I peel my sweaty running clothes off and jump in the shower. I stand under the water and try to wash off the thoughts of Ethan swirling in my head. I start a new job today, and I need to focus. I’m all over the place! Even the sight of a generic black pickup truck is sending me reeling.
I wash myself methodically, enjoying the billowing steam and the hot water of the shower. When I wash between my legs, a tiny thrill passes through me. I pause, and remember the way Ethan was touching me just twenty-four hours ago. My fingers move in slow circles, and I remember the way his breath was heavy in my ear. I remember his groans, and the way he grunted when he came. I remember his lips crushed against mine, and his hands all over my body.
The water is pouring down over me and I put a hand on the shower wall to steady myself. I’m panting again, and my fingers are moving faster and faster. When I come, I’m thinking of him. My body is shaking and I can hardly hold myself up, but I manage to turn off the shower and steady myself.
As I dry myself off with a thick white towel, I sigh. I wrap the towel around me and fall into bed, closing my eyes for a moment and groaning in satisfaction.
Even if it wasn’t Ethan’s truck parked in Lang Creek, I’m still getting some good mileage out of the thought of him.
I can’t enjoy the after-effects of my orgasm, because my phone rings. I drag myself out of bed and see my daughter’s face on my phone. I press the green button to answer, and a video call starts between us.
“Morning, Mom!” Audrey says. She has a huge smile on her face and I gasp.
“Your tooth!”
Audrey laughs. “I lost it this morning! Grandma says if I put it under my pillow, the tooth fairy will come and give me a dollar.” She glances behind her and comes closer to the camera. “But I know the tooth fairy doesn’t exist.”
“How do you know that?” I ask, my heart squeezing as I realize my little girl is growing up.
“Megan at school told me.”
“Ah, well don’t listen to everything Megan tells you.”
“She told me that I look ugly with my missing tooth,” Audrey says, and I see a flash of pain across her face. My heart squeezes again and I wish I were there to give her a hug.
“That was very mean of Megan,” I say, frowning. “You know you’re beautiful, Audrey, don’t you?”
Audrey makes a noise and doesn’t look at me. I frown again. “Is Megan mean to you often, Audrey?”
My daughter takes a deep breath and won’t look at the camera. I frown and sit up, holding the towel up on my chest.
Audrey shrugs and shuffles the phone in her hand. She shows me her tooth, turning it around in her hand and laughing. I smile, and my heart grows in my chest. We talk for a few minutes, and then she puts my mother on.
“Hey, Mom,” I say. “Did Audrey mention this Megan girl to you?”
My mom’s lips purse and I see her face cloud. She nods. “Doesn’t sound like a very nice girl. I’ve tried talking to Audrey about it but she gets really quiet when I try to press her.”
“I hope she’s not being bullied.”
“I’ll try to talk to her. How was your weekend? Did you go out for a drink on Saturday?”
“Yeah,” I reply. “It was nice.”
My mom nods, and I hear Audrey in the background. “I’d better let you go,” my mom says. “Love you, Zoe.”
“Love you too, Mom,” I reply.
We hang up the phone and I hold it to my chest. Yes, I’ve been lonely since Mark died, and yes, I loved Ethan’s attention. But at the end of the day, I’m here for my daughter. I’m making some money that will pay for her piano and soccer and start a small college fund for her. The next couple months working on this contract are important for me and most importantly, for my daughter.
I sigh and put my phone aside, rubbing my eyes and combing my fingers through my hair. I get up and finish getting ready. By the time I’m getting in my rental car, I’ve put all thoughts of Ethan aside. I’m going to go to the Ranger’s Station and start Day One of their new training. I’ll do the best possible job I can, and I’ll bring home a great paycheck for my daughter’s future.
Those words play back over and over in my mind until I pull up outside the Station. I feel calm, and confident, and focused. I’m ready to do this, even if it’ll be difficult.
