I Knew You Were Trouble: A Texas Kings Novel (21 page)

“Oh yeah, funny, ha-ha,” Chase grumbled. “My ass hurt so bad I couldn’t sit for a week, and I broke my bloody arm.”

They settled down and Nate reached for his beer. “Heads up on the oil, just so you know. The whole area’s going to be permanently reserved now, looks like it’s finally all go.”

“No problem,” Chase said. “You handle the signage and fencing to keep it safe?”

“Sure will.” Nate settled back into his chair. “Now that that’s all settled, wanna play poker?”

“While the cat’s away the mice will play,” said Ryder with a mischievous grin.

“Oh yeah, we’re so bad these days,” Chase groaned.

Nate laughed, pleased that his brothers were happy. Compared to the havoc they used to wreak as a trio out on the town, they’d virtually turned into a bunch of old men. But Nate didn’t mind. When he hung out with his brothers now it was as family men, on the ranch or out for a few quiet beers, and it suited him just fine. When he traveled he partied, dined at the best restaurants, flew on their private jet. He had the best of both worlds. Just because he’d settled into something comfortable with Faith didn’t mean he wanted what his brothers had. He never had and nothing had changed.

Except Faith
. Faith had changed him. He was lying if he tried to pretend that he didn’t care for her. But he couldn’t let her get closer to him, couldn’t crave the kind of home life that his brothers had, because that would be admitting that he could fall for her. And he wasn’t going to fall in love with anyone, couldn’t go through losing a woman he loved.

He gritted his teeth. Because what if he did and they had children and then he lost her? What if he turned into the same man his father had when he’d lost his wife? To hell with the fact that Nate didn’t think he was anything like him, because they were blood and he could end up repeating the same pattern that he’d suffered through himself. That wasn’t going to happen, which meant he had to keep Faith at arm’s length. Stop pretending like what they had could just keep on going like they were.

“Nate?”

He looked up, realized he’d shredded the label off his beer bottle. “Sorry, I was a million miles away.”

Chase chuckled. “Come on; stop thinking about the femme fatale living with you and get your head into the card game.”

Nate went to say something smart back, then shut his mouth. His brothers were only having fun with him; the last thing they needed was for him to snap their heads off just because he was all fucked up over Faith. Instead he downed his beer and reached for the cards he’d been dealt.

“I think we should switch to whiskey,” he said.

Chase shrugged. “You guys do what you like. I’m just having a few beers in case the kids need us. One of us needs to stay sober.”

Ryder nodded and Nate rose to find the Jack Daniel’s. “Nice to have a night just the three of us without Chloe here to kick our butts at poker.”

“I’d tell you off for talking smack about my wife, except for the fact you’re abso-fucking-lutely right.”

They all settled down around the table to play.

“Let’s go, boys,” Nate muttered. “Fast game’s a good game.” And it was also the only way he was going to be able to keep his mind off Faith.

Chapter 12

“THIS is amazing,” Chloe said, dropping into the booth seat and grinning. “I can’t believe we’re actually doing something without children attached to us. Or the guys for that matter.”

Faith smiled at Chloe’s enthusiasm, taking a sip of her vodka, lemon, and lime. “Sorry we couldn’t go to Joe’s.”

“Ugh, Joe’s isn’t that great,” Chloe said. “Seriously, I worked there long enough not to need to go back for a very long time.”

“You mentioned the other day that you met Ryder there. Was it love at first sight?”

“Ha-ha, yes and no.” Chloe sipped her drink. “I was working there to save up for my college tuition and I ended up making a bet with Ryder. Funnily enough, it was one bet I’ve never regretted.”

They all laughed.

“Once you’ve fallen for a King you never go back,” Hope added, grinning.

“So this ex of yours, I never said anything before, but he took over as manager just before I left,” Chloe said. “He was fine to me, but I never liked the guy.”

“Funnily enough, my friend said the same thing,” Faith admitted. “I’m starting to wonder if he just laid on the charm when I was around, did it to impress me, and I just never saw the true him until it was too late.”

Chloe patted her hand. “It’s all right; you have Nate now.”

“Yeah, and he’s smitten,” Hope chimed in. “I still remember that time when we saw you at Joe’s and he just froze. We gave him so much shit.”

