Jace: The Pride of the Double Deuce (4 page)

Jace grinned. “But getting into trouble with Logan is what I live for. He’s so…you know how he is when he gets irritated. And I have so much to get on his nerves about. We love to get into trouble. You know that.”

“I do. And that’s why I’m sending you away.” Jace only laughed. He’d have to get his digs into his brother before he left. It might make him smile on an otherwise dreary day. “Jace? Are you going to behave yourself?”

“Of course I am.” But as soon as he entered the house to eat, he noticed that not only was Logan missing, but so was Gerard. The milker wasn’t the only thing that was down.

They had one hundred stalls that could milk all their cows in less than two hours; when they were all working, that was. Lately it had been an uphill battle to get even half of them working, and those generally had to be fiddled with for a bit to make them cooperate. They couldn’t find the parts anymore because of things being so old, and even when they could purchase them, they were so expensive that they rarely got anything but more problems. If things didn’t change soon, they’d be selling their cattle for less than eight cents on the dollar, if the bank didn’t try and take the ranch again.

The teat-cups, or a shell and liner device, did all the work. They were attached to each of the teats on a cow and “milked” them. Each cup was attached to a milk tube, a pulse tube, and a pulsator…a vacuum pump or a blower. A recorder jar, or a milk meter, kept track of how much each cow gave daily. They didn’t have the fancy computer system to measure and record each cow’s production, and as much trouble as they were having with the machine they had, Jace doubted they’d be able to afford that any time soon. As the milk was run into a pipeline, it was stored in a large room—a cooling room—to get ready to ship.

Today, the pulsator wasn’t doing its job. The steps to begin the process, first creating a vacuum and then applying enough air to massage the teat—much as a hand would if they were being milked by a human hand—had failed, and the cows, needing their milk released, were upset. Timing was everything in milking a dairy cow. They could milk by hand, but that was time consuming as well as unclean. But on occasion, Aunt Georgie would come out and milk a few of them…to keep in practice, she said. That milk was theirs to use, for baking or even for heavy cream when she needed it.

After eating lunch with his family, Jace got into his truck and made his way to town. He slowed as he drove by the Carter Ranch. He just needed one more look before he set his plan into motion. It wasn’t even all that solid of a plan. Jace knew that, but with the help of Palmer, maybe he could help them both out.

The drive to Holly’s place might have taken him less time, but he really didn’t want to do this. Being in the same house with her was going to be hard, but in the same room was going to kill him. He’d actually thrown around the idea of pissing her off and her kicking him out of her home, but his aunt would strip a wide path off his ass if she found out. So he’d play nice, avoid touching her at all costs, and get his butt back to the ranch.

When he was let in, Mr. Palmer told him that Holly was still asleep.

“It was harder on her than she’ll admit, being beaten like she was.” Jace felt his cat skim along his skin. “I take it you’re going to go over the books with her today. I’m glad, she needs something to do or she’ll go crazy. She’s bored, I think.”

“Mason said we all had to. And that Clarke man. You guys are looking into seeing what the hell is going on.” Palmer nodded and offered him a seat. “I also wanted to talk to you about the Carter ranch. It’s up for sale, along with their cattle.”

“I’d heard that. Holly said that they told her they just didn’t want to do it anymore, and that their kids are not really into ranching either. Sad thing to find out that you worked hard for your kids only to find out that they don’t care about it. Not with my Holly, of course, but I would imagine that it hurt the Carters.” Jace nodded, not sure what to say since it really wasn’t the truth. “Why are they giving up, Jace? I’d like to know.”

