Don't Look Back

by Wendy Vella

  “You want a sandwich or you got to go?”

  Macy said the words as they left Billy’s room.

  “I'll take that sandwich,” Brad said, knowing he should leave even as he followed Macy into the kitchen. He watched her get out the makings and the bread. She was economic in her movements, and Brad knew she'd done them a million times before.

  Without giving his actions too much thought, his hand reached for her as she passed him for the third time. He pulled her close and kissed her.

  The contact was instant and sizzling. His body was constantly simmering when she was near, and it fired to life as need poured through him.

  “Brad.”

  “Macy,” he whispered against her lips before kissing her again. He took her deeper, tracing her tongue with his, running his hands down her back.

  “Billy.”

  “I know.” He sighed against her lips. “But I can't get enough of you. Every time you're close, I remember that night. The feel of you straddling my hips, and me buried deep inside you.”

  “We can't.”

  “I know that, and I would never do anything with your son near, but later, when he's sleeping…. Why can't we enjoy each other while I'm in Howling, Macy? We're adults.”

  She stepped away from him and went to make the sandwiches. He didn't speak, just left her to process what he'd said while he watched her.

  His body was hard and aching, but if she said no, he wouldn't push it. This woman had enough people in her life controlling her, he'd never be another.

  “Yes.”

  The word was a sigh.

  “Just yes?”

  She nodded.

  “Well, all right then.”

  She sighed again.

  “What?”

  “Your accent is so damned sexy.”

  “Come on now, we know it's not just the accent, like I explained earlier.”

  Her snort had him moving closer. He nibbled on her neck, and she responded with a delicate shudder.

  “I told myself today that I was going to put some distance between us until you left.”

  “I know, I thought the same thing, and then I changed my mind. Life doesn’t deliver all that many happy moments. I think we should grab a few when they’re on offer.”

  “He’s asleep by seven thirty.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Brad was sitting on the deck at the cabin when Ethan walked up. He wore a Longhorns cap, shorts, and a T-shirt, the standard uniform of most of the men here. Testing his insides, Brad didn't find any of the usual anger and resentment that had always ridden him when he thought about Ethan. They weren’t entirely comfortable yet, but not uncomfortable either. More like a new friendship, tentative and needing to take time to nurture.

  “Yo.”

  “What's up?”

  “Just got a call from Newman. Thought I'd come and tell you what he said.”

  “Want a beer?”

  “Sure.”

  Brad lowered his feet from the rail and went to grab it from the fridge, and another chair.

  “You like it here?”

  “Sure.”

  They drank in silence while Brad allowed himself to acknowledge that it would be a wrench to leave this place.

  “The will of the late Mr. Buchanan handed everything over to their only child, one Nadine Buchanan. All it said with regards to a reserve was that they wanted the land to be used for the good of the surrounding area.”

  Brad whistled. “Which to them meant that it was turned into a reserve, but their bitch of a daughter is interpreting that to mean a resort.”

  Ethan raised his bottle in agreement.

  “So, we need to pursue the conservation angle?”

  “Or I was thinking I could buy it.”

  “I'll go halves with you.” He wasn't entirely sure why he'd offered to help in the land purchase, but now he had it felt right. He had the money, so why not. Anything to stop that bastard getting his hands on it.

  “It's not pizza, Brad.”

  “How much do you think?”

  “Not rightly sure, but Newman is digging into it right now.”

  “What are you worth?”

  “Twelve million. You?” Ethan shot Brad a look.

  “I beat you by two million.”

  “No shit?”

  “I've been investing, like I said. I'm good at it.”

  “Well all right, go you, but the Buchanan land wouldn't be an investment offering a great return, Brad.”

  “I wouldn't mind owning a chunk like that though. I could head on in there anytime I liked, and maybe even build a cabin there somewhere.”

  “A holiday place,” Ethan mused. “Could be nice. It would be equally nice to piss EG off.”

  “Hell yes.”

  Ethan laughed. “It's a lot of money for no return,” he said again.

