“For a guy who thought everyone was too nosy in this town, you’ve sure become as meddlesome and bossy as they rest of the men around here.”
“Why, thank you, I do believe that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
She scowled at him. “It wasn’t a compliment.”
“If you hadn’t been fooling around on that dirt bike and doing moves you weren’t supposed to be doing, you wouldn’t have broken your foot.”
She rolled her eyes. “Like I haven’t thought of that.”
“I think someone needs a spanking.”
Her jaw dropped.
“I might suggest that to Brye. Hey, Brye,” he called out as the other man approached.
“Don’t you dare,” Melody hissed.
He smiled, enjoying himself. He’d definitely misjudged this town. The men really did look out for the women, and those same women gave them a run for their money. And he liked being a part of that. It gave him a sense of belonging. Of family.
“Melody, I told you to wait in the waiting room until I came for you,” Brye scolded with a frown.
Melody sighed then she gave Curt a wary look. “Sorry.”
Curt winked at her then walked into the clinic to find his wife standing by the reception desk, smiling at something Hannah was telling her. She turned with a smile. “Hey, you.”
“Hey, baby.” He took her into his arms and kissed her.
“Bags are in the truck, and we’re ready to go,” he said.
“I’m going to miss you.” Hannah pouted.
“We’re only going to the city for a few days,” Jenna said with a smile.
Hannah smiled. “I hope the meeting with the adoption agency goes well.”
“So do we.” Jenna gave him a look filled with such hope he knew that if the adoption thing didn’t work out they’d find another way to make their wish come true.
They made their way out to his truck, and he helped her into the passenger side, brushing a kiss across her lips before climbing into the driver’s seat.
Jenna slipped her hand into his as they drove through Haven. He waved at people then slowed to let two older women cross the street.
“I called my mother and let her know we’re coming to visit.” Jenna’s mother had moved into a smaller house, close to her sister. While she didn’t have the life she once had, she seemed to be getting stronger as a person. She was even talking about getting a part-time job. Hendricks had lost his job with the FBI and disappeared to God knew where. If Curt hadn’t been so happy he might have thought about going after the bastard. Travis was still moping over the fact The Brit had killed himself, but Curt was relieved he was no longer a threat to Jenna. Marshall was ecstatic as he’d ended up getting a promotion after claiming responsibility for finding the fugitive.
“You got a letter today, baby.”
“I did?”
He reached into his pocket and handed it over, unsure if now was the right time. But if her father wanted to see her then they had time this weekend.
“It’s from Dad, isn’t it?”
“Think so. Want me to pull over?”
“No, I can do this. I can’t believe he finally contacted me.”
Jenna had been sending him letters each week, but so far nothing had come back. She opened the letter and cleared her throat.
Dear Jenna,
Thank you for your letters, darling. I read and appreciated each one. They’re the only bright things in my otherwise bleak world.
She made a strangled noise, and he pulled off the road and turned off the truck. Undoing both seatbelts, he pulled her across and onto his lap. She let out a deep breath. He leaned over her shoulder to read the rest of the letter aloud.
Not that I don’t deserve to be here. I do. I did those terrible things. Although not for the reasons many might believe. I got into financial trouble, darling. Deep trouble. I owed some bad people a lot of money. Doug knew about my problem and offered me a solution. It was supposed to be a one-time thing. Little did I know, in my naivety, that once you’re in, you’re in forever. I was so ashamed of myself. I hated what I’d done. But I couldn’t stop. And the one time I tried to get out you paid the price.
She looked up at him. “My kidnapping.”
He nodded, his jaw clenched in anger. That bastard.
I told him I’d go back to doing what he wanted. There was no way I wanted to risk him hurting you, Jenna. I love you more than life and I’m sorry.
Take care of your mother.
Love, Dad
She folded up with the letter with shaking hands. “Well, that’s that. He’s truly guilty.”
He hugged her tightly. “Want to go back home? We can postpone the meeting with the adoption agency.”
She straightened her shoulders and glanced up at him, blinking back a few tears. “No. I’m not going to let what he did ruin everything else for me. It’s time to move on.”
She attempted to move from his lap, but he grabbed her, kissing her. Once she was back in her seat and buckled in, he started the truck again. They were silent for a few minutes as he drove.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.
