Roping Your Heart (18 page)

Sally glared at him then faced Demi’s hospital room. He saw her plaster a fake smile on her face before she strode through the doorway to Demi’s side. He followed her and stood back as he watched Sally sit beside the bed and start talking with their daughter.

After the CAT scan and x-rays, the doctor gave his diagnosis. Demi did have a concussion and a fracture in her right leg. She was going to be in a cast for six weeks.

“No.” Demi shook her head and pushed herself up in the bed when the doctor mentioned the cast. “The first rodeo of the season is this coming Saturday. I can’t compete with a cast.”

“You’re not going to be riding for a while, I’m afraid,” the doctor said.

“No,” Demi repeated, looking horrified. Her gaze went to Blake. “Dad, don’t let them put a cast on me.”

The concussion was obviously making it difficult for Demi to absorb the news and realize that Blake couldn’t just tell the doctor to not put a cast on her.

“I’m sorry, honey.” Blake went to her side and took her hand. “It will only be for six weeks. You can compete after that.”

He wasn’t sure whether he was making a promise he couldn’t keep. If Sally was awarded custody and took Demi to Tennessee, would she let her continue to work with horses, stay in 4-H, and compete in rodeos?

Tears rolled down Demi’s cheeks and he felt her pain as if it were his own.

Chapter 19

Blake’s gut churned as he walked from the mailbox at the end of the driveway, back to the house, carrying an envelope. It had been nearly two weeks since the paternity test and Demi’s other blood tests, and there was no doubt in his mind what was in that envelope.

He didn’t want to open it, afraid of what the papers would say.

When he reached the house, he sat on the top porch step. He pulled out his pocketknife and slit the envelope open before closing the knife and sliding it back into his pocket.

Cat came out of the house and quietly sat beside him. Demi wasn’t home from school yet and Cat had come over to help him get together some records that the IRS auditor had requested.

He opened the paper, saw the results, and closed his eyes. It was there in black and white. Demi wasn’t his biological daughter. He hung his head as Cat took the papers from him.

In his heart, Demi was his. But this would make it easier for Sally to try and take his daughter away from him.

“I’m so sorry,” Cat whispered and put her head on his shoulder and held his arm, offering him comfort and he leaned into her.

He’d known this was coming. As sure as Sally had sounded and from her statement that she’d known she was pregnant before she met him. Also, the callous way she had chosen him to be the father of another man’s child was something he could easily believe.

But Blake had to thank God that Sally had picked him out to be Demi’s father or he would never have had her in his life. He was beyond angry that Sally could have the opportunity to take Demi away.

“Demi is mine,” Blake said, for a moment not realizing he’d said it out loud.

Cat nodded, her head sliding over his arm. “In every single way that’s important, she is your daughter.” She raised her head and handed him the papers.

He got to his feet as he saw the bus in the distance, coming down the road. He folded the paternity test results and put them into his back pocket.

Cat stood. “I’ll be in the house.”

It was the Friday before the last week of school and then summer vacation started. He walked to the end of the driveway and waited for the bus, like he had every day since Demi had fractured her leg.

When the bus pulled up, Blake went to the door and greeted the bus driver.

Demi stood and handed him her crutches. “Hi, Dad.”

He took the crutches along with her backpack. “Hi, honey.”

She used the railing to climb down the stairs. He helped her situate herself with the crutches and then they started down the driveway toward the house. She was moving around well with the crutches these days.

“You got the letter today, didn’t you,” Demi said, stating it as if she knew it was fact.

“You can read me pretty well.” Blake nodded. “Yeah, got it a little bit ago.”

She looked at the ground as they moved. “It’s not good news.” Again, a statement.

“Does it make you feel any different about me being your father?” he asked.

She met his gaze and frowned. “No.”

“That’s how I feel.” He put his hand on her shoulder. “You are my daughter. You will always be my daughter. Nothing has changed. Nothing. It’s only a piece of paper.”

She nodded as she reached out and gave him the tightest hug he had ever felt from her. “Agreed.”

He thought about how Sally had broken the news and anger rose up inside of him. The anger wouldn’t help. Even though Demi had found out in a really bad way, she’d become accustomed to the fact that there was a good chance he wasn’t her bio dad and had handled that fact well just now.

“Cat’s here,” Demi said as she gave a nod toward Cat’s truck. “Isn’t she usually at work this time of day?”

“We had some accounting to take care of.” Blake pushed his free hand through his hair. “I’ll be glad when this audit is finished.”

They reached the house and he helped Demi up the stairs and in through the front doorway and then headed into the kitchen.

“Hi, Cat.” Demi made her way to a chair at the kitchen table, hopped as her dad took her crutches, then sat.

“How’s your leg feeling today, Demi?” Cat brought a pitcher of lemonade out of the fridge.

Demi put her elbow on the table, her chin in her hand. “My leg is okay. I want to ride so badly. I guess I know how you felt when you couldn’t ride for three years.”

“Only four more weeks.” Cat reached into the cabinet for some glasses. “Want some lemonade, you two?”

“I’d love some,” Demi said.

“Sounds good.” Blake reached into the pantry. “So do Oreos.”

Demi and Cat agreed.

“Can Amy come over tonight?” Demi asked. “It’s not a school night.”

“Sure.” Blake nodded.

“Cool.” Demi pulled her phone out of her jeans pocket and called her friend. Usually Blake didn’t allow her to make calls at the table but he was a little more lax about that now that she couldn’t get around as easily.

After their afternoon snack, Demi braced her palms on the table and pushed herself to her feet. “I’m going to my room.” She hopped to her crutches that were up against the wall. “I want to surf the ’net before Amy gets here.”

