Matters of the Heart (13 page)

“I just spoke
with Phil, my attorney, and he’d already filed papers with the court for me to have
sole custody. He said we’ll probably need to go in front of a judge and if
you’d go along and prove that I have full time help with Presley it would help
me a lot. You know with me being a working dad and all.”

“I’ll do
whatever I can for you.”

He nodded.

Lucy somehow
wished he’d talk more about their future, if they had one, but maybe she was
getting ahead of herself. Maybe after the hurt with
Nevie
he needed some breathing space.

“You need
anyone to wash hard to reach parts of your body?” he asked.

She ran her
hand down his face. He hadn’t shaved today and his whiskers grazed her skin but
she liked it.

“Are you
offering?”

“I certainly
am.”

He rolled his
finger around her breasts before putting a dollop of the bubbles onto her
nipples.

Brad pushed his
finger under the water and made a trail down her belly as he leaned over and
kissed her.

He went
lower, brushing over her pubic hair and downward until he arrived at the
entrance of her pussy. He teased her, letting his finger settle there without
moving it.

“Are you
punishing me or what, sheriff?”

He gave her a
devilish grin and eased it inside her.

“Does that
feel better?”

“Much.”

She let her
shoulders sink below the bubbles as he finger fucked her, making her wiggle her
butt on the bottom of the bath with each of his tiny movements.

Lucy took a
deep breath, feeling herself get more aroused as his finger scraped the inside
of her channel, exciting it like never before. She raised one leg out of the
water and let it rest on the edge of the bath, while lifting the other and
placing her foot flat on the tiles of the wall. It opened her more for Brad to
tease her until she felt like she was sinking as her pussy pulsed and her
thighs became weak. She couldn’t hold on to the wonderful feeling any longer. She
knew it would be over but she had to come because a person could only take so
much pleasure.

She leaned
her head back and groaned, feeling her legs shake and her pussy gripping Brad’s
finger like it never wanted it to leave.

He pulled it
out and leaned over so he could kiss her.

“You
beautiful lady have me all worked up.”

“So what are
you going to do about it?”

He stood and
she turned and watched as he stripped off. At first she thought he’d be crazy
enough to join her in the bath but then he took her hand and encouraged her to
stand and get out of it.

Brad lifted
her up and she wrapped her legs around him as he sat her butt on the edge of
the vanity before sheathing himself.

He kissed her
while pushing his cock inside her. Lucy set her head on his shoulder as he
slowly moved inside her. She caught the reflection of his butt in the mirror
opposite them. The muscles of his thighs stood out as he quickened his pace. He
was the sexiest man she’d ever known.

She nipped at
his shoulder as he found her sweet spot at the back of her pussy. Lucy glanced
in the mirror again, getting turned on by the side of his gorgeous butt moving
at a faster pace as he pounded inside her.

Now she could
help herself, she licked his chest feeling her pussy tingle and burn. She inched
her butt toward him, pushing against him, knowing that would bring her the
climax she wanted so much.

Her breath
caught in her throat as it gathered like a storm about to break. She hoped she
didn’t hurt him as she dug her nails into his arm, balanced on the edge of the
vanity and enjoyed her orgasm.

Brad lifted
her up, pounding upward and found release himself.

They kissed
as he sat her back down.

“Does that
make up for the last few days of me being pre-occupied?”

“It does and
more.”

The phone
rang and Brad pulled out of her. “I’d say let that go to the answering machine
but it might be my attorney.”

Lucy eased
herself off the top of the vanity while Brad went to answer it he came back
with it in his hands.

“It’s for
you.”

She took it
from him.

“Hi.”

“Lucy.”

“Yes.”

“This is
Sally Perkins from human resources at Stevenson Nursing Services. You sent us
your resume and we have an opening for a nurse that we think you’re perfect
for. How about coming to see us on Thursday to talk about it?”

“Sure, that
sounds great.”

“How
about one?”

“Perfect.”

“Great, see
you then.”

Lucy pressed
the end call button.

“They have an
opening for a nurse with one of the health services. They want to interview me
on Thursday but maybe I shouldn’t, I mean you need me for Presley.”

He shook his
head. “I think you should go and if it’s the right job then you should
definitely take it.”

It wasn’t the
answer she wanted. She didn’t want to move back to
Helena
, to be a nurse. She wanted to be with
him and Presley. She thought he wanted that too but maybe she’d been wrong.
Wrong about a guy yet again.

The first
tears appeared in her eyes. Maybe he only wanted this to be a short term fling.

Chapter Eleven

Brad couldn’t
stand the thought of Lucy moving back to
Helena
and not being under the same roof as him and Presley, but at the same time he
couldn’t hold her back from doing what she really loved, nursing. She’d made it
clear from day one that being a nanny was a short term thing for her. Pine
Ridge didn’t have its own hospital so he doubted she’d find a suitable position
here. He took a sip of his coffee before setting the mug down on his desk.

He was sure
she was the perfect woman for him and the ideal stepmother for Presley. If he
asked her to marry him then she’d have to stay but then again would she always
regret not following her career? He’d already seen the repercussions of that
with
Nevie
.

