The Hottest Ticket in Town

5

HOT DAMN, THAT ass was going to be the death of him, Kane thought as Laci left the room, purposefully giving him an eyeful out of spite. Oh yeah, he knew it was spite, too, because he could see it in the angry twitch of her sweet hips as she exited. She’d wanted him to know exactly what he was missing—as if he didn’t already know—and make him hurt with the knowledge. His cock throbbed with plaintive disappointment and he pushed at the stiff member with irritation. Ain’t nothing gonna happen with you, so settle down.

He found his jeans and a T-shirt and went straight to the kitchen for some coffee and a slice of Cora’s peach pie. It didn’t matter that Laci was here; the chores waited for no one—that was one thing he’d learned all those years ago and nothing had changed that fact.

He found Laci already brewing the coffee, except he noted with a mix of relief and disappointment that she’d dressed—although the short sparkly number wasn’t exactly made for modesty—and he wondered what her plans were. She couldn’t stay, that was all he knew, but he’d wait until after he’d had his pie to deliver that sour news.

“Did you leave your tiara at home?” he asked, gesturing to her getup with a grimace. “What the hell are you wearing?”

Laci glared. “Don’t you dare get after me for what I’m wearing because it’s none of your business.” She glanced down at the short, impossibly tight dress, but admitted snippily, “If you must know, it’s all I had with me. I left in a hurry.”

That begged more questions, but he bit his tongue. He didn’t want to know what trouble she was in. Whatever was happening in her life was her own doing. Still, he didn’t think he could focus with her traipsing around in that sparkly thing. “I’m sure Cora wouldn’t mind if you borrowed a dress or shirt or something other than that thing,” he said.

“There’s no way I’m going to fit into anything Cora can wear and you know it. You’re just going to have to deal with me in my costume until I can get to town and pick up some supplies.”

“Whoa, now. What are you talking about? You thinking of staying?” The alarm in his voice did nothing for her already prickly disposition, but he couldn’t help it. “C’mon now, what are you thinking? Don’t you have your famous life to get back to?”

“You hush your mouth before you choke on your damn foot,” she snapped with a glower. “I can see right now some things never change. Tact was never your strong suit.”

“Don’t see no point in sugarcoating shit.”

Laci drew a deep breath and started over. “I didn’t come here to fight with you. I didn’t even know you would be here, but we have ourselves a situation that we need to work together to figure out.”

He crossed his arms and waited. “This ought to be good. Tell me how we’re going to work this out? I’m all ears.”

“So the Bradfords aren’t here and you’re taking care of the ranch for them,” she surmised.

“That’s about the long and short of it, but I fail to see how that creates a situation for the two of us when it seems pretty clear to me what the solution is.”

Her gaze narrowed. “Is that so? Enlighten me.”

“You leave. I stay.”

“And why should I have to leave? The Bradfords have extended a standing invitation to me. I have every right to be here with their blessing.”

“Why would you want to?” he asked point-blank. “It’s not like we’re the best of friends. I have a purpose for being here...you don’t.” She bit her lip, her gaze acknowledging that fact, but there was something else there, something she wasn’t saying, that she held back. Kane didn’t want to care, but he couldn’t seem to help himself, saying roughly, “Listen, you’ve got your reasons for coming and it’s none of my business. All I’m saying is that I can’t leave because I made a commitment to the Bradfords. You can stay or go, your choice, but if you choose to stay, it could be awkward.”

“So you wouldn’t care if I stayed?”

Hell yes, he would care. “No,” he lied, because there was no sense in adding more fuel to the fire. The fact was, there was some truth to her accusation that he’d left her behind, but she didn’t know the whole story, nor would he tell her, either—that was his gift to her, even if she never knew the whole of it. But he supposed if his arm were twisted, he’d have to admit there was no harm in letting her hang out if she needed to. The ranch was plenty big enough. Hell, he could take the pump house and let her stay in her old bedroom. He exhaled a long breath, prepared to do the one thing he never saw himself doing. “We got off on the wrong foot...you can stay. I’ll move out to the pump house and give you the room. If we stay out of each other’s hair, everything should be fine. We’re adults, right?”

