Love So True Read online

  Love So True

  The Lawson Brothers: Book Two

  By

  Marquita Valentine

  Love So True

  Copyright © 2015 by Marquita Valentine

  Kindle Edition

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

  Cover Design by Lindee Robinson

  Models: Ahmad Kawsan & Natalia Grace

  Professionally Edited by Cynthia Shepp

  Content Editing by Autumn Hull

  www.marquitavalentine.com

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  More Books by Marquita Valentine!

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  Love so Irresistible – coming in March

  Love So True

  The Lawsons

  Book 2

  Finally, Lucas Lawson is a free man. After serving five years in prison for embezzlement, he’s come home to Jessamine to right the wrongs he committed against his friends and family. But it won’t be easy. For starters, the brother he’s looked up to his entire life wants nothing to do with him, and no one in town trusts Lucas enough to give him a chance to make amends. Until Bailey Yates gives him a job at her family’s diner.

  Single mom Bailey Yates has had enough of bad boys to last her the next eighteen years. She’s always been a sucker for them, and Jessamine’s ultimate bad boy, Lucas Lawson, is no exception. So, when he returns to town, naturally she’s drawn to him. And naturally, she must avoid him at all costs—no matter how sexy he is. She’ll give him a job, and keep her distance…until Lucas saves her son from a hit and run.

  Bailey gives Lucas a hope for the future he hasn’t allowed himself to feel in years while Lucas melts Bailey’s heart every time he spends time with her son. Could he be the one to put her life back together? But when Lucas is accused of stealing from a local charity, Bailey must decide to support him or realize that some men are too good to be true.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  More Books by Marquita Valentine!

  About the Book

  Epigraph

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Epilogue

  About Love So Irresistible

  Read More Books by Marquita Valentine

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  To second chances and forgiveness. Everyone deserves a shot at both.

  Prologue

  ‡

  Finally, Lucas Lawson was a free man. He was also broke, hungry, and three hundred miles from home. But, there was no one he could call.

  He grimaced as he pushed his empty wallet into his back pocket. Well, there were some people he could call, but he’d put his parents through enough with his poor decision-making skills. And, his pride wouldn’t let him call his brothers.

  So, he shrugged on his jacket—a jacket that was too big in some places and too tight in others—pulled his knit cap on his head, and began to head east.

  The day was perfect, sunny, and a little chilly. After today, he would have to nap during the day and walk at night to keep from freezing in the mountains.

  Twenty-four hours passed as he walked, then thirty-six, and he began to grow weak with hunger. A diner was only three miles ahead. If he could make it there, then maybe he could work off a meal. He quickened his steps.

  Finally, he reached the small diner. It reminded him of Yates’ diner back home, and he wondered if there would be a beautiful waitress working there—one with long, dark hair and big, brown eyes.

  Bailey Yates.

  He had no idea why her face came to mind. He had kissed her once on a hot summer night right before he left to go to college and that was that. She’d stayed in Jessamine to run her family’s diner. But what he remembered about her the most were her eyes. She’d always had kind eyes. And kindness was something he hadn’t experienced in the past five years.

  He knocked on the delivery door in the back and waited. Hopefully, whoever was in charge would open it and give him a chance to talk.

  The door squeaked open. An older man with black hair and sharp, brown eyes assessed him. “Can I help you, son?”

  Remembering his manners, Lucas pulled off his hat. “Yes, sir. I was wondering if you had any jobs I could do in exchange for a hot meal?” He swallowed his shame. The last time Lucas was on the outside, he’d been dining in restaurants that featured fifty-thousand-dollar burgers.

  “Where you from?”

  “The coast—inner banks. A small town called Jessamine. My family lives there.”

  The man nodded. “Heard tell of that place. Who’re your people?”

  “Lawsons.”

  “Heard tell of them.”

  Lucas lowered his gaze. “Sir, I don’t want to take up your time if you don’t have any work.”

  “Seems mighty strange for a man with a family your size to be walking alone and hungry. Even stranger for you to be walking in that fancy suit and shoes.”

  Lucas allowed himself to feel the pain of the blisters on his feet. The Armani slipper style had been an excellent choice for the city, but walking down a country road through the Appalachian Mountains—not so much.

  “Yes sir,” was all he said. If he told the man where he’d been, then he would have no chance of any job.

  “Let me see that toboggan of yours.”

  With a thick sigh, Lucas handed it over. He was done. The knit cap was issued by the prison and even had the stamp inside to prove it.

