Dream Lover (Denim and Spurs Book 2) (8 page)

“Poison? Are you sure the rest of your herd is safe?”

He placed his fork down and stared across the table at her. “The men are out there, will be on rotating shifts. The dogs are out as well. If the fucker who did it comes back, they’ll catch him. Nothing else I can do about that. I can, however, learn more about you and the town if you’d just stop deflecting and tell me.”

Her hesitation had him sighing with more than a bit of frustration.

“You want me to pour you a drink?” he asked.

“You know if I drink I’ll be wasted in the space of a heartbeat.”

He flashed a grin. “Considering how it worked out the last time you drank, can’t rightly say either option would upset me.”

She flushed and ducked her head. “You would remember that.”

“Darlin’, ain’t no man in his right mind ever gonna forget a night like that they spent with you.” He drank some tea and sobered, willing his need for this woman to the back burner. “I can’t help you, Laciee, if you don’t tell me,” he said in all seriousness.

“I don’t need you to help me, Judd. I’m fine.”

Her lack of concern fueled the fuse that had already burned short because of earlier today. “Your safety is nothing to take lightly.”

She rolled her eyes and stood. He jerked up again and watched her stalk to the cupboard that held his drinks, withdraw a bottle of his best single malt, and march back holding it along with a glass. He sat, again after she had, and stared in shock as she filled the glass to the top instead of just pouring a finger or so.

The wince on her face was priceless and he would have laughed had he not been concerned with the amount in her glass. Her attention remained on the amber liquid in the crystal she held in a tight grip.

“I was born in this town. My mother, I’m sure you have heard of her, Lola Dupree, was and still is, a whore. She’s pretty much who the men use here if they want a fuck without having to drive very far. All she needed was drugs or alcohol. My grandmother did the best she could to keep that life away from me and raise me clean.” Her hands shook and she took another drink. This one seemed to go down easier than the first. “Wasn’t easy for her. Most of the money she made from what little work she could get, mother stole for her habit.”

Christ. He didn’t want to hear this. Judd wanted to hold her and tell her it didn’t matter. The expression on her face told him he hadn’t the choice now. He’d pushed her for the explanation and now he had to hear it.

“Grandma, Lavina Dupree, kept me in school. As you can imagine the years weren’t all that fun for me. School can be mean and cruel on a good day. Have a whore for a mother and it gets even worse. The boys thought I was like my mama and the girls didn’t want to be friends.”

New anger surged through him. Her face smoothed into a blank slate and he realized this sent her to a dark place she didn’t want to return.

“Laciee—”

“Grandma died when I was fifteen. No more protection. Not only did the boys at school want a piece of me, but also the men my mother brought home. She tried selling me for drugs, didn’t work because I ran but it didn’t stop others from trying to collect. I had few friends in school. One was Finn, I think you know her, she’s married to Dustin Kane now, and the other was Karis.”

He no longer had an appetite. Reaching across for the bottle, he filled his own glass with some of the whiskey, before drinking some down. Welcoming the burn as it slid down his throat.

Laciee stared at a point across the room, something only she knew and could see. “I left the moment I graduated and made my way to New York City. I worked three jobs and studied to become an EMT. I left this place behind along with my ties. First time I’ve been back since I left.” Her fingers fell away from the tumbler and she skimmed them along the top of the linen tablecloth. “Never would have come back but Karis came to New York and asked me.”

“She must mean a lot to you for you to brave your memories and stay just because she asked you to.”

She stiffened again before she nodded. “She does.”

“Look at me.”

Her gaze was slightly unfocused when she followed his command. It didn’t last long and her eyes morphed into a cool, unemotional stare. “Anyway, because of that I’m not expecting anything other than the treatment I’ve been getting. So see, you don’t need to—”

“If you finish that sentence and it sounds anything like you feel I need to protect you, I’m gonna turn you over my knee, darlin’,” he growled, before tossing back the rest of the contents of his glass.

Heat flared in her eyes as she gulped. But she didn’t continue her sentence. Which was a good thing, he wasn’t sure how much more he could sit there and listen to her try to convince him she wasn’t worth protecting.

“Look,” she said, holding his gaze. “Trouble has a way of following me here, and I don’t want you to get involved. I mean look, your cattle got poisoned.”

He narrowed his eyes. Was she serious? “You think that has to do with you?”

“Did it happen before I got here?”

