Make Mine a Bad Boy (33 page)

“Baby showers,” Darla supplied. “We’re plannin’ baby showers.”

“Really?” He shot a glance over at Hope.

In between orgasms, they had talked about a lot of things. The town’s troubles. Music and books. Politics and religion. Colt’s adventures on the road and Hope’s adventures in Hollywood. Colt’s passion for motorcycles and
Hope’s passion for the town of Bramble. But the baby was one topic they had avoided.

“I’m sure it’s nothin’ that you would be interested in, Colt,” Cindy Lynn said, still devouring him with her eyes.

To keep herself from slapping Cindy Lynn upside the head, Hope picked up a little cheesecake cup from the plate in front of her and popped it in her mouth.

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Colt strolled over, and the thick cream cheese lodged in Hope’s throat. “I think people might be surprised at what I find interestin’.”

And then right there in front of the biggest gossips in Bramble, he reached across the counter and curled his fingers under Hope’s chin, his eyes sparkling with devilry. “You missed some, honey.” His thumb brushed across her lips in a long, heated stroke before he brought the digit back to his mouth and sucked it clean.

Heat infused Hope’s body as he sent her another sizzling smile before he turned and strolled out of the kitchen. With her lips burning and her mind tumbling, she sat frozen to the bar stool, waiting for the shock to wear off and the questions to start.

But she’d overestimated the IQ of the planning committee.

“So do I get to do the poopy-diaper game or what?” Twyla asked.

Hope sat through another fifteen minutes of craziness before she had had enough. Slipping off the bar stool, she sent everyone a bright smile. “Excuse me, y’all, but I have to go to the bathroom.”

Rachel waved one oversized hand. “You go right ahead, sugar. My bladder felt like the size of a pea when I was pregnant.”

Hope continued smiling until she rounded the corner into the living room. Then, once out of sight, she dashed to the front door and slipped out. She had barely knocked on the door of the guesthouse when it was jerked open and she was pulled inside against Colt’s damp, naked body, straight from the shower.

“I was hoping you’d come callin’.” He nibbled along her neck, causing her legs to turn to jelly.

She ran her hands up through his thick hair and pulled him closer, relishing the feel of his hungry mouth against her neck and his hard chest against the tight nipples that pressed through her sweater. But when he reached for the edge of that sweater, she stopped him.

“So who were you talking to on the phone? Did you get a business to move here?” When his desire-filled eyes didn’t clear, she tugged on his hair. “Come on, Lomax, don’t keep me in suspense.”

“At a time like this,” he took her hand from his hair and pressed it to his hard-on, “is that all you can think about?”

She gave him a few lingering strokes that turned his eyes to liquid heat before she answered. “Not all, but we’ll get to the other things I’m thinking about later.”

The passion-filled eyes sparkled back at her. “In that case… yes, Desperado Customs is opening a shop here.”

With a squeal, she threw herself back against him. “You did it! You came through!”

“Now, hold up, Hope.” His face was serious when he pulled her away. “A small motorcycle custom shop isn’t going to save the town if C-Corp doesn’t buy Dalton.”

“I know that, but it’s a start.” She cocked her head to one side. “Desperado? Isn’t that the name you wrote in
permanent marker on the back of that jacket you owned as a teenager?”

Although it was hard to tell in the shadowed entryway, it looked as if he blushed. The sight of such a tough guy blushing made her heart melt, and to hide her reaction, she leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed him. The depth of the tenderness she felt for this man took the sexual heat to a new level, turning the kiss into a greedy mating of uncontrollable need.

His hand slipped beneath her skirt, and she didn’t hesitate to hike up a leg and give him full access. But when his warm fingers came in contact with wet heat, he groaned and pulled away from the kiss.

“You were sitting there the entire time without any panties?” he asked in a desire-roughened voice.

“Didn’t you tell me it would make things easy if I left them off?” She leaned in and ran her tongue over his nipple.

Tipping his head back, he groaned up at the ceiling. “God, I love a woman who listens.”