  “Did you kill a man?”

  Lucas’ gaze jerked upwards. “Almost.”

  “What stopped you?”

  “I wanted to go home.”

  “He attacked you first?”

  Lucas took another breath. “No sir. I heard what he was planning to do to me once it was lights out, so I struck first. Then, right before I was paroled, another man tried to pick a fight with me. I laid him out cold.”

  The man handed his toboggan back, and Lucas shoved it down over his head. “Thank you for your time, sir.” He turned to wal
k away.

  “Need someone to sweep and mop the kitchen. Bus the tables. I’m one short today.”

  Lucas froze. “I can do that,” he said slowly.

  “When’s the last time you ate?”

  “Three days ago.”

  The man shook his head. “Let’s get you something to eat first, son. Then you can work it off.”

  Lucas grabbed the man’s hand and shook it. His fingers were shaking with effort. “Thank you, sir.”

  “I’m Washington, but you can call me Pops. Everyone does.”

  “Lucas. Lucas Lawson.” He followed Pops inside. The aroma of food filled his senses, nearly overwhelming him. “Smells good.”

  “Sweet Momma is the best cook in four counties,” Pops said.

  Sweet Momma turned slightly and gave him a wink. “Five counties and don’t forget it.”

  Pops chuckled, patting her on the butt. “I won’t.”

  She swatted at him with a spatula, but there was a sparkle in her eyes. “That’s what you said the last time.”

  Homesickness hit him hard. It was obvious Sweet Momma and Pops were a couple, and their banter reminded him of his parents. Parents he hadn’t seen in four and a half years.

  “Last time, it was three counties and you said four.”

  “Oh hush.” She went back to cooking, stirring something in a pot that smelled so delicious and home cooked that Lucas wanted to dive into it.

  “Sit down and I’ll get you today’s special,” Pops said as they entered the main dining room. It was cozy and half-full of people. “Lunch crowd is gone, so there are plenty places to pick from.

  Lucas shook his head. “I need to work for it first.”

  “Boy, you look like a gentle breeze could blow you off the side of the mountain.” Pops pointed to a barstool. “Sit. Eat. Then work.”

  Though he wanted to argue, Lucas sat down. “Yes, sir.” A plate of fried fish, okra, and a fruit salad was placed in front of him. He ate it and then three more plates, his belly rumbling.

  Once he was full, he drank down some coffee and made a beeline for Pops. “I’m ready, sir.”

  “Bus the tables first, then sweep and mop.”

  Despite feeling a bit sluggish, he hurried to get his work done and finished in no time. His energy was up, and he felt like he could conquer the world. After a nap. But, he didn’t have time to sleep. Night was falling, and he had to go.

  “Thank you, Pops,” he said, heading to the front door.

  “Wait a minute son,” Pops said. “You forgot something.” Pops handed him a container of food and some cash.

  Lucas wanted to cry at the sight of it. “I didn’t earn this.”

  “I know you didn’t, but son, God set you in my path today for a reason.”

  Blue eyes met brown. “I didn’t believe in God for a long time while I was in prison.”

  Pops nodded. “It happens to the best of us.”

  “I’m the worst of us,” Lucas said. “I was sent to prison because I helped defraud people out of their hard-earned money.”

  “We all make mistakes.”

  “I hope my family is as understanding as you are.”

  Pops smiled, pounded him on the back a couple of times, and said, “Give them time. If it doesn’t work out, you can always come back here.”

  “Thanks.”

  Lucas said his last goodbye and headed outside, tucking his money in his front pants pocket and his container of food in his coat pocket. By his calculations, he was walking about thirty-six miles a day, which meant he would be home in eight days. Three had already passed, so he had a week to go. If he were careful, he could spread out the money Pops gave him and be able to eat at least once a day.

  With new determination, Lucas started walking, but the closer he got home, the more nervous he got. Not even Pops’ kindness bolstered him anymore.

  Just on the outskirts of town, Lucas spotted the bright red mailbox that marked his parents’ farm. The path to their house was long, dusty, and at times, full of deep holes, until one of the boys fixed them. And by boys, his parents had always meant him or his brothers.

  He heard music as he walked. It couldn’t be for him because no one knew he was coming home, and even if they did, they certainly wouldn’t throw him a party.

  Unlike the prodigal son story in the Bible, no fatted calf would be butchered for him. His father would not run to meet him and tell him he was glad he was home.

  He had shamed his family in the worst possible way. He’d even taken their money and invested it in schemes that had lost everything.

