do is yell at me!”

  “Because you piss me off!”

  “You’ve got anger issues, you know that?” Her lips parted, and her head jerked back a bit as if she was recalling something. When their eyes met, he knew the exact memory she recollected.

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that once or twice.”

  “See anybody about it yet?” Her chest started to heave as he stepped closer.

  “Nope… still have my ways of copin’.”

  “So, you gonna fight me?”

  “Yep.”

  “What?” Her expression dropped in despair, and the playful edge he’d seen entering her eyes moments ago fled.

  “Only thing I can do, darlin’.” He placed a hand on her knee when it rubbed his upper thigh. “I’m not one to sleep with a married woman.” He pushed between her legs, needing her closeness.

  “That’s good to know, handsome, but I’m not married.”

  His heart registered her words first and beat so loud his ears rang, then his cock tightened in recognition while his mind was still playing catch up. “What?”

  “I didn’t marry him, Wade.”

  He felt dizzy. His hands flexed on the bottom of her skirt, and everything he’d been holding in stormed forward. He grasped her face. His eyes franticly memorizing each shadow, highlight, and freckle on her skin. When he brushed his lips over hers, the familiar tingle he’d felt before burned inside him.

  Carly moved her hands to his hair. “I guess the other copin’ option is now available?” she asked before deepening the light kiss.

  When his tongue moved over her lip and demanded entrance, the kiss turned deadly.

  She tightened her grip in his hair and arched her back into him. A tiny moan sounded in her throat. His tongue plunged inside, licking and tasting her. Her body responded. She felt the wetness pool between her thighs, and she inched forward on
the hay bale, plastering her chest against his. Looping an arm around his shoulder, she held him tight. She wanted more—needed more—right now.

  He gripped her elbows, pulling away from her, although his mouth seemed like it wanted to stay as his body stepped back. Breathless, he held a hand at the center of her chest. Keeping his arm locked, he applied enough pressure to hold her away from him. He shook his head, and her whole world crumbled. Rejected, again? “We know you can so that leads us to you won’t.”

  He nodded his head.

  “Why?”

  “I want more than a roll in the hay, darlin’.”

  “What do you want?”

  “Your soul.” His eyes had never looked more lethal. “Carly…” His jaw ticked and his hands bunched the material of her skirt. “As bad as I want inside you, I won’t take you unless you’re willin’ to give me what you did that first night.” He looked away. “I know you said—”

  “Wade, I know what I said, and I’m sorry. I lied.”

  “Why?” His expression was a mix of relief and pain.

  “I thought they were gonna hurt you, put you and Levi in jail.”

  “Tell me you felt it.”

  “I feel it every day when I look at you.”

  With quickness, he unbuckled his belt. Rounding his hand around her breast, he brought his mouth down and bit her nipple through the shirt.

  She cried out.

  His eyes snapped to hers, and they glowed with a savage hunger. “There’s no way I can go easy.” His fingers dug into her thighs as they walked up her skin and hooked under her panties. Bending down he nibbled on her collarbone, and a low growl came from his chest.

  “I remember a desire to um… ‘break me’.”

  “Fuck.” His hands came together at the top of her panties. Wrapping around the thin side strap, he separated the material. In one swift motion, he entered her, grunting when his pelvis smacked into hers. The delicious feeling ripped a deep moan from inside her. His right hand pulled her down until her backside hung from the hay bale, and then clamped around her thigh. He pulled out to the tip and hammered her again. Bunching her clothes between her breasts, he tightened his hand around them. Using her bra and shirt as a handle, he yanked her down on to him, slamming into her with punishing thrusts.