Broken Fences (A TroubleMaker Novel, #1) (13 page)

Dusty wasn’t
normally one to give up a fight, even if it seemed to be a losing battle. In
everything else, she always held out to the bitter end, but after the call
she’d gotten the day before, she had let tired and beaten get the best of her.
She was scheduled to meet with Agent Norton, Colden’s boss, the next morning to
give her statement about the man who had broken into her home. The agent
explained that he had some loose ends to tie up in the case because it was the
last day they’d be in town before he and his team moved on to their next
assignment. That call had confirmed her suspicions. Colden had only come back
for the wedding, and tomorrow he’d be gone.

She hoped that
if she could refuse him in the flesh, perhaps when he left, it would make it a
little easier. All she had to do was avoid him for one more day. The trouble
with that was that he would be walking her down the aisle in a matter of hours.
He’d be dancing with her at the reception, and they’d have to sit at the same
table all night. It was impossible for the maid of honor to avoid the best man,
particularly since he was already waiting right outside the door to have a talk
she didn’t want to have.

“What’s wrong?”
Sissy asked, looking at Dusty through the reflection of the mirror. She had an
expression on her face that no bride should ever wear— worry.

Knowing she’d
upset her cousin on what was supposed to be the most fabulous day of her life,
Dusty felt guilt tightening her belly. “Nothing.” She placed the last pin in
Sissy’s blonde hair then looked back at her cousin, whose big blue eyes didn’t
appear convinced. “Really, it’s nothing,” Dusty said, smiling and gazing at
Sissy. “Gosh, you look beautiful.”

Sissy sighed.
“He’s out there isn’t he? Waiting, or something?”

“Who?”

“Pssh, you know
who. Colden. I heard you two. He whispers very loudly.”

“I’m sorry. He
says he just wants to talk to me, but—”

“But you don’t
wanna talk to him?”

“Not right now.”

Sissy got up
from the chair, stomped over to the door, opened it, and whispered something to
Colden, so lowly that Dusty couldn’t possibly hear what she was saying. She
then stomped back into the room and closed the door. After walking up to Dusty,
she turned with her back to her. “Zip me up now, and then you’re free to go get
ready…without any further distractions”

“He’s gone?
Really? What did you say to him?” She stood and zipped up the gown.

“I simply told
him the truth, that I need my maid of honor today, and he needs to behave like
a good little best man and back the fuck off of you till after the wedding.”

Dusty laughed.
“And that worked?”

Sissy glanced
over her shoulder. “I find the truth always works best. Besides, I think I
scared him when I said the eff-word.” She offered an impish smile. “I think he
knew I meant business, seeing as though I rarely swear and would probably never
do so on my wedding day—unless it’s in the honeymoon suite,” she said coyly.

“Sissy!”

Sissy shrugged.
“That Colden isn’t so tough. I think I scared the man.”

“Thanks.” Dusty
leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

“See? Your
little cousin can save your ass too sometimes.”

“Wow. Two swear
words in a single day. My, my, Mrs. James. Aren’t you becoming a bold little
thing?”

“Yeah, I guess.”
She bit her lip. “I kind of like it. Mama used to cuss when she got real mad.”
She turned around, her eyes wet and glossy.

“Aw, Sissy. You
must really be missing her today.”

Sissy dabbed a
tear from her eye. “Yeah.” She cleared her throat. “It’s okay though. I know
she’s watching from above, no doubt, cussin’ Daddy out for the way he’s been
since she left us. Can’t blame the man really. I’d be lost without Jimmy. She
was the love of his life, just like Jimmy’s mine. Maybe someday Daddy will find
happiness, but I’m sure thankful for you, Dusty…and Daddy too. We never woulda
survived losing Mama without you.”

Dusty watched
as, right before her eyes, her little her cousin transformed from a kid into a
woman. She’d made her proud, and she deserved to be with the man she loved.
Everyone
does,
Dusty thought with an aching sadness in her heart.

“Now go get
ready,” Sissy said, shooing her away. “You can’t very well walk down the aisle
in jeans and a t-shirt, can you?”