  Lucas made his feet keep moving. He made his chin stay tilted up. He wouldn’t be prideful, but damn if he would show up with his tail between his legs. He’d done wrong, but he’d paid the price.

  “Lucas?” he heard someone say.

  The music stopped.

  A whole crowd of people he did and didn’t recognize stared at him. His older brother, Brody, looked like he was seeing a ghost. Sydney was by his side, just like she always was, but his arm was wrapped around her. There was a ring on his finger—a wedding band. And, holy shit, Sydney had one, too. Not only that…He peered closer at them—she was pregnant.

  “Lucas,” his mother screamed. She came rushing forward, tears streaming down her eyes. “My baby.”

  His dad was right behind her, crying just as hard, and his arms were wide open. “My boy. My son.”

  Lucas didn’t know what to do, so he just stood there as they wrapped their arms around him. They fussed over him and kept hugging and kissing his cheek while he just stood there, too overwhelmed to do anything.

  “Say something, you dirty bastard,” Brody growled. “This is Mason’s homecoming party, and I’ll be damned if you ruin it.”

  He looked at his brother, and then at his parents. “I,” he began, ready to say he made a mistake, but then Bailey Yates emerged from the crowd of people, her eyes just as kind as they’d ever been.

  She kept gazing at him with no judgment, only kindness, and like a man starving, he mentally seized that gaze and made it his own.

  Bailey smiled.

  That did it. He wasn’t going anywhere. He wanted to know why she could smile at him like that, even after he’d stolen her parents’ retirement, too. Unless she didn’t know.

  “I’m home.” He turned his attention to the brother he had hero-worshipped all his life. He knew Brody was pissed, more at himself than Lucas. He took it personally. Reason number two he needed to stay. He had a lot to make up for.

  “I’m home for good.”

  “The hell you are,” Brody snarled.

  Lucas held up his hands, trying to calm his usually levelheaded brother down. “I understand that you’re upset, but—”

  “Upset is not the word to describe how I feel right now.”

  Sydney touched Brody’s arm. “Why don’t you let Lucas and your parents talk things out? We can go home and finally watch that thriller with Christian Romanov in it.”

  His older brother’s jaw flexed. Lucas might have been gone from Jessamine for over seven years, but he knew that if anyone could get Brody to listen to reason, it was Sydney. However, the fact that the two of them had gotten married…His mind was completely blown.

  “Yeah. We’ll do that.” His features relaxed a bit. “But no swooning over Romanov.”

  “Swooning?” his younger brother Tristan said with a smirk. “Isn’t that beyond a fireman’s vocabulary? Big hose. Fire. Water. Extinguish.” Tristan’s smirk widened. “Sorry. Put out.”

  “Like you would know what do with the big hose I carry.”

  “Don’t have to know. Besides, I like a delicate touch on my big hose.”

  “It’s not a comparison, boys,” his dad said.

  Brody scowled at Tristan, but Lucas could tell he didn’t mean it. It made Lucas’ heart twist in his chest. There was no way Brody would ever joke with him like that anymore. It would be a miracle if Brody ever talked to him again.

  And
Lucas stopped believing in miracles a long time ago.

  Chapter One

  ‡

  It wasn’t every day that Jessamine’s most infamous bad boy came home. Especially not for good. Hardly anyone who actually left Jessamine for the bright lights of a big city ever came back. Sure, they visited but over time, the visits became less frequent until they stopped coming at all.

  Bailey Yates took one last, lingering look at Lucas, and forced herself to walk away. It was time she went home. The party had to be over.

  Men like Lucas Lawson, with their sexy lips and powerful strides, never came back. Even without his very disreputable past, Lucas would have everyone talking soon. When he had been convicted of embezzlement, the local paper and news station couldn’t shut up about it.

  Her own parents couldn’t stop talking about it. No one could because Lucas had stolen a lot of money from a lot of hard-working people under the guise of investing it for them. Worse, people trusted Lucas because he was a Lawson, had gone off to college, and presumably grown out of his bad boy ways.

  It stood to reason that half the town would be standing on the front porch steps of the Lawson home come tomorrow.

  Then again, she shouldn’t be interested in any bad boy who found their way home. Only, bad boys had always been her weakness. She found their attitude, their swagger, and the motorcycles they usually drove irresistible. In fact, they were worse than chocolate pecan pie topped with whipped cream. At least, she could indulge in that sinful treat without permanent consequences.