Loving the Heartland

by Marjorie Jones

  “Can’t you hear? I said, ‘Go away!’”

  Kendra joined her in the hallway and her heart sped up when she breathed her deep, leather scent. So much for her grand seduction.

  The room fell silent. After a moment, Kendra asked, “Is he even in there?”

  Michelle nodded. “Yeah, but he won’t talk to me.”

  Kendra turned the knob only to find the door locked from the inside. “Brad, open the door.”

  Silence.

  “Brad?” Kendra repeated.

  From the driveway, the jeep’s distinctive roar filled the tense air.

  Kendra cursed, racing down the stairs and out the front door.

  “What’s going on?” Michelle rushed behind Kendra, but stopped at the top of the stairs.

  “The little shit went out the window,” Kendra called from the porch. “He’s gone.”

  “Do you know where he went? Lenise’s maybe?”

  Kendra shook her head, stepping back inside the house. “Maybe, but they’re on the outs, remember? Damn that pig-headed kid.”

  Michelle shifted her weight from one foot to the other at the top of the staircase. “Should we go after him?” Dealing with unruly, angst-ridden teens was certainly not her forte.

  Kendra turned and studied her from the bottom of the stairs. She wrapped her arms around herself and her brow furrowed. “No. Whatever’s bothering him, he needs to cool off before he can talk about it. There’s nothing we can do until he comes home.”

  Her cowboy hat perched on top of her head made her look like some old-western hero. Tight jeans hugged her hips, thighs and groin before tracing her muscled legs and pooling around the heels of her boots.

  But it was the look in her eyes that made Michelle weak in more parts of her body than she could name. They shone bright in her tanned face as they roamed up and down over her. Everywhere they settled burned. Michelle made a concerted effort to keep her own eyes open, or she would let the lids drift closed and collapse into a puddle right there in the hallway at the top of the stairs for all the world to see.

  “Come to bed,” she suggested.

  “I wish I could,” Kendra replied.

  So that’s what a bucket of ice water over one’s head feels like. Michelle frowned. “You wish?”

  “Someone or something killed Apache while we were at the rodeo. The vet, the sheriff, and animal control should be here in about a half hour.” She rested one boot on the bottom step and leaned on her upraised knee. “If I come up there now, I won’t want to leave when they get here.”

  “Oh, my God. No wonder he’s so upset.” Michelle sighed and leaned her shoulder against the wall. “I’ll get dressed. Do you want me and Lacey to go look for Brad? Seriously, he shouldn’t be alone right now.”

  Kendra grimaced and pinched her nose like she always did when frustration made her head hurt. She adjusted her hat before standing taller than Michelle had ever seen her. “Nah. He’s a good kid. He won’t get into too much trouble. If he’s not back by morning, Casey and I can go hunt his ass down.” She paused and tilted her head coyly to one side and her soft lips spread into a crooked smile. “We can’t seem to catch a break, can we?”

  Michelle played with the belt on her bathrobe. Would they ever?

  Chapter Thirteen

  “What time did Brad get home last night?” Lacey opened the refrigerator and pulled out a new carton of orange juice.

  Kendra took a sip of coffee and rested the cup on the counter. “About four.”

  “And you’re going to let him get away with that?”

  “Don’t you worry about it, Lace.”

  “You never let me get away with stuff like that. You were all over me.”

  “You’re a girl.”

  “So?”

  “So, it’s different with girls.”

  “Kendra. You’re a girl,” Lacey huffed, her eyes rolling so far back into her head Kendra thought her baby sister might pass out. If Kendra weren’t so worried about their youngest brother, she would laugh at her sister’s indignation.

  Lacey finished pouring a glass of juice, put the carton away and sat at the kitchen table. “Have you heard back from animal control yet?”

  She shook her head. “Not yet. It’s still early.”

  “What do you think killed Apache?”

  “Not what. Who. Harold Mason.”

  “What about Harold Mason?” Michelle asked as she came in through the back door.

  “Nothing. You’re up early.” Lacey offered her a cup of coffee.

