She was shaken and could barely stand. He picked her up, carried her to the bed, and slid beneath the sheets with her.
“That was amazing,” she said, then kissed his shoulder. Understatement. Of. The. Year. If I review that one, sales will skyrocket. Holy. Shit.
David nuzzled her neck. “You can say that again.”
She smiled. “You didn’t try the hopper.”
He murmured, “Didn’t want to push my luck, but we can next time.”
Lucy glanced at the machine, then back at David. “I conquered that little fucker.”
David threw back his head and laughed. “You sure did, honey. You sure did.”
Chapter Eighteen
The next morning, Lucy was pushing a cart up and down the aisles of the grocery store, absently placing items in the basket. She couldn’t stop smiling and had gotten a few strange looks from the locals, but she didn’t care. Every time she thought about David and how good he was to her, she felt like she was floating on a cloud of happiness.
It wasn’t that she didn’t miss her brother, that she didn’t still mourn her parents, but the weight of all that was no longer crushing her. She could breathe again. If she didn’t think someone would call the police to cart her away, she would have thrown her arms up in the air and done a happy spin right there in the bakery department.
She picked up an individually wrapped special-occasion cupcake, one with a decadent mound of frosting on it. She imagined how she would hand it to David that night.
He’d ask her what the special occasion was, and she’d say, “Tonight is the night I want to smear frosting all over you and slowly lick it off.” She shuddered as her body warmed and clenched in sexual anticipation.
“Lucy, are you all right?” a woman asked in a concerned voice that implied she might have tried and failed to get Lucy’s attention already.
Lucy shook her head and brought herself back to the present. “Hi, Michelle.”
Michelle kept her hands gripped to the handle of her grocery cart. “You never called me back.”
Lucy was instantly contrite. “Oh my God, I’m sorry, Michelle. Things have been so busy with my new business and—”
“David.” Michelle smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I hear he’s living with you now.”
Small towns. “He is.”
“That’s good, Lucy. You deserve someone in your life.” Michelle’s face crumpled, and tears filled her eyes. “I threw Ron out.”
Lucy didn’t know what to say. She felt guilty about being too happy to have known her friend was going through something like that. Although she’d vowed to see her more often, so far most of Lucy’s time had been spent with David or working. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
Michelle sniffed. “He started drinking again. He used to when he first met me but stopped because I wouldn’t marry him if he didn’t give it up. He only has a temper when he drinks.”
Lucy swallowed hard. “He didn’t—”
“Hit me?” Michelle shook her head. “He’s never touched me, but it was getting ugly at our house. I feel awful, though, because I think this time was my fault.”
“Michelle, don’t say that. Of course it wasn’t.”
She lowered her voice. “He’s been a good husband to me, but I told him I wanted more. I asked him if we could figure out why I could orgasm with a toy but not with him. I thought talking about it would bring us closer. He walked out of the house that day and came back drunk. I tried to explain it to him the next day, but it escalated into a nasty fight, and he called me all sorts of ugly names. I gave him a chance to apologize. I mean, marriage is for better or for worse. His apology was to come home drunk and yell at me again. Sheriff Dodd helped remove him from the house that night. It was humiliating, but I didn’t want him to do anything I couldn’t forgive him for. I love him, Lucy. What if I drove him to this?”
“You didn’t,” Lucy said emphatically.
“We were happy before I bought that toy, Lucy. This is my fault.”
“Were you? Happy, I mean. Or was he happy, and you were settling for the best you thought you could have?”
A tear rolled down Michelle’s cheek. She wiped it away with a fisted hand. “I’m pregnant. This should be a happy time for me. I don’t want to raise my children without a father.” She whispered again, “Maybe this is God’s way of punishing me for touching myself.”
Lucy walked over and hugged Michelle. “If God punished people for that, Michelle, there would be no men on the planet. And hardly any women. God wouldn’t push your husband to drink. Not the God I pray to. This will work out. You’ll see.”
Michelle shook in her arms. “What if it doesn’t?”
Sarah’s words came back to Lucy, so she said, “You are not alone, Michelle. No matter how this turns out. You have people who care about you, and that’s what’s important.”
Michelle sniffed and wiped her cheeks again. “There’s something I should have told you, but I didn’t want to believe it. It’s something Ron said to me while he was drunk.”
The hairs on the back of Lucy’s neck stood up. “What did he say?”
Michelle took a fortifying breath before saying, “Ted hates you. Ron warned me to stay away from you, or I could get hurt, too.”
“Too?”
“I know. I tried to ask him about it, but that’s all he would say. He’s staying out at York’s place now, and it scares me. Working for him is bad enough, but the men who stay with York—they change. It’s like a cult out there. An angry mob of men who do whatever York tells them to do.” She lowered her voice again. “Things happen when York wants someone’s land, things that everyone calls accidents, but aren’t. If he wants a family out of this town, they don’t last long. Everyone is too afraid to talk about it. I couldn’t say anything to you when you were marrying him because I didn’t think you’d believe me. But I’m afraid for you now. You’re smart to have David and Wyatt out there with you.”
