Buckle Up, Buttercup Page 5

  "Tonight?" I asked, glancing at the clock.

  It was already seven p.m.

  Just then, my doorbell rang, and I glanced at the front door.

  "I have to go," I said, ending the call and rushing to open the door.

  Dexter Jenkins stood on my doorstep, brooding and taller than me, looking troubled as fuck.

  "I guess we don't need an introduction," he muttered. "Do you mind if I come in and talk to you?"

  "Of course," I said, motioning for him to follow me inside. "Make yourself at home. Did you want a drink?"

  "Just a glass of water," he said simply and followed me through to the kitchen where we sat down at the small breakfast table.

  My heart was pounding, unsure of what was going to happen. I needed him to be the bearer of good news. I wanted him to tell me how much Winnie missed me, how fuckin' desperate she'd been for two years, not being by my side. But he was quiet for a long time, sipping on his water quietly and not saying a word. I waited patiently, knowing the man needed some time before he could get whatever was on his chest off it. But after a couple of minutes, the silence got to be too much, and I finally spoke up.

  "What's on your mind, Dex?" I asked roughly. "There's obviously a reason you came here."

  "Do you know who I am?" he asked, his words heavy with emotion. "To Winnie, I mean. Do you know who I am to her?"

  "Her..." My sentence hung in the air, unfinished, and I laughed nervously. "Help me out, man. I've struggled with this one since I first met you."

  "I'm her foster brother," he said. "We grew up together - except I'm a couple of years older, so I got thrown out before she did. But I always took care of her. Always cared about her. Always made sure she was doin' alright."

  Apparently, that included getting a job at a strip club.

  "I know what you're thinkin'," he said roughly. "I took her out of a shitty home with abusive foster parents and traveled to Cherryvale to get rid of them. She wasn't going to take her clothes off in that club, I would've never let that happen. She was only going to dance."

  His voice broke over the words, and I could see the exhaustion, the worry in the man as he rubbed his eyes tiredly.

  "I spent all my savings," he went on. "I was in the military for a couple years, and I left Winnie with our foster parents. But when I came back, she was... She was covered in fuckin' bruises. I'll never forgive myself for leaving her. Never forget that I should've been there for her."

  My hands formed fists at my sides as I stared at him.

  "I'm going away again," he admitted, and I could hear the bone-wrenching sadness in his voice. "I... I'm being sent to Iraq."

  I regarded him silently, seeing how hard this was for him. He ran his fingers through his hair and looked at me, his eyes filled with desperation.

  "I don't know you," he admitted. "I only know what Winnie has told me, but I don't want to believe everything. I don't want to believe you cheated. I don't want to believe you're a bad fuckin' man, because you're my last fuckin' hope."

  "When are you leaving?" I asked rigidly.

  "A week from today," he replied. "I need to make some money, fast. I've been involved with some... bad people. I got debts to pay. And I don't want Winnie involved in any of it. I want to keep her as far away from it all as fuckin' possible."

  "I understand," I replied. "But what does that mean for Winnie?"

  "I need you to help her," he admitted, and this confession seemed to take the last vestige of power out of him.

  He buried his face in his hands, unable to meet my gaze.

  "I've fucked up," he admitted brokenly. "I can't help her anymore. I should've found you a long time ago, Beau. When we first found out she was pregnant."

  My stomach practically did a somersault, not quite confirming what I'd suspected, but coming damn well near it.

  "Why did you skip town?" I wanted to know. "I would've taken care of her. I tried to find her. I tried so fuckin' hard to get her back, but nobody knew you here. Nobody knew where you'd gone. I was fuckin' lost trying to find her. Like a needle in a goddamn haystack."

  "I'm sorry," he said. "I took her word. I believed her. I believed what your ex told her."

  "Amy's a liar," I got out through gritted teeth. "She's been making nothing but trouble for me for years. I didn't even know. Amy told me Winnie had left... I thought you were her boyfriend or some shit. And by the time I tried to find out what was actually going on, it was already too late."

