The Creek Series: Complete Set: Parts I, II, & III Read online

  Once I was settled on the four-wheeler, he climbed on in front of me and drove us down to the special place.

  There, he carried me to the bench. We sat for a couple of hours at least. At first, we were quiet, and he listened to the stream and the sounds of nature with me. Then, we began to talk about our relationship, the aspects of where we struggled to connect, and where our pairing worked.

  My strength was in my soulful pride, and my weakness was in trust. I didn’t trust that forever was for me or that the person I loved would be there in the end. When, in reality, we had nothing but today, and it had to be lived or it died. There was no in between.

  For Dane, his strength was loyalty, but he agreed his weakness was in not embracing me as an equal in our relationship. Because he needed control, it required a power exchange between us, which was definitely something I would need to work on.

  As we sat at Forgiveness Creek, he finally got it, and to my surprise, so did I. We talked about my father and what it meant for me to finally say I’d forgiven him. I realized my father was only trying to teach me a lesson. While his intentions were lost, he taught me so much more. The strength I bore was because of him. If it were not for that event, I would not have possessed the power to move beyond the death of Stephan or managed to survive past my mom’s untimely death. For certain, I would not have had the courage to pull the trigger and shoot my attackers, which had saved my life and that of our unborn son.

  “I’m ready to go home now.”

  “Okay, I’ll drive you back up to the house.” He scooped me in his arms and positioned me on the four-wheeler. Then he walked onto the bridge that crossed the creek. His back was turned to me, and I couldn’t see what he was doing, but I watched intently for some sort of sign. After a few moments, he turned to me with a smile and walked back to the four-wheeler.

  “Everything okay?”

  He kissed me softly. “Perfect.”

  I sat in the house while Justin and Dane worked on my surprise. I used the crutches to get around and gathered up a few personal items that I wanted to take back to Denton and that included the quilt Mom had made for me. During the last two weeks, I had finished the quilt with the fabric we had bought the day of her passing. I knew she would be smiling down from heaven, knowing I’d actually paid attention to some of her sewing lessons. The red silk fabric made all the colors of the quilt bright and rich. It was my last bit of her—to me.

  Dane came in the house with Justin on his heels. Both guys were grinning like there was way too much candy or something on board.

  “What have you two been up to?”

  “You’ll see. Are you ready to go?” Dane asked.

  “Yep. Just that pile in the chair needs to be loaded. Everything else will be sorted when my boot comes off, and I can drive again.”

  “I got the stuff, if you’ve got her,” Justin said.

  When Dane carried me outside, I saw my car loaded on the trailer and behind it was the bench from the creek. Emotions rattled my cage. I didn’t know whether to kiss him, hug him, or rip him to shreds for making me a head case.

  “You’re nuts, you know that?” I teased. “I can’t drive for weeks, and I don’t know where I’ll store that bench.”

  “I’m very sane, I assure you, and your car will be ready for when the doc says you can drive. The bench, well, I think I have the perfect spot to replicate your creek.”

  “I love you.” I pulled his face to mine and kissed him hard.

  Our trip was slow and seemed to be taking forever. I had plans for my man as soon as we were alone at home, and if it took temptation, then so be it.

  Dane was afraid to get over fifty miles-per-hour especially on the curvy Arkansas roads, afraid he would lose the bench. I saw the way they had harnessed it to the trailer, and that wasn’t possible, but I couldn’t get him to speed up, so I got creative.

  With my hand on his leg, I inched my fingers closer to his…um…crotch and stroked him. “The sooner you get us home, the faster we can get naked for some mind-blowing sex.”

  He smiled, and I suddenly saw the speedometer pinging around seventy-five. Good boy.

  “Asher is getting his wish,” I commented.

  “Which one?”

  I raised my brows. “He has more than one?”

  “You obviously don’t know your husband very well,” Dane teased me. It wasn’t even weird to hear him say something like that because that day had been both very special and a reflection of how much Asher was quite the comedian.