“The banker. And some of the other places that are coming down on them. It’s hard, you know, and they only have each other. Mr. Carter said it was hardest on his wife, her being at home most of the time. I think they just want to move to Florida and have some retirement years after their two boys are out of the house.” When Palmer nodded, Jace continued. “I want to buy the farm. They’re selling the entire thing—cattle, house, land, and all the outbuildings—for a great price. The cattle are almost free. I’ve talked to Mason, and he and I could run our herds together; work the farms that way too. You know we have help; none of them get paid a lot…mostly they wanted room, board, and some pocket money. Not the same at the Carter ranch, but I figure we could work something out. I don’t have a lot of capital…well, none as a matter of fact, but I’m willing to work for it. For you. As a partner. I don’t know how—”

“Jace.” He snapped his mouth closed when Palmer said his name, then laughed. “You’re going a mile a minute. Just slow down and tell me what you have in mind.”

Jace stood up to pace while he thought. Have in mind? He was pretty sure that this man, this very wealthy and respected man, did not know what he had on his mind. Twenty-four seven. He wanted to tie his daughter to a post, spank her pretty ass, and then eat her pussy for his dinner. After that, he would love to just take her to the nearest hard surface, then fuck her until neither one of them could walk. And do it all again. Nope, he was reasonably sure that he’d be kicked out on his ass, then run out of town…after they tarred and feathered him.

“I think we both know that I’m not suited to your daughter.” Palmer asked him why not. “Shit, you can see what I am, what I have. Nothing. I can’t even fill up my truck most days, for fear of not having enough money to go and get a loaf of bread for Aunt Georgie should she need it. I’m not…I’m no way near what you more than likely had in mind for your only child.”

“And why on earth would you think that I’d want to have a damned thing to do with you in the first place?” They both turned at the sound of the pissed-off voice. Jace had to swallow three times before he felt that he could answer her, but Holly continued before he could. “You are another Douglas man, I take it? One of the…which one?”

“Jace Douglas, ma’am.” He nodded to her and she came toward him. Jace held his hat in his hand like it was a lifeline when she was suddenly standing in front of him. “You’re healing up pretty good.”

“Don’t give me that. You were saying that you’re not good enough for me. I want to know why you think I’d even want you.” His cat stirred, and it was all he could do not to show her just what he wanted of her. “Answer me, damn it. I have a pounding headache and I’m in need of some coffee.”

“Coffee isn’t good for you.” He watched her eyes change from the dark blue they were to something almost black when he touched his fingers to her face. Christ, he kept telling himself. It was time to leave. “You’re very pretty this morning.”

“What are you doing here?” Jace touched his fingers to her throat, the pounding pulse that was there just heating her skin. He noticed, too, that Palmer had gotten up and left them. When Holly spoke again, her voice was low, husky, like she’d been having sex and was ready for some more. “You were making assumptions just now. I want to know why.”

“I’d rather kiss you.” She shook her head, but Jace curled his hand from her cheek to the back of her head and under her glorious hair. “Just enough to see if you taste as good as you look. Just a small, hungry kiss.”

“You’re hungry?” Her voice was as low as his, her eyes darker still. When her tongue came out and ran over her full lips, Jace pulled her closer. “This isn’t…I’m pissed at you.”

“You’re going to be even more so when I’m finished with you.” He pulled her to him, her body a perfect fit to his flesh…her breast to his chest, her hips to his, her pussy right in line with his cock. “I just need a taste.”

Lowering his head, he brushed his mouth over hers. The soft moan, a breath of air really that came from her mouth, made him want more. Taking her lower lip into his mouth, he nibbled gently on it, running his tongue over the wound there and tasting her blood from it. His cat wasn’t satisfied with the droplets he’d taken, but wanted more.

Tilting her head and his, Jace took her mouth; took it the way he wanted to take her body. Hungrily, possessively, and without thought to what the fuck was going to happen now. He’d been wrong all the times he’d thought of her taste. It was unimaginably better than that.

The kiss made him not just want her now, but need to claim her. His body no longer wanted to fuck her but to possess her, take her high and be there when she fell over the edge. Pulling her body to his, he deepened the kiss, slid his tongue over hers, and moaned when she put her arms around him. Mason had been right; he was well and truly fucked.