Before she could move to his other nipple, his hands dipped beneath her skirt and lifted her up. Her legs came around his waist, and he pressed deep inside her. The hard penetration took her breath away, but no more than the sweet thrusts that followed. His biceps flexed as he brought her hips forward, then back. With his hands gripping the flesh of her bottom and the tips of his fingers teasing the sensitive area deep inside the crevice, it didn’t take long for her to go tumbling over the edge of an amazing orgasm. She tightened her legs and moaned out her release, while Colt followed right behind her.

Once their breathing had returned to normal, he
carried her into the bedroom, where he laid her down on rumpled sheets. Easing down beside her, he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.

“I’ve missed you.”

“Hmmm,” she sighed. “I’ve missed you too.”

He slipped a hand beneath her sweater. “I tried calling you all day yesterday, but your phone was busy.” His hand skated over the lace of her bra.

“Ryan keeps calling me. He’s worried that I won’t be on the plane tomorrow.” She drew a heart in the middle of his chest hair, but before she could do something really stupid like add initials, Colt grabbed her hand.

“You’re leaving tomorrow?”

His question brought her out of her sexual haze and slammed her back to reality. A reality she’d been avoiding. She
was
leaving tomorrow. Leaving this town. Leaving her family. And leaving this man, who stared down at her with a look in his gray eyes that made it difficult to speak.

Her hand dropped from his neck, and she sat up. “First thing in the morning.”

He followed her, his bare chest inches from her shoulder. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I told you about the reality show.” It was a lame answer, and she knew it. But it was better to keep things as uncomplicated as possible.

Unfortunately, it was too late for that.

He stared at her for a second longer before he rolled to his feet. “Yeah, I guess you did.” Completely unconcerned with his nudity, he walked over to the sliding glass doors and stared out. “So if you’re leaving tomorrow, what are you doing here?” He glanced back at her. “Or was this just a quickie before you left town?”

Before she could do more than sputter, he laughed, the sound harsh and brittle. “I thought things had changed, but I see that they haven’t. You’re still the same scared little girl, searching for the town’s approval. And I’m still that poor Lomax kid, just waiting to be acknowledged.”

Now angry, she jumped up from the bed. “Fine, you want me to acknowledge you? I’ll run into town and scream at the top of my lungs that the baby is yours. But you better be ready for what happens next, Colt Lomax. Because if you thought shooting out the stained glass window of the First Baptist Church with a BB gun pissed them off, it will be nothing compared to how they’ll react when they find out you impregnated me. And I don’t think you’ll like their solution. Not when it will include being chained to a town and a woman you couldn’t get away from fast enough.”

His eyes darkened. “Who’s running now, Hope? Because it sure as hell isn’t me.”

Stunned, Hope stared back at him. But before she could open her mouth to find out what he meant, the front door crashed open. And Colt barely had enough time to grab a pair of jogging shorts and slip them on before Faith raced into the bedroom.

When she saw Hope, she seemed more relieved than surprised. “It’s Shirlene. Something’s wrong. She came out of the bedroom screaming at the top of her lungs for everyone to get out.”

Their anger forgotten, Hope and Colt exchanged looks before they headed for the door.

By the time they reached the main house, the ladies of Bramble were gone. Only Shirlene remained, her tall frame pulled into a tight ball in one corner of the couch.
When they came through the back doors, she glanced up and her green eyes glittered with unshed tears.

“The craziest thing happened, y’all.” Shirlene swallowed hard as a tiny droplet trickled down her cheek. “Lyle up and died on me.”

T
HE NEWS THAT
Lyle Dalton had suffered a heart attack while celebrating the buyout of his company spread like wildfire through Texas. And business associates from all over the state converged on Bramble for the funeral. Besides oil men, there were land developers, technology leaders, media moguls, ranchers, and politicians. Even the governor stopped by for a short eulogy—one of many that were made during the two-hour church service.