When I get out of my car and head toward the small, green building, I catch a glimpse of a pickup truck parked on the side of the building. It’s the same one I saw this morning. I frown, and my heart starts beating faster. I keep walking toward the building, and grab the door handle with one hand. I glance at the black pickup one more time, and then pull open the door and step through.
8
Ethan
“So, who is she?” Bryan asks as I pour myself a hot cup of coffee.
“What?” I ask, glancing at him. “What are you talking about?”
He leans against the staff room counter and raises an eyebrow before shaking his head and chuckling. “Ethan, I’ve known you since you were four. I know the look you get when you’ve just gotten laid.”
My eyebrows shoot up and I try to look as innocent as possible. “What?”
Bryan laughs. “Was it Katie? She’s been wanting you since we were teenagers. Did you finally go for it?”
“Fuck off, Bryan,” I laugh, turning my back to him to hide my face. “Maybe I just had a good night’s sleep!”
He snorts and pushes himself off the counter. “Fine. If you don’t want to share, that’s fine. But you’ll tell me eventually.” He nods to the main office. “You ready for this new consultant today? Should be a fun couple months of someone new telling us how to do our jobs.”
“Ugh,” I groan. “I don’t see the point. We’ll just have to pretend to care what he says and go through this bullshit training. I can tell you for sure that there won’t be any more buildings burning down around here.”
Bryan laughs. The whole town knows that it was me, my brother, and Sheriff Whittaker that burned down the luxury hotel under construction last year. We did it to protect the town against the inevitable onslaught of tourists, and to prevent the McCoy family from owning the entire town. We have no plans of becoming full-time arsonists.
“One-time thing, hey?” Bryan chuckles. “Here I thought you were some badass vigilante.”
“Well, as long as a corporate hotel developer doesn’t try to set up shop here again, then yeah,” I grin. “It’s a waste of time and money, getting this consultant in.” And the last thing I need is someone digging up the past. The town might be supportive of the fire, but it doesn’t mean it was legal.
Bryan grunts and we head out toward the main room. Sandy is at her desk, with her hair tied into her usual tight bun at the nape of her neck and stern look on her face. She glances at Bryan and me and slides her glasses down to the tip of her nose.
“You two look like you’re up to something,” she says.
I shake my head. “Nothing, boss. Don’t worry. Just getting excited for this training.”
I guess my voice was a bit more sarcastic than I meant it to be, because Sandy stands up and puts her hands on her wide hips. She’s an imposing woman, standing almost as tall as me and just as strong. She takes a step toward me and raises a finger at me.
“Don’t you cause any trouble, Ethan Clarke. I know you think this training is bogus, but it’s compulsory. The Department mandated it after the fire.”
I sigh. “Sandy–”
She raises an eyebrow and I stop talking. My shoulders slump and I nod. “I’ll do the training.”
“Good. Now go get the conference room ready, we’ll have a meeting when she gets here.”
“She? I thought it was supposed to be a man.”
Sandy snorts. “If I had a nickel for every time someone assumed I was a man before meeting me, I’d be a very rich woman. No, Ethan,” she says as she looks at and snorts. “Zoe Randall is the best safety consultant in the country, and she is most definitely a woman.”
/>
“Zoe,” I repeat. My chest feels hollow and my eyes widen as I look at my boss. She frowns, and I feel frozen in place.
Could it be Zoe… my Zoe? The one from this weekend? The one that I thought I’d never see again? My heart starts thumping and a flurry of emotions washes over me. The thrill of excitement at seeing her again, and the sting of rejection mixed with the undeniable buzz of arousal.
Just then, the front door opens and everything moves in slow motion. I can feel every muscle in my neck as I turn my head. Every hair on my body is standing on end, and Sandy’s voice seems to reach my ears a moment too late.
