Breaking Magnolia_A Contemporary Western Romance Read online

  When the front door creaked open, he froze, shaking away the thoughts. Without making a sound, Dax crept from the bed. He’d barely jostled Magnolia, but when he moved away, her eyes fluttered open. “Wha—”

  He pressed his finger over her lips. “Shhh.” His thoughts turned to Magnolia’s ex. Would he try to slip in and attack them? Or was is an intruder? Dax calmed his surprised pulse and took in a steady breath.

  Magnolia froze, her eyes going wide as Dax shoved his legs into his jeans and pulled them up. He held out his hand, telling her to keep still. She whispered to him, “My shirt is in the kitchen.”

  He turned to his closet, pulling one of his button down flannel shirts and tossing it over his shoulder at her. He reached up to the top shelf in his closet and yanked down his shotgun. Behind him, Magnolia hissed, “You have a gun in the bedroom?”

  He tip-toed toward the door, grabbed the handle and turned back to her. “It’s Tennessee, not New York. Of course, I have a gun. Stay here until I check it out.”

  When he stepped into the hallway, the echo of boots on his hardwood floors was obvious. Whoever it was was not trying to hide they were in his house. “Ugh.”

  Was this person talking to themselves? Dax crept closer, keeping his back to the wall and the gun held up. As he rounded the corner, stepping out into the living room, he spotted the person, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and dark jeans. They stood with their back to Dax. He took a steadying breath and held up the gun, pointing it at the intruder’s back. “I will blow your freakin’ head off.” He cocked the shotgun.

  Slowly, the person turned around and pulled down the hood. “Now is that any way to greet your wife?”

  Dax let out a shocked breath and slowly lowered his gun. “Lulu, what in the hell are you doin’ here?”

  “Did she just say wife?” Magnolia piped up from beside him.

  Dax startled and nearly dropped the gun. “Thought I told you to stay in the bedroom?”

  Of course, she was right behind him, but when he looked back at her, she stood staring at Lulu. The two women faced off against each other as Magnolia narrowed her eyes. “Lulu Griffin.”

  The name rolled off her tongue like a curse. Lulu, for all she was worth, was a deep southern trailer girl who tried to rule the high school with her looks and attitude. Standing only an inch shorter than Magnolia, she too was a force to be reckoned with. Each time Dax thought of her, the word witch came to mind. Her short blond hair fanned out around her face in wild, tight curls. Makeup covered her entire face. Her high cheekbones were a glittery pink that matched her lips, and her eyes were heavily rimmed in dark black lines. Lulu was attractive in the way a man would know exactly what he was getting with her. Wild, crazy and nights filled with dramatic attitude. Her black hoodie hung open and underneath was a tight, flashy tank top. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Magnolia Reed.”

  Dax held up his hands between the two of them. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. This wasn’t how he planned on telling Magnolia about Lulu, nor was it expected. “Now, ladies, let’s not get all wound up here.”

  Magnolia stepped up and smacked him in the arm. “What in the hell is she talkin’ about? Wife? I mean, I know she chased you about in high school, even though you were with me! But this is ridiculous.”

  The stinging slap left a red mark on his skin, and he stood frozen between the two women who plagued his existence. “Now, Maggie, there’s a lot of things you don’t know here—”

  “I chased him? Please. He’s always wanted me.” Lulu tossed back her hair.

  Magnolia took a step forward as if she was going to leap over the couch and have at her. Dax caught her around the waist. “Don’t, Maggie.”

  “Let me go!” She fidgeted in his arms, trying to break his hold.

  Dax pulled her behind him, then stepped back between the two women. Magnolia was all fire and fight, but Lulu grew up wrestling in a trailer park—she’d fight dirty as hell. “Let’s not do this.”

  “I heard you were back in town.” Lulu grabbed Magnolia’s jacket off the back of the couch and threw it at her. “Took you a whole two weeks to jump back into bed with my husband.”

  “Dax, why does she keep calling you that?” Magnolia caught and held the jacket to her chest. All she wore was his shirt, and damned if she didn’t look beautiful in it. Her hair hung loose and wild around her shoulders. Her eyes were round and held a sheen of unshed tears in them. She glanced from Lulu back to Dax, again and again.

