Chapter 24
Danielle and Wade
Dani stood beside the corral, watching Wade try his hand at breaking in one of his new horses. And she wasn’t alone. A lot of the ranch hands had shown up, likely to rib their boss if he had a hard time.
She couldn’t believe she had been in Texas for two weeks already, and next week, she’d have to go home. Her time spent with Wade had been unbelievably fantastic. His men had returned to the ranch on Monday, and she’d gotten to know a few of them.
Over the past week, she and Wade had spent their nights together. After breakfast, he’d go off to work at the ranch, and then come back so they could share dinner. It was a simple ritual, but one she’d grown to love.
Now that Jerry had repaired the internet, she spent most of her time working on marketing projects, though she wasn’t enjoying them as much as she used to.
She’d much rather be doing this, watching Wade in action, or helping while he worked on the ranch he loved so much.
Yesterday, when Libby had called to see how things were going, she’d told her sister that she and Wade were together.
She felt it was only fair that her sister knew it since Serenity Pines was a close-knit community.
And though it appeared that the neighbors were minding their own business, she wanted to give Libby a heads up, even if the locals seemed to accept her in Wade’s life the way they had accepted Libby in Richard’s.
Libby’s only concern was that Dani was a woman on the rebound. But was she? Her sisters didn’t know the truth about her break-up with Steve. Dani decided, then and there, to tell her family what really happened. Because she was definitely not on the rebound.
So now, she was here on a Saturday morning, watching Wade break in not one horse, but three.
Carlos had explained that only one of the mean-spirited creatures belonged to Wade.
The other two horses belonged to one of Wade’s neighbors, who appreciated him taking on the job for him after two of his ranch hands got hurt.
“Don’t look so worried, Dani,” Carlos said, coming over. “This isn’t Wade’s first rodeo, no pun intended. He’s been breaking in horses since before he could walk.”
She chuckled. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Well, yeah. It just seems that long. His dad taught him all he knows, and I haven’t seen a horse throw him yet.”
There was always a first time for everything, she thought.
And the last thing she wanted was for anything to happen on her watch.
She glanced around and saw that several more people had arrived, mainly neighbors.
They were acting as if Wade was putting on a show or something.
Did they not understand that one wrong move could end with Wade breaking every bone in his body, starting with his neck?
She shifted her attention back to Wade. He was standing on the other side of the corral with several of his men.
As if he’d known she was looking at him, he glanced over at her.
The moment he did, every hormone in her body seemed to short-circuit.
When he grinned, she knew they were both thinking of the wonderful, wicked things they’d done to each other the night before.
He broke eye contact with her when one of the men said something that got his attention.
“The show is about to begin,” Carlos said, breaking into her thoughts. “I’m going over there with my beautiful wife for my front row seat.”
She watched as Carlos walked off and headed to where Elena was sitting in one of those folding chairs. She smiled and waved at the older woman, who smiled and waved back. Earlier, she had met a few of the women who were married to Wade’s ranch hands. Like their husbands, all of them were nice.
Suddenly, everything got quiet as she and others watched Wade, as sexy as any one man could be, strut across the yard to enter what one of the ranch hands called a chute.
Dani held her breath as Wade swung into the saddle of a huge, blindfolded black stallion.
He then grabbed hold of the reins that one of his ranch hands handed to him.
Finding Dani in the crowd, Wade smiled and winked at her before nodding to the ranch hand.
A second later, the horse was led out of the chute, and the blindfold was removed.
The horse began bucking and kicking around the corral, doing everything it could to throw Wade off its back.
Dani’s breath caught in her throat a few times when it seemed the horse would be victorious, but Wade hung on, refusing to be thrown.
Finally, the horse admitted defeat, and slowed to a walk.
It had been an epic battle of man against beast, and the man had won.
The cheers continued as Wade was whisked from the horse’s back by his ranch hands.
