Fortune's Heart

“No girlfriend,” he repeated. “There is no one else I can think about right now. You’re the only woman on my mind,” he said.

Floored, Stacey could only gape at him. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything. Just know that I didn’t want to take advantage of you,” he said and walked away.

Stacey gawked after him, wishing she could produce some magic words, but her tongue wouldn’t even form basic syllables. “Colton,” she finally managed, but he was already in his truck.

She was at a pure loss. He’d given her no chance to respond. How could she tell him how she really felt? How could she let him think their kiss was totally his fault? She raced to the back of the house and found her mother in between phone calls.

“Piper’s asleep. Do you mind watching her for a while?” she asked.

“Not at all,” her mother said. “Is there a problem?”

“I just need to go somewhere,” she said, and didn’t want to hang around long enough for her mother to question her further. Her mother was extremely intuitive. Stacey grabbed her purse, pulled on her coat and headed for her car. As she drove toward the Foster house, she tried to find the words to explain her feelings for Colton. She kept rehearsing several verbal scenarios, but none seemed adequate.

With no great plan in mind, she stomped up the steps to the Foster house and rapped on the door. A few seconds passed, and she knocked again.

The door whipped open and Colton looked at her. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “Listen, we don’t have to talk about what happened again. I know you don’t think of me that way,” he said. “In a romantic way.”

“Stop telling me what I think,” Stacey said. She didn’t know any other way to express her feelings for Colton except for kissing him, so that’s what she did. She pulled him against her and kissed him as if her life depended on it.

Colton couldn’t help but respond. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her to him. He clearly couldn’t resist her. “You feel so good,” he muttered. “Taste so good,” he said, sliding his tongue past her lips.

Stacey felt herself heating up way too quickly. She wriggled against him, wanting to feel every bit of him. She wanted his skin against hers. She slid her hands up to the top of his head and continued to exchange open mouth kisses with him.

“I want you so much,” she whispered.

“What do you want, Stacey?” he muttered.

“All of you. I want all of you,” she said, her need escalating with each passing moment.

Colton’s hands traveled to forbidden places. Her breasts and her read end. Beneath his touch, she felt herself swell like a sensual flower.

“Are you sure about this?” Colton asked, teasing her nipples to taut expectation.

“Yes, yes,” she said, clawing at his chest. “I want you so much.”

“Then you’re gonna get me,” he muttered and pulled her up into his arms and carried her down the hallway. He took her into his bedroom and set her down on his bed.

“You’re sure?” he asked a second time.

“More than sure,” she said, and whipped off her shirt and bra. “Are you?” she asked, daring him.

One, two, three heartbeats vibrated through her, and Colton began to devour her with his hands and mouth. She had never felt such passion in her life. He made every inch of her body burn with desire and need for him. Stacey hadn’t felt this alive in months...or ever.

She kissed his chest and belly...and lower. He groaned and took her with the same hunger.

“You taste so good,” he said.

“So do you,” she said, and pressed her mouth against his in a fully sexual kiss.

“I want to be inside you,” he said, his tone desperate.

“I want you the same way,” she said.

He pulled some protection from his bedside table, and finally, he pushed her legs apart and thrust inside her.

Stacey gasped.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re just—” she said and broke off.

“I’m just what?” he asked, poised over her.

She took a deep breath and laughed breathlessly. “Big. You’re big.”

He shot her a sexy smile. “I’ll try to make that work for you,” he said, and began to move inside her.

They moved in a primitive rhythm that sent her twisting and climbing toward some new high she’d never experienced. She continued to slide against him, staring into his dark, sexy eyes.

When had Colton become so desirable to her? What did it matter? she asked herself and threw herself into making love to him. Stacey clung to his strong shoulders, and with every thrust, he took her higher and higher.

“You feel so good,” he muttered. “So good.”

Stacey felt herself clench and tremble. A climax wracked through her. She could hardly breathe from the strength of it.

Seconds later, she felt him follow after her, thrusting and stretching in a peak that clearly took him over the edge. He clutched her to him and gasped for breath.

Stacey clung to him with all her might. “Two words,” she whispered. “Oh, wow.”

