Lies Read online

  LIES: Book 2 in The Oak Creek Series (Previously titled: Beneath the Surface)

  Copyright © 2019 by B. K. Stubblefield. All rights reserved.

  Second Edition: January 2022

  ISBN:

  Developmental edits: Sue Grimshaw/Edits by Sue

  Copy edits and proofreading: Sandy Ebel/Personal Touch Editing

  Cover Design: Kate Farlow/Y’all That Graphic

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locations, events, business establishments, or actual person—living or dead—is entirely coincidental. No portion of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Perfect Words and Music by Ed Sheeran, Copyright © 2017 Sony/ATV Music Publishing (UK) Ltd. All Rights Administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street, Suite 1200, Nashville, TN37219 International Copyright Secured. All Rights Reserved. Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard LLC.

  Love Happens Anyway

  -Rj Scott

  Author's Note

  Welcome back to Oak Creek, and thank you so much for purchasing LIES.

  In the first book, SECRETS, I spent so much time in Emily and Ryan’s head, I knew their story couldn’t end just yet.

  You may recall Emily as a sweet and independent woman with a stubborn streak a mile long. Although she adored her parents and her solid family upbringing, the best part of Emily’s childhood may have been the time she spent with her quirky aunt. So, when her Aunt Millie passes away, she drops everything to attend the funeral in the small town of Oak Creek. Never did she expect to inherit her aunt’s entire estate, including Bentley, her massive black Newfoundland dog.

  Just as she leaves the estate attorney’s office, an unknown driver bullies her off the road and sends her to the hospital. As doctors tend to her and a romantic connection develops with the handsome Ryan, a confirmed bachelor and Oak Creek resident, Emily racks her brain to figure out who would want her dead. When sparks fly between her and the Good Samaritan who provided comfort and cared for her dog, they team up to solve the mystery. Digging into the crime discloses a dark side to Oak Creek and long-held secrets nobody wants to be revealed.

  Emily and Ryan uncover a dreadful truth that brings their small town front and center into the news and their lives in grave danger.

  When the nightmare is finally over and Emily’s fallen for Ryan harder than she ever thought possible, Ryan struggles with demons from his past. In Beneath the Surface, find out if this confirmed bachelor will be able to squash their growing voices.

  Although LIES can be read as a standalone book, reading Secrets in Oak Creek first will give you more time with Emily and Ryan and the full impact of their life’s journey.

  I hope you’ll enjoy visiting with Emily and Ryan, and if you liked their story, please consider leaving a review at your preferred retailer or referring it to your family or friends.

  Thank you so much,

  B.K. Stubblefield

  Contents

  1. Chapter 1

  2. Chapter 2

  3. Chapter 3

  4. Chapter 4

  5. Chapter 5

  6. Chapter 6

  7. Chapter 7

  8. Chapter 8

  9. Chapter 9

  10. Chapter 10

  11. Chapter 11

  12. Chapter 12

  13. Chapter 13

  14. Chapter 14

  15. Chapter 15

  16. Chapter 16

  17. Chapter 17

  18. Chapter 18

  19. Chapter 19

  20. Chapter 20

  21. Chapter 21

  22. Chapter 22

  23. Chapter 23

  24. Chapter 24

  25. Chapter 25

  26. Chapter 26

  27. Chapter 27

  28. Chapter 28

  29. Chapter 29

  30. Chapter 30

  31. Chapter 31

  32. Chapter 32

  33. Chapter 33

  34. Chapter 34

  35. Chapter 35

  36. Chapter 36

  37. Chapter 37

  Chapter 1

  Ryan hunkered on the edge of the chintz-covered armchair, sliding his socked feet into his Chelsea boot’s burnished leather. Like most of the furnishings inside the home, he guessed the time-worn piece had experienced its glory days somewhere in the mid-seventies. His girlfriend, Emily, inherited the home from her aunt and had yet to do any remodeling, but personally, Ryan found the hominess of it oddly charming.

