Alex's Destiny (Racing To Love)

by Amy Gregory

  “Uncle…uncle,” he raised his hands in surrender. “Come here, my future Mrs. Hunter.”

  “I like the sound of that.” Alex grinned, mirroring his actions as he slid his arms around her waist.

  “You want to run to the house and change so we can go eat?”

  “Nope.”

  “What do you mean? You got us both drenched?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “Yes. That is the version of the story everyone is going to hear.”

  Alex rolled her eyes and smiled. “Well, I don’t care. We’re going there right now. I’m not waiting to tell them for even one minute longer.”

  “But we’re wet.” He laughed, helping her across the rocks with Ruby running ahead of them to shake off. “Ah, Rube.” They put their hands out. “Babe, you’re getting us.”

  “It’s sunny out. We’ll dry.”

  “Okay. Anything for you, Mrs. Hunter.” Dallas said, his voice yelling the last two words proudly as he scooped her into his arms and carried her to the Jeep. Depositing her in the passenger seat, he leaned in. “I love you so much, Alex.”

  “I love you too. More than anything.”

  She met his mouth for one more lingering kiss as a wet furry passenger hopped in on the driver’s side.

  “What do you think, Ruby? Think Grandpa will let us build our own little house here somewhere?” Dallas asked rubbing her head.

  Alex’s eyes went wide at the thought. She’d never given much time to thinking of her own place. But now, the idea of a home of their own—warmed her heart in a whole new way.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “Here, hon. Grab this will you?” Molly asked, handing Alex the fresh apple pie. “I’ll get the plates. Dallas, Carter…dessert. Hey Carter, holler up to Jack, would you please?”

  “Sure, gorgeous.”

  Dallas’s mouth started watering as Alex placed the cinnamon-scented god-send on the table.

  “My mother is spoiling you.” She snickered.

  He grabbed her around the waist, pulling her onto his lap. “I know. And I love every minute of it.” Dallas started to tickle her and she kicked and squealed.

  Laughing loudly, she turned to an ally. “Stop…Mom, make him stop.”

  With the family heirloom, lovingly placed on her left hand, life was starting to drift back to normal. Although Dallas knew she felt safer with her Uncle Mike and Aunt Taryn there, they each had work to check in on in Kansas and they’d promised to be back by the weekend. Mike was imposing, even without the badge and gun that backed up his words. If it came down to it, there was a security they’d all have to admit they felt when he was around. Including Dallas.

  Ruby woke and trotted to the kitchen door, he quit tormenting his fiancé, but kept her on his lap for the time being. “Someone must be coming?” Waiting several minutes, sure enough, James knocked twice before he and Karen walked into the kitchen. Before either said hello, they both greeted the dog first. Dallas chuckled as James pulled a dog bone out of his pocket. “Talk about spoiled.”

  “You’re a sweet girl, aren’t you, Ruby? Yes you are. You’re Grandpa’s girl,” James said.

  “I’ve seen Grandpa in many different lights. This is one I never thought I’d see.” Alex shook her head and stood up to greet them both.

  “Well guess what I’ve got for you.” James held up a set of blue-prints.

  Standing on her tip-toes, she threw her arms around his neck. Dallas’s heart was pounding. He was excited to see the designs he’d come up with. But more so, it just made him feel so good to see Alex so happy, knowing he had a part in that, in bringing her back from the brink. “Here you go. Do you just want to spread them out over here?” Dallas asked, moving the pie over to the side of the table.

  “Yeah, Mom, Dad? I’ll put some coffee on, and I’ve got freshly baked apple pie and vanilla ice cream. You want to join us?”

  For an hour, James poured over the main layout then went into the details. He asked questions, made notes, and changed things as they went along. It was perfect and everything Dallas wanted in a house. Not so big that they would be overwhelmed, yet they would never have to move. With an access road, they’d be able to build it back by the tree line, close to the stream, near the spot he had proposed to Alex. The house had a rustic feel and was very open. Dallas couldn’t wait to sit out back and enjoy the trickle of the stream in the early mornings while drinking coffee.

  Ruby growled, a low, fierce rumble, over and over.

  “Ruby? What’s wrong?” Alex asked, her face pained.