He rolled over and pulled her on top of him. “When did you turn into the sexiest woman alive?”

Stacey laughed. “Me?”

“Yeah, you,” he said, and kissed her again.

She sifted her fingers through his hair, enjoying every sensation that rippled through her. She loved the feeling of his skin against hers, his hard muscles. She slid her legs between his and savored his hard thighs. His lips were unbelievably sensual.

“I’m not sure how this happened,” she said.

“Neither am I,” he said. “But I’m glad it did.”

They made love again until they were breathless. She wrapped her arms around him, shocked by how he’d made her feel. Stacey was in perfect bliss.

* * *

After that second time, Colton looked down at Stacey, all warm, sexy and satisfied in his bed, and felt a triple shot of terror. What the hell had he done? He hadn’t just kissed his sister’s best friend. He’d made love to her. Twice.

He held her tightly against him but was horrified by what he had done. “You’re an amazing woman.”

“You’re a flatterer, but I’ll take it,” she said, cuddling against him.

“This is great, but I don’t want us to have to make excuses to my family,” he said.

A sliver of self-consciousness slid through her eyes. “Oh, good point,” she said and bit her lip. She moved off of him, and he immediately regretted the absence of her body and sweetness.

Stacey quickly pulled on her clothes. “I should leave.”

“Let me walk you to your car,” he said, still full of questions and regrets. He pulled on his jeans and shirt.

Stacey grabbed her coat that had been left on the foyer floor. “I’m glad your mother didn’t discover that,” she said.

“We’re talking about building a separate house, soon,” he said.

“I understand the need for privacy,” she said. “I don’t have it. But I’m lucky to be able to live with my parents.”

“I feel as if I should drive you home,” he said, still upset with himself and overwhelmed by his feelings.

“I’m okay,” she said, but she looked uncertain. The mood between them suddenly seemed awkward.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

She pressed her lips together in a closed-mouth smile. “Yes, I am,” she said and shrugged. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

“Right.” He nodded, thinking they had moved way too fast. Stacey had big responsibilities, and he might not be the right man to help her with them. He hadn’t considered his previous experience with Piper a rousing success. “We’ll talk later,” he said, and helped her into her car.

“Yeah,” she said, but didn’t meet his gaze. She started her car and tore out of his driveway faster than a race car. He wondered if she regretted going to bed with him. He couldn’t blame her. His parents’ ranch wasn’t exactly the most romantic environment.

Colton struggled with his own emotions over what they’d just done. They were friends, weren’t they? If that was true, why had he wanted her so much? Why did he still want her? Whatever was happening between him and Stacey was complicated as hell.

* * *

Stacey forced herself not to look in her rearview mirror as she pulled away from the Foster ranch. She had clearly lost her mind, rushing back to tell Colton that she wanted him, too. Even though he’d said she’d been on his mind, it wasn’t as if he’d said he wanted her in a forever way. She’d better not forget that. She’d been through a similar situation with Joe, although he’d given her an engagement ring. With Colton, he’d made no promises. He’d just taken what she’d eagerly offered, but afterward the expression on his face had been one of discomfort.

Buyer’s remorse, she thought. He’d taken the goods, but now he wasn’t sure he wanted them.

Pain twisted through her. She felt like a fool. Why had she believed Colton was different? She was all too familiar with this scenario. She’d been through it and lived to regret it during the past year of her life. When would she learn? she castigated herself. When would she stop throwing herself at men only to learn they only wanted her for a little while? Not forever. She wondered if she and Colton had just made a big mistake.

How could they go back to being friends now? Was that what he wanted? Humiliation flamed so hot it was as if a hole burned in her stomach. She pulled to a stop in front of her parents’ home and shook her head at herself.

Glancing in the mirror, she saw that her hair was a mess, her lipstick smudged halfway across her face. If her mother caught sight of her, she would know that Stacey hadn’t just been running errands. Jeanne Fortune Jones was one of the most intuitive women on the earth, especially when it came to her children.

Stacey searched through her purse and found an elastic band but no brush. She raked her fingers through her hair and pulled it into the low messy bun she frequently wore. She pulled out a tissue and wiped the gloss off her face, then reapplied just a little to her lips. She checked the buttons on her coat, making sure they were properly fastened.

