A Taste of Country Read online

  “So…. Where is he? Out doing chores?”

  He takes a sip of his drink then sets the cup down. “Yup. Him, Trevor, and Mac are doin’ them together. Colby said they’d get ‘em done faster that way so they can be back here with you.”

  I smile, nodding. “So, you’re my babysitter?”

  He chuckles. “So to speak. Mac and me are gonna be stayin’ here for a while. Already got settled in a couple of the extra rooms. Not like Colby don’t have the room.” He chuckles again. Then he turns serious. “Henry’s got a squad car nestled in the trees across the way. Said they’ll be takin’ shifts and keeping an eye out. Good man, Henry. He’ll do whatever he can.”

  The microwave beeps behind me and I jump, giving him a small smile. I get my food and take it over to the table, sitting across from him. I hate that everyone’s having to change their lives, their schedules for me, but they’re right. I’ve tried to out run him, several times, the punishments when captured worsened each time. This time I know the punishment will be extreme: death. I also know he’s sadistic and will have me watch everyone I love die before me. Part of me wants to go upstairs and write this down, setting the stage in Deadly Game. Then part of me is afraid to. It’s almost like having it down in black and white will make it more real. Stupid of me, it’s already too real. The day is long, the night even longer. It’s like everyone is waiting – waiting for the inevitable. I know they mean well, trying to find things to talk about, wanting to believe that they will stop him.

  I was quiet, lost in my thoughts, my fears. That night I went to my room, wanting to sit by the bay window. For some reason, I find peace here. Colby let me have my quiet time but soon came there. I moved up and he sat behind me. His legs wrapped around me along with his arms. I laid my head back against his firm chest, and we sat there in the quiet. Right this moment I feel at peace, sure of my future with him. Tomorrow that will change. I want to stay here, not wanting to give up my peace but I know it will end. I dozed off in his warmth until he lifted me in his arms and put me in bed. That night, I slept on my left side, like I was silently telling him to go to hell. Colby wrapped himself around me, and I snuggled back against him, wanting to be as close as I possibly could get.

  The next few days are strange. I feel like I walked around in a haze but no sign of him. I’ve sat in the library reading a few normal romance books. I let them take me away, a happy place where evil doesn’t exist, only love. After another week went by, then two, things started to get back to the way they were but there’s always that underlying tension, waiting to see when he would strike.

  Colby decided we should go out tonight, what would be a “normal” date turned into being accompanied by Trevor, Mac, Dallis, Sadie, and Memphis. Sadie’s friend, Tina, who I’ve gotten to know a little better, decided to meet us at the restaurant in town so we loaded up two vehicles and drove there with an unmarked police car behind us. It actually ended up being a good time, relieving a little of the stress.

  I watched Tina fawn over Trevor, wondering if at some time I should tell her a little more about him. Like, how he was devastated by the one woman he couldn’t have and how he vowed to love no other. I actually had made notes of that time in his life, teasing him that one day I would write an angsty romance novel about it. Of course, if Tina knew where he came from, the things he’s been through, she might think twice about falling for him. I’m biased though, loving him like a brother and putting his past behind me.

  After dinner we decided to go to the theater and see a movie. It was a comedy which made us all laugh and forget for a while. I cuddled with Colby in the back row, kissing when it would get dark like school kids. It was a real date. I missed so much of a regular life, growing up. I didn’t have dates, boys to ask me out, or even go out with friends. This was one of the best times in my life, one I’ll never forget.

  Ever since that day the delivery came, Colby and I hadn’t made love. I think he thought I was too stressed, too broken, and I was. After saying goodnight to everyone, we walked upstairs together, hand in hand. He started for the stairs that lead to my room, but I pulled him down the hallway instead, taking him to his bedroom. As soon as we were inside, he closed the door behind him, and he let me push him against the wall. I’ve never really taken the lead, but for some reason, I needed to. I wanted to be the one to take control. It was ironic to think I was because he let me, but I didn’t care.

