Excited for the next installment of the Sweeter Version of the Hell Yeah! Series? Here's an excerpt to tide you over while you wait:
The next day brought trouble.
Jacob had promised Libby he would teach her how to ride a horse. Aron had
wanted to do it, but he got called away to a meeting with the family lawyers
about the management of their parent’s trust fund. The economy was hitting everything
hard, so it became more of a challenge each year to invest in ventures that
provided a decent return. It was also his responsibility to review all the
allocations that were meted out to worthy teenagers and sick children. They
also had a program to loan out money to cancer patients who wanted to further
their education. Necessary business, but Jacob knew Aron hated to be away from
Libby and that he would get through the day as quickly as humanly possible.
After listening to Libby plead,
Jacob had relented and chosen Molly. She was the most gentle of their horses
and he knew Aron would kill him if he let anything happen to Libby. Oh, Aron
talked big and pretended that his time with Libby didn’t matter to him, but
Jacob knew they were falling in love with each other. He also knew that Libby
felt like her time was limited, but Jacob was a big believer in positive
thinking, faith and miracles.
From his work with the various
fund raisers for cancer victims, he knew Doc Mulligan personally and when the
Doc had learned that Libby was coming to work on Tebow, he had given Jacob a
call himself. The Doc had cautioned Jacob about Libby taking any unnecessary
risks. Doctors and science didn’t really understand what threw someone who had
cancer into remission, or out of it, but there were some studies which
suggested that trauma to the body could shorten a remission period. Anyway,
there was no use taking chances—that’s why he had chosen
Molly.
Jacob also knew about the test
she had to return for in less than a month. Hopefully, by that time there would
be good news and Aron would start coming to his senses. Libby belonged on
Tebow. Libby belonged to Aron. Jacob had never been surer of anything.
“Hold the reins like this, Libs.
Not too tight.” He led the old horse around, adjusting Libby’s feet in the
stirrups. “That’s right. You don’t have to be afraid. Molly is as gentle as a
lamb.”
Libby wasn’t afraid; it was just
a long way to the ground. Her balance wasn’t the best in the world, but this
was one thing she had promised herself she would do while she still felt good.
“You’re doing great, Libby. I’m going to walk you over to the corral and you
can just go round and round in a circle until you feel secure enough to take a
real jaunt.” Jacob’s words were reassuring. He wouldn’t let anything happen to
her, not if he could help it. Smiling, she knew Jacob was fond of her, but he
was also scared of Aron.
Aron cared about her. Libby knew
that he did. But even if Aron changed his mind about the nature of their relationship,
it still wouldn’t change the reality of her disease. No, she was in remission,
she reminded herself. Remission. She knew the statistics, there was no use
playing like she didn’t.
“Okay, take off.” He set Molly
and Libby into a safe circular path. Or it would have been safe if a big ole
chicken snake hadn’t decided to crawl across the enclosure. Those old chicken
snakes knew no fear. Aron wouldn’t let any of them be killed because a) they
didn’t have any chickens or eggs and b) chicken snakes ate their weight in
rats, regularly. Molly didn’t know they were harmless, however, and Libby was
deathly afraid of even a rubber snake. So when Molly shied from the snake,
Jacob hollered, causing Libby to jerk. Molly bucked and when Libby saw the
snake while struggling to hold on, all hell broke loose. Libby came crashing
down. Jacob thought that everything was all right. It was just a little fall.
The snake hadn’t looked back and Molly didn’t step on Libby. But, Libby didn’t
move. He ran to her and found blood all over the back of her head. She had hit
the top railing of the fence on her way down to the ground.
Aron was homesick. He hadn’t even
been gone a whole day, but he was nearly aching with longing. And it wasn’t
Tebow he was homesick for, or his brothers. Aron was homesick for Libby. She
had slept in his arms all night, but right now he felt as if a piece of him had
been cut off. Never would he have believed that a little slip of a girl could
get under his skin the way she had. He thought about her all the time.
Libby had surprised him. She fit
into their life like she belonged. Nothing was too much trouble; she pitched in
and helped in every project they took on. That is—she tried—Aron
had a hard time trying to keep her safe. Other than her overblown fear of
snakes, she was absolutely fearless. Just the other day, he had caught her
trying to coax one of their biggest Beefmaster bulls into a stall so she could
give him a bath. The dignified, registered, blue-blood Warpaint was not amused.
Neither was Aron.
Again and again it hit him how
different from Sabrina that Libby was. He had received a call from their
neighbor, Clyde Cummings, an elderly widower. He had requested one of the boys
to come over and help him pull a tractor loose that had got stuck in the mud.
In the process of trying to free it himself, the old man had hurt his back.
Libby had taken Clyde casseroles and soups for a week, until he was feeling up
to par. Nothing like that would have ever even occurred to Sabrina. The nice
things Libby wanted to do for others reminded Aron of his mother.
The day before yesterday, one of
Aron’s prize heifers had begun to calve. It was her first, and Aron was worried
about her. The bull he had bred her to was big and he didn’t want to risk any
birth complications. Libby insisted on attending the blessed event, nothing
less would do. When Aron had been forced to put his arm up the cow’s birth
canal and turn the calf, Libby had been right there with hot water and towels.
(Not that he needed hot water and towels, but he humored her.) When they
finally pulled the little bull free of his mother, Libby had thrown her arms
around Aron and almost knocked him down. She had named the little bull Muffin.
Now how was that going to look on the official Beefmaster Association Breeder’s
forms? Actually, Aron didn’t care. He was so enamored of Libby that he was
almost giddy.
