CHAPTER 35

Drake

After loving on Delia one last time that morning, we rolled out of bed and got some breakfast. A quick bowl of cereal and banana, eaten side by side at the kitchen table. Delia brought up a good point about the jostling of her hips on a horse’s saddle, and although the internet said things would be okay, my brain was still whirling. I had two hundred acres of land for us to ride around on instead of us having to trek through the woods, so I altered the plans a bit and decided to take her on a tour of the outskirts of the farm. Show her around. Talk her through all the things Paul and I did on a regular basis.

We left the house and walked for the barn, her hand slipping sweetly into mine. She pressed against me the whole way, my arm sliding around her waist and tugging her close. I saddled up my sweetest horse I had. Pixie, we called her. All white horse with a blond mane and tail and the prettiest blue eyes anyone had ever seen.

I saddled up my trusty stallion, Lightning. A dark brown horse with a jagged white line running down his nose that looked like a lightning bolt and accented the black mane and tail he had. He was my rough and tumble horse. The moody one. There were times where I was the only one who could handle him, and I preferred it that way.

“How many acres do you have?” Delia asked.

“Two hundred,” I said.

“And it’s all surrounded by forest?” she asked.

“It is. Horses get their own space, chickens are by the house. Cows got their own space as well, then the rest is for hay bailing and growin’ crops. I got enough land to rotate my twenty-acre patches, so only one hundred acres are used in a given season. Paul takes care of the tilling of the soil and readying it for the seasonal hires to sew seeds, and I take care of replenishing the unused acres with nutrients it needs for the next season.”

“Sounds like a lot of work.”

“And takes a lot of money. Paul’s my only full-time hire, but I do a lot of seasonal hiring so he’s got help when harvest time comes. It’s one of the many reasons why I started my music career. You know, besides the fact that I enjoy singing.”

“I still don’t know how you juggle those two lives,” she said. “They seem so different.”

“They are. It’s what I love about ‘em. The ranch and all the farm work here is nice. Tedious. Repetitive. Hard work, but always with wonderful rewards to reap. Then there’s the touring and the fans and the music. That’s my party hard life. You know, for workin’ so hard on the ranch. Least it was.”

“You know you can party and enjoy yourself without alcohol, right?” she asked.

“I know. It’s just gonna take some time to convince me of it. The booze and the women and the music went hand in hand for years. But I’m learning that there are much better things in life,” I said.

We rode the edge of the ranch and it gave me time to look things over. Paul was out in the middle of one of the fields doing something and he raised his hand to wave. Delia giggled and waved back as I tipped my hat to the man. But then a sound caught my ear.

A sound that made me divert off our beaten path and into the woods after all.

“Where are we headed?” Delia asked.

“You’ll see. Come on,” I said.

We rode the horses half a mile back into the forest. The creek was running higher than it usually was this time of the year and the horses stopped to drink. I dismounted and went to help Delia down, taking her in my arms as she slid off the saddle. She dropped down and stumbled, falling into me with giggles dripping from her lips.

“Sorry,” she said.

“No need to be. It’s why I came around to help ya,” I said.

“This creek is beautiful. Is it always flowing like this?” she asked.

“It’s not usually this high. I heard it all the way from the edge of the property. That doesn’t usually happen.”

“Do you come back here often?”

“Not as much as I used to. My momma and I came back here a lot. Reminds me of her whenever I do venture out here.”

“Do you want to go back to the house?” she asked.

“Nope. Consider this as me introducing you to one of my parents. My momma loved it back here. It’s covered in memories of her.”

“I bet she was a beautiful woman.”

“She was. Beautiful, smart, and strong as hell. Ran this house on a schedule, and we paid a price if we didn’t keep it. She was tough, but always forgiving. Kind, but blunt.”

“Blunt?” she asked.

“My momma always told ya like it was. She was kind. She would always make sure you had what you needed. But when it came time to get real, she always did.”

“Sounds like a strong woman indeed.”

I wrapped my arm around Delia as we stood at the edge of the creek. The water was flowing and her body was thrumming with excitement. The horses were drinking and resting on the edge of the water while my hands kept cupping the small globe of her stomach. I dipped my lips to the crook of her neck and tasted her, grinning as she giggled at me.

“If you don’t stop, you’re gonna get yourself into trouble,” she said.

“Oh really?” I asked, as I nipped at her ear. “What if I sank us right onto the ground and showed you the kind of trouble we could make?”

“Drake,” she said, breathlessly. “What in the world?”

“I could take your beautiful body against mine and—drop my hands between your legs.”

I ran my hand up her thigh as her body began to quiver.

