Under the Midnight Stars (13 page)

Anxiously, Colt drove to the trailer on the hill. He got out of his truck and walked across square stepping stones surrounded by hardened dirt and clumps of crabgrass. He propped his foot on the cement block step and knocked on the front door, hoping he’d found Amy’s home.

Amy opened the door a crack and peered at Colt with one eye. “Yeah?” She sniffed. She’d been crying.

Colt’s heart was pounding. He hoped Billy hadn’t harmed her. “I don’t know if you remember me from the diner, but my name’s Colt Tayler and I need to talk to you about Billy.”

“Wha — what about Billy?” she questioned with dread in her voice.

He decided to just get to the point. “Did he hurt you, Amy?”

“How’d you know? Who told you? I haven’t told anyone. How’d you even know where I lived?” She broke down crying.

“No one told me, Amy.” Colt remained calm, his voice caring. “I just guessed. I saw you at the bar with him last night. I followed him here. I know he’s bad news. He hurt someone I know. If you don’t mind me asking, how’d he hurt you?”

Amy bit her quivering lip. Slowly, she opened the door all the way, revealing the black and purple discoloration around her eye.

Colt’s blood raged hot when he saw her eye. He’d wished he’d followed Billy up to the trailer earlier so he could’ve pummeled him senseless.

Amy clutched at her pink bathrobe, ensuring it remained closed, and stepped aside. “You can come in,” she whispered weakly.

He wanted to stay outside, rather than intrude on such an emotionally private moment, but he figured he’d get more information obliging her hospitality. “Thank you.” He stepped up into the trailer.

Amy slumped down tiredly into a pink recliner, which matched the pink curtains, and the pink carpeting. Even the tile kitchen countertop was pink.

Colt swiped his hand over his mouth and sighed, wondering how to proceed on such a delicate matter.

“What do you wanna know?” she asked timidly.

“He hit you?”

She nodded. “Last night … He was drunk.”

He didn’t want to ask the next question, but he knew he had to. “Did he rape you?”

Shocked, she reached up to fidget with her necklace. “No!”

He didn’t know whether or not she was telling the truth. “Are you sure?”

“He hit me is all.” She hung her head low. Then she snapped her head up. “But he gave me this to make up for it.”

She held her necklace up for Colt to see. It was a white-gold charm of the state of Texas with a heart-shaped pink stone in the middle of it.

She suddenly became an enthusiastic chatterbox. “He promised to never do it again. He’d just had one too many to drink last night. He got me this because he knows pink is my favorite color. He never wanted to hurt me.”

Colt let his eyes fall to the necklace to please her. He could care less about it. All he wanted was to wrap his fingers around Billy’s neck. “Amy, it’s not right — him hitting you like that. And if he did hurt you in any other way, then he could hurt other women too.”

“Like your friend?” she asked curiously. “What’d he do to her?”

He didn’t know what in the hell he was doing trying to get another woman to confess to Billy’s criminal ways when he couldn’t even get his own girlfriend to do it. All he knew was Billy had to be stopped, and he was hell-bent on making it happen.

“I never said it was a
her,
” Colt replied steadily. He didn’t want to break his promise to Brielle.

“Oh.” Amy nervously fingered her necklace. “What’d he do to your friend?”

There was no way around it. Colt had to let Amy know that she wasn’t the only woman that Billy had sunk his fangs into, and unless he was stopped, she wouldn’t be the last.

“He tried to rape her,” Colt replied guiltily, already feeling the emotional pangs of betraying Brielle.

Amy sat, quietly shocked. After a moment, she sighed heavily and stood. “Well, maybe she deserved it!”

Colt’s jaw dropped open. “No woman deserves to be raped, Amy! How could you even think that?”

“Billy’s my boyfriend. All he did was hit me. It was an accident. And he hasn’t raped me. He’s not that kinda guy! Not that it’s any of your business, but I
wanted
him to make love to me. Now thanks for the concern, but you have to leave. He just went home to shower and change and he’s coming back.”

