by Anne, Melody
“Sometimes it’s amazing to go to a place the rest of the world has no clue exists. It can be paradise to swim naked and cook with nothing more than a fire.”
“That’s called camping, though I’ve never understood the appeal of being in the middle of nowhere with few luxuries from home. I do like a good bonfire, but why would a person leave a perfectly warm house to go sleep in the wild? We’ve made advances so we don’t have to do that anymore,” she pointed out.
Noah laughed. “I think there’s a natural part of all of us that appreciates and craves the basics in life. The less and less we live off the land and learn survival techniques, the more lazy we get. I love camping.”
“I’ve never done it,” she admitted.
Noah was shocked. “You’ve never once camped?”
“Nope. No need to. I have a place with a warm bed I can climb in and out of.”
“Oh, Sarah, you’ve seriously been deprived. I might just have to prove to you how amazing camping is,” he said.
“No, thank you,” she primly told him.
He laughed. She really did amuse him.
“We’ll see,” he said.
He was remembering why it was worth it to be a patient man, and with this woman he had a feeling he could do just about anything. Even when he was frustrated beyond compare, it didn’t last very long. He was beginning to think there wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for her. He wondered if that was how his oldest brother had felt when he’d met Brooke, if he’d just known she was now his world.
He never would forget Finn walking into that room and announcing he was getting married. He’d only known Brooke a single day, but he’d been sure he was going to marry her. Was that going on with Noah? Was he in love with this woman and just fighting it? That was a terrifying thought. He had to get out of his own head before he blurted something he didn’t want to blurt.
“Are you ready to be inspired?” he asked.
This time she gave him a huge grin that reached her eyes. “I sure hope so.”
“I’ve always hated the word hope,” he said. “I like to just know. I know we’ll be inspired. I think if we use the word hope, we’re setting ourselves up for failure, and I don’t like to fail.”
Sarah laughed. “I’ve never thought of it that way before. You make me think of things in a whole new way,” she told him.
“Good. I like to make people think, just as I like to push myself.”
They chatted back and forth as they drew closer to Shaniko, and he could feel the excitement rolling off Sarah as they began seeing signs of the town ahead. Her grin grew.
“Are you inspired yet?” he asked with a chuckle.
“I think I am,” she said. Her beauty when she let down her guard was something incredible to behold. It took his breath away. “I know I can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I’m so glad you keep pushing me. I’m incredibly glad to be here.”
That shocked him. He wasn’t quite sure what to say in reply.
“You don’t have to say anything,” she said, as if she were reading his mind. “I just want you to know that I appreciate what you’re doing.”
He took a deep breath. She made it nearly impossible for him to keep his feelings and thoughts to himself. He reached over and grabbed her hand before she could pull away from him. He squeezed her fingers.
“There’s so much I could give you,” he said, meaning each and every word.
“You’ve given me plenty,” she said with a wink that once again shocked him. She was flirting a bit. Damn! This woman was confusing the hell out of him. “Now tell me more about Shaniko.”
She was switching topics so fast she was making his head spin. He parked the car, then turned and looked at her.
“I don’t know everything about it, but I believe it was founded by businessmen in the early 1900s. The hotel, city hall, jail, church, and stable, along with a few more original buildings, are still standing. It was known for its huge wool production in the beginning. In the last ten years they’ve revived the town, now providing lodging, places to dine, and shopping for tourists, which is good and bad at the same time.”
“Tourism is a necessary evil,” Sarah said.
“I agree with that. But I remember my mom bringing us here when we were young, and we thought we were Old West cowboys. My brothers and I took over this town as the long arm of the law. If any bad guys came along, we’d have surely taken them down,” he said as he puffed out his chest.
Sarah laughed. “I’m sure you’d make an adorable little sheriff,” she said.
“Hey! I wasn’t little even when I was young,” he told her.
This made her laugh so hard he reached over and patted her back. He wasn’t sure if he should be offended or not. He decided if she was laughing, it was always a good thing, though, so if she found him humorous, at least she wasn’t bored.
He also realized the amount of influence this one woman held over him. There was nothing he wouldn’t be willing to do to keep her laughing, to keep her happy. He wanted to hear the musical sound of her voice every single day. He wanted to be the one to put that smile on her lips, then to kiss it away and make her moan.
This was about so much more than good sex. Yes, the sex was phenomenal, but it was the total package of Sarah that appealed to him. He was in big trouble—big, big trouble where this woman was concerned—because he truly was falling in love with her, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to get her to let down her guard long enough to fall in love with him. He wasn’t sure he could stay in one place long enough to give them a fighting chance.
Her laughter finally began to die down, and he gave it a couple more seconds before holding out his hand. “Ready?” he asked.
She looked a bit longingly at his hand before she nodded and then fell into step beside him, leaving his fingers sadly empty.
“Let’s get an ice cream,” he said. She perked back up.