  I look deeply into his eyes as I unbutton his shirt. I push it open, leaning down and kissing from his stomach up across his chest. Then, I nip one of his nipples. He leans his head back against the door, squirming a little as I suck on it hard. I lavish him for a few minutes then stand back, push his shirt over his big shoulders pulling it down until it drops to the floor. I look back into his eyes that have darkened with desire and stare while I unbutton his jeans. Squatting before him, I pull them down, along with his boxers. They pool around his feet but instead of helping him get them off, I grasp his hardening cock. His hips buck as I take him into my mouth, grazing my teeth against the delicate skin. I take his balls in my other hand, kneading, tugging as I push my mouth down his length until the tip hits the back of my throat. I know I’m driving him crazy when I feel his hands fist into my hair, my head bobbing with my movements. I feel his length grow fuller in my mouth, knowing he’s getting close.

  I’m startled when he grabs my arms, lifting me. My mouth pulls free of him as he walks over to the bed, tripping on his jeans. I hit the mattress hard, his weight knocking the breath out of me. It would have been comical except his mouth is immediately on mine, his cock pushed inside me before I could try to take a breath. Suddenly, we’re both frantic, hands all over each other, and our bodies moving in a quick pace. “Fuck, I missed this, missed you,” he whispers when he finally takes a breath but then begins kissing me all over my face. My arms wrap around his slim waist, my hands finding his firm bottom and begin squeezing with every thrust. “Shit! I’m not gonna last long, not after….” He pushes up, his head thrown back and the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard causes my climax to hit me hard. His moan is so deep, guttural, mixed with the sound of my name. Every muscle in my body relaxes as he collapses on top of me. His body still shuddering from his release. I wrap my arms around him, trying to take care of him the way he always has me.

  We lay there for the longest time, trying to catch our breaths. Coolness sweeps over me when he gets up and walks to the bathroom. I manage to drag myself up to the pillows and then sprawl out. My body tired but sated. He walks in, and I swear I could make love again. His chest has a light sheen of sweat, his hair standing up all over on top, a light flush on his cheeks. I watch his slim waist sway with his walk. He reaches the bed, and I close my eyes with the warm sensation of the wash cloth. He’s so tender, so gentle. I’ve never known anyone that wanted to take care of me. He takes the cloth to the bathroom then comes back to me. Once in bed and under the covers, I lay half on top of him, my hand across his stomach, and my head on his chest. Right where I want to be. Where I want to stay forever. This is how it should be, this is life. I close my eyes and sigh. This is how I want it to be until I die.

  Chapter Twelve

  Colby

  Over a month has passed, and we’ve been back in our old routine. No signs of the asshole in such a long time but we’re not stupid enough to think he’s not out there somewhere, watchin’, waitin’. But we decided we can’t live in fear but still be on the lookout. Shiloh decided she wanted to learn to ride, and since we found out Sable is pregnant, Trevor’s been teachin’ her on Flash. Come to find out she didn’t need much learnin’. She seems to have a way with animals so Flash took to her right away.

  At least a few times a week either we go over to Sadie and Memphis’ place or they come over here. It’s nice to have friends to hang out with, but I also like the safety in numbers. Shiloh and I’ve been goin’ over to Trevor’s new farm helpin’ to fix it up, and she’s been havin’ a fun time, along with Tina, decoratin’ t
he house while Trevor and I work the land. Secretly, I think Tina has her eyes on him, but I don’t think Trevor feels the same. I still don’t know him well enough, but somethin’ tells me he’s been burned by a woman or somethin’ in his past that makes him keep his guard up around them. Maybe someday he’ll confide in me or maybe not. It’s none of my business but I feel like we have gotten closer. The good thing is he’s already got a few people from town wantin’ to board their horses at his place but until the madman is caught, he told them it would be awhile until he’d have the place open.

  Shiloh told me her editor wants her to finish the last book so she can get it published, but she’s hesitant, sayin’ it can’t be finished until that part of her life is really over. I can understand that. However, her editor is gettin’ a little anxious but really more concerned about Shiloh than anythin’.

  Today when Sadie and Memphis came over it looked like her stomach had grown overnight. She just smirked at me and hit me on my arm. I just scratched my head and laughed then looked at Memphis and watched him shrug. After they left, Shiloh told me that it wasn’t nice to tell a woman how big they are, even though they’re pregnant. I guess I’ll never understand women.

