Righteous Lies (Book 1: Dancing Moon Ranch Series) (31 page)

"It's not
like you think," Justine said, while grabbing her jacket off a coat peg by
the door.

Grace rushed
over and took her by the arm. "Stop!" she said. "What is going
on in your head? You're chasing after that man. Did you know him before coming
here?"

"No, but I
need to catch up with him," Justine replied, anxious to leave, wanting to
be with Brad when he entered the stables, if that's where he was going.

"Why?"
Grace asked, holding onto Justine's arm. "You don't even know him."

Justine
shrugged off Grace's hand and slipped into the jacket. "I'm going because
he needs me right now." She pulled her wool cap over her head and started
for the door.

"Are you
insane?" Grace rushed around Justine and pressed her back to the door to
keep her from leaving. "Why would Brad Meecham need you? He's got to have
women all over the country. He goes on book tours all the time. And he's not a
monk. Look at the man. He's head-to-toe testosterone. You'll end up in his bed,
he'll use you as long as you're here, and he'll drop you like the rest of your
men do when they're finished with you, except with Brad Meecham you might read
about yourself in one of his books someday. The woman the CIA agent screwed
while stranded in a snow-covered cabin at a guest ranch, but he couldn't help
himself. She was there, and she was available."

Justine was
stunned to hear Grace talking the way she was. People screwing people wasn't
part of Grace's vocabulary. But then, Grace was married, and she liked screwing
Jack. Still, she knew Grace was concerned. "I can't explain it right
now," she said, "but Brad does need me."

Grace looked at
her, long and hard. "You've been to bed with him, haven't you?"

Justine gave a
kind of half shrug. "I comforted him."

Grace threw her
arms up in disgust. "You came here to try to get your life in order but I
don't think that's what you intend to do. You're here camping on our doorstep
because you don't have any place to go because all the men in your life have
kicked you out. Well, go on then. Catch up with the man. Spend the rest of your
time here in his bed. Just don't come crying on my shoulder when he's finished
with you. I've tried to help you but you don't want to help yourself."

Justine zipped
up her jacket and said to Grace, "Honey, I love you, and I know you think
the worst of your big sister right now, and in time I hope to explain about
Brad and me—there's more to this than you know. But what's happening between us
is different than it's been with any other man I've ever been involved with.
Brad's different. I know he won't use me or hurt me but I can't tell you why I
know. Just trust me this time." She gave Grace a kiss on the cheek and
left.

She caught up
with Brad as he was about to enter the stables. When she reached for his arm he
jumped with a start and thrust out his elbow, and his hand curved into a fist
as he swung around, about to strike her. Then he caught himself, slammed his
fist hard against his other palm, and said, in a sharp voice, "Don't ever
come up on me from behind without saying anything." He took several long
breaths, letting each out slowly.

"I'm
sorry," Justine said. "Are you alright?"

Brad rested his
hands on her shoulders and dropped his forehead against hers, and said, "I
could have busted your jaw or sent you sprawling to the ground. It's reflexes.
It just happens. And you need to leave now."

"Why?"
she asked, finding her hands resting at his waist.

"Because
I'm going in there to confront my demons," he replied, dropping his hands
from her shoulders and breaking the connection between them.

She removed her
hands from him. "Then I'll go with you."

"No,"
Brad said. "I could hurt you. I don't know what will happen."

"I've been
hurt before," Justine replied.

Brad looked at
her intently. "By who?"

Justine
shrugged. "Men. Some get rough when they're mad. Or during sex."

Brad's blue
eyes darkened to cobalt. "Hell, Justine. Why do you let them do it? Why
don't you walk away from them? Why don't you walk away from me?"

Justine
couldn't explain about the others, but she did know about Brad. "Because
you drew me into your mind in your book and I saw the scene through your eyes.
Because in the cabin when I was holding you I could feel what you were going
through. Because when you go in there now and see that hook, I want to be with
you if you need me again."

Brad gave a
short, sardonic laugh. "Yeah, we both know what that was all about. It
won't happen again."

"But it's
okay if it does," Justine insisted.

Brad looked at
her intently, then raised his hand and touched her face, and said, "You're
a special woman, Justine Page. Don't ever let any man tell you otherwise. But
stop letting the bastards use you." He moved toward her, and Justine was
sure he was about to kiss her, and she wanted him to kiss her, but instead, he
said, "Okay then come with me. But if things start up again, don't let me
use you like I did."

