Well then, why hadn’t she come clean about everything? She wasn’t innocent in all this.
She’d left the dish towel too close to the stove and a flame burst from its border. Lacey tossed it into the sink and turned on the faucet.
Why should she come clean so soon? He’d hardly seemed interested for the last thirteen years.
Maybe he would have been, if he’d known everything. She checked the table settings and found two spoons that needed water spots rubbed away.
It had been his choice to leave.
But he said he’d written letters. She lifted the tea pitcher out of the refrigerator and set it on the sideboard.
How many letters can get lost in the mail before you rule out coincidence? Granddad had checked their box at the post office every day.
The greens were turned into a serving bowl for the table. If this was just a game to him, why put so much effort into bonding with the kids. Shouldn’t he be trying to win her over first? Don’t forget, you’re expecting him to accept you all as a package deal. Surely he understands that. And what better way is there to a mother’s heart?
A shrill squeal pierced her thoughts, followed by the slamming of the front screen door.
Alex approached the house with a messenger bag over his right shoulder and Jenna tucked under his left arm. He was wearing a white dress shirt with the collar open and the cuffs rolled up. His slacks were sharply creased and his shoes were shined. By the way Jenna’s smile beamed up at him, he could have been wearing a suit of armor and riding a trusty white steed. This was one of the many reasons Lacey didn’t date. Her daughter craved the male attention she’d never received from a father. She longed to be a Daddy’s girl.
Jerrod whipped past her to relieve Alex of his bag. Alex mussed her son’s hair and Jerrod swatted his hand away with a good-natured laugh. He actually seemed pleased to see Alex. This was getting worse than she’d anticipated. If Jerrod went over to the enemy camp, who would be on her side?
“Are you spending the weekend, Alex?” Jenna cooed.
“No, honey, I can’t,” Alex replied. “I still have a lot of unpacking to do. Besides that, I wouldn’t want your brother to lose sleep running down the stairs every fifteen minutes to check on me, the way he did last weekend.”
Jerrod’s face turned red before Alex continued. “I live a lot closer now. It wouldn’t be right to impose. I’m just here for a good home cooked meal. In return, I’m planning to take your mom out tomorrow night…with you and Jerrod’s permission of course.”
Jerrod nodded. “She could use a break. I’ll call Granddad and see if we can stay with him. He always makes pan fried steak on Saturday night.”
“It takes a damned good man to arrange his own babysitter.”
“Hey!” Jerrod objected.
“You’re taking Mom on a real date?” Jenna interrupted. “She never goes out. This is so exciting. I know just what she should wear.”
“Surprise me.” Alex laughed.
“Excuse me,” Lacey broke in. “Don’t I get a say in this?”
“Obviously not, Sweetheart.” Alex gave her a peck on the cheek and walked past her, into the house.
Lacey cursed every annoying little butterfly in her stomach.
****
Alex listened to the chatter at the table and realized that it was all coming from each side of him. Across the table, Lacey picked at her food in quiet contemplation. What was going on in her pretty little head? Something seemed different about her lately. She seemed a little off focus and looked flushed. Maybe it was just a woman thing. He wasn’t used to spending much time with women. It didn’t matter though. She was still the sexiest woman he’d ever come across. It would be nice to get her alone for a little while.
“You kids can clean the kitchen tonight,” she said, after they’d all finished eating. “Alex and I will take care of the animals while we talk about a few things.”
Bingo! She’d read his mind.
“But Mom,” Jenna whined, “we’ve hardly seen Alex for days.”
“Don’t worry, Sugar,” Alex chucked her under the chin, “I won’t leave without saying goodnight. Be a good girl and I might bring a surprise for you next time.”
Jenna giggled, Lacey growled, and Jerrod rolled his eyes. Alex knew he was a fool for the young girl, but he couldn’t help himself. She’d inherited her mother’s charm and beauty. Besides that, her adoration for him was a little intoxicating.
Alex took long strides to keep up with Lacey’s hurried walk to the barn. Her purposeful steps caused her bottom to bounce perfectly in little red shorts. It took a major amount of willpower not to reach out and cover the back of those shorts with his hands. He knew she was annoyed about something and he’d most likely have to pick himself up off the ground. This would take a little finesse.
