Hell to Pay

by Kimberly Dean

  It obliterated the easy, sated feeling that had consumed Rafer, yet there was no accusation in Cassidy’s voice. There wasn’t even a hint of malice. If anything, there was sadness. The hopelessness made his stomach drop.

  He didn’t want to talk about this. Not now. Not like this. “You’ll have to ask them.”

  “I want to hear it from you.”

  “Cassidy.”

  “Please?”

  The soft entreaty caught him square in the chest.

  When she asked him like that, how could he deny her? She’d trusted him with her body. Now she was trusting him to be honest with her. He let out a long breath. “How far back do you want me to go?”

  “The beginning. What started all this hate?”

  How could he explain a hundred years of war? The only way was to keep it simple. “Your great grandfather—several times over—stole your piece of land from my great grandfather.”

  “I’ve heard that story. The way it’s told in my family, he won it in a game of poker.”

  “Yeah? Well in mine, he cheated.”

  She rolled over to face him, and the expression on her face was clouded. She pulled the sheet up over her nakedness. “Do you have proof?”

  “It was over a hundred years ago.”

  “And yet the land is still mine. If there was proof, don’t you think the Wilsons would have had to give it up a long time ago?”

  His eyes narrowed. She was cunning for a Wilson.

  “It’s such a tiny piece of land,” she argued. “Why the big drama?”

  He coughed. It was a little more than that. “Because it’s right smack dab in the middle of ours.”

  “So why did your great grandfather—several times over—put it up for grabs in the first place? If it was so important, why bet it?”

  Cunning was right.

  He brushed his finger over her flushed cheek. “You’ve got me there.”

  “This feud is ridiculous,” she insisted.

  “To some,” he agreed.

  “Not to you.”

  His touch stilled.

  “How has it lasted for so long?” she pressed. “Why?”

  She didn’t know. She honestly didn’t know what had happened. The last of it, at least. Her innocence made him ache. “Because the land was just the start of it. From there, things got… worse. Some actions you just can’t take back.”

  Her brown gaze met his steadily. “You could let it go if you wanted to.”

  “No, I couldn’t.”

  “Why not?”

  He slowly pulled his touch away from her soft skin. “I tried once, but your family wouldn’t let me.”

  “Are you talking about my grandparents?”

  Just the mention of the older Wilsons caused a slow burn in Rafer’s gut. Yet Cassidy frowned. She was oblivious to the ugliness that existed between him and her grandfather. It brought out an unexpected protectiveness in him. He wanted to keep her that way, untouched and unhurt. “Let’s not talk about this.”

  She shifted uncomfortably. “How could you possibly fight with them? They’re elderly. Old. They couldn’t hurt anyone if they tried.”

  His jaw clenched. They’d hurt him, and the strike had cut deep. Deeper than he’d let them see… Or had they? Hardin Wilson was just about the biggest, meanest son-of-a-bitch he knew. It wouldn’t be above the man to throw his own granddaughter at him just for spite.

  Would it?

  Rafer shook off the thought. “Just know I didn’t start it,” he said tightly.

  “Maybe not you, but what about your brother?” Her lips flattened. “He’s been trying to bully me ever since I got here.”

  “What?”

  She looked uneasy. “He’s constantly trying to a rise out of me. Like last week at the grocery store…”

  Rafer propped himself up onto his elbow. “What did he do?”

  She hesitated. “It’s not important.”

  “Tell me.”

  “He just said some things in front of Mrs. Cordray and Mrs. Carter. You know how those two are.”

  He knew. They were two of the biggest gossips in town.

  Cassidy shrugged. “I tried not to let him get to me, but he wouldn’t stop. I finally left and went back later.”

  The news didn’t sit well with Rafer. Not well at all. “Leave him to me.”

  Her brown gaze lifted. “You’d side with me over your brother?”

  He looked at her lying next to him, so soft and beautiful it hurt. Could he pick a Wilson over a Long in a fight? “He won’t bother you anymore.”

