Betting the Farm Page 3

  Her father’s company built diesel engines for commercial-grade tractors and road building equipment—a business he’d taken over from his father—with over one hundred-fifty employees on his payroll. He was also chairman of the board for Serenity’s largest community bank, part owner of the only Chevrolet dealership in town, and the president of the Serenity Golf and Country Club. In other words, he liked making money and having his hands in local commerce.

  “Do you mind if I wait another week or so, Dad? Just until I can get myself re-acclimated.” And find another place to live.

  Her father shrugged. “Whatever you wish, sweetheart.”

  Kai stood and dropped a kiss on his temple. “Thank you.”

  “Oh, Kai, I almost forgot. I’ll need your help with the Junior League brunch on Saturday. I’m in charge of the flower arrangements for the tables,” her mother said. It wasn’t a request but instead more of a directive.

  Lacking the energy for an argument, Kai sighed. “Sure, Mom.”

  She scooped up her dishes and carried them to the kitchen. Lita, her parents’ live-in housekeeper, made a shooing motion with her hand and tutted at Kai when she tried to rinse them off in the sink.

  Slipping out the back door, Kai crossed the yard to her old swing suspended from a limb of an ancient oak. It had been there so long the tree’s bark had long since enveloped the rope.

  God, did she need a place of her own. She loved her family but her mother could be so overbearing and pushy. Josh lived in the guesthouse above the garage, free of charge, so there went that option. But living there wouldn’t solve anything either. She’d still be under their noses. No, she needed distance along with that space.

  As a tepid summer breeze stirred the air around her, she thought about Fritz.

  He’d stripped her naked and she’d spent the night in his bed. Alone. Not that she’d been in any shape to do anything else but sleep. It was still disappointing. What would it feel like to wake up in his arms, his hard, naked body wrapped around hers?

  What would sex with Fritz be like now that they were grown, more experienced and knew their bodies better than when they were clueless teenagers? Even back then, Fritz had always been gentle and patient.

  The night they’d lost their virginity together was a tender memory she’d never forget. Oh, it had hurt and they’d been awkward as hell with each other, but it was incredibly special all the same. If she could go back in time and do things over, she wouldn’t change a single thing. If she closed her eyes, she could still remember the intoxicating scent of the honeysuckle vine climbing the fence nearby, how bright the moon had been, bathing their naked, sweat-dampened bodies, and the way Fritz had trembled as he’d carefully pushed inside her.

  So, so sweet.

  Her parents had never liked Fritz. They said he was too wild and rough, a bad influence. But she knew the truth. The reason they didn’t like him was because he was a farmer’s son. A local boy with no intention of ever going to college and no lofty aspirations of becoming a lawyer or a doctor or a state senator—and the only person who had ever held sway over their daughter besides them.

  Funny how wealth made you forget your own roots—her great-great grandparents had been cotton farmers.

  Now Kai was back in Serenity after seeing what marrying into another rich family had to offer and she hadn’t liked what she saw. The hard part was going to be asserting her independence, finding her own way without her parents’ stifling influence and opinions. She shook her head.

  No way was that happening.

  * * * * *

  “So how was the wedding?” Grace asked over the rim of her water glass.

  Kai had agreed to meet Grace for lunch Tuesday, atonement for being left alone Saturday night at Sam’s Tavern.

  “Boring as watching paint dry, like most weddings. I’ve decided that if I ever do get married, I’m throwing a big barbeque with a live country band. We’ll have it inside a barn and everyone can wear jeans and boots and get drunk on beer. There won’t be a bottle of champagne in sight, just ice-cold kegs of Bud Light. My cake will be made out of Twinkies or those little powdered sugar donuts that come sixteen to a bag.”

  Grace looked at her as if she’d sprouted a spiked horn in the middle of her forehead. “Your mother would have a stroke.”

  Kai shrugged and picked at the crust on her half-eaten sandwich. “It’s my wedding we’re talking about, not hers.”

  Grace scowled. “Okay, Sad Sally, what the heck’s going on with you?”