  “I was talking to him about the baby, and he was thrilled at having a great-grandson who he could name Asher Dane Lawrence.”

  “No, we are not doing that. Grandfather can wish all he wants to, but that is not going to happen.”

  “Why?”

  “Have you ever heard of AD Ointment?”

  “Yes. What’s that got to do with it?”

  “That’s what I got called all through school—Ointment.”

  “I don’t know, I think ointment is better than—Bird.”

  We both laughed out loud. Then the baby got in on the action, and I’d forgotten that Dane hadn’t felt him kick before. I took his hand and moved it from my lap up to the left side of my belly, spreading his fingers out. Our little boy was kicking and playing and just, well—happy.

  Dane and one of the ranch hands unloaded my things from the trailer and all our things from the back of the Tahoe before the ranch hand left to return the car to the rental company.

  Dane pulled my car into the spot he’d created in the garage, while I stood on the sidewalk propped on crutches.

  He walked out to me and put his hands on either side of my face. His gaze moved around me, going from my lips to my eyes, and I followed it as he looked me up and down. He slowly lowered his head to mine, and the heat of his breath singed me in a delicate burn before his lips ever made contact with mine. As they lingered there, I opened my mouth, allowing his tongue to dance with mine.

  “Welcome to my home. What’s mine is yours. Please promise you’ll never leave me again?”

  “I promise.”

  Dane carried me inside, assisting me until I got comfortable on the sofa with a huge remote that I had no clue how to work. He sat down beside me.

  “We need to talk about something.” I gripped his hand.

  He jerked toward me with his eyebrows raised and a stark look in his eyes. Something I’d said had worried him. “What?”

  “You can’t keep carrying me everywhere. Please let me use the crutches.”

  “That’s what you want to talk to me about?” He blew out a long sigh. “I’m afraid you’ll lose your balance and fall and hurt yourself and the baby.”

  “Then I’ll order a knee walker to be delivered tomorrow. But you can’t carry me everywhere. For my own mental stability, I have to feel independent.”

  “You finally say it—what’s really bothering you. Independence. Why can’t you let someone take care of you?”

  “It’s who I am. You wouldn’t want me any other way. Now, about that treat I promised you…”

  “Has to wait. Grandfather is on his way to see you.”

  It was my turn to sigh. I wanted to see Asher and thrilled at the idea, but I needed relief, more than that, I craved the connection with Dane. We hadn’t been intimate in so long.

  My thoughts drifted back to the last time we were together. It had been here in his home on the night of my graduation. He’d told me how much he loved me, and when his body had connected with mine, the sizzle of chemistry was undeniable for both of us.

  The audible bell of the gate distanced me from my saucy thoughts. “Is that Asher?” I asked as Dane walked to the monitor.

  “No, it’s the FBI.” He looked at me, glanced out the den windows towards the back of the ranch, and back to me. “Stay here.”

  I wanted to argue, but it would’ve done me no good. I was grateful when he opened the front door and invited them into the den with me. Agent Kirby I recogni
zed, but the other guy was new. They took seats in the recliners opposite the sofa. Dane took his spot next to me and held my hand.

  “I hate to disturb you both, but something’s come up that I need to make you aware of.” Agent Kirby paused and rubbed his chin. “Does the name Victor Crenshaw ring a bell with either of you?”

  Dane sat up quickly on the edge of the sofa. “That’s my father.”

  “We ID’d the man Stella shot on the porch as Victor Crenshaw. Seems they’d been working together for quite some time.”

  “I don’t see how that’s possible. He hooked up with Stella?”

  “We don’t know the ins and outs of it all yet, but we do know they shared an address in Lewisville. They had quite the beef with you and your grandfather. We found massive amounts of documentation on you and Mr. Lawrence, as well as Wrenn.”

  “Stella and I were together for a while. She knew I’d searched for my father’s whereabouts for a long time. She had access to and even relayed communication from the private investigator. It’s possible she hid information from me.”

