Baby I'm In (Honky Tonk Angels #3) (20 page)

Liz smiled.  “Okay, thanks Mrs. Pursell.”

She walked through the dining room just as Kyle was opening the front door.  Cody walked in with a stunning red-haired woman.

“Hey, Kyle.”  Cody said as she entered and then spotted Liz.  “Liz, hey.”

“Hi, Cody.”

“You haven’t met Pressley have you?”

“No.”

“Well, Liz, this is Pressley Pursell, Wes’s cousin.  Pressley, Liz Redgate.”

“I’ve been wanting to meet you.”  Pressley said and smiled.  “Girl, you’re the talk around the ranch.”

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or afraid.”

Pressley laughed.  “Let’s just say your skills have gained attention.”

“Oh, well thanks.  Oh, let me introduce both of you to my brother.”

“Sure.”  Cody gestured for Liz to go first and they walked into the den.

All the men stood.  What struck Liz was Cooper’s reaction.  His eyes zeroed in on Cody and stuck. 
Well, well.
  She cut a look at Cody and damn if the same thing wasn’t happening.
Whoa.  Wonder what Wes will think if he notices.

When she looked at Wes that thought dissolved.  While he was standing, his eyes were on Lilian Matthews.  Now this was an interesting turn.

“Cody Sweet and Pressley Pursell.”  She gestured toward the women and then at Cooper.  “My brother, Cooper Quinlan.”

“A pleasure.”  Cooper stepped forward, taking Pressley’s hand first with a smile.  When he then clasped Cody’s hand she noticed he held it a bit longer.  Just as she noticed the way his eyes darkened just a bit.  If she was a betting person she’d lay down good money that if Cooper hung around, he was going to be doing his level best to charm Cody.

“Oh I’m so sorry.  Cody, Pressley, this is Lillian Matthews, our new corporate attorney.  Lillian?”

“Lily.”

“Sorry.  Lily, Cody and Pressley.  And now that everyone has been introduced, I’m gonna scoot back and help Mrs. Pursell get dinner on the table.”

Another knock at the door had her stepping out of the way for Kyle.  A tall, very handsome man entered.  “Evening Kyle.”

“Hey, Bronson.  I don’t know if you’ve met Liz Redgate?”

“No, but JD says you were a stunt rider in Hollywood and a trick rider?”

“Used to be.  Not anymore.  It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Same here.”

“Wes is in the den.”  Kyle gestured.  “Get him to introduce you to everyone.  Liz and I were just headed in to help Mrs. Pursell get dinner on the table.”

“Mary Pursell is here?”

“Yep.”

“Well this really is getting interesting. Okay then.”

Liz and Kyle went into the kitchen and within ten minutes everything was ready.  Mrs. Pursell called everyone in to fill their plates and take a seat.  Liz leaned back against the counter, watching.  Already Wes and Coop acted like they’d known one another forever.  Coop and Kyle seemed to be hitting it off, and Cody, outgoing as she was, seemed a little quieter than normal, her eyes going to Cooper every few seconds.

Bronson Weathers definitely had an eye on Pressley and more than once Liz noticed Pressley giving him the eye.  It was quite interesting and she couldn’t help but wonder if she was watching future relationships in the seeding phase.

Kyle walked over and leaned on the counter beside her.  “Penny for your thoughts.”

“It’s strange.  Here we are, a bunch of strangers thrown together by what has to be one of the oddest happenstances ever and look at everyone.  It’s like watching a family.”

“Family is important to you, isn’t it?”

“It is.”  She looked up at him. “I didn’t know how much until I came here.”

“Well, your brother’s here now and if everything goes well, he’s liable to be for a good while.  He was talking to Wes about looking for some property, maybe a house in town.”

She nodded.  “Yeah, I’m glad.”

“But?”

“But what?”

“I know there’s a but in there.  I can hear it in what you’re not saying.”

“You’re way too perceptive for my own good, Kyle Stadler.”

“And you’re evading the question.  What is it?”

“Can we step outside?”

“Sure.”

They walked out back and stood on the porch.  Liz gathered her thoughts, wanting to say it right.  Kyle turned her to face him.  “Just say it, Liz.  Whatever it is.”

“Okay.  You’re right.  Family is important to me.  When Cooper was shot it made me realize that the grudge I’d held against him was wrong.”

“What exactly was it?”

“He’s the one who convinced our father to sell Landing.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Well, he was the one who suggested that our father might be able to control me if he held the jockey position over my head.  Only our father didn’t just hold it over my head.  He snatched it from me.  Cooper thought it hurt me too much having Landing there.”