  “It is, but I can take that hit, and you can too, depending on what that bitch Nadine Buchanan wants for it.”

  Ethan nodded. “Okay, let's find out. We'll see if we can stop them with the conservation angle first, but we'll need to start inquiries. I'll have to get a broker involved, because I don't want Nadine Buchanan to know it's us.”

  “Ethan, I don't want the townspeople to know.”

  “No, I said that to Annabelle. If this goes ahead, only you, me, and her will know that we've bought it.”

  “Deal.”

  “Still can't believe Macy slapped her.”

  Ethan’s smile matched Brad’s.

  “That Buchanan woman had it coming, and you people need to stop thinking she's weak and protecting her. Macy is strong and capable.” Brad knew he shouldn't have said the words, as the silence settled around them. Ethan broke it first.

  “What's the deal between you and Macy?”

  “Deal?” Brad played for time.

  “I'm not an idiot, and neither are most of the people who live here. You and her have a connection, and your behavior at the meeting reinforced that.”

  Brad kept his eyes on the lake.

  “We're friends.”

  “Someone told me they saw her on the back of your bike the night of the wedding.”

  “Not much gets by in this town.”

  “Some of it I'd like to.” Ethan sighed. “Gussie Neeps told me she'd lost another tooth to an abscess today.”

  “Nice.”

  “You take the good with the bad.”

  “It's a weird town, Ethan. These people just kind of step in and take over your life. I'm wearing shorts”—he looked down at them—“that DJ O'Donnell picked for me.”

  “Walt Heath told me Annabelle needed taming when I first showed interest in her. ‘Wild one,’ he said.”

  “Not far wrong there.”

  “That's the woman I love you’re talking about.”

  “I remember the first time I saw her, and thinking that you'd have your hands full.”

  Ethan was quiet for a while, and Brad wondered if he'd pissed his brother off.

  “She's warmed all those dark places inside me, Brad. I don't have nightmares, and I don't carry too many dark thoughts about my childhood anymore.”

  He knew what Ethan meant, because he had dark places too.

  “I'm glad.”

  “So about Macy.”

  “Move on, Ethan.”

  “She's had a tough run, Brad—”

  “And you think I'd hurt her?”

  “No, in fact I think you'd be good for each other. I just want you to know that this is a small town, and she has people who watch over her because of what she suffered.”

  Brad liked that people watched over her.

  “We're adults, Ethan.”

  “I understand that too, but I'm saying she's not like some of the other women you've had in your life. She's not a love-and-leave kind of girl, Brad, and I have a feeling you could hurt her easily.”

  “We know where we stand,” Brad said, wondering why his brother didn't think he could get hurt just as easily.

/>   “It's not only Macy I worry about, you know.”

  “Don't worry about me, I know how to keep myself safe.”

  He felt Ethan's eyes on the side of his face.

  “And that's just sad, but I take your meaning, because I was the same.”

  Brad swallowed a mouthful of beer.

  “You play ball?”

  “Round or oblong?”

  “There's a round ball?” Ethan said.

  “Apparently people kick it.”

  “Weird. Anyway, let’s go then.”

  “Where?” Brad said, standing.

  “The park. Some of the guys are throwing the ball around. Nothing serious.”

  He then took another Longhorns cap out of his back pocket and handed it to Brad.

  “And I'm guessing those guys would be your weird friends?” Brad placed it on his head.

  “The very ones. You can take me on the back of your bike.”

  “I remember that about you too. The bossiness.”

  “Eldest sibling, it's how we roll.”

  He gave it some gas down the road, and Ethan whooped, making him laugh, the sound freer than he could ever remember it being. He'd found himself doing that a bit since he'd been here.

  Newman, Jake, Cubby, and Buster were at the park.

  Cubby was going up to receive a pass as they pulled in, and Buster hit him in the ribs, knocking him to the ground.

  “Nothing serious?” Brad said as Cubby hit the ground hard.

  “We hardly ever get hurt, and Jake's here if we do.”

