Healing Trace (17 page)

"I'll
be gentle." She teased. He made her feel sexy, letting her explore his
body at whim.

He
rubbed his lips together but didn't say a word.

She
splayed her hand across his breastbone, feeling his heart beating wildly
against her palm. Unrushed, curious, and wanting to remember every little
detail, she discovered every inch of Trace's body in the moonlight.

"Our
bodies are so different. You're midnight and I'm sunshine." She trailed
one finger down his hard stomach. His skin was smooth, almost hairless, and
warm.

She
replaced her finger with her lips and he groaned, cupping her head and pulling
her up to him.

"Straddle
me." He'd spoken in a thick whisper full of passion.

Joan
kissed his lips, and moved over him after he rolled a condom on his hardness.
"I'm shaking, I want you so much."

His
hands still cupped her face and he took her lips with a passion she'd never
received before. Their bodies meshed together, her breasts pressed into his
chest. The night was an erotic dream, and she never wanted to stop.

"You're
beautiful," he spoke between her lips.

Trace
trailed his hands down the curve of her back. She arched against him.
"Please, Trace…I want you."

"I'm
yours." He deepened the kiss. "From the moment you walked into the
house and made my life crazy, I had no choice…I want you."

He
stroked, teased, and caressed her body until she was on fire. Her blood surged
through her veins as she met him with a fervor she didn't recognize.

She
needed to touch more of his body as well, and she found his hardness, feeling
every delicious inch of him. He moaned, and the sexual prowess that came over
her rivaled nothing else she'd ever experienced.

When
Joan could wait no longer, she sat down, guiding him inside of her. The night
faded away and they were two people loving each other. His lips took her mouth
in a fierce cry. Each thrust took them higher and higher.

Joan's
shudder of release pulsated through her body, and she cried out.

"Joan,"
he breathed deeply.

Exhausted,
she stroked his hair back away from his face and stared down into his eyes.
"I think I'm falling in love with you."

He
opened his mouth, and she placed her finger over his lips. "Don't say
anything. Just accept it. Believe it. I'm not asking for anything in return
right now. You've given me the world tonight, and I wanted you to know how I'm
feeling."

She
held their time together with a vengeance that surprised her. She could no
longer deny that her feelings were real and what was happening between them was
one sided. Trace wanted her.

She
knew he couldn't acknowledge her love yet. She understood him better than
anyone did but for now, he had her in his arms where she wanted to be.

He
rolled to his side, taking Joan with him and holding her close against him. She
enjoyed his warmth in the cool night. Afraid to let go, in case he succumbed to
doubts about them while he slept, she swore to stay up all night.

Hours
later, the warm sun on Joan's skin woke her and she scrambled out of Trace's
arms and pulled the blanket around her.  She hadn't meant to fall asleep.

Trace
woke up and stared at her. She returned his gaze, trying to read his thoughts.
Afraid a new day would leave him questioning what happened between them.

"No
regrets." She kissed his lips. "Please. It's a new day, but
everything that happened between us is very real. Everything I said, I still mean
with all my heart."

He
nodded. "No regrets."

With
his declaration, the world was hers. She glanced toward the house. "Do you
think they're all sleeping or am I going to walk in there and one of them will
throw me out of the house for sleeping with you while I’m on the job?"

"I
wouldn't let them." He tugged the blanket around her. "Brody and Devon
will already be out of the house doing chores at the stable. You take the
blanket. I'll sit here for a few minutes —he glanced down at his naked body—
and relax. Just make sure you go through the outer door to my wing."

"Thank
you…for everything."

He
caressed her cheek. "I'll meet you inside," he whispered.

Chapter Nineteen

An
hour later, Joan strolled into the kitchen, not knowing what to expect from the
others. She hesitated inside the archway, concerned over the raised voices.

"Someone
needs to bring the situation in front of the elders, and that person should be
you." Devon stood in front of Trace. "You've got the same experience,
and they'll be more willing to listen to you."

"The
hell I will. How many times did I stand in front of the council, wishing
someone…anyone, would lock my father up? The only thing outside help brought me
was an extra beating for embarrassing our people. It was never the concerned
person's fault. It was mine. I was guilty for not hiding better." Trace
sneered. "I won't be the one that causes Savannah any more harm. Period.
There has to be another way to get her help."

"I
agree. It's reached a point where we can't hope that something happens to
change the situation. Our silence will only keep Savannah safe until we leave
to come back to the ranch. Then she's all alone. That's not good enough."
Brody turned around to the sink. "We're talking about a small child. A
very vulnerable child."

Trace
ran his hands through his hair. "God dammit, why can't her father die from
his drinking like my old man?"

She
hurried forward and stood beside Trace. "Did something else happen? Is
Savannah okay?"

"She's
okay." He pulled her tight against her side.

She
gazed across the room at Devon. "She's really okay?"

Devon
leaned against the counter. "She's fine. Her father didn't find her last
night. I counted two other kids, teenagers, who snuck into the home when it
became dark. She's not alone. The older kids will take care of her."

"Oh,
God. Don't they have counseling for alcohol and drug abuse on the reservation?
Can't someone make Savannah's father get help before anything worse
happens?" She slipped her arm around Trace and laid her check against his
chest.

"We've
tried talking to the elders before. The council has no money to hire someone
with experience to help our people. It's not on their list of priorities,
despite alcohol and drug abuse rates climbing. Couple that with all of them
refusing to bend at accepting help from white people, and we've hit a dead
end." Brody shut off the faucet, dried his hands, and smooched Joan on the
cheek as he passed by. "You're wonderful."