"I said it
would be okay."

"No, it's
not okay," Brad said. "There are other ways to knee a man in the
balls. Letting him humiliate himself is one of them."

Justine
understood what he was saying, but he was also taking away the one thing she
could give to him, Men had suckled her breasts during sex and she'd hated it,
but allowing them to do it brought her closer to the glass ceiling so she put
up with it, along with having them climb on top of her to finish the job. All
part of the game-of-success in a man's world. But with Brad it was different,
even when she stood in front of him with her shirt gaping open while he was
trying to prove a point. But now, she had no choice but to allow him to confront
his demons like a man.

"I'll just
be with you," she said.

He put his arm
around her shoulders and she slipped her hand around his waist. "Okay,
then I guess I'm ready to go in there and slay the dragon."

CHAPTER 3

Brad felt
Justine's arm tighten around him as they stepped into the stables. But when he
looked to where the hook had been, it was gone.

"Look out
below," Jack called from the hayloft. They heard the grind of a motor as
an old tractor engine, hanging from the hook, was being lowered by a hydraulic
winch. For an instant the engine morphed into a mutilated body, but Brad took
several long breaths and willed the image to go away... and it was an engine
again.

"You
okay?" Justine asked.

"Yeah, I
think so," Brad replied, focusing on reality—a length of cable with a farm
hook. A rusted out tractor engine block...

Jack called
down, "Could you unhook the engine, Meecham?"

"I'll do
it," Justine called up to Jack. She reached for the hook.

Brad grabbed
her arm to stop her. "Don't," he said. "You'll scratch your
hand. The old engine's rusty." For a few moments he looked at her hand.
Smooth skin. Long tapered fingers. Nails manicured. A hand as unblemished as
she was on the outside. She had multiple blemishes inside though. None he
couldn't handle. All worth fixing.

"I'm not a
china doll," Justine snapped, and reached for the hook. She gave it a
twist and released the engine. "Send down more junk if you want," she
called up to Jack.

They could hear
Jack's guffaw rolling down from the loft. "Better be careful,
Justine," he said. "You'll turn into a ranch hand." He scurried
down the ladder from the loft and took the hook from Justine's hand and shoved
it into a wide crack in a post to get it out of the way.

Brad looked at
the hook with its tip in a crevice... like the boy's belly... and his heart
began pumping hard... and he started trembling... and he felt the blood
draining from his face...

"Hell,"
he said. "Not now..."

Justine placed
her hand on his back. "Look away," she said. But it was too late.
Jack saw what was happening. Not the trembling—Brad could almost disguise
that—but he couldn't disguise the blood-drained shock on his face. Brad knew it
was there. He started breathing deeply. It sometimes calmed things...

Jack's eyes
shifted between Brad and Justine and the hook. Taking Brad's arm, he turned him
away from the sight of the hook and said, "I want to take the two of you
to a place where you can come to terms with the past. It'll be good for your
souls."

"Where?"
Justine asked.

"The
spring. You know about it, Justine, but you've never been there, but it's where
both of you need to be right now." When neither of them replied, Jack
said, "Trust me. It's only ten minutes by horse."

"Can't we
hike?" Justine asked. "I've never ridden a horse. I only just petted
one for the first time two days ago, your big horse Dan."

"Dan's one
of my best trail horses," Jack said. "We put all the new riders up on
him. It would also make Grace happy if you rode a horse. She's worried about
you not getting out and doing things."

Justine
shrugged. "I guess. As long as you say Dan's gentle."

"You'll do
fine." Jack looked at Brad. "What about you, Meecham? Can you
ride?"

"Sure,"
Brad replied. "My grandfather had a ranch. I used to visit him
summers."

"Good.
I'll get them saddled. You're both dressed okay."

"So what's
special about this place?" Brad asked.

"It's
called Whispering Springs and it's a place where the Indians went to be freed
of evil spirits. At least that's what their descendants claim. There's an
Indian mound not far from there. But Whispering Springs is where you both need
to be." Jack eyed Brad steadily. "When you get back you'll be able to
look at that hook and see only a hook."

Brad looked at
Jack with a new respect. He hadn't told him about the hooks, only that he'd
seen things he couldn't put aside, but Jack read his book and filled in the
rest.

