hard enough, he could hear Warren snoring from behind his closed bedroom door. Kane’s heart hammered in his chest and he half feared a heart attack or something the way it was carrying on.
“Get your cute butt over here right now, Kane Dalton,” Laci whispered with a giggle. “This is a one-time, limited offer. And if you don’t take me up on it, I might just change my mind and leave you in your sorry state.”
Kane glanced down at the raging erection bulging his jeans and he swallowed in half embarrassment, half agony. “C’mon, Laci, if we get caught...”
“No one’s gonna catch us, you big scaredy-cat.” She grinned in the moonlight, more beautiful than ever, and he nearly swallowed his tongue. “Warren and Cora sleep like the dead. Nothing could wake them. Now...are you gonna just stand there looking silly or are you gonna get over here and show me a good time?”
If his cock were in charge, he’d say, Hell yes! And would be vaulting his way to that bed, but he was torn between the fear of being caught and tossed out for violating the Bradfords’ trust and giving in to his deepest, most secret desire and banging the hell out of that country cutie! But he and Rian needed this job and he couldn’t screw things up by thinking with his dick, right? Hell, who was he kidding? It was more than his dick that was talking. He’d fallen head over heels for this girl and there was no denying it, even if it was the stupidest thing he’d ever gone and done.
“Kane Dalton...don’t you hurt my feelin’s now,” she teased just as she slowly pulled her nightshirt off, revealing two of the most achingly perfect breasts he’d ever had the pleasure of staring at, and just then, he lost all ability to reason, function or otherwise think with anything other than the part of his anatomy that was sucking up all the blood in his body. “Like what you see?”
“Oh, damn, girl,” he breathed, forgetting about the squeaky floor and the possible repercussions. Within seconds, his pants were off and he was climbing onto the bed with Laci beneath him. Her blond hair was spread out on the pillow like a halo, and her nipples hardened like twin berries, ripe for the plucking. His eyes nearly crossed with crazy desire and he lost himself for a brief moment in the vision of perfection beneath him. “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever known,” he murmured as she threaded her hands through his hair and drew his mouth to hers for a sweet kiss that sent rocket blasts of pleasure straight to his toes.
She broke the kiss and stared into his eyes. “And you’re mine, Kane Dalton. Always. You hear me?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed, his heart approving. “I’ll always be yours.” His fervent vow was as true as any, but what the hell did a seventeen-year-old boy know of anything? Still, it didn’t stop him from solemnly promising her his soul. “Nothing’ll ever change that fact, I promise.”
“I love you, Kane...”
“I love you, Laci.”
Kane jerked himself from that memory and shook his head as if he could dislodge it, but the whisper-soft pledge remained an echo from his distant past. He sat on the edge of the bed, wondering if he was going to be able to sleep there. Just walking over the threshold had nearly caused his brain to melt with the recollection of what he and Laci had done in this room, in this bed that summer. What would sleeping there every night do to him? Hell, what was he getting so worked up about? It was a damn bed. It was natural to reminisce about your first time. Plenty of women between that memory and now, so stop dwelling.
He kicked off his shoes and undressed, climbing into the bed nude, as he always did, and prepared to fight sleep because he rarely slept well in a bed that wasn’t his own, but sooner than he’d imagined, he was out.
LACI HADN’T MEANT to end up in Woodsville, but her rented convertible seemed to have a destination in mind from the start because before she knew it, she was entering the town where she’d often spent summers while her daddy was out logging. The town square, quiet and still bathed in twilight, brought an easy smile to her mouth, even though it’d been a dog’s age since she’d been back. Everything about Woodsville was steeped in nostalgia—the kind that sucked you in with a powerful current that was impossible to swim against. Woodsville was as charming as a postcard on the surface, but she knew not everyone harbored sweet memories of this place.
Kane’s face appeared in her mind’s eye and she fought the immediate catch in her chest. Kane Dalton had been her everything—the light in her soul and the fire in her heart—until he’d gone off and joined the Marines, leaving her behind in a red-hot minute as if she’d meant nothing to him. He’d broken her heart in a million pieces and it was safe to say she’d never fully recovered from his abandonment. Well, some might say she’d done all right for herself but they didn’t know her private pain, the nights she spent thinking of him, wondering where he went, or if he was all right. For all she knew, he was dead, killed in a war on the other side of the world. Sometimes it was easier that way—thinking he was dead—because then she wouldn’t have the option of looking him up just to satisfy some wicked curiosity about things that didn’t matter anymore.
She made a point to never ask the Bradfords about Kane and bless their hearts, they seemed to understand and never volunteered anything, either, which was just the way she liked it. Ignorance was better than knowledge sometimes. It was right selfish of her, but she didn’t want to know if Kane was happily married off to some other woman, when that woman should’ve been her. So, yeah, she preferred to know nothing about Kane Dalton.
But as she was driving through Woodsville, the memories were too strong to deny. Her daddy had started dropping her off at the Bradford ranch, with Warren and Cora, when she was about fifteen. Sweet old couple, they were, but she’d been a terrible brat at times because she’d been mad at her daddy for dumping her off with strangers, even if they were nice enough. Still, they’d been good to her. Cora had taught her how to make the best pies in four counties. She even had the blue ribbon from the county fair to prove it. Not that she had much time to bake these days. Trent didn’t schedule much downtime. A pinch of guilt followed at the thought of her manager. She probably should’ve left a note, but then he’d have followed her and, by damn, she needed some downtime or she was going to lose her ever-loving mind and then where would they be?
She needed peace and solitude and the sound of the farm around her. No more lights in her face, people fussing about her everywhere she turned and definitely no Trent booking her for umpteen appearances until she fell over dead from pure exhaustion. I’ll call as soon as I’ve had a few days to regroup, she promised herself, if only to assuage the guilt, and it worked because after that moment, Trent completely left her mind, and for that, she was grateful.
Since she was already in Woodsville, Laci knew exactly where she wanted to go. It was way past the appropriate time to reconnect with the Bradfords and now was as good a time as any. She knew without a doubt that they would let her stay for as long as she liked and that was exactly the kind of hospitality she needed right now. Everything in life that had ever made sense could be found at the Bradford ranch.
When she rolled up to the house, she saw the truck parked out front and smiled quizzically. Warren had always been a Ford man, but this truck was a Dodge. Maybe the old guy had switched loyalties over the years. Hopefully, that was the only thing that’d changed. She climbed the stairs and, when she found the front door locked, she searched under the welcome mat for the spare key—aha! Some things don’t change—and quietly unlocked the door.
At two in the morning, she knew Warren and Cora would be dead asleep—life on the ranch was hard work—so she figured she’d surprise them in the morning. Tiptoeing to what had always