  She settled onto the pillow beside him, and they watched each other warily. When they weren’t touching, their truce was tentative. Shaky at best.

  “This scares me,” she admitted quietly.

  “I’d never hurt you. I promise that.”

  “No, but there’s an anger in you. I can feel it. I… I don’t know if I can trust you.”

  He watched her for a good, long time. “I don’t know if I can trust you, either.”

  “Then what are we doing here?”

  He wasn’t sure, but he knew one thing. He was going to follow this path until its conclusion, good or bad. The way that things usually ended up between the Wilsons and the Longs, though, had him reaching for her again.

  “Tempting fate, little trespasser.” He swept a hand up her side. “We’re tempting fate.”

  * * * * *

  Night was falling when Cassidy slipped from the bed. Rafer was sleeping soundly, flat on his back with the sheet dipping low. He was all tanned muscle and sinew. Temptation and the forbidden, all wrapped up in one. As tired as she was, her body hummed as she looked at him.

  Even in sleep, he was dangerous to her. Dangerous and fascinating.

  She still couldn’t believe she was here, in his bedroom. The den of the lion. Make no mistake about it – as wild as they’d gone on each other, she’d never forgotten who he was. Or maybe that was precisely why things had gotten so out of control. So intense. So devastating.

  They’d both been waiting for the other to turn, yet they’d been powerless to fight their mutual attraction.

  She hadn’t wanted to fight. She still didn’t. He’d given her pleasure she’d never imagined…touched her in ways she never should have allowed… And she wouldn’t have changed a moment of it.

  Yet that didn’t mean she trusted him.

  Something had happened between him and her grandparents—something that had been bad enough to make them move from their home of forty years. Imagining what it might have been had her distressed. She didn’t want to betray her family. Yet he made her feel… She didn’t know what he made her feel. She couldn’t describe it, not in words, but it was powerful. Powerful enough to make her want to bury her head in the sand when it came to this whole rift.

  Troubled, she leaned down and swept up his shirt. She put it on, and it hit her mid-thigh. She rolled up the sleeves, feeling sexy in his clothes and guilty for it. Hers were strewn around on his lawn for the whole world to see. Her cheeks heated. She needed to go get them, but she needed to check on her pet first.

  She left the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind her. “Thunder,” she whispered.

  Worried, she clicked her tongue. He was a good dog, and well trained, but he’d been trapped in the house with them for hours. She’d seen him come in with them, but then? He didn’t do well when bored. With no way to entertain himself, he could become inquisitive. He didn’t mean to be destructive, but he was bigger than the puppy he thought he still was. She didn’t know how Rafer would react if he’d caused a mess.

  When it came to her dog, her new lover seemed overly sensitive.

  She looked around uncertainly. She hadn’t paid much attention to her surroundings when she’d arrived. She’d been… otherwise occupied. Feeling as if she were intruding, she tiptoed her way down the hallway. Dim rays from the setting sun glinted off the stainless s
teel appliances in the kitchen. It was well-equipped and tidy.

  And empty.

  Curiosity began to overtake her as she wandered past another bedroom. Unlike the gaudiness of his brother’s back yard, Rafer’s tastes seemed understated. His furniture was expensive, but for its quality, not its showiness. Just like the paintings on the walls. The artists weren’t famous, but they were local. He’d chosen these paintings not as something to impress visitors, but because he liked them.

  The same went for the photographs.

  She paused when she turned into the living room. Family pictures were grouped on the walls. Others were propped up on the built-in bookshelf by the fireplace. The setting sun lit them up like a spotlight, and she trailed her fingers along the shelf edge as she inched past.

  The Longs didn’t look like monsters.

  There might be a few trolls in the bunch, but no monsters.

  She traced her toe up the back of her other calf as she stared at a picture of Rafer with Randy. His brother held a huge catfish just out of the reach of a happy spotted Dalmatian. The catch looked like a record one. Yet it was Rafer who caught her eye.

