Alex closed both car doors and bounded up the steps behind her. She stopped and turned so suddenly, he ran into her. Why did he have to smell so good, feel so solid?
“Is there a reason you’re here, Alex?”
“Yeah.” He hesitated for a moment. “I wanted to talk to you about the wedding.”
“There isn’t going to be a wedding.”
“Yes there is.”
“You don’t know anything about me or the life I have here.”
A spark ignited in Alex’s eyes. Lacey couldn’t tell if it was lust or anger, but she feared it was both. She’d never seen that expression on his face before, but something told her to run. Before she could open the screen door, he grabbed her shoulders and pulled her against his chest.
“I know you, Lacey. And I know when those little wheels are turning in your head. You aren’t going to run me off, and I’m not going to let you weasel your way out of this again. I’m not a kid and I don’t have stars in my eyes anymore. You are going to belong to me if you want this farm to belong to you.”
Belong to him? Lacey was barely able to gasp before his mouth crashed down on hers. In seconds, the hard punishing kiss turned passionate. She hadn’t been kissed like this in…ever. She suddenly realized she was giving him his way. She should be angry, fighting, not melting like butter against his hard muscled chest. She tore her mouth away.
“What gives you the right to kiss me like that?” she demanded.
The spark in his eyes had grown into a raging fire. “You owe me a lot more than a few kisses and it’s about time I started collecting. You’d better get used to the idea.”
Lacey pushed her hands against his chest, but he didn’t budge. “You’d actually force yourself on me? What kind of man have you become?”
“When the time comes, I won’t have to force you. We both know it,” he growled. “I’m not the only one who’s grown up now.”
When he kissed her again, Lacey wasn’t sure if she was struggling to get away or get closer to him. She was consumed by heat inside and out. Neither of them heard the bottom step creak.
****
“You’d better let my mom go right now, mister, or I’ll pound a hole in your head.”
Alex spun around to find a gangly young boy three feet from his back. First, he saw the stubborn scowl under a mass of curly, sun streaked, dark auburn hair. Then he noticed the hammer the boy was bouncing in his right hand. Damn, this kid was serious.
Alex said the first thing that came to mind. “Who the hell are you?”
Lacey cleared her throat. “Alex, this is my son, Jerrod.”
Still not releasing her, Alex swung his head back to look down at Lacey. “You have a kid?”
“Well, actually…” Before she could answer, another voice came from the side of the house.
“You want me to shoot him, Jerrod?”
To his left, there stood a skinny young girl wearing a cowboy hat and glaring at him from over the barrel of a shotgun. Indian Lakes had changed. It had its own little gang right here on Lacey’s farm.
“You’d better not,” Jerrod replied. “You’d get us all in your spray. You should have brought the twenty-two. Then I would’ve gladly let you plug him.”
Lacey finally succeeded in wiggling out of Alex’s grasp. “Jenna, you put that shotgun away. Mr. Benson is my guest and you’re scaring him. I want you both to go inside and wash up for lunch.”
Alex was awestruck. “You have two kids…and they carry weapons.”
“Well, not usually,” Lacey sighed. “You know how dangerous it can be, out in the country, snakes and gators and such.”
“I do now!”
Alex followed Lacey through the house to the kitchen. He quietly sat at the end of an oblong wooden table while she put together peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She was a mom. He just couldn’t get his mind wrapped around the fact. She still looked as sweet and sexy as she had thirteen years ago. She sure as hell didn’t look like someone’s mother.
Lacey removed apples and carrots from the refrigerator and began washing them. No chips or cookies, just fruit and vegetables, proof positive, she was a mom. How could this have happened?
She’d been with another man. The thought hit Alex like a bolt of lightning. She’d said that she’d never married, but she’d given herself to another man and had his children. Alex didn’t know much about kids, but the girl, Jenna, had to be nearing puberty. She was slightly shapely in an awkward way. The boy, Jerrod, was shorter, but not by much. That would mean Lacey had been involved with someone during the year he’d been stuck in the hospital. Her coldhearted betrayal was even worse than he thought. She’d thrown him over for another man.