She took a deep breath in. That last bit of unease was gone. She had some sense of closure. “Yeah, I really am.” She smiled at him.
“Good.” He smiled back. “You know, I think we only really need to stay one night in the city.”
“But don’t you want to see everyone?” she asked, looking surprised.
“Yeah, but there’s that meeting on Thursday night about the new housing complex going in that I want to attend, and then Saxon has got a poker game arranged for Friday night, and Duncan needs my help chopping down some trees.”
Jenna smiled as she listened to Curt explain all the reasons he was eager to get back to Haven. But she knew what the real reason was. The town had grown on him, he fit right in, and, after a few months, people had started to forgive him for his introduction to the place. Well, except for Logan Ferguson, but everyone knew he liked to hold a grudge. Curt had found a place for himself. He’d even been talking about starting his own security company in Haven.
Yep, Curt had finally discovered there was no place quite like home.
Read on for some excerpts from Laylah Roberts other books.
Saving Savannah
Haven, 3
Logan pulled off the road and parked behind the small, red Porsche.
“Can’t see anyone.” Max grabbed his hat. “Think someone’s already picked them up?”
“Driver’s door’s open.” Logan grabbed his own hat and climbed out of the cab of his dusty, beat-up truck before settling it on his head. He studied the car. The layer of dust didn’t disguise that it was an expensive ride. Max wasn’t kidding when he said no one around here would be seen in something like this. It was made for speed and agility, not bumpy, gravel roads.
“Hello? Anyone here?” Max called out, looking around. He pulled the latch for the trunk. “I’ll see if there’s a spare.”
“Where the hell did they go?”
“Don’t know. It’s probably some city fool who panicked when they realized there’s no cell service and took off on foot to get help.”
“Let’s hope they don’t get lost or we’ll be searching for them half the night. What kind of fool drives a car like this on these roads?”
Max moved out from the back of the car and held up a huge, white wedding dress. “A female one, I’d say.”
Savannah had heard enough. As soon as she’d seen the truck coming, she’d dived into the small ditch at the side of the road. She wasn’t going to end up a victim. But she couldn’t just sit here and listen to these two cowboys call her a fool and watch them go through her stuff!
She climbed out of the ditch and strode towards them. “Put the dress down, asshole, and back away.”
The look of shock on the big cowboy’s face would have been funny under other circumstances, but she was not in a laughing mood today. He d
ropped her very expensive, one-of-a-kind, designer dress in the dirt.
“No! Not right there.” She leaped for the dress and pulled it up, beating at the dust.
The cowboy just stared at her. He opened his mouth then closed it. gazed up at him, noting how cute he was. Tanned skin, brown eyes, a few days’ worth of growth on his cheeks.
Alistair shaved twice a day. He liked to boast that his skin was as soft as a baby’s. She’d always been slightly repulsed by that. But this man wouldn’t have smooth skin. She bet his hands were hard and callused, his body firm with muscle. A flush of heat filled her body.
His eyes narrowed, and he studied her. Oh, hell. He couldn’t tell she found him attractive, right? Nah, she had an excellent poker face.
“I’ll pay to get it cleaned,” he finally said.
“I’m thinking about burning it. You wouldn’t need to get it cleaned if I did that.”
His eyes widened.
“I had this idea about stuffing it full of straw, throwing it on a bonfire and roasting marshmallows while videoing the whole damn thing. But realistically I’ll probably just sell it for a fraction of what it cost my mother to buy it. She was the one who wanted this dress anyway. Personally, I think it’s a bit over the top. I mean, I can’t burn a twenty-five-thousand-dollar dress just because Alistair is an asshole, right?”
She looked down at the dress. “I also thought about chopping it up, and each week I’d send him a piece in the mail, but then I figured that might be considered harassment and I don’t want to go to jail. I’ve only just regained my freedom.”
“Freedom?” another voice asked.
With a squeal, she turned, placing her hand over her racing heart. The dress nearly fell from her hands, and she dragged it back up. The damn thing weighed a ton.
“Where did you come from?” she squeaked up at the huge man looming over her. He had to be at least a foot taller than she was. He glared down at her. She glared back. She didn’t know why he was so grumpy she was the one he’d nearly given a heart attack.