  Her heart squeezed.

  He was smiling. Happy and carefree. The wind was blowing through his hair, and there was a light in his eyes. She’d never seen him like that. He was always so serious. So solemn and almost hostile. She stepped away, trailing her finger once more over the frame. The contrast bothered her.

  “Thunder, where are you?”

  She heard the soft whine of response and the thump of a tail against the hardwood floor. She turned, but the setting sun momentarily blinded her. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes. When they came into focus, she had to blink again.

  Thunder was sitting contentedly on the floor…

  With a bowl of food, water and toys. Dog toys.

  Confused, Cassidy could only stare. Her Lab gave another gnaw on a chew toy, and it squeaked. His tail wagged happily, and understanding hit her with all the subtlety of a two-by-four.

  “It’s not what you’re thinking.”

  Her head snapped to the side. Rafer stood in the doorway. He’d thrown on jeans, but not much else. His hair was mussed and a five o’clock shadow darkened his jaw, yet his eyes were sharp. He stood with one hand propped against the archway, the other trailing over his chest.

  Cassidy’s felt as if her heart was about to burst out of hers.

  “What is this?”

  He shrugged. “He’s over here a lot. I put out some things for him.”

  Her jaw dropped. “You yell at me, yet you put out the welcoming mat for him?”

  “I’ve never yelled at you.”

  “Snapped at, then. Chewed on a bit.”

  His eyes hardened. “He gets away from you too easily, Cassidy. You don’t know what could happen to him when he gets loose.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” Her hands fisted at her sides. “Why do you think I’ve tried, like, fifteen different ways to keep him safe?”

  A dark expression flittered across Rafer’s face, and his gaze jerked away. His hand slid down his stomach and his thumb anchored itself around the waist of his jeans. She was momentarily distracted by the mouthwatering sight, but only momentarily.

  “You’ve been playing with me this whole time.” The lump in her throat felt huge. The disappointment shouldn’t have been so painful. She’d known what she was getting into when she’d let him kiss her.

  Yet she’d hoped…

  “It hasn’t been a game,” he said gruffly. “None of this has been a game.”

  “No?” She took two quick steps forward. “You lure my dog over here so you can berate me for trespassing on your property. You play with my feelings and…take advantage. What would you call it?”

  His gaze flashed back to her. “What feelings?”

  She brushed the question aside and pointed at her dog. “You made me think you hated him.”

  “I didn’t mean—” A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I don’t hate him.”

  “Obviously. You bought toys for him, you lying son-of-a-bitch.”

  He pushed away from the wall and walked towards her slowly, all tightly bound energy and emotion. “If I was a bit…irritable…the first few times we met, I had a justified reason.”

  “What? Because I’m a Wilson?”

  “Yes,” he snapped. He raked a hand through his hair. “I didn’t know you then. I thought… I thought maybe the old man sent you to rub salt in the wound.”

  “What wound?”

  His face twisted, and he nudged a red ball out of his way with his bare foot. It wasn’t quite a kick, but Thunder dropped the squeak toy and looked up at him with baleful eyes.

  Cassidy felt a twinge of something other than anger. “What wound, Rafer?”

  That muscle in his jaw ticked faster, but she watched him steadily.

  He rubbed a hand over his heart. “I didn’t buy these things for Thunder.”

  It took her a moment to understand. When she did, she looked around quickly. “You have a dog?”

  In resignation, Rafer dropped to his haunches and turned the bowl of food. The name Lucy was printed on the side in block letters. “I did.”

  Did. As in past tense. Cassidy’s stomach squeezed, and she instinctively looked at the fishing picture. The Dalmatian. Dread danced down her spine. “Oh no. What happened?”

  Rafer stayed on his haunches and reached out to scratch Thunder under the chin.

  She edged closer. “What happened to her?”

  He shook his head abruptly.

  “Please tell me.”

  He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “Your grandfather killed her.”

