“Pretty boy jerk, huh? Who’s not so nice now?”
She harrumphed with fury, and he had to bite back the laugh that tried to surface.
“You’re impossible.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“That’s not very civil of you.”
Her lip curled up in annoyance or disgust, he wasn’t really sure, either way it didn’t matter. All that mattered was he made his point.
“While I’d love to sit here and listen to you call me every name under the sun,” he said, “I have a business to tend to.”
“You’re going to run it right into the ground if you don’t take that stick out of your ass.”
“Duly noted, sweet lips.”
Her eyes widened then narrowed before she spun on her heel, that gorgeous ass swaying as she put distance between them. He might not be able to touch, but he’d be a moron not to enjoy the view.
She reached for the door and stopped, spinning back toward him. “Call me sweet lips again, and I will smack that annoying smirk off your face.”
“Is that a threat?”
“No, that’s a promise.”
She slammed the door behind her, causing the bell to clatter and the walls to shake.
He was right about one thing.
She was definitely not your average girl next door.
Chapter 2
Kate drove to the end of the dirt road where her brother’s log cabin sat amongst a forest of trees and a quaint private lake view. She was immediately greeted by Bubbles, a pit bull/husky mix with a white face and a band of brown that started right at the edge of his head and went right into his ears, making it look like he was wearing a headband.
Bubbles had been one of the dogs her sister, Hadley had fostered, but when the adopted family gave him back two weeks later, Matt instantly jumped in. He had taken a liking to Bubbles while he was with Hadley and now that Matt was settling down with Shay, he was ready to start building the life they’d always envisioned for themselves.
Kate barely had the door open before Bubbles stuck his head in and stared up at her with those crystal blue eyes. “Hey good boy,” she said as she scratched generously behind his ears. He thanked her by leaving a good amount of his hair on her thigh.
She swatted at her pants as she made her way to the house.
“I see Bubbles got you good,” Shay said from the deck, nodding toward Kate’s other leg.
Kate laughed as she gave another swat to her legs.
“I have a stockpile of lint rollers in the house. I may singlehandedly be keeping them in business.”
“But it’s totally worth it. Look at this face,” Kate said, grabbing hold of Bubbles and showering his snout with kisses.
“He is kind of cute,” Shay said with a laugh.
Matt came up behind Shay, kissing her on the cheek before resting his hands on her shoulders. “Who is kind of cute?”
Shay rolled her eyes. “Always so nosy.”
“Understatement of the year,” Kate said. Being the oldest of six, Matt had his nose in everyone’s business, and god forbid he wasn’t the first to know something; he’d lose his damn mind. Growing up it was annoying as all hell, but as they got older, Kate realized just how lucky she was to have a brother who cared so much. He was one of her best friends, and she knew, even if she didn’t want him to be, he’d be there for her no matter what.
“If my soon-to-be wife is talking about someone being cute, I think I have a right to know.”
Shay stood up on tip-toes to kiss Matt, but still came up short, so he bent his head to hers. “The only cute guy I care about is you.”
Kate made a gagging noise. “Do you guys ever stop?”
“Jealous?” her brother said with his signature smirk.
“Of you? Never.” Kate, like the true adult she was, stuck her tongue out at her brother as she handed Shay the bottle of wine she’d brought with her.
Shay disappeared into the house and came back with two glasses. She poured each of them a proper serving even though Kate would prefer a generous pour. But she had no intention of sleeping on the couch with Bubbles tonight, which would happen if Matt thought she had too much to drink. She would pass the finger on the nose test, walk in a straight line, and say her ABC’s backward, but it wouldn’t matter to him. Once his mind was made up, there was no changing it.
Matt collected the chicken off the barbeque and placed in on a plate while Kate helped Shay bring out a salad and roasted potatoes.
They sat down at the table overlooking the lake, the sounds of birds chirping happily above them. It was a gorgeous night, and Kate loved being outside, surrounded by nature. But she knew she wasn’t just there to eat Matt and Shay’s food and enjoy the night. There was motive in their invitation.
“So why am I here?” she asked, cutting through the serene sounds of nature that had been their evening music.
“We invited you for dinner,” Matt answered. “Why would you think there was anything else?”
“Because I have known you for thirty-three years and you”—she turned and pointed to Shay—“since I was eleven, and I can tell when you two have something on your mind, so out with it.”
Matt and Shay looked at each other, and Kate could see the silent conversation being had between them. Shay lifted her wine glass to her lips and took a big sip.
“I know Shay’s not pregnant. That’s what I originally thought, but she told me I was wrong. Besides, she’s currently sucking that wine down like it’s a lifeline.”
Shay’s glass halted on her lips, and she slowly placed it back on the table.
“She took the fun out of it,” Shay said. “Just ask her.”
Kate’s eyebrow arched at Shay’s words. “Ask me what?”
Matt settled back in his chair, resting his hands on the table. “We picked a date.”
“Finally!” Kate exclaimed. Matt and Shay might’ve only recently got back together, but she and the rest of the world knew they should’ve married a long time ago and would have if Shay’s mother wasn’t such a wretched woman. “When?”
