Crash Into You (Dare With Me Series Book 1)

by J. H. Croix

  So I made that trip for him and for me. Now, I didn’t know if I would stay there or go somewhere else. Maybe I would come back here someday. I just didn’t know.

  “I love you, bear,” I whispered. We ended up calling him Brandon-bear, which shortened to bear when he was still a baby. The nickname stuck.

  I lingered for a few minutes before standing. As I drove to the airport, Flynn circled through my thoughts. He was always there, always feathering along the edges. Although I still felt uncertain about where my life might take me, I would go back and see what happened next.

  Pulling my phone out, I used voice to text to send a message to Flynn. I’ll be landing in Anchorage tomorrow.

  I wanted to say more, but it didn’t feel right.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Flynn

  “Flynn, I’m not a little girl. You’re being an ass,” Cat said, her cheeks red and her eyes practically spitting fire as she glared at me.

  “Cat, this is the second time you’ve skipped afternoon classes. Daphne isn’t here to pick you up, so you’ve got me. I thought you decided this guy was a jerk.”

  Cat suddenly burst into tears and turned away in her seat to stare out the window. She wrapped her arms tightly around her waist. God help me. I didn’t handle tears well.

  Nora was the first one Cat had texted with her dilemma, but she was at a doctor’s appointment this afternoon and wasn’t available. Nora had texted me right before I was supposed to take off for a tourist flight. Tucker had graciously taken over for me, and I’d zoomed over to pick Cat up at the address Nora texted me.

  Not knowing what to say to Cat and figuring anything I said was a bad option, I put my truck in gear and started driving home. After a few minutes, I said, “Look, I get that maybe you like him, and maybe you want to impress him. I’m guessing he pressured you again. You don’t have to tell me if I’m right, and personally, I’d prefer to be wrong. Maybe he’s not a total ass, but I’m guessing he wants to get laid because that’s what most guys wanna do when they’re his age and frankly, into their twenties and even later.”

  I heard Cat laugh a little bit, so I kept going. “You’re not allowed to hang out with him at all anymore. I’m sure you have feelings about that, but it is what it is. You already know you’re not supposed to skip class. You’re grounded for a week, and I’ll talk to the principal about what the school plans to do.”

  I drove along in silence, wishing Daphne were here. I knew from her text this morning she would be here tomorrow, but that didn’t seem soon enough.

  Cat wouldn’t even look in my direction. Every time I glanced toward her in the passenger seat, her head was turned to look out the window. She sniffled a few times, and my heart cracked with every sniffle. I hated, absolutely hated, seeing Cat hurt.

  She’d always been such a spirited girl. She wasn’t really a tomboy. Although in Alaska, she was typical. She knew how to manage a rifle, she’d helped me and Grant deal with a moose carcass once, she knew how to change the oil in my truck, and she was shaping up to be a great mechanic for our small planes. She knew her way around the woods and was savvy in the outdoors. She was all of that, and she was also very feminine. She liked to look good when it came to any kind of social activity.

  I wanted to kick this guy’s ass, but I knew Cat would be beyond embarrassed if I intervened. All I could do was tell her he was being a jerk and forbade her from going to his place again. Then I’d pray she wouldn’t. She might anyway. Depending on what else I learned, I might talk with his parents.

  Daphne had been with us for over two months before she left for Atlanta, and winter was nipping at the heels of autumn already. In that short time, it hadn’t escaped my notice that Cat opened up more easily with Daphne than the rest of us. Probably because like most teenagers, Daphne seemed more neutral and didn’t have the emotionally loaded connections of siblings. She was also the closest thing to a mother Cat had after our mom died. Nora and Cat were too close in age.

  Of course, the unwelcome distraction of Cat skipping school was barely enough to knock my brain off the loop of Daphne it had been playing.

  I wondered how she was doing. I didn’t even like to think about how much I missed her. I missed her.

  After we got back, Cat sequestered herself in her bedroom. I found Diego in the kitchen, rummaging in the large pantry. “Are you cooking tonight?” he asked when he straightened and saw me walking in.

