Because You're Mine (4 page)

I’d never seen my father cry before. At the time, I didn’t think twice about not flying home for Christmas. It was only ever the three of us, anyway, so what was the big deal?

Oh, it was a very big deal.

“I know sweetie.” he said, stroking my small hand with his large one.

“So when do they say you can come home?” I asked, wiping tears from my eyes. I was eager to spend time with them, especially my father.

              “We’ll be here another few days or so.” My mother answered.

              “I’ll stay ‘til you get out.” I informed them, reaching for a Kleenex to dab my eyes.

              “That’s awful sweet of you, hun. But we know you gotta to get back to school. We’ll manage.” My mother smiled from the other side of the bed as she lovingly stroked my father’s arm.

              “You mean Holden can manage. I met him this morning.” I folded my arms across my chest. “Who is he anyway?”

              “He’s from Texas, ain’t he cute?” My mother crooned. Yeah, he was something alright.

              “Grace.” My father groaned. “Holden knows what needs to be done ‘round there, Maddie. He’s helped me out a few times in the fields. He’s agreed to help out ‘til I’m back on my feet.” He patted my hand.

              “Well, I know what needs to be done ‘round there too. I can handle it on my own daddy, you know that. I only have one class left this semester, and I’ve already emailed my professor about completing my course work online. It’s mainly just preppin’ for the final anyway. My boss told me to take as much time off as I needed. I’m stayin’.”

              He studied me for a moment. I knew that look. The look my father always gave me just before he laid the law. “There’s a lot to do.”

              “Daddy, I’ve got this.” I scoffed.

              “I’m talkin’ ‘bout the fields, Maddie. That equipment is big and dangerous. I only want Holden on that tractor, not you. Promise me.” he demanded in that voice that I knew could not be argued with.             

Gritting my teeth, I swallowed hard. “Yes sir.” I complied like a good girl, but what I really wanted to do was scream to the top of my lungs.

Swallowing my pride, I resolved to give my father as little grief as possible. The last thing he needed right now was a tantrum from his grown daughter.

***

              The long drive home was dark and quiet, leaving me with a lot of time to think. I thought about what a shitty daughter I’d been for ditching my parents at Christmas, and for not coming home as often as I should. I also thought about how stupid I’d been for sleeping with my boss. Plain and simple, I was disgusted with myself. I was ashamed of the person I’d become.

There wasn’t a doubt in my mind
what
I wanted to be, but how much of myself
would I sacrifice to get there? Living so far away from home had taken me away from the people that made me…
me
.

I needed to reflect.

To know and understand why I made some of the choices I’d made. I needed to learn from my mistakes and decide
who
I really wanted to be.

On the inside.

My phone buzzed in the seat next to me, and a beautiful brunette with mocha brown eyes and her tongue poking out filled my screen.

             
Katy
.

              “Hey,” I answered with a smile.  

              “Mom just called and told me what happened. How is he?” she asked, concern cracking in her voice.

              Katy was like a sister to me, so naturally my parents treated her as such. Katy was family.

              “He’s good. He had surgery to remove some blockage, he’ll be down for a while, but he’s gonna be just fine. How’re you?”

              Katy’s relieved sigh flooded down the line. “Thank God, I’ve been worried sick. I tried callin’ you earlier, but it went straight to voicemail. Where are you?”

              “On my way home. Where are you?”

              “I’m stuck at work. Come by. I want you to meet him.

              “Him?”

              “Archer.”

              “Oh.”

              “Yeah,” she sighed, dreamily.

              “I am on my way. It’s over there off Hwy. 3 right?”

              “Yep, just before you get to the boats. See ya in a bit, sweetie. Be careful.”

              “I will.” Yes, being home was definitely a good thing.

CHAPTER five

Happiness often sneaks through a

door you didn’t know you left open.

-John Barrymore

Holden

I smiled remembering how gorgeous she was. Her eyes were fucking phenomenal. The blue-grey orbs held a light that I’d never seen before and I was instantly drawn to her from the moment they locked with mine. Her chestnut hair had been pulled to the side in a ponytail resting over her right shoulder. All I could think about was wrapping my hand around the long, silky strand and kissing her pretty pink lips until I sucked every last bit of that shimmering shit off.

Thank God I had that fucking rag in my hands, because the only images that kept flashing through my mind as she jabbed at my chest were of me devouring that incredible looking mouth.

             
Fuck. 

              Adjusting my useless dick once again, I did my best not to think about her. Yet, ever since I left the Water’s property two hours ago, I couldn’t think about much else.

             
Maddie
.

I saw
Madison
when she reamed my ass. The soon to be, balls to the wall lawyer her father bragged about every chance he got. I liked Madison Waters.

But I liked
Maddie
a hell of a lot more. I saw her sweetness shine through when she thanked me for saving her father’s life. I saw it in the innocent way she smiled at me with those big, bright eyes so full of hope and light. Looking down, I pleaded with my dick.

No.

First of all, Eric Waters would physically remove my nuts if I even thought about touching his only daughter. He knew about my past. I’d never tried to hide it from anyone. There were certain parts I never talked about but I’d been honest with him about my vices, and in return he gave me his trust. Eric Waters, better known as Big E to the town folk, took a chance on a lost kid trying to find his place in this shit world. He was a well-respected man around these parts, and when a well-respected man refers your business, you don’t go fucking his pride and joy.

              Oh, there was no doubt about it. I wanted to fuck her. I wanted to fuck her so bad I couldn’t sit properly. I wanted to fuck her, make sweet love to her, and do very bad things to her. It was crazy fucking beautiful-the need I had for this woman.

              No.

