Never again, she vowed as the dark heat of shame crawled over her skin. This was the last time she would let guilt, filial duty, or even the need for peace goad her into playing politics for her father.
Maybe if she’d been born male, he would have cared more for her growing up. But Garn Prescott had never shown much interest in his daughter. And now that she was here, all he wanted was to use her. To hell with him.
Curling her toes over the tiled edge, she knifed into the pool. The water closed over her, cool, dark, and welcoming, shutting out the ugliness in the world. She swam deeper, lungs bursting with the urge to breathe. Was this how it had felt to Mike when he—
But she mustn’t think about that. Dwelling on the memory would only send her into another downward spiral. She couldn’t let it happen again. She had to move on.
Like a fighter pilot pulling out of a dive, she kicked for the surface. Breaking free, she filled her lungs with air and stretched out to float on her back. High overhead, framed by an ocean of stars, the Milky Way spilled across the heavens. Starlight gleamed on her breasts where they rose above the water. Chilled by the deep dive, her nipples were darkly swollen, like ripe blackberries.
She imagined Sky looking down at her, touching her body with hypnotic hands as gentle as water. The thought lingered, triggering delicious twinges of memory. . . .
If she were to make a list of reasons she should stay away from Sky Fletcher, it would be a long one. And Sky’s list of reasons to avoid her would be even longer.
They’d grown up in different worlds. She was a city girl. Sky was wedded to his life on the ranch with the horses he loved.
She was an heiress who loved designer clothes, gourmet restaurants, and posh surroundings. Sky’s wealth lay in his utter lack of need for material things.
She was in limbo—reaching, searching for something she couldn’t even name. Sky knew exactly who he was and what he expected from life. She was an emotional train wreck. He was as solid as a granite boulder.
If discovered, their relationship would send her father into a screaming rage. Lauren couldn’t care less. But she knew what the Tylers thought of Garn Prescott. A liaison with Prescott’s daughter was a complication Sky didn’t need—and wouldn’t want.
Red flags and roadblocks all the way. Common sense told Lauren to heed the warning signs. But how could she, when she craved Sky’s arms around her the way she’d craved air when she was underwater, holding her breath?
Would she see him tomorrow when she went to the Tylers’, or would he find reasons to avoid her? They hadn’t exactly parted on good terms. She’d sensed something was wrong earlier when they’d ridden away from the spring. Then, when Hardesty had shown up at the ranch house, she’d not only stood there and let the man treat Sky like a common hired hand but she’d joined in, dismissing him with an order to put away her horse.
What had she been thinking? Had she wanted to avoid a showdown? Protect Sky? Protect herself? Any way you looked at it, she’d handled the situation like a jerk. Sky was a proud man. What were the odds that he would never forgive her?
Early the next morning, when Sky stopped by the house to talk with Will and Beau, the brothers were gone. He found Bernice in the kitchen, spooning pancake batter onto a cast iron griddle for Erin’s breakfast.
“They left twenty minutes ago in Beau’s Jeep,” she told him. “Will said they were going up to check the cattle pens on the caprock. From there, they planned to drive to Lubbock and bring Jasper home.”
“Great news. This place hasn’t been the same without him. Did Will give you any idea when they’d be back?”
Bernice scooped three golden pancakes off the griddle and dropped them onto Erin’s plate. “They were hoping it might be before noon. But you’ve been in the hospital, Sky. You know how long getting out of there can take—waiting for the doctor, signing all that blasted paperwork. Want some pancakes?”
“Thanks, but I can’t stay,” Sky said. Telling Beau and Will about the marijuana on his land would have to wait till tonight. Meanwhile, he had to pick up Marie in town and prepare for a nasty confrontation with Coy. He could only hope he wouldn’t need the Smith and Wesson .38 he kept under the driver’s seat of his truck.
Erin buttered her pancakes and drowned them in a lake of maple syrup. “Sky, can you help me work with Tesoro this morning?” she asked between bites.
Most days Sky enjoyed helping Will’s daughter handle her precious palomino foal. But today the timing was wrong. “Sorry, but I need to go into town,” he said. “Remind me when I get back. I’ll see what we can do then.”
“Okay. But promise me you won’t forget.”
“I won’t forget if you remind me, will I?” He flashed her a grin as he ducked out the kitchen door. Erin was a great kid. He liked knowing she was his niece, even though he’d never tell a soul. Later in the day he would try to make time for her. But right now he had darker concerns on his mind.
Marie was waiting outside the grocery store when he pulled up. She slid into the passenger side of the truck and slumped in the seat, her battered Stetson pulled low to shadow her face. “Let’s get going,” she said.
Sky pulled onto Main Street and headed back toward the highway. “I think it’s time you told me what all the sneaking around is about,” he said.
Marie didn’t answer.
“I figured you didn’t want anybody to know we were related, especially Stella. But I’m not okay with this, Marie. Tell me what you’re up to.”
; “You’re so smart. You tell me.”
Sky touched the brake, letting a rabbit race across the road. The sun was up, the day already getting hot. “That’s not how it works,” he said. “I’ve got a job and a reputation on the line. Since you’re bent on dragging me into your mess, I need to know what’s going on.”