Well no. “This is a ranch, darlin’. Things happen all the time and it’s not a guarantee just because you’re here it’s occurring. They could have been planning it for a while now. Don’t take this all upon your slender shoulders.”

Laciee didn’t look convinced. Not in the slightest. “They could just be pissed because you decided to be a gentleman and help me where they don’t believe I should even be here much less under the same roof as the owner of the largest spread in the area.”

Judd put a hand in his lap, fisting it with anger so she didn’t know how pissed he truly was. What must it have been like for her growing up? Even the thought had him crazy with rage. School issues for him were few and far between but his parents had had status and money.

He knew some people had narrow minds and he did know of her mother. Personally, he had never gone to her but he knew some who had. For some reason, he’d just never put it together before Laciee had come out and said the actual words tying her and Lola together.

“Darlin’, I
am
a gentleman. Although, right now, I’m not thinking very gentlemanly thoughts.”

He took a deep breath and tried to get his derailed contemplations back on track. Hard to do when she sat across from him, a mixture of temptress and vulnerability. A vulnerability she tried desperately to hide. He wanted to vanquish all her demons, replace that insecurity he saw lingering there.

She had her hair unconfined tonight and it settled around her shoulders in a cloud of silk. His pants tightened as he recalled how it felt trailing along his bare skin as she rode him, her head tossing about in ecstasy. How he held on to his control, he’d no idea. Everything male within him demanded he eliminate the distance between them and crush her to him. Remove her clothing and sink his thick length deep inside her. Not let up until the only thing from her lips was his name as they tangled in his bed.

“I should get some sleep,” she muttered before dashing from the room.

Judd groaned. He’d warned her today would be different but he knew after the reveal, which he didn’t think was all of it, she might need some space. Looked like it would be a cold shower for him and another night of restless sleep only to wake with her name of his lips.

Chapter Eight

The bile rose, yet Laciee ignored the swarm of acid in her stomach. She constantly had to swallow it back down as she stared at the rundown building before her. Bad memories, painful ones, had resurfaced and threatened to overtake her.

Buck up, Dupree.

One more deep breath and she wiped her sweaty palms down jean-clad thighs, summoning her courage. She knocked with her fist, briskly, three times on the dilapidated door. Shuffling on the other side made her muscles tense, tempting her to run back to her rental and drive far away like there was no tomorrow. The hinges creaked and groaned with complaint as the door swung open. The smell of cheap perfume wafted out, bringing tears to her eyes.

“Be right with you, baby, you know I…”

Laciee stared down into the vacant yet calculating brown eyes of the woman who’d answered the door in little more than a red and black lace bustier, complete with G-string and garters. Her personal opinion was it would have looked better on a much younger woman. But Laciee assumed if a man was coming to her for sex, he wouldn’t mind it at all.

The older woman’s face, still smooth and pretty although the proof of her hard life with its lack of good food and drug abuse lingered in the lines shadowing her eyes. Even as she stared, Laciee noticed the change over the woman, from her attempted sexy and alluring look to a sneer.

“Well, well, the prodigal daughter returns.” The words were cold and not welcoming in the least.

Laciee gave herself a small pep talk and wished she knew what to do with her hands. “Hello, Lola.”

Lola Dupree stared at her child as if she weren’t sure what she was seeing. “What are you doing here? I’d heard you were back in town.” She placed her hand on a hip, eyes raking Laciee from head to toe. “This your time to prove to me how well you’re doing? Here to give me money?” Lola held out one hand. “What?”

Laciee didn’t move. Wasn’t sure she could in fact. “Despite your best attempts I’m still your daughter and came by to see you.”

“So damn snooty. Just like your bastard of a father, thinkin’ you’re better than me.” She sniffed and wiped at her nose with the back of her hand. “He always came back around for more no matter how much his bitch of a wife tried to get him to stop.”

Laciee ignored the hate pouring from her mother. “I see you’re expecting company so I’ll leave you be.”

“That’s it? Not coming in for tea? Not here for some overdue catching up? Not even a hug for your dear mother? I heard what happened to your hotel room.” Another sniff. “Such a shame.” Her mother’s words mocked her.

“Really? That’s all you have to say?” Laciee shook her head, not understanding why she’d been expecting anything different. Regardless, disappointment seeped into her spirit. “I don’t even know why I came here. You never were a mother to me. Lavina was more of a mother than you were.”

Anger sparked in eyes so much like her own. “I did good by you,” Lola snapped.