Blake grabbed her backpack and carried it as he followed her down the hall. When they reached her room, she put her crutches nearby and sat at the writing desk where she kept her laptop most of the time.

He set her backpack beside the desk. “Will you and Amy be okay here while Cat and I go out? There’s leftover pizza in the fridge.”

“I’m getting around pretty good now and I’ll have Amy to help.” She nodded. “Where are you going?”

“To the Italian restaurant downtown,” he said. “I’ll bring home an order of ziti to heat up for tomorrow.”

Demi smiled. “Yum.”

He tugged on her braid. “See you later, kiddo.”

“Daaaaad,” she said.

“I know.” He grinned. “Don’t call you that.”

Chapter 20

“Why don’t we eat in tonight?” Cat tilted her head to meet Blake’s eyes as he opened the front door to her home. “We can pick up dinner and have it here.”

“Good idea.” He let them into her house and closed the door behind them.

The house was quiet save for the sound of Sam running in his wheel. Her home still smelled of spring flowers from the scented candle she’d burned last night.

She called in an order to the Italian restaurant downtown, including an extra order of ziti to put in the fridge for Blake to take to Demi when he headed home.

While he was picking up the order, Cat opened windows and let in the sweet-smelling evening spring air. It smelled of the neighbor’s fresh-cut grass and the roses beneath her windowsill. She turned on the stereo and soft music played as she lit several candles.

She looked at Sam’s habitat and saw sparkly things in his nest. The little monster had escaped again and stuffed his cheeks with goodies, and had returned before she got in. He looked at her disapprovingly as she opened the lid to the habitat and picked out an earring back and two sparkly black sequins that must have fallen off of an evening dress in her closet, along with a white pearl sweater button she’d been missing for some time now. She’d wondered if it would turn up.

After Blake returned, they ate at the kitchen table. She served the Italian takeout on china plates and he lit a slender candle at the center of the table. She’d brought out a bottle of Merlot and two crystal wine stems and they drank the entire bottle while eating ziti, garlic bread, and a tossed salad she had put together while he was gone. They had also ordered tiramisu to eat later.

Blake smiled as they talked, but there was something in his eyes that told of the sadness and concern in his heart. She felt his pain as if it were her own.

When they were finished eating and everything was cleaned up, she told him, “You need a massage.” She took him by the hand and led him to her bedroom where she turned on a small bedside lamp. “Strip so that I can take care of you.”

“You just want to get me naked,” he said with a grin.

“There’s that, too.” She smiled and watched as he tugged his T-shirt over his head, toed off his boots, and took off his jeans and boxer briefs.

He was such a magnificent specimen of a man, every muscle well defined, not to mention being extremely well endowed.

She pointed toward the bed and good-naturedly he laid facedown on the comforter, his head to the side as he watched her. His eyes glittered in the low lighting as she slid out of her own clothing so that she was naked, too, and climbed onto the bed then straddled him.

“I don’t know how long I can keep my hands off you,” he murmured.

“Shush.” She moved her hands to his upper arms. “You’ll do as I say.”

He gave a low laugh. “Yes, ma’am.”

Muscles in his shoulders were knotted when she felt them with her fingers. Slowly, she worked out the knots. He gave groans of pleasure as she massaged his neck and his scalp before moving down to his back.

The tension in his body started to ease as she gave him a deep massage. His face was still turned to the side, his eyes closed, as he clearly enjoyed the magic of her fingers. She made her way from his upper to his lower back and then on to the tight globes of his ass as she massaged his muscular glutes and thighs.

“Damn,” he murmured. “You’re even better at this now than you were then.”

She smiled. “I took a course in massage therapy several years ago. It’s nice to be able to put it to good use.”

“You can put it to use on me anytime, honey,” he said and then groaned as she moved down to his calves.

He’d been so tense everywhere, but as she knelt between his thighs and massaged his feet, she sensed the nearly complete relaxation he felt now.

She eased back up his body so that she was straddling his waist. She grasped his shoulders, lowered her head, and nuzzled the curve of his neck, drinking in his masculine scent.

“Why don’t I give you a massage now?” he murmured, sounding completely decompressed.

“This time is for you.” She kissed his ear. “Next time you can take care of me. Now roll over. I’m not finished.”

When she moved to the side, he rolled over and then she straddled him again. His cock was fiercely hard.

“I want you now,” he said, his jaw tense.

“Hold yourself back, big boy.” She massaged his temples and his face muscles, kissing him here and there as she moved her fingers. “Isn’t that better?” she asked him as she rose up to look down at him and he grunted.

She worked her way downward, kissing him, touching him. He tensed again, but in a whole different way.

As she eased down, she kissed his erection, flicking her tongue over the head and tasting the semen at the tip. She moved her mouth along its length and he groaned.

“You’ve always known how to drive me crazy.” He slipped his fingers into her long black hair, running them through the strands that slid over his abs in a silken wave.

“I do my best.” She lightly bit at the inside of his thigh as she cupped his balls in her hand. She nipped the opposite thigh before she moved up his body again and grasped his cock in her hand. With her eyes focused on his, she squeezed his balls and slid him into her mouth.

“Damn.” He let out a hiss of air as she tasted him, licked him, sucked him. “I don’t know if you could drive me much crazier.”

“I’m trying,” she said before she moved her head down again, taking him deep before rising back up again, her hand moving with the motion of her mouth. She wanted to close her eyes and fall into the sensation of taking him in, but she knew he liked it when she watched him.

His body seemed to go rigid and then he was grasping her by her upper arms and drawing her up so that she was straddling his hips, his erection against her folds. She looked down to see him pressed against her.