  “Yeah, I think this up-with-the-sun-stuff is catching. I went for a little ride.”

  “On a horse?” Lacey laughed.

  Michelle made a face that reminded Kendra of a petulant little girl. Michelle made her feel better just by coming into the room.

  “Yes, on a horse,” she replied. “I just felt like being out there. There’s something really great about the open spaces all by yourself.”

  “You were by yourself?” A tingle electrified Kendra’s spine and forced her to push herself away from the counter.

  “Yeah. Well, most of the time. I checked on the old house. Brent was there working on the kitchen cabinets. They’re looking really great, by the way. Huge upgrade.”

  Kendra ran a hand over her jaw and shook her head. “I’d rather you not do that again, Michelle. It’s just not safe.”

  “But I stayed close to the houses. What could possibly happen?”

  She didn’t want to think about it. “Anything. Nothing. Just, do me this favor? Don’t go out alone again?”

  Michelle released an impatient sigh that said she didn’t like it, but she would do her best. She didn’t want to listen to Kendra. She was used to being her own person. It was part of what she admired about Michelle, but not this time. This time, Kendra needed to get her way.

  “Alright. I won’t go out alone again.”

  A horn blared in the driveway.

  “That’s probably the animal control guy. He was going to come back and check all of the feed bins. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Kendra took a step toward the front of the house when a gunshot blasted through the air. Glasses rattled in the cabinets.

  Lacey jumped to her feet. “That sure as hell doesn’t sound like animal control.”

  Kendra raced to the front door and peeked through the curtains. Michelle bumped into her and tried to peer through as well. “Who’s out there?”

  Kendra backed away from the window. “It’s Mac. And he’s armed.”

  “So. He’s the sheriff. He’s supposed to be armed.”

  “Not like this, he’s not.”

  “Well, go see what he wants!” Lacey shoved Kendra.

  Kendra opened the door and stepped onto the porch. Mac’s face was red. So was his neck. He looked like he hadn’t slept a wink since he left the ranch at nearly midnight last night. He wore the same uniform he wore the night before, as well. A large stain on his pants, made from kneeling in the barn, proved it. What the hell had happened to get him so riled up?

  A sudden thought, more like a feeling, kicked her in the gut so hard she nearly gagged. “Now, Mac. Why don’t you put the gun down and tell me what this is all about?”

  “I want to see Brad, and I want to see him right now.”

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You’re pretty piqued at the moment.”

  “I’m going to kill your little brother, Kennie. I swear to God I’m going to blow that sonofabitch’s legs off and watch him bleed out all over the goddamn lawn. Now, where is he?”

  “I can understand that you’re upset. I’m not real crazy about it either, if it’s what I think is going on.”

  “You know damn well what’s going on, Kennie. Don’t play stupid with me, and hand over that little piece of sh—”

  “It’s Lenise, right? She’s, uh... pregnant, I’m guessing?”

  Mac’s shoulders slumped and the shotgun loosened in his grip. He fell back against the hood of the car. His should
ers heaved, as if he sobbed, but no sound came out.

  Kendra hazarded a step off the porch and moved toward her friend. “Mac. Give me the gun.”

  Instead of handing it to her, Mac let it fall to the ground.

  “Now, what do you say we head inside and talk this whole thing over?”

  A car sped up the driveway and Kendra turned to see who it was. Lenise was sitting behind the wheel and her mother, obviously distraught, was in the passenger seat. Lenise stood on the breaks and the car skidded to a stop on the loose gravel next to her father’s cruiser. She leaped from behind the wheel and screamed, “No, Daddy! You can’t do this! I love him!”

  “It’s okay, Lenise. He’s not doing anything. You ladies go on inside the house and we’ll be in shortly.”

  The door swung open and Brad stepped onto the porch. Lenise ran toward the house where she met Brad with a solid embrace. She damn near knocked him off his feet, in fact. “I’m sorry, Brad. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t.” She was full on sobbing, barely able to get the words out. Her breaths came in tangled, gnarled gasps.

