Playing With You (18 page)

He didn’t look at her as he started the truck, but when the big engine roared to life, he gripped the steering wheel and stared out into the night. A moment later he seemed to come to a decision and put the vehicle into reverse and backed up before leaving the parking lot.

They were quiet as he drove and then she furrowed her brow as he started to drive out of town instead of heading toward her neighborhood.

She frowned. “Where are you taking me?”

“My place,” he said quietly.

She shook her head. “I want to go home.”

“There was a time when I would have done just that and walked away.” He glanced at her. “But not with you, Ricki.”

She wasn’t sure how she felt anymore as she crossed her arms over her chest and stared out the window as the dark scenery flew by.

It wasn’t too long before he pulled down a dirt road and drove toward a ranch-style house with a porch light on but the windows dark. Even though it was nighttime, she could see the house was made out of an adobe-colored brick. A couple of buildings were crouched to the right of the house, the headlights bouncing off of them as the truck rattled over a cattle guard.

He parked in front of the house and killed the engine. He said nothing as he climbed out of the truck and closed the door. She was still unfastening her seatbelt with her good hand when he opened the passenger door. She did need his help but she remained stubbornly quiet as he helped her out.

They walked side-by-side to the house and Garrett unlocked the door before turning on a light in the house and letting them in.

The house was neat and clean with casual cowhide furniture and a polished knotted wood coffee table with matching end tables, and there were a couple of framed Norman Rockwell prints on the walls, along with other artwork. The room smelled of air freshener and lemon oil.

“The cleaners came today,” he said in explanation. “I have them take care of the place once a month.”

She nodded as he closed the door behind her and she said, “I like it.” She turned to face him. “I don’t know what we’re doing here, though.”

“You’ve got to be hungry by now,” he said. “Those hotdogs we ate at the rodeo were a long time ago.”

“As long as we talk afterward,” she said as she studied him.

“Yes.” He held her gaze. “We’ll talk.”

He turned and headed through an archway. She followed him into a kitchen with high ceilings, oak cabinets, and granite countertops. The appliances were black, the floor was done in large adobe-colored tiles, and there was a heavy oak table with six chairs in an alcove to the left.

“I like your house.” She paused to look around the kitchen that needed a woman’s hand. It was inviting, but lacked touches of warmth. With her love of decorating and making home improvements, she thought of things that would make the kitchen come alive.

He ducked down and looked into the fridge. “What are you hungry for?” He turned and glanced over his shoulder. “If you’d like hamburgers or steaks, I can grill some.”

“Okay.” She moved closer to him. “What can I do to help?”

It wasn’t long before he fired up the grill for the steaks and hamburgers and in the kitchen they were cooking mashed potatoes and green beans. The house smelled of barbeque and the warm cornbread she’d whipped up from her favorite recipe.

She was afraid dinner was going to be a silent affair, but they talked about the rodeo—everything but what had happened afterward. When they were finished eating, leftovers put away, and dishes finished, Garrett took her by her good hand and led her through the open arcadia doors to a pair of large chaise lounges near the barbeque grill.

Outside, a swath of stars covered the sky and it still smelled of mesquite wood and barbeque. Cool night air brushed her skin and she shivered.

“Come here.” He drew her close to him and then he eased into one of the large lounge chairs with her on his lap. “I’ll keep you warm.”

She wanted to pull away and tell him that she didn’t want to be that close until they talked. But she gradually relaxed in his arms. It felt good being held by him, her head resting on his chest.

“I wanted your first visit to my home to be a good memory,” he said, regret in his voice. “I’m sorry.”

“What happened out there?” Her throat was dry as she spoke.

He rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger. “Sally Johnson is my client. She hired me to find out if her husband, Andy, was cheating on her.”

“And apparently you did,” Ricki said quietly.

“Yeah.” He sighed. “I hate those cases but I hate even more when I find out that the person who hired me was right in his or her suspicions.”

“You shouldn’t have fought him, Garrett.” Ricki clenched her hands in her lap. “You should have walked away.”

“You’re right.” He frowned. “I know Sally from way back. We went to school together.”

