Page 43 of Blame It On Midnight

“Does she scare you?” he asked, eyes on her mouth.

“No.” Collins’ brow furrowed a bit. “She doesn’t scare me, but…”

“But?” he prodded.

She shrugged. “I work in a world where drugs and addiction are commonplace. I’ve known people, good friends, who fought against those kinds of temptations, and I know how hard it is to get clean. To be sober in a world where alcohol and smokes and pot, and drugs are everywhere. I’ve seen what it’s like for them to realize what they lost because of their bad choices. And I’ve seen what they’re willing to do to get it back.”

She moistened her lips and the sight of it damn near drove him crazy.

“None of her shenanigans will work on me. She’s my past. I’m looking for something else now.”

She smiled and put her hands on his chest. “I’m really happy to hear that, cowboy. But you need to be gentle with Daisy Mae. Not because she’s Nora’s mother. Not because you have history and at one time, I’m assuming, loved her. But because she’s overcome a lot. And I admire her for that.” She shrugged. “You should, too. She’s hurting. She wants all the things she lost when she was in the thick of it, and one of those things is you.”

He smiled at that.

“What?” she asked, moving closer so that now her body was pressed against his.

“You’re something else, you know that? Daisy Mae went out of her way to make you feel uncomfortable today, and not only did you not let her win, but you also showed empathy toward her. Not many folks would be so kind.”

Collins lifted her mouth to his, her words a whisper against his lips. “I don’t want to talk about Daisy Mae anymore.”

His answer was to kiss her until her knees went weak and the only thing keeping her up was his arms. She tasted like strawberries. Smelled like summer. And she felt like heaven. He could have kissed her for hours. Taken his time and let his mouth get reacquainted with every inch of her body, but they were on the front porch of Duffer’s Place, and he caught sight of the curtains swishing. No doubt Miss Willie got more than an eyeful.

Inhaling a big gulp of air, he reluctantly let her go.

“You’re good at that,” she said, breathlessly.

He took in the sight of her mouth bruised from his kiss, and it did something to him. That He-Man part of him roared to the surface, and he wanted to pound his fists against his chest. Leave a mark on her that said she was his.

“Keep looking at me like that, and I swear I’ll melt into a puddle of lust right now. You’ll have to scrape me off the floor, and just like Humpty Dumpty, I don’t know if you’ll be able to put me back together.”

“I’d take my time,” he murmured against her mouth. “I’d get you back to one piece eventually. I’m good with my hands, remember?”

“I remember,” she replied throatily. “When will I see you again?”

“Come to the ranch tomorrow for dinner. I’ll wrangle us up some steaks and break out a bottle of expensive wine.”

“What time?”

Benton took a step down, he gave a nod at the window, and grinned when the curtains swished once more. “Four?”

“I’ll see you then. Can I bring anything?”

“Nope.”

Her eyes were shiny. He liked that.

“I had a nice time today,” she said before she disappeared inside the house, and whistling, he made his way back to the truck. Nora was still out, snoring like a champ. He didn’t turn on the radio for the drive back to the ranch. Instead, he thought about the things that Collins had said. She was right about all of it. Daisy Mae had managed to claw her way out of a life that wasn’t pretty. That deserved some kind of respect and acknowledgement. Two things he’d given freely. But he didn’t trust her. He knew Daisy Mae better than anyone, and when she wanted something, she played dirty. If Collins was right and she wanted her old family back, who knows what kind of trouble she’d wrestle up trying to get there.

“Shit,” he thought, as he turned into the Triple B. Since when had his life become so damn complicated? Dumb question.

It started on a night, not unlike this one, at a bar in Nashville. Go figure.

Chapter Fifteen

Collins slept in.

The birds were chirping, and the sun was fully awake when she opened her eyes and rolled over. She grabbed her pillow. She hugged it and smiled like the silly girl she was. The previous afternoon had been a bit bumpy, but with dinner at the ranch to look forward to, she was happy and excited and nervous.

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