  Outside, a palette of magnificent orange and gold spread on the horizon, indicating one of those summerlike days that could pop up in Kentucky in late September. His photographer’s eye couldn’t wait to get some scenery shots. The energetic backyard chatter of animated songbirds chirped and trilled through the open window, a much more appreciated sound than the buses and sirens of New York.

  It was good to be home.

  Across the hall, the bathroom door opened and slapped shut. About to thrust his right foot into the boot, he glanced up when Emily hobbled into the bedroom with her left leg in the clunky walking boot, a t-shirt bra, and boy short panties, her damp hair twisted up and kept together by a large clip.

  Their eyes met in a muted exchange. Are you all right?

  A slight rise of Emily’s eyebrows and a nod of her head acknowledged his unspoken question. Her gaze jumped to the open window.

  “It’s going to be a gorgeous day.” She smiled. The gentle breeze of crisp morning air gave her goosebumps. She rubbed her arms as she moved toward the antique walnut dresser next to his chair.

  Though she hadn’t responded directly to what rested on his mind, her full smile revealed she’d taken a giant step toward emotional healing.

  Leaning into the chair, he gave her a mental high five. With a slow exhale, his pent-up tension released. Yes, Emily would be all right… eventually. Despite her lovely smile, he suspected it would take some time to close the emotional scars.

  Just three days ago, Emily and Ryan had poked their noses into some hazardous dealings they had no business investigating, but as the old saying goes, desperate times called for desperate measures. Nipping on the heels of a dogfighting operation on Joseph Maynard’s property certainly fit the definition of desperate. In hindsight, staking out an old barn on the outskirts of town like a pair of seasoned sleuthhounds hadn’t been a bright idea. Of course, they had cooked up an exit plan should they have to break away in a hot minute. Only their strategy collapsed under a mountain of danger neither of them could have expected. In an instant, Emily had vanished.

  Sucked into a black void.

  Abducted.

  Tucked inside in a single-wide trailer and tied to a ratty bed by her captor.

  While Emily tried to escape her bonds, Ryan frantically searched every dip in the terrain for a clue that would aid in finding her. Fortunately, a police task force swooped in under the cover of darkness. After it was all over and the operation shut down, the police had apprehended a drug bust that shocked Oak Creek’s citizens to their root.

  “Did you sleep all right?” Emily asked, carving through his pensive thoughts.

  Threading his fingers behind his neck, Ryan offered her a pleasant smile.

  “Well, babe, you didn’t hear that steam engine rolling through the room last night?”

  “No, I didn’t,” Emily huffed, tossing him a blazing glare.

  Last night, he’d shaken
her out of a nightmare once, so when she sawed logs like a master woodcutter, he only tapped her shoulder and couldn’t bear to wake her up when she continued to snore.

  He teased, expecting to draw a ha-ha out of her. Instead, when she reached into the dresser drawer and flung something at him, he ducked, barely escaping a soft rubber ball. Who in their right mind kept rubber balls in a dresser? The ball rebounded, and Bentley, Emily’s oversized Newfoundland, charged into the room.

  “Of course. Only you have balls in a dresser.” He snickered.

  “Watch it, mister.” Emily looked over her shoulder with her eyebrows pulled into a solid line, but a cheeky smile tugged at her mouth. “Tell me again the soft rhythm of my breathing sounds like a freight train, and I’ll be delighted to arrange your balls next to Bentley’s.”

  “Ouch.” Ryan frowned, though he loved the lighthearted banter. “I go for keeping them right where they are, babe, and if you want me to stick around another night, we can’t have them hopping around in a drawer.”

  Emily rolled her eyes.

  He finger-combed his black waves, wiggling a brow. Yes, her sassy attitude was coming back, and it eased his mind.

  Her back turned to Ryan, Emily rummaged through a drawer, plucked out a t-shirt, and held it up for inspection. I can & I will, the imprint read.

  “Yep... this is perfect,” she said, looking at the shirt as if it held magic powers.

