“Yes!” Liar.
“Hmm, seems when you resort to ‘yes’ and ‘no’ answers, you have something to hide.”
“I like you, Riley. But don’t read any more into it than that.”
Marissa felt Riley’s intense stare on her, and she lifted her gaze, looking into his smoldering gray eyes. Yeah, she wanted his kisses, and she wanted to be close to him, but she still wasn’t ready to be intimate with him. She didn’t know if she would ever be ready for it. Something about getting too close to him...he’d know all about her secrets.
“Okay, Marissa.”
Riley reached out, pulled her into his arms, and kissed her. The touch of his lips was a delicious sensation to her. She could feel the sexual magnetism that made him so self-confident. She wished she had that same self-confidence.
He released her and said quietly, “I’ll see you July fourth.”
A chill went through her at the loss of the warmth from his body. He turned and walked to his truck and got in. She watched, rooted to the spot, as he backed out and drove off. She turned and went back into her house. I may not have a crush on you, but I’m definitely attracted to you.
Chapter 18
Monday to Wednesday went by swiftly, yet uneventful, at work. When Marissa met up with Campbell, and they did the dig sites, they found quite a few sapphires. One afternoon, Campbell asked her, “Could I hire you to facet my sapphires for me?”
Marissa thought for a few minutes. She could use the money, but would she have the time to do it? Finally, she nodded. “Yes, I can facet your sapphires.”
“How much would it cost me?”
“Ah, depending on the style you want and the weight. A round cut weighing one and a half to two carats would cost sixty to a hundred dollars. An emerald cut the same weight would run closer to a hundred dollars. An oval cut of the same weight would be mid-range of eighty dollars.”
“How about if you facet a couple for me and let me see them?”
“Sure, that would work.”
Thursday was July fourth, and the store was closed. She decided she could do some faceting on Campbell’s stones Wednesday night and do hers Thursday morning and early afternoon before she went to Riley’s house for the cookout.
Excitement raced through her veins about going to the cookout and meeting up with everyone. She never thought that doing simple things like this would bring so much anticipation and pleasure. At three o’clock on Thursday afternoon, she stopped faceting for the day. She took a shower and got dressed, then she made the coleslaw. At four-thirty, her cellphone rang, and it was Riley.
“Hi, Riley.”
“Hey, Marissa. Are you doing anything?”
“No, I just made the coleslaw.”
“Why don’t you come on over and spend time with me before everyone shows up?”
“Sure. I’ll be right over.” Marissa snapped her phone shut, grabbed the coleslaw, and drove up to Riley’s house.
When she got there, he came out and took the container from her, and they walked into the house. He put the coleslaw in the refrigerator and then turned around and pulled her into his arms.
He had on an old pair of jeans and a shirt that opened at the neck. He had a shadow on his face from not shaving over a day or two. She looked up at him and saw a gleam of interest in his gray eyes. He ran his hands up her arms. Cupping her chin, he searched her upturned face, as if he was studying every part of it. His other hand brushed the hair from her neck. Leaning over, he kissed her neck, then her ear. He came up along her jaw. His unshaven face rubbed her skin gently, and it sent spirals of ecstasy through her body. He then claimed her lips, crushing her to him. His tongue traced her lips, which made the pit of her stomach go into a wild swirl.
Riley guided her to the living room, and they sat on the couch. He pulled her back into his arms, holding her possessively, as if she was the most precious thing in his world. He reclaimed her mouth. She parted her lips slightly, and his tongue delved into her mouth. She loved having him this close. She loved feeling his lips against hers. She ran her fingers over his rough face and stroked his chin. She then cupped his chin in her hands.
She slid her hands down his neck to the opening of the shirt, her fingers touching the bare flesh. Then she moved her hands up to his shoulders as his arms wrapped firmly around her waist. She placed her hands on his forearms. This was heaven. She adored this man; he was nothing but gentleness.
Suddenly there was a shrill noise, and it distracted them. Riley pulled his lips from hers. The loss of his warmth left her feeling cold, and she shivered.
“Sorry, love, I have to take the call.” He managed no more than a hoarse whisper. He released her and then got up. He’d left his cellphone in the dining room, so he went in there to answer it.
Riley was still on the phone when there was a knock at his back door. Marissa answered it, and it was Dave, Cindy, and Heidi. They put the food away in the refrigerator, and Marissa served them all iced tea. They went to the back porch and sat at his picnic table. After a half-hour, Riley came out with the steaks.
“Sorry about that. I had to hire two overtime deputies as things in town are getting out of hand.”
“It was a real trip trying to get out of town to get here,” Dave said.
“Folks are in town partying before the fireworks,” Cindy added.
“Yeah, I understand Frankenburg Brewery is offering home grown beer for a dollar a glass,” Riley said.
“Have you tried that beer yet?” Dave asked Riley.
He shook his head. “No, but I hear it’s not bad.”