“Fourth of July weekend.”
“That’s next week!”
Shay shrugged. “We didn’t want to wait any longer. Everyone was expecting this big fancy wedding, but that’s not what either of us wants.”
“What do you want, then?” Kate asked ready to help them get whatever they wanted. If there were two people who deserved it, it was them.
“A small ceremony at the farm.”
“Mom and Dad would love that,” Kate said as she thought about the family farm. Basil Hill was where they grew up. “It’s perfect.”
“Where it all started,” Shay added.
“Which is where you come in,” Matt said, leaning forward on his elbows.
“Do you need me to decorate? Order chairs? Pick flowers?”
“Mom and Grandma have that all under control.”
“Then what?”
Matt looked at Shay again and Shay gave him a reassuring nod. “We want you to be the one to marry us.”
“Me?” Kate exclaimed. “Can I even do that?”
“You can get ordained on the internet,” Shay said.
“Why me?”
Shay reached out across the table and took Kate’s hand, giving it a squeeze. “Because you’ve been my best friend since I was twelve. You introduced us all those years ago. Who knew that moment would change my life forever, but it did, and I have you to thank.”
“It’s a small town. You two would have met eventually.”
“Can you just give us the moment?” Shay said with a roll of her eyes.
Kate held her hands up. “Sorry. I’m a little in disbelief.”
“Is that a yes?” Matt asked.
She looked at the two people she held nearest and dearest to her heart. A sudden rush of happiness filled her, and excitement stirred inside her. “Of course it is! I would be honored.” She jumped up
and tossed her arms around her brother and Shay. “I can’t believe you two are finally getting married.”
“Seventeen years in the making,” Shay said with a smile.
Kate poured more wine into their glasses then handed Matt his beer. She held her hand up to toast. “To a future of happiness.”
They clanked their glasses together then each took a sip. As Kate lowered her glass, Matt smirked. “Guess you’ll be crashing on the couch tonight.”
“Huh?” Kate said as she looked down at the lack of wine staring back at her. “I’m fine.”
“Are you really going to argue with me?”
She let out an exaggerated sigh. “Dammit. Fine. I just better not hear any noises coming from upstairs.” She wasn’t a prude, but she’d rather not know about her brother’s sex life.
Matt smiled. “We took care of that before you got here.”
“I did not need to know that.”
“You walked right into that one,” Shay said with a laugh. “You’d think you would’ve learned by now.”
Bubbles wandered over to the table and rested his head on Kate’s leg. “Guess it’s me and you tonight, boy.”
“Better than your last few dates,” Matt said.
“Cuter too,” Kate added, and she gave Bubbles a pat on the head just as her mind drifted to the cranky pretty boy, Caleb.
She hadn’t spoken to him since that day he called her sweet lips, but for some reason his face popped in and out of her head at least a few times a day. Pickings were slim in Red Maple Falls, and it still annoyed her that the first good looking guy she’d seen in quite some time was a class-A jerk. Such a shame to waste a pretty face on someone whose personality was so ugly.
She sighed and grabbed for the bottle of wine. She was already stuck there for the night she might as well make the best of it. She poured the glass to the brim and relaxed into her chair, trying to drink away any thoughts of Caleb James.
***
“Your work is truly stunning,” a woman in her mid-to-late forties said to Kate as she handed over her credit card.
“Thank you. That means a lot,” Kate answered as she swiped the card and tried to keep from smiling at the zeros that followed the total. Some days she had no sales at all while others she had decent, but then there were days like today when she made a killing.
This woman’s purchase alone would pay Kate’s rent for the next three months.
“I’m going to tell all my friends about you.”
“That’s very kind.” Kate made sure to slip the woman her business card as she walked her to the door. “We’ll have the order shipped out tomorrow.”
“Thank you for doing that. The thought of driving all the way back to Connecticut with so many pieces worried me.”
“It’s not a problem. We ship all over the country for that very reason.”
The woman thanked Kate again before saying goodbye and heading down Main Street. It had been a busy day—a good day, but busy. Kate hadn’t had a second to herself.
She flipped the sign on the door to CLOSED and headed over to her desk. Shay had emailed her earlier with the website that would make it legal for her to perform the ceremony. She sat down in the soft leather chair and shook her mouse to knock it out of sleep mode. The computer came to life, and she found the email from Shay. She clicked on the link and scanned the website.
It was a small fee and few short steps before she was officially able to marry her brother and her best friend. She still couldn’t believe they’d asked her. Of all the people they knew and loved, and they chose her. It made her feel special and beyond happy. Now she just needed to do a good job and not let them down.
She followed the directions on the site and was a step away from finishing when the lights flickered and her screen went black.
“What the…?” She looked around for a moment then shook her head. There was only one explanation. “Idiot.” Annoyance flared inside her as she waited for the cranky guy next door to fix what he broke.
The clock ticked, seconds turning into minutes, and still no power. She was about to get up when pretty boy himself walked in the door. He hooked his thumb over his shoulder a look of bewilderment on his face.