He tried to remember all the guys he and Travis had gone to school with, and all the others in the class in between. Did any of them resemble Lacey’s kids? Hell, he could barely remember his own name, let alone his old high school buddies. Besides that, the kids looked an awful lot like her.
Was the guy still in the picture? Did Lacey still have feelings for him? Of course she did. She wasn’t the kind of girl who’d have kids with just anybody. He and Lacey had never even discussed having a family. She sure hadn’t wasted any time after he’d left, though.
He was positive Lacey had said she’d never been married.
Alex had been aware of the way people treated Lacey years ago. He remembered what Miss Dell had said to her on the day her parents were buried, and how badly it hurt her. Her grandfather was harder on her than anyone, but he was all that kept some of the old biddies from tearing her apart. She hadn’t been the bows and ruffles type they thought she should be. How had those small-minded women taken the news that she’d had a child out of wedlock, not once but twice?
His mind circled back to the thought of Lacey with another man. His blood boiled with jealousy. Did he have a right to be jealous? Hell yes! She’d promised herself to him.
Looking at her now, Alex knew he still wanted her. He wanted all she’d promised him. He wanted her heart and soul, if only for a little while. But he’d be damned before he’d admit it. Would two kids keep him from achieving his end game? He didn’t know. Kids hadn’t been part of the plan.
This was going to take a considerable amount of thought.
Chapter Five
Lacey was running on nervous energy. She kept her eyes on her task to avoid looking at Alex. He must have a hundred questions about the kids. Or more to the point, how she’d come to have them. He’d made it crystal clear in the car that he didn’t care for children. Had he felt that way when they planned to be married? It was one subject out of many that they hadn’t discussed, but should have. They’d barely been more than children themselves.
She filled two bowls with whole raw carrots and apples. Next, she wrapped the sandwiches in paper napkins to place on top. “Have you eaten? If you don’t like peanut butter, I have bologna in the fridge.”
“I haven’t had a PB&J sandwich since I left Indian Lakes.” Truthfully, he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch the day before. His stomach was suddenly reminding him. “You can hold the carrots though. Do your kids actually eat that stuff? They must be half rabbit.”
A smile tugged at Lacey’s lips. “They eat lunch in the barn on the weekends. They give the horses some of the carrots and apples.
I’ve always suspected they were half animal. Exactly what kind is yet to be determined. Depending on their moods, they can be anything from cuddly bunnies to Tasmanian devils.”
When Lacey placed two sandwiches in front of him, Alex grabbed her wrist. “Don’t you think it would have been nice to mention that you had a couple of kids?”
Lacey felt like a deer in the crosshairs. With the touch of one hand he could make her heart pound and her mouth water for his. This had to stop. But before she could say anything, they were interrupted again. “What’s going on?” Instead of wielding a hammer, Jerrod’s hands were fisted at his sides. Jenna stood behind him with a confused look.
“Well, look whose back, Annie Oakley and Hammerman.” Alex turned Lacey loose and raised his hands. “Don’t shoot, we’re just talking.”
The tension between the two males was palpable.
“Mr. Benson is the new owner of the property,” Lacey said. “I’m hoping we can reach an agreement that would allow us to stay here.”
“Hell of a way to do business, mister.” Jerrod growled.
“Watch your mouth, young man.” Lacey filled the kid’s hands with their lunches, and then led them to the back door by their collars. “Mr. Benson happens to be an old friend of mine. Go on out to the barn and I’ll be there shortly to give you your afternoon chores.”
“Maybe I ought to stay inside and keep an eye on your
friend
,” Jerrod suggested.
Lacey held the door open. “We’ve got grown-up things to discuss and we don’t need you underfoot.”
Jerrod stared Alex down. “I think he has a lot more than business on his mind, Mom.”
“I’m a grown woman, Jerrod. I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah I know,” Jerrod replied stubbornly, “but he already got you to kiss him like there was no tomorrow.”
“Get out right now, son, before I tan your behind.”
The twins stopped in the doorway. Jenna nudged Jerrod’s shoulder with her own. He held his hand out, palm up. She shook her head. He tilted his chin up defiantly. She turned her face away and walked out the door.
