Her Heart's Desire (Sunflower Series Book 1) (24 page)

“Oh, yes,” Amelia moaned. Her eyes closed.
She licked her lips. Her expression spoke of focused intensity. Her
body nudged against his faster and faster. Her writhing drove him
crazy. He matched her pace, quickening each thrust.

When Amelia moaned again and grabbed his
butt, he let out a moan of pure pleasure.

Heaven wrapped around them. Physical
sensations shot them through the universe.

Expressions of love, lust, and desire
culminated in a long guttural moan, their cries melding just as
their bodies had. Floating back to earth seemed a crime.

Being with a woman had never been like this.
Amelia wasn’t just any woman.

“Love you,” Lucas said, when his breathing
allowed him to speak. Amelia’s reply came as a deep and satisfying
kiss. He locked his fingers in her hair. Silk thread couldn’t feel
any more luxurious.

When his breathing slowed a bit more, he
rolled beside Amelia and propped on his elbows. “I can’t recall a
more perfect evening. Happy birthday, Amelia.”

“Thank you,” she whispered almost shyly.
“It’s been the best birthday.” When she didn’t reach for the sheet
to cover her body, it pleased him in a way he’d never considered.
His woman was comfortable with him and their intimacy. Society’s
propriety remained parked at the door.

He sat and reached for his jeans. From a
front pocket, he pulled a small box. “I’ve waited a long time to
give you this.” He opened the box for her. His gift nestled in
velvet.

“Oh!” Amelia cried. “It’s beautiful.”

Lucas lifted a solitaire diamond pendant
hanging from a chain. She hurriedly motioned to him to put it on
her. It hung in the middle of her chest. She stroked the length of
the chain as though it might bring her good luck, or maybe a genie
would appear and offer three wishes.

“I don’t want to rush things, or rush you. I
love you. Amelia, I want to marry you.”

Her eyes widened. A smile spread across her
face. She brought both hands to her heart and clutched the diamond
pendant. “I want to be with you.”

“When you’re ready, we’ll find a setting for
the diamond, and it will become your engagement ring.”

She kissed him tenderly. “You mean the world
to me. But my future is so uncertain. Are you sure?”

He’d do everything to ensure her happiness,
including convincing her brother of the rightness of their
relationship. Amelia was locked in his heart forever. His.

“Woman, let me show you how certain I am.” He
pulled her close. “Actions always speak louder than words.”

She giggled. He loved the lightness of her
laugh, the unjaded way she lived and loved. He’d make love to her
until dawn.

“Talk away,” she teased.

He tried to shove away the niggling thought
working on a foothold in his mind. It would break his heart forever
if she had to move back to the city to fulfill her artistic needs,
something he could never give her. Everything in her life, and now
his, rested on the crop spread out before them. It was only gold
when harvested and money from the sale deposited in the bank. Then
she could claim the independence she craved.

He still had a plan to save her farm.

Chapter 19

Dawn lifted the sun upward over the horizon
as Craig paced the length of the back deck. Last night, Amelia had
never opened her birthday present. Last night she never came home.
Last night she changed before his eyes from a younger sister to a
woman in control. She carried herself with grace and dignity,
displaying a poise he’d not seen before.

He should be happy. A grown-up confident
woman would understand the realities of life. He wouldn’t have to
sugarcoat anything anymore. But at six in the morning, his sister
still hadn’t appeared, and Megan’s car remained in the driveway.
Lucas had to be with Amelia, but where were they?

Lucas. He wanted to blame him and thank
him.

Amelia had danced with him once, but the rest
of the evening, she danced with everyone, especially Lucas. At
first, their closeness bothered him. Then it surprised him. When
the two of them made the rounds to greet the guests, no one but him
seemed fazed that Amelia and Lucas were a couple. A couple!

In the beginning, his friend had shown
brotherly
attentiveness, and he reasoned it was because Lia
was the birthday girl. When he spied Lucas tilt Amelia’s chin and
kiss her, reality struck hard. Lucas had fallen for Amelia. His
feelings about his best friend and his baby sister whirled in his
heart like a spinning propeller. The emotion, not exactly
disbelief, well, maybe that mixed with anger and possibly
betrayal...but why?