“It’ll be okay, Michelle. Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be okay.” She knew she couldn’t really promise that, but surely Ted wasn’t really as dangerous as Michelle suggested.
She talked to her friend for a few minutes longer before promising to call her the next day, but she was trying to wrap her head around what Michelle had said. Outside of the one prank call, nothing had happened at her ranch.
Was the warning nothing more than a drunk Ron trying to scare his wife into taking him back?
Ted no longer had a financial hold on her land. Even if he burned it all to the ground, he wouldn’t get it. David held the note on the property.
And why would Ted want her property that badly? Why was he buying up all the land around him? It wasn’t as if the price of beef was going anywhere.
On the way back to her ranch, Lucy stopped by town hall. She asked the clerk if she could see a map of the properties surrounding hers.
The woman said, “Sure, I still have that out. It’s a popular request lately.”
“Really?” Lucy asked, trying to sound as if she weren’t interested in the topic at all.
The woman shuffled through some piles, then brought out a rolled plot map. “Sure, I even had your handsome boyfriend in here a few weeks ago. He said he was looking up something for you.” She held out the roll to Lucy and let out a dreamy sigh. “What town did you find him in? Are there more like him? I’d move in a heartbeat.”
Lucy took the roll. Why would David want to see the land plots? “Sorry, he’s one of a kind.” And he’s mine.
“Oh well, I guess that’s for the best, anyway.”
Lucy laid out the paper on the large desk in the office. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but she was hoping something would jump out at her. “Who else requested to see this map?”
The young woman seemed to question if she was sharing too much. “That’s not confidential information, right? I’m alone today, or I’d ask.”
Lucy shrugged. “It’s not important. I wa
s just curious.” She dug through her memories for a name that would help her. “Hey, are you Nikki’s little sister, Kelly?”
The woman nodded. “You probably don’t remember, but I used to stalk the two of you. It drove Nikki crazy. We’re close now, but she said I was awful when we were little.”
“I remember. You’ll have to tell her I said hello.”
Kelly nodded and glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then said, “We had some men in suits come in last year—I can’t imagine who would care that I told you—then a lawyer. Ted York was in here one day. Oh yes, and some of the families just before they sold to Mr. York and moved away. This job is usually boring, but I’m loving it this year.” She stepped back from the counter so Lucy could see her dress. “I may have even met someone. Who knew coming to work would be where I’d start meeting men? He came in last week. Gorgeous and single. He wanted a list of all the properties that have sold in town in the last two years. I told him I’d have to research it. He promised to come back for it.” She smiled. “I bought five new dresses.” Kelly laughed.
Lucy smiled even though her mind was racing. “I’d be surprised if he can remember what he came in for when he sees you.”
Kelly blushed. “Thanks.” She nodded toward the table. “Did you find what you were looking for?”
Lucy rolled the paper back up and handed it to her. “I did. Is there any chance I could get a copy of that list of sales?”
With a shrug, Kelly said, “It’s all public knowledge, so I see no reason why not. I’ll make you a copy. Hang on, I’ll be right back.” Then she returned and handed Lucy the list.
“Thanks, Kelly. And good luck.”
She left and tucked the list into the visor on the passenger side of her truck.
She didn’t know how she felt about David going to town hall. She didn’t want to believe that something was going on, and he wasn’t being honest with her. She had more questions than she had answers, making her drive back to the ranch a very long one.
David started his day inside Lucy’s house, making phone calls. He wasn’t happy with the lack of progress with the mare, and it was weighing on him. He contacted the family who owned the horse and asked them where they’d gotten her.
They countered by asking when they’d get their horse back and how much all that training was going to cost them. David hated having to explain to them that the horse would never be suitable for a family. He offered to keep her.
They quoted a ridiculous price for a horse that would likely kill them if he sent it home to them now. He offered them a trade instead. He had an older mare who was as gentle as they came. It took a little convincing, but when he explained that this horse could be ridden bareback around their yard, they agreed.
David said he’d ship the horse to them at no cost, and the deal was set. All that was important to him, he stressed, was helping the mare they’d sent him. They had to know something.
It was only then that they opened up and admitted how little they’d paid for the mare. They said they’d gotten her at an auction. They’d thought they were saving her from slaughter, but she’d never been right, and the more they handled her, the worse she’d gotten.
“Do you know anything about where she came from before that?”
They didn’t, but they gave him some information about where they’d bought her. David contacted the man who’d run the auction. And he gave David the name of who’d provided the horse.
Before David hung up, he said, “Did you know how dangerous she was when you sold her to a family with a child?”
The man didn’t sound repentant. “I put the horse through as is. If you buy a horse dirt cheap, you know it has problems.”
David could have said more, but wasting his breath on those who had no intention of changing had never been his style. Instead, he called the number the auctioneer had given him.
The woman who answered was curt at first until David explained that his intention was only to find out whatever he could to help the mare.
