It had taken her showing up blitzed out of her head, brokenly blaming him for abandoning her to make him realize how his going away to school had affected her. But it had taken a beer bottle whizzing past his head to get him to act on the long-standing temptation to tan her hide. She’d been wearing a short little flowered dress with a crocheted lace hem. He’d pulled it up to expose a round bottom in tight white panties. It was such a sweet little ass that he nearly got derailed from his plans to spank the tar out of her, but her string of cuss words had reminded him why she was facedown over his lap, the toes of her cowboy boots hitting the floor as she kicked wildly in a vain attempt to escape.
He’d blistered her good, but they both knew she had it coming. Hell, even now Jace had all ideas that was why she’d showed up at his place on her graduation night in the first place. The little spitfire was all but begging for somebody to take her in hand. Her mama sure hadn’t, and the girl never had a dad around to make her mind. Jace, who was a couple of years older, had always been something of a big brother figure. Friends joked that he was the only one she’d listen to. She was right; he’d left her without guidance. Well, he’d decided it was time to pay the piper. By the time he’d finished, that round little ass glowed pink through the white fabric barely covering those punished cheeks.
He’d only meant to comfort her afterwards. But that had turned into something more as he’d cuddled her on his lap. He was aiming to plant a brotherly kiss on her tear-stained cheek when she’d turned her head, her lips meeting his.
Jace had protested. “No, Lily Mae,” he’d said. “I don’t think of you that way. You’re just a kid to me…”
She’d persisted. He’d continued to resist. But Jesus, the girl was sweet. So he’d given in as the need for her consumed him, burning away his common sense with the fire of passion. He’d taken her virginity, and so many times since had wondered if she’d have stayed with him if he’d not made her feel like a kid before doing so.
He’d been her first. Had he been her last? He felt a surge of jealousy as he considered how unlikely that was.
Stop it.
The past was the past, and right now he had business to attend to. At the hardware store, Jack Mason apologized for the faulty auger pin and offered to replace it free of charge. As Jace waited, he felt a tap on his shoulder and turned, smiling when he saw who it was.
“Miss Emma!” He leaned down to hug the small sprightly woman. “How are you?”
“I’m doing good,” she said. “Just come from Helen Slater’s funeral.” She paused. “I guess you heard she passed.”
“Yes, ma’am, I did.” Jace wasn’t about to tell the former schoolteacher that he knew about the funeral because he’d watched the graveside service from across the street, so he just took his hat off as a show of respect.
Miss Emma shook her head sadly. “Well, sugar, just between you and me, I was really shocked when I heard that Lily Mae hadn’t invited you to the funeral. I know Helen would have wanted you there if she’d had her say in the matter. You were always so helpful to her where Lily was concerned.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Miss Emma.” Then he paused. “I suppose Lily Mae’s headed on back to California now that the funeral’s over.”
“Yes, she sounded kind of in a hurry to get back. She cut out before the grave was even filled in.” The older woman sighed. “Did you know she’s already putting her mama’s house on the market? Selling it as-is, with the furniture and everything! Said she didn’t want or need anything that reminded her of this place. Don’t that just beat all?”
Jace twisted the rim of his hat in his hands. “Yes, ma’am, it sure does. It beats all.”
“Here you go!” Jack Mason’s cheery voice boomed through the room, diverting Jace’s attention. With the part in hand, he bid a polite farewell to the shop owner and Miss Emma before heading out.
The rain started as soon as he got in the truck, doing nothing to improve his mood. He’d once told Lily Mae that she reminded him of weather in Texas—sunny one minute, stormy the next. He squinted as he looked toward the horizon. Tall thunderheads towered over the flat landscape as he headed toward the ranch. Wind whipped the trees along the roadway, exposing the silvery underside of leaves. Beside him the weather alert went off on his phone. The entire region was now under a severe thunderstorm watch.
“Great. Just great,” he muttered, and gunned the engine, hoping to beat the worst of it to the ranch.
Chapter Two
The last thing Lily Mae Slater had expected to be doing at eight p.m. on the day of her mother’s funeral was walking through the front door of the house they’d shared during her childhood.
She was supposed to be making the long drive back to L.A., but as the thunder and lightning outside reminded her, Mother Nature was not in a cooperative mood. Flood advisories were up all over, and a wreck on the Interstate had convinced her to wait until morning to leave.