by Jen Peters
They stood at the edge of the creek, listening to the roar. Storm winds and winter blankets of heavy snow had felled trees which now angled across the creek, just out of reach of the churning water. This was no quiet, civilized place.
Cat caught her breath and pointed upsteam to one fallen giant. “Can we cross?”
Justin took her hand while his heart tumbled like the rushing water. He would keep her from falling onto the boulders below, keep her safe from any harm.
He started to help her onto the log, but she brushed his hand away and climbed up on her own. He blew out a short breath. He was all for independent women, but she was denying him the feel of her small, strong hand in his.
Just friends, he reminded himself. Just friends, even though his whole being ached for more.
She hardly paused as she made her way across, stopping halfway over the creek to take in its grandeur. The enchantment on her face made him glow inside—she wasn’t so citified that she disdained the beauty around her. As for him, her sunlit face, moist with the shimmering mist, was all the beauty he needed.
He joined her and put his arm around her waist. She fit into his side like she was made to be there. They watched the tumble of clear water and his heart pounded over the roar of the creek—this was not in the plan, not what he needed to be feeling. Finally he spoke. “Do you want to go on to the other side?”
She shook her head. “This is enough, more than enough. But you did promise me a surprise at the end.”
That he had. He led the way back, jumped down, and reached his arms up to her waist. Cat looked surprised and began to pull back, then smiled and let him lift her to the ground.
They held hands as they walked up the trail—just friends, he reminded himself—pausing only when she saw a bush with tiny green berries. “Are they edible?”
“Yup. They’re huckleberries, and Mom makes an incredible huckleberry pie.”
“How soon? I’m getting quite hooked on your mother’s pies.”
“Nowhere close to ripe, yet,” he chuckled. “Sometime in August, probably.” Would she even be here to taste them? He had to enjoy every moment he had with her, right now. He led her another hundred feet up, to a small pool of water. “Feel it,” he said.
She stuck her hand in. “Oh, it’s warm!” Then she did what he knew she would—sat on a rock, pulled her socks and shoes off, and dabbled her toes in the water. He followed suit, rolling his jeans to his calves, and sighed with the warmth.
It wasn’t just the water—Justin had never felt so comfortable around a woman, like something was opening up inside of him, like a piece that was missing had suddenly fallen into place. He knew he should stay focused on his family’s problems, knew she’d be leaving when the mansion was finished, but he leaned toward her anyway.
The warmth of her breath caressed his lips, and her fingers tucked softly into his hand. He searched her eyes, while she searched his. He kissed her gently, her lips tender and willing.
Holding a woman close had never felt so good, and so right in all the ways that counted. Could he actually have found a counterpart who was not only beautiful but who completed him? Who would put up with his annoying habits and idiosyncrasies? Who was more than his match in taking care of herself?
Cat let go of his hand, and he felt her fingers on his shoulder. He reached for the elastic band to release her ponytail and reveled in the thickness of her hair. He kissed her again, not quite so gently, then leaned back. Her eyes stayed closed, but her lashes trembled. She pulled his lips back to hers.
Her mouth tasted sweet—and dangerous. Too enticing, too much power to make him forget his responsibilities. He sank into the kiss for another minute, then pulled back.
She sighed and opened her eyes. She didn’t speak, just smiled slightly and leaned into his shoulder.
He put his arm around her and tilted his head to rest on hers.
How would this all turn out a few months down the road?
Chapter 11
The glow from Warm Springs stayed with Justin through Monday. He and Cat focused on work, but a glance here and a brush of the arm there told him she was thinking about it as much as he was. By Tuesday, though, apprehension over his financial arrangements had flattened any other feelings.
At lunchtime, he laid his drill down, slapped the sawdust from his pants and shirt, and headed for his truck. Five minutes later, he was parked outside First Savings and Loan, wiping sweat from his brow that wasn’t all caused by work. He patted his shirt pocket, making sure the check was still there, and took a deep breath.