Chapter 4

“Yes, I’m trying to reach Holly. Her phone doesn’t seem to be working.” The person who had answered the phone was polite, but Jeff was sort of worried. Not about her health or anything, but just that she’d left again. “She’s been hurt, I just found out, and when I went to the hospital to see to her, she was already released.”

“She’s in a meeting.” He knew who it was then; her assistant Sharon, the fucking cunt. “I’ll give her the message, Mr. Hardgrave, but I doubt she’ll call you back. I think she’s made it perfectly clear that she doesn’t want to date you.”

“You’ll give her the message though.” Jeff wanted to go over to the office and smack the shit out of the woman, but he was in a role now and he was going to play it to the end. “I was just so worried about her. And she’ll be the one to decide if we’ll date or not, Miss Guest. You might want to remember who pays your salary.”

“And that person is not you.” She hung up before he could comment again. Which, he supposed, was a good thing. He could not lose his temper this late in the game. Not when he had her so close…and her daddy’s money. So when he laid the phone down on the desk, he let his anger pour from him.

The desk top was cleaned of everything that dared be in his way. His temper ripped through him, making him do things, violent things, that he normally didn’t condone. He looked around at the carnage when he was finished. There were a lot of broken things he’d mourn soon, like his tea glass and the little alarm clock. Then there was the glass in the door behind him, the rented door. Like the rest of the apartment, it wasn’t his. He didn’t want to own it either, but he did need to live somewhere until Holly could be brought around. For now he’d have to make do with what he had, as there weren’t enough funds and no real credit to his name that would encourage a banker, not even the one he had in place at the local bank, to lend him enough to buy a paper, much less a home.

As he started to calm, Jeff sat on the sofa. It was hard and unforgiving, like the floor beneath his feet, but it had come with the place and he wasn’t ready to replace things like that. Making a good impression, that was key.

“Fucking bitch will be gone when Holly and I are married.” He grinned when he thought of the look on Sharon’s face when he was finally able to tell her that. “You’ll see. When she and I are wed, things are going to be different.”

Jeff wasn’t like most men who stalked a woman for something. Yes, he wanted her as his wife and he did want her money. But he wasn’t planning to kill her off after the vows were said. He had no intention of killing her off; her father either. He was old, yes, but without Palmer’s help Jeff would die long before he did. So long as they were both living and making money, he would not need the insurance that would, he was sure, eventually come his way. Jeff knew when to hitch his horse to a good wagon. But for now, he had to clean up.

Picking up the broken things, he tried to think how to explain what had happened in here. He’d not done as much damage to the room as he’d thought: broken glass here, a busted chair over there, and a framed picture of someone—he had no idea who—who had probably been dead longer than he’d been living. He sat it on the piled up mess on the desk, along with the small vase that had suffered a great deal of damage too.

Jeff looked around when he was satisfied things were as good as they were going to get. He supposed he could have called the cops and told them that his place was broken into, but he thought he’d save that for a time when he really needed them. Like after a good temper tantrum. Jeff sat down on the couch again and thought of Holly.

She was pretty enough, he thought…dark hair and blue eyes. The freckles over her cheeks and nose made him think of small children, and he thought that when they were wed, he’d have her wear makeup over them. Not that he didn’t want her to look natural, but younger wasn’t really what he wanted. Her height, too, was sort of a problem.

At five foot eleven inches, Jeff was tall for his family. But Holly was taller, even in her stocking feet. And she wore heels; admittedly not tall ones, but enough to make her a few inches taller than him. That would not do. He would demand…no, ask…for her to wear the flattest shoes possible when they were together. He looked at the clock again. Where was she?

Picking up his cell phone, he tried again. This time the call was answered by a male, and from the sound of it, one that was not very happy. He started to inquire as to what had happened, thinking perhaps Holly had done something, when the man spoke.

