Rebel (39 page)

“This is Abby,” Susie said, gesturing to the smaller one, then to the other, “and Emma. This is Rubi.”

“Uncle Wes’s girlfriend,” Abby said before stuffing her mouth with pancake.

Rubi smiled. “Hi, Abby. Hi, Emma.”

The older girl didn’t look up or say anything but turned her head toward Rubi. They were cute, no doubt. And terrifying. Rubi’s excitement over the ride turned into something more like desperation.

Wes turned off the faucet and sauntered over, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel. “Don’t push it, Abby. I know what you’re up to little lady.”

Abby grinned, showing a mischievous, gap-toothed little grin that made her blue eyes sparkle just like Wes’s. And Christ, that did insanely uncomfortable things to Rubi’s stomach. Like…nauseating things.

She smiled up at Wes. “Ready?”

“Where are you two going?” Whitney asked. She was dressed in business casual, black pants, and a pretty camel-colored shell.

“I’m taking Rubi sightseeing.”

Whitney snorted a laugh and set her coffee mug down. “Where? And in what? Wyatt’s old truck?”

“Here, dork,” Wes said, “where do you think? And no, on Wyatt’s underused bike.”

“I think dork is a bad word,” Abby said, then looked at Susie. “Isn’t dork a bad word, Grandma?”

“I see,” Whitney said. “So it’s really more of an-excuse-to-ride type of sightseeing tour.”

“Call it what you want.”

Whitney shot Rubi a poor-you smirk. “Hope you like vegetation, Rubi. You’ll get some really up-close-and-personal glances at trees, soybean fields, vineyards, maybe even the muddy Missouri River.”

“That’s no way to talk about your birthplace,” Wes chided. “Besides, everything is turning. We hit the fall colors perfectly. It couldn’t get prettier out there.”

“You’ve definitely been living in LA too long if you’ve forgotten how much you hated fall when you had to rake all those ‘pretty’ leaves.” Whitney rose from the table and carried her coffee mug to the sink. “Rubi, you’re going to have a headache if you ride with your hair up.” She walked toward her. “Turn around, I’ll French braid it for you.”

Um…
Rubi shot glances around the room, then turned her back to Whitney. She quickly pulled the elastic band from Rubi’s hair and combed her fingers through it. “Oh my God, what a luxurious head of hair. I bet other women hate you for it.”

“Most women hate me for just about everything,” Rubi said without thinking how the comment would be taken until it was already out.

Whitney laughed softly, a sound conveying more understanding than humor. “I can imagine.”

Okay, this was…strangely intimate. Like a high school best-friend kind of intimate. She didn’t know the woman at all, yet Rubi felt close to her. She knew some relationships were like that—they just clicked. Like she and Lexi had all those years ago. Like she and Wes had the night at the airport. But it was rare for Rubi, so it made her feel…awkward.

But by the time all that registered, Whitney was done, fastening the band at the tail of her braid between her shoulder blades. “There you go—much more comfortable under a helmet.”

Rubi ran a hand over the braid. “Thank you.”

“No problem.” She shot Rubi another grin and started for the front door. “Y’all enjoy all those pretty trees, now.”

Wes moved around the table and kissed Abby on the head, then Emma. “Have fun with Grandma, girls.”

“Love you, Uncle Wes.” This came from Emma, soft and without ever meeting Wes’s gaze.

“Love you too, Emmie.” He put a hand on Rubi’s shoulder and led her the same direction Whitney had gone. “Bye, Mama.”

“Wait,” she said. “Rubi can’t ride in that.”

“I’ll give her my jacket,” Wes said.

“Good Lord, Wes, it will swallow her.” She pulled a black leather jacket off the back of her chair and walked it to Rubi with a smirk and a teasingly disgusted “Men.”

Rubi took the jacket. “Thanks.”

“Have fun,” she said, standing at the door as they trotted down the steps and turned toward the garage. “Be safe, please.”

“Always,” Wes called back.

The door to one of the bays in the three-car garage was already open, and Wes walked toward a sleek silver BMW.

“Yum,” she said with enthusiasm.