Faith had frozen, looking between the two woman seated across from her. “You’re kidding, right?” That was almost the same thing Chloe had told her that first time they’d met at Nate’s house.

“Honey, he’s definitely smitten,” Chloe told her. “I’ve only known him a couple of years, but I’ve never seen him like his. Surely you’ve known him long enough to know he’s not usually like this.”

“With one woman, she means,” interrupted Hope. “According to Chase, he’s never been in a relationship longer than, well, never, I don’t think.”

“We’re just having fun,” Faith managed to say, holding her glass to stop her hand from shaking. “I wouldn’t exactly call it a relationship.”

“You might be having fun, but he’s definitely in love with you.” Chloe sighed. “A million and one girls have tried to hook that big fish, and none have even come close. Then you come along and bam, he’s caught the bait and not even trying to get away. I say just enjoy it.”

Chloe and Hope giggled, but Faith was still in shock. Was he actually in love with her? She took a long, slow sip of her vodka. That was being stupid. There was no chance he was in love with her. He’d told her as much tonight, that they were still just having fun, that he loved having her around but that they were still on the same page about where their relationship was going.

“I…”

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, if that’s what’s worrying you,” Chloe assured her. “And if you want us to shut up, just say so. We’re not easily offended.”

Faith took a deep breath and smiled. “It’s fine. I just think you’ve both got the wrong idea about what’s going on with us.”

The other two exchanged glances like she was the crazy one.

“We’ve kept it quiet because we decided before anything happened that we just wanted to have fun for a while,” she continued. “Neither of us wanted something serious, so we’re definitely on the same page there.”

“Except for the fact that Nate has gone kind of gaga over you.” Chloe giggled. “He hasn’t worked from home all year as far as I know, and he’s usually traveling all the time, but miraculously now that you’re here he’s hardly left the ranch.”

Hope nodded and Faith just sighed. “Please stop.”

“Because you’re embarrassed or because you feel bad that he feels differently than you?” Hope asked.

Faith picked up her drink and tipped it back until she’d drunk every last drop. She dropped it with a bang on the table and groaned. “I’ve lusted after Nate since I was a horny teenager looking at him like he was a sex god,” she admitted. “All I wanted was for him to make me feel good, to have fun for a bit until I was back on my feet again. And now it’s turned into something a whole lot more serious than it was supposed to and I don’t know how it even happened.”

Hope reached over and squeezed her hand. “We shouldn’t have said anything. I guess we both just presumed that you and Nate were, um, serious.”

“I’ve got to admit that we were eyeing you up as the perfect sister-in-law,” Chloe teased, still grinning. “But look, so long as you and Nate know what’s going on and what you both want, that’s between the two of you. We’d hate to see him get hurt, that’s all.”

Now Faith was the one laughing. “Me hurt Nate?” She shook her head. “No possible way. He’d just shrug it off and move on to the next woman.”

“Whatever you say,” Chloe said. “But I don’t think he’ll ever be getting over you in a hurry. You might just be the first one to break his heart.”

“Don’t listen to us,” Hope interrupted. “Yes, he obviously cares for you and his brothers think it’s hilarious seeing him like this, but it’s none of our business. Let’s just get another round of drinks and have some fun.”

“This might be my last chance to let my hair down for a while. Ryder’s getting all clucky and talking about having another baby, so I’ll probably be knocked up before I know it. Then I’ll be back sipping ginger ale or sparkling water.”

“Chase is the same,” Hope admitted, smiling as she toyed with her straw. “I think they get all primitive and like the idea of us being at home barefoot and pregnant, as much as they claim to like our independence.”

Faith was pleased to change the subject, even if it did reinforce the fact that she was doing the right thing by emotionally distancing herself from Nate. If the women were right about the way he was starting to feel about her, then she needed to end things now before they got any deeper into something she knew neither of them really wanted. Being with Nate was amazing, she could never deny that, but what would happen if she stayed? Either they’d end up married and he’d want children, she’d have to sacrifice what she wanted and end up being someone she didn’t want to be, or he’d tire of her or decide she wasn’t the right kind of girl to marry and she’d end up heartbroken and scarred by the one man she’d put all her love and trust into.

