Engaging the Enemy

by Reese Ryan

  Cricket barked, then jumped into the back seat when Kayleigh opened the door for her.

  “Guess that means she is.” Kayleigh closed the door behind her and opened the driver’s door. She stared at Parker, who’d already gotten in on the passenger side. “I was up late finishing a few orders before our trip. Interested in driving?”

  “You’d trust me to drive the Cricketmobile?” He straightened his glasses.

  “We both know that, of the two of us, you’re the safer driver.” Kayleigh tossed Parker the keys and they traded places. She strapped on her seat belt.

  Parker got into the driver’s seat. He reviewed the location of the turn signals, windshield wipers and hazard lights. Then he asked about the brakes and inquired about when the oil was last changed. Kayleigh was starting to regret her decision to let Parker drive, but then he finally pulled onto the road.

  They’d been driving in silence for a bit when Kayleigh summoned the nerve to broach the topic they were both avoiding.

  “So, about that day at your parents’ place...” It was a lame but effective opening line. “That was weird, right?”

  Parker tightened his grip on the steering wheel and his expression tensed, but he didn’t take his eyes off the road.

  “It’s weird that a guy would want to kiss you?”

  “It’s weird that you’d want to kiss me. It’s not like you’re my biggest fan.” She studied his expression, hating that she could only see half of it.

  “I’m not the one who declared war, Kayleigh.” There was a sadness in his tone that stabbed at her chest. “But to your point, it wasn’t something I set out deliberately to do. It just sort of...happened.”

  “That’s why I thought we should talk about it before we spend the next two weekends together.” Kayleigh tried to keep her tone upbeat. “Because I think it’s best if we don’t have any misunderstandings.”

  “Like?”

  “Like I don’t want you to think that this is some convoluted scheme designed to—”

  “Get me into bed?” Parker smiled slyly.

  “Or into a relationship,” she added.

  He frowned. “If I offended you, I’m sorry.”

  “You didn’t offend me, Parker.” She touched his arm. It seemed to startle him, so she withdrew her hand. “And I obviously reciprocated. I guess what I’m saying is...we shouldn’t get caught up in the moment, because this is just a temporary arrangement.”

  “I agree.” Parker nodded. “I’m not a person who acts on emotion, and I didn’t intend to kiss you. I just...” He glanced at her quickly before returning his attention to the road. “You were incredibly sad. I just wanted to console you. Honestly, I’m not sure what I was thinking. Guess I wasn’t. But I’m glad we can move past it. I know you’re going to like this cabin. The view is amazing, and it’s quiet and secluded.”

  Kayleigh was grateful Parker had shifted the conversation back to safe ground and that they’d come to an understanding. Now that they’d gotten that practice kiss out of the way, they just needed to follow the same rules they’d learned in kindergarten: keep your hands and lips to yourselves.

  Then everything would be just fine.

  * * *

  Parker readjusted his pillow and checked his watch. It was well after midnight, and though he’d turned in for the night two hours earlier, sleep had yet to find him.

  He threw an arm across his face, shielding it from the sliver of moonlight visible through a gap in the curtains.

  The logical option was to get up and pull them closed, but his weary, aching muscles refused to comply.

  Despite Kayleigh’s claims of being tired, she and Cricket possessed a boundless well of energy he simply didn’t. For the first full day of their trip, Kayleigh had insisted on hiking the area, taking photographs of foliage, wildlife and the landscape. She collected interesting rocks and pieces of wood for future projects.

  She hadn’t compelled him to go. In fact she’d suggested the hike might be too much for him. Which, of course, made him more determined to show her that he wasn’t the lethargic desk-sitter she imagined him to be.

  The only problem with his plan was that he was indeed a lethargic desk-sitter. His work in his home gym had toned and carved his muscles, but his aversion to cardio and sweating revealed itself in their fourth or fifth mile of hiking.

  He’d nearly fallen face-first into his plate during their late dinner, excusing himself afterward for a long soak in the tub.

