Ruben was breathless by the time Elijah let go of him. He couldn’t seem to string together a single coherent thought. He just sat and stared at Elijah’s lips while licking his own. Ruben’s eyes snapped up when Elijah chuckled.
Elijah reached over and rubbed his thumb over Ruben’s lips.
“Now, you look thoroughly kissed.”
Ruben’s jaw dropped. “That’s what you were going for?”
“Well, that”—Elijah grinned—“and I just like kissing you.” Ruben could go along with that idea. Overjoyed at Elijah’s sweet gesture, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face as he climbed from the car and waited for Elijah to join him on the sidewalk.
They were going to the local café to meet with Elijah’s PI friend and talk to him. The man had driven in the previous night. He’d already done some digging, but he wanted to talk to them in person about the case. Ruben was anxious to talk with the man about what he may or may not have found out about Janice and her activities. But he was more nervous about whether Elijah would hold his hand or not like he said he would.
Alani was at home.
Ruben’s heart began to sink when Elijah paused at the edge of the sidewalk and just stared at him. He couldn’t force Elijah to come out of the closet not matter how much he wanted to. And this wouldn’t necessarily make or break their relationship. But it sure would go a long ways toward cementing it.
Then Elijah pressed his lips together and walked the distance between them, reaching for his hand. Ruben held his hand out of reach and stepped back so fast that he almost tripped over his own two feet.
“Ruben?”
“I’m not going to do this if you’re going to hate me, Elijah.”
“I could never hate you, Ruben. I just—” Elijah blew out a deep breath as he pushed his hand through his hair, leaving it rumpled and unruly. “This is really hard for me.” Ruben’s heart ached, both for himself and for Elijah. While it still hurt, it was a little easier to understand Elijah’s reluctance for shows of affection in public now that he knew the reason why. He slowly lowered his arm then shoved both of his hands into his pockets.
“Maybe next time then,” he said as he brushed past Elijah and started walking toward the Cade Creek café.
Ruben tried really hard to remember that this wasn’t anything against him. Elijah was not ashamed of him. He was just scared. But it sure as shit felt like it to Ruben. It felt a lot like what growing up around his father and mother felt like. They never wanted to touch him either.
Family affection was not something Ruben had grown up with.
Even Matty had to be careful when their parents were around. They’d accuse him of being too soft on Ruben, and then the yelling and fighting would begin.
It wasn’t until Ruben met the Blaecleahs that he truly knew what being loved meant. And that was something he wanted to keep in his life and pass on to Alani. Elijah was caring enough out at the ranch, but his refusal to touch in public cut deep, no matter how much Ruben knew it came from past memories.
“Ruben, stop.”
When he didn’t stop, Ruben felt a hand on his arm, pulling him to a stop. He turned to look at Elijah, trying to keep his anguish off his face and out of his voice. “I’m sorry. I thought this would be easier for me, but it’s not. I’m trying really hard to give you the space and the time you need, but it’s just as hard for me as this whole situation is for you.”
“It’s okay, Ruben.”
“No, it’s not okay. I told you that I would give you the time you needed, and I’m throwing a temper tantrum when you don’t move on my time schedule, but I can’t seem to stop.” Ruben raised his eyes to Elijah’s when the man moved closer. He felt like second-day dung.
“I’m sorry.”
“I think maybe it is time for me to cowboy up.” Ruben blinked. “Huh?”
Ruben followed Elijah’s gaze as he turned left and then right.
There weren’t a ton of people on the streets but enough that Ruben knew Elijah would never feel comfortable holding his hand. He was shocked right down to his toes when Elijah grabbed his face between his hands and leaned in to kiss him right there on the sidewalk in the middle of Main Street.
But the kiss didn’t just stop at a simple touch of their lips. Ruben felt Elijah’s tongue brush across his lips, looking for acceptance.
Ruben may have been a lot of things, but he wasn’t born yesterday.
He opened his mouth and allowed Elijah in, stroking back with his own tongue.
His knees almost buckled when he felt one of Elijah’s arms wrap around him. Elijah’s hand fisted in his hair, holding his head still as his mouth was plundered. Ruben whimpered, feeling his cock harden and brush against Elijah’s.
