RIDE: The Complete Delancey Brothers Trilogy (12 page)

I was not going to sit around and moon over a man who was the worst possible thing for me.

And I definitely was not going to think about how sweet and gentle he'd been when he wasn't fucking my brains out. Or how hurt and confused he had looked when I told him to leave. Or how empty the bed felt once he'd gone.

I turned off the water and dried off. No use putting the day off any longer. I got dressed and went downstairs to make Casey's protein shake for her.

She wheeled into the kitchen as soon as I turned the blender on.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"How'd you sleep?"

She smirked at me.

"Don't bother. I heard the whole thing."

"You- what?"

"It's fine. I slept in between."

"Oh no, Case I'm so sorry. I promise that will not happen again."

She shrugged.

"I don't mind. It was very... entertaining."

She gave me a sly smile.

"Did you really make him beg Angie?"

I nodded, my cheeks turning bright red.

"Good."

She lifted her drink in the air, toasting me with it.

"Thanks for the shake."

Chapter Sixteen

Jackson

"Smile Jackson, it's a beautiful day."

"Shut up."

I ignored Jake as he laughed himself silly. We were finalizing the plans for the Fourth of July picnic and horse show. It was an annual affair, and one that did a lot for the prestige of the stables. We also had smaller events on Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and New Years.

The one thing that made our Fourth of July party different wasn't just the sumptuous spread, or the extensive grounds for indoor or outdoor entertaining.

It was the lack of fireworks.

Horses did not enjoy fireworks.

Still, people came in droves to celebrate with us. Not just horse people either. We had the local socialites of course, but also the creme de la creme of the music scene in Nashville, and even a politician or two.

The Mayor, Governor and a couple of Senators were regular attendants.

Hell, the Delancey's threw a party like nobody's business.

It was tradition dammit. I was proud of everything we had built as a family. Only today, I took no pleasure in organizing the event. I took no pleasure in anything.

Because of her.

Angelina had not returned my calls or texts all week. Elle and Francesca had gone over to see her. Even Daniel stopped by to say hi. But no one said anything to me. No reports. No hints. No encouragement.

Not even a hint as to why she was doing this to me.

To us.

And we were an 'us' now, there was no doubt in my mind. I'd told her I was keeping her, but she didn't seem to get what that meant.

No, she definitely did not get it.

If she did, she wouldn't have kicked me out, bare ass naked. Again.

It felt like everyone was conspiring against me. Even her damn dog had tried to bite me on the way out. Only Casey was on my side.

I knew, because at least she had texted me.

I'm working on it. Don't give up!

I checked my phone constantly now, hoping for another text from Casey, or better yet Angie. The woman was being contrary for no good reason. She should be calling me, begging me to come back and take her to bed.

But she wasn't.

Giving up was not an option.

When the going got tough, the tough buckled down and came up with a plan. A sneaky, conniving plan that got them what they wanted.

I wished I could forget her, but it seemed like Angelina was emblazoned on my flesh. Right down to the bone. Speaking of which...

 
I pressed down on my jock, glad that I was sitting behind my desk. If Jake noticed my 'condition' I would never hear the end of it. Never mind that I had been hard almost constantly since we spent that one glorious night together. Half a night.

I hadn't even got a whole damn night!

All the same, it had been the best night of my life. Also the worst. To have her give herself to me so whole-heartedly, only to snatch that happiness away... well, it was cruel and unusual! And I still could not figure out what the hell had made her do it.

Maybe she was jealous... threatened by my vast sexual prowess. Maybe she didn't want to share me with other women. That was fine by me, I had no interest in other women since I laid eyes on her.

I would tell her so if she would call me back!

I scowled at my laptop screen. I was distracted. I wanted to look at the pictures I had found of her online but I knew I would never live it down if Jake saw what I was doing.

"Are you inviting her?"

"Who?"

He laughed again, shaking his head.

"You don't fool me Jackson."

I leaned back in my seat. I wasn't good at hiding my feelings for Angelina. I sighed, running my hand through my hair.

"Fine. I would invite her if she would call me back."

"I can have Elle invite her. She might have already."

"There's no guarantee she will come. The woman seems to hate me! I don't know what I did to deserve that."

It was a sad day when I admitted defeat to my youngest brother. But instead of gloating, he sat down and stared at me. Jake had a sincere look of sympathy in his eyes.

"Jackson..."

"I really don't know Jake. I can't concentrate at all. And she's right there, just out of reach."

"Did you tell her how you felt?"

"I tried to. It seemed to work. And then she changed her mind again."

He leaned back in his seat, deep in thought.

"Maybe you were too high handed about it."

"What do you mean?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"You can be a bit... bossy."

I frowned. Maybe he was right. But the woman needed things explained to her! Was it my fault that she was as thick skulled as a donkey?
 

"All I did was drag her away from her date and make her scream with pleasure."

Jake was trying not to laugh. I scowled at him.

"Go ahead and laugh. It was funny as hell."

He nearly bent over with laughter. It took him a while before he could put two words together.

"Was Pete mad?"

"He looked more surprised than anything."

"I wish I could have seen that."

"Everyone else in town did."

I sighed.

"What am I going to do Jake?"

He leaned forward.

"Let me tell you a little story about how I finally got Elle to stay put. It just so happened to help Daniel with his Francesca problem as well."

I leaned forward, all ears.

Ten minutes later I was grinning.

Oh yes, I could definitely handle that. All I needed to do was get Angie alone for a day or two.

My smile widened.

Or three.

Angelina

I ran the hand tiller down the row for what seemed like the hundredth time. It was practically an antique, with one large wheel and a small deep rake that turned the soil behind it.

It was amazing what you could find on eBay.

Of course, I would have to get a mechanical plow and more when I started the farm. But for now, I decided it was better just to figure out what the hell I was doing.

