Lacey laughed until she opened the back door and saw her somber son, still sitting at the kitchen table.
“Mom, there’s a few things I want to say before you start in on me,” Jerrod began. “I know I was a jerk, and I hurt your feelings. I’m sorry I made you cry. And I’m not saying that ’cause of Mr. Benson. I mean it. You’re the greatest mom ever.”
“Thanks Jerrod.” Lacey sat in the chair across from him. “You know, Mr. Benson and I were friends from the time we were just babies. We went to school together, and then he went into the Navy. Now that he’s back, I’d like to spend some time with him. I was hoping to show him what great kids I’ve got, but that hasn’t worked out very well today. He reminded me, outside, that you’ve had a pretty bad day. He offered to come back next weekend so he can help with your work. He seems to think you’re a pretty tough guy. I guess I hadn’t realized how much you’re growing up, but make no mistake, you were wrong to talk to me the way you did. I was also wrong to hit you and I’m sorry. Now, if you give me a big hug, I just might cut that pie.”
****
Alex hadn’t followed Lacey inside. She’d needed time to straighten things out with her boy. But he’d been leaning against the siding under the kitchen window and heard their conversation. He straightened to walk around to the door.
Lacey was a hell of a mom. He actually wished he had a home and family like this one. Who was he kidding? He wanted this one. He decided there and then, he was going to marry Lacey Carlyle, kids and all. This is what had been missing from his life.
Chapter Eight
Lacey couldn’t sleep. She’d hardly slept all week. She’d never had an overnight guest in her house past the age of twelve. Knowing Alex lay sleeping on her sofa brought back too many memories. She thought back to that June, so long ago, when they’d swim in the lake and then make love like there’d be no tomorrow. Then he’d nap on the blanket in the grass. She’d watch him breathe and memorized ever inch of his long lean body. She’d been completely fascinated by his masculine form. He’d been her first, and even though she’d lacked experience, he’d been her best. Perhaps her subconscious had known he’d be gone from her life too soon.
She still couldn’t believe he was back. It was like walking into a dream. She didn’t have to resist him, she was a grown woman, and heaven knows she had needs, needs he’d awakened in her. But how could she be sure he’d still be here the next day? The old memories were bad enough. She couldn’t stand to miss him like that again.
Lacey stepped out of her room. It was the only bedroom on the left side of the stairs. The second bedroom on that side had been converted into an upstairs bathroom by the Garveys.
She tiptoed to the other side to check on the twins.
Jenna was sound asleep. Lacey had a theory that the girl expended so much energy during the day she had to have a full night’s sleep to recharge. Her system would shut down by ten and wouldn’t reboot until six in the morning.
Jerrod, on the other hand, was restless. He’d toss and turn until his sheets were in a knot on the floor. She supposed his energy was infinite. Earlier in the night, she’d heard him get up a few times and walk down the stairs and back. Now, he was finally sleeping as well.
When she passed the top of the stairs, to return to her own room, she heard a strange noise from below. It sounded like a growl. The dogs never slept inside. Could some other animal have gotten into the house? She followed the sound down the stairs and into the living room.
She hadn’t wanted to see Alex sleeping. She’d resisted it all night. But she couldn’t ignore that noise. Alex lay on his right side on the sofa. His right hand reaching over, softly batted at his left arm. His brow was furrowed as he growled deeply and continually. He was dreaming about the fire.
Lacey quietly approached him. She knelt on the floor by the sofa and took his right hand in hers. She stroked his left arm.
“Shhh,” she whispered. “Everything’s going to be okay. You’re okay.”
He grabbed her hand in both of his. “Promise you’ll tell her.” His eyes were still closed. He was still dreaming. “Tell her I love her. Tell her I need her,” he said in a garbled plea. He brought her hand to his strong, wide chest. “Lacey…”
After an hour, he hadn’t made another sound. It had been hard to resist lying next to him, holding him. Lacey slipped her hand from his and went to bed. She knew she wouldn’t sleep, but she didn’t want Alex or the twins finding her there in the morning.
****
Alex woke on Lacey’s sofa with the sun streaming through the lace curtains. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d slept so soundly. He supposed it was due to the fresh country air. He’d get plenty of that today. There was a lot that needed to be done, good old-fashioned physical labor.