  The hair on the dog’s back stood on end, and she started pacing the kitchen. She walked a clear and obvious path in front of Alex, not allowing her to move. “She’s never done this before,” Dallas said to the room of people. “Alex, stay there.”

  Looking through the living room window, he tried to see into the dark, but there was nothing. Swiftly moving to the laundry room, he grabbed the binoculars he knew were stored there. Moving to a different window, Dallas tried to search the area surrounding the academy and track. It was hard to see much through the combination of night and trees, but instinct turned his blood to ice.

  Damn near running back through the house, he laid the binoculars on the table and grabbed his cell, punching in Levi’s number. When he got no answer, he immediately dialed his sister. “Levi there?”

  “Yeah, but we’re just getting ready to go for a walk,” she replied like a young girl in love.

  “I need him—now, Tasia! I’m not joking around here.”

  “Okay?”

  Dallas heard her moving about, then Levi answered, “Everything alright?”

  “Did you say it was a dark-colored car, possibly four-door?”

  “What?”

  “The car, Levi! That bastard’s car. Is it dark, and a sedan sort of car?”

  The air changed between the two men, understanding dawning. “Where the fuck are you?”

  “Go block the main road. Take Dad. I’m on my way. He’s scouting the school.”

  Dallas shoved his cell in his back pocket, and turned to Alex with an overload of adrenaline coursing through him. “Stay here!”

  “Dallas!”

  “Stay. Here. Alex. I mean it. Ruby, come.” The dog was on high-alert, still pacing the area in front of Alex, and still hadn’t let her get up from her chair. Upon his command, she sprinted to the back door. Once it was opened, she took off past the cars running through the field toward the school. Jumping in the jeep, he pulled out of the drive, squealing the back tires on the concrete before he hit grass. Following Ruby through the field as the crow flies, he left his headlights off and thanked God for the full moon. Her collar’s reflective strip was what he kept an eye on. He knew the land like the back of his hand, but he didn’t want to accidently hit their beloved dog. He knew something was wrong the minute she made that angry protective noise unlike anything he’d ever heard from her. Nearing the school he rolled closer, but was careful to stay in the shadows. Dallas watched Ruby go on guard, crouching down, stalking her way around the side of the building to the front door of the academy offices. There he was again. Dallas’s anger went from a rolling boil to a raging inferno in less than a breath.

  Creeping out of the Jeep, he mimicked the four-legged cop. She never barked, never alerted the predator she was coming. From the dark of the night, she jumped, taking the bastard down with one try.

  Growling, barking, screaming all mixed in the quiet night air beneath the moonlight. Rolling into the overhead light of the building, Dallas recognized him. Gut instinct told him all along it was Alex’s attacker. Their dog’s teeth digging into the man’s neck, keeping him pinned to the ground, let him know for sure.

  Dallas snapped. Taking Ruby’s spot, he started swinging, punch after punch connecting with the man’s face. Though he’d never been caught, he had a restraining order against him, a piece of paper their only legal means of defense against the predator. One he probably didn’t even know about. Well,
he’d violated it, so in Dallas’s mind he was fair game. He was taking the law into his own hands, defending the woman he loved, and he was going to make sure the bastard was never able to come near her again.

  “Dallas!”

  Her voice stilled his arm as it was cocked back, ready for another blow. With Derek pinned to the ground underneath him, and Ruby on point, teeth bared, and ready to attack again, he glanced over his shoulder. “Alex! What are you doing? I told you to stay there.”

  “Move.”

  It was then he caught her hand at her side. He rolled off the jackass, and wiped his victim’s blood off his fists onto his pants.

  “Ruby, here.” She demanded and the dog was instantly at her side, but not sitting. She was ready to pounce again.

  This was a side of Alex he’d never seen. Chillingly calm. Her words, deliberate, clipped and powerful. Derek cussed a line of obscenities a mile long as he picked himself up off the ground. The flood lights were switched on, and Dallas realized they were surrounded by everyone in the family. What didn’t shock him one bit was his girl had a gun. Her gun.

