Betting on Grace (33 page)

Hell yeah!

Astro Boy took off like a rocket, leaving Outlaw
trailing behind him as though he were walking while the other horse ran.

“Holy fucking shit,” Lane muttered.

“Exactly.”

Astro Boy came flying past the finish line, and the
group that was gathered behind him began cheering, the little girl, Maddie,
squealing at the top of her lungs and making Grant laugh. Yep, his girl had a
cheering section, and she had better believe that Grant and Lane would be at
the front.

Several minutes later, both riders and horses made
their way back to where Grant and Lane were standing. Grant watched as Lane
walked right up to Gracie, reached up, and pulled her off her horse, his arms
wrapping around her as he spun her in the air.

But Grant didn’t watch the two of them for long, foregoing
their celebration to look at Jerry. The man was smiling. Freaking smiling. And
he was staring down at Lane and Gracie, but soon after, he was meeting Grant’s
gaze head on.

Grant held his breath, but the nod he received from
his boss had him exhaling deeply.

Yes, sir, I fixed it. As best I could
, Grant thought to himself. But he could assure Jerry
that he would never let his stupidity come between him and the two people who
meant everything to him again.

“Congrats, honey,” Jerry said to Gracie when Lane put
her back on her feet. “That was impressive.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Gracie said, smiling up at her father.

Grant wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her look prettier
than right then. Her hair was tangled from the ride, her eyes were wide and
bright, and she was smiling. A grin wider than the great state of Texas.

And he knew right then and there that if she could
face her fears, he certainly could, too.

Mercy stood behind everyone, trying to blend in, not
wanting anyone to see that she was there. She doubted that was going to last
long, especially now that the group was breaking up, everyone moving closer to
Gracie and Jerry.

Her sister was incredible on that horse. Mercy had
always thought so; even back when they were kids, she’d always been jealous of
how amazing Gracie was.

She wasn’t jealous anymore. She’d grown out of that
years ago. But she did enjoy watching Gracie ride that horse. There were days,
even now, when she would sneak into the arena and hide beneath the bleachers
just to watch her. It wasn’t her place to question Gracie as to why she didn’t
want anyone to know she was racing. She knew it had to do with their mother’s
death. That had been a difficult time for all of them.

Even though Mercy had been young, eleven, at the time
of her mother’s death, she still remembered everything clearly. Her perfect
memory was often a curse, but when it came to her mother, she considered it a
blessing.

They had all changed when Charlotte died, but Hope and
Grace had been altered the most by the tragedy. Hope had turned into someone no
one recognized, no longer having fun, and Gracie had done a complete one-eighty,
giving up on dreams they’d all thought she would chase forever.

But today, watching Gracie, Mercy was incredibly proud
of her sister. And even though it had meant backing out of the race, which
would probably earn her some ribbing from half the people at the ranch, it was
totally worth it.

She could practically feel her mother smiling down on
them right then. Even now, sixteen years later, Mercy still heard her mother’s
words.

“Take care of your sisters, Mercy. Make sure they never
take things too seriously, and most important, never let them give up. That’s
your job. Can you do that for me?”

Clutching her mother’s hand tightly while they waited
for the ambulance to arrive, Mercy nodded her head, her tears pouring from her
eyes.

Mercy had made a promise to her mother that day, and
she had vowed to keep it, no matter the costs. She wasn’t sure why she’d been
the one her mother had chosen, but she’d been honored to have the
responsibility.

All along, Mercy had intended to set it up so that
Gracie would be the one to race their father. But the excuse of how upset she’d
been at learning her father was dating someone had come up at just the right
time.

Not that she was faking her anxiety where that was
concerned. The idea of Jerry dating someone, bringing some strange woman to the
ranch to act as their mother, made Mercy sick to her stomach. She didn’t think
she’d be able to handle it, and she didn’t even want to think about what that
might mean for her. Would she have to leave the ranch? Or pretend not to care?

She was never good at pretending or hiding her
feelings.

Taking a mental picture of the scene before her, how
incredibly happy Gracie was right then, Mercy decided to sneak off before she
was seen.

And maybe later … much, much later … she could process
the other.

But right now, she needed to be alone.

■□■□■□■□

“You ready to go?” Grant asked his father when Darrell
joined them on the front porch of his parents’ trailer.

After the race, he had informed Lane and Gracie that
he had to go take his father to rehab. He shouldn’t have been surprised that
they’d both insisted on going with him. Grant had relented, knowing better than
to argue.

