The Crown Jewels

by Honey Palomino

  “Crit, you don’t have to be so rude to me,” I replied.

  “Look, I’m not being rude. I told you I have a lot going on. I’ll call you later.” The click of the phone was like a bullet to my heart.

  I stared at the phone in my hand, and then threw it across the room in frustration, tears stinging my eyes.

  Why was I wasting my time with him? Why did I let him treat me like an afterthought constantly? I was tired of being treated this way, tired of being hurt, tired of hiding something that should be celebrated. My eyes filled up with tears as I laid there, replaying our conversation in our head. Maybe I shouldn’t have pushed it, but damn he didn’t need to be so short with me.

  My phone started ringing again, and I jumped out of my bed to answer it. Maybe Crit had a change of heart. Maybe he realized just how rude he really was being. Maybe he had finally come to his senses, or at least was calling back to apologize for hanging up on me.

  “Hello?” I answered hopefully.

  “Ruby? This is Lincoln. I was just calling to work out the details of our dinner tonight. Are we still on?”

  Lincoln. Handsome, rich, and a man who follows up on his word. Lincoln, a stranger, but a stranger that actually wanted to spend time with me.

  What the hell was wrong with me? I was wasting time with Crit, and like my Daddy always said, life was short and heaven was just waiting to snatch us all up before the devil could get to us.

  “You bet we are, Lincoln,” I replied.

  “Excellent. I know a wonderful place to go. Can I pick you up at seven? What’s your address?” he asked.

  There was no way in hell I was going to give him my address. The last thing I needed was to start this off by being embarrassed of where I lived, or introducing him to my father.

  “I’ll meet you at the Sugar Hill Saloon at seven, if that’s okay? I live out in the sticks,” I lied.

  “Sounds great, see you then!” he said, his deep velvety voice like music to my ears.

  “It does sound great. See you tonight, Lincoln,” I replied, drying the tears that had fallen down my cheeks.

  Maybe it was high time to give up Crit Hope. Maybe I was wrong about him. Maybe I was just intoxicated by his kisses that I couldn’t see that he clearly wasn’t interested in me.

  Like they say - don’t kiss a fool or let a kiss fool you. Maybe I had been playing the part of the fool all along.

  I jumped out of bed, forcing all images and thoughts of Crit out of my head.

  “Lincoln, Lincoln, Lincoln,” I said over and over as I went about my day.

  It rolled off my tongue smoothly, and I was hoping the date went just as smooth. I had given Crit too much of my time and energy. It was time to put my focus on someone who deserved it.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Crit

  “Mr. Johnson, it’s Crit Hope,” I said into the phone, my head splitting with an awful hangover headache.

  “Crit, hello son, how are you today?”

  “To be honest, I’m pretty upset. This whole thing has me spinning in circles trying to wrap my head around it all. You sure took me by surprise.” I called Johnson as soon as I woke up and shook the fog from my head. I had tossed and turned all night, despite the whiskey’s best efforts, and my stomach was in knots.

  “I know, Crit, and I apologize for that.”

  “It’s alright, sir, I understand why you didn’t tell me, but I’m ready to face this head on. I was calling because I was hoping to get the phone number for this nephew of LaCroix’s.”

  “He just called me. He’s in town now and I’m meeting with him this afternoon. I’ll set up another meeting for the three of us. You free tomorrow?” he asked.

  “I sure am. I’ll clear my schedule, just let me know what time to be there.”

  “Will do, son, will do,” he replied. “In the meantime, Crit, you just relax. We’ll work this all out.”

  “I hope you’re right,” I said, before hanging up the phone. If he wasn’t right, then this man was going to have a huge fight on his hands.

  I had been through so much already, and the last thing I was going to do was let someone take this farm away from me.

  I set about my day, trying to forget everything for a while. I fed the horses and helped Jesse clean the stalls. Just being around the horses helped. They always calmed me down.

  Later, I had my biggest challenge - sitting around the breakfast table with Seth, Jesse and Georgia without telling them what was going on.