  “Reassuring.”

  “You ever thought about buying a nice sensible sedan, TJ?” Cubby managed to straighten as he arrived.

  “No, why do you ask, Sheriff?”

  “Every time Maureen and half the women in this town hear your bike, they go all giggly, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn’t getting on my nerves.”

  “Let the boy alone, old man. You're just pissed you've had to rein in your wild now you're hitched.”

  “Wild? The only wild thing he's ever done is change up his sneakers for loafers.”

  Brad laughed as the insults continued. He could tell by the ease with which they flowed that this had been going on for years. Interrupting each other, finishing sentences, it was entertaining to watch.

  “Right, that shit’s done.”

  “What shit?” Brad questioned Cubby.

  “The insulting is foreplay, TJ, gets us in the mood.”

  “That’s just plain wrong, and in the mood for what?”

  “The hurt.”

  He had a brief sense of impending doom when Buster roared at him to go long. He did, and took the ball and Newman at the same time.

  “Well fuck,” he snarled, getting to his feet. Bracing his hands on his thighs, he hauled in a breath before straightening. “I'm now in a horn tossing mood!”

  Ethan snorted. The others look confused.

  “He's pissed,” Ethan translated. “That's when his Texan comes out.”

  Sides were drawn. Brad, Ethan, and Newman versus Jake, Buster, and Cubby.

  “Do you sleep under your flag too, TJ?”

  “Too?” Brad raised a brow at Newman’s question.

  “At least we have a flag. Now shut the fuck up, because I'm ready to hand out some hurt.” Ethan spun his cap backward. “Unless you girls are scared?”

  Hoots of laughter followed that as Brad did the same.

  “You played this before, because we don’t go easy on people because they’re slow.”

  “Soccer? Sure, I got it nailed, don't sweat it,” Brad drawled.

  The play was dirty, clothes were ripped, curses filled the air, and after a rough start where Cubby threatened to arrest him if he didn't get his shit together, Brad thought he handled himself well. His ribs ached, and he was sure there’d be some bruises in the morning, but he had to admit it was fun.

  “And that, gentleman,” Buster crowed, “I believe has us as winners.” Picking up the ball, he did a surprisingly light-footed jig around the still prone Texan at his feet. It was the second lap that did him in. Ethan swung out a foot, and the baker landed on his ass.

  The sun was high and Brad's clothes stuck to him as he followed the others to the edge of the lake.

  Jake stripped to his boxers and ran past Brad. Leaping off the bank, he let out a loud whoop and cannonballed into the water. The others soon followed, with Brad last in. He was dunked, wrestled, and generally messed with. Resistance, he realized, coming up for air the third time, was futile. He was the junior in this group and therefore fair game. Eventually they ran out of energy and floated about like pieces of driftwood.

  Brad looked up at the blue sky and thought this was about the most relaxed he'd felt in a while. He'd never wanted people that he formed a bond with, hadn't been raised that way, but he could understand now why Ethan loved it here.

  They sat drying in the sun and ate chicken and potato salad subs, drinking beers. Talk went from topic to topic, settling for a while on Buchanan business.

  “Hard to imagine Macy slapping that she-devil Nadine,” Jake said. “Maybe once, not anymore.”

  “She's stronger than she looks.”

  “How do you figure that?” Buster asked Brad.

  Aware that he was suddenly the focus of all eyes, he made himself shrug.

  “Just an observation. You people watch over her, mother her, but she's strong. No woman could go through what she has and not be.”

  He took another pull on his beer as silence settled around the small group. Ethan broke it.

  “Huh, never thought of it that way. She was just so broken, I never really looked to see if she'd strengthened up again.”

  “I'm not close, so I can see stuff you idiots can't, I guess.”

  “Sure, there's that,” Cubby said. “There's also the other stuff.”

  Suddenly the sheriff of Howling was back, steely eyed and focused on Brad.

  “Stuff?” Brad kept his voice neutral.