“Bullshit!” Laciee’s hands clenched into fists. Fists she longed to put into the arrogantly smug face of the woman who bore her. “You never did good by me. Ever.”

The woman rolled her eyes, reached behind the door and drew on a silk robe she’d had there. As she tied the bow she glanced back up. “I did good by you, if you hadn’t been so damn full of yourself thinking you were so much better than me and this life you would have realized that.” She raised a hand and leveled a finger at her. The nail was cracked and yellowishly tinged, and Laciee fought the cringe. “You never thought it was good enough here, not sure why. There was food on the table and a roof over your head. But no, you wanted to know more about your
daddy
and why you couldn’t live with him.”

“The only reason there was a roof over my head and food on the table was because of Lavina. Not you, most anything you brought in you snorted or shot away. When that was gone, you looked at me like your meal ticket, trying to sell me for your precious drugs.” The dam that had been holding back Laciee’s emotions for so long splintered, then shattered. “Did you even give a damn that the boys at school wanted to use me like you allowed men to use you? That they would trap me beneath the bleachers and do their damndest to rape me? All the while, their girlfriends called me a whore, bitch, or slut? Do you understand what it’s like for a child to hear their mother trying to negotiate a deal for drugs where her teen daughter is payment? Don’t you dare stand there and try to tell me you did right by me.” Her legs began to shake.

Laciee cleared her throat, fought for her waning courage and continued, “I see you’ve created a
nice
place for yourself here so I’ll leave and let you get back to it. You obviously remember things differently than how they were.” Sarcasm dripped from Laciee’s lips. Then she gave a jab of her own. “But given how you spent most of your time stoned or high, I can see how small details like that would slip your mind. And yes, I wanted to find my father… in the hopes of getting away from you.” She whirled around and marched back to her car, ramrod straight and bypassing a man who had been one of her high school teachers. He looked pretty much the same, just older. “Mr. Jackson,” she said, bypassing him. Some things never changed. Her mother still slept with anyone, and it didn’t matter to her so long as they fed her addiction.

Seated in her rental, Laciee took deep shuddering breaths as she glanced one final time to the house on the corner lot. Lola stared in her direction before undoing her robe and walking away into the darkened interior and closing the door behind her. Hands shaking, Laciee started the car and began to drive. She just had to get away and managed to hold herself together until she reached the outskirts of town. Pulling over, she climbed out and threw up in the ditch before continuing on her way.

Drained, she didn’t recognize her surroundings until she looked up and the drive for the Flying T came into view. Everything within her screamed for her to head up, grab her things, and hightail it out of there. She blew out a nervous breath and began the trek up to the main house. No, she wouldn’t run anymore. She’d not only promised Karis but she was no longer the young woman who’d left Branchwater all those years before. She wasn’t a quitter. She’d given her word, and she’d stay and not go back on it.

Frank spied her after she climbed out of the car and hollered for her. Despite the raging need within her to be alone, she paused and waited for him to arrive at her side.

“Afternoon, Ms. Dupree,” he said with a smile.

“Hello, Frank.” Such a shame she hadn’t had time to rinse out her mouth or at least eat a mint.

“Everything all right?”

She gave a small shake of her head. “Just been one of those kind of days.” Her voice flat and emotionless.

“I can saddle a horse for you if you’d like to go riding. Get your mind off the bad and focus on something else. Or I have some books if you’d like.”

Riding. There was a tempting offer. “I think I’d just better go for a walk. I’m not that good of a rider.”

The man assessed her with eyes that saw too much. “If you head off that way, you’ll be away from where the cattle are now, just have to watch out for the snakes.”

She shuddered.
Snakes
. “Thank you, Frank.”

He reached out a hand and hesitated right before actually making contact with her arm. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“No,” the honest answer slipped out. “But I will be. Thank you for asking.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She gave him a wobbly smile. Before walking off in the direction he suggested, she ducked into the house to rinse her mouth. Hands in pockets, she didn’t really pay any attention to her surroundings. Except to watch out for snakes. Going over a small rise, she paused as she gazed out at a scene that looked like it should have come out of a movie—lush green grass, trees, and a sparkling river snaked its way through her view.

“I don’t remember land like this when I was growing up around here.” She made her way down below one of the large trees and sank gratefully into the shade it offered. A light breeze blew around and she began to relax as she drew her knees up, resting her chin on them.