  A splitting ache started in his chest and ran straight down into his stomach. How could he possibly explain this to her? Any way he put it, it came out the wrong way. Choking back the ‘I love you’ he wanted to utter, he swallowed the ball of nerves. “I’m so sorry, Magnolia.”

  Lulu’s loud, obnoxious laugh broke the tension between them. “He never told you. How precious.”

  For a split second, Magnolia’s lip quivered and those unshed tears threatened to spill over. But she sucked in a breath and straightened her shoulders then turned from the room and stormed down the hall. Her hair flared out behind her when she turned to go into his room. Dax pointed at Lulu. “Don’t you go anywhere.”

  She examined her nails. “I’m here for ya, darlin’.”

  “Ugh.” He turned and ran down the hall to his room.

  Magnolia stood in the middle of the room like a little tornado, pulling her jeans up and over her legs faster than he thought possible. She pointed at his chest. “Don’t you say a damn word to me right now.”

  “Maggie, I can explain.” He blocked the doorway, afraid she’d escape before he had a chance to talk to her.

  “Don’t you dare.” She stabbed her feet into her boots and stood squaring off against him. Narrowing her eyes at him, she pressed her lips in hard line. “Move.”

  “No, we need to talk about this.” He crossed his arms over his chest, blocking her way. His pulse raced in his veins; nearly paralyzing panic wrought his system. His hands shook and he held them tucked closely to his body so she couldn’t see. If he lost her again, he wouldn’t survive it. That bottle would call to him, and he would answer this time. Seeing her so torn up twisted his insides. He’d known Maggie almost all her life, and he could see it plain as day on her face—he’d hurt her. Her lips quivered, her brow furrowed over those desolate green-hazel eyes and a red flush crept over her face.

  “Fine.” She stepped up to him and hauled her knee straight up into his balls.

  Air rushed from his lungs, pain shot through his body and his knees buckled. He fought to suck in a breath, gasping on the floor. He coughed and gagged, struggling to be able to talk to her. Magnolia stepped over him, then bent down, meeting his eye. She pointed her finger in his face. “Don’t you dare follow me!”

  The last thing he saw was her beat-up cowboy boots walking away from him…

  Chapter 22

  Magnolia stomped down the hallway. Fury like she’d never known overcame her. Dax… had… lied…. to… her. She couldn’t wrap her mind around it. When she came into the living room, standing face to face with Lulu, she didn’t say a word. But Lulu stepped up next to the door, holding Magnolia’s shirt and bra she’d left on the kitchen floor. They hung from Lulu’s hooked finger as she held them out to her. “These are yours, I believe.”

  Magnolia grabbed them and yanked them from Lulu. “Thanks.”

  Behind her, she could hear Dax struggling. “Mag-no-lia.” His words were halted no doubt by the set of balls she just kneed up into his throat.

  How the hell could he have done this to her? Turned her into the very thing she hated about Eric—a mistress. Vomit rose in her throat as she yanked open the front door. Lulu cleared her throat, drawing Magnolia’s attention. “Surprised he didn’t tell you about me. Oh, well, no matter. I’ve got the ring, and you’ve got nothing.”

  Magnolia glared at her from head to toe, fighting the urge to leap forward and smack that smug smile from her face. “Bitch.”
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br />   Just as she was about to step out, Dax lumbered down the hall and limped into the living room. “Lulu, you shut up! You and I ain’t been a couple in years. Magnolia, I gotta talk to you.”

  “Leave me alone, Dax.” She walked out into the cold night, with her bra and shirt in one hand and nothing in the other. As soon as the cool air went up the flannel shirt Dax lent her, she realized she’d forgotten her jacket… with the car keys in it.

  Determined to leave, she turned toward the main house and started trudging across the field. Behind her, Dax flew out the door, calling over his shoulder to Lulu, “Don’t you go anywhere.”

  Of course, he’d want her to stay. “Ugh.” Magnolia increased her pace, striding toward her house as if it was an end line for a touchdown.

  “Magnolia, wait!” He was closing in on her.

  She moved faster. “No.”

  “You need to give me a chance to explain.” Dax was at her side in a moment.