My head is spinning. It can’t be her. There’s something wrong. My mind is playing tricks on me. If it is her, then we’ll be working together for the foreseeable future. I turn toward the door, and her body is silhouetted in the doorway. Her hair is tied back in a sleek ponytail, and she’s wearing thick Parks uniform pants and a tight top. My eyes roam over her body and my mouth goes dry.
Images flash through my mind. I see her on top of me, with her mouth falling open as she orgasms. I see the animalistic desire that burned through her when I first entered her. I see her body, naked and gleaming in the soft glow of my cabin at Long Lake.
And now she’s here. At my work. In my town. Poking her nose into the fire that I started.
“Zoe?” I say, but it comes out as a croak.
She looks just as shocked as I feel. She’s frozen in the doorway, mouth agape as she stares at me. We stay there, motionless, for what seems like an eternity. Part of me wants to run to her and wrap my arms around her and taste her kiss again and again, and another part of me wants to run far, far away.
She’s the safety consultant?! She’s the one who will be snooping around my life and my town?!
My heart is thumping, and it’s not until Sandy clears her throat that I snap out of it.
“Do you two know each other?”
Zoe jumps at the sound of Sandy’s voice and turns toward her, painting a watery smile on her face. She shakes her head. “No,” she answers, turning toward me. “I’m Zoe Randall.”
A pain passes through my chest when she says those words. No, she said. She doesn’t know me. A hot flash of anger passes through me and then dissipates when I see the pleading look in her eye.
I know it’s better this way. I know better than anyone how vicious the rumors in this town can be. It would be a disaster for her, too, to start working here with that kind of gossip following her.
Of course it’s better for us to pretend that Saturday night never happened. But still, it stings. Zoe extends her hand toward me and I clear my throat.
“Ethan,” I reply, taking her hand in mine. Her touch feels electric, and my cock throbs as I shake her hand. Even the touch of her skin sends a thrill through me. She swallows, and my eyes drift over the soft curve of her lips. She glances to Sandy and pulls her hand away. As soon as she moves away from me, she doesn’t look at me again. Her eyes avoid mine, and I stand in the middle of our office, stunned.
The air seems colder, and I can hardly focus. I stumble toward the bathroom and push the door in as the rest of them exchange pleasantries. I lock the door and turn on the tap to splash water over my face.
It takes me a few minutes to come back to myself. I stare at my face in the mirror, watching the droplets of water fall off my chin, and I grab some paper towels.
She’s here. She’s working with me.
This is either the best thing that’s ever happened or the absolute worst. Judging by her face and the stiffness in her shoulders when she saw me, she seems to be leaning toward ‘absolute worst’. I dry my face and toss the brown paper towels in the trash, square my shoulders and walk back out toward the main office.
It might be the absolute worst thing that’s ever happened, but it’s happening whether I like it or not.
9
Zoe
Once the shock wears off, the panic sets in. Has he told anyone? Will he tell anyone?
I’m supposed to be a professional. I’m supposed to have some distance, to be an impartial consultant and advisor. How could I ever do that if I’ve slept with one of the Park Rangers on the very first night I got here?
No, not just slept with a ranger. We tore at each other. We ravaged each other. There was very little sleeping involved.
I can still feel his hands on my body, and the feeling of his shaft buried deep inside me. Even the thought of it sends a shiver through my body. I can feel him watching me, and it’s making my whole body burn with desire.
I knew it was a mistake. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get away with a night of fun.
Sandy is looking at me over her black-rimmed glasses, which are perched precariously close to the end of her nose. One eyebrow is raised, and she has her hands on her hips. She towers above me and seems to be at least twice as wide.
I’d be lying if I said she wasn’t intimidating.
“So, Ms. Randall, welcome to our little town.”
She’s still studying me, and I nod and clear my throat. “Call me Zoe, please,” I start. Out of the corner of my eye I see Ethan ducking out of the room, and the tension inside me eases ever so slightly. “It’s great to finally be here.”