Truth was, he didn’t want to argue. He wanted them
with him. They were his rock, the two people who could hold him together even
when everything else was falling apart.

“I’m ready,” Darrell answered, pushing open the screen
door, carrying a small suitcase in his hand.

Darrell’s gaze slid over to Lane and Gracie briefly,
and the man surprised Grant when his father offered a sincere thank you to them
both for being there.

On the drive from the ranch, Grant hadn’t known what
to expect. He had called his father as soon as he’d woken up, before the race,
just to make sure he was still willing to go. His father had sounded incredibly
sure of himself when he’d answered with a decisive yes.

And now, looking at his father, Grant saw a different
man than the one who’d crashed the dance the night before. Darrell’s face was
once again clean-shaven, his hazel eyes bright and clear. He’d obviously taken
a shower, and his clothes looked almost new.

Definitely a different man.

“What’re we gonna do about the cats?” Darrell asked,
glancing back into the house.

“I’ll talk to Mom,” Grant told him. In fact, Grant had
already spoken to his mother. She had agreed to come home after some scolding
from Grant. Sandy wasn’t blameless in all of this, although she wasn’t
responsible for Darrell’s gambling addiction. But Grant knew she needed help,
too.

She had agreed. And while Darrell was in rehab, Sandy
had agreed that she’d be involved in his program while she would also seek
counseling on her own. Grant had told her that they couldn’t fix this on their
own; it had long surpassed that. Surprisingly, she had agreed with him then,
too.

“Okay, then,” Darrell said, glancing once more inside
the house. “I think we’re ready to go then.”

Lane and Gracie turned to walk down the steps toward
the truck while Grant waited for his father to lock the door behind him.

“I’m proud of you, Dad,” Grant told Darrell when he
turned around.

“I wouldn’t go that far yet,” Darrell said softly,
walking beside Grant as they headed for the truck. “And anyway, shouldn’t I be
the one telling you that I’m proud of you?”

“Don’t know. Are you?” Grant asked, shooting a
sideways glance at his father.

“Yeah,” Darrell said, looking at the truck and the two
people who were in the backseat. “I’m real proud. You’ve made something of
yourself.”

Grant was shocked by his father’s words, but he tried
to hide it.

“You’re a better man than I’ll ever be,” Darrell added
as he reached for the door handle.

“They make me a better man, Dad. Sometimes you need
someone else to make you see reason.”

Two weeks later

“We’re gonna be late,” Grace murmured against Grant’s
lips when he pressed her up against the wall in her living room.

“No, we won’t,” he said, sounding incredibly sure of
himself.

“I think we will,” she countered, not believing for
one second that if they started this, they would make it to her father’s
surprise birthday party in time.

“Look, Lane’s already naked,” Grant said, causing
Grace to glance over to see that, yes, Lane was definitely naked.

God, the man made naked look so freaking good.

He was sitting on the couch, stroking his cock as he
watched the two of them. She kept her eyes locked with his when Grant lifted
her dress, easily pulling it over her head and tossing it onto the chair.

“Come here, cowgirl,” Lane said, his deep voice
sending tremors through her. The way he looked at her, as though she were
dessert and he had just finished dinner, made her knees weak.

Grant took her hand and led her the few feet across
the room until she was standing in front of Lane. While she stood there,
blatantly admiring his beautiful body, she could see in her peripheral vision
that Grant was making quick work of disrobing.

Lane reached for her, his thick arms wrapping around
her waist and pulling her closer.

Straddling his thighs, she smiled at him. “Is the door
locked?” she asked, directing the question more to Grant than Lane, but Lane
nodded and winked.

Yes, they made sure that they locked the front door
these days. There was no way in hell they would risk someone walking in on them
ever again.

“I want you to ride me,” Lane said hoarsely, his eyes
trailing down to her breasts, which were hovering directly in front of his
face.

“Mmmm, I think I can handle that,” she responded,
leaning in and pressing her mouth to his. The hunger sparked, and then a full-blown
inferno broke out as Lane slid inside of her, shifting her just right so that…
“Oh, God.”

Yes, she found that she definitely liked this position
best, riding Lane while…

“Where’s Grant?” Grace asked, her lips brushing over
Lane’s as she tried to search the room behind her.

“Who knows. Who cares,” he said on a strangled laugh
as she tightened her internal muscles. “Oh, fuck. You’re killin’ me, baby.”

That was the plan.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Grant reappear.
He was holding a condom and the lube in his hand, which meant only one thing.

“Mmm… We’re gonna tag team you, aren’t we?” she asked
Lane, a tremor of excitement erupting in her core.