The air seemed chilled inside, although he knew the air conditioning wasn’t on yet. His boot heels clicked across the shiny tile floor. A teller pointed to Lee Hickman’s desk and invited him to take a seat.
Justin had counted the leaves on Mr. Hickman’s potted plant, the pens in his OSU Beavers mug, and almost had the total of the paper clips before the banker showed up. He stood for a handshake with his father’s friend.
“Glad you could stop by, Justin,” Mr. Hickman said. “We need to talk.”
Justin rustled in his shirt pocket and pulled out the rumpled check. “Here’s the next installment.”
Mr. Hickman frowned as he took the check.
“I know it’s not quite as much as I promised, but when I have the electrical finished at the mansion, I’ll catch it up with the next payment.”
The banker shook his head. “It’s not that, it’s …” He looked Justin in the eye. “You know I’d keep this arrangement going if I could. You’re a good man, and the whole situation is unfortunate.”
Justin froze. He suddenly understood the “deer in the headlights” phrase.
Mr. Hickman continued. “Our audit is in six weeks, which shouldn’t be a problem, but Mr. Connelly is adamant that this arrangement has to be finished by then. He’s worried that it will raise flags and could cause the branch some major problems.”
“If I can only explain to him,” Justin protested. “You know I’m good for it.”
But it was no good. There was a due on demand clause and instead of the planned four months, Justin had four short weeks to get the loan paid off completely.
He couldn’t blame Mr. Hickman; he was only the messenger. Justin knew he had fought for him as hard as he could, but desperation clashed with anger as Justin hit the bar on the exit door.
It swung fast and hard and Justin heard, “Monkey brains!”
He looked up to see Cat catching her balance. She must have jumped back when he slammed the door open.
She planted her hands on her hips and studied him. “What happened? You were fine half an hour ago.”
He opened his mouth, then shut it again. If anything came out, it would be the wrong thing. So he just shook his head and stepped around her.
“Hey,” she said a little softer, putting a hand on his arm. “Are you okay? You look like your grandma just died.”
He shook his head again and tried to walk away. She followed, her hand still on his arm. “Justin, talk to me.”
The last thing he needed was to let his problems out for the world to see. Especially Cat—there was something building between them, and he didn’t want to ruin it. “It’s private. You go on, and I’ll see you back at the site in an hour.”
She tightened her hand. “Whatever happened in there, you can’t bottle it all up. It’s not good for you, and it shuts me out. What in heaven’s sake is wrong? Do you need money?”
Justin shrugged her away. “Like I said, it’s private.”
His mind churned, frantically trying to find a solution to the money problem. If he hurried up on parts of the job…if he got an early draw from Mr. Blake… Cat could help him with that, but how could he explain the need without sharing the details?
He turned to look at Cat, just in time to see her stalk away with a rigid back and determined stride.
He groaned. He’d kept his private problems private so he wouldn’t jeopardize their growing relationship, a
nd here he’d gone and done it anyway. He opened his mouth to call after her, then shut it again.
What else could he do? They really weren’t his own problems to share. He couldn’t go passing someone else’s issues along just to have Cat think better of him.
Justin watched her turn the corner and wondered if one of the best things in his life had just vanished.
* * *
It was dusk as Cat drove through McCormick’s Creek looking for Marty’s house. She had questions about the staircase and his woodworking expertise would be invaluable. She reached over and scratched Bella behind her ears, glad for her companionship. The light turned green; she drove another block and turned.
Wrong street. And worse, she seemed to be in a dead zone and the GPS didn’t work.
It figured. The day had gone from bad to worse. A supply order was going to be several days late, she found dry rot in some of the joists, and then Justin had shut her out completely at the bank.
What was with him, anyway? He seemed like a great guy, a hard worker with a sense of humor, and her heart quickened when she saw him. And then there was that kiss at Warm Springs.