  "I forced Winnie to come back," he told me. "I wanted her to see you again. The grocery store was a lucky fuckin' coincidence. You saw the boy. What do you think?"

  His eyes found mine and we stared at one another for several long moments.

  "A handsome boy," I managed, my voice breaking over the words. "Is... is he mine?"

  "Do you really have to ask?" he muttered, and I buried my face in my hands, barely able to comprehend what he was saying.

  I was a father.

  A fucking father.

  I had a son.

  And he was over a year old now.

  "I deserved to know," I said roughly. "I deserve to be involved in his life. I deserve to help out. Fuck, I want that boy and Winnie to have only the best. Everything they want."

  "I agree," Dex said. "Which is why we're here. This is your chance, Beau. This is an opportunity to make everything right, to make a family like you should have two years ago, if all that bad shit hadn't happened. That's why I brought her back. So you can make things right."

  "How am I going to get her to listen to me?" I asked. "She didn't want to at the store."

  "Go see her at the motel," he replied. "I'm going to tell her I'm leaving after you do. I don't want her to worry or panic."

  "Alright," I drawled. "But what about you? How long are you leaving for?"

  "Fourteen months," he replied brokenly, and I could tell the toll this was taking on the man. "It's breaking me to leave them behind, but I haven't got a choice. I need to pay my debts. I need to make sure they never get to Winnie. I can't put her through this shit."

  "I agree," I said. "And I'd like to help you too. I'll write you a check. I'll help you out. You must mean a lot to Winnie, and I truly appreciate you coming here tonight. I want to help out."

  "You can't," he growled. "This is something I gotta do on my own."

  "I understand," I said after a long pause. "I wish you luck, Dex, I really do."

  "Thanks," he replied with a strained smile, shaking my hand heartily.

  I had a new-found respect for the man whom I'd only seen as competition before. But now it became clear he was really my ally. He had no romantic interest in Winnie, he was more like a big brother to her. And I wanted him on my side because I had a feeling he was a big influence on my girl.

  "I'm going to go see her tomorrow," I told him as we got up.

  "I'll busy myself in town," he nodded. "I'll take Randy. So the two of you can..."

  His eyes glowed with unspoken understanding, and we laughed out loud, having an odd moment of camaraderie.

  "Don't mess with her," he warned me. "I may be younger than you, but I can still kick your ass."

  "We'll see about that," I grinned at him.

  I slapped him on the back as he was leaving, and he lingered in the doorway.

  "Don't hurt her," he blurted. "She's all I have. Her and that little boy. You don't know how difficult it is to leave them behind."

  "I do," I said softly. "They'll be in safe hands, Dex. I promise you that."

  8

  Winnie

  "Coming!"

  I rushed towards the entrance, towel-drying my hair with the rest of my body wrapped in a threadbare towel.

  The motel on A51 had sure seen better days. I hoped we'd move on to something better once we got out of Cherryvale. And while a part of me was desperate to get the hell out of there, there was another side of me that was desperately hoping Beau would make another appearance.

  I hadn't stopped thinking a
bout him for the past two years. How could I have, when all I had to do was look at my son to see the same smile and eyes that had charmed my pants off that one fateful night?

  His confession from the grocery store was still fresh in my memory. I couldn't believe all of it had been a misunderstanding. Amy's lies, me skipping town, desperate to get away from it all... It was a fucking mess, and I was worried it was too late to make things right again. It didn't matter that Amy had lied. I had a baby boy now to think off, and I wanted to keep his life as stress-free as I possibly could.

  I opened the door wide, rushing back inside without looking at my visitor.

  "I just have to turn the shower off," I said, rushing back into the bathroom. "Did you give Randy his lunch?"

  "Winnie." The word was barely anything but a growl, a possessive, dominant grunt of the name that sounded so sweet on anybody else's lips.

  I turned around, looking into Beau's eyes.

  "Can I come in?" he asked roughly, and I found myself nodding before I gave it a moment's thought. "You should get dressed, Buttercup. You're fuckin' distracting me with that view."