  Ryan didn’t miss the pep zinging in her tone or the purpose ringing in her voice. He saw the steadfast resolution in the curve of her spine, and his rib cage melted with relief. This spunky woman slipped into his once die-hard bachelor heart just a little over a month ago. She’d been through a lot, and he wanted to support her any way he could.

  He was falling fast.

  “Excellent choice, baby,” he said when she turned her back to the dresser, then stepped away with the shirt in her hand. When she was next to his chair, his hands circled her waist and drew her onto his lap before the t-shirt slipped over her head.

  “Ryan!” Emily shrieked, giving him a playful slap. “I need to get dressed.”

  Destiny had given her one shitty hand on the heels of another, but this morning, Emily appeared determined to seize the day. This was a fork in the road, and something bright spiked his blood like an extra shot of oxygen. As she wiggled out of his grasp and bounced to her feet, the memories of what she’d encountered rushed into his mind and twisted his stomach anew.

  Although her gutsy resilience astounded him, Emily went through hell and back at the hands of Joe Maynard—a gambling, wife-beating, and drug-dealing criminal. He had stalked and trapped her after catching her snooping on his farm. On top of the drug dealing, the creep regularly provided a secure place for local dogfighters—it was all quite surreal for the little town of Oak Creek.

  Nightmares followed them both, Emily the most. Ryan had been at a loss, trying to figure out how to help her get past this ordeal. Did she want to talk about it? He’d probed, but she shook her head, not wanting to go there. He mentioned professional counseling, and she shut him down. Stubborn to a fault, Emily had stashed her feelings until last night—when the lid blew off and the veneer of her soul cracked. She’d broken down at last. The minute he understood what was taking place, his heart felt like a pincushion, pricked by thousands of needles at once.

  They’d been watching TV, an old Friends episode, the one where a co-worker ate Ross’s sandwich, and Ross wasn’t happy about it. He hadn’t noticed the wetness on Emily’s cheek until she suddenly flung an arm around his waist and planted her face in his chest. Everything she’d tightly wrapped on the inside for two days gushed out in great, shaking sobs as streams of water flooded from her eyes.

  Why or what in this episode had triggered the meltdown, he had no clue. Was it the drama Ross made about the sandwich? Not that Ryan cared what caused her to crash. The release was a balm to Emily’s fractured soul. Although he paid little attention to psychiatric babble, he perceived while she was coming unglued, she was also dealing with her darkest emotions.

  He’d folded her into his arms and rubbed circles on her back until the hiccups abated and her body quit shaking. Never had he felt so powerless or so guilty. Christ, why had he even contemplated the harebrained notion of playing amateur sleuth? He admitted getting into a few stupid situations in his time, but he’d failed Emily, and that sat on his mind like a ton of bricks. Had he paid closer attention to his surroundings, Joe would have been a hurting son of a bitch before he had a chance to set his grubby hands on her.

  Fuck… none of this should have happened.

  After Emily had been examined at the ER, a nurse gave her a mild sedative. Once he took her home and she’d settled into bed, he’d made it clear until she was ready to boot him out, she wouldn’t have to spend a single night alone in the big house, but after three nights of getting little shuteye, Ryan was antsy to collapse in his own bed again. Like the chair he was sitting in, the mattress on Emily’s bed was as lumpy as a sack of straw, and his back ached. Since her aunt had passed away in August, Emily had changed nothing inside the ancient farmhouse she’d inherited six weeks ago.

  “You and Bentley could hang out at my house until—” he added, turning serious.

  “No, Ry.” Emily whirled on her heels, cutting off his words. “I’ll be fine,” she smiled, softening her tone. I’m grateful you spent the last three days and nights with me, but I know you have things to do. Work for one. I understand it’s more difficult to work away from home, as you have.

  “Don’t worry, Emily.”

  “No, Ryan, I can’t let the memories of Joe get to me. I’ll be all right.” The striking deep hues of her cornflower eyes darkened as she clasped the t-shirt to her chest. Her gaze drilled into his.

