Sorrows and Lace (3 page)

The four men
stood around, waiting for the ball to find its spot.

Kelsey leaned over, calling out the winning combination. “Red-twenty-one. No winners.”
Raking up the last of their chips, she watched them turn and grumble as they stumbled from the casino area. She waved. “Since you’re all losers, I suggest you follow your friend and don’t come back.”

She didn’t face Ronan. Instead, she busied herself by cleaning up the chips from the table and rearranging
the tools at her spot.

Drawing out the silence between them, Ronan didn’t move from his position. He took perverse pleasure in her discomfort, maybe because he couldn’t stop fuming over how the douche bag had just treated her.
Or the fact that his desire for her – and maybe his feelings for her – had never faded.

Another moment passed and Ronan peered closer at Kelsey. Surprised to see her jaw tight and her eyes with an extra sheen to them, he leaned forward. “I’m sorry, Kelsey. I forgot how that shit gets to you.” And why wouldn’t
it? They’d just slandered her in her own work place. Anger swelled in his chest. “I’m tempted to chase their asses down and teach them what a true savage would do.”

She huffed, rolling her eyes.
“Yeah, ‘cause the good-ole-perfect-Ronan-James knows how to be a ‘savage’, right? Your mommy and daddy know you’re slumming it, white boy?”

He froze. The alcohol he’d cons
umed had burned off on his hour-and-a-half drive up to the Salish reservation in a dang taxi. A taxi. Okay, so it was more like he’d called one of his ranch hands to drive him up, but still, it might as well be a damn taxi. Ronan had sat in the back with all kinds of planned scenarios running through his mind.

Her
bluntly mentioning his parents hadn’t been one of them.

“What? Did you swallow your tongue or something?” Kelsey tilted her head, thrusting her jaw to the side. The move cast the strong angles of her cheeks, nose, and chin into startling contrast which only enhanced the beauty of her features. She became strikingly
attractive in her moment of defiance.

Which irritated
Ronan further. He dropped his stack of chips on the sidebar of the table, leaned his hands on the curved edge and bit out. “My parents have been dead for a few years, Ms. Redbird. Thank you.” He turned.

Speaking with her brother in the bar had
brought his guilt to the forefront. He’d never had such an extreme reaction to alcohol before where his emotions ran along the melancholy and his plans tore through his memories. Maybe with the destruction of his reality via the truths told to him by MacAllister about Bethany and the abortions, his sentimental side was having its way with him.

Maybe the return of Robbie MacAllister
, as well as the happy little couple the doctor and Slate MacAllister had become, worked on him. Revealing how truly lonely his soon-to-be-ex-bitch-of-a-wife had made him.

No matter. His lesson from the whole thing would be to stay away from alcohol. He obviously couldn’t control its effects.

His driver would be outside waiting, or had better be. If Ronan found his ass in the casino after he was —

A hand gripped his bicep and Ronan paused, lowering his foot mid-step. He
looked over his shoulder directly into Kelsey’s deep brownish black eyes. Regret lowered her voice and she released her hold on his arm. “I’m sorry for your loss, Ronan. I didn’t mean… well, I
did
mean to disrespect you, but had I known, I certainly wouldn’t have done it that way.” She offered a sad side smile. “Did Amelia take it hard?”

He shifted his stance, not allowing her to move away. “I don’t know. She doesn’t live with me. She’s staying with the MacAllisters. Has a kid with Robbie.” Disgust curdled in his stomach, but whether it was for himself or the situation he couldn’t quite figure out. His strong
animosity toward Robbie had shifted when Robbie had offered so much to Ronan the night before – the truth and a way to fix what Bethany worked to destroy.

Kelsey
blinked, long and hard, followed by a quick succession of rapid blinks. When she finally spoke, she pierced him with her gaze. “What? Amelia had a baby? I…” She clamped her mouth shut and swallowed, dropping her gaze to his neckline. The barest shake of her head and then she said. “Th-that’s great. Congratulate her for me, will you? I think I’m done for the night.” She nodded once his way and pushed past him, not even stopping as a large portly man called after her from the pit.

