by Kelly Moore
* * *
She shoved me back, turned in a circle twice, then came charging at me like a wild animal. I thought she was going to slap me again. I was taken off guard when she grabbed my face with both her hands, kissing me hard. One thing led to another, and next thing I knew, she had my jeans pulled down around my knees, and her leg wrapped around my hip. My back was against the barn wall. I braced my hand against it, bent my knees, and she rode me hard. It did nothing but make me love her more. I kept telling her every day, and she kept doing things to me that would piss off a pope. Which made the sex even hotter.
Until I made the mistake of pushing her to tell me she loved me. I had the ring in my pocket, ready to make her my wife. When she couldn’t tell me, it broke my heart. I couldn’t stay. I had to get as far away from her as I could. Funny thing, she followed me wherever I went. Not physically, but the taste and feel of her lingered with me. She ruined me for other women. Lord knows I tried, but no one ever came close to her for me. None of them measured up to Ellie Calhoun.
When Watkins offered me a job out of the blue that would bring me back home to Salt Lick, I jumped at the opportunity. I figured enough time had passed to heal my old wounds. I could stay clear of her, settle back into my life in the town I loved. The moment I saw her, those feelings I had for her all those years ago flooded my gut.
I didn’t think a woman could grow prettier, but she did. She’s snarkier, smarter, and deadly to my heart.
A knock on the door has me shaking off my memories. I open it to Margret, looking all worried.
“Can I talk to you?” she asks, biting her bottom lip.
I open the door wide. “Come in.”
She starts walking back and forth across the room. “I’m worried about the Calhouns. Watkins is not a man to be taken lightly. I know you work for him, but they’re the only thing akin to family I have left. He’s going to destroy this town to pad his pockets.”
“They know what kind of man he is, and they’re preparing to take him down.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of. Wyatt will try to fight him legally, but Ellie will find her own way. She’s not the sweet, innocent girl you remember. She’s fearless to the point of self-destruction.”
“What do you mean?” I halt her pacing.
“After you left, she’d take risks with things that could’ve cost Ellie her own life.”
“What sort of things?”
“She worked for Wyatt for a while. He wanted to grow a name for himself, so his main priority at the time was purchasing up companies that were at the brink of going bankrupt. He’d have Ellie coerce them into basically giving up their business for next to nothing and then sell them off, making a killing for the men who’d employed him. Ellie would find dirt on them and use it against them. She was a force to be reckoned with. These men hated her, wanting her dead. She’d make them angry on purpose. Wyatt made her step down after one of the owners had his hands around Ellie’s throat. He talked her into handling the books at the ranch. He figured it would be safer for her. It seemed to tame her for a bit, but something in her needed the danger. It was like hurting made her feel better.”
“What did she do?”
“One time, she took one of the horses and ran wild with him. Boone happened to see her running the horse through the gate. He took off after her. She rode to the top of the ridge, never slowing down. Boone being the more experienced rider, was able to cut her off before she rode that horse right over the edge. Her mustang bucked, throwing her to the ground. She hit hard, breaking her wrist. Boone said when he got to her, she laid on the ground, laughing through her tears.
“He gathered the horses but didn’t trust her on her own. He picked her up, put Ellie on his horse, and he climbed on the saddle in front of her. He said the only word she spoke was your name.”
“Fuck.”
“There were several more instances after that where she was reckless. Boone always kept tabs on her.”
“Then, I need to be grateful to him.” I blow out a long hard breath. “Thank you for telling me.”
“The Calhouns may not return my love for them, and I can’t say that I don’t deserve it, but you can’t let Watkins win.”
“I’m not sure what I can do to stop him, but I’ll damn sure try.”
She opens the door to my room. “Keep Ellie safe,” she says, walking out.
I get my keys, heading over to the jobsite. Normally, I don’t do the physical labor part. Today, I need it. I peel out of my shirt and focus on cutting wood and hammering it in place. I work for hours until my muscles scream for me to stop. I drive back to the Magnolia and jump into the shower. My mind races with the things Margret told me about Ellie. I need to see her.
I towel off, wrap it low on my waist, and call her.
“Hey.” Her voice is soft.
“Where are you? I need to see you.”
“Now’s not a good time.”
“Why?”
“I’m on my way to Watkins’s place.”
“No. You said you’d make an excuse not to go.”
“He has something I need in his house.”
“I’m begging you not to go.” I quickly pull on clothes.
“I can’t do this with you. Not now.”
“Do what? Listen to me trying to protect you?”
“I don’t need your protection. I’ve done just fine without you.”
Her words are like a knife to my heart. “I’m sorry I left you.”
“No!” she screams into the phone. “You don’t get to say that to me!”
“Ellie, please. Don’t do this. I’ll get what you need from him.”
“Stay out of it. Just leave me alone!” She hangs up. I dial her back, but it instantly goes to voicemail.
“Damn it, Ellie!” I snatch my keys off the dresser and head out to go after her. My truck bounces over the dirt roads when I don’t slow down. A deer darts out in front of me in the dark, causing me to swerve off the road, hitting a tree.