  “Yup. Daphne flies in tomorrow.”

  “Thank God,” Diego muttered.

  He opened the refrigerator and snagged a beer. Looking my way, he held one aloft, his question unspoken.

  “Yes, please.” I caught the beer he tossed between us in one hand and reached for the bottle opener in the drawer right by my hip.

  “So Daphne’s actually coming back?” Diego mused before opening his beer and taking a long swallow.

  I nodded and walked into the pantry to figure out what the hell I was going to make for our guests tonight. “How does salmon fillets with rice and vegetables sound for dinner?” I asked as I returned to the kitchen with the rice already in hand.

  “Serviceable,” he replied.

  I rolled my eyes and snagged a package from the freezer with enough flash-frozen fillets for the group who was here this evening. When I started cooking, Diego helped. He was actually a solid cook himself, but I didn’t pay him to do that. I always appreciated it when he helped, though, because he had a better instinct for seasonings than I did.

  We worked quietly for a bit. Diego finished measuring the rice, and then commented, “Heard from Trey that you’re set to buy him out next spring. That all settled?”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorted out a loan with the bank. We could use another plane and his customers. We also get him for backup whenever he’s got time,” I replied.

  “Smart move.” Diego stepped to the sink to rinse his hands. I was adjusting the flame under the rice when he added, “Speaking of smart, you get smart yet about Daphne?”

  I ended up turning the flame up instead of down. Diego snorted and gestured with his elbow toward it as he dried his hands. “Fuck,” I muttered. After adjusting it properly, I looked toward him. “What do you mean?”

  “I think you thought she wasn’t coming back.”

  He was spot-on, and I hated to admit it. I’d thought she would leave and discover the life she had before coming here was the life she preferred. For a second, I was tempted to dismiss him, but like every guy who followed me here from my unit in the Air Force, I trusted Diego deeply and completely. He might give me shit and tease me, but he always had my best interests at heart.

  “You’re right.”

  “Sooooo?”

  “I don’t know, man. We’re from two different worlds.”

  “So are we, but you’re still like a brother to me. Dude, you grew up here. It’s cold and beautiful. I grew up in a baked landscape of Texas. I’ve fallen in love with the land here, and you’re like family to me. Don’t give me that bullshit about coming from different worlds. Lots of people come from different worlds, but in the end, it doesn’t matter.” He curled his fist and thumped it over his chest quickly. “That’s what matters.”

  My heart gave a rib-cracking kick as if it had actually heard Diego. I took a deep breath and paused to finish my bottle of beer. Tossing it in the recycle bin, I stirred the rice before replying, “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

  “Well, yeah, that’s obvious,” he teased. I rolled my eyes, and his gaze sobered. “I’ve never seen you the way you are about her. Be smart.”

  “Dude, I have zero healthy relationship examples. My mom was awesome and had terrible judgment in men. I never met my father, and my stepfather was an asshole who used her and was barely emotionally available for his kids.”

  Diego gave me a speculative look, his tongue pressing in his cheek, something he did whenever he was thinking. “I haven’t been in love, but before my parents died, they were madly in love ever since I
could remember. They were passionate about love and about fighting,” he offered with a chuckle. “They’d have done anything for each other. I wasn’t sure how you felt about Daphne until you didn’t tell her how you felt before she left.”

  Confused, I cocked my head to the side. “Huh?”

  “Maybe you didn’t think this consciously, but I think you chose not to tell her how much she meant to you because you were worried it would affect whether she went home and whether she decided to come back. You didn’t put your finger on the scale because you care enough that you want it to be her choice.”

  “Whoa, that’s deep,” Elias said as he walked into the kitchen, hearing the end of Diego’s comments.

  I cast him a glare, and he winked. He got his own beer out of the refrigerator before looking back and forth between us. “What would we do without Diego here to advise us on life and love?” he teased affectionately.