  Even though her voice carried strong, he sensed a vulnerability behind the declaration that sounded a little like a self-pep talk.

  They’d been together since a car forced her off the road in late August, one week after she buried her aunt. He couldn’t have been prepared for the attraction he felt from the moment he carried her from the crashed vehicle. Maybe that was one reason he agreed to care for her dog while Emily recovered at the hospital. Afterward, their friendship grew, and instant chemistry blossomed. She rocked his world when mutual passion overrode his bachelor’s mind. For the past four weeks, they were inseparable. Filled with want, need, and the desire to spend all their time together, the romance was new, exciting, and intoxicating like a shot of fine bourbon. Although as close as they’d been, they were still testing boundaries, weighing the relationship.

  “Emmy, you don’t have to be so tough on yourself.”

  “Ryan.” Her voice was muffled as she pulled the shirt over her head. Tugging on the hem, Emily stepped to where Ryan sat with elbows on his thighs and propped her hand on her hip. “Honestly, I need to step out of this funk, so why not start today?”

  He saw the conflicted emotions travel across her face, but she held her head at a defiant angle and jabbed a finger into the air.

  “I can’t sneak around my home any longer, as if Joe wasn’t locked up.” With a sweep of her fingers, she pushed her hair behind her right ear. “I’d rather poke my eye out with an icepick than let this asshat slide under my skin one more day… or night.” Damn right, Emily was coming back to her old self, stomping and kicking. Despite Joe’s savage abuse, the fear and pain hadn’t tamped out her fiercely independent spirit.

  “All right, if you’re sure that’s what you want.” He gave her an encouraging smile. The image of Emily rising from the bottom of the emotional dumpster made him happy, though he was concerned this turnaround may be a bit too soon. Either way, it lifted the tension in his chest.

  “Dang it, Ryan.” Heat colored her cheeks pink. “What happened at the barn can’t turn me into mush with fear. I won’t let it. Joe’s in jail, and I don’t want to think about him anymore. I won’t be a fearful, scared girl, afraid of her own shadow. I need to deal with this
now before it gets the best of me.” As if to emphasize her point, she tossed a handful of hair over her shoulder. “Please, tell me you understand.”

  “Emily, I understand, but maybe you should slow down a bit. I just want to be here for you, babe, if you need me.” Ryan guessed her fierce reaction came on the heels of his offer to stay another night. His warrior woman was captivating. With flames sputtering in her eyes, she looked so freaking sexy with her boy shorts peeking from under the t-shirt and the flush rising up her chest. She was driving him crazy.

  Ryan wasn’t so sure he wanted to sleep without Emily snuggling into him tonight, but he accepted her need to mark a turning point.

  Emily’s show of temper exhausted as swiftly as it had flared. With a lift of her chin, the beginning of a smile tipped the corners of her mouth.

  “I’m sorry, Ry, I just lost it for a second. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. Forgive me? I just want to get this nightmare behind me.” She nodded toward Bentley, who’d spread out in his corner spot. “I will admit, though, I feel better having my security guard sleeping right next to me.”

  Ryan speculated whether she was trying to reassure him or herself.

  “Okay, Ryan, what’s with the grin? What’s so funny?”

  A gleam stole into his eyes. “You, babe.” Mindful of her bandaged wrists, he drew her back onto his lap with strong but gentle hands.

  “Ry,” she yelped, but this time, she wiggled her bottom and coiled into his embrace.

  “Seriously, Emmy? Let me get this right,” he said, nuzzling her neck. “You’d rather sleep next to your hairy bodyguard than with me? How can you be so heartless?” Drawing back, he searched her eyes and feigned shock.

  With the tension dissipated, Emily chuckled at his antics.

  “I’m okay. I’m truly sorry for snapping at you. I just think there’s no better time than the present to get back on track. Besides, I know you have a lot of work to catch up on.”