“Shit!” I beat on the steering wheel. I try to restart the truck, but it just sputters. Reaching over into the glove box, I grab my gun, stuffing it into my jeans, then take off on foot, headed to Watkins’s house.
I’m drenched in sweat and out of breath when I get there. Ellie’s car is parked out front. There are several outside lights on. I run toward the house but slow my pace when I remember Watkins saying he had cameras installed.
Being a builder, I know the pattern of where they place them, not to mention how to turn them off. I avoid the two pointed in front of the house. Moving along to the side where a light is on inside, I hug the house, moving in the bushes.
Ellie and Watkins are sitting on the couch, sipping on drinks. She’s wearing a red dress that is much too short for my liking. Her legs are crossed, showing her upper thigh. Watkins has a drink in one hand, the other is caressing her leg. “Don’t do it, Ellie,” I mutter.
He angles his head, pressing his lips against her neck. She smiles, playfully pushing him away. She says something, and he laughs. Ellie takes his drink out of his hand, goes into the kitchen, and pours him another one, bringing the bottle back with her. When she sits next to him again, she makes some sort of toast. Their glasses clink as his gaze bores into her.
I want to fucking kill him with my bare hands.
She sips her drink slowly. He downs his. She pours him another.
I watch her unbutton the top three buttons of her dress. She’s seducing him, and it takes everything in me not to crash through the window to stop her. She leans back, and his mouth is on her neck, with one of his hands grasping her breast through her bra. My blood is boiling.
A few seconds later, he slumps over on top of her. She pushes him to the other side of the couch then wipes her skin where his mouth had been and buttons up her dress.
When I tap on the window, she jumps. She walks over, unlocks the window, pushing it open. “What the hell are you doing here?” she asks as I remove the screen.
“I came to save you from him.” I crawl through the window.
“I don’t need your help as you can see,” she says, splaying her hand toward Watkins.
“You drugged him.” I stand over him and feel for a pulse.
“All he’ll remember in the morning is feeling me up. Help me get him upstairs in his bed.”
I grab him under one arm, hauling him off the couch. Ellie takes his other arm. His feet drag each step. “Which one is his room?”
“That one.” She points.
“I don’t want to know how you know that.” I sneer at her.
“He gave me a tour, you idiot,” she snaps.
I push open the door with my boot. We get him on the edge of the bed, laying him back.
“Now what?” I glance over at Ellie.
She starts taking off his shoes. “We undress him. He needs to think he fucked me.”
She removes his socks and shoes. I sit him up and remove his shirt.
“Stand him up,” she says.
I do, and she pulls off his slacks and boxers. Reaching behind me, keeping a grip on Watkins, I yank down the bedsheets. The two of us maneuver him to the far side of the bed.
“Damn,” Ellie says, staring at his junk. “Is that what they call an innie?” She points.
“He doesn’t have much, does he?” Why am I looking?
“No wonder he’s never been married. Ladies get a look at that and run.”
“Would you stop staring at it!” I throw the sheet over his naked body.
“You have nothing to be jealous of,” she snorts.
“Jealous! I wanted to kill him when he had his hands on you!” I growl through gritted teeth. “What were you thinking!”
“I was thinking I need to find the books he’s been hiding.” She takes off down the stairs to Watkins’s office. I follow her, not letting her out of my sight.
She opens and shuts drawers of his desk until one doesn’t open. “He’s hiding something in here.”
I walk over to his desk, reaching underneath the drawer and un-taping a key that was mounted underneath it.
“Not very original,” she says, swiping it from me. She unlocks it, finding a ledger. “Give me your phone.” She holds out her hand. She snaps picture after picture of the pages. She stuffs it back in the drawer like she found it then hands me my phone. “Take this to Wyatt. He’ll know what to do with the information.” She takes the key and mounts it back into place.
I stuff the phone into my jeans pocket. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.” I take her hand.
"I can’t leave. I have to be here when he wakes up in the morning.”
“You’re not staying in this house,” I growl.
She yanks free of my hand. “Yes, I am. He has to think we slept together, or he’ll be suspicious.”
“Let him. You can’t stay with him. What happens when he wakes up in the morning and wants a repeat of what he thinks happened between the two of you?”
“There’s a nice little side effect of the drug I gave him. He won’t be able to get it up for days. He’ll just think he wore it out.” She shrugs.
“If you’re staying, I’m staying.” I get in her face.
“I’m sure Watkins isn’t into having a threesome.” She squints at me. “I done told you I don’t need your help other than for you to take those pictures to Wyatt.”
What I want to do is take my belt off and spank her hard. Problem is, I’d never raise a hand to her. “I can forward the pics to him.”
“Don’t you dare. I don’t want any of these pics traced back to my family.”
“So, what were you going to do if I didn’t show up with mine?”
“I would’ve taken them on my phone, emailed them to Wyatt, then deleted them.”
“That would’ve left a trail.”
“Then, good thing you showed up.” She lightly smacks my jaw.
“I’ll take these to him, but I’m coming back.”
“If he catches you here, he’ll know it was all a lie.”
“Fine. But I ain’t leaving this property. I’ll sit outside all night if I have to,” I snarl.
“Suit yourself.” She folds her arms over her chest.