  Diego rolled his eyes. “Flynn’s stupid.”

  Elias cast me a penetrating look as his smile faded. “He’s right, you know?”

  Daphne was persistent at staying in my thoughts for the rest of the evening and into the night. Although she was always persistent. I had no willpower when it came to Daphne.

  That night as I lay in bed alone, my hand curled over my arousal for a moment. Perversely, I didn’t give in to the urge to satisfy myself. I needed Daphne.

  I also needed a dose of nerves. Here I thought I had nerves of steel because of my years in the military, yet a woman who maybe cleared five feet and was small enough for me to carry ten miles, intimidated the hell out of me.

  Chapter Thirty

  Flynn

  I waited just outside the security area at the airport. I’d replied to Daphne’s text to ask what time she would land, but all she’d said was she was renting a car. I’d been surprised to get an email to our business email from Daphne’s mother this morning. With Daphne’s travel itinerary, of all things. Her mother had also very politely asked if someone could pick Daphne up at the airport because she didn’t think Daphne would ask herself. Her mother was worried about her taking a long drive on her own even though she knew she’d already done it before.

  People started to file through the doors, cueing me that the flight landed. I waited impatiently to see Daphne’s auburn hair. Although she was short, I was tall enough to see over most of the crowd, and I didn’t miss the moment she came into my line of sight.

  My pulse started rioting, and that familiar electricity sizzled through my body. When she came through the glass doors, I stepped away from the wall. Her gaze was aimed down at the floor, so I took a moment to absorb her.

  She was wearing a blouse with a skirt and boots again, and my heart nearly kicked its way out of my chest. I forgot how damn cute she was in a skirt.

  “Daphne.”

  Her head whipped up. She looked the other way first, and it took several seconds for her gaze to land on me. But when she saw me, her eyes widened, and she crossed to me immediately. “Flynn,” she began, her tone wondering. “I didn’t know you were coming to get me. I was going to rent a car.”

  With emotion rushing through me, I found I couldn’t speak, so I just stepped closer and pulled her into my arms. She relaxed against me immediately, winding her arms around my waist and tucking her head into my shoulder.

  Resting my cheek against her hair, I simply breathed her in—the feel of her, the scent of her, just her. Her mere presence steadied me and helped me get my internal bearings again. She lifted her head, her eyes searching mine.

  “Your mom emailed and asked someone to come get you. I wanted to anyway, but you were kinda vague about your landing time.”

  I couldn’t hold back my chuckle when Daphne’s eyes widened comically. “My mother emailed you? Are you serious?”

  “Oh yeah. I’m glad because that was way better than showing up here and waiting all day. I didn’t know your connecting flight, so I wasn’t sure where you were coming from.”

  Her nose wrinkled, and she cast a sheepish smile. “I didn’t want to impose.”

  “I love it when you impose,” I said in a teasing tone, but I was dead serious.

  She bit her lip, her smile unfurling slowly. “It’s good to see you.”

  Someone bumped into her from behind. “Do you have luggage?” I asked, tucking her to my side as I turned.

  “Just one bag.”

  “Let’s go get it.” I couldn’t stop touching her, so I curled my hand around hers as we walked.

  “How was your trip?” I asked when we paused to wait near the baggage claim.

  She looked up at me with those gorgeous green eyes, her gaze thoughtful. “It was what I needed. It’s good to be back.”

  “It’s good to have you back.”

  With winter approaching, the days were getting shorter. We watched the sun make its glorious bow as we drove south along Turnagain Arm, where the road hugged the feet of the mountains on one side with the waters of Cook Inlet immediately to the other side of the road. The view was stark and stunning.

  “Oh, wow,” Daphne breathed as she looked ahead to the snow-covered mountain peaks stained by the setting sun in a translucent pink and lavender.

  “That’s alpenglow.” I felt Daphne look my way and glanced sideways briefly, getting a little jolt just from meeting her eyes before I brought mine back to the road. “It’s the reflection from the sun.”