“Eli,” Ruben whispered when the man finally pulled away. He felt flushed, and horny as hell. He looked up at Elijah and almost sighed in relief when he saw the same desire shining in Elijah’s eyes that was racing through his body.
It was only as someone chuckled as they walked by that Ruben remembered where they were. He swallowed hard as trepidation filled him. “Oh, Eli, I—”
Elijah grinned and rubbed his thumb over Ruben’s lips much as he had in the car. “Now, you really look like you’ve been kissed.” Ruben’s eyes rounded. “You do remember where we are, right?”
“Yeah, and I think everyone got the message loud and clear.” Elijah reached down and grabbed Ruben’s hand and pulled him toward the door of the café. “Our lunch meeting is waiting.” Ruben’s mind was reeling. Not only was Elijah holding his hand, the man had practically made out with him in the center of town.
Ruben began to grin, his hand tightening around Elijah’s with each step they took. By the time they reached their booth, Ruben couldn’t stop smiling.
He scooted into the booth Elijah indicated and looked across at the man sitting on the other side of the table. Funny, he didn’t look like a private investigator. He looked like a boxer or a thug, maybe a bar bouncer. Definitely a mobster. There was no shortage of muscles on the guy—anywhere. His arms practically had their own zip code.
Ruben flushed when the man caught him gawking and arched a dark eyebrow at him. He quickly looked away and then reached under the table to grab Elijah’s hand.
“Elijah, it’s been awhile.”
“It has,” Elijah replied. “It’s good to see you, Yancy.”
“And who is this delicious little morsel?”
Ruben swallowed hard when dark, smoky-gray eyes turned in his direction. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Elijah to answer or not. He felt like he was being eaten alive.
“This is my baby, Ruben Blaecleah.”
“So, this is the famous Ruben, huh?” Yancy chuckled and winked at Ruben. “It’s nice to finally meet you, honey.” Ruben’s jaw dropped. Had the mountain of a man just called him
honey
?
“It’s a good thing you call everyone honey, Yancy,” Elijah said in a deep, growly voice that sent Ruben’s pulse pounding, “or I’d have to rip off your balls and feed them to you.” Ruben’s eyes snapped to Elijah as shock rolled through him. He felt like his jaw was going to come unhinged. Elijah was actually threatening someone? And he chose a man that could break him like a twig to do it? Ruben didn’t know whether to be frightened or aroused by Elijah’s show of possessiveness.
Yancy just laughed. It was a full belly laugh, filling the area around them enough to get a few smiles from other customers. Ruben had the sudden urge to slide under the table, and he wondered if that was how Elijah felt.
“What did you find out?” Elijah asked.
Yancy was suddenly all business. He sat up straighter, and the smile fell from his lips. Ruben swallowed hard, knowing he wasn’t going to like what he was about to hear, not if Yancy was that serious.
Ruben squeezed Elijah’s hand tighter as fear gripped him.
“Janice McCallister rented a house here in Cade Creek two weeks ago.”
“What?” Ruben whispered. He suddenly felt like he couldn’t breathe. Only the soothing touch of Elijah’s hand sliding down his back returned the air to his lungs.
Yancy nodded. “She still has her house back in your hometown and returns there every weekend to go to church, but during the weekdays, she’s here in town.”
“But why would she rent a house here in town?”
“She wants your daughter,” Yancy said simply, like that explained everything.
“I already know that.”
“Yes, but do you know why she wants your daughter?” Ruben shook his head. “That’s what I can’t figure out. She hates me and my brother with a passion. There’s no reason for her to want anything to do with us.”
“I don’t actually think she does want anything to do with you personally, or your brother. She has her sights set on someone a little smaller.” Yancy grimaced as he reached down beside him and grabbed a folder, setting it on the table. “How much do you know about your father’s will?”
Ruben gaped. “My father had a will?” Yancy chuckled. “Well, I guess that answers that question.” He opened up the file and handed Elijah the top few pieces of paper. They were very legal looking, which was why it made sense to Ruben that they had been given to Elijah. Ruben wouldn’t have a clue what he was looking at.
“What does it say?” Ruben asked Elijah.
“Basically, your father set up a large trust fund in the amount of several million dollars. The money was left to the first child born of the legally binding marriage between you or Matty and an unnamed female. Any child born outside of a legally binding union between you and a woman would be ineligible for the trust.”
