Rustler's Heart (A Kinnison Legacy Novel) (12 page)

Dusty nudged her arm with a broom. “Better luck next time. You’re pretty damn good, kiddo.”

“Yeah.” Embarrassed, but more frustrated than anything that one look from Rein Mackenzie could discombobulate her, she set to cleaning up the glass.

“Hey, hot shot.” Dalton leaned over the counter and looked down at her. “When you’re finished, come on back to the table. I’ll buy you a beer.”

She wasn’t about to give Rein the opportunity to further dig into her, especially in front of his ex. Liberty swept up the shards, trying her best to stay out of Dusty’s way. She felt suddenly conspicuous, as though she had “outsider” emblazoned on her forehead. No one had said anything to make her feel as much, it’d been engrained in her.

Making her feel like an outcast had been her father’s favorite head game. After her mother died, he told her she’d been an accident, her mother’s greatest disappointment and he eventually blamed her for her mother’s suicide.

Liberty had found her after returning home from a night out with friends. Dropping her bag on the pristine white couch, she noticed the unusual quiet, but surmised her mom might be at her spin class or out shopping. She grabbed a glass of ice water and sauntered past the master bedroom, peeking in just in case her mother should still be sleeping.

Stunned by what she saw, she didn’t feel the glass slip from her hands, until it shattered on the stone tile floor. Her mother lay in her nightgown, sprawled across the bed. A vodka bottle and her sleeping pills container empty beside her. She’d left no note, no good-byes, and no apologies. But Liberty knew why. The mistakes of her mother’s past—one that included leaving Jed and her boys—and the torture of her abusive husband that had driven her to this extreme. She’d been forbidden to speak of her sons. It wasn’t permitted. But in private, her mother had shown her a box that she’d kept hidden.

The night Liberty left, she tucked those mementos, including a letter addressed to her sons, in her duffle bag. It had the ranch’s address, but hadn’t been sent. Liberty read it on the bus. Their mother had written to tell them they had a half-sister and the choice of her words made her wonder if her mother still loved Jed. Whether true or not, it was evident that she still cared and appreciated him for adopting her sons. She knew he’d take care of them better than she’d been able to give them most of their lives.

Liberty hadn’t shown the letter to Wyatt and Dalton yet. She’d been waiting for the best time. Despite Eloise’s regrets and her confession to Liberty that she’d made some poor choices, didn’t mean that her sons would automatically accept and trust Eloise’s daughter. She finished cleaning up and apologized again to Dusty. “I’m really sorry about the mess. I’d like to pay to replace the liquor.” Dusty dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand.

“Hey, it can happen on a slow night. You’re always welcome here. Might be fun to have you doing your thing during the holidays.” Dusty said. “That’s when we really pull in a load of people, with families visiting and what not.

“Aimee started up an annual New Year’s Eve fundraiser to restock the food pantry. We hope she’ll be able to spearhead another one this year, but we’ll have to see with the baby and all. Anyway,” he continued, wiping down the bar, “come on by, if you’re still around. Might be fun and it’s for a good cause.”

“Thanks, Dusty. I’ll think about it.” She walked up to the table, aware that Rein and Sally were engaged in something of a private joke. She tapped Dalton on the shoulder. “Hey, I’m beat, would you mind taking me home?”

Dalton took one look at her and nodded. “Sure, let’s go.”

“I’ll drive.” She held out her hand for the keys. With a frown, he relinquished them.

“Are you sure you won’t stay for one drink?” Sally asked.

Rein studied the bottle he twirled slowly between his hands. He didn’t look at, much less speak, to her.

“Another time, maybe, thanks. Night, Rein.” She forced out a civil goodbye.

He glanced up with a quick nod, and then looked at his brother. “I’ll be home soon.”

“Boy, you could have cut the tension between the two of you with a butter knife. What’s going on?” Sally shifted in her seat and gave Rein her don’t-give-me-any-crap-teacher look.

He took a pull of his beer, and eyed her. “You probably hadn’t heard yet, but Miss Liberty has requested that I steer clear of her.”

Shock registered on her face. “What on earth…why?” Her gaze narrowed. “Rein Mackenzie, what did you say to her?”