“It’s okay. You don’t want to get drunk and then wake up sick from it. It leaves an awful aftertaste in your mouth.”
“As Dave should know well,” Cindy said, rolling her eyes.
“How was the parade?” Marissa asked.
“It was good this year. The kids liked it,” Heidi answered.
“How does everyone want their steaks cooked?” Riley put the steaks on the grill.
“Medium for me,” Dave said.
“Same for me.” Heidi threaded a hand through her hair.
“I’d like mine cooked a little more than medium, but it doesn’t have to be well done, maybe medium well?” Cindy added.
“Okay.” Riley looked over at Marissa and smiled slightly.
“I’d like mine medium too.” She smiled back at him.
Marissa watched Riley as he prepared the steaks. When she realized she was staring, she swiftly turned her gaze to Heidi who had a knowing, amused smile on her face.
The steaks were almost done, and Riley asked Marissa, “Will you get the stuff from the frig and the paper products to set the table?”
“Yes, I will.” Marissa got up. Cindy and Heidi also got up. They went into the kitchen to bring the food, condiments, plates, silverware, and more ice tea.
Riley plated the steaks and then sat next to Marissa.
Everyone was quiet for a few minutes as they piled their plates with food and ate.
“Riley, man, you grill a damn good steak,” Dave said between bites.
“Yes, it’s delish,” Cindy agreed.
Heidi and Marissa murmured agreements in unison.
“Did they ever approve more money for the fireworks this year?” Cindy asked.
“No, they didn’t,” Riley said as he took a napkin and wiped his mouth.
“So, we’ll just get a mediocre firework display again this year,” Heidi moaned.
“Unfortunately, yeah. That’s what it’ll be,” Riley said with a smile.
“If my kids are complaining about it, I’m sure other kids are complaining too.” Heidi rolled her eyes.
“What’s wrong with the firework display?” Marissa asked.
“Nothing, really. But there’s nothing going on with it. They send the rockets in the air and hope they explode,” Dave explained.
“There’s nothing like timing, or setting things in motion, like a group of one color, or what you’d see af
ter a professional baseball game, you know, stuff like that,” Riley added.
“Last year they sent up a hundred rockets, and maybe twenty of them exploded with color and the rest just popped and that was the end of it.” Heidi took a sip of her iced tea. “My kids were very disappointed.”
“It was more than a hundred fireworks, but yeah, most of them didn’t explode in color. A few lit up on the ground and we had to have the fire department put them out and move the crowd,” Riley said.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Dave changed the subject and asked Riley, “Are you planning on doing any hunting this winter?”
“Yeah, I’m hoping to get out and deer hunt this year.” Riley smiled.
“You think this time you might actually aim your gun at the target you’re trying to shoot?”
Riley gave Dave a bemused look, but said nothing.
“We have deer come to the river for water when we’re digging for sapphires,” Marissa added.
“Do they look solid and healthy?” Riley asked.
“They looked healthy to me. Campbell mentioned a few times he wished he had his gun.”
“I’d love to get my hands on some deer meat to put in my freezer. I’d have plenty of meat for the kids in the winter.” Heidi grabbed the bowl for more potato salad.
“Do you like deer meat?” Cindy asked Heidi.
“Yeah. We ate it a lot when I was a child.”
“I’ve had it from time to time too, but never really had it as a part of my diet like Heidi did,” Marissa said.
“Well, I’ve never had it,” Cindy said.
“You got to know how to cook it,” Dave added.
“Yeah, you need to cook it a certain way to get the wild taste out of it,” Riley said as he put the last of his steak in his mouth.
When everyone was done eating, he and Marissa stood up and gathered the plastic plates and silverware. Riley went in, got his garbage container, and brought it out so they could put their garbage in it.
After everything was cleaned up, they continued to sit around the picnic table and talk. At nine-thirty they left to go into town for the fireworks. Heidi rode with Dave and Cindy, and Riley and Marissa followed behind them.
They found a spot on the hillside. Cindy brought two blankets from their car and spread them out on the ground.
“How come Katy didn’t come, Cindy?” Marissa asked.
“She went with Heidi’s kids to their grandparents for the day and evening. She’ll be back tonight when Heidi’s kids come back. They’re all probably down there somewhere.” Cindy pointed down the hill.
Marissa and Riley sat on one blanket while Cindy, Dave, and Heidi sat on the other. By the time ten o’clock came, it was dark. Riley laid back on the blanket, and when Marissa turned to look at him she found him staring at her intensely. She flushed, but remained silent. The fireworks started to go up into the sky, and everyone was oohing and ahhing except Riley and Marissa.
Marissa laid back and wrapped her arms around Riley’s neck. She brought her lips to within an inch of his. She stared into his eyes, and he gazed at her tenderly. She moved in a little more, and her lips met his. He moved his mouth over hers, devouring it. While the fireworks were going off in the sky, Marissa felt her own fireworks. His kiss sent a shock wave through her entire body. Riley guided Marissa so she was lying on her back. His Stetson concealed their faces. They continued to kiss, pausing occasionally to look lovingly at each other before kissing again.