  I glanced at my body self-consciously, only then realizing I was practically naked, and suddenly hyper-aware of my own appearance. I didn't have any makeup on, my hair was wet, and my skin glowed from being scrubbed clean.

  "I won't be a second," I muttered, disappearing into the bathroom and leaning against the door as I shut it.

  My breaths were panicked and uneven, and my heart was beating fast with the excitement of it all. I unwrapped the towel and slipped into a white summer dress, leaving my feet bare. There was no time to do my hair or makeup, so I left it to air-dry and hoped I didn't look like too much of a mess. One look in the mirror revealed the opposite - my cheeks were flushed, my lips parted in expectation and my eyes sparkling with the need for him to close the distance between us - both physical and metaphorical.

  I exited the bathroom, unable to meet his eyes as I sat down on the edge of my bed.

  "What are you doing here, Beau?" I asked softly, fiddling with the hem of my dress.

  "I'm not givin' up that easily this time around, Buttercup," he said plainly. "I'm going to fight for what's mine, and I don't care whether you let me or not. I'm going to win you back one way or another, darlin'."

  I chewed my bottom lip nervously, unable to meet his eyes.

  "Please," he said gently. "Just give me one more chance. We've lost so much time because of one vicious, jealous ex-girlfriend. Do you really want to waste more fuckin' time, darlin'?"

  I shook my head silently and he rewarded me with a smile.

  "I want you to stay here, darlin'," he admitted. "I want you close to me, both of you, all three of you if that's what it takes."

  "But what am I going to do?" I asked, feeling hope bloom inside me like a flower. "I don't have a job here, and neither does Dex."

  "You can work for me," he said firmly. "I thought about it all day yesterday. I'm a man with a plan, darlin', and I'm ready to make things right by you. I have a position that's just opened up - Amy used to help me with marketing and accounting but she just got a new job in town, so I need somebody to take over."

  "Marketing and accounting?" I raised my eyebrows, a soft sigh leaving my lips. "I don't have any experience... or education. You know I didn't go to college."

  "Doesn't matter one bit to me, darlin'," he winked at me. "If we join forces, we can do this together."

  "I don't know if Dex will be alright with that," I admitted nervously. "He gets protective."

  "I have a feeling it might work out," Beau said, a gentle smile on his lips. "Please, give us a chance, darlin'."

  I hesitated and he came to stand in front of me. Suddenly he was on his knees, his hand gently holding mine and bringing it to his lips, leaving a fleeting kiss on top of it. I shivered when he did it, feeling the kiss to the tips of my toes.

  "Don't fight it," he said softly. "Let it happen, Buttercup. We belong together. We should never be apart."

  "We can... give it a try, I suppose," I muttered, trying to keep the smile off my face.

  I was rewarded with a big smile, and he kissed my cheek this time as he got up, sending shivers down my spine.

  "You won't regret it, Winnie," he told me solemnly. "I'm gonna make you proud. I'll get out of your hair now."

  He was on his way out when he turned around again, his eyes meeting mine.

  "There's a place for you to stay on the ranch too if you want it. You and Randy would have your own rooms. And you can use the kitchen, have your own bathroom. I won't get in your hair. I just want you somewhere close by so I can keep an eye on you."

  "What about Dex?" I asked.

  "He's welcome too," Beau replied. "All of you are."

  "I appreciate it," I said. "I'll think on it and see you in the morning."

  He looked at the floor as if he were contemplating saying something else but changing his mind halfway through.

  "What is it?" I asked. "I know there's something on your mind."

  "I shouldn't say," he muttered, and curiosity got the better of me the next moment.

  I stood up, walked over to him and touched his hand gently. When I did, I felt sparks flying between us, old passion igniting with a flame that threatened to never go out.

  "Tell me," I whispered, and his eyes hesitated before going up to mine, boring into me and seeing me for who I truly was. "I want to know, Beau. I deserve to know. I need to know all of your secrets..."

  "I want to kiss you," he muttered, reaching up and tucking a stray strand of hair behind the shell of my ear. "That's all I can think about, Buttercup. Grabbing you, pulling you into my arms and taking you home with me along with your baby boy. I don't want much... Just you, darlin'. Just you."