The next thing she knew, Wade was striding across the corral toward her. Knowing his intent, she climbed over the wooden gate and was engulfed in a pair of strong arms as he pulled her for a kiss.
“So, what did you think?” Wade asked as he drove her home. She glanced over at him and smiled. It hadn’t taken him long at all to break in the horses, then while he’d showered, Elena, the wives of his ranch hands and neighbors, had spread tablecloths on several long tables for a Texas chow-down.
“You were amazing… Almost as amazing as all that food! There was enough to feed an army.”
“Thanks for the comparison, babe,” he said, reaching out and patting her knee.
“You know I’m only teasing. You’re quite the cowboy. I can’t wait to see you perform on the rodeo circuit. My heartbeats should be back in sync by then. I was so afraid you would get hurt. Those were some mean-looking horses.”
“The meaner they look, the easier they are to tame, sweetheart.”
“If you say so.”
She figured there was no need to tell him that she’d almost passed out, watching him. She’d been so worried. But now, she’d had a front row seat to seeing just how skilled he truly was.
“You expecting company?”
Dani glanced through the windshield and saw a car parked in front of Richard and Libby’s ranch house. “No.”
When the driver saw them approach and got out, she recognized him. Anger swept through her. “It’s Steve. What on earth is he doing here?”
Wade had barely brought his truck to a stop when Dani swung open the car door and got out. “Let me handle him, Wade,” she said over her shoulder as she moved toward Steve. “What are you doing here?”
“Why aren’t you taking my calls, Danielle? I’ve been trying to contact you.”
“Why?”
“We need to talk. I lost my job.”
“So, I heard. Angie called and told me.” Angie was married to Steve’s good friend, Elwood.
“You knew and didn’t think I would need financial help?” Steve yelled.
“Is financial help more important to you than moral support, Steve?” Dani snapped.
At that moment, Wade got out of his truck and leaned against it. Steve shifted his attention from Dani and frowned upon seeing Wade. “Who is he?” he asked angrily.
“He’s none of your business. And as for your needing financial help, that’s not my problem. We had a healthy savings account before you began taking money from it to feed your gaming addiction.”
“This is a private conversation, Danielle. I don’t like the thought of him being here,” he said, pointing at Wade.
“Too bad because he isn’t going anywhere. But you are. Leave.”
“Is this why you refused to take my calls? Someone told me they heard that you were house-sitting for your sister, but it looks to me like you’re doing more than that. When did you become a whore?”
Dani wasn’t sure how Wade moved so fast. The next thing she knew, Steve was sprawled on the ground with a busted lip. Wade looked at Dani, an expression of rage on his face. “Nobody will disrespect you like that while I’m around.”
She nodded in thanks, then turned her attention back to Steve. “Leave now before I call the sheriff. Just in case you didn’t understand me the last time, Steve, we are through. I don’t want to have anything to do with you.”
“I told you I was sorry,” Steve said, easing up off the ground. “I didn’t mean to hit you.”
Wade’s head jerked toward her. “He hit you? I thought you said he started to, but stopped.”
Before Dani or Steve realized what Wade was about to do, he knocked Steve’s legs from under him, and before he fell to the ground, Wade punched him in the face.
“Get up, you bastard! Get in your car before I beat you to a bloody pulp. A real man would never hit a woman. Leave and never come near her again.”
Steve all but crawled to his car, opened the door, and got inside. Moments later, he sped off. Wade glanced over at Dani, an angry expression on his face. “Let’s go inside. We need to talk.”
Wade dropped down in the chair in the living room and watched Dani ease down on the sofa across from him.
She looked gorgeous today, as always. No woman looked better in a pair of jeans.
He had noticed the admiring glances she’d received from the single men, which was why he’d kissed her every time he broke in a horse.
He had wanted everyone to know who she belonged to.
Because she was his. Every time they made love, she became even more his.
He’d never known a woman so giving and so loving.
