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I was not going to accept that. “Think harder, Sam. Why would you punch your friend?” Her face turned mulish, and I began to feel irritated too. “Did he say something to upset you?”
“No.”
“Did he do something then?”
“No,” she replied stiffly.
“Sam, I cannot help you if you don’t tell me what happened,” I replied.
“Nothing happened, Dad,” she said. “Now, can I go?”
“No, you cannot go,” I said. “What happened after Tyler told you about his aunt? Why did you call him an idiot?”
“He sounded like one,” she replied.
I pressed my lips tight. “Before we get to why you thought he sounded like an idiot, have we not talked about you calling people names, Sam? You cannot call anyone an idiot, a baby, or a jackass.”
Her head snapped, and I said, “I know you said it about Kenny last week. You know better, Sam; why aren’t you doing better?”
“I don’t know!” she shouted, then gazed up at me, her eyes filled with tears. “…I don’t know.”
Those last words, whispered into the air, rang in my ears as if they had been shouted from the rooftops. Instantly, I wrapped my arm around her and held her tight, guilt, fear, and dread curdling in my chest. It pained me how scared she was.
“I’m sorry I scared you, baby. I’m all right, I promise,” I said softly. When she didn’t move, I picked her up and sat her on my lap. I cleared my throat and added, “We’ll figure it out together, okay? I promise we’ll figure it out.”
With her tucked into my side, I held her tight. God knew I was not ready for her to grow up so quickly. I loved her with all my heart and half of her dearly departed mother’s, too. I missed how her toddler self would wrap her arms around my neck and hold on tight, feeling the wet kisses she planted on my cheek.
I wanted her innocence back, but things were changing so quickly that I felt we were off track and hurdling down a path with thickets closing in, and I needed to find a way to get us back into the clear.
But how do I do that? I may need some professional help.
* * *
I was past tuckered four days later, with the back and forth with the Twisted Twine’s ranch managers—I had not spoken directly to the head honcho yet—we’d agreed on the substantive order they needed from us, not to mention a long day on the ranch.
Thankfully, Sam’s antics were not added to my stress list, which was a breath of relief. She was holding her head down and doing her work, and I had not heard a pip from her. I didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad one.
The warm shower I’d had earlier had taken some of the tension out of my body, but a nugget of apprehension rested in my belly. It was as if I kept waiting for the other boot to drop and crush the toes on my other foot.
With a glass of scotch, my mind wandered back to Ms. Everett…Rayna.
God above, she was still so beautiful. She was fresh, wholesome, and gorgeous with dark hair, lightly tan skin, and a petite body. Her eyes were a sparkling, clear brown and had a slight feline tilt at the corners.
She’s a beautiful woman,I acknowledged.There’s no harm in admitting that.
What I did not want to admit was that throughout the meeting, flashes of her breasts in my hand, her hips under my grip, came to mind. She might have been dressed down for business, but her body was made for sex, and all I wanted to do was get naked and fuck her again.
I remembered how her deep blue wrap dress complimented her skin perfectly and fit her like a glove. While she had a cardigan over it—proper school attire—the v-neckline of the dress had drawn my eye, and my gaze lingered on her enticingly full breasts beneath the cloth. Her hair had sometimes shifted, showing her delicate neck and a thin chain circling it.
I’d taken care not to stare too much, but I had not imagined the way her gaze would roam over my face and land on my lips—right before darting away.
I wondered…
Sighing, I threw back the rest of my drink; it was better not to think that way. This was a woman who would be in constant connection with my children. Mixing business and pleasure was not a good idea, even if she was inclined that way. I was sure it would come back to bite me in the ass.
I hadn’t had a woman in so long that I briefly wondered if that part of me was dead and had withered away. The drive to pull my family and me so far away from poverty and climb the success ladder had taken over my life that I had let my physical needs drop to the side.
As much as I was tempted, I had to remember that my daughters’ needs come first, and I needed a distraction. Throwing back the rest of my drink, I stood and made my way out of the house and to the stables, nodded to a few of the guys there, and went to saddle my horse.