Shit, nothing
was easy and clear cut. But he was going to take that gamble. On his lunch
break he’d start looking for engagement rings and propose to her over a
romantic dinner this weekend. He knew a few of the guys at the office had
purchased beautiful rings at the local antique store so that would be his first
stop. And he’d phone Sadie Sutton and ask if she could babysit again. Sure, the
lady was a little weird at times, but Presley loved her.

****

Sadie smiled.
So many good things were happening.
Evie
had just
phoned to tell her that she and Kyle were expecting a baby…the very first
Perfect Pairing offspring. The tabloids hadn’t been wrong when they’d spotted
her obvious bump on the red carpet. She just received the wedding photos from
Jake and
Gen’s
wedding. That had been quite a day,
and she’d even seen Rachel and Mitchell again.

And then the
handsome sheriff hadn’t said as much when he’d asked her to babysit, but she
knew a proposal was in the cards for Lucy.

She stood and
walked to the window but then stopped in her tracks. She had the feeling of
danger and dread again. It wasn’t only Presley this time, but Lucy too.
 
Someone planned to do something evil and she
had to try to stop them.

Sadie grabbed
her purse and coat, ran out of the office and got into her car. She could use
magic to transport herself to Pine Ridge but she’d been given a stern warning
the other day when she’d foolishly taken Presley to the Witches’ Realm. She was
walking on thin ice and didn’t want to lose Perfect Pairing.

No, she’d do
things the mortal way. She’d drive there and hopefully a little speeding
wouldn’t be frowned upon.

****

Lucy jotted
down the rest of the items she needed to get at the supermarket. Tomorrow she
had her job interview in
Helena
and if she got a job offer she’d probably leave at the weekend so she wanted to
stock up the fridge and pantry for Brad, and get in a good supply of items for
Presley.

“Okay, that
looks like everything. Let’s get you into the car and maybe we’ll make it there
and back before the snowstorm moves in.”

She put the
blanket around Presley’s legs and headed out to her car. She opened the back
door ready to put the baby into the car seat when she sensed someone standing
behind her.

“Lucy isn’t
it?”

It was
Nevie
.

“You were
told not to come to the house again.” Lucy put her hand into her bag and felt
around for her cell phone just in case she needed to call Brad.

“If you want
to see Presley you’ll have to talk to Sheriff Ryan about it. Now if you don’t
mind I need to get to the store.”

Nevie
put her hand
on the car door preventing Lucy from opening it back any farther.

“Just who the
hell are you telling me what I have to do to see my child?”

“Look, I
don’t want any trouble so please go away and talk to Brad about this.”

“I bet it
didn’t take him long to get between your legs did it? Haven’t you found out yet
that he’s one sorry loser in the sex department?”

Lucy wanted
to defend him but didn’t want to stoop to this woman’s level.

“Now give me
my daughter and you can go to the store.”

“Everything
okay,
Nevie
?”

Lucy saw a
blue SUV pulling up close to the curb and a man about
Nevie’s
age driving.

“Yep,
me
and Presley will be with you in a minute.”

“Well, just
hurry up because a snow storm’s headed this way and I want to hit the road
soon.”

Nevie
held out her
hand. “I can take her in the carrier if it’s any easier.”

Lucy pulled
it closer to her body. “You’ll need to go through me to get the baby.”

That had been
risky on her part but she didn’t think
Nevie
would
try anything until she hit Lucy in the face, causing her to drop the carrier.
Both she and
Nevie
dived for it as Presley screamed.
Lucy tried to push her but
Nevie
punched her away and
then dug her nails in her hands until Lucy cried out.

Next thing
she knew
Nevie
had smacked her in the face again,
sending Lucy flying back on the driveway. She couldn’t get up fast enough to
stop
Nevie
from running to the SUV with Presley
screaming at the top of her lungs, and then the SUV took off.

She knew she
wouldn’t have time to call 911 so she got into her car and began following the
SUV, if she could keep up with it maybe she could figure out where they were
heading and then call Brad.

The snow
began falling as she got to the edge of Pine Ridge. It looked like they were
heading north.
 
They were getting farther
away and maybe they knew she was following them.

With each
passing minute it got harder to see in front of her and she knew she’d need to
call Brad because he’d know what to do. As she reached into her purse for her
phone, she heard the blast of a horn and as she looked up she realized she’d
strayed into the opposite lane and a large truck was heading her way. She
swerved and must have hit some ice because soon the car headed down a ravine.

It came to an
abrupt stop, the airbag exploded in front of her face, she fell forward, and
all she could think about was Brad and Presley as she faded out.

****

Sadie pulled
into the sheriff’s driveway and knew straight away something was wrong and
she’d been too late. She got out of her car and saw the snow covered baby
blanket and then a few drops of blood close by it.
 
The sheriff would know what to do and she had
to get him here as soon as she could. She only hoped it wasn’t too late for
both Lucy and Presley.

****

“Can I see
this one here?” said Brad pointing to the silver ring with the round diamond in
its center. It was the most beautiful ring he’d ever seen, and it reminded him
of Lucy.

“You have
great taste, Sheriff Ryan. This is a beauty,” said the assistant, pulling it
out of the display case.

He set it on
top of the counter just as Brad’s cell phone rang. He was about to ignore it
but then thought it might be important.

“Excuse me
while I take this,” said Brad. “Hello, Sheriff Ryan.”

“It’s Sadie
Sutton and I think you should come straight home.”