When the service ended, a long line of limos, rental SUVs, and trucks headed out to Heavenly Haven Cemetery, where Pastor Robbins said a few last words before an honor guard gave a three-volley gun salute for the years that Lyle had served in the military. After the last shots echoed into the cloudy November sky and the flag was folded to the bugler’s poignant rendition of “Taps,” the crowd dispersed to give the family a chance for final good-byes.

Hope wandered over to a nearby oak tree to watch as Lyle’s midnight blue coffin was lowered into the ground. Shirlene and Colt stood at the front of the group, both dressed in somber black. And although the style was
the complete opposite of his faded jeans and T-shirts, Hope couldn’t help but admire the figure Colt cut in the expensive suit.

After learning of Lyle’s heart attack, Colt and Hope had worked together to get Lyle’s body flown home from Houston, notify family and friends, and help with the funeral arrangements. And although they spoke cordially to one another, their argument in the guesthouse remained between them. It seemed that no matter how many bridges they had crossed since Colt returned, it would never be enough—something that brought an intense wave of sorrow to Hope’s heart as she watched Colt pull Shirlene close and kiss her forehead.

“I always hoped that you would marry that boy,” a gruff voice behind Hope said.

Startled out of her thoughts, Hope turned to find her daddy standing there. Unlike Colt’s suit, Burl’s black suit was faded and ill-fitting, the jacket stretching tight across his large linebacker shoulders and coming up short on his thick forearms.

Sending him a weak smile, she glanced over at Slate, who was talking with Harley, his arm hooked protectively around Faith. “You and the entire town, Daddy.”

“I wasn’t talkin’ about Slate,” he stated. “I was talkin’ about Colt.”

Her gaze snapped back to her father’s deep blue eyes. “What?”

Looking down at his scuffed cowboy boots, he shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, I guess it was a pretty crazy thought, seein’ as how you two are a little like a lit match to dynamite.”

Hope snorted. “That’s putting it lightly, Daddy.”

He grinned. “There were a few times I thought you were going to kill the poor boy.”

“The poor boy? I wasn’t the one flattening
his
bike tires, or putting gum on the door handles of
his
vehicle.”

Her daddy chuckled, a sound that had always warmed her. “And maybe that’s what got me to thinkin’ about you two. Colt reminded me of myself when I was younger.”

“You did things like that to Mama?”

“Worse. There was this one time that I—” He blushed. “Anyway I was pretty ornery. And there was nothing I liked better than gettin’ your mama all riled up for a good fight.”

Hope stared at him. “But I never heard you and Mama fighting.”

“Probably because by the time you got old enough to know what was going on, we had learned to keep our fights behind closed doors.” A smile creased his weathered face. “You remind me so much of your mama when she was younger—she was the feistiest little spitfire you’d ever want to meet.” He shook his head. “ ’Course she still is, when I forget to put down the toilet seat.”

Hope grinned, but it faded when he continued.

“Now the crazy woman has got it in her head that you’re thinkin’ about givin’ up the baby.” His eyes, which were so much like her own, filled with a sadness that broke Hope’s heart. “Thinks it has something to do with us givin’ Faith away.”

“Oh, Daddy,” Hope moved into his waiting arms, burrowing her face against the familiar Dial-soap scent of him. She had cried so much in the last couple weeks, she thought she was all cried out. But as her tears soaked her daddy’s suit jacket, she realized she’d been wrong.

“I thought I had it all figured out,” she sobbed. “I’d
move to Hollywood and give the baby to Shirlene and everyone would be happy. But even if it makes perfect sense, I can’t do it. I just can’t give P-pumpkin Seed away.”

Her daddy awkwardly patted her back. “Well, sometimes things don’t have to make sense, honey. Sometimes they just have to feel right.”

She pulled back and stared at him as he continued.

“And I’m not talkin’ about fickle emotion. I’m talkin’ about the kind of feelin’ that settles right down in your soul—the kind that tells you you’ve made the right decision, even if it don’t make no sense at all.”