  They’d grown up outside. Roaming the six-hundred-plus acres without a care in the world was natural. They’d all learned to shoot, fish, and although Alex never liked to go, the boys all hunted. She may not have liked the idea of killing animals, but the girl’s aim was dead-on.

  She could wear sexy jeans and cowboy boots, a dress and high heels, or better yet, riding boots and a tank top. Long golden-blonde waves reached her lower back, and she had big ice-blue eyes. Some days she was a pony tail and no make-up kind of girl, some days she was a run-way bomb shell. A princess with manners, and a total tom-boy all wrapped up inside the same package. Alex had taken her licks over the years. Between racing, climbing trees, and following him, Chance, and Jack wherever they went, and doing whatever they could do, she had proven she was made of steel. Yet, she had a heart of gold.

  On one fateful night, within minutes, that monster nearly broke her spirit. The one Dallas loved with a deep-rooted passion. He almost stole the fire from her, silenced the innocence of her soul, and buried the sweet heart within her. But the girl slowly making her way closer to her attacker was his Alex. There was anger in her eyes unlike anything Dallas had ever seen. But, she was back, and she was ready to stand up for herself once again. It was uneven, but this time, the odds were in her favor.

  “You aren’t supposed to be here,” she spit out through gritted teeth.

  “What are you going to do, shoot me here with all these witnesses?”

  She narrowed her gaze, leveling him. “What witnesses? I don’t see anyone around. It’s just you and me here.”

  “You think you can get away with that?”

  “Trust me, you don’t deserve one quick shot to the head. I wouldn’t let you off that easily. You deserve to suffer.”

  He wiped the blood running from his nose and mouth. Alex pulled her cell from her back pocket with one hand, her other still holding her pistol. “Yes, I need the police here at the Noland Academy. Now. I have the scum who attacked me. He is back on my property. He has violated the restraining order against him, and I am standing with my gun pointed at his head.” With her last word, her arm moved upward, and Derek took a step back. “I wouldn’t move one more inch if I were you. I have no problem putting a bullet in you, with the police on the line. Yes, that’s him…attempted rape…yes. Thank you. No, I’ll stay on the line. Especially since he’s threatened us again. I’m done living in fear—I won’t do it anymore.”

  Dallas knew the eerie calm that had settled over her was adrenaline. It had happened to him once during a wreck. It was a sense of fight or flight, this time she wasn’t left alone to fight her battle. No one was saying a word though. She needed this. Alex needed a sense of power over him to reclaim her life again. He had no doubt she was telling that asshole the truth. If she felt threatened in the least little bit, she’d pull the trigger.

  Alex believed in the justice system, and good versus evil prevailing in the world. She was a country girl who loved the military and the red, white and blue. It was those country girls men like Derek needed to learn they should not cross. She’d been caught off guard that night, and he’d been able to get to her. That wouldn’t happen again.

  Sirens wailed from two directions.

  She pulled in steady breaths, but never took her eyes off of the bloodied man.

  “Don’t move.”

  At the cops direction Ruby’s hair stood on end again. Alex never lowered her weapon. The second cop hurried to Derek, yanking his arms behind his back. As soon as he was cuffed, she pointed the gun to the sky.

  “In case you were wondering if it was loaded or not,” she pulled the trigger, making Derek flinch in the hold of the cops. “It always is. Don’t come back. Don’t come near me. I will protect myself, and my family, at all costs. Trust me, if there is a next time, it won’t be my blood my grandfather has to clean up. Remember that.”

  The officer started to walk Derek toward the police car.

  “Wait,” she said. “One more thing.”

  It happened in the blink of an eye. She reared back and with all her might, she connected with his face, snapping his neck to the side. Shaking her hand, Dallas knew she’d broken it—again. He waited until Derek was shut inside the car to chuckle.

  “Let me see, baby.” Feeling her hand, sure enough it started swelling in his hold. Ruby barked at him. He glanced down at her. “What’s that about? You’ve never barked at me before, girl?” She barked again, but didn’t stop until he let go of Alex’s hand. When he did, she started licking it. “Ah. You know she’s hurt don’t you, honey.”

  Mid-lick, Ruby stopped and started tugging on the hem of Alex’s shirt without letting up. Dallas noticed then Alex was starting to shake. “Lex, sit down. Easy now. I’ve got you.”

