Goddess Rising by Alexi Lawless Page B

maybe he preferred it that way.
    Or maybe he’d just never met a girl who made him want to take things any further than chasing what felt good—until it didn’t.
    Wes put down his unfinished beer and fished his keys out, figuring he’d go for a ride and think it through, or give himself enough miles to stop thinking altogether. Either way, Chris would cool off, and he’d figure out what to do about the quandary of Samantha. Because for the first time in his young life, Wes actually wanted to know five things about a girl besides what she looked like and what she’d feel like in bed. And he had the distinct feeling it would never be boring with Samantha. Not by a long shot.
    *
    September—Same Time, Across Town
    Fargo’s Pit BBQ, Bryan, Texas
    S A M A N T H A
    Sam watched Ry run around the restaurant, chatting up the other kids who were eating dinner with their families. He was so gregarious, so happy and easy to get along with, other boys and girls readily followed him around as if he were the Pied Piper.
    “How’s he doing in school?” she asked, glancing at their father.
    “Good,” he told her with a smile. “He and Carey started Pop Warner,” a note of pride in his voice. “You should see him dressed up in his helmet and pads. Looks like the world’s skinniest football player.”
    Sam smiled. “How’s Carey?” she asked, referring to Uncle Grant and Aunt Hannah’s son. Carey and Ry were close to the same age and had grown up inseparable.
    “Growing like a weed,” her dad replied, biting into his brisket. “Swear that boy’s going to be taller than me in just a year or two.”
    Sam tracked Ry as he played a video game with a few other kids at a nearby table. “Ry’s growing fast, too,” she murmured, feeling a little sentimental. “Can’t believe he’ll be in high school soon.”
    “He’s gonna be hell on wheels, too,” her father chuckled. “Got a feeling he’ll give me all the heartache you didn’t and then some.”
    “Didn’t have time to give you heartache, Dad,” Sam replied, turning back toward him. “I was too busy taking care of Ry and doing my part on the ranch. Remember?”
    Robert set down his fork as he pushed his brisket away. “I know you didn’t have it easy, Sammy,” he said, meeting her eye. “What with me out traveling or working all the time.”
    “That what we’re calling it?” she replied, frowning. “You falling-down drunk the few times you were home is ‘traveling or working’?”
    Her father shot her a look. “I’m not going to make apologies for how I was after your mama died,” he told her, his tone brooking no argument. “You know I’m sorry for leaving you all those years. But that’s done now. I’ve been back in the saddle since you were sixteen.”
    Years too late. Sam sat back in the booth they shared, considering him. Despite all the hard living, her father was aging well, his tanned skin supple, dark eyes lined with character. He wore fine wool slacks and a custom shirt rolled up his forearms, skin still dark from summer at the ranch. Despite the obvious wealth, Robert Wyatt looked at home in this no-frills BBQ joint. Nothing like the sad, workaholic, whisky-doused authority figure she’d barely seen when she was Ryland’s age.
    “I find it odd that you’re so active and involved with Ry now, when I was the one doing the raisin’ all those years when he was little,” she pointed out, feeling contentious.
    “Better late than never,” her father replied, wiping his hands as he met her eyes. “I should have been a better father to you, Sammy. I know it and you know it. Can’t go back now, though,” he stated matter-of-factly, his expression frank. “All I can do is try to be better for both of you now.”
    Things had never been easy between them—not since her mother passed giving birth to Ry. But that didn’t mean she loved her father any less. If anything, Sam had worked hard all her life to gain his favor and his