  “Obviously, if she hooked up with him.” Agent Kirby leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees.

  “Can I see her? I want to talk to her.”

  “I can arrange that. I don’t know if you’ll get anywhere. The gunshot wound shattered her collarbone, and she just got out of the hospital. She’s being held in Little Rock without bond.”

  Dane stared at the floor. His demeanor appeared as if he’d been ambushed. He was shaking, visibly upset. Not only did Stella rob him of the opportunity to meet his father, she’d killed him.

  I rubbed my hand up and down his back. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t know. She never called him by name.”

  “Did you see it?” His voice cracked.

  “No, I heard it, of course. She talked down to him and called him names right before.” I turned my attention to Agent Kirby. “Who was the fourth man that Justin hit with the truck?”

  “That was Jocoby Kawoski. He was actually wanted for a string of crimes and has been fingered as a hired hitman. We don’t know how they all managed to pair up, but we’re working that out and will be back with more information soon.”

  The buzzer from the gate sounded. Dane went to the monitor and reported it was his Grandfather. The agents waited until Asher came in and rehashed the information.

  Later that evening, Dane was outside grilling dinner, while Asher and I shared lemonade in the kitchen. I watched as he glanced at my baby bump on occasion.

  “So how’s my great-grandson doing?”

  “Did Dane tell you it was a boy?”

  “No, I didn’t,” Dane answered as he walked in with a plate of grilled salmon.

  I laughed. “Well, that cat is out. We’re having a boy.”

  “I knew it all along.” Asher teased.

  “Not like you didn’t have a fifty-fifty chance of being right,” Dane offered.

  “He’s just jealous because he kept saying it was a girl,” Asher said.

  We laughed and talked about the new stud who’d just been born the previous week, and the conversation stayed light. Asher and Dane both laughed and teased over baby names, and of course, they didn’t agree on calling him “Ointment”, but they kept the conversation completely away from Arkansas or anything that had to do with Stella.

  When Asher departed, I expected him and Dane to have a private conversation away from me, but that didn’t happen. Not even silent looks were shared between them, and I appreciated that.

  “Now, about that earlier promise…” Dane wiggled his brows.

  Chapter 36

  This was one time I appreciated being carried. As Dane held me in his arms and kissed my lips, I knew he was taking me to his bed. Once again, it was a new beginning for us. Perhaps back to the starting point where we had been weeks ago.

  He sat me down on the edge of the bed and unfastened the many straps that held the air-cast in place. That heavy, blue covering was a ton of extra weight, and the freedom without it was amazing. I knew from that moment on I would be empathetic to orthopedic patients. My foot was wrapped with a pink gauze bandage, but the swelling and discoloration were now visible to Dane.

  “I’m so sorry, baby.”

  “Don’t look at it that way. It was my choice to jump. It meant freedom from more than Stella. You understand that now, right?”

  He ran his fingers across my toes. Then his gaze crawled up my body. “Yes, but you never told me about the gun. Where you got it and why you thought you needed it.”

  “It was gut instinct. I called it the law of the jungle.” I let out a deep sigh. “Something deep within me told me to be prepared. Our ranch is isolated, and I thought I needed it. The guy at the gun department was a jerk, and I probably should pay him a visit.”

  “What made you think of a thigh holster and cutting the pocket out of your skirt?”

  “I have no idea. Perhaps a memory of a movie I watched or something. The agents asked me the same thing when they took the gun for evidence and said I probably wouldn’t see it again for a long time. I’m okay with that because I have you.”

  “Yes, you do.” He lifted my tank top over my head, exposing my enlarging breast. I leaned back as he peeled my skirt away. I expected him to go straight for the goodies, but he surprised me by the dozens of kisses he placed on my enlarging belly. They were cute and quick at first, but became slow and sultry. I don’t even recall the point where I became totally naked because I was so wrapped in love for him.