  “The adrenaline is kicking in. I’ve got a blanket in my patrol car.”

  Between Dallas and the officer, they got her wrapped up tight, even with Ruby not moving out of their way. He knew he’d gotten her a guard dog, but Dallas had no idea the lengths Ruby would go to, including bossing him around in order to do her job. “You’re a good girl,” he said, scratching her ear. She kept her head resting near Alex’s and continued to lick her cheek as if to soothe her.

  “Do you think it’s broken, Dallas?” Carter asked.

  He and the cop both nodded, it definitely needed casting. With the imminent threat removed in cuffs, and her dog lulling her, Alex’s eyes got heavy. The officer reached out for Ruby, but Dallas knew there was no way she was going to move even an inch away from the woman she was protecting. After everything that just took place, Dallas began to wonder how they were going to get Alex away from Ruby in order to get her to the hospital

  “You’re a hell of a cop, Rube, but I didn’t know you were a doctor, too,” the officer said.

  “Wait, is she..? Was she your dog?”

  “More than. She was my partner. Weren’t you, Ruby girl?”

  Dallas extended his hand. “Damn. I’m sorry, man. Dallas Hunter. With everything, I didn’t even catch your name, or put two-and-two together. No wonder you weren’t freaking out when you pulled up and saw my fiancé pointing a gun at that jackass. You recognized the name and saw Ruby. You knew she was in control, didn’t you?”

  “John Franklin. Good to meet you. Yeah. We heard the call come across the scanner and reported we were joining the other car on the way. I heard the story from our mutual buddy, Donny. I knew Ruby wouldn’t let anything happen to Alex again if she had any say. And judging by the chomp marks on that asshole’s neck, she had a lot to say. Didn’t you, girl?”

  “I was impressed with her before, but tonight, I’ve never seen such a thing.”

  “Most K-9’s that go through training are extremely bright. However, there was always something special about that one. I knew when Donny gave me the details, she would feel needed again. That’s important to her. A lot of dogs are good p
als, but that girl has a soul.”

  “How come she isn’t all over you?”

  “I was her partner and don’t get me wrong, I love that dog. She’s really cool. But,” he nodded at Ruby nuzzling Alex’s cheek and licking her hand, “that’s her mama. She knows she’s still hurt, and she has no time for anyone else but Alex. That’s the way I want her.”

  “Alex? You ready to stand up, hon? We need to go on in and have your hand looked at,” Molly urged. “Unless, you want Dallas to take you, like the last time?”

  Understanding dawned in Alex, and she tilted her head at him. Everyone had moved in, several taking a seat on the concrete parking lot just as Alex was. Dallas smiled in spite of the night. It ended better than he could have prayed for, even with her broken hand. She had been through hell and come out on the other side with the help of the large group surrounding them.

  Kissing her forehead, he grinned. “You were seventeen back then. I had to call them, baby.”

  She rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. Glancing at John, the corner of her mouth tipped, “Thank you so much for letting Dallas get Ruby for me. I am not sure I could have survived this without her.”

  “You are always stronger than you think you are, Alex. And as for Ruby, I couldn’t be more grateful she found the perfect home.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  “Why don’t you leave them a note?” Dallas said as he grabbed a pen out of the kitchen drawer. “Here, babe.”

  Over the last three weeks, things slipped back to what he’d call normal. Except for one thing— by not moving back to his parents’ house, Dallas remained a permanent fixture in the Sterling household. Carter and Molly flew out two days ago to visit Jack at school and were due back later that afternoon. The weather was beautiful and for the last thirty minutes, he’d worked putting together a picnic for Alex and himself.

  She bounced around the kitchen sticking a few extra goodies into the basket, humming as she went along. She was singing again and for Dallas, that was the last sign. When they rode around the back roads in the Jeep, the summer air settling around them, she cranked up the stereo…and he turned it even louder. They drove along for hours, lost in their own world. Her feet propped up on the dash, her pink painted toes visible in her summer staple—flip flops. Her arms held out feeling the air, and belting out country song after song. That was the girl he’d missed so much. The love affair she’d always had with music had bloomed again, telling him more than words could.