  After cleanin’ up downstairs and turnin’ off all the lights, I walk upstairs to find Shiloh in her favorite place with her computer sittin’ on her lap. Her fingers were runnin’ over the keys so fast. She stops and looks up at me. Her mouth turns into her beautiful smile. With the moonlight castin’ on her, she’s looks like an angel. I watch her turn the computer off, set it down on the seat, then she walks over to me, and I swear my heart starts beatin’ faster with every step. She wraps her arms around my neck, lookin’ up at me with those unique eyes, and my heart melts. I put my arms around her waist, bendin’ down until I press my lips against hers.

  “I’m a bit sore after riding today. Think I’ll go take a hot bath. Wanna join me?” Is she kiddin’?

  I smile and take her hand and we walk in there together. It took a little longer than your usual bath. After we made love and cleaned each other, she puts on one of my t-shirts from her chest of drawers and I slide into a pair of my pajama pants. Our clothes have been driftin’ from each other’s bedrooms and they’re all mixed up. But it works for us. The nights have gotten colder, the snow they keep callin’ for hasn’t come yet but I keep thinkin’ it will any day. The mountains have been snow peaked for quite a while, and the temperature gets colder each day. We cuddle like we always do, and she falls asleep quickly. For some odd reason, I can’t seem to drift off, and I feel like somethin’s about to happen. I just hope I’m wrong.

  Mornin’ felt like it came too quickly. I guess it’s because I didn’t get much sleep. I was restless all night, not knowin’ why. When I open my eyes, it seemed like the room was brighter than normal since it was only four in the mornin’. I get up, careful not to wake her, and walk to the window. Snow everywhere, large flakes fallin’ down thick. Could that have been why I couldn’t sleep last night, knowin’ it would make chores tougher? I dunno. Still have a strange feelin’ in my gut. We had a great breakfast then Trevor and I got our coats on and went out to do our chores, promisin’ we’d try to get them done quickly due to the snow. Shiloh bundled up too and brought Ditto out. I had to stand there and watch him for a bit, playin’ in the snow, his coat turnin’ white. He started jumpin’ at it, trying to bite at the flakes. We laughed, such a fun thing to see. I look over at both him and Shiloh, and it catches my breath. My family.

  By the time we get all the chores done and get back inside we’re freezin’. Shiloh has hot coffee already made and after removin’ our wet coats and sit down, it helped to warm us up. But we didn’t get much down before knockin’ sounds at the front door. The loud thumpin’ of someone eager to get ahold of us makes us all alert. I walk quickly to the foyer, Shiloh and Trevor at my heels. I grab the door knob, my arm extendin’ out behind me to keep Shiloh back. When I open the door, all I see is a fist raised in the air, gettin’ ready to knock again. They lower their arm and I see Riley. “What the hell, Riley? What’s goin’ on?”

  He’s breathin’ heavy, having a hard time speakin’. “Fire. Down at Trevor’s place. Fire department is there but it was already outta control by the time they got there. Don’t know what time it started.”

  Shit! I turn to Trevor, his eyes wide. “Get your coats on.” I look at Shiloh. “You too, darlin’. Not leavin’ you here by yourself.”

  She grasps my arm and looks up at me. “No. I’ll just be in the way. I’ll call Sadie right now. Memphis will want to go help. She can stay with me.”

  I grab her arms. “Should be a man here, Shiloh. Smells like a setup to me.” I look over my shoulder at Riley. My eyes hittin’ on the deputy badge on his thick coat. “Funny how a fire would start with no one there, with nothin’ to cause it.” He nods at me.

  “I’ll stay with here too. You don’t need to worry, Colby. I won’t let anythin’ happen to her,” Riley responds.

  I turn back to Shiloh. She’s searchin’ my eyes, beggin’ me to go help. “I’ll be ok, baby. Go. I’ll call Sadie. Memphis can drop her off then head over. Please.” Her hand reaches up to my face, and I let out a deep breath.

  I look over at Trevor, who’s puttin’ on his coat and has mine in his hand then I look back down at her. “Okay. But I don’t like this. You keep this place locked up tight, ya hear?” She nods, and I release my hold then take my coat from Trevor and put it on. Trevor walks out the door, and I start to walk but stop, turnin’ around to her. I bend down, grabbin’ her arms, and lift her off the floor as I kiss her hard. When I set her back down, her lips are slightly swollen. The look in her eyes is full of fear. I give her a nod, tryin’ to reassure her then walk out the door.