Chapter
Fourteen

Dusty had made
it through the long and horrible trek down the aisle, the toast, and the dinner
without Colden trying to back her into some dark corner so they could talk. He
respected Sissy’s wishes and remained a perfect gentleman.

In fact, he
barely touched her during their aisle walk. His smile never reached her eyes
when he gave the humorous yet beautiful toast. Even during the meal, she’d
fallen absent from any of his conversations. He ignored her, just like she
thought she’d wanted, but the sadness in her heart kicked into overdrive.
Secretly, shamefully, and selfishly, she wanted the Saint’s attention.

The bride and
groom’s first dance came to an end all too soon. When the next song started,
Colden’s large hand held out in front of Dusty was her cue to get up. Up until
that moment, she’d forgotten all about the traditional wedding party dance. She
looked up, prepared to see that dead, blank stare he’d been throwing at her all
night, but under those heavy lids, Colden’s eyes had come to life. They
flickered with something dangerous. The last time she’d seen that look, she’d
been bent over a pool table with her bare ass up in the air.

The sadness in
her heart started to mingle with the naughty desire she found in Colden’s eyes.
One thing was for sure, there’d always be a sexual attraction between them. She
took his hand, and he helped her to stand.

Once she was on
her feet, she tried to pull her hand away, but his grip tightened. With the
touch, his demeanor changed from oozing sex to a more genuine, casual, tender
smile. It gave her sad heart a little tap.

He turned, and
together they walked out on the dance floor. The entire time, Dusty could feel
the undeniable passion, the closeness, and the need. She felt it in both of
their hands. Colden had been right, holding hands was a very intimate thing.
Everything she needed and wanted from him, all the love she held for the man,
generated to the hand entwined with his. It was a lover’s serenade, by way of a
simple touch. She felt naked and exposed, as if her feelings for Colden were on
display for everyone to see, including him.

As he twirled
her around to face him, she tried to remind herself to stay strong and not to
give into the Saint.
The song will only last for three, maybe four minutes
.
But when their eyes met, time stood still, and the song and the ticking of the
clock made no difference any longer. She was lost to him.

He raised their
joined hands and wrapped his other arm around her. His warm palm rested gently
on the low of her back. He tilted his head to the left, and the heat of his
breath sashayed over her shoulder. “It’s only one dance, Dusty girl.” He
ventured closer to her ear. “Put your hand around my neck. We gotta make this
look good, right?”

It must have
been the sexy, underlying hum that lingered in his voice whenever he gave a
command, for as always, she found herself following his every instruction. He
started to guide her slowly around the dance floor in an ethereal sway. His
head lifted, and intense eyes gazed deeply into hers.

She turned away
from his influence, unable to bear his stare.

“Look at me,” he
ordered in that calm yet stern tone.

As usual, she
obeyed.

“You look
beautiful tonight.”

Struck by an odd
bout of bashfulness, she tried to lower her eyes. “Thanks.”

“Ya know,” he
said, his careful eyes not letting her go, searching her, and making her more
nervous, “I had every intention of coming back to your house, but—”

Finding her
absent strength, she placed a hand over his mouth to stop him from breaking her
heart by making excuses that really wouldn’t change the fact that he was
leaving. “Just one dance, remember?” Her hand slipped along the side of his
face and back around his nape, the motion stirring his potent male scent.

“It doesn’t have
to be.” He curled their joined hands close to his chest, pulling their bodies
more tightly together. “I have a lot to offer you, Dusty—a lot more than just
one dance.”

The sincerity in
his words almost—
almost
—convinced her that there was more between them
than just romps in balconies, cheap motels, and on pool tables. But then her
thoughts dashed all those hopes again.
Sure, he has a lot to offer tonight,
but come tomorrow, he’ll be taking off with the rest of his team.
The
sadness in heart came back full throttle. Unable to look any longer into those
false promising eyes, she lowered her head onto his chest, wishing that the
song would last forever.

“Dusty,” he
rasped, and the unusual desperation in his voice vibrated from his chest to her
ear. His finger glided down the side of her face. “Come on.” He tapped her
under the chin. “Let me see those pretty eyes.”