She stared down into her empty glass. Either way she’d be repeating the mistakes of her mother, except that Faith would never leave her children like her mom had, and what was the point of vowing not to repeat the mistakes she’d witnessed if she just changed her mind and gave in because she had a hunch Nate might be different?

“I think someone definitely needs another drink,” Chloe suggested, holding out her hand to her.

Faith looked up, completely lost to her thoughts. “Sorry, what was that?” she asked.

“Drinks,” Chloe repeated. “We all need something else to drink, and then we’re dancing. No more talking about Nate or any of the boys, okay?”

Faith nodded. “Okay. Sounds good.”

She got up, grabbed her purse, and forced Nate from her mind. She knew how stupid her jumbled-up thoughts would sound to anyone else, so she wasn’t even going to try to explain to Chloe and Hope, or to any of her friends, either. Walking away from Nate would be hard, but staying would only end up being harder.

She held tight to Chloe’s hand as they walked through the crowd back toward the bar. They had abandoned their table, which meant it was time to knock back another drink, then dance, and if there was one thing that would take her mind off anything it was letting the beat take over her body and just having fun moving to music.

They stopped at the bar, Chloe pushing past a few guys and Hope following. They were both great to hang out with, and she’d definitely miss them. Hope was busy during the week working as a specialist artificial insemination vet, which was how she’d ended up crossing paths with Chase again, so it was Chloe she’d seen the most of on the ranch, although she liked them both.

“Hey, gorgeous, can I buy you a drink?”

A rough hand landed on Faith’s arm and she froze, wincing as the hold tightened. Arrows of fear shot through her.
Nate.
She wished he was right here beside her, keeping her safe. But he wasn’t.

“I said—”

“No,” she said, voice frosty. She went to pull her arm away, but he kept hold. “Let go.”

“Sweetheart, I was just having fun.”

She yanked her arm back, glaring at him before moving closer to Chloe and Hope. When Nate called her sweetheart it was one thing, but not some random stranger.

“Uptight bitch,” the guy muttered in a loud voice.

“Excuse me?” She should have ignored him, but she couldn’t. All that talk about Nate and getting all pissed off with her own thoughts, and now this?

Hope slipped an arm around her waist and whispered in her ear, taking her focus off the scumbag smirking at her, egged on by the guys standing with him. “He’s not worth it. Let’s go.”

Faith doubted Hope had even seen what was going on, but she’d quickly come to her aid. The music was starting to get louder and Chloe was turning around with their drinks. It wasn’t in Faith’s nature to back down and take it on the nose, but they were right. If Nate had been here she’d have welcomed his fist flying in the direction of the asshole’s face, but it was time to act like the single, capable woman she kept saying she was.

“Dickhead!” she called over her shoulder just to make herself feel better as she walked in the opposite direction. “What is it with guys thinking they have the right to buy us drinks or chat us up even when we’re not remotely interested?” Faith asked the other two, heads bent together as they sipped their vodkas through tiny black straws.

“Beats me,” Chloe muttered. “Although I have to admit I had a hell of a lot of fun playing hard to get with my man.”

They all laughed and carried their drinks with them toward the dance floor. About a third of the place had been cleared to make space for dancing, and there were already a heap of people up making the most of it.

“To dive bars and good friends,” Hope toasted.

Faith held up her glass. Tonight was fun, but it was also sad. Because in the morning she was going to have to make some tough decisions.

*   *   *

Nate heard the front door open, then shut. He’d been lying in bed for over an hour trying to get to sleep, but all he’d done was toss and turn and get the sheets in one hell of a tangle. He stayed still and listened, heard the tap of heels on the wooden floor, the pipes groan as the water in the kitchen was turned on, then silence.

He stayed on his side, quiet as he waited for some noise to alert him to where she was. It had taken every shred of his willpower not to phone her or get in his car and race off to see if she was okay, but his brothers had talked sense into him, just like he’d talked sense into Ryder earlier in the evening. Not to mention the fact that after a beer and a few whiskeys Nate had had too much to drive anyway. And besides, the overprotective, overbearing boyfriend type wasn’t really him, even if he was scared out of his wits that something might have happened to her.