  I had decided to wait till I met with this man to see what I was facing before bringing them into it. If I could get through this without having to tell them, I intended to do just that.

  I hated keeping secrets from them, even though I should have been used to it by now.

  Lingering in the back of my mind this whole time was Ruby. I had been a complete ass to her on the phone and I felt like shit about it. I told myself I’d call her and apologize later after all my work was done and I had calmed down a little.

  I didn’t know what to do about Ruby. I cared about her tremendously, and while I hadn’t meant to get involved with my kid sister’s best friend, it had happened. What I thought was going to be just a one night stand had turned into two, three, four nights, and then all of a sudden we were this ‘thing’. A thing without a name.

  I had asked her to keep it between us those first few nights, primarily because of Georgia. I just didn’t want to hear it from her. I knew she’d probably feel uneasy about it, and it was the easier choice to just keep it quiet. I had to admit, I liked it that way.

  It kept me from having to answer questions I didn’t know the answer to just yet. I had been single for a long time, and the longer you linger in one place, the harder it is to break free from it. I wasn’t sure at first how I felt about Ruby.

  She was the hottest filly I’d ever seen, and when we made love, it was incredible. Her body was like an amusement ride, and when she and I were together, everything else faded away. We had fun together. We laughed in bed, which is something I had never done with any other woman.

  That was the thing about Ruby. She was all fun and games, which is what attracted me to her in the first place. And the secrecy of it all only added to the fun, made those nights of sneaking off to the barn even more of an adventure.

  After a few months of that, I took a real shine to her.

  I had finally decided to come clean and stop hiding like a dog with a shoe in the closet, when my folks died. Then Georgia got together with Beau, and that just made everything so twisted. I didn’t want her to get hurt, and those Haggard boys were nothing but bad news in my eyes. If I had told her I had been sneakin’ around with Ruby all that time, I wouldn’t have had a leg to stand on.

  Then Jesse set all those fires. I was beside myself with worry.

  And then that motherfucker of a steer had taken me down in Houston. I didn’t just fall - he tore me up like a rabbit in a coyote’s mouth. It hurt more than anything I’d ever felt.

  But more than anything, it hurt my pride. I felt like less of a man, broken, useless. Ruby flittered around my hospital bed like some kind of voluptuous, sexy Florence Nightingale and there was nothing I could do but wince in pain with every movement. I couldn’t touch her, kiss her, love her, not like a real man, not like she deserved.

  It took months for me to heal completely. I had to take it slow as fucking molasses and it was overwhelming. I’m a big man, a strong man, and in those months afterwards, I felt like half the man I really was. It was downright humiliating.

  Mix all that together, and there just never was the right time to come clean about Ruby.

  Truth was, I loved her.

  She knew it and I knew it.

  Everything would work out just fine, we just had to wait for the right time, is all.

  And now I have to deal with this shit.

  I had no choice but to take my blows, and see where everything landed with LaCroix’s nephew. Once I had everything settled, then I coul
d work everything out with Ruby.

  She’d understand. She always did.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Ruby

  My car puttered to a stop at the back of the Sugar Hill Saloon. I came in the back way, not wanting to run into Lincoln in the parking lot. I didn’t want him to see my beat up jalopy that screamed to the world how poor I was.

  I pulled my rear view mirror down and took one last look at my lipstick. Small beads of sweat had collected on my forehead on the sweltering drive over and I cursed the hot Texas summer for the tenth time that day. My red curls were betraying me, the smooth locks I had worked for an hour to achieve in my bathroom earlier were now sticking out around my head in a frizzy mess.

  Part of me wanted to start my car back up and drive back home. Or, over to Crit’s. I couldn’t stop thinking about him, and much to my dismay, I couldn’t stop feeling guilty about going out with Lincoln. But every time I picked up the phone to cancel, I was reminded of Crit’s words the last time I talked to him, and I put the phone back down.