“You are one stubborn-ass woman.”
Chapter Fifteen
Ellie
“Figures he snores,” I mumble, jamming the pillow under my head. It’s been a long night trying to sleep next to him. My thoughts were on Ian. I can’t believe he showed up here. He thinks I’m stubborn, huh? Bastard. Once I got over my anger at him, I thought it was sweet, him thinking he needs to save me.
I watched for him out the window in Watkins’s bedroom, waiting for the moment he’d come back from Wyatt’s. I saw him park on the edge of the property. The hood of his vehicle looked like he hit something. All kinds of dirty thoughts ran through my head about what I’d like to do to him in his truck. I know I could’ve easily persuaded him to bang me. I’d had my hand on the doorknob ready to go, but I know he wants more from me than I can give him, and I don’t want to keep hurting him.
The bed moves, and I hear Watkins smacking his lips as if they’re dry.
Rolling over, I face his evil mug, propping myself up on my elbow. I adjust the t-shirt I stole from his drawer. When I pulled it on, I wanted to gag from his scent surrounding my body.
“Good morning,” I fake purr.
His eyes flutter open. He lifts his head, then the sheets to see his naked body. He whips his head in my direction with a grin plastered on his face. “Good morning to you.”
I trail a finger down his sparsely haired chest. “Last night was fun.”
He squints. “To be honest, I don’t remember much.”
Acting all offended, I throw the sheets off while climbing out of bed. “That’s never what a lady wants to hear.”
“I’m sorry. Come here.” He raises the sheet, inviting me back.
I let out a loud huff before I join him. He rolls my direction. “We could have a repeat of last night,” he says, pressing his lips to my neck.
Vomit rushes into my mouth, and I have to swallow it hard to keep from ejecting it all over him. Grabbing his cock, which I can barely feel, I stroke him. Nothing happens, just as planned.
“I…I don’t understand.” He looks down.
I remove my hand, wanting to chop it off. “I think we might’ve broken it. You had quite the stamina.”
He smiles like a proud peacock. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
There goes that vomit spewing on my tongue again. “I need to go anyway. I have some business to handle.” I get up, go into his bathroom, shutting the door behind me. Pumping soap from a bottle, I scrub my hands raw and hold back a gag.
As I towel off, I glare in the mirror. The old Ellie, before Ian came crashing back into town, would’ve done the deed to get what I wanted and not have given it another thought. This Ellie, looking back at me, isn’t as ugly. Pursing my lips, I blow a piece of auburn hair off my face. I love him. There’s no denying it, except to him. I’ve avoided the mirror for years, not liking the woman I’d seen. Ian makes me want to see her again. To feel like her when he loved me, not the me without him.
Throwing the hand towel on the counter, I pull on my dress and slip on my shoes. When I open the door, Watkins is still in bed. I see the motion of his hand stroking himself under the sheets, with a mighty large look of disappointment on his face. I hold in a snicker, thinking even if he could get it up, would you really see it?
“Thanks for last night.” I smile, moving toward the bedroom door.
“We’ll plan another evening when I’ve recovered,” he says.
Not on your fucking life. “Sounds like a plan.” I bolt out the door, not stopping until I’m safely inside my car. “Gawd, I hope this was worth it. Wyatt has to find what he needs in the records Ian took to him.” I back out, turning onto the driveway. I slow when I’m next to Ian’s truck. He rolls down the passenger side window, and I do the same.
>
“You stayed all night.” It’s a comment, not a question.
“I told you I wasn’t going anywhere. You okay?” he asks.
“I’m not some fragile flower. I’m fine. Did you get the photos to Wyatt?”
“I did.”
“Let’s hope it’s enough to stop Watkins.”
“Would you like to go get a cup of coffee before you head to his place?”
I glance at my watch. “There’s no time. Wyatt’s arranged for all of us to be tested this morning to see if we’re a match for Jane so that one of us can donate a kidney.”
He starts his truck. “I’m coming too. I’ll follow you.”
When we pull up to the main house, everyone is gathered on the porch. Daddy comes out the screen door with a bandage on the inside of his elbow. “You’re next,” he says to Clem. She scoots beside him, heading inside.
I grab Wyatt by the arm, pulling him aside. “Did you find anything?”
He scowls at me. “Ian told me what you did. You shouldn’t have risked it.”
“Did you get what you needed or not?” I growl quietly.
“Yes, but I don’t want to go over it here. Let’s get through this, and we’ll go to the cafe in town.”
One by one, we’re all tested, even Ian, Ethan, and Nita. Missy was mad at Bear because he wouldn’t let her be tested too. “You’re too young. I’m not letting you go under the knife for anyone,” he tells her, and she pouts.
“I’d do it for you,” she all but shouts.
Bear ruffles her hair. “I know you would, sweetie. There are enough of us here. I’m sure one of us will be a match.”
“I hope that’s true,” Noah responds grimly. “You’d think me being her twin, it would be me.” His expression is full of sadness.
“Don’t worry, Son. Being her father, there’s a good chance I’ll be a match.” Daddy squeezes his shoulder.
Noah appears as if he’s at a loss for words when he hugs him. “Thank you for doing this,” he sniffs.