  I tell Riley to stay close and keep an eye on her as I pass by. Trevor and I run to the garage, the snow makin’ it hard to go very fast. I’m thinkin’ how glad I am that my truck does well in this deep snow as we ride over to his place. We don’t have to get very close to see the smoke bellowin’ up in the sky. When we come up over the small hill, the fire is visible and Trevor lets out a gasp. I pull into the drive, hard to make out which is the dirt road and grass from the snow. I park further back with the fire truck there and the flames reachin’ out. Trevor takes off runnin’ as Henry walks over to me.

  “Hey, Colby.” He turns and looks over his shoulder then back at me. “Not lookin’ good for this place. Fire’s been outta control but they’re doin’ their best to get it out. Gonna take a heap to get it lookin’ like a house again. It’s a shame. I know the house was really comin’ along bein’ fixed up.” I nod. That strange feelin’ I’ve had all night surges through me. Somethin’s not settin’ right.

  We help out all mornin’ and into the afternoon. It took another couple of hours until they finally got the fire out. The smoke was thick in the air, the snow still fallin’ heavily, neither of them helpin’ with visibility. I’m sweatin’ from the heat of the fire as well as tryin’ to help. I guess it’s a good thing he didn’t have any animals here yet. That would have been much worse and thank fuck he hadn’t moved in yet. Even though he wasn’t plannin’ on movin’ in until after everythin’ with Shiloh was over, it could have been much worse. By the time the sun starts to set, that naggin’ feeling overwhelms me. Henry and the fire department had taken off a couple of hours ago. Memphis, Mac, Dallis and I stuck around to help Trevor pull out some things from the rubble that were good enough to keep, loadin’ them in the back of my truck. Memphis tells me he’s gonna run Mac and Dallis back to his place and get cleaned up then will come over to get Sadie. I told him they all might as well come and stay for dinner knowin’ Sadie wouldn’t have had time to fix nothin’. He agreed and took off.

  Trevor and I finally get into my truck another half an hour later, tired from the day’s exertion. I start up my truck and then look over at him. “I have a bad feelin’ about this,” I tell him as he looks at me. “Somethin’ doesn’t set right.”


  His brows lower. “I got that same feelin’. Had it all night.”

  Shit! I pull out, the snow still comin’ down heavily, the traction becomin’ harder as I try to speed outta his drive. I put the wipers on high, tryin’ to see the road which is covered so high you can’t see it anyway. It takes three times longer to get home, that bad feelin’ restin’ in my gut as I finally manage to get into my drive. I pull up and wait anxiously for the garage door to open, knowin’ we need to get some shovelin’ done out front and pull into the garage. We get out and I start to walk around it. “I’m gonna go check on Shiloh then will be out to get the blade on my truck to start clearin’ the drive,” I tell Trevor. He nods. Suddenly, it dawns on me that Riley isn’t anywhere outside. Maybe he went inside since the weather is so bad. Wouldn’t blame him.

  “Sounds good. I’m still filthy so I’ll grab the shovel and start shovelin’ the porch and the front walk now.”

  I nod back as I get to the door, graspin’ the doorknob. When I walk in the warmth hits me. I remove my coat that’s full of snow and walk into the kitchen, placin’ it over a chair. It’s eerily quiet. No sounds of Ditto, the TV or any sounds at all. This just makes my anxiety move up a heap. My body goes on alert immediately. I scour the house, not sayin’ a word, just in case, but she’s nowhere. Could she have gone outside? Surely not in this nasty weather. And where’s Sadie? Riley? Maybe they’re out back with Ditto, lettin’ him go to the bathroom. God, I hope so. I walk quickly back to the kitchen, lookin’ out the back door and not seein’ them anywhere. I turn back and look at my coat, not wantin’ to put it back on as it’s so heavy and drenched. I make a snap decision and open the door, walkin’ out into the freezin’ weather, the snow hittin’ me as I trudge through it on the deck. I stop at the steps, hearin’ a horrible noise. My head snaps to the barn, a horrendous sound comin’ from inside. It sounds like Ditto is hurt, the sounds of pain, and panic, comin’ from him in the barn. I take off in a run, fallin’ down when I step into more deep snow, losin’ my balance. My hearts racin’ so fast, my breathin’ labored from tryin’ to get there. Fear surges throughout me, my thoughts all over the place of what I’ll find once I reach there.