Chapter Twenty-Three

Bethany shivered against the cool morning air and pulled the blanket tighter around her as she snuggled against the hard, warm body next to hers. She breathed in the scent of wildflowers and then opened her eyes to see the misty morning dawning in the mountains. She turned her head and looked at Andrew's sleeping face, then down at his bare chest. It was broad and muscled and there was that mole on his collarbone.....

Wait just a second! Why wasn't he wearing clothes and why did she find that mole familiar!? Exactly what the hell had happened last night?! Oh God, her papaw was going to KILL her!!!

Andrew's brown eyes opened and he smiled sleepily at her, "Good morning, beautiful," he mumbled as he slid her hair behind her ear.

Bethany jumped to her feet, keeping the blanket tight around herself, which of course left Andrew lying there naked in all his glory. And boy was his glory something.....

She shook her head to clear that thought! This man had gotten her drunk and had all but raped her! He had taken advantage of her, gotten what he'd wanted and now he'd just see her as a whore he could get into bed whenever he wanted! What had she done? She'd been saving her innocence for love and Andrew had taken it!

"What did we do?!" she demanded, forcing her eyes back to his face. Andrew looked hurt as he stood up and quickly found his pants, "You don't remember?" he asked as he pulled them on.

Oh Bethany remembered alright. It had been hot. It had been intense. It had felt better than anything she'd ever felt in her life. But she had also been drunk and he had known that and he had taken her anyway. She would never have given into him so quickly if he hadn't given her that whiskey. If he hadn't insisted that they go swimming while wearing next to nothing....

"I remember you giving me whiskey and getting me drunk so that you could have your way with me," she snapped.

Andrew shook his head as he rubbed the back of his neck. What was she talking about? He hadn't done anything in hopes of taking advantage of her. Sure he had hoped the whiskey would loosen her up some but she was the one that had practically thrown herself at him and said 'I want you, Andrew.' He had even asked her if she was sure and she had said yes. He hadn't done a damn thing wrong.

"Bethany, I don't understand why you're so upset. Why don't you lay back down here now. It's still early and we have plenty of time to enjoy the morning together." For the first time that Andrew could ever remember he had woken up peaceful. He hadn't felt a single bit of restlessness. There hadn't been any urge to get up and run like he always felt every single second of the day. Holding her warm body, feeling her breath on his skin, he had been completely content for the first time in his life.

And then she had shot out of his arms like a bullet from a gun and taken that feeling away.

"You don't understand?!" Bethany demanded, wishing he'd put his shirt on so she could focus on something other than that damn body. She'd never seen a body like his except for on television and hadn't known that 'regular' men could have one.

"No," he replied as he rubbed his palms over his thighs and began to pull on his boots.

"Do you always get innocent girls drunk so you can have your way with them? I am not some common whore, Andrew!"

Bethany was taken aback by the anger that flashed across his face. Hadn't he told her that he didn't have a temper? "You're gonna stop talkin' like that right now!" he exclaimed as he started toward her with his finger pointed. "Just so you know you were my first innocent woman and you wanted me just as bad as I wanted you and you weren't that drunk. You could have said no and I would have stopped because I ain't the type of man that would take advantage of a woman!"

"Just go for a walk so I can get dressed," Bethany snapped. Tears were coming soon. She could feel them. Tears of shame. Tears of sadness. Tears of frustration. She had thought she'd found a good man in Andrew but he had only wanted her for one thing. She should have known. All that talk about how beautiful she was; about how she made him feel more peaceful. She should have realized those were just pretty words meant to get her to drop her guard and give him what he wanted.

Andrew threw his hands in the air, thoroughly confused and frustrated. He didn't know what the hell he'd done wrong! All he wanted was to maybe hold her in his arms, feel that peaceful feeling in his soul again and watch the sun come over the mountain and burn through the misty morning together. But instead she was roaring mad because they had made love the night before.

Andrew wished she could see how much holding her had meant to him. She was all he wanted. Sure they didn't know everything there was to know about one another but she was kind (usually), soft, sweet (normally), tender and yet tough to put up with everything she put up with from her family. She made him feel better, she could cook like nobodies business and she didn't seem too bothered by his hyperactivity the way everyone else was eventually.