Jack saddled
the horses and they started out on a snow-covered trail that bordered a stream
partially frozen over, with water rushing around rocks and through low brush
poking through the snow. Justine rode behind Jack, and Brad brought up at the
rear. Justine turned and looked at Brad, her face flushed from the cold, her
eyes bright and watery with tears from the wintry air. She smiled at him, and
Brad knew she was enjoying this little adventure.

She was also
more beautiful than when he saw her sitting in the lodge and she looked up and
caught him watching. In only four days she'd changed from that woman. He was
glad to see the change, but it bothered him that he wanted her more. He also
had the arrogance to think he could satisfy her more than the others. He wanted
to try, but wouldn't. Not without the ring.

About ten
minutes later, Jack turned his horse off the main trail and dismounted.
"You can tie your horses to a tree," he said.

Brad dismounted
and tied his horse, then went to help Justine down. But when he raised his
hands to her she pushed them away, and said, "I want to do this by
myself."

Damn, if she
wasn't becoming his kind of woman. A whole lot of spunk when she got peeved.
He'd have to keep a tighter rein on things. In the end, they'd just be two
people coming together for a short affair then going their separate ways. That
was the way it was with women like Justine, high-powered women who went after
what they wanted and used whatever they had to cinch the deal. And with
Justine, it was brains, unrivaled beauty, and a willingness to use her body to
get what she wanted.

The problem
was, he was beginning to think she didn't know what the hell she really wanted,
so she'd keep searching, and using men, and searching...

After tethering
the horses, they started up a narrow snow-covered footpath that cut into the
side of the hill, and after a short hike, ended at the mouth of the cavern
where snow had melted from the heat of the hot springs. Inside was a natural
rock pool, which looked, in the dusky twilight of the cavern, to be about eight
feet in diameter, with steam rising from its dark surface.

"Here's a
towel," Jack said. "You'll have to share it." He offered the towel.
"The pool has a natural ledge that you can sit on. If you're quiet you'll
hear sounds, probably wind finding its way through crevices in the rocks, but
after you've listened for a while you'll feel different. Whatever was bothering
you won't matter so much." He turned to Justine, and said, "You can
get in the water first. It's dark in there and Brad won't see you."

Justine gave
Jack a wry smile. "I don't have a fetish about men seeing me," she
replied, "and I'm sure Brad's seen his share of women."

Jack glanced
from one to the other. "I'll leave you two then. The trail's easy to
follow and the horses know the way home." As he passed Brad on the way
out, he patted him on the shoulder, and said, "I trust you with her. Don't
let me down."

Brad watched him
go. Jack Hansen was an unusual man. He didn't have the degrees, but he was a
self-educated man with uncanny insight. And he was wise. He knew when a man
could be trusted.
His sister-in-law would
be safe in a hot springs pool with Brad Meecham
, Jack decided. A heavy
burden for any hot-blooded male to bear, especially with a woman like
Justine...

"Are you
going in?" Justine asked, while eyeing him.

"Sure.
That's why Jack brought us here." Brad shrugged out of his parka and
tugged his wool shirt and tee shirt together over his head and tossed them onto
the rock floor of the cavern, then started unfastening his jeans. "You
don't care, do you?" he asked.

"Do what
you want," Justine said. "I'm familiar with the anatomy of a
man."

Brad slipped
off his jeans and briefs and tossed them onto the shirt and parka and crouched
beside the pool, testing the water. "It's warm," he said, feeling his
body changing at the thought of Justine being naked in the water with him, yet
knowing he wouldn't touch her. Hoping the steamy water would settle things down
he eased into the pool, letting out a sigh as the warmth closed in around him.
He rested his head against the rock wall behind him, and with the water
mid-chest, waited to see what Justine would do. Which was to stand looking down
at the pool.

"Grace
wouldn't get in there with anyone but Jack," she stated.

"You're
not Grace," Brad said, "and I won't touch you."

Justine
crouched and swished the water with her hand. "Why do I feel reluctant to
do this?" she asked. "I got half naked in bed with you when I didn't
even know your name, and it didn't bother me then. Now it does."

"That's
because you're starting to become who you really are, a woman who won't take
crap from a man again." She looked up and smiled at him, the first real
smile he'd seen from her. She was a stunning-looking woman, but that smile was
like a summer day curling around him.

"I guess I
should," Justine said. "It's nice and warm."