“Most definitely,” she agreed as she looked around. There were a few people here and there, but not in great quantities. He knew the tourists started coming in droves later in the season, but it was still early in the day and the season, so they were in luck.
“I’m excited to get to check another ghost town off my list,” Sarah told him as they approached the ice cream shop.
“How many have you been to?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’d have to look, but a couple dozen at least,” she replied.
“I’d love to check some off with you, so we’ll have to do that,” he said.
She paused in her steps as she looked at him. He knew it was to try to figure out if he was just saying the words or if he meant them. Surprisingly he had. He liked spending time with this woman.
“You know, Noah, you should be careful with words. I might just say yes,” she warned. He felt his heart skip a little beat. She was capturing him, whether she knew it or not, and the biggest surprise of all was that he wasn’t scared about it.
They stepped inside the ice cream parlor and each got a cone, then stepped back down into the streets. He wasn’t sure which way he wanted to go, so he let her lead the way.
“Where to first?” he asked as he ate a large chunk of Oreo and sighed. He always got the same kind. Maybe he was slightly a creature of habit, as much as he wanted to be this big adventurous man.
“The hotel,” she said as they approached the huge building.
They walked inside, and it felt as if they were going back in time. It was a functioning hotel, but the history of the building had been kept fully intact, with original flooring and pictures hung on the walls showing the families who’d initially settled in the town. There were brief descriptions of who they were and what they had done in the small community.
Sarah took her time exploring the hotel before they came back outside and spent the next few hours looking at the rest of the town. She took notes and jotted sketches, and it was late in the afternoon before they even thought about leaving.
“You know,
we could just stay overnight at the hotel and explore more tomorrow,” he suggested, really liking the idea. There was only one room available. He wasn’t telling her that until she agreed.
She hesitated as if she liked the idea, and he felt his heart thump and his pants tighten. But then he was sadly disappointed when she shook her head.
“No. I’ve taken a lot of pics and notes. There’s no need to stay another day,” she said. “Let’s just finish our walk, then head out.”
This time when he took her hand, she didn’t fight him, and he felt as if he’d just won a freaking gold medal as they looked at the old barns, school building, and jail. They turned a corner and found a cemetery with hundred-year-old stones inside that instantly fascinated Sarah. She let go of his hand and moved through the well-maintained grounds.
He heard the sound before Sarah did, but he was a bit slower than her as she jumped backward with a little squeal. He quickly caught her and pushed her behind him as the two of them looked over to where a rattler was giving them the evil eye.
“I didn’t think they had rattlesnakes in Oregon,” she said, wide eyed and scared. She wasn’t wearing good enough shoes to protect her from a bite.
“Let’s just slowly back away,” he said, not taking his eyes from the poisonous snake.
“Okay,” she said, and she began retreating with him. They didn’t say another word until they were a safe distance away. Then a shudder passed through her. “Damn! My heart is racing,” she admitted.
He let out a chuckle. “Yeah, I’ve run into snakes before, and it always gives me a bit of a scare,” he admitted.
“I’m a lover of nature, but I’ll take my lush green areas anytime over the desert. There’s too many deadly creatures where it gets too hot. I think it’s because the heat makes everyone cranky,” she said.
That made him laugh again. This woman sure made him laugh an awful lot. He loved it. Yes, he got irritated at times, but she also made that evaporate. He was deciding he liked himself a lot better with her around.
“I’ve always been a fan of heat,” he said.
“Well, I’m not. I get cranky when I’m overheated, so I can understand the animals feeling that way.”
“You don’t look too cranky right now,” he said as he pulled her against him. He couldn’t help it. He’d been good the entire day, but she amazed him. He had to touch her, had to have one more little kiss, or he’d never make it back in one piece.
She didn’t pull away from him, didn’t chastise him, and didn’t tell him no. The lids over her eyes lowered as her lips turned up the slightest bit.
“You know this shouldn’t happen,” she said, but her words came out softly as she reached around him, her hands splaying across his back.
“One kiss doesn’t hurt a thing,” he said. Then he stopped talking as he leaned down and gently caressed her mouth with his. He was so hungry for her his body was on fire, but he didn’t deepen the kiss.
Their day had been perfect, full of flirting and laughter and wonder. He wanted that to be first and foremost in her mind. He didn’t want the focus to be all about sex, because he was realizing it was so much more than that with this woman.
Though he didn’t want to, he pulled back, gently cupping her cheek as he watched her eyelids rise. She gave him the sweetest smile, and he grinned back at her.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered, and a small giggle escaped her as she looked at him dreamily.
He caressed her cheek for a second longer, then pulled back. He wasn’t going to mess this moment up, and if she kept looking at him like that, he was going to find the nearest building to take her to so he could make love to her for hours on end—something they should’ve been doing for the past few months nonstop.
There was so much about this woman that fascinated him, and all he knew was he didn’t want this day to end, didn’t want this project to end. Maybe if the two of them spent enough time together, it would become natural. Maybe in the end it couldn’t be stopped, because it was just as simple as that it was meant to be.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Sarah was quiet as the two of them began their drive back to the plane. That kiss had been beautiful and a perfect way to end their time in the quaint little ghost town. It had also left her head spinning and her heart racing.