“God, I hope so,” Lane mumbled, putting his big hand
on the back of her head and pulling her to him. He eased over onto his back,
moving her with him so that he was still lodged deep inside her.

Grace leaned forward, her breasts crushed against the
hard planes of Lane’s chest as she started to rock slowly. The sofa shifted
behind her, and she felt Grant’s leg brush up against her bottom.

“Fuck,” Grant groaned behind her. He hadn’t moved, so
she knew he had to be watching, and that stirred her up that much more.

“You better hurry, cowboy,” Grace said, smiling.

For the past week, they’d done it every which way from
Sunday, and Grace found that she happened to really like this particular
position — her riding Lane while Grant fucked Lane’s ass. It was… Lord, it was
freaking hot.

Lane thrust his tongue into her mouth, holding her
closer, and Grace gave herself over to the moment. No more thinking. The only
thing she wanted to do from here on out was to feel.

■□■□■□■□

Grant wasn’t sure how easy he could actually be.
Watching Gracie ride Lane made his cock throb painfully every damn time. And
for the last hour, Lane had been teasing him relentlessly as he sat on the
couch completely naked.

Forcing Lane’s leg up to rest on the back of the
couch, he opened the man up perfectly. Using the lube he’d retrieved from the
bedroom, Grant coated his cock, stroking slowly so as not to tempt fate. He
wanted this to last at least a few minutes.

Cupping Lane’s balls and kneading them firmly, the
other man did exactly what Grant hoped he would do. Along with a deep, rumbling
moan, Lane spread his legs farther apart, providing Grant with perfect access.

Grant slid two fingers into Lane, pulling another
thundering moan from the big man. But he didn’t play for long, wanting
desperately to bury himself inside of him while Gracie rode Lane’s cock.

Without warning, Grant lined his cock up with Lane’s
puckered hole, pulled his fingers out, and then slid deep inside of him,
forcing Gracie forward just a little.

“Sonuva… Oh, yeah, that’s good.”

Gracie glanced over her shoulder, smiling when she
realized just what he’d done. The way Lane bucked his hips was probably her
first hint. But then Grant took over, leaning forward until his chest was
resting along Gracie’s back. He began pounding his hips hard and fast, rocking
her between the two of them, with a little help from her.

“You like when I ride you, cowboy?” Gracie asked,
laughter in her voice.

“Yes, ma’am,” Lane answered breathlessly. “Love it,
actually. Oh, God, Grant. Fuck me harder.”

The plea in Lane’s tone had Grant slamming into him,
rushing the three of them to the breaking point. Gracie was partially right,
they might just be late if he didn’t get on with it. Not that going to a
birthday party for anyone was better than this.

“Come for me, Lane,” Grant bellowed, his balls
tightening, the equivalent of a bolt of lightning starting in the base of his
spine. “Come for me, Gracie.”

Gracie squeezed her hand between her and Lane, and
Grant realized what she was doing. It wasn’t long before she was moaning along with
them, the sound of their bodies slapping together nearly drowning out the roar
of his blood in his ears.

“Yes!” Gracie screamed, her body tensing, her back
bowing, pushing Grant up.

Taking the opportunity, Grant gripped Lane’s hips,
slamming into him, one foot on the floor for better traction until… “Oh, hell!”

“Fuck yes!” Lane exclaimed at the same time, both of
them exploding together.

■□■□■□■□

An hour later

“Happy birthday, Dad,” Gracie told her father while
Lane stood beside her.

“Happy birthday, Mr. Lambert,” Lane added.

“I think it’s safe for you to call me Jerry, Lane,”
Jerry responded, holding out his hand to Lane.

Lane shook the proffered hand and smiled. “Yes, sir.”

The three of them had made it to the party just in
time, minutes before Jerry had been scheduled to arrive. Everyone had been
there, including the woman that Jerry was dating … Jan something or other — a
woman Lane recognized from her past stay at the ranch.

Lane had been introduced to Jan at Sunday dinner, the
first Sunday dinner he’d been invited to with the Lambert family. Yeah, that
had been weird, all right. Weird but kind of cool at the same time.

Of course, spending any length of time with the
Lambert sisters, Lane had been given a hard time, but that was to be expected.
He’d taken it all in stride, thankful that Jerry’s girlfriend had been there,
because had she not been, things might’ve gotten a little out of hand.

He noticed that the only person tonight, just like
that Sunday dinner, who was notably absent was Mercy. Well, she wasn’t
completely MIA. She was there, but she was doing her best impression of a
shadow, sticking to the outer edges of the party. Rumor was that she wasn’t
happy with the fact that Jerry was dating someone.