  As we made love, with soft caresses, gentle strokes of my body and his, I became complete in every way. Our love lingered, my walls shattered, and I had no more regrets or hang-ups of my past life. I was his, he was mine, and together we would find a way to be three.

  His lips on mine, the gentle friction of him inside me, the connection of our hands together—beautiful. He took me to the cliff and left me hanging, drawing out my pleasure. Each move slow and deliberate.

  When I finally climaxed, it was more than sexual, the sensuality of completeness was ripe with the essence of fulfillment, satisfying to all of my needs.

  Lying beside him, with his right arm around me and the other behind his head, I trailed my finger in circles on his chest. Our breathing had returned to normal, our thoughts—our own. I craved to know what was going on inside his mind.

  “Tell me your dreams.” I kissed his chest then looked into his eyes. The blue orbs danced with the light from the lamp. His days-old scruff covered his jaw and chin, which I didn’t mind.

  “I would like to sell this place and start over with something brand new to us both. I dream about our son leading our daughter down the path to the fishing hole and you basking in the sunlight with our third child on the way.”

  “Three kids, huh? I think we have to get through this one first.”

  He grinned. “You have always been beautiful with your dark hair and eyes and naturally silky skin, but pregnant, you are glowing in a way I cannot describe. And the way your body responds to me is beyond exhilarating. I cannot get enough of you, so unless you say no more, I imagine we will have several babies. I’ve never felt more complete in my life.”

  “I want to be prepared. When do you leave me again for China?”

  “As soon as you get your boot off and the doctor clears you to travel. I want to take you with me. I won’t go until then, and it will be the last time. We’re accepting an offer to be bought. The ranch with you and our children will become my only life.”

  “I can live happily in your dream.”

  When I woke up, it was to an empty bed. I blinked a few times and saw it was almost noon. Yikes. I hadn’t slept that late in years, but I hadn’t slept great in months, so the rest was welcoming. I sat up to discover a treat beside the bed—a knee walker with a big pink bow on it. There was a note and I grabbed it.

  Dear Miss Independent,

  Please enjoy your training wheels. I am out in the garage tinkering, so when
you wake up, feel free to join me.

  That’s how I roll,

  D

  I squealed, thrilled to be able to do things for myself. I grabbed a crutch, got on my walker, and headed to the bathroom to find all of my things neatly unpacked. He’d even given me drawer space. The shower didn’t have a doorframe or a lip that I needed to step over, so I was able to use one crutch to get around fairly well.

  The running water over my body soothed my aches and revived me for a brand new day. I had my eyes closed and had been in there for a while when I felt something next to me.

  My eyes flew open. There stood my lover in front of me with hunger in his eyes. A need I was clearly in the mood to fulfill. I wasn’t sure how we’d manage sex in the shower with my handicap, but my honey was creative, and I didn’t mind the hard tile against my back.

  We spent the day riding the four-wheeler and exploring his property, over eight-hundred acres all together. That night, he built a fire in the outdoor pit and we made s’mores. He made love to me under the stars. My feelings for him grew deeper every passing moment. Each time we were together, he connected with me in a different way.

  We talked about being together, but getting married was never discussed. Perhaps he wasn’t the marrying kind?

  The next week, Karina and I took the nursing board exam, and I was happy to get it behind me, but the five-day wait was almost impossible. While I couldn’t pace very well on my rolling cart, I wore out the wheels on it. With all the distractions in my life, I worried I’d not pass, but I knew I could study and take it again and for sure pass it the next time.

  On the fifth day, Karina and Aaron came out to the ranch and brought the last little bit of my things that Dane hadn’t picked up from our house. We sat around the computer and kept hitting refresh, until our results were available. Of course, hers were first, and she’d passed, leaving me cheering for her. She and Aaron celebrated with a bit of PDA, while Dane took over hitting the refresh button.

  It was several more hours before my results posted, and I was so worried by then I couldn’t look anymore.