Slow Ride Home (The Grady Legacy) (12 page)

“Ouch!” She clapped her hands over her face and bent over. “Damn it, that hurt.”

“Sorry.” He cupped her chin and lifted her head. “It’s not bleeding and I don’t think it’s broken.”

She blinked a few times and waved her hand until she realized how silly it must look. “I’m being a baby, but your hat’s got a hard brim and it hit at the wrong angle.”

“Sorry,” he repeated. “Guess that’s why Jake likes wearing his baseball caps backward.” The corners of his eyes crinkled. “Talk about a mood-killer, huh?”

Before she could respond, an ATV roared over the hill on the opposite of the creek.

“Speak of the devil.” Ben frowned. “Wonder what brings him out this way.”

Ben’s brother Jake pulled his quad to a stop once he was level with them. Ignoring his mutt as it greeted Ben’s two dogs in the usual fashion, Jake turned his hat so the brim covered his eyes. Despite the shadows, she got the distinct impression he was sizing her up.

He’d gone from a skinny teen to a full-grown man since she’d last seen him. Where Ben kept his hair trimmed short, Jake’s brushed the top of his shoulders. Where Ben had his father’s blond hair and reddish beard, Jake had his mother’s chestnut hair. He also had his mother’s mouth, which on Cissy was soft and feminine, but on him, it worked.

Though she wasn’t sure why she felt the need to brace herself, Allie took a deep breath. “Hello, Jake. It’s good to see you again.”

“Hey, Allie. How you doing?” His gaze swung to his brother. “Nice to see you didn’t take Logan’s advice to heart.” At Ben’s flinch, Allie wondered what Logan’s advice had been. “Have you seen Jason or Seth around? I can’t find them.”

“I set them to clearing the brush out by that new stock pond we dug the other day. They should still be there.”

As they discussed the missing greenhorns and some of the other chores that needed to be done, Allie picked up the stick one of the dogs had hopefully dropped at her feet and threw it. Though they were both equal owners of Bull’s Hollow, Allie wondered at the way Ben talked to his brother. It wasn’t that he treated Jake like a hired hand or bossed him around, she realized. But he was definitely taking charge of the conversation, acting as if Jake wasn’t as involved in the decision making. From the way Jake responded, he was happy with the relationship though. Guess it was better than having too many cooks in the kitchen.

When the dog dropped the stick at her feet and nudged her, she realized Ben and Jake had walked away. Though she couldn’t hear what they were saying, Ben’s expression was rigid, his shoulders tight. Whatever they were talking about was stressing him. The tension didn’t ease when Jake climbed on the ATV.

“See you later, Allie.” Despite his pleasant tone to her, Jake shot a glare at his brother, then, his jaw clenched, took off along the path to the ranch’s main yard.

Okay, maybe Jake wasn’t happy with Ben being in charge.

She caught her breath when Ben snatched a rock from the side of the creek and chucked it at a tree twenty foot away. Bark exploded off the tree as if it had been hit by a bullet, betraying just how much force he’d used.

“Damn it! We lost another hand. We lose a couple more and we won’t be able to get the crops in and we’ll not be able to afford...” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fuck. We’re going to lose the ranch even before we prove Panola’s a fraud.”

“You won’t lose Bull’s Hollow. That’s why I’m here.” She flattened her hand over his back and stroked the muscles tense beneath her fingertips. “And you can hire more hands. There are always people needing work.”

“It’s not just...” He bit off whatever it was he was going to say and cursed softly. “I can’t get through to him. He’s shutting me out.”

“Jake?”

His shoulders slumped. “I don’t know what’s going on with him. He used to love this place but now, it’s like he doesn’t care anymore. Ever since Pop died...well, he gave up caring about anything. It’s like we lost him too. It’s like he doesn’t want to be around anyone anymore. He’s arguing with Ma a lot. He’s even moved out from the house. He’s living over at one of the cottages we used to rent out to hunters. The damned stubborn fool won’t talk to me anymore.”

“I’m sorry.” While she’d often said she mourned her father when he’d walked away from her, he was alive, which meant there was always a chance for a reconciliation. Jake would never again have that chance to speak with his father.

But... “He wasn’t the only one who lost his father. You did too. And your mother lost her husband, and your grandmother lost her son. None of you are walking away from your responsibilities.”