His mind couldn’t circle around the idea of
the two of them. Since high school, he had dissuaded Lucas from any
relationship with Amelia after she’d declared her love. Even last
year after the funeral, he’d cautioned Lucas to keep his distance,
insisting Amelia needed time to grieve the loss of their
parents.

Unable to wait any longer for his sister to
appear, Craig pumped his fists and jogged down the steps to the
backyard. Gentleman Jack came to greet him bearing his toy pheasant
in his mouth.

“Hunting season will open soon. We’ll go this
year, I promise. Where’s Amelia?”

Jack ran off toward the creek and Craig
followed. The dog came from excellent pedigree, the progeny of many
world champions, but his breeding made him a pointing bird dog, not
a human tracker. His gaze followed Jack as he shot through the low
hanging branches obscuring the view of the creek. As a kid, it was
Amelia’s favorite place to hide. When she was about seven and going
through her princess stage, she ordered him and Lucas to stay away
from her castle.

Nearing the creek, he walked along the tree
line, then slipped between the tree branches as Jack had done.
There he found the Brittany spaniel hunkered down and panting near
the water’s edge. Craig squatted next to him. Morning sun filtered
through the limbs and leaves, hitting one particular spot. He
noticed something carved into the trunk of a tree. Scooting along
the thick branch, he jumped down on the opposite side of the creek
and stared at the letters, tracing the carvings with his
finger.

A heart with the initials L & L inside.
The carved letters had to stand for Lucas and Lia.

His heart sank. What had he done?

Below the heart, a date. He counted back the
years. Amelia had been a senior in high school. Back then, she
demanded to be called Lia. Her friends complied, but their family
had always used her proper given name.

Had his sister carried more than a schoolgirl
crush on Lucas all these years? Did Lucas know? If so, then why had
Lucas gone along with the plan to get Amelia to move back to the
city? Maybe the man loved her—which might explain his angry rant in
the barn before when he’d stormed away.

Craig scrunched his forehead. Confusion
swirled until his head hurt. People and their love lives...it
complicated life in a way he wanted no part of. He would forever be
a bachelor. Certainly he enjoyed the company of a smart, sexy
woman, but he liked women who loved their careers more. That kind
of woman he understood. A nice time. A little companionship. No
lasting entanglements to cause complications.

After crossing back over the creek, Craig
squatted to pat Jack. “Where can I find Amelia? Jack, find
Amelia.”

Jack bolted. Craig ran wide open to keep up
with the dog. The paths they ran turned like a maze. He halted when
a tent came into view. He slowed his pace, turned a corner, and
approached Lucas’s truck from the front. Jack shot past him,
heading back in the direction they had come from as though to say,
I did my job. This is in your hands now
.

No sound came from the tent perched above the
truck bed. The hair on the back of his neck rose. Silently, he made
his way alongside the truck. All quiet. He grimaced and paused
before peering around the corner. If there was anything to see,
anything at all, he wouldn’t be able to un-see it, like a bell that
couldn’t be unrung. Sucking in a deep breath and squaring his
shoulders, he marched the last several steps to the open
tailgate.

The scene before him burned in his brain.
Squinting into the darkened tent, his eyes adjusted. Amelia and
Lucas. It was like watching a train wreck and being unable to look
away. He shook his head in denial. “No!”

Inside the tent, Amelia and Lucas were lay
tangled together. She on her side, one bare leg exposed all the way
to her butt. Thank God, her chest was covered. Lucas lay on his
stomach, his entire bare backside visible.

“What the hell!” Heat flooded Craig’s face.
He put his hands over his ears to be sure his exploding blood
pressure wasn’t spurting blood from there. His sister naked in bed
with Lucas? Crushes and puppy love were one thing. This was just...
just... mind-blowing.

“Amelia, wake up! Have the decency to cover
your ass!” he snarled. “Lucas! Christ, man, what the...did you do?
My sister?” He yanked on the quilt, and Amelia grabbed it from his
grasp.

“Stop this craziness,” Amelia chastised.

His sanity fled. He wanted Lucas to climb out
of the truck and fight.

“Lucas, have you lost your mind? Get out of
there!” Craig yelled.

