Closing The Gap (Dangerous Pasts, #1) (11 page)

“No shit.  If Lake read that message, she would assume it came from a stripper.  Thanks for mentioning the Pink Monkey, asshole.  I can’t imagine what Lauren is up to tonight.  I only banged her a couple of times and it’s been over for months.  She threw herself at me so often I finally gave in.  As usual, I’m living to regret it.  Thank God my dad isn’t here to give me a lecture.”  Josh’s mind raced and he felt nauseous.  Lake had fled out into the dark of night, despising him, so disgusted by him that she’d had to escape his very presence.

“When did you cut Lauren loose?”  If Roberts looked disappointed in him, he was the worst kind of prick.

“A few weeks after it started.  She asked to come to a Hawks game and sit in the stands wearing my jersey.  Shelly is the only woman who’s ever done that.  It’s obvious she just wanted to be seen in United to raise her local stock and bleed me dry.  She’s turned in to quite the little stalker.  I can’t believe I didn’t block her number but I flew to Phoenix straight from Detroit.  I’m so sleep deprived, it didn’t even cross my mind until I saw this text come through.”

God, I am such an asshole
.  Sleeping with Lauren had not been his finest moment.  The phone lit up again and a second text from her popped up on the screen. 

Are u there baby? I’m touching myself waiting for you.  Would u like to watch me come?

After reading the words, Roberts looked up and pierced Josh with a glare of sheer disgust.  “I still cannot believe you accidentally left that phone on the table right in front of Lake.  If she ever wants to look at your face again, it will be a miracle.  You are one stupid, amateur mother fucker!”

S
ummer didn’t ask for all the minute details of the evening and respected Lake’s need to process what had happened.  Lake omitted the part about her kiss with Josh so she didn’t further humiliate herself.  That portion stayed locked deep inside for now, unless Lance managed to pry it out of her.  That man had a way of making her bare her soul to him at the slightest provocation so thank goodness that exposure would wait until Monday.  She admitted to Summer that everything had been going well until a dirty text had appeared on his phone from some woman while he’d been in the bathroom and she couldn’t help herself.  She’d read it.

“What a perv!”  Summer sported her appalled expression.  “I guess you were dead wrong about him.  That apple
did
fall pretty far from the tree.”

Feeling sorry she had interrupted her sister’s evening, Lake didn’t respond to that comment.  Summer looked hot in black dress shorts, a curve hugging black t-shirt and a teal colored cropped jacket.  Strappy black heels completed her outfit.  Lake’s mind drifted to Chuck and their Wednesday board meeting.  She’d have to gloss over this evening’s happenings and put on a brave face for him.  He had to know about Josh and his women so Lake didn’t want to rub it in further.  Chuck had no control over his son’s behavior anymore.

The other handsome man of her evening was a safer subject so Lake turned in her seat towards her sister.  “On a positive note, I got to spend some quality time with Ryan Roberts.  I thought of you, Summer.  He’s so flaming hot I could have called 9-1-1!  Super funny too, just your type.  He plays guitar in a band with his brother along the Florida coast where he lives.  He wants to get together when we head down this winter to watch them play so you will get to meet him.  The whole time I was with him, I was imagining how much I would love to see a verbal sparring match between the two of you.”

“Sounds like someone I can’t wait to meet.  Was he that guy at the auction last night with the longer hair and scruff?  The Jake Owens look alike?”

“That was him.”

“Delicious, can’t wait to meet him this winter.  Hopefully, Ryan’s not another poser like Josh.  I hate to admit it but I’m still surprised Josh turned out the way he did.”  Summer let out her breath in a stream of disgust.  “Rude, party of one!  I hope it’s not escaping your notice that I am not saying
I told you so
.  This is one case where I am not happy that I’m right.”

“You were definitely right, although, you originally thought he would come on to me and not some other woman.”  Lake shifted in the black leather bucket seat and stared out the window into the blackness the rest of the way home.  She didn’t need to be told how wrong she was.  She felt it in every cell of her body.