* * *

He might argue that his mother was lost in her own world of grief, but it was nice Allie saw his point of view.
Why the hell
am
I
the only one running the ranch here?
What the hell is Jake up to?
He’s an equal partner
,
so why isn’t he stepping up to the plate?
Seemed like every frickin’ day since his father died, Jake was avoiding him. Taking the jobs at the farthest part of the ranch or running into town on some task or other leaving him with all the decisions.

“What was Logan’s advice that you’re ignoring?”

Ben rolled his shoulders. Jake never used to cause so many problems, and hadn’t meant to this time but why couldn’t his brother have kept his mouth shut? “He suggested I keep you at arm’s length. At least until Tank’s idiot claim is finished and there’s no danger that I might piss you off and muck things up.”

“I see.” Her jaw set, she narrowed her eyes at him. “Was the other day—in the back of your truck—was that a form of keeping me off balance or handling me? Or all this talk today?”

She’d increased the distance between them, not that he could blame her. As much as he wanted to touch her, to hold her, he stuck his hands in his pocket. “No. I’m not trying to handle you or play any games. Believe me, I didn’t plan the swather breaking down or you coming out to help...or making love afterward.”

“Why should I believe you?” The question, asked so softly he had to strain to hear it, tensed his shoulders again.

Given what his grandfather had done to her, she had every right to be suspicious. She probably expected the video to pop up online.

“You either trust me or you don’t. I could argue with you about it until the cows come home and not get anywhere. All I have to give you is my word.” A concept that meant little to most of his generation these days. “I don’t play games. I don’t have time for ‘em. I realize I haven’t done anything to earn your trust back yet, but I promise, making love to you the other day was spur of the moment. And as I said then, I don’t regret it for a second.”

Though she obviously did.

“The other day...what was happening when Jake came along just now. It can’t happen again. I need to keep my head clear on this case. And you...distract me.”

You distract me.
Not a bad thing as far as he could see. “I can keep my hands off you, but far as I remember it, you were the one kissin’ me and pullin’ off my buttons back there.”

The cutest hint of red tinged her cheeks as she looked away. “I know. I’m just saying we both need to try harder to keep our distance.”

What damned fool nonsense had Jake’s comment put in her head? “All right. As long as you look me in the eye and say you know I’m not the bad guy. That I wasn’t the one who walked away or hurt you before.”

“I know you’re not.” But she didn’t look him in the eye.

Frustration filled him. “Look, I’m not trying to push you into a relationship.” Okay, maybe he was. Why, he wasn’t quite sure. Although his mother’s complaints that he was stubborn and hardheaded might be a clue. She’d been
the one
and he’d never found someone he’d connected with like they had ever since. Or maybe it was just that he was lonely too. “I get that your husband cheated on you. I understand that Gramps hurt you. And that you were abandoned by your father.”

Geez, no wonder she was skittish when he laid it out like a laundry list. He closed the distance between them and lifted her chin until she met his gaze.

“You’re trying to protect yourself from getting hurt. I get that. Yes, I’ll screw up. I can guarantee it, but I would never intentionally hurt you. I promise.”

She rested her head on his chest with a weary sigh. “I thought I’d worked past all this crap, but I guess I haven’t.” Another long shuddering sigh. “I called Dad the other night to ask him about how he’d been fired, but he didn’t answer and he’s not returned my call.”

Incensed that a father would ignore his own daughter, Ben wrapped his arms around her, swaying gently until her body relaxed against him. “I could call him for you if you want. Go visit him with you. Along with the sheriff’s reports to wave in his face until he apologized—preferably by crawling on his knees and kissing your feet.”

She pulled back and stared at him, her eyes wide in shock. “Sheriff’s report? It went that far?”

“Didn’t I mention it already?” After she shook her head, he leaned against the tree and pulled her snug against him again. “I can show them to you. I think. Gram’s probably got the files stored up in the attic or maybe she even took them to her place. But I know they existed. Gramps showed them to me when they told me that you weren’t coming back.” And thrown it back in his face during that infamous fight.

“Maybe if they had a file on Dad, your grandfather kept the video too?” Hope filled her voice though her body was still tense against his.

“I’ll look. If it’s there, I’ll give it to you and you can make sure it’s properly destroyed.”

“Thank you.”

He stroked her hair until she relaxed again. As she relaxed, so did he. Some might claim he was influenced by the rustling leaves overhead and the water babbling over the rocks, but he suspected all the credit should be given to Allie.