“Yeah,” she agreed and damn, if that wasn’t the right thing to remind each other at the moment because he was fairly certain she was remembering what they’d almost done this morning as adults. She cleared her throat and smiled, gesturing to the coffeepot. “So, how about we share a pot of coffee and start over? Can we do that?”

Sure. And maybe she could stop being so damn easy on the eyes? He cut his gaze away, needing a minute to school his thoughts before they gave him away. “How long you thinking of staying?” he asked, needing to know how long he’d have to suffer the constant barrage of the past in the form of the present.

“Just a few days, I suspect. That okay?”

He grunted in answer. “Sure. I can handle a few days.” He reached for the pot and poured himself a mug, then, because he was practically raised by Cora to do the right thing, he poured Laci a mug as well before moving to the oven where he pulled out the pie. “Grab some plates, will you?” he asked and Laci smiled with delight as she did so.

“Cora made peach pie before she left? That dear old thing is the living embodiment of Betty Crocker and I love her for it,” Laci said, accepting a slice from him.

“Yeah, and Warren gave her hell for it, too. She’s real sick, Laci. I don’t know if that treatment is going to do a bit of good at this point.”

“Really?” Laci’s expression dimmed as she took a bite, but a smile lifted her mouth as she appreciated Cora’s talent for the culinary arts. “I never could match her recipe, no matter how hard I tried. That woman has magic in her fingers when it comes to the kitchen.”

“You come pretty damn close,” he grudgingly admitted between bites, trying not to think too hard on how natural it felt to sit here with Laci, talking about pie, because it wasn’t natural at all. Not in the least. He’d left for a reason and he could tell by the way things had panned out for Laci that his choice had been the smart one. So don’t start romanticizing sharing a slice of pie, he warned himself. He finished up and brought his plate to the sink where he started to wash up, when Laci joined him and took the plate from him.

“I got this,” she said. “You’ve got chores to do. The least I can do is clean up.”

“Thanks,” he said, hating how the morning light glinted off the honey strands of her hair, giving her a halo. In all the years and miles he’d put between himself and Laci, he’d never found a woman who came halfway close to the way he’d felt about Laci. There was a reason she was a superstar—she had something special—and he’d known it from the start. Back away, he told himself when the urge to touch her cheek became too hard to fight. “I’ll be feeding the cattle,” he told her, stepping away, needing to put some space between them right this second before he scooped her into his arms and finished what they’d started this morning. Boy, wouldn’t that be the most epically bad decision of his life? Yeah, but if he were going to screw up his life and everything he’d built to this point, he might as well go big, right? Not really, the voice answered drily. Keep it in your pants, big boy, and remember what her daddy told you all those years ago...she ain’t for you, son. Ain’t that the truth. Kane started for the door but Laci’s voice at his back stopped him.

“I’m heading to town to pick up a few things. You need anything?”

He half turned, regarding her with a slow, deliberate gaze. You naked beneath me and all the time in the world to make up for what I lost a long time ago. But he couldn’t say that. Not in a million years would he, either. So he uttered the one thing he could, “Nope,” and then exited the house as if it were on fire.

* * *

MAYBE SHE SHOULDN’T STAY. Laci rolled the idea around in her head, weighing the pros and cons of staying a few days in the same house as Kane when stacked up against the very real problem of their long-buried, but obviously very much alive, attraction to one another. Allowing her gaze to roam the familiar kitchen with its worn hardwood floors, she noted the disrepair creeping up and taking over. Rusted hinges on the cupboards, chipped countertops...everywhere she looked she found something that needed a little TLC. It was just Cora and Warren in this old ranch house and Cora, bless her heart, was sick and Warren had his hands full trying to care for her and the ranch without any help. Why hadn’t they called her? She would’ve flown in the best of care for Cora if need be. Round-the-clock care, even.