“When it really hurt you more to have him sold.”

“Yeah, but I over-reacted. I – I just saw it as another way my father was trying to control my life and punish me when I didn’t fall in line.”

“And now?”

“Now?  Well, I’d do it all again.  Not because it was right or mature, but …but because it led me here.  To you.  I’m falling in love with you, Kyle and I don’t say that lightly.  I know what it means to like someone, to have a case of the hots for a guy and I know what love feels like.  I just haven’t ever known anything quite as – as pervasive and encompassing as this.  It’s like you’re here—“ She touched the center of her chest and then her forehead.  “And here.  You’re inside me and I don’t ever want you not to be.  God, I’m not doing this very well.”

“Yeah, sugar, you are.  I understand.”

“You do?”

“It’s not hard since I feel it too.”

“You do?”

“I do, Liz.”

“Then please hang onto that when I tell you what’s been on my mind.”

“I’ll try.”

“I know how to get my father to leave me alone – leave us all alone.”

“You do?”

She nodded and reached into her back pocket.  She showed him the phone.  “I took this off Farley Banks.  The man Landing trampled.”

“And?”

“And I talked to his partner, Clive.”

“About what?”

“A deal.”

“What kind of deal?”

“One that will stay my father’s hand.”

“Liz, this is making me nervous.”

“Don’t be. This time, I know what I’m doing Kyle.  I’m leaving to go back home.”

“Home as in South Dakota?”

“Yes.  I have to see my father.  I have to settle this so we can all be free.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“No.  I have to do this alone.  And I have to go now.”

“No.”  He took hold of her arms.  “Don’t.”

“I have to.”

“Please.”

“I’m coming back, Kyle.”

“How can I be sure?”

“I’m telling you.  I love you Kyle and I will be back.”

“I want to believe you, honey.  I do but…”

“Then do. Believe. And if you need me, cowboy…”  She smiled at him.  “Just whistle.  I’ll come running.”

“You promise me that?”

“I do.  You’ll take care of Traveler and Landing?”

“You know I will.”

She hugged him tight.  “I love you.  I have to go.”

He held her hand as she pulled away and she let him wrap her in his arms again, accepted his kiss and hoped he felt in it that she intended to do what she’d promised.  She was coming back.  She just had to deal with something that had been a long time coming.

“I love you, Liz.”   He said when the kiss ended.

“I love you.  I’ll be back.”

With that she hurried to her truck.  She’d already packed her duffle bag.  She’d make good time driving at night and would stop at daybreak, find a motel and crash for a while. Two days.  Just two days and she’d settle things with her father.  And then she could finally start her life.

It was the moment she’d been working toward, and the one she’d feared.  Liz knocked on the door of the house and waited.  When the door opened, revealing her father, she felt that old familiar stab of fear.  That made her angry and anger gave her a boost of courage.

“Liz.  So, you finally came to your senses.”

“Can I come in?”

Lucas stepped back for her to enter.  “Where’s your brother?”

“I don’t know, it’s not my day to keep up with him.”

She could tell the remark irritated her father.  “I need to talk to you.  Privately.”

“So talk.”

She looked around. “Standing here in the foyer?”

Lucas turned and led the way to the back of the house, to a large glassed in porch that faced west. Liz tried not to remember the times she’d spent there, watching the shadows of the house creep along as the sun rose, like a dark fortress rising to cover the land.

“If you’ve come to apologize, then get to it.”  Lucas said as he took a seat.

Liz sat across from him.  “I came to ask you, as my father, to please let go of this … this vendetta.  You know Traveler is legally mine so just drop this. Please.”

“It’s not me that’s causing the problem and you know it.  Bring him back and take your place in this family and all will be forgiven.”

“Dad, I don’t want to be part of the oil business.”

“Well that college money was well spent, wasn’t it?”

“I went on a scholarship.”

“That has nothing to do with the thousands of dollars I spent so you could live while you were earning that degree.”

“No, it doesn’t and maybe I’ve never thanked you for that, so let me now.  I appreciate it.  I appreciate everything nice you ever did for me.  But I still don’t want to be part of the business.  And I’m never going to hook up with John Henderson, Dad.  It just isn’t going to happen.”

“No, you’re going to waste your life trying to be a jockey or a stunt rider or riding in the rodeo.”

“Maybe, but I don’t see it as a waste and you’ve got to stop interfering.”