Wes barked a laugh. “That’s a new one. I’m assuming you’ve ridden before.”

“It was a really long time ago.”

Wes’s grin widened. He took the jacket and held it open for her. Once she’d zipped it up, he pulled two helmets from a shelf and handed her one. “I tricked these helmets out with an intercom system—the same one I use at work—and stereo speakers. So you just talk, and I’ll hear you.”

She slipped the helmet on, and Wes made sure it was secure. He pulled a jacket from the wall, a snazzy short-waisted riding leather, much like the one Jax owned and Lexi had coveted on their first pseudo meeting. After pulling it on, he straddled the bike and patted the seat behind him.

Once she was settled, he pointed toward the rear wheel. “This is your footrest. Your arms go around me. Your body up against mine.” He grinned. “Like, real close.”

“Are you trying to make me hot, Lawson? ’Cause it’s working.”

His lips quirked, and his eyes grew warm. “Relax and let your body follow mine. Just like you did last night. That was perfection.”

She slid her arms around his waist and squeezed. “Agreed.”

Twenty-Five

Rubi was in heaven.

She pressed her body against Wes’s back as he expertly guided the bike along the curving back roads. The roads overlooked vineyard after gorgeous vineyard all alight in golds and reds. His deep, smooth voice filled her ears as he pointed out different areas that held significance—every vineyard he’d harvested as a kid, every home of a high school buddy, every tiny lake hidden among the trees.

The sun was warm, the air thick and cool, the bike comfortable and fast, the trees absolutely brilliant shades of gold, orange, red, and green. She felt incredibly free, all her worries tucked far away. All but one—the realization that she was falling for Wes. Big-time.

She pushed the thought back into the shadows, just as she had for over a week now, and enjoyed the truly beautiful countryside. Wes took the tightest curves and corners with every ounce of his stunt-driving flare and Rubi enjoyed the fresh jolts of adrenaline. He’d cued a mix of Rubi’s favorite alternative rock—Fall Out Boy, Nickelback, Three Doors Down, Theory of a Deadman—and the invigorating music poured through the helmet, dimming only when she or Wes spoke into the intercom. Pretty damn slick.

She was beginning to realize that Wes Lawson was a freaking mechanical genius, and selling his rig for big bucks, setting him up financially for his future—if not for the rest of his life—had become increasingly important to Rubi. Good people deserved good things in life. She’d seen far too many people like her father gather all the wealth.

“These colors make me wish I was a photographer,” she said.

“The soil is so rich, everything grows here,” he said. “There’s silver maple, elm, mulberry, hickory, sumac, honey locust. The purple on your right are dogwoods and ash. There’s more than I could even name.”

They edged into thicker stands of trees, and the vineyards and farming fields slowly disappeared until only trees bordered the roadside.

Wes slowed and turned onto a gravel road that led into the colorful forest.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“My secret hideaway.” His voice holding exaggerated mystery.

They wound in and around curves. The road turned to dirt and the elevation dropped once again as they started down the other side of a ridge. “Secret’s right. How’d you ever find it?”

“Just like this, driving around for the fun of driving.”

The trees finally opened, parting to expose a small body of water with a grassy shoreline. The big trees overhung the tranquil spot, shading the shore while sunlight shone directly on the pool. It was, quite simply, one of the most beautiful places she’d ever seen.

Wes parked the bike, shut off the engine, and pulled off his helmet, then turned to help Rubi remove hers. She gazed out over the clear water fed by a creek, small rocks and bigger boulders worn away by time and creating mini waterfalls.

“Oh my God, Wes.” She didn’t know why she was whispering. But after having Nickelback screaming in her ear, priming her for hot and dirty sex, this was not what she’d been prepared for. “This is amazing.”

He gazed out over the sight for a long moment, seeming to take it all in. The absolute lack of man-made sound created a blissful tranquility of trees rustling, birds singing, creek gurgling. “Yeah,” he said, his mouth turning slightly but his expression melancholy. “I love this place.”

Rubi swung her leg over the back and slid off the bike. Wes followed. He opened a side compartment and pulled out towels, a blanket, and a couple of Ziploc bags of food. She grinned. “Okay, now I get it. You’re fulfilling an outdoor-sex fantasy.”