Alex was no stranger to the gym. He worked out twice a week. Also, he ran at least four mornings a week, depending on his schedule. But it would feel good to actually work with his hands again. Fixing the front porch the week before had whetted his appetite for physical, constructive, outdoor activity. Besides that, he was tired of Jerrod’s implications that he couldn’t handle real work. It was time to show the boy what a man could do.
As he staggered to the bathroom, he caught the aroma of fresh brewed coffee. He desperately wanted a cup of that coffee.
Alex brushed his teeth and shaped his beard. He changed out of the running shorts and T-shirt he’d slept in. He didn’t own a pair of pajamas, but it wouldn’t do to sleep in the buff on the family’s sofa.
He thought about Lacey. He hoped he’d have a few minutes alone with her before the kids got up. For as long as he’d known her, he’d never seen her first thing in the morning. He had a theory that you could tell the most about a woman by what she was like when she woke. A woman tended to lower her guard after a cozy night between the sheets. Would she be soft and drowsy, or coarse and grumpy? Did she wear frilly nightgowns or warm pajamas? There was a lot he wanted to learn about Lacey Carlyle, only in order to break through her barriers, of course.
Alex was still a few feet from the kitchen door when he realized Lacey wasn’t alone and hadn’t just woken up. Dammit, it was early Saturday morning. Didn’t kids sleep in on the weekends? Despite the allure of the coffee, Alex hung back a moment to listen.
“Are you sure everything is finished?” Lacey asked.
“Yes, ma’am. All four legged creatures are feeling fat and happy.” Jerrod seemed to be in a better mood this morning.
“The two legged ones should be feeling about the same.” Lacey chuckled. “You two have put away more biscuits and gravy than any two truck drivers I know.”
“We’ve probably put in more work than most truck drivers,” Jerrod replied. “And, we still have a lot left to do. When is that lazy friend of yours going to haul his butt off the sofa?”
“Jerrod!”
That’s when Alex decided to make his presence known. He lightly stepped backward down the hall and began whistling as he approached the kitchen a second time. “Morning everybody! I can’t believe I didn’t hear you get up. I’m usually a light sleeper, but all this fresh country air must have really put me under. What smells so good?”
“Mom made sausage gravy and biscuits this morning.” Jenna jumped out of her chair. “Can I make you a plate?”
“I don’t usually eat right away, but I’d love a cup of coffee,” Alex said. “Can you make me a cup with three sugars and no cream? I need a strong jolt to get me started in the morning.”
Lacey and Jenna looked at each other with surprise and then laughed. Jenna clued him in to the joke. “Jerrod takes his coffee the same way. At least the two of you have one thing in common.”
“We’ll have plenty of time to compare notes,” Alex informed her. “I’ve got the whole weekend off. And, since Jerrod has a bad leg, I’m going to help him with his chores.”
Jenna pushed her bottom lip out in a pout. “I’ll be stuck in the house all day, cleaning and doing laundry. I wish I could get some help, and then I could go outside with you guys.”
“Sorry.” Jerrod snatched an apple and bit into it. With his mouth full, he added, “Daylight’s burning and if we helped you we wouldn’t get everything done.”
Alex turned to Jerrod. “By the way, how’s that leg feeling?”
“It’s a little stiff, but I’ll live. When you work on a farm, you can’t let a thing like that keep you down. We can’t afford time off, like soft desk jockeys from the city.”
The day was harder to get through than Alex expected. It wasn’t because of the work, although the work seemed to never end. They’d painted the porch and shutters, hoed a two-acre garden, and cleaned the carburetor on a small tractor that Alex guessed was about as old as he was.
They only took a break long enough to eat lunch. Jerrod had packed cheese sandwiches and bottled water. Alex knew the boy was trying to make him miserable, but it would take a lot more than a cheese sandwich. He also knew Jerrod wanted to keep him away from Lacey. That wasn’t working either. They could see the horse pens from everywhere they went. The pens were located between the house and barn, and in front of the garden.
Watching her was the hard part; or rather the way Lacey distracted him. Seeing her work with her horses was a thing of beauty. She exercised each one and only saddled the boarded horses. Seeing her straddle the bare backs of the sleek powerful animals, her bottom bouncing, her skin glowing with perspiration, gave him ideas he didn’t need right then. Several times, while racing them back and forth between barrels, she’d come so close to the ground his heart nearly stopped. His stomach leapt into his throat every time she flew over an obstacle. He had to keep reminding himself that she knew what she was doing. This was her job. She didn’t need him. It was a relief when she’d finished grooming the horses and returned them to their stalls.