  Brad kissed her lips, her cheeks, and her eyes, as though he could take away every tear. As Mac tensed to lunge in the direction of the porch, Kendra braced herself against his chest and held him down on the car. “Let ‘em be, Mac. You can’t stop it and you know it.”

  He growled, but seemed to relax a measure. More like... surrendered.

  Brad pushed Lenise away gently, one hand on either shoulder, and paused to look directly into her eyes. “So, does this mean that you will marry me?”

  Kendra levitated off the hood of the car with Mac not far behind. “She’ll do what?!”

  

  “Kendra. Stop pacing. You’re going to wear a hole in the floor.”

  Michelle patted the sofa next to her. Maybe, if she could get Kendra to sit still for five minutes, she’d be able to think more clearly.

  “I can’t sit down. What are they going to do? How are they going to live?”

  “You have plenty of money, Kendra. I really don’t think they’ll starve.”

  “That’s not what that money is for. I’m not just going to give it to them.”

  “Well, of course not. But in an emergency, which I’m sure they’re going to have their fair share of, at least there is something to keep a roof over their heads, you know? I’m not saying, ‘Give them a million bucks and hope for the best.’ No, I’m saying that there are people in this situation who are a lot worse off and they make do every day.”

  Kendra stopped in the middle of the floor. Her boots made a stomping sound as she faced Michelle. “I suppose they’re going to do this thing whether we agree to let them or not.”

  She nodded. “Yup.”

  “So, I should make the best of it?”

  She nodded again.

  Kendra sat next to her and rubbed her forehead with the tips of her fingers. “Mac seemed a bit more reasonable when they left.”

  “It must have come as quite a shock. But honestly, things like this happen. At least you raised Brad to do the honorable thing. A lot of young men these days don’t.”

  “He’d better do the right thing. I’ll kill him myself if he doesn’t. And by the right thing, I mean, pay his fair share. Raise his child. Be there. But married? They are so young.”

  She laughed and leaned into Kendra. “You should have seen your face when you heard the word ‘marry.’ I thought you were going to explode.”

  Kendra laughed, too. “It was the shock, I guess. Come here,” she continued. With one delicate tug, she pulled Michelle into her chest and leaned back on the sofa, taking Michelle with her.

  “It wasn’t the best timing, though. Was it?” Michelle sighed.

  As soon as she said the words, she wished she could bring them back. The muscles of Kendra’s chest twitched beneath her cheek.

  “No, but would there ever be a good time to find out your little brother knocked up his high school sweetheart?”

  “What did animal control say?”

  “Good, old-fashioned rat poison. He found traces of it in Apache’s stall. Apparently, Mason just wanted to send another message. Otherwise, he would have killed all the stock.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “Hire more hands. Post watches around the compound.” Kendra shifted on the soft cushions. “I don’t want to talk about this right now.”

  Kendra’s voice changed. The house, empty except for Kendra and Michelle, fell to a deep quiet. Even the clock ticking on the piano didn’t make a sound. The kids had decided to go back to Mac’s place and work out a few things, including a wedding date, and Kendra was certain that Mac had a few choice words for her little brother. Lacey and Brent were out in his apartment having bedded down the animals. Michelle suspected they had conspired to vacate the premises.

  Her hands moved over Michelle’s back in a soothing rhythm. Michelle didn’t want to talk about anything, either. “Let’s go upstairs,” she suggested.

  A growl escaped from low in Kendra’s throat, like the purr of a wild animal on the prowl. “I thought you’d never ask.”

  Michelle stood and took Kendra’s hand. In silence, they made their way to Kendra’s room. It had become their shared room over the past few weeks, although Michelle hadn’t officially moved in. She kept her clothes and personal items in the spare bedroom, but never slept there. Moving her clothing, her day-to-day items, seemed too final; too committed. At some point, they would have to address what they were doing. What did it mean? Was it going to last? Did they even want it to? But not today. Not right now.

  Shadows marked the way as the sun settled in for the night. It was still early, but Michelle had no intention to leave the bedroom until morning.