“Fuck me,” Ruben whispered. “He’s still trying to control us, even from the grave.” Ruben glanced up when he felt Elijah pat his hand.
As good as it felt, he could see the question in Elijah’s eyes. “What?”
“You were legally married to Mahra when Alani was born, Ruben. By rights, this money belongs to your daughter now.” Ruben inhaled sharply. He could feel the blood drain from his face, and a freezing-cold chill swept through his body. “That’s why she wants Alani so bad.”
“I suspect you’re right,” Yancy said. “Your mother—”
“She’s not my mother!” Ruben snapped. “Alani Blaecleah is my mother. Janice was never a mother even before I was adopted by the Blaecleah family. I want nothing to do with the bitch.” Yancy held up a hand. “My apologies, Ruben.” Ruben ducked his head when he saw several customers turning to look at him. He hadn’t realized how loud he had spoken. Now, he really wanted to slide under the table. “No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. You didn’t know.”
“Please continue, Yancy,” Elijah said, which Ruben was grateful for.
“I believe you are correct about her wanting to take Alani because of the money. Janice McCallister has been living on a small income left to her by her late husband, the Reverend McCallister.
Unfortunately, she has been living above her means and is almost out of funds.”
Ruben’s eyebrows shot up. “Above her means?” When had his mother ever lived above her means? They might not have been dirt ass poor but close to it. The reverend always said that they didn’t need material items. They never had much because of that.
“She’s had the house remodeled, taken several trips to the Caribbean, and has a new Mercedes convertible. She also has a gardener, maid, and a pool boy that stays in the house.”
“She has a pool?”
Yancy nodded. “It was put in when the house was remodeled.”
“How?” Ruben was so confused. “We never had that type of money. Where is she getting it all from?”
“Reverend McCallister left Janice the sum of ten million dollars when he died. With her spending habits, she’s down to less than a million dollars currently. She already has creditors starting to come after her. If she continues as she has been doing, she will be bankrupt within six months. I have no doubt that she will have to sell the house and several of your father’s holdings.”
Ruben frowned. “What holdings? He was a minister.”
“He was a rich minister. He also owned the land that the church was built on as well as several lucrative businesses in and around town. I suspect that that was how your father kept such a stranglehold on the town. If they pissed him off, he just foreclosed on them.”
“Can you prove it?” Ruben asked. Surely there had to be a way to prove it.
“Unfortunately, at the moment I cannot. I haven’t caught Janice doing anything illegal, yet. I suspect in time, I will. She wants this money too much to give up now.”
“What about what the reverend was doing?” Ruben asked. “Was any of that illegal?”
“I’m still looking into that. At the moment, it seems that all of his business practices were aboveboard.”
“They weren’t,” Ruben said. “I can promise you that. Dig deeper.
That man didn’t have an honorable bone in his body. If he could screw someone, he would have, and there has to be a record of it somewhere.”
“I’ll do that.” Yancy rested his elbows on the table and folded his hands together. “Is there anything else you can tell me? Any direction I should look into?”
Elijah nodded. “We think Janice was responsible for whoever tried to drive Ruben off the road a couple of nights ago.” Yancy’s eyebrow arched as his eyes moved to Ruben. “Someone tried to run you off the road?”
“Yeah. They started following me really close then smacked bumpers with me.”
“How did you get away?”
Ruben grinned. “Family, how else?”
Yancy’s eyes shot between Ruben and Elijah, his eyebrows drawing down in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“Ruben called me. I called the Blaecleahs. They all came to the rescue.”
Yancy shook his head as he chuckled. “I have got to meet this family.”
Ruben got a sudden wicked idea. If he was guessing right, Yancy liked men just as much as he did, and there was one more single Blaecleah brother. Maybe he could fix that. “Why don’t you come out to the house for dinner? Ma’s a great cook, and it would give you a chance to fill us in on whatever else you know.” Elijah seemed confused for a moment but nodded anyway. “Yes, Yancy, that would be a great idea. If we all put our heads together, we can come up with a way to beat this woman. I won’t allow anything to happen to Ruben and Alani. They belong to me now.” Elijah was claiming him and Alani loud and clear in public.