Lane could somewhat understand that, but he found it
difficult to wrap his mind completely around because the other sisters seemed
to be okay with it. Hope and Faith had welcomed Jan with open arms. Trinity was
a little more reserved, and Gracie was doing her best to pretend she was happy.
But Mercy… Mercy was making it glaringly obvious that she wasn’t comfortable
with the woman at all.

No one seemed to be addressing the issue, though,
which seemed a little strange.

But, in the same instance, they were all getting used
to the fact that he and Lane were dating Gracie, as well. That had been a shock
to them, Lane knew. He’d seen it on their faces when Gracie had insisted on officially
telling them just last week, even though Lane was pretty sure they’d put two
and two together already. It kind of made the fact that Jerry was dating a
woman seem normal when Gracie had laid it on them that she was in love with two
men and they were in love with her as well as each other.

As for the acceptance at the ranch, Lane had to say
that he was seriously surprised. No one seemed to give a shit one way or
another. And honestly, Lane had been more worried about how they would react to
the fact that Lane and Grant were together. Considering no one was talking
about it much, he had to believe that they were coming to terms with it slowly.

At least he hoped that was the case.

“Hey,” Grant greeted when he returned to stand by
them.

“Everything okay?” Lane asked, glancing down at the
phone in Grant’s hand.

“Yeah. It’s good. That was my mom. She just got back
from her first counseling session. Then she went to see my dad.”

“Is your dad…?”

“No, he’s still in rehab. Gonna be there for a while.
My mom told him that he can’t come home yet. And if he wants her to be there
when he does come home, he has to get some serious help.”

“Do you think he’s gonna do it?” Lane asked.

“Yeah. I do. She’s never left him before, although
she’s threatened a million times. She drew the line when he hocked the TVs and
threatened to sell her car. But the final blow was when the abuse started
again. Apparently they’d been doing fairly well for the last couple of years.”

“Can’t say I blame her there,” Gracie commented as she
turned back to them to join the conversation.

Lane wrapped his arm around her as he stared out at
the couples who were dancing in the center of the room.

“Hey, what about you? Did you talk to your dad?” Grant
asked, glancing over at Lane.

“Yeah.” Lane had talked to his father. Three times in
the last week, in fact.

After all the shit that had gone down in the last
couple of weeks, Lane had come to one conclusion. He was not going to let
anything come between him and the two people he loved. Gracie and Grant had
taught him a few things. One: he needed to stand up for what he believed in.
Two: wearing his heart on his sleeve wasn’t the worst thing in the world. And
three: don’t ever take for granted what you have.

After Gracie had broken down and shared her feelings
about her mother, Lane had realized just how much he had done just that. So,
he’d made the first move, approached his father directly, and surprisingly, the
old man wasn’t holding as much of a grudge as Lane had thought he was. Maybe it
was his father’s age, or maybe they’d just come to a point in their lives where
it was okay to admit that they had both been wrong. Either way, Lane was happy
to say that he and his father were working on their relationship. It wasn’t
perfect yet, but he didn’t expect it to be.

He was still battling some of his own fears, but
telling his mother about his relationship with Gracie and Grant had been a
first step. And no, he hadn’t yet broached the subject with his old man. But he
would.

Baby steps.

Gracie leaned against Lane, smiling as she put her
arms around him and Grant.

“So, do y’all want to dance?” she asked, glancing back
and forth between them.

“With each other? Or with you? ’Cause I like him and
all, but I’m not much for dancin’ with a guy,” Lane teased.

“Well, I was actually thinkin’…”

Lane followed Gracie’s eyes until he noticed Maddie
standing just a few feet away from them, grinning expectantly.

“Oh, you meant with her?” Grant asked. “I’ll
definitely dance with the prettiest six-year-old in the room.”

Maddie giggled excitedly, and Lane watched as Grant
moved toward her. She took her place on his boots, her fingers linked with his
as he moved forward and back. Not an easy task, Lane knew, since he’d already
danced with Maddie twice tonight.

“How ’bout you?” he asked. “Would you like to dance?”

“I’d love to,” she said, taking the hand he held out
to her.

Lane pulled her against him, pressing his lips to the
top of her head and holding her close while he watched Grant.

It was safe to say Lane had never been happier than he
was right then. Well, maybe a couple of other times in the last week, but right
there, surrounded by so many of his friends and the two people he cherished,
Lane knew that nothing could ever beat this.