Holding her breath, she decided to make a dash through the foyer. “Well, there you are,” her mother said from the kitchen. “I was starting to wonder where you’d gone so long.”

“Sorry, Mom,” Stacey said, pulling at the buttons on her coat. “I’ve got to use the bathroom or I’m going to burst. I’ll be out in just a few,” she said, and ran down the hall. She took her time, then hid out in her bedroom a little longer.

“Stacey, dinner’s ready,” her mother called.

Stacey cringed, then stiffened her spine. She could and should focus on Piper. As she stepped into the kitchen, she was relieved to see her brothers Liam and Jude sitting down to the table along with her father and mother. Her father and her brothers were too busy talking about the ranch to notice her. Her mother had put Piper in her high chair. As soon as Piper spotted Stacey, she lifted her hands and smiled in joy.

Even though the baby wasn’t speaking yet, her nonverbal language soothed Stacey’s heart, and she immediately picked up her baby. “Well, hello to you, Sweet Pea,” she said, and sat down with Piper in her lap.

“She’s never going to learn to be happy in her high chair if you don’t leave her in there,” Jeanne said.

“I’ll put her in her seat in a couple minutes. How could I resist that smile?” Stacey asked.

“Your food will get cold,” her mother warned.

Stacey shrugged. “I’m not that hungry.”

Her brother Liam glanced at her. “In that case, I’ll take Stacey’s share.”

Her mother shook her head. “You will not,” she said. “Besides, there’s plenty to go around. Stacey made this meat loaf yesterday, so she deserves a few bites.”

“I hope you didn’t mind putting it in the oven,” Stacey said, rising to get some dry cereal for Piper.

“Not at all. You were just gone longer than I expected, so I started getting a little worried,” she said, and Stacey felt the unasked question in her mother’s voice.

She sighed, knowing she would have to fib, and heaven knew she wasn’t any good at deception. “I ordered something for Piper, and I wanted to see if it had been delivered to the P.O. box yet. No luck, and there was a long line at the post office,” she said. Part of her tale was true. She had ordered something for Piper, but it wasn’t due for days. “Then I stopped by to visit Rachel, but she wasn’t there. She had saved a recipe for homemade baby food I thought I might try. I guess the whole trip was a washout. Was Piper okay while I was gone?” Stacey sprinkled some cereal on the top of Piper’s high chair, then set her child in the seat.

“An angel. She took a long nap and woke up in a quiet mood,” her mother said, and finally took a bite of her own food. Her mother was usually the last to eat. “You need to sit down and eat,” she told Stacey.

“I am,” Stacey said and took her seat. She forced herself to take a bite.

“Did you happen to see Colton when you stopped by the Fosters’?” her mother asked as she took a sip of coffee.

Stacey’s bite of meat loaf hung in her throat, and she coughed repeatedly.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you choking?” her brother Jude asked, then thumped her on her back.

“Water,” her mother said, standing up and leaning over the table to pick up Stacey’s glass of water and press it into Stacey’s hand.

Stacey took a few sips. Everyone looked at her expectantly. “Sorry,” she said sheepishly. “I think I tried to breathe the meat loaf instead of eat it.”

Liam chuckled. “Make sure you teach that little one over there a different technique.”

“I will, smarty-pants,” she said, and was determined to take the focus off herself. “The Winter Festival is right around the corner. I can’t decide whether to bake apple/blueberry pies, chocolate pies or red velvet cupcakes.”

“Apple/blueberry,” her father said.

“Chocolate,” Liam said.

“All three,” Jude said.

Her mother laughed. “Aren’t you glad you asked their opinions? Any of those sound good to me, but make sure you bake an extra one of whatever you end up making for us, or there’s going to be a lot of complaining,” Jeanne said, tilting her head toward her husband and sons.

Stacey smiled in relief. She would escape an inquisition this time.

* * *

The next few days, Stacey developed a plan for her tutoring service. She knew her strengths were math and science, so she decided to focus on those subjects as she contacted the local schools. She also sent an email to Rachel since she knew her friend was doing her student teaching this semester.