“Mr. Hardgrave, if you call here again I shall tell the master of the house to have the number changed. Miss Holly is seeing someone now, and there is no reason for you to call here again.” The phone was hung up but not slammed in his ear. But it felt as if it had been.

“Seeing someone? How is…? Perhaps he thinks it’s me.” Shaking his head, he realized that wouldn’t work as an answer. The man had called him by his name. “She’s not seeing anyone. Not Holly. She rarely leaves the house but to go to work.”

Pacing the smallish room, he tried to think who she might have been seeing. It wasn’t anyone he knew, that was for sure. He’d made it perfectly clear that Holly was his. He’d never told them of the money and how he was going to be rich, but he had hinted that he was the favorite choice of Mr. Snow as his future son-in-law. Now all he had to do was convince Holly of that and things would be great.

Deciding to confront her and the person on the phone, Jeff dressed in his finest suit. He only had two and both of them were very nice, but he was always careful to change out of them when he was not at work. And he had enough shirts and ties that no one noticed that he wore the same two suits every other day. He prided himself on how frugal he was.

“Well, my frugal is the next man’s poor situation.” The man at the front desk looked at him oddly when he passed him. That was another thing he hated about living there. Every little thing he did was noted…not just him, but everyone that lived there.

As he made his way onto the street and waited for a bus, Jeff tried to think what was going on. Surely after all this time, she’d get that he was the only man for her. And she was it for him. Money was the main idea in their relationship. She had it and he wanted it, but they could work it out. A lot of marriages were based on a good deal less than that.

The Snows lived about five miles out of town. Jeff had been to the house a few times; once to pick Holly up for a date, and the others he’d been looking for her. Not that he was stalking her or anything, but he wanted to make sure that she was alone and that no one was sniffing around what was his.

As he made his way to the estate, he wondered what it was she didn’t like about him. Not that he really cared. There was a time and a place for love, and he certainly didn’t love her. Nor did she love him, he supposed. Grinning, he thought of their first date.

“It had been an eye opener.” He shook his head, thinking he needed to get out more before he started answering himself as well. But it had been a…disastrous first date, one that he’d blamed on her. She could have taken a few minutes to think of his feelings and his wants when he’d taken her to dinner.

“I don’t eat red meat.” The waiter had suggested the steak and a baked potato for their main course, and Jeff thought it a splendid choice. “I’ll have the salmon, grilled.”

Jeff stopped the waiter before he left the table. “I don’t care for salmon and neither do you.” He turned to the waiter with a smile as he completed her order. “She’ll have the steak, rare, with the—”

She told him no. Jeff still remembered the look on the waiter’s face. He looked like he couldn’t believe her either.

“I will have the grilled salmon, baked potato, and a glass of wine please. House salad with house dressing.” She smiled up at the waiter. “If you bring me a steak like he ordered for me, I’m going to toss it in your face.”

“Now, Holly, you know that steak is good for you. And I enjoy a nice cut of it myself. So we’ll have the steaks and then we’ll have the cheese mousse for an aperitif.” The waiter nearly ran away when he nodded at Jeff. He felt very good about what had happened. But she sat in the chair and only answered his questions put to her with one word, or just a nod or shake of her head. Then it occurred to him what this was all about.

“I know why you’re upset. I can understand that when a woman has her monthlies, things can get a little…tense. I’m sure once I explain to the waiter what is happening, he won’t be upset—”

“I’m not having my period.” He looked around, knowing that every person at the tables around them heard her. “I’m not going to even…why on earth would you bring that up on our first date? Not that there will be a second one. But you…if you ever talk about my monthlies—as you called them—again, I will stick a fork in your eye and tear it out.” Jeff thought that a bit harsh but didn’t comment on it.

“You’re just upset after a long day at work. I’ll take you home when we finish here and I’ll massage your feet.” She looked at him, shocked, and he smiled at her, reaching for her hand. When she jerked it back, nearly tipping the water over, he looked around again. “You’re making us look like we’re having a lovers’ spat.”