Unsure what his role had been in the emotional turmoil he’d just witnessed, Ronan’s next step wasn’t clear. Which pissed him off. He liked being in charge, preferred it actually.

~~~

Ronan didn’t wait around to see if Kelsey would seek him out. He had bigger issues on his saddle than what upset her. No, he didn’t have any idea what had happened to her that made her so emotional, but hell if he’d feel guilty over something he didn’t do, or didn’t intend to do.

Sighing, he had to admit to himself that he cared more than he wanted to, felt guilty over whatever he’d done to upset her. Sometimes he could be an asshole – he knew this. Worked at it, actually.

He moved silently across the plush carpet to the revolving doors opposite the casino, closer to the restaurant. He’d asked his driver to park the car and wait for him. The parking lot swung
around to the side in a large L-shape.

His breath
gusted white as he breathed into the near-freezing night air. Ronan searched the lot for his car. He’d asked the ranch hand to leave the truck at home and bring his more comfortable, classier ride, a nineteen-forty Marmon-Herrington Ford four-by-four Woodie Wagon. He collected badass cars and the Woodie was nothing but scary and old-school mean. He’d probably drive the beautiful car home, since he didn’t have any alcohol onboard anymore.

The doors turned behind him and Kelsey spilled into the evening. Tears streaked her face and
she had yanked her hair into a sloppy bun atop her crown since she’d left him. She teetered on the top step, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand.

Ronan reached
out, grabbing her at the last possible second before she tumbled down the numerous cement steps to the pavement below. She fell into his arms, struggling as he enfolded her against his chest. Even as tall as she was, as regal as she always held herself, the exact moment her forehead tucked under his chin, Ronan returned to the afternoon so many years ago when he’d broken things off between them… and the tears she’d shed then.

She’d curled into his arms then, too. Heartbroken, they’d both comforted each other, but Ronan had already begun to pull away. He’d hardened himself against the pain not being with her caused. And why shouldn’t he? He would have lost Lacey Caverns, if he stayed with her. His dad always kept good on his promises.

Breathing in her personal perfume, Ronan couldn’t believe it’d been years since he’d seen her, held her, talked with her. For the space of two heartbeats, if he could’ve gone back in time and reversed his decision to follow his parents and be with Kelsey, he would’ve.

But then he remembered where he was, and who he was, and most importantly, who he was with.

With over-exaggerated care, Ronan set Kelsey away from him, steadying her with an arm at her elbow. He ducked his head to see under her bent head. “Are you going to be alright? Can I do anything to help you?”

She
peered at the lot, searching up and down the driveway. She groaned. “No, thank you. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be just fine.” She grabbed the railing set far enough to the side it was more of a hindrance than a help and staggered down the steps.

What exactly did Ronan have to do to get her to accept his help?

Like Kelsey would bother Ronan by asking for his help. He seemed so damned standoffish, like even asking if she was alright was an inconvenience. Well, that was fine with her. She hadn’t made it where she was by meeting up with pitying people from her past.

Ugh. 
Why couldn’t her brother be where he was supposed to be, when he was supposed to be there? He’d said something about going into Colby to see a guy, but that was hours ago.

She gripped the cold railing, her face hot from the realization that she’d just cried in Ronan’s arms… again. Why couldn’t she be cool and classy and leave him with an image of her as strong and statuesque? Instead of a blubbering mess?

The bottom step disappeared. At least that would be her story when she told anyone why her ass was suddenly on the ground. “What the hell?” How much had she had to drink?

Strong arms wrapped around her waist, helping h
er to her feet when she wasn’t even sure she wanted up yet. So the assistance irritated her. Maybe she wanted to sit there while waiting for her ride. Kelsey didn’t look at Ronan’s face. She didn’t want to see his derision or, worse, his pity.