He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “Damn, you smell good.” A light air of some exotic perfume she’d dabbed behind her ears, mixed with something else. He dipped down for another sniff. Hairspray? When had that turned him on? She looked mighty fine too, her color high and her hair tousled out of its tight updo.

“Don’t,” she murmured. Despite her demand, her hands flattened over his chest and she melted against him.

“Don’t do this?” He caught her hips in his hands and dipped his head to rub his cheek against hers. “Or this?”

Without waiting for her to respond, he caught her mouth with his, claiming her. “Definitely shouldn’t do this,” she murmured around the kiss. His ego roared approval as she squeezed a hand between them and found his fly. “Or this,” she added as she undid his buckle then lowered the zipper.

Wondering why the hell not, he braced his hands against the tree, loving how her skirt flowed over her hips as she lowered herself to her knees. A beam of sunlight streamed through the thick branches, sending golden highlights over her hair. Unable to resist, he wound the strand around his fingers. “Gorgeous.”

She glanced up at him, her lips parted and swollen from his kiss, then freed his cock from his briefs. “So’s this.”

“Not hardly.” His breath stuttered at the erotic sight of her kissing the swollen head. He scrunched his eyes closed when her lips closed around it, licking and sucking, her fingers reaching into his briefs to fondle his sac. The cows mooing in the distance, the cicadas buzzing in a tree a ways down the creek all disappeared to pure sensation. Of Allie’s tongue swirling in lazy circles, of her soft murmurs as she shifted position to take him deeper. Of the heat gathering at the base of his spine, along with the sense of rightness in his world.

Strange how he’d been wary when Allie had first returned, how he’d expected her to hurt him, to walk away, and now here she was, on her knees out in the open where anyone could stumble upon them again.

Shit. Where anyone could stumble upon them. Not the way to convince her to hang around, to see if they had a future together.

His brain fought against his baser urges as he pulled from her mouth, but he won. Barely. “Stop.”

She sat back on her heels, her hair still locked in his fist, her lips even more swollen. “What’s the matter?”

“I wanted to romance you, to seduce you somewhere...” He glanced around. They were in a valley, partially sheltered by the branches, but they were out in the open. Even if it was his land, there was always the chance of a hand stumbling upon them. “...more private.”

“You wanted to seduce me?”

Was she laughing at him?

“I don’t want you to think all I want from you is quickie up against a tree or in the back of my truck or...that I’m only interested in you for sex.”

“What if that’s all I want right now?” she said softly.

He wasn’t sure which hurt worse, his ego or his heart. Here he’d come to a revelation, had put himself out there, admitting he wanted more than just sex, and all she wanted was a quickie?

All right. She just wanted sex. He could accommodate that. This time.

He pulled a condom from his wallet and handed it to her. He bit his lower lip, relishing the pain against the pleasure of her sheathing him. Once she’d finished, he lifted her and pressed her against the massive tree trunk.

He rucked up her skirt, thankful that it wasn’t the tight number she’d been wearing the first day. Beneath, her silk and lace panties were damp, her folds swollen. If he could see them, they’d be the same dusky watermelon pink as her lips.

Allie’s eyes fluttered closed as he stroked between her slick crease. Her soft moan couldn’t have been heard over the soft trickle of the creek, but the needy sound shot straight down to his heart, and was filed away for later that night as he planned for the romance he’d intended to give her.

He pressed two fingers inside her sheath, giving her the same pleasure she’d given him moments before. “Allie?” he whispered, waiting until her heavy-lidded eyes focused on him. Then he withdrew from her and slipped one finger into his mouth. Her essence exploded on his taste buds, another sensation to be filed away.

She caught her bottom lip between her teeth, watching him avidly.

Her hands clamped onto his shoulders, Allie wrapped her legs around his waist, her thighs moving convulsively with each pump of his hand. When her moans grew louder and her body clamped against his fingers, he withdrew them and buried himself to the hilt in her tight passage. He pulled back, his groan joining hers, and thrust back in. From the hitch in her breath and the way her body clamped down on him, he must have hit a sweet spot. Again he thrust, and again, until sweat trickled down his neck. With a gasped cry, Allie bucked against him, her back bowed as her passage squeezed his cock tight, rippling and vibrating through one of the longest climaxes he’d ever known her to have. Unable to stop the tide, his own climax overcame him until they both stood there, trembling and panting.