Playing with Fire: The Live Oak Series, #2

By Lacey Dancer

"Run," Randi whispered.

Lucy sprinted for the door, fearing that at any moment she would hear a gunshot, killing the only family she had. Randi, her best friend, her sister of the heart had put herself between the man with the gun and her. She ran for help, to Archer, the man Randi loved.

Alex, Archer beside him, caught her as she leapt off the porch and into his arms, words pouring out of her. The men moved into action as the gunman dragged Randi from the house and into a pasture housing a cantankerous donkey. The animal attacked. Randi escaped.

When it was over, Lucy sat in the living room, trying to relax as her world changed with each breath she drew.

For Randi's sake, she had come to Live Oak. She was wearing boots and they weren't the dressy kind. These were real boots with mud on them. She woke up to cows mooing and that damn donkey that just saved Randi's life braying.

The man beside her, Archer's best friend, Alex Weston was a fine example of the male of the species and if he hadn't been Archer's friend, she just might have taken him up on the challenge he represented.

However, he was a farmer and she was a city girl. Live Oak was an okay place to visit if she didn't mind giving up lattes, her shoe boutiques, and expensive restaurants. Yes, Alex had picked her up in his own plane when he had brought her north from South Florida. In spite of driving a tractor in his own fields, he didn't match her idea of a farmer. Although handsome as a sexy film star, he was still not her type of man.

She was not a woman built for home and hearth. His roots were buried deep in the north Florida soil.

What's a woman to do?

Especially when that woman had to rebuild her life from the ground up in a new city, with a new job in an area of the state about which she knew very little. Add in finding and making a new home and her plate was overflowing with complications.

Alex was the biggest complication of all. He made her question her life and all her decisions. He challenged her and she so loved a challenge. Most important of all, he understood the games she played and showed her just how well he could play games too.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sydney Clary
• Release date: Sep 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9798224544578

Lacey Dancer

International, Award-Winning Romance and Suspense author, Sydney Clary a.k.a. Lacey Dancer, has written and published over 36 books over her lifetime. She is working on adding 20 or 30 more to the count as well as bringing her backlist into the 21st century. Currently, she is concentrating on writing stories in two new series. The first is called the Live Oak Series which is a romance/suspense story set in North Florida. The second is The Truth Series, a thriller/suspense series set in Montana and other places around the world. Finally, she is enhancing and republishing the very popular Pippa Romance series.

Book preview

LETTER FROM LACEY

I am so delighted you are visiting Live Oak again. It is a real place and yes, it is farming country. There reality ends and my imagination begin. Archer and Randi had their story and you will have more time with them as their relationship develops in Playing with Fire.

But this one is for you Alex and Lucy. Talk about opposites and I had to think of these two. He is a man of the land, a farmer and she is a woman of the city. There isn’t a shoe store in sight and anyone who thinks the country is quiet hasn’t visited Archer’s farm and tried to sleep with cows mooing, roosters crowing and donkeys braying. Don’t animals ever sleep?

Lucy struggles to adjust to an environment that is beyond anything she could imagine. Alex discovers that this city woman has nerves of steel and a body guaranteed to keep him awake at night in more ways than one. More than that she has a heart that will risk all and not count the cost as she takes a terrible chance for Randi’s sake.

Alex is much more a man than any male Lucy had ever known. He thought nothing of helping a stranger by flying into the night to rescue a woman he had never met. But he is a farmer and she needs the city. A new job in the state capital, and a woman in the wrong place at the right time. Danger strikes again. What are the odds?

That’s all the hints I can give you. I had so much fun listening to these two dealing with their differences. Both have a sense of humor and a way with words that kept me laughing even as I was editing the last time. Don’t ask Lucy her opinion of where eggs come from or Alex’s opinion of yogurt. I may never buy another cup of the last again.

As always, I love hearing from all of you. I really appreciate the time you take to email or message me. You can contact me using any one of the social media pages, email or my website listed at the end of this book.

Lacey Dancer

CHAPTER ONE

What happened? Cody asked as he studied the body lying just outside of the pasture. A too familiar big head of a very irritated donkey was leaning over the fence watching. He made sure he stayed out of range of the animal’s teeth. Jay had a reputation, honestly earned, for being a cantankerous beast around most of the human population.

He leaned down to get a better look but didn’t touch the man on the ground. Is that blood pattern teeth marks on his shirt?

Archer Channing and Alex Weston both nodded at the question.

He was trying to get away from us through Jay’s pasture, Alex said.

Personally, for the first time in his acquaintance with the ill-tempered animal, Alex was glad the donkey was so bad mannered. He had saved them all a lot of trouble. He, too, looked at JW’s body. As far as he was concerned, the man had gotten what he deserved.