She held her chin up high, went to the door, and yanked it open.

Colt shook his head, irritated by Amy’s ignorance. He didn’t know how, but he was going to bring Billy down one way or another. He peered at her black eye again. A part of him suddenly felt lousy for upsetting her. It was bad enough that she had an abusive boyfriend — she didn’t need any more trouble. Especially not from another man.

Colt swallowed hard. “Look, Amy … I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come here and upset you. It was the furthest from my intentions. I just wanted to make sure you were all right.”

Amy paused before she spoke. Her tone was kinder. “Thank you. But I’m fine.” She shrugged. “I guess I’ll see you at the diner sometime.”

Colt nodded. “I’ll leave you alone now. Take care, Amy.” With that, he left the trailer, got back into his truck, and headed for the farm.

When he’d finally reached it, he pulled into the long drive and parked alongside the house. There was a faint glow coming from the living room window.

“What the hell?” He remembered turning the light off before he’d left. He grabbed a two-by-four from the pile left over from remodeling.

As quiet as possible, he made his way to the back porch. Quickly, he removed his boots and socks and crept up the porch steps and through the kitchen door. Heart pounding, he glanced around before he swiftly made his way down the hall into the illuminated living area.

Over the arm of the couch sprawled silky brown locks of hair. It was Brielle. She was lying on the couch seductively, creamy naked, wearing only a brand-new cowboy hat between her hips, with a red bow on top of it.

“It’s about time you showed.” She tipped her head back and smiled.

Colt was instantly aroused. He let the two-by-four clank to the floor and immediately undressed, leaving a trail of clothes on the floor behind him as he made his way toward her. After he’d discarded the last of his clothing he grabbed the black cowboy hat and put it on, eyeing the length of her beauty.

“You just can’t get enough of me, can you?” he asked huskily.

“Uh uh.” She bit her bottom lip.

“How’d you get here?” He gently climbed on top of her.

“I’ve been here waiting for a little while. They didn’t need me after all, so Jack gave me a ride. Where’ve you been?” She kissed his neck.

“Uh,” he grunted as her lips brushed against his neck. “Stopped by Zeke’s.” Unable to wait any longer, he hungrily pressed his lips to hers and loved her completely.

After the throes of passion released them, they lay in each other’s arms and stared out of the window at the full moon.

“Do you think the moon is watching us?” Brielle toyed with the swirl of silky hair between his nipples.

Colt chuckled slightly. “The poor lonely bastard’s gotta get his jollies off somehow.”

She giggled.

He glanced over at his new hat, sitting atop the end table. He grabbed the bow from it and placed it on Brielle’s belly button. “Thanks for the present.”

She snuggled into his chest. “Me … or the hat?”

He held her tighter. “Both.”

“I noticed you didn’t have a hat,
or
a girlfriend, so I thought I’d surprise you.”

“You never cease to surprise me. And I hope you never do.” He rolled on top of her and kissed her softly. Lifting his head, he gazed into her passion-filled eyes. “I love you, Brielle,” he whispered huskily, gently sweeping strands of hair from her cheek.

Her heart began to flutter uncontrollably as it filled with awe. “Oh Colt … ,” she whispered, chest heaving from both the sensuality of his last kiss and from sharing with someone such a deep intimacy — body, heart, and soul — that she never knew existed. “I love you too.”

Gently, he caressed her nose with his, their warm ragged breaths mingling into one. Then he kissed her slowly, longingly, before showing her once more just how much he loved her.

It was just past midnight. Brielle lay in the hammock in her backyard, under a reassuring blanket of stars, enjoying the warm summer air. Colt filled her thoughts — his declaration of love, his kiss, his touch, his kind heart. She thought her own heart might burst with fulfillment.

