Chapter 12 #2
He stared at her with eyes that reminded her of the hot toddy she’d had at a designer bar in Malibu.
It had been served in a clear mug that showed off the steaming topaz liquid inside.
That’s how his eyes looked. Hot and beautifully tempting.
When he spoke, his low, raspy voice made her insides tremble.
“Why are you here?”
“I was worried about you . . . sugar. You need to come home.”
He studied her for a moment longer before he stood.
The way he weaved on his boots made her realize he was much drunker than she’d thought.
She took his arm to steady him. As they headed through the crowd, she heard a lot of grumbles from disappointed women and a lot of low whistles and wolf calls from the men.
When they reached the door, Steele held it open for them. “You sure about this, honeybee? He doesn’t seem like the kind of friend you need.”
She felt Dawson’s muscles tighten as he stopped short and glared up at the giant. “Mind your own fuckin’—”
She cut him off. “Sorry, Steele. He’s just having a bad night. Thank you for all your help. If you ever need a good book, be sure to stop by Time To Read in Promise Springs. If I’m not there, my uncle will help you find one.”
Steele kept his eyes pinned on Dawson. “I’ll do that.”
“Fuc—”
Magnolia tugged Dawson out the door. Once it closed behind them, she gave him hell. “What is the matter with you? Do you like people beating you senseless?”
“He was flirting with you.”
“So?” She steered him toward the microbus.
“All those women were flirting with you.” She pulled her keys out of her purse, but before she could unlock the passenger door, he had her pressed against it.
His hands settled on the roof on either side of her head, his lips so close she could feel every breath he took.
“Were you jealous, Maggie May? Because I didn’t want one of those women as badly as I want you. And no matter how much I try, I can’t seem to stop burning for you.”
Talk about burning. Her traitorous body felt like a volcano of hot molten lava. She couldn’t have replied if she’d wanted to. All she could do was watch as his mouth lowered to hers. But she only got one deep whiskey taste before his phone vibrated in his front pocket.
It was enough to snap her out of her daze. She pushed him away and took a deep, quivery breath.
“Answer it. I’m sure it’s Tully.”
“I don’t feel like talking.” He went to pull her back into his arms, but she held him at arm’s length.
“No, Dawson. You’re drunk. I’ll drive you home.”
He stared at her for a moment before his arms dropped to his sides. “I don’t want to go home.” He turned and headed for his truck, but she wasn’t about to let him drive drunk. And she knew exactly how to stop him.
“Fine.” She followed after him. “Then I’m going with you. You won’t just be taking your own life in your hands; you’ll be taking mine as well.”
He stopped in his tracks and turned to her. “You’re not going with me. And I’m not going back to my house.”
“Okay. You can come home with me.” It wasn’t the best idea, but it was better than Dawson killing himself.
His eyes heated all over again. And after a look that made her feel like one of Ada’s donuts sizzling in the fryer, he walked back to the microbus. As soon as they were on the highway, she glanced over at him.
“So, what happened to make a man who doesn’t drink or go to bars, end up downing whiskey and stripping bras off women?”
“I didn’t take their bras off. I just unclasped them.”
“Right. Big difference. And put your seatbelt on.”
He complied, then sent her a cocky look. “There’s no need to be jealous, Maggie May. I’ll be happy to demonstrate.”
She returned her eyes to the road. “No, thank you. And I’m not jealous.”
“Liar. You want me just as much as I want you.”
She started to deny it but then realized it was ridiculous to lie after the way she’d kissed him back.
“Okay. So maybe I do want you. But just because I’m sexually attracted to you that doesn’t mean I’m going to have sex with you.”
“In other words, I’m like a donut you can resist no matter how much you want me.”
The analogy surprised her and she glanced over. He rested his head on the headrest, eyes closed, and spoke drowsily.
“Hmm? Interesting. You would rather resist what you want rather than give into temptation. What are you afraid of, Maggie May? Are you afraid that if you give into your cravings, you’ll become addicted and you’ll never be able to live without mini cinnamon and sugar donuts again?
” He paused. “Sorta like your daddy can’t seem to live without your mama. ”
His words pierced her heart like an arrow . . . and then ticked her off.
“My daddy lives just fine without my mama! And I’m not scared of anything. Not mini donuts and certainly not you. And if we’re going to talk about being scared, let’s talk about what sent you running to a bar tonight.”