  “I don’t know.” Kai pushed her plate away. “Since I’ve been back, I feel…lost. I’m supposed to start a job at my dad’s company soon but I can’t seem to muster much enthusiasm for it. My mother is already becoming suffocating, planning my induction into every horrific, female-bonding gaggle in existence, trying to set me up with any eligible bachelor in town. Strike that—any rich, eligible bachelor. I’ve got to find my own place, and soon, or I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”

  “Have you started looking?”

  “There are a few houses in town for rent. I’ve written down phone numbers as I came across them. I thought I’d sit down tonight and make a few calls.”

  “You could move in with me if you’d like,” Grace said.

  Kai patted her friend’s hand and smiled. “That’s kind of you to offer but your place is tiny enough with you in it. I’m afraid it wouldn’t take long before we were on each other’s last nerve.”

  “You’re probably right, with a single bathroom to share. I wouldn’t mind having a bigger place myself. Maybe we should look for a house we can rent together. Something with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.”

  Kai loved Grace, but the truth was she didn’t want a roommate. In college she’d shared a dorm room, then afterward, an apartment with two casual friends. Once she’d graduated and landed a job interning for Southard & Smith, she’d leased a small one-bedroom apartment and loved having her own private space. Once you’ve experienced the freedom of lounging around in your underwear, it was hard to give that up.

  “The rent on houses that size can be kind of steep,” she said, hoping to throw Grace off the idea of cohabitating.

  Grace pursed her lips. “Yeah, I hadn’t thought about that. My rent is six hundred dollars a month now. By the time you add in my utilities and such, that’s about all I can afford on my junior loan officer salary.” She made air quotes around the junior, her tone saying she was a tad bitter about the title. Serenity was a hard place for women to be treated equally in professions such as banking and government. Sad and unfair, but that was one of the unfortunate realities of small-town life. “Say, I meant to ask you. How’d you get home from Sam’s Saturday night?”

  Damn if she hadn’t moved on to an even touchier subject.

  Kai considered lying to Grace too but decided against it. She could only cover up so much before the tales would catch up with her. “Fritz took me home.” Okay, she still wasn’t being completely honest, but no way was she telling Grace she’d spent the night in his bed, even if nothing happened between the two of them.

  Grace’s green eyes widened. “Fritz, as in your ex-boyfriend?”

  “Is there another Fritz in Serenity?”

  “I bet that was some reunion.”

  Kai frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Just that everyone in town knows how pissed off he was when you left. Jessie said for nearly a year afterward, he drank like a fish and picked fights with anyone who would stand still.”

  “That was a long time ago. He was nice to me, a perfect gentleman,” she offered, not bothering to keep the defensiveness from her tone. “And how would your brother know how he behaved after I left? I thought he traveled in different circles than Fritz?”

  Grace shrugged. “Their paths crossed at a party one night. Jessie overheard him grumbling about you being too good for him and Serenity. When he defended your decision to leave, it turned into an argument. Fritz got pissed and punched him in the face.”

  Kai gasped, clapping her hand over her mouth. “Oh God, Grace. I’m so sorry that happened to Jessie. I’ll be sure to apologize the next time I see him.”

  “Why should you have to apologize when you weren’t the one who threw the punch? Like you said, it was a long time ago. They were boys, jacked up on excess booze and testosterone. You know how those things can get out of hand. Jessie’s probably forgotten it ever happened.” She narrowed her eyes at Kai. “I could ask you the same thing. Have you forgotten everything or are there still buried feelings between the two of you?”

  Kai averted her gaze for fear that Grace might see the truth—that Fritz had been all she’d thought about since he’d sidled up behind her in Sam’s, reminding her body of the powerful effect he’d always had on her. Her mind was quickly following suit.

  “I guess there will always be something between us. You never forget your first love, right?” She was trying to sound flippant when she knew good and well there was more to it than chaste memories of puppy love.