Laci worried her lip, concerned and feeling out of sorts for being unaware that all this had been happening to two of the nicest people she knew and loved. She could blame Trent for keeping her going 24/7, but the fact was, she’d stayed away because of Kane. The Bradford ranch was so much a part of her memories with Kane that for a while it’d been too painful to go there knowing that Kane was gone.

Of course, in hindsight, that’d been just selfish. Warren and Cora were good folk and they’d been there for her when she’d had no one except her daddy, God rest his soul, and she’d repaid that kindness by relegating them to a few hurried phone calls in between shows. Laci rubbed at the sudden tickle in her nose. She ought to have the kitchen remodeled for Cora. But even as the thought took root, she remembered how particular Cora was about her kitchen and realized she couldn’t go and make a big change like that without the old gal’s permission. The shock of it alone might send Cora into a tailspin.

Laci leaned against the counter, her gaze finding Kane through the kitchen-sink window. He crossed the yard to the barn where she could hear the cows making their usual morning racket. A smile found her. She’d forgotten how loud those milkers could be.

The first time she’d stayed here, Cora had filled a mug with fresh milk and given it to her with a mile-high stack of flapjacks for breakfast and Laci had never experienced something so good as Cora’s cooking coupled with milk straight from the cow. However, at first, Laci had been resistant, pushing away the milk with a polite “No, thank you” because she was mildly lactose intolerant, but Cora just laughed and asked her to try it.

“I’m willing to bet your stomach will tolerate fresh milk just fine,” Cora had assured her, but Laci hadn’t been too sure. Her daddy had dropped her off with these old folks and now they were trying to kill her, she’d thought. But her daddy had ingrained in her a respect for her elders so, sending a prayer to heaven, she drank the milk and ate the flapjacks. When her stomach didn’t immediately rebel, she stared at Cora in confusion, prompting Cora to say, “I was raised on a farm with nothing but fresh milk and there weren’t nothing like that ‘lactose intolerant’ stuff going around. You know why? Because we didn’t monkey around with the milk. It came straight to our cups as God intended and you can’t tell me that God don’t know what he’s doin’ when it comes to his animals. That stuff you buy in the supermarkets got goodness-only-knows-what inside it and none of the good stuff that was put there in the first place. That’s why your body don’t mind it.”

And after that, Laci never thought twice about drinking raw milk, until Trent came along and tossed it from her travel fridge, saying milk made phlegm and it was bad for her singing career. She hadn’t had a glass of milk—raw or otherwise—in years. Laci watched Kane until he disappeared into the barn and then went to the fridge. She found a glass container of milk and smiled. “Might as well make sure it doesn’t go to waste,” she murmured, pouring what was left into a mug and drinking it down. A sigh of happy nostalgia followed and she simply enjoyed the quiet moment.

Maybe it was weird, but she’d come to really appreciate the small things since she’d hit it big. Most times, she never talked about her childhood to anyone within her inner circle, much less reporters who asked. Her daddy had done a fine-enough job for a single father, but times had been hard and there was no way of prettying up that simple fact. Her time with the Bradfords had been the first stint of stability she’d ever had, similar to Kane and Rian. Not that her daddy had been abusive like the Dalton boys’ daddy, God no, but her daddy hadn’t always done a good job of providing a sense of home for his only daughter. Oh, Daddy...I wish you were still here. You’d know how to handle Trent.

All she’d done was run away from her problem, but it would be right where she left it when she went back. The dissatisfying smack of reality threatened to sour the milk she’d just enjoyed, so she let it go. She’d deal with that later. In the meantime, she was going to find a way to help Cora without stepping on her toes too much. She turned a critical eye to the kitchen. Maybe some new appliances? Surely that wouldn’t be overstepping too much. But first...she surveyed her glittering costume with a smirk; she needed to get a few things from town.