Her mother caught her reviewing a flyer at the kitchen table and gave a sound of surprise. “When did you decide to start tutoring?”

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while. Piper is older, but still manageable. I’m hoping to schedule the sessions during after-school hours. She takes a long afternoon nap, so I’d like to take advantage of that time and bring in a little bit of money.”

Her mother frowned. “If you needed money, you should have asked for it. Your father and I are happy to help you,” she said, squeezing Stacey’s shoulder.

Stacey’s heart swelled at her mother’s support. “You and Dad are already letting me stay here without paying rent. I don’t like feeling as if I’m not contributing.” She sighed. “I don’t like feeling like a deadbeat.”

Her mother sat down beside her. “Oh, sweetheart, you’re no deadbeat. You fix the meals and do the laundry and cleaning here. For goodness’ sakes, I barely have to lift a finger with all you do.”

“Thanks, but—”

“No buts,” Jeanne said. “We know that Joe hasn’t offered any financial support, and he should have. At some point, you may have to confront him about that.”

Stacey shook her head. “I hate the thought of it. He rejected both of us so thoroughly. I hate the thought of asking him for anything.”

“But he is your baby’s father,” her mother said. “He has some responsibilities.”

“I wish he wasn’t Piper’s father. I wish her father was someone more responsible, mature. Someone who adored her.” A lump of emotion caught in her throat. “I wish—” she said, her voice breaking. She took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter what I wish. I’m probably never going to find anyone that loves me and Piper, and I need to stop whining about it. Piper and I are so blessed that my family loves us and supports us.”

“Well, of course we love you,” her mother said. “But you’re young, and you have a long life ahead of you. You’ll find someone—”

“I don’t think so,” Stacey interrupted. “I can’t count on that. I can’t hope for it. I’ve just got to focus on doing the right thing for Piper, and I think tutoring is the right thing.”

“If you’re sure,” her mother said. “And you know I’m happy to babysit for Piper anytime you need.”

“Thank you, but I’m hoping I can do this while she’s napping,” Stacey said.

Her mother studied her for a long moment. “I worry that you don’t get out with people your age very much. You and Rachel see each other now and then, but not that often. I wondered if you and Colton might be getting friendly.”

“Oh, no. He was just trying to be nice and brotherly,” she said, although her teeth ground together when she said it.

“If you say so,” her mother said. “There’s no reason you two can’t enjoy each other as friends.”

“Hmm. We’ll see,” Stacey said in a noncommittal voice. “At the moment, I need to make some copies of these posters and call in some favors from my teacher friends.”

“All right. You sound like a busy girl. Are you still going to make desserts for the Winter Festival?” her mother asked.

“That’s next week and I’ve already got it on my calendar,” Stacey said. “I’ve got it under control.”

Stacey did her best to stay busy during the next days. She didn’t want to think about Colton. She couldn’t help feeling dumped. Thank goodness, no one except she and Colton knew what had happened between them. The longer the time passed, the more she knew, for certain, that now that he’d indulged his passion for her, he was done with her. She would have felt a bit more used if she didn’t recall how much pleasure she’d experienced with him. Every once in a while, a stray image crossed her mind of the way he’d felt in her arms, the way he’d kissed and caressed her. Every time she had one of those thoughts she wanted to stomp it from her mind the same way she would stomp a spider. This was not the time for her to be thinking about her sexual needs.

Darn Colton Foster. Ever since Joe had abandoned her, Stacey had buried all her interest in sex. It hadn’t been that difficult. But being around Colton had brought those emotions back to life, and these feelings were not convenient.

Not at all.

* * *

“Colton, I need you to take my pies to Dessert Booth number three-B at the Winter Festival tomorrow,” Olive Foster said when he walked into the kitchen late Thursday evening.

Colton shook his head. “I’ve got a mile-long list of chores I have to do tomorrow. Maybe Rachel can do it.”

“Rachel is student teaching. She can’t do both,” his mother said. “You’ll only have to be there three hours.”

“Three hours,” he echoed, incredulous. “Why can’t I just drop them off?”

“Because they need people to help work the booth,” she said. “And I’m volunteering to help the handicapped at the festival.”