“I could leave little marks on your growing breasts as I—lapped my tongue around your nipple.”

I licked the edge of her neck and listened to her sigh.

“I could sit you right on my lap, our legs danglin’ in the water as I took you. Hard. Fast. My hips pounding against yours as I hold you inches away from the water’s surface.”

Nipping at the nape of her neck, my hand cupped her breast. I could hear her breathing tick up, her mind allowing itself to wander. I chuckled into her skin, proud of how Delia was finally embracing her lust more openly. I could feel her grinding back into me, no longer fighting the touch of a man she truly wanted.

Her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment as I pulled my lips away from her.

“What a sight,” I said. “But maybe later. We gotta get back to the ranch and get you and this youngin’ some lunch.”

Beckoning to the horses, they came over and I helped Delia back onto the saddle and watched her grind down into it. I grinned as I mounted my horse, watching her try to get any friction she could obtain. I’d riled her up something fierce, but she wasn’t the only one struggling.

I had to stick my hand down my pants and readjust before we started out of the woods.

We rode the rest of the perimeter of the ranch and got back with enough time to wipe down the horses. I removed the saddles and Delia took to washing them down. She even went in search of a hoof pick and began cleaning out the bottom of Pixie’s hooves. I watched her graceful movements as she bonded with her horse. Talking lightly to it and smiling as she brushed her down.

I’d let her know later that Pixie was hers from now on.

“Drake!”

My head whipped around at the frantic sound of Tammy’s voice.

“Drake! Draaaake!”

Paul came running out of the feed barn as Tammy ran down the hill. His arms caught her as she flailed, tears pouring down her face. Delia looked over at me as I rushed to her, Lightning spooked at my fast movements. He started pawing the ground as I rushed for Tammy’s frantic form.

“What is it?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Elsie. She’s not in the house!” Tammy said.

“I’m sure she’s there somewhere. She in the bathroom?” I asked.

“No. And she’s not in the closet or under the bed or in the back of your truck. She’s not there, Drake. Elsie’s gone!”

I looked over at Paul as he nodded his head. Paul lunged for Lightning, mounting him bareback and setting off galloping toward the edge of the lot. Tammy was in tears, her entire body trembling as Delia came up and took her hands.

“Tammy, call the sheriff and tell him what’s going on. Get a search party out here so they can help us look around,” I said. “Delia, check the cow and horse barns. The feed barn, too. Sometimes she gets out here wantin’ to be around the animals and gets spooked. Tight, cold, dark places are what she uses to calm down.”

“Got it,” Delia said.

“Paul and I are gonna ride the perimeter and see if we can’t see her. Delia, if you don’t find her in any of those places, get back up to the house. Double-check the house and wait for the search party. Don’t you go doin’ anything you don’t need to,” I said.

“Okay. I won’t,” Delia said. “Come on, Tammy. You can help me look while you dial the sheriff.”

I ran toward Pixie and hopped onto her back. I kicked her sides, lurching her toward the other side of the property. I could hear Paul hollering for Elsie as I kept my eyes peeled. But Delia and I had just rode around this property. If Elsie had been out there, I would’ve seen her.

I pulled out my cell phone and called the last person I knew to call. I was going to need everyone’s help in tracking down what the hell had happened to my sister. My hands were shaking as I twisted my hand into Pixie’s mane, her legs running as fast as she could as my phone rang in my ear.

“Drake! How’s every—”

“I need you to call road security and get the streets blocked off,” I said.

“Drake. What’s going on?” Hank asked.

“Elsie’s missing. She’s not in the house, and the more I gallop around the ranch the more I think she’s not out here, either. Delia’s checking the barns and Tammy’s double checking the house, but she’s not here, Hank. Something’s wrong.”

“I’m calling everyone I can now. Gimme ten minutes to get people out there.”

“Make it five,” I said.

I met up with Paul in the middle of the property and we ran through the fields. Straight down the middle, not giving a shit as to what we were trampling in the process. Hank kept sending me text messages, updating me on the road security crew and when they had things blocked off. My eyes were darting around the property, looking for any sign of Elsie at all.

“She’s not out here,” Paul said. “And these horses need water.”

I could hear Pixie whinnying underneath me as her muscles began to twitch.

“She’s not out here,” Paul said again. “She’s not.”

I stopped in the middle of my two hundred acres and screamed her name. I screamed myself hoarse as the sound of sirens flooded my ears, with lights flashing in my vision back up at the house. I looked over at Paul as our horses began to grow weak, buckling underneath us as I felt them rocking on their legs.

“Come on. Let’s get them back to the barn,” I said.