Every time she was with this man, she got to know so much about him. And though she wanted there to be reasons not to like him, he was making it increasingly difficult for her to find flaws.
After about ten minutes the silence between them was getting to be too much for her. She had way too good an imagination to be locked inside a car surrounded by his scent. If they didn’t have a conversation soon, she was going to have a complete breakdown and end up climbing over the divider between them and attacking him.
She’d never done it in a car before. She searched her memory for her high school years, and yes, she’d made out in a couple of vehicles, but that was all she’d done. She’d never had sex in one and never felt the need to reach over, undo the guy’s pants, and take him in her mouth.
She was feeling that urge right now. Her mouth watered at the thought. She wanted this man with a desperation that was making her slightly insane. She wanted to please him, to make him cry out, to make him hers.
“I think this is a great time for you to tell me about your time in the navy,” she said, jumping at the sound of her own voice; it was so loud and panicked sounding.
He looked at her with a bit of worry in his expression. “Are you okay?” Of course he needed to ask her that. She had practically screamed at him.
“Yes, just restless,” she told him.
He chuckled but thankfully faced forward again and concentrated on driving. She focused on getting her breathing back to normal.
“So do you have any good stories?” she asked. At least her voice was a little more normal now that she was breathing in and out.
“I have plenty. What do you want to hear?”
“Something entertaining.” She didn’t want to add that she definitely didn’t want to hear about all the women she was sure he’d picked up while he’d looked amazing in his uniform.
“Hmm,” he hummed as a smile grew on his face. “I remember one adventure when I was pretty new to the crew.” He chuckled as he thought back to those days. She began to relax.
“I was a deck seaman, and I had the job of painting the waterline on the side of the ship.”
“What’s a waterline?”
“There’s a large black stripe that goes all the way around the entire ship that’s about two feet up from the water. That’s called the waterline. It has to be repainted every year or so. It was my job to work on this, but it was a bitch to do.”
“Doesn’t sound too hard to paint,” she said with a bit of mocking.
“Mm-hmm, easy for you to say. You weren’t the one in a little twelve-foot boat that wouldn’t stay where it was supposed to because I was having to use brooms as oars.”
“You were a navy man, and you had to use brooms as oars?” she said, truly laughing now. “Why?”
“There weren’t any oars for the boat,” he replied with a shrug.
“On an entire navy vessel you couldn’t find a single oar? That seems absolutely absurd.”
“Nope. Not one oar, but I’m creative, so I used brooms,” he said proudly. “But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was that I’d paint a little bit, and then my boat would move out in the water, so I’d have to row back and paint some more, over and over again.”
“It seems like the job would never get done at that rate,” she said.
“That’s the conclusion I came to,” he said. “Until I looked up and spotted the pad eyes and came up with a plan of action.”
“Pad eyes?” she questioned.
“They are these hooks that are up about eight feet from the waterline that are welded into the side of the ship about every fifty feet. So I figured if I got a boat hook, which is a long wooden handl
e with a hook on the end of it, I could hook it into the pad eye, climb up the pole, and hook a rope through the pad eye, then make myself an anchor.”
“Oh, I can see this going very, very badly,” she surmised.
“Nope. It went smooth as butter. I got the hook in, ran the rope through the eye, then climbed back down and did it again at the next eye. I worked on this for weeks, and it was all going smoothly.”
“Well, that’s not a very interesting story,” she said, disappointed he hadn’t fallen into the sea. Maybe there was a devilish side to her she hadn’t been very aware of until interacting with this particular man.
“Just wait for it,” he told her with a chuckle.
Her attention was properly gained again.
“I got promoted to petty officer third class, so it was no longer my job to paint the side of the ship, but I had to teach a new guy how to do it.”
“That’s not so hard,” she said.
“You would think,” he said with another laugh and a roll of his eyes. “However, not everyone in the navy is a water expert.”
“Ohhhh,” she said with a big grin.
“I was with a guy named Speedy, and he didn’t have the name because he was fast. We got down in the boat, and I explained to him that I was going to put the hook in, and his one job was to hold the end so the boat didn’t float away.”
He went quiet for a moment, and she waited.
“It was all going smoothly. I hooked the pad eye, climbed up and got the rope through, and then looked down.”
He went silent again, and she began laughing. She could already tell where this was going. “The boat was gone, wasn’t it?”
“Oh, the boat was about fifty feet out, and I’m there dangling on the stick above the water.” He glared at her when she laughed again. “So I told him to row back to me. So Speedy starts rowing, but apparently I was supposed to teach him how to row, because he’s rowing on one side of the boat and going in a circle as my arm begins to wear out.”
She was laughing so hard at this point her stomach was beginning to hurt. She could just see the look on his face as he tried to figure out if the guy was messing with him or really that dumb.