She unzipped
her jacket then turned her back to him while she stripped off her clothes,
which weren't much beneath her jeans and shirt. No bra. Only thong underwear.
"You're learning," Brad said, scanning the back of
her—nicely-proportioned shoulders, long smooth crease down the middle of her
back, tiny waist and gently flaring hips, nice firm butt and long lean legs...

She glanced
over her shoulder. "I'm learning what?"

"Lesson
two. I'm sitting here wanting to see the front of you and you're giving me the
back. That's good. Now get in the water and let's see what this is all about.
Jack brought us here for a reason, and it wasn't for us to screw the shit out
of each other."

Justine
laughed. "You're right." She turned around and Brad saw perfection.
He wanted to look at her longer, but she eased into the pool and sat on the
underwater ledge across from him. The water came mid-chest on her, just
covering her nipples. Breasts the perfect size to fit his hands...

"I can't
do anything about them," Justine groused, finding him staring at them. She
gave a little chuckle. "But I don't need a bra either."

"Yeah,
well a man can only fit so much in his hand," Brad said. "But we're
not here for sex talk." She smiled at him again, and it was like something
had wrapped itself around his heart.

"Jack's
right," Justine mused. "This is peaceful. Let's close our eyes and
listen."

In the shadowy
darkness of the cavern they sat silently, and before long eerie sounds echoed
from the bowels of the mountain. Haunting sounds. Distant, unnatural sounds,
like wailing. But after a while the sounds became more like sighs. And mirth.
Happy contented sounds...

...a place where the Indians went to be
freed of evil spirits...

Maybe it was
so, because after some time, Brad felt different, like something
had
happened.

Cutting into
the eerie silence, Justine said, in a quietly contented voice, "I feel the
calm, like a cloak of peacefulness settling around me. I couldn't put it into
words but maybe someday you will and I'll read about it in your book and know
what you're feeling right now."

Brad opened his
eyes and Justine was staring at him. It came to him that she'd lost all the
bravado. Gazing across the pool at him, with her pensive eyes, and delicate
face, and trim breasts breaking the surface of the water, she looked innocent
of men. Eve in the Garden of Eden. But she wasn't trying to tempt him. At least
not outwardly.

Her brows drew
together and she looked at him thoughtfully, and said, "I want to tell you
something I've never told anyone. You said you'd help me be more like
Grace."

Brad studied
her sober face. She was reaching out, probably for the first time in her life
to a man, for something that had nothing to do with moving up in the corporate
world. Something that mattered on a personal level. "We're here to come to
terms with things," he said, "so feel free to tell me whatever you
want."

She bit her
bottom lip and seemed reluctant to reveal what it was. Then she shrugged off
her concern, and said, "I've had sex with a lot of men and I never liked
it. It was something I went along with because it was expected in the
relationship."

"Have you
ever had an orgasm?" he asked, suspecting she hadn't.

"I think
maybe I have but I'm not sure," she replied. "With some it seemed
better than others."

"No wonder
you're messed up," Brad said. "No one's ever given you what you need.
You'd know if you'd had an orgasm. You screw around with men who make promises
so you'll keep putting out for them, but none have fulfilled those promises,
have they?"

"Some,"
she said. "I was pretty high up in the firm when Sean Elliot decided he didn't
need me any longer. He wasn't too bad in bed. He tried to make it good for
me."

"But it
wasn't."

She shook her
head. "No. It was just something to get through. I'm glad it's over."

As Brad stared
across the pool at Justine, he was reminded of those pixie-like creatures in
mythology books. Naked and lean, with small breasts and big elfin eyes, and
well-defined lips. "Do you realized how much I want to kiss you right
now?" he asked.

"You can
if you want," she replied.

"Hell,
Justine. You'll let me screw you over too. Stop being so damn passive. I know
you're not that way at work. I'm sure you don't bat an eye at shoving a
figurative knife into the gut of a competitor, then giving it a twist."

"It's
different in the corporate world," Justine said. "It's my personal
relationships that turn into disasters. Even in high school. If I had a
daughter I'd never let her be a cheerleader or date the captain of the football
team. She'd learn too much too soon," she said, moving her hands back and
forth over the surface of the water, sending it rising and falling around
breasts. Breasts like Yvette's. Firm. High. Perfect. Four days he'd had with
Yvette while pouring out his soul. She'd given him everything. Her body, her
compassion, her tolerance...