She’d never had a kiss rock her to the core like that. Fireworks, tingles to her toes, all the cliches she’d always thought were so dumb. He just plain made her heart melt, and she couldn’t get a word out afterwards, just leaned against him and soaked in his scent and his warmth.
She thought whatever they had starting had taken another step, but he obviously didn’t think so. Just one more girl to kiss and shut out. Why did the guy have to be so hard-headedly obstinate? He obviously had money troubles, but would he share them with her? Oh no, he had to be the tough guy, the one who didn’t need anyone else, would never need anyone else.
Cat suddenly felt Bella’s cool nose against her cheek and leaned over to nuzzle her, then realized that she had pulled to the side sometime during her rambling thoughts. At least she hadn’t wandered off the road while she sorted through her feelings.
Time to find the way back. She followed a side street, turning here and there, cursing her lack of GPS, and ending up in a part of town she wasn’t familiar with. Tiny houses, unkempt yards, a few trailers.
Ahead on the right was a beat-up trailer with a newly enclosed carport. She couldn’t help slowing to look closer. They’d used 2x6s instead of plywood and the boards weren’t even lined up together, let alone plumb. Sloppy, she thought as her phone dinged with a text. She glanced at it—nothing important, but it was nice to know she had one bar of service anyway. At least she could find her way home.
Then she looked closer at the carport and slammed on her brakes.
The board on the end had the stripe of red paint that she had marked her lumber with on delivery.
“You camel-faced frog spawn, you’re in for it now!” she muttered, punching Justin’s number into her cell. “It’s me. Can you meet me at,” she peered at the number on the trailer, “149 Cedar Street? I think I found our lumber.”
Chapter 12
Justin arrived before the cops. Not surprising, even in a small town, but she wasn’t waiting any longer. She pointed silently at the boards as Justin approached, then wheeled around and marched up to the front door.
She pounded and it opened quickly. The teenaged boy was taken aback at seeing her. “What?”
“Is your father here?”
“Huh?” he said.
“I need to talk to your father. I want to know where he got the boards on his carport.”
The boy blanched. “I, uh, he’s not here.”
Justin took over. “You don’t mind if we wait, do you?”
“You can’t come in,” the boy said. “Mom’s at work and—”
Javier pulled up in his cruiser. The boy turned even whiter. “I only took the boards, not any of the other stuff!”
The kid was as scared as could be, and Cat relaxed a bit. He wasn’t a thug, just a mixed up kid. She looked at Justin. His face was hard, his green eyes darkened to steel.
“You steal something, you pay the price,” he growled. “Where’s the wire?”
“Now, Cooper, you can’t do my job for me,” Javier said genially as he came up the porch steps. “Todd, is your mother around?”
The boy, Todd, shook his head. “She’s not done cleaning until eleven or midnight.”
Javier nodded. “Can we come in, son?”
Todd stepped back, opening the door for them.
Inside, the trailer was dim. A mac-n-cheese box still sat on the counter, Todd’s plate on the ratty sofa. A cop show blared from the TV. But the place was pretty neat, better than Cat had grown up in.
“Ms. Billings?” Javier asked.
“That lumber that got stolen a couple weeks ago?” She thumbed out the window. “It’s lining his carport. That stripe of red paint on the edge is how I marked it when it got delivered.”
Justin’s jaw jutted forward. “Ask him about the stolen wire—it’s worth a lot more. And a lot harder to replace.”
The boy was sinking farther and farther into the corner of the couch. Cat laid her hand on Justin’s arm, hoping to calm him a bit, but he shrugged her off. She’d never seen him like this.
Javier crossed his arms and gave the teen a long look. “What do you say, Todd? I know you don’t have any money, and your mom wouldn’t spend her paycheck on lumber.”
Todd tightened his fists on his knees.
“And what do you know about the wire? Is it here? Were you involved with that, too?”
“No!” Todd practically shouted. “I didn’t steal no wire! That was Chance and his crew.”