  “It looks like termination dust has fallen,” she commented.

  “Princess, you sound like an Alaskan now talking about termination dust,” I teased.

  Because I couldn’t resist, I peeked her way again, quickly bringing my eyes back to the winding highway in front of me. That brief look was enough to see her cheeks stained pink.

  “Cat told me about it.”

  I chuckled. “Good. You know, you’ve come a long way since the day I found you waving in the middle of the road.”

  I felt rather than saw Daphne’s smile. “I’ve never been one to back down from learning something new. I like it here. However, I don’t see myself flying a plane or fighting off bears.”

  I laughed. “I might fly planes almost every day, but I’m not stupid enough to try to fight off a bear.”

  “How is Cat?” Daphne asked next.

  Taking a deep breath, I didn’t even try to hide my sigh. “I had to pick her up yesterday at that kid’s house. I grounded her for a week again, and she’s not allowed to go anywhere with him. She was crying, and it was awful. In fact, she locked herself in her room last night and hasn’t spoken to me since. She came out to go to school, so I actually saw her, but she refused to speak.”

  “Oh, Cat,” Daphne said, the empathy clear in her voice. “Being a teenager is miserable, especially a teenage girl.”

  “Can you please tell me why she would skip classes with him again? After what happened the last time, I don’t really get it. I did tell her that guys are kind of jerks, and they’re horny. I didn’t say it like that, though,” I added hurriedly.

  Daphne’s giggle made me want to stop driving and kiss her, but I didn’t. Darkness was falling as I continued driving.

  “I’m not Cat, so I don’t really know. Most teenage girls have poor self-esteem. There’s even research on this. Obviously, she liked this guy before, so he probably convinced her he wasn’t going to pressure her.”

  “But Cat is so bossy and strong and…” I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”

  Daphne reached over and squeezed my knee. The moment her hand moved away, I wanted it back. “It’s not that simple. Cat can be bossy and strong and confident in some areas and still not feel great about herself in other areas. We don’t live in a world that’s kind to girls. It’s particularly brutal when you’re a teenager.”

  “Soooo,” I began slowly, “it’s probably a bad idea if I show up at this guy’s house and give him hell?”

  “Absolutely. Unless he pushed her too far after she told him no. If that’s the case, you’re still goi
ng to be reasonable and talk to his parents. Even if he is an asshole, he’s only sixteen too. Did she tell you what happened?”

  “Did you miss the part when I told you she didn’t talk to me last night and this morning?” I asked dryly.

  This time, Daphne’s laugh was soft and understanding. “Got it. Do you think she’s talked to Nora about it?”

  “Nora said she didn’t. I was kind of hoping Cat would talk to you.”

  “Me?” Daphne’s voice squeaked, and she sounded startled.

  “Yes, you. It’s that thing. I might not have experience being a teenage girl, but I have experience being a teenager. I do remember that sometimes it’s easier to talk to people where there’s not as much—” I stopped talking abruptly because I didn’t know how to describe what I meant.

  “Emotional crap?” Daphne offered helpfully.

  “Yes, that. She trusts you. Do you mind trying to talk to her?”

  “Of course not, but not tonight. By the time I get there, it’ll be late, so I’ll try tomorrow. Maybe I can pick her up after school and take her for coffee or something.”

  “Whatever you think will work.” I was so relieved Daphne was willing to try to talk with Cat, I honestly didn’t care what she did.

  “Car rides are great because she can talk without having to deal with eye contact.”

  I chuckled. “True.” I paused before prompting, “So tell me about your trip.”

  Deafening quiet fell for a moment, and my heart started thumping erratically. I had enough sense to know her going home was filled with emotional landmines. As open and honest as Daphne was about what had happened, I didn’t know what she wanted to share with me. It was big, really big, for me to be trying to traverse this emotional territory.

  I almost sagged with relief when she spoke. “It was hard, but it was good. Since I know you haven’t seen the best of my mother, you might be surprised to learn we’re sort of at peace right now.”