Sorrows and Lace (9 page)

In unison, Robbie and Slate
nodded with slow exaggeration. Robbie spoke. “Okay. What do you want to do?”

Holding in his successful grin until later, Ronan braced himself
with his fists on the desk and leaned in. “A night ride. We can go after sundown, run parallel to the border of Lonely River and Lacey Caverns and then split off to run up the rivers. We can use the caves, if they’re camping up that way, and take them by surprise. It would have to be tonight, though, since they don’t know we’ve seen them in the area.”

Both brothers
nodded.

Ronan continued. “I’ll contact my lawyers in the morning when they’re in the office to have them draw up papers releasing debt on Lonely Rivers to Slate as well as the rest of what we discussed, Robbie.” He shuffled some papers on the left side of his desk, pretending with all his might that his pride wasn’t being driven through a meat grinder.

Damn MacAllisters anyway.

“Head back to your place and warn Amelia to hunker down with Mac, and I’ll meet you there in an hour or so to go over the plan before we leave. I’ll bring along a few men, too.” Ronan
looked down at a pile of other papers on the desk, dismissing them.

Taking the hint, the MacAllister
brothers left his office, subdued.

Ronan hoped they weren’t too sore from the last couple days.
With Robbie’s fighting, the twin connection they had of some weird sympathy response thing, and then kicking each other’s asses in the barn, the MacAllister boys looked worse for the wear. They might have a rough night ahead of them.

Kelsey didn’t want to go inside. Not yet. Even though Slate, Robbie, and Ronan seemed amicable, the tension curdled around them like milk left out in the hot summer sun.

Resting against the railing of the half-wraparound wide-skirted deck, she held her eyes closed as she soaked in the mid-afternoon sun. A slight breeze whispered of her ancestors and for a moment, she could imagine she was with them, in a village, enjoying a break from the day-to-day bustle of living off the land.

Thoughts of her family and where her path had taken her brought her mind full circle.

What if she did it? What if she married Ronan? He didn’t know if he still loved her or not – which she understood. They were two different people. But oh, there’d be passion. And after the neglect and abuse at Sonny’s hands, passion would feel like love. She’d never want for anything and she could stay home, try to have babies – hell, he’d encouraged it – and not have to work again. He’d take care of her. And as strong-willed as she was? That thought alone held more temptation than even a house full of babies did.

But finally being with Ronan after so long without? Could her heart handle it, if he decided that he didn’t actually love her anymore?

She’d tell him yes, but not until after she made it clear that she wasn’t in it just for the babies or the land or the money. She wanted his affect, needed it. And even though it would sting, she’d admit that she never stopped loving him.

Oh, and she wanted to
date. She deserved real dates where he brought her flowers.

The front door opened and the MacAllisters filed out.

“Later, Kelsey. We’ll probably see you tomorrow. Have a great night.” Robbie patted her shoulder as he passed her to get to the stairs.

Slate paused beside her, ducking his head close to her ear. “I’m glad we got to see you again. It’s been too long.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a sideways hug. She squealed in laughter when he squeezed a little too hard. He’d always been like a brother.

They tromped down the stairs, their boot-falls loud with a faint echo.

Watching them go around the barn to retrieve their horses, Kelsey jumped when Ronan suddenly cut into her field of view. With his hat off, his sandy blond hair had been tamped down leaving a slight indentation where the band had been.

He didn’t smile, but watched her, his dark eyes brooding and slightly shadowed.

Kelsey sensed his irritation with her had a deeper root than hers. She lifted her chin.
His mood swings had the sway of a prepubescent girl. Jeesh. “What’s up your ass?”

“Another stipulation to this contract is you can’t sleep with anyone else until we have kids. I’m serious on that one. I
need to know for sure that the children are mine.” He glanced over his shoulder as the MacAllister brothers thundered away on their horses. “Especially from that ranch. This line has been sullied enough by them.”

“Really? Who? Robbie or Slate? Because in case you missed it, they’re both happy with their women.” Amelia’s frustration over the breeding theory compounded with the clear supposition that she’d be interested in screwing around with Slate
– or Robbie. The idea was as repulsive as her messing around with Big Red. Gross. She would’ve dry-heaved, if she was prone to emotional displays like that. But she was more the snarky-kiss-my-ass-and-love-it kind of gal.

Spurred by her previous thoughts and acceptance of his proposal, that he knew nothing about,
Kelsey pushed away her anger. She’d distract his ass. Man, he was so cranky. She wrapped her hands around his neck and yanked his mouth to hers. But only for the briefest of seconds. No way in hell was she going to reward his jackass-y-attitude. The kiss did its job and Ronan’s neck muscles tightened as he worked his mouth like his thoughts couldn’t quite make it to his tongue.

“Now, quit being so demanding. It’s rude.” She returned to her earlier position of soaking in the sun with her eyes closed. She was going to remember the shock on his face for years to come. A small smile played on her lips.

Another moment passed and then Ronan joined her in leaning on the railing. He watched her, the warmth of his gaze stirring deep inside her, burning her skin and cooking her nerves. Maybe he’d want to finish what he’d started with kissing her earlier.

She’d be up for another kiss – longer, warmer, okay, hotter.

With her eyes still closed
– hiding the turmoil being near him caused – she murmured. “What?”

“I’m heading out in a bit, but I wanted to let you know I think Caracus and his gang are nearby. You were followed on horseback to Lonely Rivers.”

Kelsey’s eyes snapped open. She straightened, covering her mouth with both hands.