  “Well, I hate to bring this up, but your parents will have an absolute cow if they hear of you seeing him again. You know how much they hated it when you dated him before.”

  That observation made her bristle with anger. Not at Grace, but the unpleasant reminder of her parents’ biases. “I’m not seeing him again, and besides, I’m a grown woman, dammit. If I did want to see Fritz, it’s none of their business.”

  Grace held up her hands, red curls bouncing around her shoulders as she shook her head. “Hey, I’m only stating the obvious. Feel free to rebel at will. Just be prepared for the repercussions. Serenity might’ve grown since you left but it still has that small-town mentality. You’d be wise to remember the gossip vine here is like kudzu—wild, rampant and hard to kill.”

  Chapter Four

  “Richie said Kai was back in town,” Fritz’s brother Sage said from behind him.

  Fritz grunted and continued to work at loosening the stubborn, rusty bolt on the tractor’s engine.

  “He also said she got drunk Saturday night at Sam’s and you threatened to beat the shit out of Hoyt Tanner for touchin’ her ass before she left the bar with you.”

  Fritz’s head shot up, banging into the metal engine cover. “Fuck!” He rubbed the back of his throbbing skull and glared down at Sage from his perch on the tractor’s tire. “Richie needs to learn how to keep his damn big mouth shut. He’s worse than a gossipy ol’ lady. I’ll remind him of that the next time I see him. And I didn’t threaten to beat the shit out of Hoyt. I just…told him I’d break a few fingers.”

  “Uh-huh. But it’s true that Kai left the bar with you. Did you take her home and fuck her, Fritz? ’Cause if you did, maybe you’re the one who needs remindin’ of a few things. Like how it took all me’n Eli could do to keep you from becomin’ an alcoholic and out of jail for fightin’ after she left town before. Remember those good times, brother?”

  “Not that it’s any of your goddamn business, but no, I didn’t fuck her! And I don’t need you to remind me of anything, Sage. Now hand me that crescent wrench lying by the tire and shut the hell up,” Fritz barked.

  “Yeah, I can tell her bein’ back in town hasn’t affected you at all. You’re as ornery as a castrated rooster in a coop full of hens.” Sage shoved the wrench up at Fritz. “I’ll be in the office,” he grumbled and trudged off.

  Fritz wiped his sweaty forehead on the sleeve of his T-shirt and scowled at the tractor’s diesel engine as if it had done something to personally offend him.

  No way was he copping to anyone about anything involving Kai, not even his brothers.

  Yeah, Sage and their older brother Eli had saved his ass back then, and he’d thanked them for it in a dozen different ways. So they were even. They damn sure didn’t need to remind him of the heartbreak he’d gone through after she left. Trouble was when he was with her, all that pain seemed to fade into the background like white noise, leaving nothing but want in its place. That pissed him off too. He hated that her mere presence had the ability to turn him into a raw, open wound. Vulnerable and sore and in need of her attention.

  So what if he was in a grouchy mood? As long as everybody stayed out of his way, it wasn’t affecting anyone but Fritz and the palm of his hand. At the rate he was going, he was bound to build up calluses on his calluses, jacking off to the memory of Kai’s incredible naked body in his bed.

  As if his imagination had conjured her out of thin air, Sage announced from behind him, “Look who decided to pay us a visit this afternoon, Fritz.”

  Sighing, he peered over his shoulder to see Sage’s arm casually slung across Kai’s shoulders, nothing but smugness on the annoying bastard’s face. Fritz stepped down from the tractor, dropping the wrench to the concrete floor of the barn next to his other tools. He propped his greasy hands on his hips and gave his brother a “get lost” look. Sage took the hint but not before simulating a noose around his neck behind Kai’s back.

  She stepped closer, a tentative smile on her beautiful, makeup-free face. Fritz drank her in, feeling his gut tighten. Not many women could pull off the clean look without looking lifeless and too many of them wore cosmetics thick as pancake batter. Kai didn’t need it. Her skin was healthy and flawless, her lips the same rosy shade as her nipples. And then there were those incredible blue eyes that watched him warily. Why was she nervous around him all of a sudden? Maybe she sensed his agitated mood.