The sun had gone down, only leaving a pink glow on the lower half of the horizon. Within the next half hour it would be dark. The barn would be even darker.
He thought about the soft, loose hay covering the floor of the empty stall at the back of the barn. He’d let her say her piece, and then, maybe they could find a use for that stall. Make up sex, reunion sex, Lacey naked, clinging and panting under him. The pictures in his mind were enough to make a man drop to his knees and beg.
She gave each horse a portion of oats from an old plastic pail. She stretched and turned and dipped her body in the graceful movements of a ballerina. With that chore done, she picked up a rake and began smoothing the hay in each stall. “Do you want to grab a bucket and start ladling out water, or are you going to just stand there and watch?”
“I don’t know,” Alex answered. “The view is pretty good from here.”
No snappy reply came back at him, only tight-lipped silence. Alex found a bucket and began filling it from a hose by the door.
“What’s the problem, Lacey? You might as well spit it out.”
She swung the rake up and slammed the end of the handle onto the ground. A small clump of hay fell from the tines onto her hair. Alex bit back a smile. She shook her head to toss most of the hay off. When the front of her tank top shook as well, his nerves began to vibrate. A small piece of hay lodged in her cleavage to tease him. His mouth went as dry as pocket lint.
“You want to talk to me?” Sarcasm dripped from each word. “After five days without calling, you decide it’s time to talk?”
“So, that’s the problem?” Alex couldn’t believe she was being such a girl. “I was busy moving my whole life and I didn’t call, so sue me.”
“And that’s another thing,” Lacey moved closer. “You say you’re going to marry me, but you don’t even tell me that you’re moving. I had to find out from a message on your phone.”
“I guess that was wrong. I’m sorry.”
“Yes, you are sorry.” Angry tears filled her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall. “You’re here one day and gone the next. It must be a habit of yours. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again. I can’t count on you, Alex. The next time you decide to move on, it’ll break my kid’s hearts. I can’t let that happen.”
“Exactly what are you saying, Lacey?”
She straightened her shoulders and stuck out her chin. “I’m saying it may not be a good idea to let you get so close. I’d rather you didn’t let them hang out at your house.”
“For heaven’s sake, are you going to think I’ve left you every time I walk out the door?” Alex pulled his fingers through his hair. “I was just trying to get to know the kids before I end up living with them, which I will at least part-time, after we’re married.”
“I wouldn’t marry you if you were the last man on earth. I’d rather live in my truck. I’ll probably end up there anyway, now that you bought the only house in town I could afford to rent.”
“Don’t you dare cry poor to me, Lacey.” The bucket beside Alex’s foot overflowed onto his shiny dress shoe. He kicked it over and cursed. As he turned the hose off he continued, “I’ve seen your books. You bring in a ton of money selling livestock, vegetables, honey, and eggs. You stable horses and give riding lessons. You spend next to nothing after feed and maintenance costs. You’ve got enough money in the bank to put a twenty percent down payment on this place. Now you tell me, who’s being deceitful?”
“That money is going to send my kids to college. I’m not touching a red cent of it! Do you think I want them to work like dogs for the rest of their lives, like me?”
“You call that a college fund?” Alex shouted back. “How many kids do you plan to have?”
“They’re all I’ll ever have.” Lacey’s voice was thick with emotion. “That’s why I have to do this right.”
Alex took a step toward her, but she stepped back and hugged her arms around herself.
“What do you mean by that?” he said in a softer tone. “I don’t understand. Make me understand what you just said.”
“Why should you care?” she answered in a tiny voice.
“I care a hell of a lot. I care about everything to do with you and I don’t like the way you said that. Just tell me what you meant, dammit.”
Lacey stiffened her backbone and glared at him. “I’m sorry, Alex, but if we get married, I won’t be popping out any little Benson babies. No need to worry about buying an SUV with a big sloppy dog in the window. There wouldn’t be any soccer or ballet practices in your future.” She turned her back to him. “Maybe you should find someone more suitable.”
A lump formed in Alex’s throat. He’d never thought he wanted children, but Jenna, and even Jerrod, was starting to get under his skin. Suddenly he felt as though something very precious had been lost. He laid his hands on her shoulders. “What happened?”