JW lay face up, his eyes wide in a dead man’s stare. The harsh glare of the security lights and the spotlights from Cody’s four-wheel drive outlined the stalker who had come to Live Oak to kill Miranda Major. He had been willing to die rather than let her live.

Hell of a way to buy it, Cody murmured. Done in by a donkey.

Archer glanced over to the far corner of the pasture where Jay had retreated from the crowd of humans and lights. The elderly donkey was meaner than a snake when he got annoyed and having a stranger just jump in his pasture was a sure way to get his attention. The mammoth jack was well over six hundred pounds of muscle and mean. Tossing a man around wasn’t a problem. Too bad the fence got in the way or he would have been stomping the body into the ground, which was his other way of getting rid of intruders. His kind had been guarding livestock for years for ranchers and farmers.

Yeah, it is, Archer agreed, mentally promising Jay he could escape every day for the rest of his life without anyone saying a word. He and Alex might have been too late to save Randi. Jay got pissed that JW dared to enter his pasture. He threw him out, literally.

He’s got good aim. He handled him just like that last coyote that tried to get in the field with him. Ended up the same way too. Saved the taxpayers a lot of money and you both a lot of hassle. A man like that wouldn’t have stopped just because of being caught. He’d already proven that by leaving Palm Beach County to come up here in spite of being out on bail for the first attack on Ms. Major as well as being pursued on a warrant for his assault on her friend, Lucy Winters.

Cody signaled one of the three men he had brought with him. Get pictures then tag and bag him. I want every angle. This ass has rich relatives and I am not in the mood to deal with some over-priced lawyer and his opinion of my job or our county.

He turned from the body and headed back to where the two women waited. He blew out a rough sigh then looked at Archer. Are you all right? Looks like he clipped you a time or two.

Archer fingered his jaw. It ached but he’d had worse. He got in a couple of shots. So did I. Randi had the worst of it.

Randi leaned against the fence. Her legs felt wobbly, her head ached, and more than one muscle was making itself felt. The last ninety minutes had been the closest she ever wanted to get to hell. She had faced a man with a gun intent on killing her just because she had been promoted above him in his father’s firm. She had put herself between the gun and her best friend, Lucy, to give her a chance to go for help. She’d been dragged halfway across the yard by her hair with no way to fight back. It had been a long night.

But she was alive. I’ll give thanks to all of you. Randi reached up and felt her sore head. I’m minus a bit of hair but I don’t give a damn.

I, for one, would love a drink. A double anything, Lucy said with a deep sigh. She felt as though she wanted to jump out of her own skin. She couldn’t stop reliving that hideous dash down the hall, expecting at any moment to hear a gun shot that would kill her best friend, her sister in all but blood.

Alex studied Lucy in the harsh light, seeing the remnants of fear and determination that had sent her racing for help. If it hadn’t been for the risk she had taken to help Randi, they might not have been in time to save her. But, unless he wasn’t as good at reading people as he usually was, she was having a hard time coming down from the adrenaline rush. Hell, he was himself.

He caught Lucy’s hand and pulled her away from the scene and toward the house. I am with you on that one. I need a drink too, maybe more than one. Let’s all get out of the way and let Cody do his job.

You’ll need to make statements, but they can wait until tomorrow.

Archer glanced at each in turn, his eyes lingering on Randi. He would never forget how close he had come to losing her tonight. I think we would rather get it over now.

Randi leaned her head on his shoulder. I want an end. I would rather not wait if that’s all right with everyone else?

Lucy and Alex both agreed.

Cody inclined his head. Can’t say I blame you there. Let me get stuff wound up here then I will be up to the house. No drinks for me but I wouldn’t say no to coffee.

I’ll make it, Lucy offered. She wasn’t the best cook in the world, but coffee was a necessity to start any morning. Besides, she couldn’t just sit. She was too jumpy. She needed to do something to burn off the energy coursing through her or she was never going to get any sleep. If she ever got to bed.

Every muscle in her body was screaming from the strain of being held hostage. She had been terrified when she had realized what Randi had intended when she had stepped between the gun in JW’s hand and her. Randi had whispered to her to run.

It had been years since she had sprinted, and she had never had the starting gun pointed at her back. With every racing stride down the long hall she had expected to be shot. Worse, she had expected to hear a gunshot that would have killed the only family that she had. The seconds it had taken her to fly down the hall and out the front door and onto the porch had seemed like hours.

She had literally thrown herself at Alex screaming for help for Randi. Even now she couldn’t remember the exact words that had poured out of her. She had only known the life changing urgency that had driven her.