She thought that would make him as ticked off as she was. But he didn’t open his eyes or even change positions. He just spoke one word.
“Guilt.”
“Over what?” It started to rain and she flipped on the windshield wipers. They swiped back and forth in a steady rhythm before he finally answered the question.
“Jaxon being arrested for robbing Mickey’s Gas Station.”
She glanced over at him. “But why do you feel guilt over that? It was Tully’s daddy who made the mistake of arresting Jaxon because he thought he saw Jaxon’s truck leaving the gas station.”
“Yeah, well . . . he did.”
Magnolia stared at him with shock. “What are you saying? Jaxon robbed the gas station?”
He finally opened his eyes and looked at her. “Jaxon wasn’t driving. I was.”
She blinked. “You robbed the gas station?”
He glanced out the windshield, then sat straight up. “Watch out!”
She followed his gaze and saw that she had swerved off the highway and was headed for a fence post. She corrected the wheel as she tried to absorb what he’d just told her.
“But I don’t understand. You robbed the gas station and let Jaxon take the blame?
But how could you do that? He’s your brother.
I thought you were just this misunderstood man who didn’t deserve the townsfolk’s distrust, but you do deserve it.
In fact, you deserve to be run out of town on a rail for keeping this secret from your brother and letting him be tossed into jail for what you did. ”
“I didn’t keep the secret from Jaxon.”
She turned to him. “He knows it was you?”
“For Christ’s sake! Pull over before you kill us!” He grabbed the steering wheel and steered them back on the highway.
She took his advice and pulled over. Once they were parked, Dawson heaved a sigh and fell back against the seat.
“We would have been safer with me driving drunk. Damn, you’re a bad driver. And who taught you how to drive a stick?”
“No one. Now quit giving me your one-sentence answers and just give me all the details, Dawson Hennessy!”
He sat up and turned to her, his eyes flaring with anger.
“You want the details? I’ll give you all the details.
I screwed up! I internalized all the pain instead of releasing it on my mama like I should have and when it got to be too much, I took Jaxon’s truck, got drunk, and started a tire fire behind the gas station the same fuckin’ night it got robbed.
Then I drove home and passed out while my brother took the blame and got arrested.
You’re right. I should be run out of town on a rail.
So go ahead and tell whoever you want, Maggie May, because I’m sick and tired of dealing with this fuckin’ pain every time I see the distrust in my brother’s eyes because he still believes I stole that money! ”
Magnolia had experienced pain in her life, but it was nothing compared to the pain she saw in Dawson’s eyes. Pain so sharp it cut right through her. He allowed her to see it for only a second more before he turned away.
“Just drop me off at the hotel up ahead.” He slouched back in the seat and closed his eyes.
Overwhelmed by what she’d learned, Magnolia just sat there and stared at the streams of rain that ran down the windshield as she pieced together what she had learned from Tully and the townsfolk and what she’d just learned from Dawson.
It was easy to picture Dawson as a teenager—trying to numb his hurt with bad boy behavior.
Getting drunk and setting the tires on fire in an act of defiance.
Going home and passing out, then waking up to find his brother arrested for something he didn’t do.
She understood why Jaxon had taken the blame.
There was no way anyone would believe Dawson was innocent of robbing the gas station when he’d been there that night and started a fire.
Then why did she believe him?
He could be so torn up because he had robbed the gas station and the guilt was eating him alive.
But for some reason, she didn’t believe that.
Maybe it was the intense pain she saw when he talked about Jaxon not believing in his innocence.
Or maybe it was just that she had started to know Dawson.
And he wasn’t a liar or a person who would want his siblings taking the blame for something he did.
He was a man who loved and protected his siblings.
A man who was willing to give up his inheritance so his family wouldn’t lose theirs.
A man who acted like he didn’t care what people thought of him but actually cared too much.
A soft snore pulled her from her thoughts, and she glanced over to find Dawson fast asleep.
Or more like passed out cold. His mouth was slightly open and his hair fell over his forehead in a boyish way that had her reaching over and tenderly smoothing it back.
He leaned into her hand as if he didn’t ever want her to stop touching him.
It tore at her heart.
She cradled his stubbled jaw. “I got you, Dawson. I got you.”