  I wasn’t breaking any rules going on a date with someone else. At least not any spoken ones. Since I had been seeing Crit, I hadn’t really tested the waters with anyone else. I wasn’t quite sure how he’d react.

  But men are men, and I wasn’t naive about their tendency to be possessive. If I was being honest, the possibility of making Crit jealous was lingering in the back of my mind, and I kind of liked it. Maybe he needed a little wake-up call.

  And if me going out with a rich, handsome stranger was what it took, well then so be it. Sometimes a girl had to play hardball.

  I took a deep breath, grabbed my bag, and closed the door of my car with a little more aggression than was necessary.

  To hell with Crit, I thought. I was going to have a good time tonight, and push him as far out of my mind as possible.

  I turned around, took three steps around the corner and froze. A long, sleek black limousine was doubled parked in the gravel parking lot, and a very tall, very large man wearing a navy blue suit and dark shades stood at the back door, his arms crossed in front of him, his expression blank and intimidating.

  I continued walking slowly, looking around the parking lot for any sign of Lincoln.

  The butterflies that had filled my stomach fluttered wildly, and I swallowed hard. There was no mistaking who that limo belonged to, but if there was any doubt in my mind, the big fella nodded to me and called my name as soon as he spotted me.

  “Good evening, Miss Ruby,” he said, opening the door. Lincoln emerged from the back of the limo with a blast of cold air and handsome charm. The corners of his eyes crinkled as they met mine, his velvety hands sliding over my arms as he looked me over.

  “Ruby, it’s so nice to see you again,” he said, his smooth voice sounding even smoother than on the phone earlier, the intense stare of his dark green eyes shooting right through me.

  “You look beautiful,” he murmured, his eyes trailing over my little black dress that hugged my too ample curves and plunged to a low v in the front, revealing what I thought was my best feature - the buxom breasts I had apparently inherited from my absent mother. Lincoln’s eyes lingered an extra second on them, and I knew I had chosen correctly for the evening. I certainly wasn’t expecting this limo, though.

  “Thank you,” I replied, flashing him a confident smile while my insides churned with insecurity. As much as I liked to dress up now and then, I was most in my element while drinking beers in the back of the barn in my jeans and boots.

  I wasn’t really used to people with money, and as I had suspected by the way he was dressed when I met him the first time, this limo only proved that my suspicions about Lincoln’s bank account were correct.

  He was loaded.

  “Nice limo,” I said, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible.

  “Thanks,” Lincoln replied. “Shall we?” he asked, gesturing for me to get inside. I smiled, and sank down into the buttery soft leather seats, a blast of cold air hitting my skin. By the time Lincoln slid in next to me, my nipples had hardened from the temperature change.

  The door closed with a soft thud, and Lincoln turned to me with a smile.

  “Thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me, Ruby,” he said.

  “It’s my pleasure,” I replied politely. “Where are we going?”

  “A friend of mine suggested a new place in the city,” he replied.

  “The city? Houston?” I asked. I hadn’t expected to be leaving Sugar Hill, but I was always up for an excuse to get out of it. Houston was a half hour drive away, and I couldn’t think of a better way to get there than in the back of this limo.

  “No,” Lincoln replied. “Dallas, actually.”

  “But Dallas is four hours away,” I protested. I’d be starving by then, I thought, cursing myself for not having eaten a snack before I left my house.

  “We’ll make a little better time than that,” he replied with a sly smile and a wink. “Would you like a drink?”

  He opened a small door on the side of the limo, revealing a small bar full of shiny unlabeled decanters full of clear and amber liquids.

  “Sure,” I replied, as he handed me a heavy crystal goblet, pouring a sparkling gold liquid into it. I raised it to my nose, inhaling the strong aroma of whiskey. He poured one for himself, and closed the door of the little bar. With a flamboyant flourish, he raised his glass dramatically.

  “To beautiful new friends!” he exclaimed. I couldn’t help but smile. His charm and easy going manner was calming my nerves, and I clinked my glass with his and sipped, the warm liquid flowing through my body deliciously.