As she walked beside Alex watching Archer slide his arm around Randi, she still couldn’t believe that neither of them had been shot. She could feel herself shaking from the inside out. She wanted to hide, to just have a moment to calm down. Equally, she didn’t want to let Randi out of her sight.

When she felt Alex drape his arm around her shoulders, she glanced at him. She was surprised to find understanding in his eyes. Adrenaline will do it to you every time. He held out his hand showing her the fine tremor in his fingers.

I feel like an idiot. We’re all okay. Randi could’ve been killed.

Or you could have. Every one of us knows the risk you took.

How long does it take to wear off?

A drink and some quiet away from the scene should help with that. Or at least I hope so.

Lucy laughed shortly. Then I’ll have whatever you’re having.

The four of them moved in pairs to the house. Randi dropped onto the sofa while Archer went for glasses and Alex checked out the small liquor cabinet in the office.

Lucy flopped beside Randi and laid her head on her shoulder for moment. She needed the closeness to reassure herself that they had made it. Cody would be busy for a while so there was no rush to make coffee. Even if there was, she was having that drink first.

You scared the hell out of me when you said race. I haven’t run in years. Jogging doesn’t count. I didn’t think I would be quick enough. That damn front door seemed like it was miles away. The words tumbled out of her without thought, driven by a mixture of fear and relief.

Randi hugged her. She hadn’t been sure her plan would work. But at least Lucy would have been out of the line of fire. You saved my life.

Lucy lifted her head. And you saved mine. You put yourself between me and the gun. I was excess baggage. He would have shot me first. It was you he wanted.

It was the only thing I could think to do. I had to give you time to get to that door. I was never as fast as you.

Yeah, well, let’s not do anything like this again. I am too old for sprinting and I don’t ever want to see a gun pointed at me or you again.

Alex came over and held out one of the two glasses he carried. I’ll second that. You came out of the house looking like a woman ready to go to war.

Archer eased down on the couch beside Randi and passed her a drink. I think I aged ten years tonight.

He resisted the very real need to pull Randi into his lap and just hold on. They still had the statements to get through and he wanted privacy for what he was thinking.

Randi sipped at the aged whiskey and let it warm her from the inside out. I don’t ever want to be that scared again. And I definitely don’t want anyone yanking on my hair. She reached up and felt her raw scalp. I think I have a couple of bald spots.

Lucy straightened beside her. Bend your head and let me look.

Randi leaned down. How bad is it?

Lucy handed Alex her glass. You’ve got a couple of bloody spots. Not big but they are there. She rose and headed for the door. Where’s the first-aid kit?

We’ll go to the emergency room.

Randi raised her head to look at Archer. No, we won’t. I don’t want to answer one single question more than I have to. And I sure don’t want someone poking at me right now. It’s just a few hairs missing.

She’s right, Archer. This night is going to be long enough for her without an ER trip too, Lucy agreed. I think we have all had enough excitement for one evening. Believe me, I would be the first one to push for the ER if I thought there was a problem. We have done worse to ourselves during a rehab demo.

Alex set the drinks aside. I’ll show you where the kit is. If you’re going to be living here until you get settled, you might as well know where stuff is. He started down the hall toward the mud room at the back of the house.

We keep a fully equipped kit in here. On a farm like this, someone is always needing a bandage for something. He opened the cabinet and pulled out the box and set it on the counter.

Lucy sighed deeply and leaned her head against the cabinet. I wish I could stop shaking.

Alex shook his head as he reached for her and pulled her into his arms. Hold on to me and let me hold on to you. I am not a fan of close calls. And tonight, has been the closest.

Lucy leaned into his strength and his warmth. She never leaned on a man. Her past had taught her the danger of that. But just this once, she was making an exception. The danger was over. Part of the reason she and Randi were safe was because of this man and his fast reactions.

I am not usually such a baby.

You care about her.

She’s my sister. Not by blood but by my heart and choice.

It shows.

Lucy leaned back in the circle of his arms and stared up at him. They’ll be wondering where we are.

He laughed softly, his eyes gleaming with humor. I think Randi and Archer are too occupied with each other right now to notice we are missing.

I still have to make coffee.

I’ll take care of the coffee. You take care of the first aid. I have only three skills in the kitchen. I cook a decent breakfast, make good coffee, and I can work a grill. Besides, I know how strong Cody likes his coffee.

Lucy stepped back. She felt steadier than she had since the horrible night had begun. The internal shaking was finally easing. She didn’t know if it was the whiskey or Alex that had calmed her down.

Thanks for the hug.