Summer dropped Lake off at her front door.  Since Maria lived in the guest house with her husband, Juan, Lake could call her if she needed anything.  Exhausted, Lake just wanted her bed.  She looked forward to tomorrow, to Sunday, a quiet day on the farm so she could stay in and lick her wounds.  She needed to become celibate.  Dating and relationships were obviously not meant for her.  Men either bored her or broke her heart or body.  She had hoped for middle ground but that had turned into a disaster.  Unrealized expectations disheartened her and she counted herself an imbecile for having made Josh into a fantasy before she’d found out if he possessed any redeeming qualities.

She washed her makeup off and brushed her teeth after slipping into a pale pink silk nightie that felt cool and soft against her skin.  Grateful for her Tempur-Pedic, she sank into the memory foam.  People hit by trucks probably felt better than she did at this moment.  She laid her phone by the Tiffany lamp on her night stand, soothed by its muted light and colors.  The phone went off and two texts came in one after the other.  Lake smiled.  Summer must be checking up on her.  She picked the phone up in her hand and raised it up to her eyes as she stiffened.  Of all the nerve!

We need to talk.

Not bloody likely, jerk!  Go home and screw Lauren over and over until your penis falls off.  You owe me nothing and even if you did, I don’t want to hear it!

Lake’s inner voice raged through her head.

One date does not require trite explanations.  Even if you have the best lips ever and perfect hands that could make me come apart in an instant.

In spite of her anger, she pictured Lauren in her mind’s eye.  The resulting image her brain conjured up was the antithesis of herself.  She ignored that text and went to the next one which made her smile.

I am so happy I met u and can’t wait to see u again.  Will u be my honorary sister?  I’ve always wanted 1.  BTW, he’s a stupid MF’r and I told him so 2 his face!  See, I can be a great brother, very protective.  Let’s keep in touch, I miss u already!  RR

Lake clutched the phone and hit the reply bubble and her fingers flew along the letters.

RR – that’s like R squared.  I think I already have a nickname for u adopted ‘lil brother.  Thanks for checking in and I’ll talk 2 u soon.  Night R
²
!

Lake rolled over with a smile on her face and let sleep overtake her.  For once, happy she’d ingested enough liquor to help her drift away or she imagined she would have spent the entire night tossing and turning.  Thanks to The Trashman, her perfect night had turned into a refuse and it reeked like piss.

****

“Y
ou suck ass old man!”  Roberts showed no mercy as Josh’s fairway shot sliced and sailed into the left hand bunker of the sixteenth.  “Rough night last night?”

“Yes, Josh.  You haven’t mentioned much about how things went last night.  Did you and Lake have a good time on your outing?”  As he stared at him, Chuck waited for a response.  His dad sported the same expression he wore right before the one that advertised to one and all his disgust to have him for a son.  Josh could have put his mind at ease hours ago and the fact that he hadn’t done that silently admitted what had happened without speaking the uncomfortable words.

Josh’s stomach rumbled with unease.  Why hadn’t she answered his text yet?  Of course she wouldn’t answer his text.  She thought he was a first class asshole and sex fiend!  If one brief glimmer of hope flickered in this bizarre situation, Lauren’s subject matter had bathed his bedroom skill set in a positive light.  Thank God Lauren hadn’t said that he sucked.  That would have been the height of embarrassment, making the actuality pale in comparison.

Why did Lake’s opinion of him mean so much all of a sudden?  Not quite understanding the overwhelming need to explain himself, he still knew that he had to, some way and somehow.  Searching his mind for an idea on how to approach this situation, he’d flopped like a fish on top of the mattress until the wee hours of the morning.  He didn’t hold out much hope for his golf game and dreaded the inevitability of spewing the sordid truth.

“We had a wonderful time skating and at dinner.  Then, something happened and she left the restaurant.”  Embarrassed beyond belief, he avoided Chuck’s eyes but still felt compelled to tell him the truth.  As he stared at his dad’s white patent golf shoes and plaid pants, he delayed the inevitable.  Chuck bore a striking resemblance to Arnold Palmer while standing next to the golf cart and he choose to focus on that until his dad forced him to speak.  If he tried to sugar coat it, Roberts would throw him straight under the bus.  He could tell Roberts remained pissed at him.  Lake and he had formed some type of immediate bond and Roberts waited for a chance to call him out in front of his dad. 

“What on earth, Joshua!  What happened to make her leave the premises?”  Josh recognized that tone and sucked in a ragged breath.  A severe set down that would cause him a week’s worth of sleepless nights would follow.