  I sank back in the plush seat, and took a deep breath as I looked out the window, the familiar sights of Sugar Hill flying quickly by as the limo sped out of town, and for the first time in my life, I thought to myself that I wouldn’t mind leaving and not ever coming back.

  ***

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I squealed, as I stood in front of Lincoln’s private jet. Lincoln smiled handsomely at me as he stood next to the plane’s stairs.

  “I told you we’d get to Dallas a little faster,” he teased.

  I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming. It was unreal to think that I was standing in my father’s run down trailer home just an hour ago and now here I was about to board a private airplane with a stranger.

  Part of me - the gnawing part that tended to keep me alive and in one piece - was telling me to run away, not to get onto a luxurious plane with a handsome stranger, because it might not be safe. All kinds of things could happen. I hadn’t even told anyone where I was, or who I was with.

  Once I had run down all the terrifying and bloody possibilities, and rejected them one by one, I was able to put one black suede high heel in front of the other and ascend the steps in front of me, with Lincoln’s warm, smooth hand on the small of my back.

  The plane was small, but even more luxurious than the limo. Lincoln and I sat in white leather seats across from each other, next to a large window. He introduced me to what he called ‘his staff’, which in actuality was a pilot, a co-pilot, and a gorgeous super model-type flight attendant named Amelia, who set out to attend to our every need for the next hour as we flew to Dallas.

  I was charmed by Lincoln’s manners, his easy going attitude toward being served, and it was obvious that he was comfortable in this environment. As for me, I couldn’t stop gushing and saying thank you every time Amelia brought me something.

  Another whiskey was placed in front of me, and I forced myself to sip it as slowly as possible. The last thing I wanted to do was get drunk and embarrass myself tonight.

  “So, tell me about yourself, Ruby,” Lincoln said, as Amelia refilled his glass. He was on his third drink, and I noticed he was drinking them a lot faster than I was. I was glad that he wasn’t driving, because his eyes were getting just a little bit glazed over.

  “There’s not much to tell, honestly,” I said. “I was born and raised in Sugar Hill,
and I’m still there.”

  “What do you plan to do with your life?” he asked. I had no idea how to answer that particular question. What did I plan to do? Up till now, just surviving had been my main goal. Then I started seeing Crit, and I had been focused on him, stumbling through my days trying to figure it all out. My plan in life was to catch Crit Hope, settle down, raise his babies, and live the only life I had ever really thought I was qualified to have.

  I knew right then I was out of Lincoln’s league. Hell, he was from fucking New York City, the city of big dreams, where everyone in the world went to ‘make it big’. I had never had any intentions of making it big. I just wanted to make it through the day.

  “Well, I’m still young, so I haven’t figured that out yet,” I replied, feeling like the back-country simple girl that I was.

  “How old are you?” he asked, his eyes peering into mine as if they could see right through me.

  “I’ll be twenty-two next month.”

  “Well, you’re still young and beautiful, you could do anything you want,” he replied. I would have preferred he said I was smart instead of beautiful, but nobody ever said that about me, so I was used to it. Sometimes, I got so damned tired of people talking about my looks as if that was the only thing that was of value about me.

  “What about you?” I asked, switching the focus to him, because surely that was a lot more interesting. “What do you do?”

  “I’m a stock broker and investment advisor,” he said, his voice strong and confident, as if he were announcing it to a room full of people.

  “I see. You must be very successful,” I said, gesturing to our surroundings. The plane began taxiing down the runway, and I put my drink down and grabbed the arm rests of my seat nervously.

  “The job comes with lots of perks,” he replied, sipping on his whiskey calmly as the plane lifted into the air. My stomach flipped as the plane ascended quickly, and I said a little prayer that the pilot was a good one.

  After a moment of white-knuckling the armrest, the plane leveled out and I forced myself to breathe and look out the window. The sun was setting in the horizon, and I gasped at the beauty of it. Streaks of pinks and purples shot through the sky, the city fading away in the distance as we hurled through the air at hundreds of miles an hour.