****
Lacey had worked the horses harder than she needed to. She’d used them to pull herself away from the gravitational draw to Alex. Every time she’d looked up he’d been watching with lust filled eyes. The distraction made her work twice as hard in order to concentrate. Now that she could slow down, she felt boneless with fatigue.
Alex and Jerrod must have worn themselves out as well. They’d fallen asleep in front of the television as soon as supper was over.
She’d sent Jerrod to his room and Jenna followed soon after. Now she was spending the best part of a second night soothing away Alex’s nightmares.
She wondered if this was a problem for him all the time or if it had been brought on by the past coming back to haunt him. If she wasn’t losing so much sleep caring for him, she might be having nightmares as well. No, her dreams would probably be just the opposite. They’d probably be more of the erotic variety. Alex was proving hard to resist. She just couldn’t decide why she was resisting. She knew they’d be explosive together. Maybe it was the fear of him leaving again.
Chapter Nine
Lacey and Alex followed the kids as far as the front porch. When an old white church bus pulled to a stop in the drive and beeped its horn, Jenna gave her mom a quick hug, and then hugged Alex as well. Jerrod didn’t say good-bye at all. He shouted to a couple of friends he saw through the windows of the bus and ran to join them.
“I hope I didn’t keep you from attending services.” Alex returned the wave Jenna sent from her window.
“No, I don’t usually go,” Lacey informed him. “Indian Lake society and I don’t mix well.”
“I guess we have the house to ourselves for a while.” Alex placed his hands on Lacey’s waist and pulled her against him.
Lacey pushed away. She didn’t look him in the eye when she spoke. “Alex, I’m not in the habit of falling into bed with men at the drop of a hat. I know we have a history, but that was a long time ago. Besides that, things have changed. I can’t see you holding me to your ridiculous agreement, now that you know I have children.”
Alex was stunned by Lacey’s coolness. He thought he was making headway with her. Was it the kids or something else? His intentions hadn’t had anything to do with their agreement or the kids, but if that was the game she wanted to play he could be just as cool.
“So, you’re just going to give up? Just because you’re a mother doesn’t mean you have to act like my mother. What about your farm? You’re willing to just walk away from it to save your virtue? You’ve already lost that battle. Virtue goes hand-in-hand with truth and honor. We both know you don’t have any of those things. I should have known you wouldn’t follow through with our agreement. Hell, you even hid the fact that you have kids.”
“Truth…honor…what would you know about either of those things? We don’t have an agreement. You’re holding the deed to my land over my head. Furthermore, my kids aren’t any of your business.”
“If you’ll recall, this land belongs to me. I haven’t pretended things were anything but what they are. I made you an offer. When you accepted it, I thought you’d at least try to make it work. Furthermore, that acceptance put me smack in the middle of your little family and made the kids my business.”
Alex paced to the end of the porch and back. “I don’t have a problem with a woman saying no. I’ve never forced myself on anyone. But tell me, is there any limit to your manipulation and deceit? Is that why the kid’s father took off on you? Was he smarter than me? Did he figure out he was being used?”
“I’m not going to discuss my past with you, not when you can’t be reasonable.” Lacey crossed her arms and turned away. “I’ve already told you that I never received a single letter from you. If you don’t believe that, then you have a problem.”
“So you don’t deny I wrote to you.” Alex felt smug satisfaction until he realized that she really may not have gotten his letters. Damn, this was complicated. “What’s happening between us, Lacey?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know. Maybe I was letting a fantasy play out. I don’t have much excitement in my life anymore. Being alone with you, the reality crashed down on me and I got scared. It was a stupid thing to do and I’m sorry. Give me a little time to break it to the kids and we’ll start packing.”
“Dammit, Lacey, I don’t want it to end like this.” Alex ran his fingers through his hair. He didn’t want to act like such a prick to her. He was playing this all wrong. He leaned against the railing to look down at a patch of Mexican heather. “I guess I let my own mind fantasize a little. I thought there might be a chance for us to put the pieces together again.”