  "Do it."

  The two little words left my mouth before I could stop myself, and his mouth lingered inches away from mine. One moment, one wrong move, and we would have touched, hot mouths meeting, breathing the same air and swallowing each other down. I wanted it badly, a shiver going down my spine as I stared into his eyes.

  "Do it, Beau," I repeated. "Please, just do it."

  He leaned forward with excruciating slowness until his lips met mine. I parted mine, opening up for him, desperate to taste the man whom I'd let take me two years ago. My first, my last, my only... I hadn't been with anybody else since then. Couldn't imagine being with another man when all I could think about was Beau.

  "I missed you," he muttered against my lips. "Your taste, your fuckin' smell, darlin'. I missed you so much..."

  I swallowed his words with my kiss, quieting down as I took his bottom lip between my teeth, biting down gently and making him go stiff and rigid as I pulled myself closer to him, fingers tangling in the flannel fabric of his checkered shirt.

  We kissed desperately, like lovers who'd been torn apart and then thrust back together with nowhere else to go but into each other's arms. I needed him as badly as he needed me, and I felt him giving me all of him when our mouths molded against one another.

  His hand went to the small of my back, pulling me in sharply and possessively, demanding my full attention. I mewled against his mouth and he grabbed me tighter, pulling me flush against him until I could feel every muscle of his, his rock hard cock straining against my stomach.

  "Tastes so fuckin' good," he muttered into my skin, his lips traveling from mine to my cheek, my neck, my decolletage and my collarbones. "You have no idea how hard I tried to find you, darlin'. What I did to get you back... And I couldn't fuckin' find you anywhere. Why didn't you tell me, Buttercup?"

  "Tell you what?" I moaned, desperate for him to keep going.

  "Tell me about the baby," he said, and I went rigid in his arms, ready to pull away.

  "Oh, no," he muttered, holding me closer and tighter. "You're not goin' anywhere, darlin'. I know there's a fuckin' reason you've been avoiding me."

  "No," I whispered, but he didn't want to have any of it. "Please,
Beau..."

  He tipped my chin back, making me look up into his eyes, my own watering with tears I didn't want to spill.

  "I can tell when you're lyin', Buttercup," he told me sweetly. "My pretty little liar. Why didn't you tell me we had a baby together? Why didn't you come and find me? Don't tell me you believed a fuckin' word Amy said. You know what we had that night... What we found together."

  "I didn't want to believe her," I whispered. "But I didn't have a choice. And I've always had to look after myself. Who else would if not me?"

  "Me," he growled out. "I would have. And I'm going to from now on. No runnin' anymore, Buttercup. You belong to me now."

  He pulled away from me, his hand lingering on my back as he grinned at me wickedly.

  "I want to see you tomorrow," he said. "Bring Randy to the ranch and your stuff."

  "What will Dex say?" I asked worriedly.

  "I think you might be surprised," he replied with a gentle smile. "I have to go now, Buttercup. I'll see you tomorrow."

  He left a fleeting kiss on my cheek, closing the door softly behind him. Then it was just me and my jumbled mess of thoughts, all revolving around him, desperate for so much more than he'd been willing to give me.

  I wanted a happy family. I wanted a new life. I wanted Randy to grow up the way he should have, with two loving parents and plenty of people who'd do anything for him. I wanted him to have everything I'd never had - all the things my deadbeat dad and my alcoholic mother had taken from me.

  Moments later, the door opened again and I offered Dex a trembling smile as I took Randy from his arms.

  "Good day?" I asked him softly, and he nodded. "Do you mind if we sit down for a little bit and just chat?"

  "I think we should," Dex said solemnly. "There's something I need to tell you."

  9

  Beau

  I couldn't get to sleep the night before, my mind racing with thoughts of Randy and my Buttercup. I had a surprise waiting for both of them once they showed up, yet doubts kept nagging me at the back of my mind, and I worried whether she'd really show up.