  “What's the word I'm looking for here, boys?”

  “I'm thinking it's chemistry,” Newman said from his horizontal position, feet crossed at the ankles, arms pillowing his head.

  Cubby flicked his fingers in agreement.

  “The very one. So what's the deal with Macy?”

  Brad had walked in and out of boardrooms, made decisions, and run with some pretty high rollers in his life, but strangely this man was making him edgy.

  “My take is, she's mid to late twenties,” Brad said, stalling. “Below average in height, sweet face, and has a nice little boy called Billy. Runs a store in town, which now has a way better layout.”

  “Not quite what he was after, but I have to agree with the layout,” Jake said. “I damaged a shin every time I went in there.”

  “Not sure why you'd want to,” Ethan said, looking confused.

  “Branna has Macy put stuff aside and I buy it for her. Makes gift giving a whole deal easier.”

  “And you didn't think to share that idea with your friends?”

  Buster looked at Ethan, who in turn was glaring at Jake.

  “Not my fault you two can't form a thought without help.”

  The bickering continued and Brad inhaled, glad that the focus had fallen off him.

  “So, getting back to you and Macy, TJ?”

  “There is no Macy and me, Sheriff. She's a friend, we helped each other get out of that situation at the Buchanan place. You can't go through something like that and not form some kind of link,” Brad said, giving the explanation he thought most plausible.

  “Okay, yeah that actually makes sense. But there's that rumor about you and her on that metal death trap you ride, at the wedding.”

  “It’s a Harley Davidson, Sheriff. Sure thought a man like you would know that.”

  “Know it, and still don’t like it. Now, about those rumors.”

  “You know rumors, no grain of truth,” Ethan said, looking at Brad. “Now stop picking on him, and pass me ano
ther beer.”

  “Oh hell no, you did not just stand up for your little brother.” Jake smiled.

  “Haven't done it for a while, have to say it felt good.”

  Brad looked at the top of his bottle. It did feel good.

  “Aww hell, my beer just went sour. You're not going to weep now, are you? I hear you Texans are good at that shit.”

  Everyone laughed at Buster's words, and Brad felt himself relax again as the talk turned general. He didn't feel anything but friendly with a ton of lust chucked in for Macy Reynolds, but still, he didn't want these Neanderthals noticing that.

  He thought about going to see her tonight. Was it the right move, considering the conversation they'd just had?

  Hell yes it was. They were consensual adults, and allowed to scratch any damned itch they wanted to.

  He waited until the town was cloaked in darkness, and during that time he’d decided against going, and then in favor, so many times his head hurt. He knew Macy was innocent in so many ways. Knew there was a possibility she may invest a great deal of emotion into an affair, if that was where they were heading for the few days he had left here. The hell of it was, he couldn't stop himself from wanting her. That one night they’d shared had left him reeling.

  It probably spelled trouble for both of them, especially as they were pretty messed up already, but then again, maybe it was what they needed, and by the end of it they would both be happier and able to walk away from each other still friends.

  Brad knew now this was a place he wanted to come back to. It wasn't just his brother that would draw him here, it was the town and people who lived in it too.

  Climbing onto his bike, he headed back into Howling. Once he hit Macy's drive, he shut off the engine and pushed the bike up, parking it around the side of the house.

  Big and ugly, it wasn't an inviting house, he'd noticed that yesterday. In fact, it looked cold and isolated perched up here looking down on the smaller places beside it. There were no gardens or trees, and he wondered what was with that. Where the hell did Billy play? Was there a yard out back? He was shaking his head as he reached the front door, and it was then he heard the sound of the vacuum cleaner.

  Who the hell vacuums at this hour, he thought pulling out his cell and looking at the time; 9:30 p.m. Had she spilled something?

  He knocked, but as Macy was still vacuuming, he tried the door and let himself in. Brad found her in the dining area. She wore a sundress with no straps. The soft aqua fabric caressed her breasts and then fell to her knees, and he wanted his hands on her, but first he had to shut that noise down.