With his shoulders slumped he scooped his damp shirt out of the wet grass, grabbed his gun belt and walked off toward the woods with his back to her. He hooked on his gun belt and slid into his shirt and then began picking up rocks and acorns and throwing them into a hole in a nearby tree. After what seemed like an eternity he heard Bethany call for him. He turned and ran quickly back to camp, tripped over a root and went wind milling across the clearing before catching himself on a small pine tree. Andrew looked up with a grin, knowing that Bethany would be smiling behind her hand but she wasn't. She had her back to him and was gathering up their picnic supplies.

Andrew felt real fear as his heart twisted in his chest, "Bethany?" he said gently.

she kept her back to him but held her hand up, "Don't. I'm going to take you home only because I'd feel guilty leaving you out here with no car, no phone and no real idea of where you are but don't talk. If you speak then I will leave you."

Andrew crossed his arms over his chest and his shoulders slumped even further. He went to the car, jerked open the door and flung himself inside, slamming the door behind him. For someone who didn't ever seem to defend herself against others, Bethany sure didn't have a problem fighting with him and tearing his heart out.

The ride back to Nicole's was tense and silent. Andrew's boots were tapping on the floor and his fingers were tapping on his legs as his knees bounced.

Bethany pulled up to Nicole's, the misty morning was silent and she didn't look at Andrew, "Bye, Andrew."

"Bethany, I wish you'd....." he started pleadingly.

"Bye, Andrew," she said more sternly.

Andrew sighed and got out of the car and Bethany slung gravels as she turned the car quickly and rode out of sight. Andrew stood there, watching the dust that she'd made swirl in the air and then he heard the door to the house open behind him.

"Andrew?" Cavanaugh's voice reached his ears.

Andrew turned slowly and kicked at the gravel with his scuffed up boot, "Good morning, Cav," he mumbled.

Cavanaugh scratched at his bare stomach and yawned sleepily even as he frowned at his youngest brother. It was barely six in the morning and Andrew was just now getting home? He looked sadder than Cavanaugh could ever remember him looking, other than when their mother had laid dying.

"What's wrong, Andrew?" he asked and then he heard footsteps on the porch behind him and without having to turn and look, he knew it was Nicole.

"You're just now getting home?!" Nicole demanded. "Please tell me that nothing happened between you and Bethany! Please tell me that I'm not going to end up shot by 'Baby'!"

Andrew shrugged and swatted at an invisible gnat that kept swarming around his ear, "I won't let him shoot you," he mumbled. He walked toward the porch and pushed between the two of them as he made his way to the couch and then flopped down stomach first on the tan cushions.

"What did you do, Andrew?" Nicole asked as she and Cavanaugh came back in and joined him in the living room. Cavanaugh motioned for her to sit in the chair and he stood leaned against the wall behind her.

"Nothing," Andrew replied as he fingered the tousles on the throw pillow.

"What happened yesterday?" Cavanaugh asked.

Andrew sighed and sat up, "We had a great time!" he exclaimed, "We had a picnic, we walked, we talked, we got to know each other. That girl is something special!"

Nicole frowned, "Something else must have happened because it's six in the morning, you're just getting back and you look like someone kicked your puppy."

"I had a puppy once that Ian did kick," Andrew replied as he tapped his fingers on the coffee table.

"I heard my name..." Ian mumbled as he stumbled into the living room looking like death warmed over. His dark hair was disheveled, his eye was blacked and his face was pale. He pressed his fingers against his temples and squinted at Nicole. "Could I get some of that Tylenol you gave Cav yesterday? My head hurts." he whined.

Nicole shook her head, "Nope."

"Why the hell not?" he pouted.

"If you want one it will cost you one hundred and fifty dollars," she added.

Ian frowned, "Holy shit! Why so much?" he exclaimed.

"Because that's how much I had to pay Earl last night for all the alcohol you drank at the bar!"

Ian grinned sheepishly and headed for the kitchen, "Sorry 'bout that. I didn't drink all of it. Some of it was for other people."

Nicole rolled her eyes and looked back at Andrew, "Please tell me that you and Bethany didn't... you know..."

"Bed each other," Cavanaugh filled in the blank when he realized Nicole seemed to be having trouble. She turned her head and smiled gratefully up at him and then turned back to Andrew.