“Let me tell you something little girl.  Everything I’ve ever done has been for this family.  For you and Cooper and this family legacy.”

Liz leaned back in her chair and regarded her father.  “Do you really believe the words that come out of your mouth?   Did you have those men come after me and Morgan for my good?  My husband was killed, Dad.”

“That marriage was a mistake.”

“I don’t see it that way.  And even if it had turned out to be that way, it was my mistake to make.  Not yours.  When are you going to understand?  Every time you try and control my life, every time you destroy something I love, it drives me further away.  Do you want us to reach the point that I hate you?”

Lucas stood, towering over her as he had so many times in her life.  She understood the tactic.  It was meant to intimidate her.  Only this time, the fear was diminished with resolve.  “Little girl, I don’t give a shit what you think about my motives.  You are and always have been a spoiled, self-centered brat who thinks the world should bow down to you and all your silly notions.”

“Do you hear yourself?”  She stood to face him.  “Seriously?”

“You listen to me Heather Elizabeth—“

That did it.  She saw, in that moment, that she’d never get through to him, never make him see reason.  Lucas Quinlan was who he was and he would never change.

“No, you listen to me.”  She pulled out her phone, accessed a video, hit play and turned the phone for her father to see.

His eyes narrowed as he watched and listened to Clive Netterman say that Lucas had hired him and Farley to go to Texas and either bring home Liz and Cooper or get rid of them.  When the video finished, Liz tucked the phone back into her pocket.

“This isn’t the only copy.  Grandfather has one, as does Mom and Mary Pursell.”

“That video means nothing.  You can’t—“

“I can and I will.” For the first time in her life, Liz was the aggressor. She took a step closer.  “I know about the log.  I’ve seen it and I know what you tried to force Cooper to do.  With that, and this video, I can destroy you and believe me when I tell you that unless you back off, that’s exactly what I’ll do.”

“Bullshit. You don’t have the balls.”

“Oh?  Do you really want to put that to the test, Dad?”

He stared at her for a long moment then stepped back.  “You aren’t my daughter.  You hear me?  I’ll have you cut out of my will.  I’ll disown you.  You and your brother.  You’ll get nothing.”

“That works for me.”  She smiled.

“I don’t believe you.  You’ll come crawling back with your tail between your legs.”

“Oh?  Have I ever?  It’s over, Dad.  Just remember, if you ever come after me or Cooper, this video and the log will be released and you’ll go to prison.  Mom will see to that and you know she has access to more clout than you.”

“Get out.”

“I am.”  She walked around him but paused at the door and looked back.  “You know, when I was small I thought you were the biggest, strongest, smartest man in the world. Now I realize how wrong I was. Goodbye, Dad.”

With that, she turned her back on him.  She didn’t look back this time.  She just left the house and got into her truck.  She drove until she was clear of the property and then pulled over on the side of the road and let the tears come.

*****

It had been the longest ten days of Kyle’s life.  He constantly checked his phone and asked Cooper at least twice a day if he’d heard from Liz.

So far there’d been no contact and Kyle was starting to doubt that she would return.  He was just finishing unloading a truckload of feed when the mail carrier pulled up in front of the house.

“Hey Ronny.”  Kyle peeled off his gloves as he walked over to Ronny’s car.  “Since when do you make front door delivery?”

“Got a registered letter for a Cooper Quinlan here.”

“Yeah, he’s staying here.”

“Well, he needs to sign for it.”

“Okay, hold on and I’ll go get him.”

Kyle went to the front door, opened it and yelled inside.  “Coop?  Mailman is here with a registered letter for you.  He needs you to sign for it.”

A few seconds later, Cooper was at the door.  Kyle gestured toward the mailman’s car and Cooper hurried to it.  A few moments later, he turned and headed back to the house.

“Thanks Ronny.”  Kyle called out as the mailman turned and headed back down the drive.

“Have a good one, Kyle.”

Cooper tore open the letter as he walked to the house, stopped at the bottom of the steps and read it.  He looked up at Kyle, down at the letter and back at Kyle.  “It’s from my grandfather.  My mom’s dad.  He says – here, read it.”

Kyle took the letter and started reading. Surprise grew as he read.  When he finished he handed it back to Cooper. “Well we know one place she’s been.”

“I had no idea she was going to do that.”

“I guess she thought it was important.”

Cooper shook his head.  “I didn’t even know about the trust.”

“Would it have mattered if you had?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe.  I mean I know she and Grandfather have always been close but—“ His phone rang and he snatched it out of his pocket.  “Wes.”