  But after a couple of hours of fitful sleep, he was awake again. Visions of Kayleigh danced in his head. He’d spent hours trudging behind her as she hiked in those enticing khaki shorts that accentuated the shapely curve of her perfect bottom. The length of the shorts made her legs appear to go on for miles, despite the muddy, worn hiking boots she wore.

  The racerback athletic shirt highlighted the long, lean column of her graceful neck and the muscles of her back. Her curly red hair swung in a ponytail that peeked through the back of the khaki baseball hat pulled down low over her eyes. And her thighs...

  Parker sat up abruptly against the headboard. He pressed the heels of his hands to his tired eyes and heaved a sigh.

  Kayleigh had been clear that, from her perspective, nothing had changed regarding the temporary nature of their arrangement. This was all simply research for the roles they would play in just a few weeks. Then things would go back to the way they were. Reliving his spectacular view of Kayleigh’s curves during their afternoon hike was counterproductive to that objective.

  He threw off the sheets, pulled on a T-shirt, and stalked across the hardwood floor and down to the kitchen for a warm glass of milk.

  When he entered the kitchen, half of the large deck, visible through the kitchen window overlooking the mountains, was lit. The lights were on in the room that housed the indoor swimming pool.

  Parker followed the sound of water splashing.

  “Kayleigh?” He stood beside the heated, indoor pool. “I can’t believe you’re still up. I would’ve expected you two to crash after the day we had.”

  “One of us did.” She pointed to Cricket, who was lying in the corner, sleeping peacefully. “But I couldn’t sleep.”

  She went back to swimming laps in the pool. Her lean, strong arms effortlessly sliced through the water; she had a beautiful freestyle. When she reached the wall, she went directly into a backstroke.

  Parker stood beside the pool, mesmerized. There was something simply entrancing about the movement of her body whether she was in the water, on foot or on a bicycle.

  Kayleigh finished the last of her laps and climbed the stairs out of the pool, giving him a full view of her red halter bikini.

  She looked...incredible. Narrow waist, toned abs, strong arms and lean, muscular thighs that he kept envisioning wrapped around his waist.

  “Parker.” She’d said his name as if she’d called it more than once to get his attention. “Would you hand me a towel, please?”

  She removed the band that kept her hair up in a topknot and wrung the excess water from it.

  “Thanks.” Kayleigh wrapped the towel around her loosely, tucking it beneath her arm to secure it. She put her hair back in a much looser topknot before nodding toward the hot tub in the far corner. “I’m getting into the hot tub. You should join me. I worked you pretty hard today, but you were a trouper.”

  He swallowed hard. Mind out of the gutter, Park. Mind out of the gutter.

  “I’m not wearing my trunks, but I’ll keep you company.”

  “I thought you went to bed hours ago. Did I wake you?” She wrapped her damp hair in a second towel.

  “Couldn’t sleep. I came downstairs for a warm glass of milk.”

  “I couldn’t sleep either.” She bit her lower lip and glanced away momentarily. “I think I’m too wound up after today. And this place is amazing. I’ve nev
er stayed in a cabin this nice. I still can’t believe it has an indoor pool, a game room and this amazing view.”

  Kayleigh stepped closer to the wall of glass windows facing the mountains. She turned to him suddenly. “I’ve got just the thing to knock you out. I’ll be right back.”

  He should go to bed. Leave her to her hot tub while he got some sleep and tried not to think of her in that bikini. But he stayed rooted in place, because the truth was that he was eager to spend more time with her. Even if that meant keeping her company while she soaked in the hot tub in the wee hours of the morning.

  Kayleigh returned, her flip-flops slapping against the stone floor. She held a jug he recognized as one of the moonshines they’d released to commemorate the King’s Finest Jubilee three years earlier.

  “You held onto that bottle all this time?” He grabbed two of the stemless silicone wine glasses stored behind the poolside bar.