Andrew's face flushed red and he rubbed his neck, "Yeah, we did... She was tense so I gave her a couple shots of whiskey and then she started to loosen up and we went swimming and then we kissed and then she said she wanted to... you know.. and so we did and then we fell asleep in each others arms. Then this morning she wakes up, accuses me of taking advantage of her and basically says she never wants to see me again!" Nicole could hear the sadness and desperation in Andrew's voice as he stood and began pacing the living room.

"You idiot," Cavanaugh grumbled.

"What the hell did I do?!" Andrew exclaimed.

Nicole covered her face with her hand, though she spread her fingers wide so she could peak at him, "Bethany is a good girl, Andrew. She is... was innocent. She had never even kissed a man and she had certainly never had whiskey!"

"I know, Andrew replied as he walked over to the stone fireplace and picked at the rocks.

icole glared at him, "You knew all that and you still gave her whiskey and then laid with her anyway?!"

"Why is that bad?" Andrew asked.

Cavanaugh stepped forward, laying a hand on Nicole's shoulder to cut off the angry rant he had a feeling was coming, "Andrew," he started. "I can tell that you care about that girl."

"I do," Andrew replied. "I've never felt this way before. She makes the noise stop up here," he put his finger to his temple. "She makes me feel peaceful," he added as he slumped back down on the couch. Ian walked back in then.

"I don't see how what Andrew did was wrong," Ian stated as he popped the top on a can of soda. "The woman offered it and he took it, there's no crime in that."

Nicole glared at him and Cavanaugh looked hard at Andrew, "Don't listen to Ian. Ian is an idiot. Ian couldn't treat a lady right if you threatened his life."

"I've treated more women than you have, big brother," Ian countered. Cavanaugh growled, "A real man only treats one woman, Ian," he stated and then he looked back at Andrew. "You never should have gone that far with her Andrew. You hurt her trust. She probably thinks all you wanted from her was a quick rut and now you'll think she's an easy woman you can bed whenever you want to. Or she'll think you don't want anything else from her after last night."

Nicole stared up at Cavanaugh and wondered how he seemed to understand women so well. Most men would agree with Ian's point of view. Cavanaugh noticed her stare and smiled at her, "I had a wife. I had to learn these things."

"That and he's always been the more sensitive man out of the bunch," Ian teased earning himself a glare from Cavanaugh.

"But none of that is true," Andrew insisted, "I do care about her. Hell I might even love her. I didn't mean to take advantage of her but hell I'd had quite a bit to drink out of that flask too and all I could think of was her kissing me and..... I blew it."

"You need to talk to her," Nicole said gently. "Tell her what you just told us. Tell her that you care about her and that last night meant everything to you. Make sure she understands it wasn't just....."

"Rutting?" Ian offered.

Nicole stood up and punched him hard in the arm, "I've about had it with you," she warned, pointing up at his face.

Ian grinned charmingly and wrapped his arms tight around her, pulling her body against his. She glared up at him but he just smiled and smoothed her messy hair from her face, "You know you love me," he assured her.

Nicole heard Cavanaugh mumbling behind her and she swung her knee up, stopping centimeters from Ian's most prized physical attribute. Ian's face paled, his smile disappeared and he swallowed hard, "Hands off, McEllis," Nicole warned and he nodded and let her go.

"Will you take me to the ranch?" Andrew asked Nicole, ignoring Ian's antics.

"Later. Let her cool off for a while," she replied. "I have to get dressed and run into town in a few hours to do some errands and when I get back I'll let you call Bethany and speak to her on the phone. If she wants to see you then I'll take you over there."

Andrew nodded and then he frowned as he realized his brothers were sporting new wounds. Ian's lip was split and his right eye was black and Cavanaugh's cheek was welted.

"What happened to you guys?' he asked.

"Long story," Ian replied quickly. "Let's just say we were defending a woman's honor," he added with a wink in Nicole's direction.

Cavanaugh snorted, "I was defending a woman's honor. Ian just messed with the wrong man's woman again."

Andrew shook his head and smiled for the first time all morning, "Aren't you ever gonna learn?" he asked.

Ian shrugged, "Probably not."