  Once inside the room, Kendra shut the door with a quiet click. “Alone, at last.”

  Michelle smiled at the cliché.

  

  Whole.

  Kendra studied Michelle’s face, memorizing every plane. Every twinkle in her eye. Michelle made her whole. No matter what fell into her life, she could deal with it. Just so long as Michelle were still there. Still here. “I want you. More than I want to breathe.”

  Michelle’s perfect lips turned into a perfect smile and a subtle rose hue heightened her cheeks. With both hands, Kendra took Michelle’s face into her palms and then moved her fingers through the silky softness of her hair. Honeysuckle filled her nostrils and she inhaled the fragrance deep into her lungs. She’d never suck another honeysuckle the same way again, that was for sure.

  With a soft mewl, Michelle’s tongue darted from between her lips to moisten them and that’s all it took. Kendra dove on what seemed like an engraved invitation to kiss. Hunger burned inside her to a degree she could barely stand. She wanted to consume her. While her lips met Michelle’s, her body throbbed and pulsed with the beat of one heart and the power of two.

  How had she survived so many years without her? It didn’t seem possible. If Michelle hadn’t been here this morning when Mac showed up, bent on murder, Kendra might have made matters even worse. Hell, she might have been on Mac’s side and shot Brad herself.

  Even now, Michelle’s kiss calmed her at the same time it fanned the flames of her soul.

  As if drawn by some unexplainable magnetic force, they moved toward the bed. One body. One mind. One soul. When Kendra’s legs met the mattress, she gently pulled her lips away. Starving for air, but wanting more, it was difficult for her to break the kiss. Michelle’s gaze roamed over her neck and breasts before settling on her belt buckle. When she raised her gaze back to Kendra’s face, her eyes were filled with what could only be described as passion.

  Pure.

  Hot.

  Michelle’s delicate fingers, tipped with short, manicured nails colored a soft, fleshy pink, reached for the buttons on Kendra’s shirt. She slowly pushed the first button through the hole and revealed a small amount of skin. Gently, she kissed the exposed flesh. Fire consume
d her, sending shockwaves of pleasure to the four corners of her mind and every part of her body at once.

  Another button. Another kiss. The third button revealed the small mounds of Kendra’s breasts. Michelle paused for only a flicker of a moment before she paid the same warm attention to each one. Pulling away the fabric of Kendra’s undershirt, Michelle took one erect nipple into her mouth, first suckling and then gently nipping the tip with her teeth.

  Lifting her head and tilting it coyly to one side, Michelle smiled and a truly vixen-like quality appeared in her eyes. Her fingers made quick work of the remaining buttons and brushed across Kendra’s stomach as she pulled her shirt free of her jeans. Without words, only the whisper of heated breath, she pushed the shirt off of Kendra’s shoulders and let it fall to the floor.

  And then she fell to her knees, falling softly, but not without an eagerness that sent those flames licking to places that Kendra had forgotten she had. Or maybe she’d never known she had them in the first place.

  Michelle worked Kendra’s belt buckle loose, and then unbuttoned her old-school button-fly jeans. A ragged breath filled her lungs and she looked down. Michelle sat on her knees in front of her, her mouth so close to her crotch that she could feel the heat of Michelle’s breathe through the denim.

  It had been so damned long since any woman...

  Kendra bit her lip to keep herself from protesting. She wasn’t entirely comfortable, but something in Michelle’s very countenance screamed that she needed this as much as Kendra did.

  Slowly, almost carefully, Michelle slid Kendra’s jeans over her narrow hips, bringing her plaid boxers with them. When they reached her knees, Michelle whispered, “Lie down.”

  Kendra could do nothing but obey. Rational thought had been melted away as the raging inferno crept from her loins to her brain. She sat on the edge of the bed, supporting herself on one hand and reaching forward to stroke Michelle’s gorgeous mane with the other. Michelle slipped Kendra’s jeans off and tossed them aside. They landed in a heap in the corner, the sound of the impact louder than it should have been.

  “Lie down, Kendra. Let me love you.”