He thought before he responded. He didn’t need another female lambasting him just now and if he told Sally the truth, she’d be all over him. As if he hadn’t already been battling the guilt of what he’d said to Liberty and how poorly he’d handled things between them. But that unexpected, explosive kiss scared the daylights out of him, and its intensity caused him to react in an attempt to protect her—to keep her as far from him as possible.

Hell, given another minute, he’d have likely taken her right there on the floor. Awkward as things now were, it had worked, except for the tormented dreams he’d been having all week. He tried to justify his pent-up frustration by searching for other things to find distasteful about her. Anything that might help put his lust in better perspective. “You ever notice she hasn’t opened up a bank account? That she pays cash for everything. She’s never asked for a dime from any of us, that I know of. Don’t you find it a little peculiar?”

“She’s working,” Sally remarked dryly. “And had probably saved up something from her work in Vegas.”

His mind raced trying to figure out how much a dancer of Liberty’s persuasion would make at a successful nightclub. No doubt, she’d garner plenty of tips with that body. His imagination leapt to her in a G-string, strutting across a stage in four-inch heels, those long legs encased in thigh high stockings. In the process, oblivious to present reality, he missed his mouth, sending a steady stream of beer down the front of his shirt. “Dammit, now see what you made me do?”

“Me? I didn’t….” She stared at him as though he’d lost his mind.

Truth be told, he was pretty damn close.

Sally rested her arm over the back of the booth. “You know what this sounds like to me?”

“No, and I don’t want to know.”

“Too bad, because I’m going to say it anyway.”

His soaked shirt clung to his chest. “Make your point, since you seem to think you have me all figured out.”

“You forget who you’re speaking to, Rein.”

He met her steady gaze. “I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind these days.”

“As if that isn’t clear.” She pointed to his shirt. “Look I’m no expert on these things, but it sounds like maybe you are looking for every possible thing to find wrong with that girl. Don’t you think she’s figured that out? She’s just trying to find her way, Rein. Surely, you can remember what that’s like.”

He did, and that wasn’t the entire issue, but he was hesitant to open up to Sally. He had to deal with the battle going on inside him about what his role should be around her. Could he continue to pretend to be her boss, her mentor as Wyatt asked him to be? Or would he have to face the fact that not since Caroline, had he wanted a woman this bad.

“I gotta go. See you around.”

Gripping the wheel, Rein had a hard time focusing on driving and not letting his mind wander to the sexy image of Liberty featured in a single spotlight, her body—toned and tanned—captivating everyone in the audience.

Everyone, but him.

He slammed on the brakes just in time preventing from smashing into the back of Dalton’s truck parked outside the main house. He hopped out, grabbed his flashlight and headed toward the unfinished cabin he’d been working on when Sally called and asked him to come up to Dusty’s.

“Dalton went inside to make himself a sandwich. I’m sure he’d make you one if you’re hungry.”

Startled by the feminine voice he pointed his flashlight toward the sound and found Liberty coming down the front porch steps. She shielded her eyes from the bright light. “He’d planned on walking me to my cabin, but if you’re headed that way, would you mind if I walked with you?”

He tugged at his shirt, partially dry now, but still reeking of beer. “Sure.” They walked down the inky black lane. Rein watched the light bounce off the dirt road with each step. He cleared his throat. The silence was aggravating, but he didn’t know how to make things right. Had they ever been? Would they ever be? Could they ever be? Not from his point of view they couldn’t. “You seem to know your way around bartending.” He tried to keep the conversation light. They weren’t that far from her cabin.

“I took a six week course offered once at one of my dad’s hotels. It’s one of those skills I figure I could fall back on if I need it.”

“Is that how you ended up at the strip club...er…the nightclub? Is that what you call it?”

She halted and he didn’t need a light to know she glared at him.

“So we’re back to what I used to do for a living?”

Rein tipped up his Stetson. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, you seem to have an infatuation with my previous work as a dancer.” She took a step closer, her face illuminated by the circle of light. She tipped her head, curiosity sparkling in those dark eyes. “Or maybe you’re just curious to see for yourself.”

He snorted a response, swung the light to the path and began to walk. “Hardly darlin’. I prefer my women just a bit older.”