“We’ve set up the conference room for you. We’ll have a short staff meeting to bring you up to speed with what we have done since the fire. You can assess the steps that have been taken over the past year to make sure this doesn’t happen again. I’m assuming you’ve gotten a full summary of what happened?”
“Well, yes. I know there was a fire, and I know it was deemed to be arson but no charges were brought. Were there any suspects?”
Sandy clears her throat and mercifully takes her gaze off my face. She shuffles some papers on her desk and motions toward the conference room.
“Please,” she says. I decide not to press her about the fire. Instead, I follow her into the conference room and wait for the other employees to join us.
The last to arrive is Ethan. He slides in the door and takes a seat on the opposite end of the table to me. He avoids eye contact, choosing instead to play with a pen and keep his eyes glued on the table that separates us. I watch him run his fingers along the wood grain, and the motion of his hand reminds me of the way he touched me. I’m burning for him. This is going to drive me crazy.
My throat tightens and I regret denying that I knew him. Even from the opposite end of the room, I can almost feel the way his body was next to mine. His uniform is dark green, and looks like it was made for him. Every muscle presses out against his uniform, stretching the fabric and reminding me what it felt like to have his arms wrapped around me.
His broad shoulders are slumped, and his hair is falling in ringlets over his temples. I desperately want to touch him. I want to brush his hair back and rub his shoulders. I want to undress him, button by button, until I can see his gorgeous, naked body again.
Sandy clears her throat and I jump. Have I been staring at him?
“Thank you all for coming in this morning. I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of our team, Zoe Randall. Ms. Randall will be here for the next three months to consult on our safety and incident response procedures. We don’t want a repeat of the hotel fire.”
There’s a murmur in the room and I look around at the various faces. It’s an odd bunch. There’s Bryan, the young redhead who keeps stealing glances my way. He’s sitting next to Ethan and they seem to know each other quite well.
Then, there’s Eddie, the old man who has probably worked for the Parks for multiple decades. His uniform is so worn it looks almost beige now, instead of the pale grey and deep green that the others are wearing. He’s leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his protruding belly. One button has come undone near his navel, and I can see some long, wiry grey hairs poking out of his shirt.
There are two other women, Meghan and Lisa, about my age, and three other men whose names I don’t catch. The conference room is full, and the t
emperature is rising by the minute in the small, stuffy room.
I look back to Sandy and try to focus on what she’s saying.
“We haven’t had any rain in three weeks, so we need to be really vigilant about fires. The state has just issued a total fire ban, so when you do your rounds, be on the lookout for campfires or evidence of them.”
She points her finger down the long table to Ethan.
“Clarke,” she says. He jumps a bit and stands up straighter. He glances at me for a fraction of a second before nodding to Sandy.
“Yes, boss,” he says, waiting for her to continue.
“You’ll take Ms. Randall out to the old hotel grounds. You know as well as any of us what happened that night.”
Bryan and Eddie snort, and I shoot a glance their way. Bryan looks at me and quickly averts his eyes, while Eddie ignores me completely. I glance down at the buttons of his shirt that look dangerously close to popping open and revealing more grey belly hair.
Eddie slaps Ethan on the back. “Best man for the job,” he laughs as he stands up.
“Anything else, Sandy?”
“No, that’s it. Thanks.”
He waddles out the door, taking his stomach hairs with him. I stare at Ethan, who pointedly ignores my gaze. What did Eddie mean? Why would he be the best man for the job?
Has Ethan told them about us? Am I already the laughingstock of the entire office? He’s the best man to show me around since he already knows me so… intimately.
My cheeks are burning and my heart is thumping against my ribs. I keep my head down as the team files out of the room, leaving only Ethan, Sandy, and me behind.
“So, Ethan, take Zoe up to the grounds and show her where the fire took place. She’ll need a full site walk and a full account of what we know.” Sandy pauses, and I glance up at her. She’s got her mouth open, as if she’s going to speak, but then shakes her head.
The Clarke Brothers (Complete Series) Page 36