She didn’t wait for him to say anything. With an annoyed sigh, she got up and headed next door. He followed closely behind her, and she hated how good he smelled. Still, it didn’t detract from the fact that he was far from pleasant.
She pushed through the door and made her way to the breaker that they happened to share even though it was in his place. She flipped the switch back to where it belonged and turned, not expecting him to be so close. She inhaled a startled breath then swallowed down the rising lump in her throat. She squared her shoulders, refusing to fall under his spell, but god, with that dark smoldering gaze, it was hard to ignore. “Old electric panels,” she managed with a little too much bite in her words. “You plug too much juice into one socket you’ll blow a fuse. Don’t do that.”
His eyebrow arched, and she couldn’t deny how sexy that single movement was. “Do you want to get a newspaper and smack me on the snout?” He moved closer to her, surrounding her in his dominating presence.
She stepped backward, her back pressing against the wall. He might’ve been a jerk, but that didn’t stop her from staring at his lips and wondering how they’d feel against hers. If he’d taste as sinfully good as he looked and smelled, and if those big hands were as strong as she suspected.
“Tempting,” she said, her voice much breathier than she anticipated.
A slight smile tugged at the edge of his mouth, proving that he was just as surprised. “A few people came in today, said you told them to stop by.”
“I did.” She had remembered Judy and Martin Clark taking up mountain biking a few months back. They had been trying to fill their days since their daughter had left for college. They stopped by Kate’s to sign up for a class, and she directed them next door.
“Why?” he asked, his eyes narrowing as if he suspected an ulterior motive.
“Because that’s what we do in this town, whether you like it or not; we help one another. Support each other. The Clark’s are good people. I only hope you showed them more kindness than you’ve shown me.”
“They bought two bikes, so I’d say so.”
“Good. I’m glad. Now if you’ll excuse me, I was in the middle of something before you almost blew out the place.” She pushed by him, but he grabbed her arm, halting her to a stop. She stared down at the strong hand holding her in place then met his dark gaze.
He dropped his hold almost as quickly, letting his arm fall to his side. “I just wanted to say, thank you.”
“See, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?”
She casually walked to the door, hoping like hell he wouldn’t be able to see how much that single touch affected her.
Chapter 3
Caleb woke in a sweat, his hands trembling, heart racing, and eyes burning with anger and sadness at memories he preferred not to remember but couldn’t stop from haunting him. He sat up in bed, kicking his legs off the edge and planting his feet firmly on the ground and reassuring himself he was back in reality.
He ran a hand through his hair and glanced over to the clock on his nightstand. It was only four in the morning, and only four hours since he fell asleep, but there was no way he’d be able to go back to sleep now. If he was going to make it through the day, there was only one thing he could do.
Hitting the trails on his bike, bringing him into the depths of the woods, was the only thing that would clear his mind. So he pulled on a pair of bike shorts, slipped into a light weight t-shirt, and headed out.
Mountain biking started out as a hobby that he and his brother shared, but eventually it became his life. He lived for the moments when he hit the trail and left civilization behind. Most people planned their vacations around tropical islands and the local nightlife, but not him. He planned his time off around epic cross-country rides that required him to
go off the grid for days.
It had been a while since he’d travelled in search of the best trail. He had lost that desire after his partner-in-crime, his brother and best friend died.
After Milo’s death, he had tried to recapture it, continuing the search because he knew that was what Milo would want. He had also thought it would help him find peace. But the more time he’d spent travelling around the county the more he’d wondered what was the point if he had no one to share it with. If Milo couldn’t be there to push him forward when his legs grew heavy and his resolve weakened. He’d given up until he stumbled upon Red Maple Falls.
There was something about the place that he couldn’t quite pinpoint, but it was the first time in a while that he didn’t feel completely broken inside. He was pleased at the trails he found in the small town. They were far from the best he’d ever ridden and in need of some maintenance, but they provided an escape with advanced single-tracks that made him push his endurance. And considering the trailhead was only a ten-minute ride down the road from his place, it was damn convenient and a godsend on mornings when he woke before the roosters.
He got to the bottom of the stairs of the refurbished barn he lived atop, took his bike off the wall it leaned against, and headed out the door. Before taking off, he secured his helmet into place and pulled his bike gloves on.
The sound of a heart monitor still played in his head, the smell of antiseptic and death lingered in his memories, refusing to let go. He closed his eyes against the onslaught of visions that haunted him even in his waking hours and hopped on his bike.
The morning was warm despite the fact that the sun was just beginning to make its ascent. He pedaled faster, letting the air pass over him and cool his already heated skin. He made it to the trail in no time and didn’t hesitate before riding right in.
With each spin of his tires, he felt the tension ease from his shoulders and neck, felt the angry frustration of feeling helpless and a little lost seep out of him and get left somewhere on the trail.
Adrenaline pumped through his veins, overtaking any and all miserable thoughts. Trees flew past him as he cut in and out of them, picking up more speed with each curve. Eventually nothing was left to think about except him and the trail. The birds above chirped happily for a new day, the sun rose high in the sky, the sweat dripped down his back, and the burn expanded in his thighs.
Crushing on Kate Page 2