Wes set everything down in a smooth, grassy area. “Baby, all sex with you is a fantasy come true—indoors or out.”

He spread out the blanket, dropped the towels, then turned toward the water and peeled off his jacket.

She wandered up beside him as he sat down and pulled off his boots. He patted the blanket beside him and lay back, hands behind his head. “Lie down. It’s really cool to look up into the trees. If I do it long enough, I feel like I’m floating.”

Rubi took off her jacket and lay down next to him, a towel for a pillow. Overhead, reds, oranges, and yellows burst from the trees like flame. All against a crisp blue sky. “God, that’s…impossibly beautiful.”

Wes said nothing, and silence stretched and deepened until Rubi imagined the quiet reached into her body, releasing all her tension. But she found the lack of tension, of stress, of worries…the sheer comfort, tranquility, and happiness swamping her so foreign, it created a stress of its own.

“Is this where you brought your girlfriends to get lucky?” she asked playfully. “Somewhere you could go while you were living at home?”

“No.” His answer was mellow, so completely calm. “I’ve never brought anyone here. Not even Wyatt or high school football buddies. My parents don’t know this exists. Melissa doesn’t know this exists. I always came alone. It’s always been my very own. This is where I came to think problems through, to chill before a big race, to let my temper cool off after a fight.”

Rubi rolled to her side and propped her head in her hand. Wes kept his gaze skyward. His eyes were more blue than gray, as if the sky was reflected in his irises. Outlined by thick gold lashes. Her chest squeezed hard.

She couldn’t be in love with him. The mere thought kicked off a panic attack. Yet another part of her couldn’t deny the emotions twisting her inside out. Emotions that rushed in without warning and took over until everything she’d ever known was upside down and backward.

“Why’d you bring me here?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

He hesitated, a slight furrow appearing between his eyes. “I wanted to share something with you that I’ve never shared with anyone. I wanted you to have this piece of me I can give only you.”

Her throat thickened, tightened until she had to force herself to swallow. “That’s…” How could she possibly explain how she felt when even she didn’t understand? “That…”

His head turned slowly, and his gaze locked on hers, intense and meaningful. “Scares you.”

A breath of laughter escaped. Tense, shaky laughter. And with it, tears that rolled over her bottom lashes. Tears she hadn’t realized were coming. Rubi closed her eyes and nodded, wiping at her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I’m just…not wired right.”

“Come here.”

Wes stretched out his arm, and she went to him with the same unabashed need as Rodie showed her. She laid her head on his chest, pressed her face into the warm muscle of his pec, and breathed him in. Burrowed closer. “It’s so much easier to just have sex.”

His laugh rolled through his chest, shaking Rubi, and laughter bubbled out of her too. He wrapped both arms around her, pulling her close. And then just held her.

“I won’t disappear, baby,” he said after a long silence. “I won’t open that trapdoor and let you fall.”

She wanted to believe, but she’d believed so many times in the past. Her mother, her father, her nannies, her friends, her early boyfriends—they’d all left her. Some repeatedly, after she’d allowed them back into her life. Lexi was the only person who’d ever stayed. The only person who truly understood her and loved her anyway. But hadn’t Wes seen her worst sides? Stilettos. Her hatred for her father. Her pathetically superficial life. Yet…

“I know you won’t mean to,” she whispered. “But I’m just…hard to love, I guess.”

She’d never thought about it like that before. Of course, she knew all her flaws, even if she’d failed to improve on them. But…was she really so hard to love?

Wes rolled toward her, easing her onto her back and hovering over her. He lifted a thumb to wipe away the dampness on her cheeks and met her eyes steadily, seriously. “You are not the least bit difficult to love. In fact, you’re so easy to love, I’ve been fighting
against
it. The only hard part about being with you is fighting those walls.”

She nodded. “I know. I fight them too.”

“Tell you what.” He smiled, the expression so soft, so loving, it pushed more tears from her eyes. “Let’s fight them together. They’ll never have a chance.”

She was laughing when he lowered his mouth to hers.