Betting the Farm (3 page)

Biting his tongue, he nodded and pushed to his feet. “Your
clothes are on the chair.”

Kai brushed her hair out of her eyes, cocked her head.
“Since I was unconscious last night, how did I take off my dress?”

“I haven’t the slightest idea how you managed that.” He
winked. “I’ll be in the kitchen when you’re ready.”

While Fritz waited for Kai to dress, he turned off the
coffee maker and washed the pot, trying hard not to think about how good she
looked in his bed. Finally, after all the times they’d fooled around in his
truck or under the stars, he had her in his bed and he’d spent the night on the
damn couch. Those sheets would stay on the mattress until her scent was long
gone.

True, he could have left her in that tight dress, but he
figured she’d be more comfortable out of it. At least that’s what he told his
conscience. And no matter how hard his conscience berated him for it, he’d
stood beside the bed and looked his fill of her smokin’ hot naked body. He’d
hoped the image would burn itself into his brain before he covered her with the
sheet.

He’d seen Kai naked many times, but back then he’d had the
raging hormones of a randy teenager and unable to fully appreciate her budding
curves, her soft skin and natural beauty. What he’d seen last night stole his
breath from his lungs. He wanted to touch her, taste her, bury himself inside
her and stay forever. The realization that she still affected him the way she
did shook him to his very soul.

“I’m ready,” she said from behind him.

He glanced down at his hands, at the white-knuckle grip he
had on the edge of the sink, and let out a quiet sigh. “Let me grab a shirt and
my keys and I’ll take you home.”

At dinner that evening, Kai pushed her food around her plate
with her fork, still slightly woozy from the excess alcohol she’d drunk the
night before. The conversation between her parents and Josh was just background
noise until her mother poked her arm.

“Sorry, Mom, did you say something?”

“I asked what happened to you last night. One minute you
were there and the next time I looked up, you were gone.”

Lifting her tea glass to her lips, she sipped then lied.
“Oh, I, uh…went to Grace’s.”

“Grace’s, huh?” Josh asked with a sly grin. “Funny, I talked
to her at brunch this morning and she said—” Kai kicked his shin beneath the
table. “Ow!”

Her dad was busy cutting into his pork chop and her mom
frowned in confusion before continuing. “Well, Trent was disappointed that you
left. I think he was planning to ask you out.”

“Mom, Trent Lathrop doesn’t interest me in the least,” she
said, fighting a shudder of revulsion.

Her mother blinked like she’d spoken in Swahili. “But he’s a
prominent young businessman here in town, dear. He and his father have a very
successful law practice.”

Ugh.
It took all Kai could do not to groan out loud.
“Please, no more lawyers. In fact I wish you would stop trying to fix me up
altogether. I just moved back. I need time to get my feet underneath me before
I jump into dating again.”

“If you’re not going to date, you should at least be social.
There are very few attractive, eligible young men in Serenity. You wouldn’t
want to cut off your nose to spite your face.”

Oh, good grief.

And there were plenty of attractive, eligible men in Serenity.
The word her mom had left out of her criteria was “rich”, but it went without
saying that’s what she meant. One of Elizabeth Donnelly’s main goals in life
was to find her daughter a wealthy, socially prominent husband.

Nothing had changed since she’d sat at this dinner table
when she was a teenager. Her mother still babbled away about everything and
nothing
,
her father retreated into his own little world because he couldn’t get a word
in edgewise, Josh did his level best to try to stir up trouble because he was
bored out of his mind, and Kai…

Well, she wished the floor would open up and swallow her
whole.

Her dad mercifully weighed in. “Elizabeth, leave Kai alone.
For goodness sake, she’s been home a week and you’re already trying to marry
her off.” He gave Kai a quick wink and she smiled back at him, wanting to give
him a big sloppy kiss on the cheek for shutting her mother up, or making a
valiant effort on Kai’s behalf. “Ready to start putting that marketing degree
to good use?” her dad asked. “There’s a desk at Donnelly Motors with your name
on it.”

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.”