“So you were looking for an excuse,” she said.

“No.” He bit out the word. “I would never have touched him if he hadn’t come after me first.” He stroked Ricki’s arm with his thumb as he looked up at the stars. “But you’re right, I should have walked away. All it would have taken was one movement and I could have stopped him without hurting him.”

“Why didn’t you?” Her voice sounded flat. “Why did you lose control like that?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head then stopped. “Yes, I do know. It’s because I can’t stand to see anyone go through that kind of pain, especially a woman.”

Ricki frowned. “You wanted to hurt him.”

“Yes, I did.” He sighed again. “All I can do is hope you’ll forgive me and I promise to do my best to never lose control like that again.”

Ricki was silent for a moment. “Where does your anger come from? It’s there, isn’t it…inside of you, something that never quite goes away.”

His features tightened. “You’re pretty damned observant.”

She put her hand over his, where it rested on her thigh. “I want to know.”

“All right.” He linked his fingers with hers. “This won’t be easy. It’s something I don’t talk about and have never told anyone before. You might even hate me when I finish telling you.”

His last statement made her feel off-balance. What could he tell her that would make her hate him?

“It goes back to when I was a kid.” He gripped her hand tightly, probably more than he’d intended. “My childhood wasn’t what you’d call fun or pleasant.”

Ricki waited for him to explain, not wanting to interrupt him.

“My birth father, Butch, was a real bastard.” Garrett’s voice sounded like his throat was constricted. “Butch beat my mother and brother, and he beat me. He didn’t have to be drunk to do it. He did it for the fun of it.”

Ricki sucked in her breath.

“Mom didn’t know about the old man knocking me and Reese around,” Garrett said. “He hid it real well and told us if we breathed one word he would beat Mom to death, so we were afraid to say anything. Seeing my younger brother being whipped and punched was more than I could stand.” Garrett clenched his hand into a fist. “But I was so small and I felt so damned helpless.”

Garrett made a disgusted sound before he continued. “If beating all of us wasn’t enough, he was having an affair with the woman next door.”

“So that’s why cheating makes you so angry,” Ricki said.

“I finally figured out a way to get the old man,” Garrett said. “I ‘borrowed’ Butch’s camera, followed him, and took pictures of him and his mistress. I also managed to sneak photos of my father beating Reese while Mom was at work. I wanted to prove where Reese really got all of his bruises. It wasn’t on the playground.”

Garrett dragged his hand down his face. “Once the photos were developed and I showed them to Mom, they were the final straw in a whole haystack of things Butch did to our family. She confronted the bastard and threw the pictures at him. He beat the hell out of her, screaming, demanding to know where she’d gotten the pictures. She refused to tell him no matter how badly he beat her.”

Ricki’s stomach sickened as Garrett spoke. She thought about Angel, the sweet woman she’d met at the Easter gathering and what she’d been through.

Garrett’s voice grew angrier and angrier. “I’d always been something of a sleuth as a kid and that must’ve dawned on Butch because he turned on me. I tried to fight back but I was too young and too small compared to that big bastard. He broke my arm and knocked me around pretty good.”

“My God.” Ricki’s heart ached for him, his mother, and his brother. “How did you get away from him?”

“Mom grabbed the cast iron frying pan from the top of the stove and slammed it into the back of Butch’s head while he was beating me, knocking the bastard out cold.” Garrett pushed his fingers through his hair. “While he was out, we bound him with duct tape and left him there for the police. I wanted to hit him again with the frying pan. He’d hurt us all so badly over the years that I didn’t care if it killed him, but Mom said we weren’t going to be like him. We packed up and left. First for the police station and then to a shelter.”

“I’m so sorry.” Ricki felt tears pricking at her eyes for the second time tonight. But this time her oncoming tears were for the small boy Garrett had been as well as for Reese and Angel. “Your mother is a strong woman to have done what she did.”

“I’m proud of her.” Garrett had a faraway look in his eyes. “She didn’t leave sooner because she had no money and she had us two boys to take care of. But once she found out that Butch was beating us, too, she wasn’t about to let that continue to happen.”