“I’ve been standing here the whole time. You brushed right past me.”
“Oh.” She had? “Sorry I didn’t notice you. I was focused on my dress. I promise it’s not because you’re not memorable or anything. I’m sure I would have noticed you eventually.”
“I’m not so sure,” he muttered.
She frowned slightly, uncertain what he meant.
“Well?” he asked.
“Well, what?” Jeez, he was in a bad mood. Still, she guessed nobody liked to be overlooked. She wasn’t sure how she’d missed him. He was even taller than the other cowboy, and, boy, those shoulders. She’d always had a thing for wide shoulders. And hands. She loved a man’s hands.
Well, not Alistair’s hands. They’d been as soft as the rest of him.
She sighed. She wasn’t being fair. She was sure Alistair would make someone a very good husband.
If that someone liked lying, rat-bastard, selfish, cheating assholes.
“Hello? You okay?”
The extra-big cowboy waved his hand in front of her face.
“Yes, of course. My car has a flat tire, though.” Idiot, Savannah. They know that. “I was hiding in the ditch because I was worried you guys might be serial killers or something.”
“What made you decide we’re not?”
“Logan,” the other one warned.
She frowned slightly. “I don’t know; you just don’t sound like serial killers.”
“What the hell does a serial killer sound like?” Logan’s eyes widened. Cool name. Very cowboy.
“I don’t know. Maybe more like this, Clarice.” She did her best impression of Hannibal Lector.
Logan looked over at the other one. “Can you believe this?”
The other one started to laugh, and she turned back to him. He seemed to be the friendlier of the two, even if he had dropped her dress in the dirt.
“I’m Savannah.” She held out her hand. “Nice to meet you.”
A Taste of Sir
Doms of Decadence, 6
Gray strode over to the mats to stretch. Her breath caught as she watched him move, his muscles rippling beneath his tanned skin. Her mouth went dry as a hot flush filled her body, which had nothing to do with her run.
For God’s sake, Lacey, chill.
With that handsome face, sexy grin, and those sharply intelligent eyes there was no way he didn’t have hundreds of women chasing him. Probably a different one in his bed each night. A guy who looked like that would never look at her. Not that she wanted him to. A relationship was the last thing she needed.
She sighed and glanced over at Gray again. She knew it wasn’t fair to feel such animosity towards him simply because he was so damn perfect. She hadn’t found someone with a bad word to say about him. He always took time to talk to everyone; he knew everyone’s back story. Except hers.
Unless he’d done a background check on her. She frowned slightly. If she were him, she would have.
She knew how dangerous it could be to fall into the trap of thinking that just because someone was handsome and charming they were a good guy.
No, there had to be another side to Gray. Some hidden flaws.
Maybe he was impotent.
She grinned at the thought.
“Something funny?”
She let out a small screech, placing her hand on her chest as she gaped at Gray in shock. He reached over and quickly slammed his hand down on the stop button on her treadmill.
“You okay?” he asked, reaching out to grasp her elbow.
Lacey snatched her arm back, feeling like an idiot as he stared at her incredulously.
Get a grip, Lacey.
“You frightened me!” she snapped at him. “Give someone a warning before you sneak up on them like that.”
“I didn’t think I was sneaking,” he said mildly. “I walked across the room. And I called out to you twice.”
He had? Shit. Well done, Lacey. Well done.
He narrowed his gaze as he studied her.
Lacey resisted the urge to stare down at herself. What was wrong? Had her boob come out of her crop top? Was there sweat pooling at her crotch, making it look like she’d peed her lycra shorts?
Don’t look down. Don’t look down.
“What is it?”
“Do I scare you?”
“Of course not. Why would you scare me?” she asked.
“I’m not certain. But you seem to run off every time I come near you.”
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“I’m just busy trying to do a good job. I don’t want to give Hunter an excuse not to keep me on.”
He just stared at her, clearly not buying a word she said.
“I’m going to seize up if I don’t stretch.”
Gray nodded. She could feel his eyes on her as she walked away.
Great. Way to blend in and not draw attention to yourself, Lacey. Awesome job.
To Save Sir (Doms of Decadence Book 7) Page 26