  “Savannah gave it to me one year on my birthday. I’d been saving it for...” Her cheeks suddenly turned pink. “I thought I’d bring it along to thank you for the upgrade. I might have been wrong about this whole glamping thing. Camping in luxury isn’t so bad.”

  She handed him the jug, kicked her flip-flops off and slid into the warm water of the hot tub. Parker opened the bottle, poured a little in each of their glasses and handed her one.

  “You know, drinking makes you sleepy, but it doesn’t actually help you sleep better. It’s been proven to interfere with sleep patterns.” He dragged one of the heavy chairs closer to the hot tub and sank onto it.

  “Humor me.” She sipped her drink. “Mmm... Savannah was right. The peach cobbler is amazing.”

  “It’s my favorite, too.” He inhaled the luscious peach aroma before tipping the glass and allowing the slow burn to spread through his body. “But drinking it always makes me feel like a cliché. A rural Southern person camping in the mountains and drinking moonshine. How original.”

  “Don’t be so high-and-mighty, Abbott. Your family wouldn’t be sitting on that wad of cash now if it wasn’t for the moonshine operation your great-grandfather ran in these very mountains back in the day.”

  “True.” He sipped from his glass. If it weren’t for King Abbott’s moonshine operation, his grandfather Joseph Abbott would never have started a legitimate distillery. Parker set his glass down on a nearby table. There was something else he’d much rather talk about. “Kayleigh, can I ask you something?”

  “You can ask.” She set her glass down, too. “But I reserve the right not to answer.”

  “Fair enough.” He scooted toward the edge of the seat. “This Aidan guy and his sister...you said they were important to you.”

  “They were.” She frowned. “We covered this already. Do I need to call Cricket over?”

  “Cricket is sleeping,” he reminded her.

  Kayleigh groaned, taking another sip from her glass. “Okay, so what is it that you so desperately need to know about my relationship with Aidan?”

  “If you loved him so much, why didn’t you fight for your relationship, or at the very least tell him what his mother did and let him decide?”

  She narrowed her gaze and pursed her lips. “It was a no-win proposition. If he chose me, then there would always be tension between his mother and us. If he chose her...” Her words faded and she emptied her glass before returning it to the ledge and sinking deeper into the warm water.

  “You were afraid that if you gave him a choice, he wouldn’t choose you.” Parker spoke softly, saying the words more to himself than to her.

  Kayleigh climbed out of the hot tub, slipped on her flip-flops and wrapped the towel around her again. “It’s late, and I’m suddenly very tired. I’ll see you at breakfast.”

  “Kayleigh.” Parker gripped her hand. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “Then why do you keep asking about my relationship with Aidan when you know I don’t want to talk about it?”

  “Because I’m trying to understand.”

  “Trying to understand what?” Her shoulders tensed.

  “You’re a fighter. You always have been. So I’m just trying to understand why you won’t fight to save your relationships with the people you care about.”

  Kayleigh snatched her hand from his. “A few dates and suddenly you think you’ve got my entire life figured out? Well, you don’t, Abbott. You don’t know anything about who I am or what I’m willing to fight for.”

  “I know you were willing to dig your heels in and fight me and my father—even when it wasn’t to your advantage. Yet you weren’t willing to fight for your relationship with Aidan, Kira or Evvy...or your friendship with me.”

  Kayleigh’s eyes widened and her brows furrowed. The color seemed to drain from her cheeks. Her chest hitched as she shook her head. “I should never have asked you to do this.”

  She turned and hurried away from him, her wet flip-flops slapping against the stone.

  Parker jumped to his feet to go after her, but Cricket, who was up and on Kayleigh’s heels, barked at him, then growled before following her mistress out of the room.

  Don’t be a jackass, Parker.

  He had one rule to follow. Yet he couldn’t seem to manage it. Kayleigh didn’t want to talk about Aidan or Evvy. She’d been crystal clear about that. But he hadn’t been able to help himself. He was compelled to understand her and why she’d written off their friendship without even allowing him to explain.