“Go ahead and take it.  I have a few more things to do.”

“Okay. Thanks.”  He answered the call. “Wes?  Hold on.”

Kyle heard Cooper call out to him as he walked away.  “Hey, Kyle.  Want to ride over to the Honky Tonk and have dinner? It’s on me?”

“Sure.”

“Okay, great.”  He turned his attention back to the phone call.  Kyle had no doubt that Cooper was relaying the news to Wes.

It was pretty big news.  Apparently Liz had convinced her grandfather to turn over a trust he’d set up for her to the new business venture.  The money would be transferred as soon as the corporate papers were filed.

Kyle had been in on a lot of the discussions since Liz had left.  Wes and Cooper were both putting in every dime they had to cover all the costs of surveys, test drilling, permits and every other associated cost. 

Yet, even with the millions they had, it was not enough.  The type of drilling required was expensive.  A person could sink a million dollars into a well and come up dry if they didn’t know exactly where to drill. 

Liz’s trust was for almost thirty million dollars.  It would put the venture in the black.  Kyle smiled as he thought about it.  She’d just given it a fighting chance.  But what about her?  Did she have a fighting chance with her father?  Would she be able to leave or was she sitting in a jail in South Dakota?

The worry was going to drive him crazy.  He pulled out his phone and called her number.  It went straight to voice mail.

“Hey.  Just wanted to hear your voice and know you’re okay.  I’m here.”

He cursed himself when he ended the call.  Why couldn’t he just have said what he really meant?  He missed her.  He loved her and he wanted her to come back.  Why hadn’t he said that?

Annoyed with himself and a little angry at her for not calling him, he stomped off to finish his chores.  This just might be the night when he opted for more beer and less pig at the bar.

Two hours later, tired and dirty, he returned to the house. Cooper was sitting at the dining room table with a mound of papers in front of him.  “I’m gonna go get cleaned up.”

“Okay, take your time.  I still have to go over these figures again.”

Kyle headed for the shower.  Twenty minutes later, he was feeling clean if not cheerful as he stepped out and wrapped a towel around his waist.  His phone rang and he looked at it where it lay beside the sink.

It was Liz.  He snatched it up.

“Liz?”

“Hey cowboy.  Miss me?

“You know I do.”

“Well you know what to do to get me back, right?”

“No.”

“Oh come on, I told you.  Just whistle.”

“That’s all it’ll take?”

“Well you won’t know till you try.  Come on, Kyle.  Pucker up.”

“Fine.”  Kyle whistled and a moment later the bathroom door opened.

There stood Liz.  He grabbed her and she came eagerly into his arms, meeting his kiss with passion that matched his own.  When it ended, he held onto her.

“You get things squared away with your father?”

“He won’t be bothering us anymore.”

“Liz…”

“I didn’t do anything bad.  Well not real bad.  I did get Netterman on video stating that my father hired him and Farley to come after me and Cooper and to – in his words – take them out.  I took that to my father and told him that if he caused any trouble for me or Cooper, I’d use it and the log to destroy him.  Mom and Mary Pursell both have copies of the video and know about the log.  He knows that Mom has powerful contacts so even if he doesn’t fear me, he is afraid of her.”

“And what did he say?”

“That we were no longer his family.”

“Oh sugar, that had to have hurt.”

“More than I imagined it would.  I thought about it on the way back.  There was a time when I was a little girl that I thought the sun rose and set on his shoulders. I hope one day I can remember that and forget all the bad he’s done.”

Kyle could see the hurt on her face and that tore him up inside.  He pulled her into his embrace.  “I’m sorry, Liz.  Sorry you had to go through that and sorry I doubted you.”

“Doubted me?”

“I was afraid to believe.  Afraid you’d change your mind.  But you didn’t. You came back.”

“I said I would.”

He almost feared the answer, but he had to ask.  “For how long?”

She looked up at him with the sweetest and most tender expression he’d ever seen.  “Remember that song we danced to?  At the Honky Tonk?”

Happiness flooded Kyle’s heart.  Real, pure happiness.  “if you need a lover and a friend--”

“Baby I’m in.”

“It’s not the rolling hills and buttes of the Dakota’s.”

Liz smiled at him and took his face in both hands.  “No, but home isn’t a place, Kyle.  It’s a who. I finally understand that.”

“Are you sure?”

“More sure than I’ve ever been of anything.  This is where I belong.  Here.  With you.  So, what do you say, cowboy?”

“Then I say welcome home, sugar. Welcome home.”