Alec shrugged as he laughed softly. I do believe that is a first for me.

She cocked an eyebrow at him. What?

A woman thanking me for holding her.

She grinned, discovering amusement was possible after terror. Maybe you have been dating the wrong kind of woman.

Is that an invitation?

She shook her head as she turned her attention to the first-aid kit. Make the coffee. And I’ll take another whiskey since I’m not driving.

Do you want coffee with it? Alex asked as he headed for the kitchen.

No. I want to sleep. Not have nightmares.

Alex stopped, turned and walked back to her. He lifted his hand to her face. I’ll be staying over tonight or what’s left of it. If you need to talk, tap on my door. And, in case you are wondering, that isn’t an invitation for fun and games. I doubt I’ll be sleeping either.

Lucy was surprised at the offer and the explanation that accompanied it. She wasn’t used to men being nice to her. In her world she had to fight men for her place and respect for the work she did.

I do believe you are a nice man, Alex Weston.

He dropped his hand. You didn’t have to insult me.

Lucy was smiling as she reentered the living room to find Archer and Randi in a very passionate embrace. She hated to break up the moment but the sooner she saw to Randi’s injury the better. She cleared her throat. Archer raised his head.

I found it. She lifted the box she carried. It’ll only take a minute. Then I will go keep Alex company in the kitchen.

Randi slid off Archer’s lap. Just don’t pull on anything.

Lucy set the kit on the couch then gently parted the strands until she found the two raw places marked with blood drops. That bastard, she muttered as she cleansed each spot. You’ll need to be careful with a brush or comb for a couple of days. At least your hair is thick enough that these two patches won’t really show.

Alex came in with a tray, with Cody following with a steaming mug in his hand. He saw the first aid kit. Who needs that? he demanded.

Archer moved to the tray and poured two mugs of coffee. Randi. The bastard got a few handfuls of hair.

Lucy changed her mind about having coffee when the first scent reached her. Who needed sleep anyway? As if he had read her mind, Alex handed her a mug as she settled back in the chair beside the couch. The first sip was heaven in a cup.

She should go to the emergency room, he said.

Randi shook her head. I am not going anywhere.

It would look better on the report. Cody dropped into a chair. I can get around it. Hate the ER myself. Besides, you’ve gotten the other trip on record.

He took a sip and set the coffee aside. I’m going to say this now, not ever for public consumption. Guys like that don’t quit. The do-gooders like to believe that a piece of crap can be rehabbed but the odds are too long for me to ever believe it. Jay gave you the best ending for the nightmare you have been living. Either Archer or Alex would have taken him out if they gotten the chance and we would have had to clean that mess up. Jay’s justice was a hell of a lot cleaner and easier for me and all of you.

That donkey can escape every day for the rest of his life, and I won’t say a word, Archer confirmed, referring to Jay’s habit of finding a way out of any enclosure.

I plan on feeding him carrots every morning just to say thank you for giving me a future, Randi put in.

I’ll cut them up for you. I’ll even hold the bag, but no way are my fingers getting anywhere near that animal’s teeth, Lucy added.

Alex laughed as he toasted her with his mug. City girl.

She laughed too. You better believe it and I am not changing. I don’t care how many tractors you talk me into getting on. AC or not.

Cody shook his head as he set his laptop on his knees. Don’t let that slow southern drawl fool you. Our Alex is city too.

Definitely the minute summer ends until the next spring, Archer agreed with a grin.

Lucy frowned. I don’t get it. What did the seasons have to do with anything?

Archer dropped an arm around Randi and pulled her close. He needed to feel her, not just see her. It means that the minute things start budding, calves start dropping and planting needs to be done, Alex puts on his Stetson and sweats with the rest of us. The second the growing season ends...

Slows down, Alex corrected.

Archer inclined his head. When it slows down. He hops in his plane and makes the rounds of urbanization. I don’t see hide nor hair of him until spring again. If I’m lucky, I get a couple phone calls about business.

First, I do not hop, Alex clarified without heat. He had lived with his reputation too long to be worried about it. Besides, it was the truth more than even Archer knew. Second, I do your urbanization as much as my own. Somebody has to since you only move off this land if I force you to.

At Lucy’s clearly perplexed expression, he added. Archer hates leaving the farm and I thrive on the urban part of our operations. He keeps an eye on my place during the slow and I handle his meet, greet and dine schedule while I do my own. Since we do a lot of business together, it suits both of us perfectly.

Since I have a small piece of one or two of your pies, I like the arrangement very well. I am no fonder of big cities than Archer. I don’t like the hassle, or the traffic. Cody muttered as he quickly tapped a few keys.