Though she was happy, it just wasn’t the same lying alone in the hammock without her mother. But ironically, she felt closer than ever to her now as she lay under the stars sharing her secrets. She wondered if her mother was up there somewhere, among the brightest of stars, looking down upon her, watching over her. Or maybe — Brielle looked beside her at the empty pillow — maybe her mother was quietly lying next to her, relishing this moment they had together, listening to her daughter’s heart as it filled with love for a chivalrous man who had stormed into town with nothing but the shirt on his back and then swept her off her feet.

Tears glistened in her eyes. She didn’t know how Colt did it. His mother had only passed away little over a month ago, but Brielle wouldn’t have known it by looking at him. He wasn’t sad or heartbroken.
Does he cry when no one’s looking?
she wondered as she wiped away the tears.

Colt hadn’t one single item to remind him of his mother. He had to feel lost to some degree. He
had
to. Everyone needed at least
one
thing to cherish and touch in order to feel close to a loved one passed — a picture, a hammock, a movie stub,
something.

A thought came to mind. She climbed off the hammock, hurried through the double French doors, and went straight to the junk drawer in the kitchen. Pulling the thick Dallas phonebook from the bottom drawer, she looked for the last name
Tayler.
Despite the numerous Taylers in the directory, there was only one Colton. She jotted down the address and then went to her bedroom to get a much-needed night of rest.

Lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, Brielle thought of tomorrow’s plans. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Colt’s face when she surprised him.

Just then a bustling through the front door jolted her from her thoughts. She jumped up, donned her mother’s pink cotton robe, and rushed down the hallway to the top of the staircase.

Roger had an arm slung around Jack’s shoulder, trying to stay upright.

Brielle frowned. She hated seeing her father indisposed. She and Jack were finally incorporating their mother’s death into their lives. She was wondering when Dad would start. She rushed down the stairs to help her struggling brother get him to his bedroom to the left of the foyer, and into bed. As soon as they had completed their task, a duty now turned into a ritual, she led Jack upstairs and into her room so they could talk privately.

“Can’t this just wait ’til tomorrow? I’m beat.” Jack yawned. “And why are we talking in here so quietly? Dad’s out like a belly-up bullfrog.”

“I don’t know. It’s just a habit. And no, it can’t wait. I’ll be gone before you even get up. And I won’t be home until sundown.”

They sat on her bed as she filled him in on all the details before bidding him good night. And after a long night of anxiously tossing and turning, she was finally up and readying herself for an even longer day.

When she’d finished getting ready, she left a note for her father on the table next to the front door, explaining that she was running errands for the day, and that she would be driving herself. She felt bad about going against his wishes, but it was bound to happen sometime — it had to — and he had to accept it.

Not being completely honest with Colt, on the other hand, made her feel even worse. She was glad that Jack was the one relaying the message about her running errands for the day, because she wouldn’t have been able to do it without nerves taking over.

Of course, Jack was hell-bent against her plans. Not only did he not want to face the wrath of their father should he find out, but he was worried that something terrible might happen to her. He’d insisted on taking her himself, but she refused, saying, “Jack, I’m twenty-three years old, for crying out loud. I need my independence. You’re gonna have to hog-tie me to keep me here!” Finally agreeing to go along with her charade, he warned her to be back before sundown or there’d be hell to pay.

Before Brielle knew it, she was on the road, headed for Dallas. The silver luxury sedan she maneuvered around the slower traffic had originally belonged to her mother. They shared it while her mother was alive, but once she’d passed it was hers alone. And for the last two years she couldn’t bring herself to even look at it, let alone get in it and drive it. But now, she felt closer to her mother than ever.

She took in a deep breath, still smelling a hint of her mother’s perfume. It was a soft whimsical fruity scent. A mixture of both sweet and sour apples. One that she’d often snuck a spray or two of when her mother wasn’t looking. She hadn’t realized as a child that her mother had been able to smell it on her. She’d thought she had gotten away with being sneaky. She giggled to herself.