Powerless to his
command, she tilted her head back. His finger stroked her chin, and the
expression on his face drew her in. Neither the new Colden standing in front of
her nor her old Saint had ever looked so uncertain before.

“I need you,
girl,” he whispered. Then, right there in front of an audience of 200, he bent
in and kissed her.

Colden hadn’t
intended to claim her on the dance floor. He certainly hadn’t planned to kiss
her either. Honestly, though, since he caught sight of her in that dress, it
was all he could think about. The pale aqua color of the frilly fabric
flattered her fair skin. She was wearing clear, shiny lip gloss, and her long
hair was pulled up into an elegant updo, with locks spilling loosely all around
her face. The slender shape of her neck and shoulders would have tempted any
warm-blooded male, let alone one who’d been famished for her for days.

He couldn’t be
blamed for stealing the kiss, and the fact that she kissed him back gave him
hope. He slid his hand up her back and clasped it around her willowy neck.
Their lips separated. Her cheeks flushed, and her eyes glistened with need. Not
only was she breathing heavily, but she was also breathtaking.

Dusty glanced
around the dance floor that was filling up with guests. “Looks like our dance
is over.”

“No, Dusty
girl.” He squeezed her hand and reclaimed the space between their mouths. “Our
dance will never be over,” he whispered over red, swollen, trembling lips.

She stared up at
him through long, dark lashes. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes
betrayed the fact that there was some serious thinking going on in her head.
Doubt, anger, and tiny sparks of anticipation flashed in those nearly black
eyes.

When she tried
to break free, he assumed her doubts had won. He held her tight, close, as if
he never wanted to let her go. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Like I said,
the song is over, and I’m through dancing with you.” She lifted her chin. “So
release me.”

“You’re not
going anywhere.”

“Colden…”
Anxiety flourished loudly within that single breath of his name.

“I’m not letting
you run away again. You’re gonna stay right here and hear me out.”

Unable to fight
him any longer, her body became placid in his arms. “Good girl.” He smiled, and
her eyes hissed up at him. “Six years ago, the night before I left,” he said,
running his thumb gently across her nape as he swayed her along the dance floor,
“it had been the best night of my life.”

“What?” Her
heavy lids sprang open. “If you…then why did you leave?”

“You and me, we
were way too young,” he said, and it was the truth. “What I felt for you was
just…wild, dangerous. I couldn’t control it. If we had tried to work at it,
sweetheart, we would have fucked it all up. You were just becoming a woman, and
me? Well, I wasn’t the same man then—”

A small grin
tugged on her pretty red mouth. “You don’t say.”

He smiled. “I
know. I was a lot quieter back then and sorta kept to myself, but that wasn’t
the real me. This guy, the one standing before you now…this is who was hiding
behind that false, scared façade.”

“Scared?” She
snorted. “You, Colden James, were…scared?”

“Oh yeah,” he
assured her. “From the moment I met you, you scared the hell outta me—not only
you but also what I felt for you. So, the morning after we were together, when
I got the call from the ATF asking me to come to Detroit to help out, the
frightened part of me jumped at the opportunity to make a quick getaway. I
wanted to run away from you, away from what I couldn’t understand or control.”

The grin
disappeared, and Dusty’s eyebrows crept together.

“See, before I
met you, I actually was in Georgia. What people don’t know is that I was
transferred from Georgia to Detroit to do some undercover work. At the time,
the ATF had decided they didn’t need me and had let me go. I came here then,
just after you arrived. Two years later, when I got the call to go back to
Detroit, they told me about Kip, the agent who had trained me. He’d been
killed, and they wanted me to replace him. I didn’t know it was going to end up
costing me six years of my life, Dusty.”

“I-I didn’t
know,” she faintly said.

“No one did.
Hell, I didn’t even know what I was getting into until it was too late. I
assumed you’d just marry someone else and have kids.”

She laughed.
“Like I was just telling Lucky, the only thing I’ll ever be married to is The
Bucking Barrel.”