Lacey took a deep breath and sighed. “Let’s just say the twins’ births weren’t under ideal circumstances and leave it at that.” She turned toward him looking weary and sad. “I’m tired. I need some alone time.”
“I understand,” Alex pulled her into a hug, as much for his own comfort as hers. He breathed in her sweet scent. She smelled like home. “I’ll be back tomorrow, though. I’m not giving up.”
“I don’t know what you want from me,” Lacey whispered.
“I want you to marry me, for no other reason than you want to. I want to get back what we lost all those years ago.”
“I need more from you than that, Alex.”
“What do you need?” Alex bent his knees to look her in the eye. “Just tell me and it’s yours.”
“I don’t know. I just need…more.”
Suddenly a loud clanging sounded from the direction of the house. Alex jumped back. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s the emergency bell.” Lacey jogged toward the door. “Someone’s in trouble.”
Chapter Fifteen
Alex’s heart thundered as he raced through the back door behind Lacey. The only light in the house was in the living room. As they reached the doorway, they could see Jenna and Jerrod sitting quietly on the sofa, side by side. They looked thunderstruck, but why? There didn’t seem to be a fire, no flood, no blood.
“What’s going on in here?” Alex’s voice boomed louder than he’d intended.
“So, what the boy told me is true.”
Lacey visibly jumped at the sound of her grandfather’s voice coming from a chair turned away from them.
Clarence Carlyle stood and slowly faced them. “You two are at it again. At least you had enough sense to take him to the barn with the other animals. Your children don’t need to witness your shameless behavior,” he sneered.
“That’s enough, Mr. Carlyle,” Alex snapped.
“Didn’t you get the message all those years ago, young man? You’re not needed around here. You’ll bring nothing but heartache to my family, just like you did before.”
“What are you talking about, Granddad?” Lacey asked. “What message?”
Alex never looked away from the old man. He knew without having to ask.
“I’m cleaning the trash out of my house.” Clarence reached for a large old shoebox on the side table. “I brought you your part of it, boy. Now take it and go. Don’t ever come back here.”
He removed the lid and emptied the box on the floor. A pile of envelopes grew around Alex’s feet. They were all unopened and yellowed with age. Alex recognized them, though. They had the U.S. Navy logo on the top corner and Carlyle’s address was written in his own handwriting.
Lacey dropped to her knees and gathered handfuls of the letters. She looked as though she were in a trance. She was barely breathing. Suddenly, she let out a frustrated scream. Jenna whimpered and called for her in a tiny voice, but Lacey’s eyes had narrowed onto her grandfather. An expression of sheer hatred soured her pretty face.
“Why did you do this?” she shrieked. “I needed these and you took them. You’re an evil, horrible man.”
“Don’t you talk to me that way,” Clarence bellowed. “My son’s life was ruined because of you, and still I took you in.”
“How can you say that?” Lacey sobbed as she clutched an armful of the letters to her chest.
“He was my only son, my only child. He was all I had. He would have followed in my footsteps. But then your mother came along and turned his head. She got pregnant for you and I lost him. He could have been somebody, but instead he chose to make a living digging in the dirt, just like you’re doing. When he was gone, I got saddled with you, a moody, ungrateful little snot. It didn’t take you long to turn into a trollop, just like your mother.”
Alex’s hands opened and closed repeatedly at his sides. He wanted to make a fist to drive through Clarence’s face. But the old man was too fragile and the kids didn’t need to witness such violence.
Jerrod jumped to his feet. Tears ran unashamedly down his cheeks. “I won’t have you talking to my mom that way, Granddad. You’d better leave. You’re the one who’s not welcome here.”
“You won’t talk to me that way, boy,” Clarence growled. “I’ll take my belt off to you.”
“You touch either one of these kids and I’ll rip your heart out and feed it to you.” Alex’s voice came out like a clap of thunder. “You’ve done all the damage you’re going to, old man. Now, get the hell off of my property.”
Minutes later, Alex stood on the front porch, feet spread and arms folded. He watched Mr. Carlyle’s car turn onto the road and disappear. Beside him, Jerrod stood in a matching pose. Even Buck looked satisfied as he sat at the foot of the steps looking out.