No,
Sonny had already found her. Oh, no. He was going to kill her. Sonny had promised her the last time he’d seen her that the next time would be the last anyone would see her. He’d rape her, then give her to his gang until they were bored and then he’d snap her neck. Many times in the past, he’d wrapped his fingers around her throat and threatened to do exactly that. She grabbed at her chest, beneath the hollow of her neck.

She whimpered.

Ronan closed the distance between them, pulling her into his arms.

She tucked her forehead against his neck, his pulse strong against her
skin.

He stroked her hair. “It’s okay.
The guys and I are going out tonight to see if we can catch them with some law enforcement. I want this over with more than you.”

Through her fingers, she asked. “How’d he find me so fast? No one knows where I am. I haven’t told anyone but the MacAllisters and you.” She pulled back, eyes wide.
Shit, she couldn’t breathe. Might never breathe normal again. “How did he find me?”

Ronan lowered his voice, his fingers through her hair
. His quiet voice calmed her enough she could listen. “They haven’t found you. Robbie owes Devlyn Caracus a large sum of money. Devlyn and his gang are here to collect. They abducted Amelia a few days ago, but she got away in the caverns. We’re going to see if they’re making camp past the rivers and try to trap them. Hopefully, this time tomorrow, we’ve got a deal in for Sonny to sign divorce papers while he sits in jail.”

He tipped her chin up, his image blurry through her gathering tears. He leaned down, kissing the tip of her nose. “You’re okay. I won’t let him h
ave you. Got it? I won’t.”

And the fire smoldering in Ronan’s eyes promised more than justice, if Sonny tried anything again with Kelsey. She
moved her head slowly, drawing away from his embrace. She chewed on her inner cheek. “Well, I think I’m close to an answer, if that helps. How about we talk when you get back and iron out any more details before I go with yes or no?”

Ronan’s
confident smile brought out an answering smile of her own. “You’ll say yes. It’s too good a deal to say no to. Plus…” He stared at her lips, his smile fading to an expression she hadn’t seen in years. She shifted her feet, transfixed by the heat in his eyes. “You and I both know we’re good together, real good. So why fight it, right?” He winked.

And it was the damn wink that pushed her over the edge. She turned to the side and glanced over her shoulder before turning completing around. “I know I’m good. I just remember you as a bystander.”

She spun to keep him in view and then backed away as he recovered from his shock.

He
laughed. “Damn, girl. I’m going to enjoy refreshing your memories.” He sauntered past and slapped her ass. “Maybe when we get things figured out, yeah?”

And damn if she didn’t almost tell him yes right there.

~~~

The decision to say yes didn’t come easily. Her pride had
been injured more than anything. Yet, the fact that it was an
option
that he handed her rather than an
ultimatum –
even though they both knew she had nothing and nowhere else to go – gave her insides a warm tingly feel.

But if she was saying yes, then while he was gone, she needed to have one last drink and acknowledge that she might have a drinking problem. Like her brother. And her dad. And her mother.

She sure as hell wasn’t leaving the protection of his home. Staying closed up in Ronan’s house might be the safest place she could be. Especially with Sonny running around outside.

A search for alcohol revealed no whiskey, no vodka, not even rum.
The three bottles her dad had thrown at her on the lawn were nowhere to be found. Ronan had probably tossed them. Dang it. A half bottle of brandy and a bottle of tequila became her only bounty in Ronan’s office. Palming both bottles at the neck, she made her way to the kitchen.

In no time at all, her liquid dinner had her crawling into bed and passing out.

~~~

Oh, her stomach. Crap, she hated brandy so much. Rolling over to swing her feet to the ground, Kelsey pushed up from the mattress and tottered into the adjoining bathroom. She knelt over the toilet
, holding her hair back off her face and neck, and dry-heaved until the meager contents of her stomach came up.

Flushing, she reached for a hand towel, her fingers fumbling along the edge of the counter until grabbing hold of some cloth and pulling it to her mouth to wipe.

Her thin t-shirt clung to her sweaty skin. If she made it back to bed, she’d try to shimmy out of her sweat pants. A feverish warmth worked its way up her back. Never
mind waiting. She held herself as steady as possible and pushed at the waistband until it slid over her butt and down her legs. She needed to stand up to get them off.

But her damn legs didn’t want to lift her body.

Shaking and perspiring from the effort and fatigue, she gave up trying to stand and crawled on all fours back into the bedroom.
As she crept forward, she pushed the pants down her legs and kicked them off by the bathroom door. Cool, refreshing air spilled over her skin.

Stopping halfway to the bed, she rested her forehead on the floor and breathed in and out.
At least the fever abated fairly quickly without the extra clothing.

A creak in the hallway and the softest scrape of a boot on the hardwood floor had her turning her head. Her door was closed. Ronan would walk right by and go to bed. Had he been out all night?
The chance that he was on the other side of the wall sent the weird little tingles on the back of her neck. She loved that he still made her hot and nervous… and flustered. Nauseous? Nope, the alcohol was fast at work again.

She hadn’t marked what time she’d gone to bed – not that she would’ve remembered if she did. So maybe she didn’t
note the time? A huge part of her wanted to call out to Ronan, but another fearful part didn’t want him to find out about the alcohol. With every drink her guilt had increased and the certainty that she wasn’t good enough for the situation or Ronan grew – which only made her drink more.

Her door opened and she winced. So much for keeping her last binge a secret. Dark dirty-work-style boots crossed the threshold. On eye level they seemed so familiar, but she couldn’t place them. She had to still be drunk.

Two steps her way, another, and then one drew back and in the split second before the boot connected, Kelsey remembered those boots.

Sonny had found her.

Wham! The toe of his boot sank into her stomach. She grunted, immediately crying out. Hands out, she rolled to her side on the floor, she had to choose between cradling her midsection or warding off another attack.