“Ah,” Javier said. “And when did you see them? Before or after you took the lumber?”
“I didn’t … they said …” Todd sighed and slumped forward. “I only wanted to help my mom,” he mumbled.
Cat nodded. She understood that thinking. She’d been much the same when she was a child. Would still be if Sam Hillers hadn’t taken her under his wing. “So you closed the carport in to give her a garage?” she asked quietly.
Todd nodded glumly. “Scraping ice in the winter is hard.”
“Tell me about Chance and his friends,” Javier said, pulling out his notebook. “Chance is Charlie Lerner, right?”
Todd sighed. “It was dark, late, and I had made a couple of trips with the boards. I came back one last time and Chance was there.”
He had carried the lumber all the way to his house? Cat knew he’d made a bad decision, but she couldn’t fault his work ethic.
Todd chewed a hangnail on his thumb. “So Chance said they could get a lot of money for the copper wire inside, and if I didn’t help them take it, they’d turn me in.” He looked up, rather hopefully, at the cop. “They had to break a window to get in, and I wasn’t having nothing to do with it! I got four more boards and took off, and they ain’t said nothing yet.”
Then his face sagged. “Except they’ll know I snitched on them now and come after me.”
“I don’t think they’ll get the chance,” Cat said quietly.
Justin glared at her. “Yeah, they will—they’ll all be in jail together.”
Cat glared at him, but Javier got down to business.
“So you saw Chance threatening to break into the house and steal supplies. Who was with him?”
“Scotty and Big D. And Rocky Lopez too.”
“And did you actually see them break the window?”
“Uh huh. I couldn’t seem to move, just stood there staring at them. And when they went inside, I grabbed my boards and took off.” He turned to Cat. “I’m real sorry, ma’am. My mom’s going to go ballistic.”
Javier stood. “That’s about all my questions for now. We need to take you down to the jail and call your mom.”
“Officer Gonzalez, wait,” Cat said. “What if I don’t want to press charges?”
Justin bolted upright. “What? He’s a thief! He broke the law and he needs to pay the price. They all do.”
She turn
ed to him. “It seems to me it’s a little different situation than the others. Sometimes working something else out can be better than a juvenile record.”
“No! You can’t. Mitchell Blake and old McCormick wouldn’t stand for it. He’s—”
She turned her back on Justin to speak to Javier. “What if Todd and I made an agreement that he was to help out at the mansion to make up for what he stole. Or for the act of stealing - he could pull the boards off and bring them back.”
Javier looked back and forth between her and the now-hopeful teen. “I don’t know that I’d recommend that, Cat, although I can tell you he’s not one of the usual troublemakers in town. I guess it’s up to you.”
Cat looked at Todd critically, remembering how Sam could have pressed charges against her but didn’t. Let her work it off, Officer, he had said. The cops had taken her in anyway, but the old guy was waiting when she got out of juvie. And boy, had he made her work. Cleaning ancient tools, stacking lumber ends, finally showing her how to measure and cut and build.
She nodded. “Todd, you and your mother come over tomorrow, and we’ll work this out.” Justin sputtered but she ignored him. “And if you don’t show up, I’ll be pressing charges after all.”
Javier flipped his notebook shut. “I guess I’m done here, then. I’ll be knocking on a few other doors tonight, and we’ll see if we can get your wire back, if they haven’t sold it already. Will you be pressing charges against them?”
“They are troublemakers in town?” she asked.
“Oh yeah,” Javier said.
“Then yes, I will.”
Justin flipped his cap in the air. “Hallelujah and praise the Lord,” he mocked. “At least you have some sense of justice.”
Cat wondered where his rage was coming from, what had happened to him to make him so rigid. But this wasn’t the time to lay a soft hand on his arm, and it certainly wasn’t the time to open up about her own background.
She crossed her arms and watched him watch her, his jaw set, his gaze wooden. Javier left and Cat finally broke off contact and trudged to her truck.