“You may need to help Dad if he decides to do any of the chores I have planned for tomorrow,” Colton grumbled.

His mother shot him a sharp look. “That’s a terrible thing to say about your father.”

“You know he has a problem with his back, even though he won’t admit it,” he said.

She sighed. “I’ll guilt him into coming with me. That should keep him out of trouble.”

“Kinda like you’re guilting me into working a bake sale?” he returned.

“Colton, you are bordering on being disrespectful. What’s wrong with you lately, anyway? You’ve been as grumbly as a bear with a sore paw. Are you having girl trouble?”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake.” Colton lifted his hand. This was not a conversation he wanted to have with his mother. “Just stop, Mom. I’ll do the darn bake sale.” Hell, he would do ten bake sales as long as he never had to discuss this subject with his mother again.

After lunch, the following day, Colton loaded up his truck with his mother’s apple pies and drove to the Winter Festival. There was already a mile-long line of people waiting to get inside, but since he was a so-called vendor, he walked right in. It took him a while, but he finally found his assigned booth. He set the pies on the card table and turned around to get the second batch.

He was in such a hurry he nearly walked straight into someone just outside the booth.

“Don’t,” she said, and she sounded remarkably like Stacey. He should know since he’d been hearing her voice in his dreams every night. “Don’t knock over the cupcakes,” she said.

Colton grabbed two of the boxes that threatened to fall off the tower of desserts she carried and noticed Stacey was hauling Piper on her back at the same time she carried the desserts. “For Pete’s sake, what are you doing?”

“I brought cupcakes and pies. I couldn’t decide which to bake, so I made both,” she said, striding toward the same booth where he just set down his mother’s apple pies. Stacey frowned, then looked up at Colton. “What are you doing here?”

“My mother guilted me into bringing her pies and working this booth,” he said.

“Well, that’s just great,” Stacey said, clearly disgusted. “Just great.”

“Hey, my mother pushed me into this,” he said. “Don’t blame me.”

“I’m not blaming you for bringing your mother’s pies,” she said, but he could hear she hadn’t finished her sentence. There was more to it.

“You’re blaming me for something,” he said. “I can hear it in your voice.”

“I’m blaming you for not calling me, Colton Foster. That was pretty rotten, unless you just wanted me for a quick roll in the hay,” she said, and turned away from him.

Chapter Seven

Colton thought about responding to Stacey, but he couldn’t find the right words. So he returned to his truck, swearing all the way as he hauled in the second load of pies. How could he explain himself? He wanted her, but he wanted to be sensible. With her history, he thought they should take their time. Plus, there was a baby involved. He didn’t want to mess things up.

“Hey, Colton, you sure you don’t want to share one of those pies with us while we wait out here in the cold?” a neighbor called from the crowd.

Colton paused only a half beat. “I don’t have a fork handy for you,” he said in return.

“I don’t need a fork. I’ll just eat with my hands. I love your mama’s pies,” the neighbor called back.

Colton chuckled despite his black mood and shook his head, walking to the dessert booth he would share with Stacey. His chuckle faded as he reentered the booth and set down the second haul of pies.

“You might want to put those on the table against the wall,” she said as she arranged the desserts on the front table. “We don’t want them to know we have a lot of them. They’ll buy faster if they’re afraid we’ll run out.”

“True,” he said, and moved half the pies to the back table. “Are the cupcakes okay?”

“The frosting on two of them got smashed, but the rest are okay,” she said.

“I can eat the damaged ones,” he offered.

She shot him a disapproving glance. “We may have someone desperate enough to buy them,” she said. “We’re trying to make money for the mobile library, not stuff our faces.”

“I wasn’t suggesting we stuff our faces,” Colton said. “I just wanted to stuff mine.”

Stacey rolled her eyes and turned away, but Piper craned her head around to look at him. He couldn’t deny she was cute. She batted her big eyes at him. Colton hid his face in a game of silent peekaboo.

After a few times of peekaboo, Piper let out a gurgling laugh. It was, Colton thought, one of the best sounds in the world. He played peekaboo again, and Piper let out a joyous shriek.