“An X-rated text from a filthy whore is what happened, Chuck.  One that even made my face burn!”  Couldn’t that annoying little prick
ever
keep his mouth shut?  Roberts happily relayed his biased explanation of the situation.  Lying sack of shit, Josh had heard worse from his own lips in the past thirty days.  He imagined him standing over his boiling cauldron, rubbing his hands together as he chanted the spell that would ruin his life.

“Joshua Charles Adams!  I have never been as disappointed with you as I am in this moment.  Did you not listen to one word that I said to you Friday!  How am I ever going to face Lake Wednesday night knowing this?  Can’t you keep your pants zipped for one night and your sluts on lockdown?  You are almost forty years old.  Stop acting like you are eighteen!”  The tongue lashing was so severe, his dad hadn’t even stopped to take a breath.  “I suggest you fix this and fix it right now.  I’ve had enough.  I can’t even keep looking at you to finish this round.  You need to go home and not even think about coming back here until you’ve made this right.  I’m not even going to watch your sorry ass on television!”

Chuck jumped in the cart and drove away as Josh and Ryan stood in the middle of the fairway.

“You made Chuck Adams say a swear word, pinhead.  I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

“Any more bright ideas, Benedict Arnold?”

“Not off the top of my head and besides, you had it coming.  Obviously, you ate paint chips as a kid.  She answered
my
text last night and I even have a new nickname.”  That smug bastard bounced up and down on the balls of his feet, doing a little happy dance.  “I’m stoked.  I’ve never been given a nickname by a woman before that didn’t involve a dirty word.  It’s much better than Tree Rat.  I signed my text RR and she has now dubbed me ‘Rsquared’.”

When would he stop gloating?  “While she typed that text and fantasized about me she probably wore a skimpy negligee or maybe even laid in bed, stark naked.  Most likely touching herself to see how wet I made her.  I bet she had to put the phone in the freezer to keep from sending me dirty texts all night long.  Did you see that she has a phenomenal rack and an ass made for fucking?  I could have her at a moment’s notice if I really wanted to.”  Roberts grinned from ear to ear, praising his one-upsmanship.

“Quit talking about her like that, douche!”

“Just performing a reality check to see if you really give a shit.  Now, I’m duly convinced and inclined to help your pathetic ass.  This is the first rise I’ve ever gotten out of you over a woman so you’re pussy whipped before you’ve even actually seen it.  Let me consider it and see if I can come up with a grand apology that won’t send her running for the hills. There might be hope for you yet, old man.  You’re turning forty this year so it’s a good idea for you to settle down now or you’ll end up with the Clap.”

“The only person who’s going to end up with the Clap is you, Larry Flynt.”

B
uck Hoeff leaned against the counter of the equine vet clinic with his most charming smile plastered across his face.  He hated smiling.  Today, he hated it more than ever.  Moving his mouth that way caused the fake hair of his disguise to tickle him under his nose.  The disguise looked good.  He’d double checked before entering the building.  The local community theater costume departments could be very handy.  This particular task was too important not to be planned out perfectly in advance. 

“I’m here to pick up a prescription for my horse, Trigger.  The name is Larson, Bill Larson.”

“Yes, here it is Mr. Larson.”  The receptionist slid back in her chair and used the wheels to propel herself over to a two drawer file cabinet.  Pulling out a slim file and opening it, she glanced up at him.  “This appears to be the first time we’ve treated Trigger, Mr. Larson.  For our records, what kind of horse is he and how much does he weigh?”

Shit.  Buck concentrated, hard, remembering back to the years living on the old farm in Minnesota with his ex-wife.  He’d kept horses his entire life but never show horses.  Not until he’d married that gravy sucking pig.  Nothing he did was ever good enough for the likes of her.  Now, what to say that would seem plausible?

“He’s a buckskin Quarter Horse and he weighs about 1100 pounds.  He’s a real calm, wonderful guy that Trigger.  I’m very blessed.  I sure hope this medicine can help him.  He’s not been feeling real well of late and it’s affecting his performance in the show ring.  Trigger is a champion in the western division and he’s just been off lately, really high strung.  It’s hard to keep his head in the bridle.”