Lucas rolled over and pulled a sheet to cover
himself. He yawned. “Screaming like a girl doesn’t change anything.
We’ll be up to the house in a little while. How ’bout some
privacy?”

Craig locked his jaw and slammed his fist on
the tailgate. “Get your ass out of bed. Away from my sister!”

“Stop it!” Amelia demanded. “You’re acting
irrational. You’re not my father. I’m not a wayward teenager. Get
the heck out of here. We’ll see you at the house in a little
while.”

“No. Now.”

Lucas eyed him. “Please respect your sister
and leave.”

“I’m not going to stand here and watch you
dress. I’ll be waiting. I expect you in fifteen minutes,” Craig
snapped. He stalked away, certain if anyone saw him, they’d see
fury rolling off him and have the good sense to stay away.

“We may be more than fifteen minutes,” Lucas
called out, his voice full of sleep and laziness. Amelia
giggled.

Sweat broke out on Craig’s brow. He burst
into a full run as if chased by hell. Whatever might happen next in
that makeshift bedroom, he could imagine, but didn’t need or want
confirmation. The sooner he got away, the better.

But he’d be waiting.

With a shotgun.

Lucas Dyer was about to get some
old-fashioned coaching.

Chapter 20

An hour later, around the breakfast table,
the most important people in Lia’s life, minus one, laughed and
scarfed down scrambled eggs, home fries, bacon, and toast. The
kitchen was made more homey by aromas from frying applewood-smoked
bacon, Craig’s favorite. But he was nowhere to be found. With his
car still in the driveway, he couldn’t have gone far. Lia poured
orange juice into glasses and mussed with Megan’s hair as though
she were a small child rather than a college student. Maybe one
day, the two of them would be sisters-in-law. Giddily, she fluffed
Megan’s hair again.

“Coffee?” Lucas asked.

“Coming right up.” Lia’s heart sang a melody,
part Irish jig and part down-home blues. How she loved Lucas! The
man was a package and then some. A tender and thorough lover. A
solid man, always wanting to do the right thing for everyone in his
life. He worked hard, kept his word, a handshake his bond. A
farmer’s body, strong, lean, and sexy. The man drifted to the
serious side a bit, but she would help lighten him up.
Responsibility weighed him down since his first tour of
Afghanistan. He never talked with her about the war or things that
happened there.

She would find more ways to put smiles on his
face. Just like the ones last night and this morning. She giggled
remembering.

Together with Lucas, the positive
possibilities of life could light up the night sky.

She poured coffee into Lucas’s mug. He caught
her wrist, smiled, and winked. “Thank you.”

She nodded, enjoying the sensations of being
part of a family again.

“I wonder where he is,” she muttered,
concerned about her brother’s absence. She set the pot on a trivet
before sitting down to eat. If anyone minded that Craig was a
no-show, it wasn’t apparent by their appetites.

Bang! Slam!

The front door opened and closed. Craig
rushed in hoisting a side-by-side, double-barreled shotgun. He
aimed it at Lucas. “Get up.”

“What?” Lucas’s fork, covered in potatoes,
hung suspended halfway between his plate and mouth.

“Craig, what the heck?” Lia asked. Pushing
away from the table, she rose and stood in the space between Craig
and Lucas, who remained seated. “We’re having breakfast. I saved
some bacon for you. This isn’t funny. Put the gun down. How do you
want your eggs?”

“Lucas, outside.”

“You better not hurt my brother,” Megan
shouted, fear flashing on her face.

Lia turned her back to her brother and faced
Lucas. “Finish your breakfast. I’ll take care of this.”

“No!” Craig cried. “Lucas. Man to man.
Outside. If you live, you can finish your meal. Amelia, the two of
you have gone too far.”

Lia’s hands trembled. She reached for Megan’s
hand when Lucas rose, dropped his napkin on the chair, and crossed
the room. He left the house the same way Craig had entered. Craig
followed him out.

“Seriously?” Megan said, standing up. “Make
them stop. This isn’t funny,” she pleaded.

“I know. I know.” Lia swallowed hard, her
stomach in her throat. Wrapping her arm around Megan’s shoulder,
she made a fist with her other and released it. Was Craig drunk?
Her stomach tightened. It was all too surreal. It had to be a
joke.