And the sex. Lord Have Mercy, as
he always said. The sex was utterly incredible. She was so sweetly responsive,
eager and uninhibited—yet, at the same time,
enchantingly innocent. It was a heady combination and one that kept him in a
state of constant arousal.
Libby had made herself at home at
Tebow and, most especially in his heart.
Although the trip had been a
necessary one, Aron was glad it was almost over. Never had the road seemed so
long from Austin to Kerrville. Never had he been so tempted to floor it. When
he got to the last leg of the journey, the dirt road that led from the blacktop
to the Tebow ranch gate had never looked so welcoming. He noticed the
wildflowers that grew along the way. Had they always been so bright and
colorful? Everything seemed better somehow. The air was sweeter, the food
tasted better...hell, he even liked his worthless brothers more.
Mostly, he couldn’t wait to hold
her in his arms again. Last night’s loving had only left him hungry for more.
That was the way it always was. He just couldn’t get enough of Libby Fontaine.
Lately, he had been rethinking his future. He had made a decision. A huge
decision. He wanted Libby in his life; there was no way he could face a
lifetime without her. Marriage wasn’t the word he would use just yet, but he
was definitely thinking long-term. The only problem was convincing her of that.
Something was holding her back. He knew she cared about him. There was no doubt
in his mind, since she showed him every day in more ways than he could count.
Why was she so adamant that their time together was short? Yeah, he knew it had
been his idea to start with. Hell, he was ready to admit he was wrong. Yet every
time he put limits on the relationship, she had been only too happy to agree.
Aron didn’t like for her to agree so damn readily. He wanted her to fight for
him. So, when he got home, the mission had changed. Win Libby Fontaine was his
new goal.
When he started up the drive, he
knew instantly something was wrong. It was only three o’clock and all of the
brother’s trucks were there. They were pulled haphazardly around the front, as
if they had all been in a hurry to get out and get into the house. His heart
clutched in his chest and
a wave of anguished concern ripped down his back. The air left his chest,
seized in his lungs like wet concrete, and the blood pulsed into his head.
He didn’t want anything to happen to any of his brothers, but all he could think
about was—Oh God—don’t let anything have
happened to his precious Libby.
He drove faster as he got closer
and ended up skidding his King Ranch dangerously close to the wide front
verandah steps. Leaping from the cab, he took the steps three at a time. Charging
through the front door, he yelled, “What the hell is wrong? Libby! Libby,
answer me right now!”
“We need to call Doc Mulligan.”
This was Jacob’s voice. A doctor? Who was Mulligan? By, God he’d find out. He
followed the voices.
“Shit, Aron’s here.” That was
Isaac.
“Like he’s not going to find us?”
Joseph stage whispered. “We’re in the den, Aron!”
Aron barreled into the ‘man-cave’
as Nathan called it and saw four of his brothers kneeling by the leather sofa.
And in front of them was—aw
hell, it was his Libby.
In a few short moves, he had
displaced brothers both left and right. Kneeling at her side, he whispered,
“Libby? Sweetheart?” She was so small and pale and her eyes were closed.
“What the hell happened?” He
looked directly at Jacob, pinning him with his menacing gaze.
“Aron, oh Aron.” Libby opened her
eyes, held out her arms, and as he took her, she began scooting over into his
lap. “I am so glad you’re here, Aron. So glad. I missed you so.”
As Aron cuddled her close, he
demanded again. “What happened to her?”
“She fell off of Molly.” Jacob’s
voice was level and quiet.
Aron’s hands at once began moving
over her body.
Isaac snorted. “It’s her head,
Aron.” Laughing, he said, “I thought I’d tell you before you felt her up in
front of us.”
“Hush up, Isaac. There‘s nothing
funny about this.” Aron’s voice was direct and succinct. He held her with one
arm, while he began parting her hair, looking for a wound.
“She hit her head on the fence
when Molly threw her.” Jacob sounded as guilty as he felt.
At Aron’s indrawn breath, Libby
feared for Molly and Jacob’s safety. “It wasn’t Jacob’s fault, I begged him to
teach me. And it wasn’t Molly’s fault. It was that humongous, horrible deadly
snake that scared us!” Aron fought with everything he had not to smile. This
was too serious.
“It was a chicken snake.” Jacob
muttered dryly.
“A huge, ugly, vicious chicken
snake!” Libby was very anti-serpent.
“Why aren’t you in the hospital?”
He looked at Libby, then at the brothers.
“No, no, no, no.” She clung to
his neck. “No hospital! Some of the worst days of my life have been spent in
hospitals.” Aron pulled her closer still, if that was even possible.
Jacob knelt by her and took her
hand. Aron’s eyes widened. “Libby, see the doctor, please.” Jacob’s voice was
low, but he spoke from his heart.
“I’m fine, Jacob. I don’t need to
see him.” Her eyes pled with him to let it drop. Knowing that Aron would take
up Jacob’s mantra, Libby changed her tactic. “Aron, please take me to our room.
I want to lie down and I need you to hold me.”
That’s all it took. Aron rose and
started off with her. Before he left the room, he turned and faced his
brothers. “If I ever come home again and find her with so much as a paper cut,
there will be hell to pay. I go off and leave the most precious thing I have in
the world in your care and you let a horse throw her,” he paused and a small
smile escaped his lips, “and a Godzilla-sized snake nearly swallowed her whole.
It will not happen again!” With that he stalked off, Libby held close to his heart.
“Yeah, this is a temporary thing.
You can tell. He don’t care a thing in the world about her.” Isaac observed
dryly.
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