  And dammit if want didn’t slam into him with the force of a pissed-off Black Angus bull. Since he’d done nothing but fantasize about her since Saturday night, it was worse today. Even if he’d tried to watch a movie or work himself into physical exhaustion, she still crept in.

  He was right back where he’d been six years ago. All that ground he’d gained in getting over her was wiped away in the course of performing one fucking chivalrous act.

  “Hey,” she said.

  She shoved her hands in the front pockets of her cutoff denim shorts and hunched her shoulders, inadvertently pushing her breasts together beneath the baby-pink tank top she wore. He swallowed a groan. The shorts alone were enough to inspire a few more fantasies, never mind the sexy top that hid very little and clung to her curves like another layer of skin. He could see the lace trim on her bra through the thin fabric. But then, he’d find Kai sexy in a burlap sack and hip waders.

  “What brings you out to farm country, Kai?” His voice sounded tight, impatient. Fritz snatched the rag from his back pocket to scrub at his dirty hands, another indicator of their differences.

  She rocked on her heels. “I, uh…I realized I hadn’t thanked you properly for taking care of me Saturday night. I wanted to tell you in person how much I appreciated it.”

  “I wasn’t going to leave you in that bar alone, especially with the way Tanner was pawin’ all over you. And you’re welcome.”

  Kai meandered over to the tractor while looking around at her surroundings. “You’ve built a bigger barn. This one’s nice and roomy—concrete floor, roll-up doors, even an air-conditioned office.”

  Fritz propped his butt against the tire of the tractor he was working on and shrugged. “Business has been good the last several years.”

  “That’s great. I’m happy for you and your family. You always did like farming.”

  “I guess it’s in my blood.”

  “Speaking of which, how are your mom and dad?”

  “Fine. They’ve handed over the reins for the most part, lettin’ me, Sage and Eli run things.”

  “Looks like it’s in capable hands,” she said with a hesitant smile.

  “Was there something else on your mind besides small talk?”

  Her quiet laugh made his head fill with sexy recollections of sweaty nights on his truck seat, skin that tasted like heaven under his lips, the whispered words “don’t stop” sliding off her tongue.

  “You don’t miss much, do you?”

  “Not when it comes to you, I don’t.”

  She was so close now he caught the soft scent of her shampoo or perfume. Whatever it was made his knees weak. No doubt he smelled like grease and hard-earned sweat.

  “I also wanted to apologize for…everything, Fritz. For not writing or calling enough after I left for college like I should have. Like I promised I would.” She licked her lips. “For so many things that I did wrong.” She looked down, scraping one toe back and forth across the concrete floor.

  The scar on his heart picked that moment to throb at the reminder of the hurt she’d put him through. He wanted to forgive her, needed to in order to shed the cloak of resentment that seemed to always be around his shoulders where she was concerned. But there was also the small part of him that wanted her to suffer like he had, as juvenile as that was. It was obvious she hadn’t until now. Not until she moved back and had to face him and her guilt. It was thatdemon who decided to rear its ugly head.

  She looked up, extending her hand toward his face. He caught her wrist in his fingers, afraid to let her touch him.

  She frowned. “You have grease on your chin.”

  He swiped at his face with the rag in his free hand. “Everything’s still the same as before you left though, isn’t it?”

  “What?”

  “Nothing’s changed,” he ground out.

  Confusion wrinkled her brow, and no wonder. He wasn’t making much sense to himself. “I don’t understand what you mean.”

  He leaned closer. “You’re doing what Daddy and Mommy want you to do. You’re living under their roof, spending his money, and I’d be willing to bet my truck you’re going to work for Donnelly Motors.”

  A deep-pink flush crept into her cheeks. She snatched at her arm but Fritz held tight, knowing he was hurting her, physically and emotionally, but unable to let go. “You’re not being fair, Fritz. I just moved back. Where am I supposed to go, the street?”