“She was a good horse,” the woman said sadly. “I raised her from a foal. She wasn’t mean at all.”
“What happened?” David held his breath and waited.
“I told my husband we needed to replace that old barbed wire. He said it was good enough when his daddy had horses here, and it would work for us. Tia, that’s what we called the mare you have, she got caught in it out in the far field. Got her neck tangled up in it real good.” The woman paused, and her voice filled with emotion. “You probably think I didn’t care about Tia, but I loved her. I used our savings on vet bills to heal her up. She was never right again, though. Her mane grew over the scars and made her pretty on the outside, but something changed in her. She’d turn on us when we were doing nothing but leading her to her field. She nearly killed my husband. He wanted to shoot her, but I convinced him to give her a chance. No one would take her but the auction.” In a whisper, she said, “Tell me she didn’t kill anyone.”
“No, ma’am, she didn’t, but she’s still dangerous.”
“Who’d you say you were? David Harmon?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“The one from the commercials who works with Tony Carlton?”
“That’s me.”
The woman let out a light sob. “You don’t know how much I needed this call. I hated sending Tia to the auction, but things work out the way they’re supposed to, don’t they? She found you.”
David’s face flushed. “I haven’t reached her yet.”
“You will. I have to believe that.”
David’s throat was tight with emotion. “If I can’t, I’ll have to put her down.”
“I understand,” the woman said. “If you can’t help her, I don’t believe anyone can.”
David paced the living room of Lucy’s home long after hanging up with Tia’s old owner. He hadn’t noticed scarring on the horse, but there was a chance the mane had indeed hidden it. If that wound was where the horse’s halter was, there was a chance that pressure on the halter hurt the horse. If Tia began to associate being handled with pain, that might explain why she lashed out.
Maybe.
He rubbed his hands over his face in frustration. He’d woken up in Lucy’s arms, feeling like he could conquer the world, but when it was important, was he actually making a difference at all?
He’d found next to nothing that could help Lucy. When it came to York, the town was tight-lipped. Wyatt thought something bad was brewing, but he didn’t have the details that would allow David to do anything. It was all rumors and gut feelings at this point. York hadn’t done anything illegal or anything that would justify David going after him.
Threatening him was tempting, but that would help York. Right now, David had the advantage of York not knowing he was on to him. David was hoping that would leave York overconfident.
A knock on the front door was followed by Wyatt calling out, “David, you in there?”
David strode over and opened the door. “What do you need?”
“There’s something in the barn you need to see.”
David grabbed his hat and followed him. Seated on a wooden chair and holding a bloody towel to his head was a man David didn’t recognize. “What the hell happened?” Two of the ranch hands were standing on either side of him like sentries.
“This here is Ron. First, before you attempt to talk to him, he’s drunk. Second, he got it in his damn-fool head to try to take that mare of yours. She taught him a lesson he won’t soon forget. I called the sheriff. He’s on his way.”
Even though his head was lolling to one side, he slurred, “I was trying to save the damn horse. It was too close to the barn, and I couldn’t let it burn—I should have let it die.”
David strode closer and stood over him. “What do you mean you should have let her die? What did you come here to do?”
The man’s eyes couldn’t focus on David’s face, but he snarled, “People like you need to be run out of town. You
and that whore of yours.”
Despite the condition of the man, David lifted him up by the neck of his shirt. “Say one more word about Lucy, and I will kill you with my bare hands.”
Wyatt, at David’s side, said softly, “Put him down, son. The best thing you can do is let the fool speak. He won’t remember much of this later, but his tongue is mighty loose right now.”
David dropped the man back onto the chair. The man groaned and looked like he was about to pass out. “Why would you want to hurt Lucy?” David demanded.
With his eyes still closed, the man mumbled, “My wife threw me out because of her. She brought the devil into our house and turned Michelle against me. Evil takes root and poisons everything.”
“The devil?” David looked to Wyatt for what that could mean, but Wyatt shrugged helplessly. “What are you talking about?”
Ron shook his head and groaned from the pain of it. “Women like Lucy don’t belong in our town, and you don’t either. Mustang lover. If you get your way, none of us will be using the public lands, will we? You plan to give it all to those fucking horses.” Ron slurred on, “Mr. York will stop you. He’s buying up enough grazing land that those who are loyal to him won’t need to lease public land. We’ll be fine.”
Wyatt made at face at Ron. “You think York gives a shit about your drunk ass? You’re drinking the Kool-Aid, Ron.”
Ron’s eyes flew open. “My wife would rather fuck an Easter egg than me.” He pointed at David wildly. “Your girlfriend told her it was better than a man. Watch out, or you’ll be replaced by the blender.”
Wyatt gave David a sidelong look, then bent until he was face-to-face with Ron. “Son, the only thing ruining your marriage is the bottle. Michelle is a saint. If she threw you out, it’s because you were drinking again.”
Ron covered his bloody face with one hand and started sobbing. “Wan’ her back. Wanna be there with her and my babies.”