6

LACI DROVE INTO WOODSVILLE, sunglasses on, trying as much as possible to blend in, but really, that was a tall order, particularly while wearing the glittery sparkler of a costume that practically screamed, Hey, look at me! While that worked well for being onstage, it definitely made her stand out—in a bad way—in a small town where cotton blends were the norm. The last thing she needed was someone to recognize her and Trent to find out prematurely where she was. She knew she had to return at some point—she had a tour to finish—but she wasn’t ready to face that world again. Not yet. First things first, she needed to find some different clothes.

Laci walked into the first clothing store she found, a small consignment/thrift store. She cringed at the odd stares coming her way and hustled to the racks to find some simple jean shorts and T-shirts to get her through the next few days. As luck would have it, she actually found quite a few cute outfits and scooped them up before the stares turned into questions she wanted to avoid.

Standing at the checkout, she asked the clerk, “May I use your dressing room to change?”

“Sure, honey,” the woman answered, giving Laci a speculative and openly curious look. “That’s some outfit you have there.”

Laci risked a brief smile. “Costume party,” she answered with what she hoped was a believable lie, but she didn’t waste time on details and simply disappeared into the changing room with her new-to-her clothing.

The fact was, being a celebrity wasn’t quite what she’d thought it was going to be like. All those people wanting a piece of her every night was more than a little unsettling. All she’d ever wanted to do was sing. Now, people wanted more than just her voice, they wanted her damn clothing, too! Once, a woman had practically ripped a piece of her costume off her body, screeching with victory as she’d sprinted away from Security with her prize. Laci had been stunned that someone would want a piece of her sweaty costume and then a little freaked out because what was the woman going to do with it? But Simone had been pissed as hell because she’d spent hours sewing that costume.

At the thought of Simone, Laci almost picked up her cell and gave her a ring, but she couldn’t bring herself to do even that—not that she didn’t want to worry Simone, but she couldn’t take the chance that Trent might be lurking nearby. Trent’s not a bad guy, her daddy’s voice chided her from inside her mind. He’s made you a star and this is a fine howdy-do you’ve handed him for all his hard work. I raised you better than that, didn’t I?

Laci pursed her lips. True, Daddy, but Trent’s driving me into the ground. I need this. Just a few days, I promise.

Her next stop was the small, locally owned furniture store, Bleudell’s. She walked into the store and went straight to the appliances. Cora wouldn’t want something too fancy, but maybe something just slightly better than what she had. Maybe even the same model, only newer, she thought, eyeing the refrigerators.

“Can I help you find something?” The friendly voice at her back caused her to turn with a shy smile, a little afraid of being recognized, particularly by someone who might’ve known her when she was a kid spending her summers in Woodsville. “That there is a good model, but the best value is in the stainless-steel one.”

“It’s for a friend and she’s a little stuck in her ways, so I want to get something that’s close to what she’s got,” she explained to the woman wearing a polite, retaily smile. “I mean, I’d love to buy her the state-of-the-art appliance if she’d let me, but I don’t want to buy something she’s going to end up eyeing sidewise, you know?”

“Do I know your friend? Maybe I can help.”

She opened her mouth but thought better of it, saying, “No, I don’t think so. She keeps to herself. What’s the price on this model?”

“That’ll set you back about eight hundred dollars,” the saleswoman answered. “I can guarantee that’s the best price you’re gonna find in the surrounding area.”

Laci gave the woman a short smile, murmuring, “I’ll take it. Can you have it ready by the end of the day?”

“We can deliver it if you like, honey. Where’s it going?”

She shook her head, not wanting people gossiping when they found out it was for the Bradford ranch. “I’ll have someone pick it up. Can you show me the stoves?”

“That’s some friend you have. I wish I had a friend like you who bought me new appliances. Is this by any chance a special fella you’re buying for?”