He continued, “Butch is in prison in Florence for sexual abuse of a minor.” Garrett seemed not to realize he was squeezing Ricki’s fingers as tightly as he was. His voice was low, coarse, as he said, “Ricki, I’m afraid of what I might do to him if he ever gets out.” His chest heaved against her as he took a big breath. “Maybe I’m my father’s son after all.”

“No.” Ricki took her hand from his and shifted herself in his arms so that her palm was on his chest and she was meeting his gaze. “You’re a good man. You’re nothing like that bastard.”

“I lost control tonight.” Garrett’s throat worked as he swallowed. “I’m not good enough for someone like you, honey.”

She shook her head. “Don’t say that.”

“That’s why I left the night of the softball game.” His voice was hoarse. “I knew I wasn’t the right person for you. But then I got to thinking that I’m nothing like Butch and I never will be.” Garrett looked away. “Losing my self-control like I did tonight proved that I was wrong.”

Ricki reached up with her other hand and cupped the side of his face, his coarse stubble rough against her palm. She forced him to look at her. “You’re a good man and I’ve known that since the first time we met.”

“Damn, Ricki.” He turned his face and kissed her palm then put his hand over hers. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Don’t say that.” She frowned. “You certainly are deserving of all the good things there are in life. And you and I…what we have…we’re good together.”

She didn’t know where the words came from and for a moment she wondered if she should have said something so bold as
“…we’re good together.”

He looked serious as he caressed strands of her hair. “I’m making a promise to you. I’ll never lose control like that again. Ever.”

She gave him a soft smile. “I know.”

Something fiery burned in his gaze. He slipped his hand into her hair and pulled her down for a long, slow kiss.

When he broke the kiss, he stroked hair away from her face. “You’re a special woman, you know that?”

She sounded breathy from the kiss. “You need to know you’re a special man.” She put her finger against his lips when he looked like he was going to protest. “Shhh.” She smiled. “I’m glad you came into my life, Garrett McBride.”

He grasped her in his arms and surged to his feet, catching her by surprise and she looped her arms around his neck. He held her to him like a precious treasure and strode for the arcadia doors that led into the house. He walked through the opening with her still in his arms, then with one hand closed the glass door behind them.

“What in the world are you doing?” she said as he carried her out of the kitchen and into the living room.

“I promised to make love to you good and proper.” He gripped her tightly. “I keep my promises.”

As Garrett carried her down a long dark hallway, Ricki’s body flushed with heated desire as his smoky gaze met hers. He held her to him as he walked into a bedroom and flipped on a light switch. The room filled with warm light as two small lamps came to life on either side of the bed.

He strode to the king-sized bed in the middle of room, the oak headboard against the wall on the right. A red, brown, and green plaid comforter covered the mattress and it was turned down to reveal hunter green sheets and pillowcases.

Her heart beat faster as he set her on her feet beside the bed and he took her by the shoulders. “Is your wrist okay?” His voice was low and concerned. “I’ll be careful.”

“It’s better.” As she smiled, her lips quivered a little from feeling nervous and thrilled all at once. “I’m feeling wonderful.”

He lowered his head and moved his mouth over hers as he cupped her face. The kiss was slow, gentle, yet the passion and chemistry between them was so great she wanted to melt into his arms.

She slid her palms over his torso, careful with her wrist but loving the feel of his solid chest beneath her hands. So much control and restraint was in his kiss as he tasted her and gently nipped at her lower lip.

Every inch of him radiated tension, a barely-reined in power that was in every muscle. His body heat seared her and she pressed herself closer to him as he kissed her.

When he broke the kiss he looked down at her, his thumb caressing her cheek. “You’re such an amazing woman. How could I deserve someone like you?”

“You are an incredible man, Garrett.” She reached up and brushed her lips over his before she moved back. “It’s time you realized that.”

He kissed her gently as he slid one hand to her braid and tugged the band from the end. He let the band drop to the floor then pulled out her braid and fluffed her hair around her face and shoulders before slipping his fingers in and rubbing her scalp with his fingertips.