  Chapter Four

  The air left Cassidy’s lungs as if he’d punched her. It couldn’t be. The feud was not that bad. Not that…vicious. Her grandfather could never, ever do such a thing. He was loving and patient.

  At least with her.

  Her knees wobbled, and she gradually let them go. Kneeling down, she tentatively placed her hand on Rafer’s knee. His muscles tightened, but he didn’t pull away. Thunder whimpered, looking back and forth between the two of them. He could feel the tension in the air.

  Cassidy’s throat was so tight, she could barely speak. “How?”

  Rafer stared straight out the glass pane of the door towards the lake, not really seeing it. “He ran her down with his car. In cold blood, never looking back. That bastard never even stopped.”

  Roughly, he rubbed his hands across his face. “I know you had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry if I mistreated you, but the first time you came strolling over here…with this guy…”

  He glanced at Thunder, who was so anxious he was trying to insert himself between them. His body quivered as he licked at first her hand and then Rafer’s. Rafer wrapped his arm around the dog and patted him. “It gutted me.”

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “If I’d known…”

  She swallowed hard. There were too many thoughts rushing through her head. Guilt. Responsibility. She couldn’t defend her grandfather’s actions. What had made him do such a thing? He loved animals. She never would have imagined he’d hurt one…kill one…not even if it was an extended member of the Long family.

  Unless…

  Her hand tightened on Rafer’s knee. “When did this happen?”

  He let out a heavy breath and looked out at the lake again. “Not long ago.”

  “When? Exactly?”

  “Right before the chicken-shit ran away.” He brushed a hand through his dark hair. “Sorry. A couple weeks, maybe a month before you moved in.”

  Her head whirled as she thought back, adding up the time. Suddenly, everything clicked into place, and tears pressed at her eyes. “I don’t think it was intentional.”

  Rafer’s jaw hardened, but he didn’t look at her. “He left because he knew I was going to kill him. He crossed the line. I know he hated w
hen she barked at him in his boat, scaring off the fish. But still—”

  His voice cracked. “She was getting on in years, but she had a few good ones left in her.”

  Cassidy’s hand shook as she caught him by the chin. His whiskers rasped against her palm as she made him look her in the eye. “He didn’t run… not like you think.

  “Rafer, he checked himself and my grandmother into an assisted living center. We didn’t know why. We’d broached the subject before because my grandmother was finding it difficult to do simple things, but he’d always shut us down cold, saying he could take care of them both. Then one day, they moved without telling us why.”

  She gently ran her finger over her lover’s cheek. His jaw was tight, and the muscles in his neck were strained.

  “My grandfather’s been broken ever since. We didn’t understand what happened. Until now.”

  Rafer finally looked at her, his eyes hot.

  “It was an accident,” she said, her throat hurting. “A terrible one that could have been prevented. He obviously shouldn’t have been driving. We’re responsible for that, his family. Me.”

  Rafer suddenly sat forward, his fingers tangling in her hair. “You are not responsible.”

  Her hands fell limply to her sides, and Thunder nuzzled her worriedly. “I should have paid closer attention. I should have found public transit for them, a door-to-door service of some kind.”

  “You lived halfway across the state. Besides, he would have blown up his car before giving you the keys.”

  Her breath hitched. It was true. Her grandfather had always been a proud man. “He gave them to my sister. Just dropped them in her hand and walked away. That… That should have told me something was wrong.”

  “Cassidy, you couldn’t have known, not if he didn’t tell you.”

  She shook her head quickly. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

  “Ah, babe. Don’t cry.”

  Thunder was beyond concerned. He whimpered as he looked from one of them to the other. He pressed his nose against her cheek and gave her a comforting lick. It only made her hiccup harder.

  Rafer pushed himself to his feet. “Come on, boy. You need to go outside.”

  The door opened and double clutched on the way shut. When it clicked, Rafer stood stiffly, staring out the glass panes. He braced himself against the doorjamb, watching the scene in front of him.