  Parker dropped back onto the chair, wishing he’d stayed in bed and kept his big mouth shut.

  Ten

  Kayleigh pushed herself, running as fast as she could for the final mile back to the cabin. The cool, brisk early morning breeze was a relief against her heated skin, damp with perspiration.

  She’d gotten up before the sun rose and hit the mountain trail as soon as there was enough light, hoping to avoid Parker.

  Fucking Parker Abbott.

  Once a jerk, always a jerk.

  Aside from the still inexplicable kiss, things had been going pretty well between them. They were getting along, even enjoying each other’s company. And Cricket was just beginning to come around to Parker. But deep down he was still that persistent little boy who would pick at a sore, pulling off the scab and wrecking the healing process.

  She understood why Parker had some curiosity about the Brennans. After all, he was attending Kira’s wedding and had been roped into an elaborate scheme for their benefit. So she’d allowed for his first round of questions about her relationship with the family and tolerated the second. But, as always, Parker Abbott just didn’t recognize when she was at her limit. And the guy was still terrible at taking a hint. Even when she’d spelled it out for him pretty plainly.

  She’d been so angry, she’d wanted to take Cricket and hop into her truck in her wet swimming suit and drive back to Magnolia Lake, leaving Abbott to fend for himself.

  Maybe he would’ve gotten the hint then.

  Kayleigh gasped with relief when the cabin finally came into view. Her muscles ached and sweat dripped into her eyes. Her feet hurt and she had calluses. And she was thirsty enough to drink from a trough.

  But at least she’d given herself some distance from Parker. Some time to decide what she should do next. She hadn’t been perceptive enough to add a Parker’s-a-total-jerk clause to the contract.

  Would she be able to pull out of the contract, even if Parker hadn’t violated it in any way?

  Kayleigh collapsed on the front steps of the large porch, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath.

  Her head was pounding, her body ached, and she and Cricket needed water. But she honestly wasn’t sure she could move another muscle.

  The front door creaked opened, but she didn’t turn around. She hoped Parker would get the hint and go away. When the door clicked shut without a word, she squeezed her eyes closed
and released a long breath. Partly in relief, partly in disappointment.

  “I know you’re thirsty, girl.” Kayleigh rubbed Cricket’s soft fur, then patted her side as the dog panted. “Give Mama a moment to catch her breath.”

  A few seconds later, the door creaked open again. This time the sound was followed by Parker’s footsteps as he descended the stairs and placed a bowl filled with water on the ground for Cricket. He sat on the step above Kayleigh and extended a cold bottle of water to her without saying a word.

  Kayleigh raised her eyes to his and sighed.

  She wanted so badly to tell Parker Abbott exactly what he could do with that bottle of water, but she was desperate for hydration.

  “Thank you,” she muttered, lowering her gaze to the bottle as she accepted it. She unscrewed the cap and drank until the bottle was empty.

  Parker took the empty bottle from her hand and screwed the top back on it before leaning back on his elbows. “How far’d you run?”

  She checked her fitness watch. “Six and a half miles.”

  “Without water?” He turned to her and frowned.

  “I had water for both of us. I just didn’t expect to run so far.” She readjusted the baseball cap on her head and wiped the perspiration from her eyes with the back of her wrist.

  “You were that angry with me, huh?” He held her gaze.

  Kayleigh stood quickly, prepared to make her escape, but her right calf cramped.

  She sat back down on the step and rubbed the pained muscle.

  “May I?” Parker set the bottle aside and indicated her leg, his large hands hovering just above it.

  Kayleigh sighed, nodding. Her cheeks stung with heat. She couldn’t even pull off a decent dramatic exit.

  Parker turned toward her and gently placed his hands on her leg, extending her calf.

  “Pull the toes toward your knee. That’ll help relieve the cramp.”

  Parker supported the weight of her leg as she did the extensions repeatedly.