Ooh, she has
no idea how wrong she is,
Colden thought as he palmed her smiling cheeks
and gazed into her sparkling eyes.

Her laughter
subsided as she fell into the stare.

“If I have any
regrets over the past six years, it’s that I wasn’t able to tell you the truth.
I never meant to hurt you.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead and looked back
at her. “This last time, I had every intention of coming back so we could talk,
so I could tell you all of this, but when I reported in to my agent in charge,
I found out that my cover hadn’t been blown at all. In order to finish the
transaction we started, the one that would, once and for all, take Riggs down,
I had to return to Detroit.”

“Huh? You mean
that DeSanto guy was lying? I thought you said Riggs sent him.”

“We were wrong.
As it turns out, that lunatic was on his own mission, trying to get on Riggs’s
good side, earn a promotion by exposing me on his own.”

“What?

“Yeah, he had a
hunch but little proof, so he started to spread the word into the right ears.
That’s why it got back to the FBI that I’d been found out. I’m not the only
undercover agent in the gun ring. When I left Riggs, I told him my mother was
sick and that I had to go to her. When I returned to Detroit, word hadn’t
gotten to him. He still had no clue that I was an undercover agent. DeSanto was
full of shit, just making guesses, and he hadn’t told his boss anything yet.”

“Oh my God! What
if you were wrong? That Riggs guy coulda killed you!”

He shrugged. “The
risk of getting caught, it’s all part of the job. After so many years, you sort
of become immune to the fear.” Honestly, she still scared him more than the job
ever had, but he wasn’t about to admit that to the woman. “But it’s all over
now.” He brushed his knuckles gently across her cheek. “It’s time to move on.”

“Yes,” she
whispered with a faraway look in her eyes. “Time to move on.”

Colden wanted to
question that faraway look in Dusty’s eyes, but his new sister-in-law
interrupted by cutting in on their dance, and all he could do was watch Dusty
walk away.

“You really do
care for her, don’t you?”

He turned to
Sissy, who was gazing up at him with an almost strange approval. “Who, Dusty?”

“No, Colden. I
mean the other girl you kidnapped, and then skipped town on twice too many
times.”

“Yeah.” He
grimaced. “I guess I was an ass to her, but in my defense, I only did it to keep
her safe.”

“I believe you.”
She glanced at Dusty. “I’m not so sure she does though.”

“Well, I was
starting to talk to her, but you stepped in and cussed me out like some kind of
drunken sailor, remember? How can you even wear white with a mouth like that?”
he joked.

“For the record,
it’s slightly off white,” she snapped right back. “And you had her rattled. She
was so upset, and I couldn’t have my maid of honor, my best friend, and my
favorite cousin feeling like that on my big day. I knew you’d get your chance
to be alone with her on the dance floor, but by the look on her face when I
approached you two, I can see she’s still not a happy girl.”

“I just told her
the truth.”

Sissy’s thin
eyebrow lifted. “You did? All of it?”

“Yes. I
explained why I had to leave.” Like Sissy, he couldn’t figure out why Dusty was
still upset.

“Obviously, it
wasn’t enough,” she said as they methodically swayed on the dance floor. A few
seconds later, she glared up at him and released a little, “Hmm…”

Colden could
always tell when someone was reluctant to say what was really on their mind,
and his sister-in-law’s hesitance put him on guard. No stranger to
interrogating someone, he was more than prepared to press her to find out what
she was thinking.

“Did you know,
Colden, that my mother had three sisters and one brother?”

“Yes,” he said,
watching her suspiciously, unsure where she was going with the question.

“One sister was
diagnosed with depression. The family hardly speaks to her, but it’s not
because of that. There are some other things going on in her head that just
aren’t right. Then there was Aunt Lulu. Everyone said she was eccentric, but we
all know she was a little nuts. My mom might have been touched a bit by the
crazies, but for the most part, she kept it together. The third sister, Dusty’s
mom, was not so crazy, but she did win the prize for being selfish.”

Colden’s feet
slowed. Sissy had his full attention now, for Dusty rarely spoke of her
immediate family. He held his tongue, waiting patiently for her to continue.