Laci barked a laugh. “Goodness, no, just a friend. About those stoves?” she asked, gently directing the saleswoman with a smile. The woman took the hint and accompanied her to the stoves, where Laci promptly found one that was strikingly similar to Cora’s but newer and pulled her credit card. One swipe later, she had a receipt for purchase and a scheduled time for pickup later that evening.

An hour later, Laci had managed to buy everything on her list, including enough groceries for the next few days. It’d been a long time since she’d cooked a homemade meal and she was itching to see if she could still remember the basics. There was a certain level of happiness at the idea of cooking for Kane, even if she knew it was dangerous to indulge in such a fantasy.

Kane had certainly matured into a fine man, not that there’d been any doubt in Laci’s mind that he would. Kane was one of those genetically gifted individuals who’d never gone through an awkward phase in his life. From the moment she’d laid eyes on him that hot summer, her fifteen-year-old heart had started thumping like a jackrabbit’s foot and she’d about lost her ability to speak the English language. Yeah, he was that hot. Of course, she’d been a bit difficult back then, angry at the world for problems that had nothing to do with the people around her but everything to do with the fact that she felt abandoned and alone.

By the time she returned to the ranch, she came armed with a take-and-bake pizza that she fully intended to use as a little sugar on top of her request to Kane about picking up the appliances. Cora had always said with a wink that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach and Kane seemed to fall in line with that advice because she’d never known the man to turn down a hot meal.

Humming a little experimental tune she’d been playing around with, she walked into the house, carrying the pizza and beer, and then returned to the rental car to get the rest of her bags. By the time Kane returned from outside, covered in sweat and dirt, the pizza was just about ready and the beer was chilled.

“What’s going on in here?” he asked, sniffing the air as he wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm, pinning her with a look that stripped her bare. Oh, heaven help me... He smelled like hardworking man with a side of sweaty, break-the-bedsprings sex, and Laci’s knees weakened as her mouth dried.

“Smells good,” he said, going to the sink and rinsing his face real quick. “You make pizza or something?”

“Or something,” she said, scooting away on the pretense of cracking a beer to hand to him, but honestly, she didn’t trust herself being within grabbing distance. Her head wasn’t screwed on straight if she was suddenly panting after Kane Dalton after what he’d done to her heart all those years ago. She began to hand him the beer, but then, on a whim, stopped and took a lingering sip before handing it to him. His gaze darkened, but a faint smile lifted his lips and she shivered against the wickedness that flashed in his eyes. Dangerous game, girl. Laci cleared her throat and shrugged because it was truly no big deal. “It’s nothing fancy, just take-and-bake, but I thought you might be hungry after all those chores.”

“You thought right,” Kane said, tipping the beer back with an appreciative swig, and Laci wasn’t above sneaking another look at those bulging biceps. “Ah, a cold beer on a hot day...that’s almost better than sex.”

“Then you’re not having the right kind of sex,” she countered with a mildly teasing grin. Were they flirting? It felt like flirting, which was probably a bad idea.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said, his gaze unreadable, but his body language was having a full-on conversation with her ovaries. “Pepperoni?”

“With sausage,” she answered, her breath catching when he walked toward her. Was he going to kiss her? He had that look on his face as if he was going to bend her over and take her right there on the kitchen counter—and if she were being truthful, she wouldn’t lift a finger to stop him. But just as he crowded her personal space and she angled her lips to his, his chuckle broke the spell as he deposited his empty bottle in the trash bin behind her under the sink. Drat. Way to get your hopes up, Laci. You’re just standing in the way of the trash can.

“Why, Laci McCall...is that disappointment I see?” he murmured, still crowding her. Hell yes, that’s disappointment, but she sure wasn’t going to admit that and gave his chest a firm push with a scowl. He backed away with a deeper chuckle of amusement, his hands up in a mock gesture of surrender. “All right, all right...no need to get prickly. I was just asking.”