When the back screen door slammed behind them, Lacey gave Alex a weak smile. She could feel the heat in her cheeks. Damn her redhead complexion. “I guess this is going to be a Tasmanian devil day.”
“What the hell was that?” Alex asked.
“What?” Lacey went back to finish their sandwiches.
“That little dance the two of them did before they left.”
“Oh.” Shrugging, Lacey said, “They have a kind of sign language. They’ve done that since they were toddlers.”
“What did they say?”
“I don’t know.”
Alex rolled his eyes and shook his head.
To gain a little privacy, she and Alex decided to have their lunch on the end of the dock.
Lacey studied Alex as they quietly ate their sandwiches. He looked comfortable in casual clothes. More like his old self. His feet dangled over the side in low socks and sneakers. Knee length khaki shorts revealed strong legs, lightly covered in silky dark hair. A long sleeved, striped shirt hung open over his black T-shirt. She hadn’t been kissed by a man in long time. He’d awaked feelings that had faded and been forgotten, feelings that had kept her awake most of the night.
He nudged her john-boat with his toe. “I’m surprised this old thing can still float.”
“We took it out this morning and caught a mess of catfish for supper.” Lacey was relieved to have a neutral subject to discuss.
“Any chance you’d have enough for a guest?”
Alex’s shy smile was still as hard to resist as it had ever been. “As it happens, I do.” Why had she said that? “I’m also making hushpuppies, coleslaw and green beans, fresh from the garden. I do have to warn you though, everybody works for their supper around here.”
“Just tell me what to do,” Alex offered excitedly. “I’m your slave for fresh catfish.”
Lacey laughed. This just might be a good time to show him how her business ran. There were no days off when you relied on a farm for your living. If he was going to spend time here, he should be involved. Maybe some physical labor would change his mind about coming around.
“Okay. After lunch I’ll have Jerrod get started on the front porch and you can help Jenna in the barn. If you do a good job, I might let you decide what we’ll have for dessert tonight.” Maybe an afternoon of horse manure would run him off.
“That shouldn’t be too hard.” Alex leaded back on his elbows. “As I recall, you only have three horses.”
“I only own three horses. That doesn’t include the four I board for people in town.”
Suddenly Alex looked serious. “How do you do it, Lacey? How do you make enough money to keep this place up and raise two children?”
“Every season I sell the older cattle and pigs for slaughter. There are always enough babies to take their place, and a few for our own use. I sell eggs from the hens and honey from the bees. The bees pollinate my garden and I sell vegetables from that. I board a few horses and give riding lessons. Everything here has a purpose. It isn’t an easy life, but it’s what we’re used to, and it suits us.” She purposely used the words we and us. He had to understand that she was part of a package deal. That would surely dissuade him.
“How did you get into all this? I know it wasn’t your grandfather’s idea.” Alex wore an expression of awe.
“Do you remember old Mrs. Plumber who had a little farm out on County Line Road?”
“I sure do,” Alex laughed. “She caught Travis and me stealing oranges from her grove when I was ten. She made us weed her garden until it got too dark to see. We got in trouble for coming in late that night, but at least our dad didn’t know we’d stolen the oranges.”
“She was tough, all right,” Lacey admitted before continuing her story. “She hired me to keep house for her when the kids were toddlers. It was the only job I could find that would allow me to take them along. I’d learned farming from my parents, but she taught me the business end of it. I was saving the money to rent a place of my own. The kids had started school when she was placed in a nursing home. Her farm was sold to pay her bills, but she gave me all of her livestock, supplies, and equipment to start my own farm. The poor woman didn’t have any family of her own.”
“What about Jenna and Jerrod’s father?” Alex asked.
Lacey’s heart leapt into her throat. She was glad Alex was looking out at the water and not at her. “What do you mean?”
“Does he help you out, financially I mean?” Alex turned, examining her expression. “Does he come around much?”
“No.” Lacey could barely answer past the lump in her throat. “He took off a long time ago. I do just fine on my own.”
She stood and brushed the dust off the seat of her shorts. Gathering the disposable plates and cups from their lunch gave her an excuse not to look him in the eye. “You can help Jenna with the stalls while I work with Jerrod on the front porch. It’s hot, dirty work. You may want to take off that extra shirt.”