  Magnolia stopped dead in her tracks and faced him. “I need to give you a chance to explain?” The nerve of this man. First he lied to her, then turned her into a unwitting mistress, and now he wanted to explain things? Her temper flared to life, hot and heavy. She’d trusted him and now she was utterly humiliated, in front of Lulu Griffin, no less. Gritting her teeth, she hauled back her arm and let it fly right at his face. She wanted to connect with his skin, to make him feel one-tenth of the hurt she felt in this moment.

  But Dax reacted so quickly, ducking under her swinging hand. The momentum of her hand forced her to spin in a circle and lose her balance. Magnolia fell backward, landing flat on her ass in the middle of the cold field. She lay there for a moment, with her heart thundering in her chest. Dax reached down for her. “Magnolia!”

  She smacked away his hand. “I don’t need your help.”

  “Come on.” He wrapped his hands around her arms and pulled her up as though she weighed nothing.

  Once she was back on her feet, she pressed her hands into his bare chest and shoved him away. She couldn’t look at him without feeling like her heart might rip from her chest and never come back. “Get away from me.”

  How could he have done this to her? All she wanted was to work things out between them. If she had known for one second he was a married man, she would’ve never even tried. Brushing her hands down her legs, she sucked in a deep breath, trying to fight off the tears that wanted to burst forward. Then it hit her—the most foul odor, a smell so sour she knew exactly what it was. She turned, glancing down at her backside to a big brown spot. “Cow shit?” She rolled her eyes to the sky. “You have got to be kidding me.”

  Only a hundred feet away from her house, she stomped forward closing in on the porch when Dax grabbed her arm and spun her around. “Magnolia, wait.”

  She yanked her arm free and narrowed her eyes at him. This man, this ruggedly sexy man had cut her deeply. Anger and sadness overwhelmed her. The tears that had been threatening to spill over now coated her cheeks. Great! Just great! Crying was not a weakness Magnolia liked to show. She turned away from him, brushing at her face. “Just go away, Dax. I have nothing else to say to you.”

  They had gotten so near to her porch she could bolt for the door and make it before he caught her. Dax stepped so close to her she could feel the heat coming off his skin. “Well, I have something to say to you.”

  And that was it. The hard-pressed control Magnolia had been clinging to snapped. “You have something to say to me!” She threw up her arms, yelling at the top of her lungs, “Then by all means, go right ahead!”

  “I have waited for you for ten years!” he bellowed back.

  She took a step toward him. “And in all that time you couldn’t think to, gee, I don’t know… Tell me you were married!”

  “It wasn’t something that came up.” Puffs of smoky breath rose between them. Dax’s chest heaved. That magnolia tattoo was a beacon staring her in the face.

  Magnolia curled her hands into fists to stop herself from trying to rip it off his chest. “You mean something that didn’t come up between banging me in the barn and just now in your house!”

  “What in the hell is goin’ on out here?” Her uncle staggered from around the side of the house. A cigarette hanging between his lips, he tucked his stained shirt into his baggy jeans, like he’d just rolled out of bed.

  Magnolia jabbed a finger at Dax’s chest. “Ask him! And his wife!”

  “She’s not my wife!” His maple eyes turned hard as he gazed down at her.

  Magnolia motioned toward his house. “Then maybe you should go and tell her that!”

  A cold shot of water smacked into her ribs. Magnolia flinched back, colliding with Dax’s chest. She screamed, holding up her hands, trying to block the stream. Dax stepped up in front of her, blocking the hard-hitting water from getting her. A mist still rained down on them. He held out his hand. “Mike, what in the actual fuck?”

  “Y’all screamin’ at each other like a pack of coyotes. Ya could wake the dead.”

  Magnolia’s father came charging out the front door, shotgun in hand. His clothes were completely disheveled, nearly falling off his body. He held up the gun and aimed at the two of them. “Oh, Maggie. You scared the shit out of me.” He lowered the barrel. “What is goin’ on out here?”

  Soaking wet and freezing, she threw up her arms. “Why don’t you ask Dax and his wife what’s goin’ on?”