“Seriously? Did you just pull that card again?” He felt a slap on the back of his head. His good hat flew off, tumbling to the ground. “At least I haven’t sequestered myself in these mountains with nothing but myself and cows to talk to.”

“Steers, mostly. Beef cattle. Cows are for milk, generally speaking.”

“You...I don’t care!” She tossed her arms in the air. “Whatever the hell they’re called. I’m really getting tired of your judgmental bullshit. You do know what bullshit is, right?”

He picked up his hat and tapped against his leg. She did have the Kinnison temper.

“What is it exactly that you don’t like about me,
Mr. Mackenzie
?”

“This is not a conversation I want to have right now, and my name is Rein.”

“Yeah? I’m just trying to show my respect to my elders.” She shot past him, full steam ahead toward her cabin.

“I never said I didn’t like you,” he called after her. That was the truth. He just came unglued in her presence. Hell, he’d come undone a time or two alone at night when she popped into his thoughts.

“Yeah? You have a damn funny way of making a girl feel welcome.”

He sighed. He’d maybe had one too many beers, but that wasn’t causing him to push her buttons. Better off for her to be mad at him, if he couldn’t have her. And he’d convinced himself—nearly—that it would be wrong on so many levels to want her.

She stopped suddenly and whirled on her heel to face him. He had to raise his arms to prevent from stabbing her with the flashlight. Instead, he stood there in surrender to her body brushing against his, and not in a tender way. She looked ready to knock heads, his in particular. She stood close enough that he could tell she’d worn no bra under her layered cami’s and tee shirt.

“What do you want from me, anyway?”

Rein swallowed. His lust ticked off at least top five choices before his brain stepped in to remind him that she was off limits. “Nothing.” He licked his lips. Damn, if he couldn’t use a beer, maybe a shot of something stronger. “I don’t want a thing from you.”

“For what it’s worth, I am of legal age—beyond in fact, and old enough to make my own choices.” She pushed her face closer, challenging him in more ways than one. “You know, I think maybe it’s
you
that’s confused. I think it’s
you
that doesn’t know what he wants.”

“You’re taking what I said the wrong way.” Damn, that sounded lame even to him. She nudged him chest-to-chest, and held his gaze. He didn’t dare lower his arms for fear he’d grab her and never let her go. Jesus, he was going insane.

“Am I?” She waited a moment, torturing him with the mind-sucking scent of her perfumed skin. He tried to be cool, laugh off her driving him mad with her closeness, but the resulting grimace came because of the painful tightening below his belt.

“What are you doing, Liberty? More games?”

She slid her hand over his chest, toying with his collar. Her fingernails gently scraped the place where his pulse beat wild against his neck. “I’m not sure you’re man enough for me, darlin'.” She let the last word slide off her tongue slow and deliberately. The sweet scent of peppermint clung to her breath. Offering a quick and dirty laugh, she snatched the flashlight from him, turned around and stomped off alone to her cabin, plunging him and his frustrated libido in the dark.

A moment later, the lights went on inside and he saw her silhouette outlined as she stepped out of the front door. “Good night, Mr. Mackenzie. Try not to fall in any holes.”

The beam from the flashlight spun through the air and the heavy metal casing nearly beamed him. He grappled with trying to catch it so it wouldn’t fall to the ground, unaware he had company.

“
Mr. Mackenzie
?” Dalton walked up behind him, another flashlight in his hand. “Damn, boy. Did you go and piss her off again?”

“Yeah, well she gets pissed easily.”

Dalton’s chuckle rumbled low in the dark. “God knows you’re never antagonistic.”

Rein tugged off his hat and raked a hand through his hair. “Yeah, she’s different. Stubborn, and with an attitude a mile wide.” He glanced at Dalton. “Not like anyone else I know.”

Dalton laughed quietly. “Maybe so. But I think she’s okay.”

“I don’t have any issues with your sister, Dal. I just can’t let her push my buttons.” He started down the lane.

“Absolutely bro, unless you happen to like it.”

Rein stopped and looked over his shoulder, the flashlight illuminated Dalton’s wide smile. “For the record, I don’t.”

His brother shrugged. “Just sayin.’ Seems like you two spend an awful lot of time sparrin’ with each other.”