Moments passed and her mind blissfully began going blank, erasing the all-too-fresh memories which had been called back to the surface after her confrontation this morning.

* * * *

“Laciee?”

The voice combined with the shadow cast over her had her coming awake. The sun had been blocked by a large figure on horseback. All she could see were the rays emanating around him, and she still squinted, unable to make anything concrete out.

“What are you doing down here, darlin’?”

Judd. A voice she knew intimately, awake or asleep, sent a simmering awareness through her body. She sat up from where she’d fallen over and hid a yawn behind her hand.

“Went for a walk, guess I fell asleep.” A good sleep as well, no dreams, no nightmares.

He swung down from the back of his horse with the grace of a man that made women swoon. He crouched before her and thumbed his hat back. Dark brown eyes stared at her as she eagerly drank in the vision of masculinity he presented.

Judd reached out a hand and wiped below her eye with one thumb. “You’ve been cryin’, darlin’. What’s wrong?”

Her skin tingled, and she forgot all her problems with his simple touch. Shaking her head, she dampened her lips with her tongue, doing her best to not recall what it was like to have his mouth on hers. His kisses. His touches.

“Don’t try to keep me out, darlin’. What’s wrong? Frank said he saw you and you didn’t look too good. You feelin’ okay?”

She forced a smile as she sat up and rested her back against the tree. “I’m fine. Just…just dealt with something that took a lot more from me than I had believed it would.”

Lord, the man was too damn fine. His tight jeans did nothing to slow her imagination as they stretched over powerful thighs. Not that his shirt hung on him, for it didn’t. Pulled taut, the red material highlighted the strength of his upper body. He pushed to his feet in a roll of contained power and she had to swallow a few times to create moisture in her mouth. They sure as hell didn’t make men like this in New York City.

He reached out one hand and she took it, admiring how little effort he pulled her up with. “Let’s go, darlin’.”

“Go?” she asked with a slight squeak, as he swung her up in the saddle of the horse who, despite not being tied, hadn’t gone anywhere.

Moments later, she rocked a bit as he climbed up behind her and settled her mostly in his lap. Lordy, this…this was way more intimate than when he’d had her behind him in the saddle on the way to the barn. His muscular thighs rubbed against her, cradling her, and she could feel that part of his anatomy she tried desperately not to focus on. Hard and thick, it didn’t make it easy.

His strong arms curved around her as he picked up the reins and got them moving. Her body went on high alert. Even at a slow walk, it was nothing more than an erotic dance to have his hard physique moving behind her, against her, with her.

“Time for you to see the ranch.” His breath was warm against her ear and had her wondering how she could clamp her thighs together without him knowing it.

“Th…this is Kilburn, right?” She reached forward to pat the gelding on the neck.

“Yes. Relax, darlin’.”

He pressed against her belly to get her to ease into him with the hand not holding the reins. The sensation of his wide chest at her back had her wanting to crawl up into him and just let him protect her. The moment she allowed his torso to hold her up he curved his arm about her waist and brushed a kiss along her jawline.

Laciee felt the day’s tension seep out of her as Judd whispered in her ear. He pointed out parts of the ranch while they rode across his vast holding. There were no days like this in New York City that allowed her such relaxation.

His chest rumbled behind her and she wondered if she hadn’t spoken aloud. She didn’t ask, just allowed herself to enjoy all he offered to share with her. After all, how much more perfect could a day get? A cowboy—a hotly handsome one at that—holding her tightly to him, his horse, and the scenery dreams are made of.

Judd thought about the woman who rested against him, her head on his shoulder, as they rode back to the barn. Their ride hadn’t been filled with chatter, but it wasn’t strained either. She asked questions occasionally and he pointed out landmarks other times. For a woman who had tried holding herself away from him when he first mounted behind her, she totally rested against him now. Something he greatly approved of. Her hands upon his forearms and her head settled along his shoulder, gracing him with tantalizing whiffs of the inviting scent compilation she wore—cranberries with a hint of vanilla.

When he’d found her sleeping beneath the tree, he’d wanted to jump down and gather her close. The dried tearstains on her face cut him deeper than he’d like to acknowledge. He bet anything it had to do with her mother. Rosa told him she’d left the ranch earlier today. Combined with what Frank had said, he’d pieced it together.

Kilburn snorted and sidestepped, pulling his attention from the vixen in his arms and returning it to their surroundings.

“Are they dangerous?” Laciee whispered, pressing into him a bit more.