  Steam rose off Dax’s body. He stood beside her, thrumming with tension or cold, Magnolia didn’t know. He gritted his teeth. “She’s not my wife. Well, she is, but she’s not. It’s a long story.”

  Magnolia rounded on him. “A story you should’ve told me a long ass time ago.”

  “Maybe if we hadn’t been dealing with all your drama first, I would have.” He put his hands on his hips and leaned forward, towering over her.

  “My drama? My drama? Well, excuse me for trying to figure out what it’s like to be a single mom and, oh, I don’t know, get a divorce.” She jabbed her finger into his chest. “You should try it some time.”

  “Oh, for crying out loud,” her father muttered, but Magnolia didn’t bother turning to watch him.

  Dax jabbed both his hands into his hair, looking as though he might rip it out. “Ugh, I have been!”

  “Have been wha—” A stream of water hit her in the back of the head. She ducked down, screeching. Dax tried to block the water from hitting her but ended up sliding in the puddle around them. When his legs shot out from under him, he landed on his back. The wet smacking sound of skin hitting mud was the only warning Magnolia got before he collided with her. Tipping back, she fell on top of his water-soaked chest. When she glanced back at her uncle, she saw her father had taken the hose and was now shooting them with the freezing water. She held up her hand. “Dad, stop!”

  He pointed the hose away from them. “Are y’all finished fightin’?”

  “This is between me and Dax.” She started to rise to her feet.

  “Wrong answer.” Again, he directed that cold stream back toward them.

  Dax tried to rise to his feet only to fall ass over feet. “Damn it, Thomas. Knock it off.”

  “Not until y’all give it a rest for the night,” he yelled over the sound of the spraying water.

  “Fine! I’m done.” Maggie crawled up onto her hands and knees. Her hair hung in soaking tatters down her face. Her borrowed shirt was like wearing a wet sack over her fridged body. She blew drops of water off the tip of her nose and muttered, “I’m so done.”

  Dax lay sprawled out on his back, his chest heaving up and down. “For tonight, I’m done.” He turned toward Thomas. “Happy now?”

  “Considerin’ y’all are actin’ like a bunch of children, I’d say yes.” A large smile spread across his face. “I’m happy to get me some shuteye instead of listenin’ to you two making a mess of things.”

  “Dad, I really don’t need this.” Magnolia slugged to her feet, her wet jeans rubbing along her legs in all the
wrong ways. She took a step toward the porch, then paused. Pulling off her boot, she turned and dumped a stream of water onto the ground next to Dax. Even now, lying with his back covered in mud and his chest covered in water drops, he was utterly attractive, and she wanted to turn and kick him for it. For a fleeting moment, she knew what is was to feel the soul deep kind of love that could alter her life. She didn’t know whether to hate him or try to understand how this could happen. Either way, it didn’t matter because Magnolia had fallen in love with a man who belonged to someone else. She dragged her sopping feet up the steps and reached for the screen door, wanting nothing more than a hot shower and this day to be over.

  “Magnolia, wait,” Dax called after her, pleading for her to stay.

  She looked over her shoulder at him, feeling as though a part of her had crumbled to pieces. “I’m done, Dax.”

  He sucked in a sharp breath. His brow furrowed low over his warm honey eyes and that muscle in his jaw started to tick. For the briefest moment, she wanted to turn to him, smooth his brow and run her fingers over his jaw. But she held strong and didn’t budge.

  He father walked up beside Dax and placed a hand on his shoulder. “End the day, son. Tomorrow, y’all can talk about things.”

  Always the voice of reason and compassion, her father patted Dax’s shoulder then stepped up behind Magnolia. “Let’s go on in.”

  “I’m done talkin’, Dad.” Magnolia pushed through the door with her father hot on her heels. Behind her, Dax bellowed an agonizing, frustrated sound only a man who’d had enough could muster.

  Though she didn’t want him to hurt, there was nothing left to do. When she turned for the stairs, she felt her father’s hand on her arm. She paused, looking up at him. “What’s up?”

  “You ought to give him a chance to explain things to ya.”

  “He lied to me. He had plenty of time to explain things to me and he didn’t. I’ve been here. I’ve been around. What excuse could he have for not telling me something this big?” The cool seeped into her bones and all she could think of was a nice hot shower.