She
raised her hand to her throat, taken back by Brody's show of affection.
"Me? Why?"

"You
perform miracles." Brody grinned, nodding his head toward Trace.
"We're happy for you and Trace."

Joan
realized she was hanging on Trace and pushed against him, but he only tightened
his arms. "You told them?"

"They
know how I feel." He brushed a wayward curl behind her ear. "That's
all they need to know."

Joan's
phone beeped before she could reply, and she pulled it out of her pocket.
"Excuse me. I need to take this, it's important."

She
hurried into the living room, and answered the call. "Katie? What's
wrong?"

"Nothing…not
really."

"You
sound sad, did something happen between you and Aunt Sharon?" She sat down
on the edge of the couch, prepared for the worse.

"She's
complaining, all the time, and it's driving me crazy. She's nervous you won't
follow through and bring me home, and she'll miss her trip with the other
senior citizens she travels with." Katie sniffed. "Joanie…I want to
come home. I hate it here. I miss you. I miss my friends, and I-I miss daddy.
Why did everything have to change? I hate it."

"I
know you do, Katie. I miss him too." She bowed her head. "I'm trying
really hard to get enough money together, but I can't promise I'll be able to
do it by the end of the month. I'm trying though. You have to believe me.
You're my number one priority."

"I
wish I could get a job and help. I've tried, and nobody wants to hire me."
Katie lowered her voice. "Maybe if I come home, I could get a job at the
bakery?"

"I
doubt it. Bruce requires all his helpers to be over the age of eighteen. You
still have six months until you're an adult, and you have school. That's the
only thing you should concentrate on right now. I'll take care of everything.
Okay? Hang in there a little bit longer." She breathed deeply. "Why
don't you put Aunt Sharon on the phone, and I'll talk to her."

Katie
sniffled. "She's not here. I called when she left to go to the store, so I
could talk privately."

"Okay,
but if you want me to handle her, let me know or have her call me." Joan
pressed her fingers to her forehead. "I love you, Katie."

"Love
you, too." Katie's voice trailed off. "Bye."

"Bye."

She
buried her head in her hands. In another week, she'd be gone from Lakota ranch,
jobless, carless, and her aunt would once again be upset that she didn't follow
through on her promise to bring Katie home.
What am I going to do?

"Joan?"

She
jolted, not hearing Trace approach. "Here, let me move. You can sit
down."

"No.
Stay there." Trace sat on the coffee table facing her, keeping his cast
out to the side of him. "I couldn't help overhearing your conversation. Is
your sister okay?"

She
shook her head. "I haven't told you everything."

"Do
you want to talk now?" he asked.

"Katie's
my baby sister. She's only seventeen and right now, she's living with our Aunt
Sharon, my mom's sister. Aunt Sharon took temporary custody of Katie back when
my dad passed away ten months ago, so I could finish school. I promised her it
would only be for six months,  nine at the most, but things didn't work out the
way I'd planned. It's been more difficult than I imagined, and I thought I
could swing getting a full time job by now. I didn't expect my car to blow up,
leaving me without transportation to go job hunting." She closed her eyes
for a moment. "I've disappointed her."

"Why
can't she live with you now?" He collected her hands and held them in his
much larger ones.

"The
part time job I had delivering meals to the shut-ins while I was in college
wasn't enough to support both of us with Dad's funeral bill and all the
expenses that built up after he died. I knew if I got my nursing degree, I'd be
able to afford so much more for Katie. I thought if we could sacrifice a few
months of being apart, I could better our lives in the long run, but…" She
blew out her breath. "It's not happening as fast as I thought it would,
and now my car blew up and I'd let my insurance lapse…it seems like every
hurdle I jump, another one pops up."

"Invite
Katie here with you. I'll pay for her trip back, and you know we have plenty of
room for another person." Trace lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles.
"I don't know why you didn't tell me you had these worries before now. I
would have helped you. Hell, even one of the guys would have gone and picked
her up if it meant making you happy. You've worried all alone too long."

She
shook her head. "Trace. I can't let you do that. I will only be here for
another week, two at the most, and then I'm jobless. I plan to buy a used car
with the money I get from taking care of you. It'll take me longer to get in a
position to support us, but I'm not giving up. I have to do this to prove to
myself that I can do the right thing, that I'm strong enough."

He
kissed her. She groaned and broke away. "Really, I appreciate your
offer…but I can't. I need to figure this out for myself."

"Okay.
I understand why you want to do it yourself, and I know you can. You're one of
the most determined people I've ever met." He kissed her once more and
stood. "The offer is open if you change your mind. There's no harm about
accepting help."

"Thank
you," she said.

"I'll
be in the office. I need to work on an order coming up and check in with Joe.
He's keeping an eye on Savannah for me. Will you be okay for a few hours by
yourself?"

 "Of
course. I think I'll take a walk and try to sort through what I need to
do." She rubbed underneath her eyes. "Oh, can I borrow your computer
later? I want to check out the job board at the county hospital."

"Sure.
I'll be done shortly. You can share lunch with me, and then have the office to
yourself afterward." He pulled her up in front of him and whispered in her
ear. "Thank you for last night."

"It
wasn't a gift, Trace," she whispered. "It also won't be the last time
we have sex."

"It's
hard to believe…" He shook the rest of his words away and his gaze
softened before limping out of the room.

She
flopped back down on the couch.
What a crazy, but wonderful mess.