Drawing in a deep breath, he turned his thoughts to their present situation. Wade wasn’t known to have a temper, but the thought of someone hitting her made his blood boil. “Why didn’t you tell me the truth, Dani?”
She lowered her head, as if ashamed. When she glanced back up, he saw her tears, and immediately felt like someone had hit him hard in the gut. Standing, he crossed the floor to sit beside her. Pulling her onto his lap, he held her tight in his arms.
“I didn’t lie to you, Wade,” she said, swiping at her tears. “You assumed I left the day he almost hit me because I didn’t tell you the whole story.”
“Will you tell me now?” he asked her softly.
She didn’t say anything for a moment, and then she nodded.
“I told you how he tried to hit me. but I got away. He told me how sorry he was, and it wouldn’t happen again.
” Then, with a shake of her head and after a long exhale, she continued.
“What I didn’t tell you is that I believed him and agreed to give him another chance. ”
After Wade used his handkerchief to wipe tears from her eyes, she continued.
“But it did happen again, two months later. He had lost a lot of money at one of those gaming conventions. And he had withdrawn money from our emergency savings that he wasn’t supposed to use.
I confronted him about it. He told me to shut up, that he wasn’t in the mood to listen.
When I kept talking, he slapped me. He didn’t say he was sorry.
Instead, he said I deserved it. He left the house, and when he returned, I had packed up my stuff and moved out. ”
Wade fought back the anger that touched him to the core. Had he known this earlier, there was no way he’d have let the man drive away without a few broken bones. “Where did you go?”
“I checked into a hotel and stayed there until I could get an apartment. One day, when I knew he was out of town on business, I returned for the rest of my things. That was when he began calling, apologizing. But I’d had enough.”
“Did you press charges for domestic abuse?”
She shook her head. “No. I was too ashamed to have given Steve another chance. I honestly believed him when he said he wouldn’t touch me again.”
“And you’ve told no one?”
“Just you.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe he had the nerve to show up here, thinking I’ll take him back. I don’t trust him, and I haven’t loved him for a long time.”
Wade pushed a lock of hair back from her face. “Are you sure about that, Dani?”
“Absolutely positive. I would never have slept with you if I still cared for Steve.”
Wade wanted to believe that, because he’d definitely fallen for her ─ and fallen hard. “Did I hear right? He lost his job?”
“Yes. He’s jobless and broke, but that’s not my problem.
He brought this on himself. I tried to persuade him to get professional help, but he wouldn’t.
He said a person couldn’t get addicted to gaming, that it wasn’t the same as gambling.
However, after conducting some research, I found that he’s incorrect.
He’s definitely addicted, and now he has nothing. No job and no money.”
And no girl, Wade thought, tightening his arms around her.
“I doubt he will come back here, but just to be on the safe side, I’ll call Sheriff Thornton and give him a description of Steve as well as the rental car he’s driving.
I suggest that when you return to San Francisco, you get a restraining order, so he doesn’t harass you. ”
“Alright.”
“Do you plan to tell your mom and sisters what he did?”
“Definitely. Once Libby gets back, I’ll be able to tell them when we’re all together. I don’t want to have to repeat it three times.”
He stood and eased her to the floor. “Come on. It’s been a long day. Let’s watch a movie and go to bed.”
He needed to hold her. Kiss her. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but had to make sure she was truly through with her ex.
The two of them had been together for almost four years.
That meant that deep inside, she probably felt something for him.
Still, right now, she was his. And though he’d give her time to be sure of her feelings, Wade wasn’t about to let her go.
Pulling her closer to him, he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her the way a man would kiss a woman he loved.
With their bodies pressed so close together, could she feel the way his heart was beating, just for her?
When the kiss ended, he whispered against her lips, “No more secrets. Alright, Dani?”
She nodded. “I promise.”
Sweeping her into his arms, he headed toward the stairs. Before they watched a movie, he needed to make love to her.