Down for the Count(5)

He took the bottle from her and stowed it in his pack, then climbed on. When she straddled the seat behind him, he had to steel himself. Her slip rode up high enough to reveal slim, toned legs encased in silk stockings. A thin, lace garter in blue and white hugged one thigh. She snuggled in close, molding her front to his back, and he said a silent little prayer.

Dear Satan. I don’t know why you’re testing me, but I don’t like it. No love, Galen.





Chapter Two

Lacey shuddered, pressing her face against the warmth of Galen’s broad back. What had started off as a balmy afternoon had turned into a crisp evening. She seriously regretted stripping off her dress and regretted leaving it in the parking lot even more.

Not just a dress, she reminded herself. Her wedding gown. With its delicate row of seed-pearl buttons meant for the eager fingers of a man who loved her more than anything else in the world. Instead, it had been torn off by a guy who couldn’t give two craps about her, aside from some ingrained but reluctant sense of responsibility. She sniffled and shoved the thought away. Marty wasn’t worthy of that dress anyway.

“Are we almost there?” she shouted, suppressing another shiver. Galen had offered his jacket more than once, but she’d put him out enough for one day.

He nodded. She wrapped her arms tighter around his middle and closed her eyes, breathing in the comforting smell of Irish Spring soap that had been the Thomas family’s preference for as long as she’d known them. She tried not to think about the past few hours or the difficult days to come, but she was a planner down to her very marrow and the latter went against the grain. Fact was, she had no clue what the hell she was going to do now. All her neatly laid-out plans had been soundly obliterated with one bang. Literally.

Actually, that might be putting too much of a shine on it. It could’ve been multiple bangs. With multiple women. She thought she’d known Marty better than that, but now? Blech. Anything was possible. Thank God on the rare occasions they’d actually done anything in bed, she’d insisted he use a condom despite his complaints. And to think, tonight was the night she’d planned to tell him she’d gone on the Pill in hopes of ramping up their love life. She’d thought her wedding night would be the night she finally got to see what all the fuss was about. And now this.

Bastard.

In an effort to keep the anger burning hot enough to distract her from the sting of her wounded pride, fear of the unknown, and depressing thoughts about Becca, she spent the remainder of the ride concocting wild revenge schemes, most of which involved red ants, honey, and Marty’s testicles. She’d finally settled on a winner when the deafening rumble of the bike stopped abruptly.

She opened her eyes and saw the Thomas family’s lake cottage. The saltbox house was painted a faded china blue and had been for as long as she could remember. She’d loved this place growing up, and the memories of long summer days filled with ice-cream sandwiches and catching fireflies wrapped around her wounded soul like a quilt. Grateful tears clogged her throat, and she bit her lip.

“This is our stop. Okay for you?” Galen said, and flipped out the kickstand with the heel of his boot. “We can at least get you some clothes and a glass of that bubbly until you figure out where to go next.”#p#分页标题#e#

“Perfect.” She slipped off the bike and stretched, surprised at the stiffness in her thighs. She must have been holding on more tightly than she realized. Tugging off the helmet, she met Galen’s gaze.

Their relationship over the years had been mostly snide banter with the occasional big-brother warning mixed in, but he’d gone above and beyond today and it was imperative he knew how much she appreciated it. On a day like this one, that kind of loyalty meant something. She hadn’t just lost her husband. She’d lost one of her closest friends. Cat and Galen coming through for her was one of the few things she had to cling to.

“You’re a saint for rescuing me. I can’t thank you enough.” She bent and pressed a kiss to his cheek, then turned to jog up the stairs before he could react.

She knew from experience what had happened today was all going to somehow come down on her. Her mother was the queen of assigning blame. Lacey made a decision in that second. She wasn’t talking to any of them about the merger or anything else until she had some time to lick her wounds and repair her armor. It was going to get ugly, and the accusations would fly, mostly in her direction. “Not your fault, Lace,” she muttered.

“Most definitely not,” Galen agreed. He climbed onto the porch and gave her shoulder an awkward rub. “I don’t care how annoying you are; no one deserves that.”