Okay. I have this thing on voice command. When I turn the microphone on, I will ask a question and one of you will answer. The software is fairly accurate, but I like to read it back and make any corrections. It sounds a bit slower than it actually is, but the end result makes it easier on all of us. Everybody ready. He waited for their nods.

Miranda, I will start with you. He hit a key. Start at the beginning and take me through what happened tonight. Don’t edit it or leave anything out. He signaled her to answer.

Since Randi was familiar with voice activated soft- ware, she found it easy to slip into the rhythm of the pro- gram. Cody was thorough and by the time he had clarified a few points, he had an accurate picture of her part of the nightmare. Lucy was next. Her answers were quick and short. Archer followed with Alex last.

Alex freshened everyone’s coffee before settling in his chair again. Do you expect any trouble with this?

Cody shook his head. No. The man violated a restraining order, traveled hundreds of miles to get at Randi while out on bail in another county for assaulting Randi, had an outstanding warrant for assaulting Lucy and then tried to kidnap both of them. I don’t see how anyone, even a pricey lawyer, can mess with those facts. Even if the fool did, who are they going to blame? A pissed off donkey? I would like to see that in our courthouse. The judge would bust his gut laughing. Besides everyone in the county knows what Jay is like.

Alex grinned. The advantages to living in a small town were many and varied. Not only were most of the inhabitants kin in some, often distant way to each other, but everyone was clued in on everyone’s business.

But your honor, JW only wanted to pet the donkey. It was only a misunderstanding, Lucy said with a grimace. She had a tickle in her throat that spoke of laughter, but it just didn’t seem right to give in to it.

Randi sighed deeply. Is there anything else you need from us? she asked the sheriff.

Cody shook his head as he got to his feet and tucked his laptop under his arm. Try to get some sleep, all of you.

Alex and Archer rose. Planting tomorrow among other things, Archer said.

I think you mean today, Alex corrected as the three of them headed for the front door.

Are you all right? Lucy asked Randi.

Getting there. You?

Working on it, Randi. What if I hadn’t made it? I can’t stop thinking about that.

What if he had pushed me out of the way and shot you? Randi caught her hands and held on tightly. We both took chances and it worked. I keep reminding myself that it worked.

Lucy searched her face, seeing the rock-solid determination buried under the strain and exhaustion of the last few weeks. She nodded and squeezed her hands. We make one hell of a team, she murmured, even managing a smile.

You won’t get any arguments from Alex or me on that one, Archer said, striding back into the room to scoop Randi off the sofa and into his arms. I’m for bed. Alex is staying over, and we’ll aim for breakfast somewhere around seven.

Seven? Lucy repeated. It’s three now. Four hours of sleep?

Alex caught her hand and pulled her toward the hall in Archer’s wake. Just be glad he didn’t say dawn. Believe me, he is cutting us a break.

I don’t think I have been up at dawn for work in my life, Lucy muttered as she pulled her hand from his. Randi needs...

Archer will take care of what Randi needs, Alex interrupted. He stopped at the room he always used when he had to stay the night. Lucy’s room was the door just opposite his.

You know what I mean.

Alex stood in the open doorway. Farming doesn’t go on hold for a problem. Nature has its own time clock and we live with it and by it. Sleep in if you want. You aren’t on the clock.

Before she could respond, he the closed the door leaving her standing looking at the wood. If she wasn’t so tired, she would have had a quick come back. As it was, he had the last word and she had an empty bed in a dark room waiting for her.

CHAPTER TWO

Alex stripped his shirt and belt off then sat down on the bed to tug off his boots. He felt like throwing them across the room but didn’t. He wanted something physical to do just to level out his system but that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon.

Without bothering with lights, using the moonlight pouring through the open drapes of the window, he went to the dresser where he had placed a bottle and glass on one of his trips to the kitchen. He knew himself well enough to know sleep wasn’t going to be coming anytime soon. If he had a woman in his bed, he would have been able to work off the adrenaline jag that way.

No woman. No punching bag to pound and he wasn’t in the mood for a hard ride in the moonlight to bleed off the high. He one handed a chair in a turn to face the window then dropped his wired body onto the hard seat and started on the glass of straight Jack. The whiskey burned smoothly down his throat as he stared out into the night.

He could hear the farm settling down again. Familiar sounds, whispers of his youth and his heritage. He loved the country for so many reasons, but it didn’t have the hold on him that it did on Archer. He smiled faintly around his next shot. For six months of the year he farmed with the best of them. He had doubled the family holdings. His dad, despite his stroke in his early fifties, and his mother traveled and enjoyed coming home with each