“One, we’re not lovers; and two, that will never fucking happen.” Jeff felt his temper rise and he had to take several deep breaths before he could speak. But Holly had no such problems with her anger. “I don’t even know why I came here with you. Dad said you were a good worker and that he liked you. I don’t.”

Their dinners came then, and Jeff wanted to hunt the manager down and demand that he bring Holly the correct meal. But she picked up her knife and fork and began eating the salmon before he could say a word. Jeff was so pissed that night that he let the twenty-five dollar steak sit on his plate and grow cold.

He hated to admit it, but she had been right. It had been their first and only date, but it wasn’t for his lack of trying. Daily he called her, solicited after her health. Even her father had said that she was picky at times. But this new man in her life had to go. She was his, and all her money too.

“Well, not picky. He’d said she was choosy. I suppose that’s the same thing, right?”

He realized he was speaking aloud again when someone in the seat across from him cleared their throat. Nodding once to the woman, he continued with his thoughts. He wasn’t nuts, he told himself, but he needed her to marry him so he could have all the finer things in life that she did.

As he neared the estate, all he could think about was they were going to have to get a car for him. And he’d need a driver too. Jeff had seen Mr. Snow being let out of the back of his car where he’d obviously been having a meeting, or at least had been working back there while someone drove him around. That was what he wanted. Also, there was the jet that the Snows had. He was positive that neither of them had used it since she’d come home from her vacation. Women like Holly didn’t need to study abroad, so he’d interpreted what her father had said to mean she was enjoying being away.

Jeff moved up the tree-lined drive, keeping off the road and out of the view of the house, until he saw the truck. It was beaten up, dirty, and looked to be about twenty-five years old. Why they’d allow the servants to park in front of the house was beyond him, and he made a mental note to put a stop to that. But when the man came out of the house, followed closely by Holly, Jeff stepped behind the tree to wait them out.

~~~

Holly was furious. The man had…well, he’d done a great deal more than kiss her, but it was her reaction to what he’d done that had her pissed off. And now he was leaving. With her still talking to him.

“I said to stop right where you are.” He didn’t even pause in his pursuit to get away from her. “Do you hear me, Mr. Douglas? I said to stop where you are.”

“You, Princess, need to learn how to ask for things.” Jace never slowed when he laughed, which, of course, pissed her off more. He’d taken advantage of her, not the other way around.

“I want you to forget what happened in there. It will never happen again.” He stopped so suddenly that she bumped into him from behind. And when he turned, Holly felt her breath catch at the look in his eyes. The man could give the devil his due when he looked at someone with his hat tipped like that. “You…you….”

“I what?” His voice had gone all sexy again, and she felt her arms slide up his thick, muscled arms when he pulled her to him again. “What is it you want from me, Holly? Another kiss? Would you like for me to pull you to my cock again, make you come this time? I’d very much like that. To hear you scream out my name when you come for me.”

“Stop that.” She’d been moaning when he’d been rocking his cock into her in the house. When she’d been so close he’d pulled back…and she was pretty sure that’s what made her the maddest. “I don’t want to have sex with you, ever. I just want you to tell me why you did that to me.”

“Why I nipped at your throat? To taste you. It was a mistake, but too late for things now. Or do you mean cupping your breast in my hand? You’re very full. Your nipples are hard peaks. I’d love to take them into my mouth right now, suckle them again until this time you come. Then I want to drop before you, pull those wet panties off, and eat you. Taste your cream on my tongue while you flood me with it.” She was very wet and she had a feeling that he wasn’t kidding about eating her either. “I want you.”

“We’re outside.” Nodding once, he pulled her mouth to his. This kiss was unlike the other one. This one was hungry, demanding, and hard. His tongue didn’t just move along her tongue in a seeking sweep, but made love to her mouth, fucking it as she wanted him to do to her. Suddenly she was being jerked along to his truck.