              I had to stop thinking with my dick. There was no way I’d jeopardize my relationship with Big E. And I had a feeling Madison Waters was not the type of woman I could easily walk away from. Swallowing hard, I fisted the steering wheel.               No.

              My heart had been obliterated before, the pain and loss had nearly destroyed me.

             
No
.

              Maddie was off limits.

Madison
was off limits.

              I’d bought my house and the ten acres that came along with it two years ago. It was a work in progress, but it had a solid foundation, a great view, and it was mine. Dumping my pockets, I hooked my phone up to charge while I grabbed a quick shower. During the day I was a mechanic, but at night I helped manage my cousin Archer’s bar. I guess you could say I was somewhat of a work-a-holic. Even though I didn’t have to work at all, I made sure I constantly stayed busy. My sobriety depended on it. I could live comfortably off of my inheritance for the rest of my life, doing absolutely nothing, but I’d learned the hard way that was not an option for me.

You know what they say about idle hands.

I washed up…trying my best to ignore the raging hard on that kept staring me in the face. She was seriously fucking with my head.

              Both of them.

***

              I had to hand it to Arch…he knew exactly what he was doing. My cousin had been a Vegas night club owner for ten years prior to moving here. That experience, mixed with his Texas roots, and the perfect location, made Archer’s a huge success right off the bat.

The main bar was about twenty feet long, accented with red and white lighting. Black leather stools lined the lip of the bar, while black pub tables and chairs flocked the mahogany wood floors throughout. The back housed six pool tables. All of which, Archer had specially hand crafted with red felt tops, and black and white intricate base designs. The dance floor was massive, housing a fully equipped stage for live bands. The waitresses all wore black tank tops with
Archer’s
written with red cursive letters across the front, denim shorts, and black cowboy boots. They were all hot-coming in every shape and size.

              Our rarest breed, Katy Vaughn, was stocking the bar when I arrived for my shift. Katy was one cool ass chick. She was just a down home, sweet girl. She would do anything in the world for anybody. Since the bar opened almost a year ago, Katy had become a good friend.

              “What up, Kat? Arch in the back?”

              Shoving bottled beer into the cooler, she gave me a sweet smile. “Hey, Holden. Yeah, he’s been back there all day.”

              “Thanks, darlin’.” I gave the bar a light slap.              Archer’s office was located behind the full length mirror that lined the back of the bar. He’d had it designed so that it sat several feet above the ground, giving him a perfect view of the whole damn bar.

              Money could buy some ridiculously cool shit.

              “Do you know how many hours I’ve spent going through this footage, and I still can’t figure out who let those underage girls in last night.” Archer said without looking up from his laptop.

              I sat down in one of the oversized red chairs squatting in front of his desk. Resting my ankle on my knee, I laced my fingers behind my head and waited for my instructions. “Jake and Wade are on the floor tonight. Billy’s workin’ the door.” he informed me, then resumed pecking away on his laptop. “Make sure you check on the kitchen staff too, Lenny’s been taking way to many smoke breaks. Stay on his ass.”

              “Got it.” I answered.

              “Reckless Heart is playin’ tomorrow night. It’s gonna be busy as fuck, so be here early.”

              “Got it.”

              “How’s Big E?” Archer asked, finally looking up from his computer.

              “Good. He’ll be in the hospital for a few more days, but he’s gonna pull through. I met his daughter today.”

              Archer looked up from his laptop. “And?”

              “She’s everything he said she’d be, fuckin’ gorgeous with a mouth like a razor. I can’t stop thinkin’ ‘bout ‘er.” I confessed.

              Archer shook his head. “Pussy.”

              “I know.” I exhaled deeply.

              “Ask ‘er out.” he said with a shrug.

              He made it sound so easy.

              “You’ve met Big E right? He’d serve my nuts up on a paper plate with hot sauce if I made a move on his daughter.”

              “She’s a grown woman, Holden?” He did have a point.

              “Aside from your nuts, what do you have to lose?” he asked.

              “My heart?” I tossed out, standing up from the chair.

              “Jesus Christ, it can’t be that serious.” Archer said with a chuckle. 

              I laughed it off. But I was dead fucking serious. “I’m gonna go make my rounds before the crowd pours in.” Making my way back out to the front of the bar, my mind was once again focused on one thing and one thing only.

             
Maddie
.

***

              It was a little after eight when my night turned to shit. She was there with another guy, but that didn’t stop her from eye fucking the shit out of me the whole damn night. I was taking a break in my usual spot at the end of the bar when she made her way over.

              “Hi, Holden.” Her high pitched voice caused my jaw to tighten. Fuck, she was annoying as hell.

              “Alexis.” I didn’t bother to look at her. I knew she had on a top that was pimping those fake tits of hers for all their worth.

              “Wanna meet up after work?” she asked, twirling a curl of her blonde hair.

              I still couldn’t believe I let my dick talk me into that one. Alexis Davis was a rich, spoiled brat who thought she could get any guy she wanted. And for some ungodly reason, the crazy bitch wanted me. I’d made the mistake of fucking her a few times in the parking lot after work. I had to admit, it was fun while it lasted. She’s was a freaky little thing. But then she started getting all clingy and shit. I thought I did the right thing by letting her know up front that I didn’t want anything serious. She’d said she understood.

But one night she showed up here causing a ruckus when she saw me talking to another woman. A friend of mine’s wife, actually. She even tried to fight the poor girl. I had to kick her out for the night and warned her that if she ever pulled a stunt like that again, I would ban her ass for good. The woman refused to take no for an answer. 

              “No,” My arms were crossed against my chest as I looked out over the crowd.