Besides I didn't want a lot of machinery blowing exhaust everywhere. When the time came, I planned on investing in electric equipment and a solar generator.

"Ow!"

I stopped short, staring down at the ground. Just like I did every time the tiller hit another rock. I bent down and picked it up, chucking it in the rock pile I had made at the near end of the garden patch.
 

The pile was rapidly growing.

The damn farm seemed to be more rocks than dirt!

Tomorrow I would add a layer of store bought compost and till the 20 by 40 foot garden plot one more time. Then I would lay the drip irrigation system I had pieced together, once again from yard sales and eBay. Then and only then would the garden be ready for planting.

Casey was doing her part too, nursing some seedlings in the sunroom. There were egg crates full of peat moss propped up along the windowsills, resting on top of her books and drawing supplies, basically every flat surface with good light.

In the fall we would get a greenhouse for seedlings and winter crops. We would start canning and pickling as the crops came in, maybe try to sell the pickled veggies to some gourmet markets. It would take a while to get certified organic, but minimally processed food was still in high demand.

We had it all planned out. It was a simple, wholesome life we were after out here in the country. Of course, the two of us knew better than most how God sometimes laughed at plans.

But we had hope. And when one of us faltered, the other one propped us up again.

As long as we could keep our heads above water, we could survive for a year or two. I'd bought the farm outright, so we didn't have a mortgage. And Casey had contributed her share of the money our folks had left us.

So we would survive.

The only question was, would we flourish?

The best part so far was how Casey seemed to be thriving. She loved the house and her sunny bright little room. She even loved the people we'd met, most notably the Delancey's.

She even seemed to adore Jackson, mentioning him several times a day.

I almost thought she was doing it on purpose to see how I would react. But she looked so innocent that I discounted it. I hadn't told her how Jackson made me feel. Hot and cold. Out of control and helpless.

Scared too. And just a little bit heartsore now that I'd broken it off.

If she knew, she would stop mentioning him.

I cursed as I hit another rock. I heard muffled laughter behind me and turned. Casey and Elle were laughing at me while Francesca shook her head.

"You look like a peasant! Hire some good looking men to do that work for you!"

I grinned. My Italian friend did have a way with words.

"Next year!"

She shrugged and waved me over.

"Come, come, we are already late."

"Late for what?"

She was already walking into the house, pushing Casey's chair ahead of her. Elle grinned at me and wagged her finger.

"I told you! The party is today."

"Oh."

I was furiously trying to think of a way out of going with them when we stepped inside. Casey was letting Francesca do her hair and makeup. I looked at her and back at Elle. She had the uncanny ability to know what I was thinking before I did.

"Forget it, you are coming."

"But-"

"No buts."

Casey gave me a look and I sighed, defeated.

"Okay, you guys go ahead. I will shower and-"

"Five minutes. I brought you something to wear. Otherwise we won't see you for hours and you know it."

I stared at the dress hanging from the back of a chair. It was wrapped in fabric so I couldn't tell what it looked like. A pair of strappy high heel sandals was on the floor below it.

Elle shoved me towards the stairway.

"Don't forget to shave!"

Peels of laughter followed me up the stairs. I was numb while I did as they said, quickly showering. I shaved my legs and higher, just in case.

Just in case what Angie?

I might go to the party but I was not going to bed with Jackson again. I was not even going to speak to him! It was better this way. Just rip it off, like a band-aid.

I wondered if he'd already moved on. It had been a week already, I was sure he had another woman by now. Or two.

Or twenty.

Men like him didn't stick around, waiting for a woman who couldn't make up her mind. Especially with so many other options waiting in the wings. It stung to think of it, but I had to be realistic.

I had to prepare myself to see him with someone else. I would just nod and wave and then go somewhere private to bawl my eyes out.
 

As long as he didn't know, I would be fine.

Brace yourself Angie.

Never mind his pure animal appeal, the man was also wealthy and successful. And ridiculously handsome. Funny. He could even be sweet when he wasn't being an arrogant son of a bitch.

I snorted.

Which was rarely.

I came downstairs in my robe and sat still while Francesca quickly blew out my hair and applied makeup. I didn't even look at myself as they lowered the dress over my head.
 

Francesca held out her hand and cocked her eyebrow at me.

"No bra or panties. They mess up the lines."

I shrugged and did as she asked, shimmying out of my underthings. The silk felt cool against my skin as I handed them over. I glanced at the mirror, barely seeing myself. I was wearing a stunning emerald green slip dress with gold colored sandals.

If I wasn't dreading this party, I would have felt like a princess in this luxurious outfit.

Instead I felt like I was facing final exams, the first day of school and a firing squad, all at once.

Before I knew it we were ready to go. I didn't argue when Elle insisted on driving, telling me it was silly to take my car less than a quarter mile. I finally noticed Casey had a bag on her lap as we started down the driveway.

"What's that?"

"It's my overnight bag. I'm sleeping over."

"Oh."

"We are going to party tonight!"

Francesca was grinning at me, obviously trying to pump me up.

"Everyone but me."

"And me!"

Elle winked at Casey.

"Are you pregnant too?"

The car erupted in excited squeals. I forgot my own nerves and squeezed her arm gently.

"How exciting! I knew it!"

Elle glanced at me in the rear view window.

"Look out, you could be next."

"Me?"

"Or you Francesca. Though you still haven't said yes, have you?"

"Yes to what?"

Francesca tossed her hair.

"Daniel keeps pestering me about marriage. I don't believe it in."

"But you are committed to him, aren't you?"

She shrugged gracefully. The woman was so glamorous I had a sudden certainty that she could make farting look elegant.

"I am. But don't tell him that. It is good to keep a man on his toes."