“Thanks.” She muttered, pushing away from him and dusting off her backside.

“I have a driver. We could drop you home, it’s not a problem.” He touched her back and Kelsey jumped.

“You have a driver…”
Kelsey licked her bottom lip, digging in her backpack for the small, hotel-sized vodka bottle. She always brought one with her for an after-shift drink. “Um, you know, it’s okay. I’m sure —”

“
There he is now.” He guided her toward a large wagon-style vehicle with exterior wooden paneling that gleamed in the night lights from the casino.

She couldn’t pull away from his hold as she stared transfixed at the beautiful
deep teal Woodie. She’d only ever seen one on a calendar in her dad’s office. He’d once claimed to have driven one, but that wasn’t confirmed.

Ronan opened the
rear passenger-side door, motioning for her to climb in. With her hand still stuck in her bag, she stepped into the car, taking in as much of the interior as possible. Settling on the far side of the leather bench seat, she removed her hand from her pack and trailed it over the smooth windowsill. “Did you have this restored?”

The seat bent his way as he took the spot beside her and closed the door. “Yes. Isn’t she beautiful? She’s my favorite. I only take this one out of town because she’s built for comfort, not work.” He tapped the back of the driver’s seat and the car pulled forward.
“Go ahead, Smith.” Ronan turned toward her. “She’s too gorgeous to leave in the garage.”

“Yeah, I agree.” She breathed.
Uncomfortable under his gaze, she straightened her shoulders. “Why are you up this way, Ronan? Slumming it?” Her same insult from before, but when she was around him, she couldn’t think properly. Pulling out a good retort or witty comment took more brain cells than she had when he was within arms’ reach.

Hat off and in his lap, he ran his fingers through his d
eep sandy blond hair. “Okay, I’ll take that one. Yes, I’m out of my element up here. I don’t come onto the reservation often. I never have.”

“Do you remember where my parents live?” She clenched her nails into her palm. How embarrassing for him to know she had to move back in with Mom and Dad.
The ex-boyfriend was the last person anyone would want to find out about their less-than-successful situation. Dang!

He glanced sharply at her. “Yes. Is that where we’re taking you?” At her slight nod, he again leaned forward and spoke softly to the man driving. “
Smith, in three streets take the next right and then drive to the end of the road. About ten miles or so.”

The man
nodded and Ronan returned to a more comfortable position.

Kelsey shifted in her seat. How the hell had she ended up in Ronan James’s car at four in the morning? Reality didn’t work like that for her. She waited for the negative shit to start piling on. Maybe they’d get in a wreck. Or he’d try to attack her. Or maybe her ex-husband would show up and kill them all.
She felt like some Indian Cinderella except the prince wasn’t willing to chase over the kingdom looking for her.

She glanced at Ronan and jolted. He stared at her. And she had no idea how long he’d been doing that.
Nervously, she rubbed her neck, leaving her hand cupped at the nape.

He rested his arm on his leg and shifted to face her more. “I’d like to apologize for that jerk back there. He was extremely insensitive and I’m sorry he made you so upset.”

Made her upset? She blinked at him, her anxiety dripping away with each second. “The bigot in the casino?” At his nod Kelsey said. “Oh.”

Quirking his eyebrow, Ronan asked. “
Oh
? Isn’t he why you were crying? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone that upset. Well, except for Amelia. But ever since she had her son, it seems like she’s one big emotional rollercoaster. So who knows?” He shrugged.

Tears welled in Kelsey’s eyes. She held up her hand, fingers
flat and tight together to ward off his reaching hand. “No, I’m fine. I’m tired and emotional. You just keep bringing up that your sister had a baby.” She glanced out the window, throat tight. He didn’t say anything, for which she was grateful, but it also made her feel obligated to confess more. “I was married for a while…” She couldn’t face Ronan. She’d always hoped she’d spend her life with him, but reality didn’t follow fantasy. “Anyway, he wasn’t the best of guys, and I wasn’t allowed to keep my pregnancies.” She didn’t have a better way to explain the circumstances without going into deep detail or at least grittier description.