The fireworks lasted for fifteen minutes, and suddenly a flashlight shone on them and voices interrupted them. Three firefighters stood in front of them singing a line from Burning Love.
Riley and Marissa quickly broke apart.
“What the hell?” Riley said. A hint of irritation laced his voice. He abruptly stood up, grabbed Marissa’s hand, and pulled her up.
“We were told that there were sparks on the ground, and we were asked to put it out,” one of the firemen said, laughing.
“Just who the hell told you that?” Riley asked.
“Heidi,” the second firefighter said with an amused smile on his face.
Riley and Marissa shot Heidi a glance.
“We can see that the sparks have been put out, so we’ll head back to the truck.” The first fireman smiled even wider.
Dave and Cindy stood off to the side chuckling. Someone from the crowd that had gathered around them asked, “Hey, Sheriff, got a new girlfriend?” Ripples of laughter rang through the crowd.
Marissa continued to glare at Heidi. She couldn’t believe her friend would do something like that. As the party broke up, Marissa told Heidi, “We will talk later.”
After the fireworks, Marissa and Riley went back to his house. Riley smiled at her when they pulled in. “Sorry for the firemen interruption.”
“Yeah, Heidi is going to get a lashing from me later.” She chuckled.
“It could have been worse. But now I’ll have the firemen razzing me about it.”
“Do they tease you a lot?”
“Yeah. Especially if I do something that’s odd. At least now they will stop teasing me about MaryLou.”
“Do your deputies tease you too?”
“Not too much. They have a little more class. Plus, I am their boss. I’m sure they talk among themselves though.”
“What other things do they tease you about?” Marissa asked.
“Well, as Dave said earlier, when I went deer hunting and I missed my target they got a good laugh at that.”
“Well, you are the sheriff and should know how to shoot.” Marissa smiled.
“Yeah, forget the fact that the damn deer moved. And one day I flipped my snowmobile, which they still razz me about.”
“Gee, Riley, you could have been seriously hurt!”
“One time I went mountain climbing, my foot slipped on a rock, and I ended up hanging upside down from the rope. One of the guys had to climb up next to me and help me get right-sided.”
“You didn’t tell me you were such a klutz.” Marissa laughed.
“I’m not really. The guys just leave out important facts related to each incident. Remember the chicken feed?”
Marissa nodded.
“After you left. I had a call to go out to Potter Town to settle a dispute. I asked Mitch to get me a container of chicken with the fixings and leave it on my desk at my office. When I got back to town I grabbed the container from my office and went home. I was really hungry and looking forward to eating the chicken, but when I opened the container, this damn rubber chicken popped out.”
Marissa laughed again. “What did you do for dinner?”
“I sat there for a few minutes, then heard a knock at my door. Mitch came over with two containers of chicken and we ate dinner together.” He shook his head, a smile on his face. “The fireman tonight who said there were sparks on the ground...that was Mitch. Almost every razzing and practical joke pulled on me has his name on it. They tried one other joke on me, but I didn’t fall for it. We went fishing and Mitch caused the motor on the boat to backfire and everyone dived into the lake, except me. I just ducked.” Riley smiled.
* * * *
Riley loved seeing Marissa’s eyes light up in laughter. Even if it was at his expense. He wanted her badly, and she seemed to want him. But he wanted her to be ready for him, and somehow, he knew in his heart that she wasn’t ready, so he decided that as hard as it would be for him, he’d send her home.
“Riley…” Marissa said.
“Marissa…” Riley said at the same time. “Marissa, honey, I’d love to take you inside and make love to you, but I don’t think you’re ready,” he said huskily.
Marissa looked up at Riley, and he saw disappointment in her beautiful, blue eyes.
“The time has to be right for you.” Riley hugged her, and she laid her head on his chest.
“Okay,” she choked out.
“Thanks for spending part of your day and evening with me, even though our moment was i
nterrupted by the singing firemen.” He smiled.
“That was so embarrassing. All the people gathering around to see what was going on.”
“Yeah, and all the comments,” he said with a wry grin.
Riley kissed Marissa gently on the lips before pulling away so she could get in her car and drive home.
After she left, he went into his house. He could feel his erection starting to ease up. He walked into his bedroom to remove his jeans so it would be less painful for him. Returning to the kitchen, he put stuff away and loaded the dishwasher then plopped down on the couch to surf the channels, looking for an old movie to watch.
His mind drifted to Marissa. Her sweet lips and her beauty. He enjoyed having her close to him, and he loved how she reached out to him and drew him into a kiss while they were on the hill to watch the fireworks. They were definitely creating their own fireworks, and he thought it was dark enough that no one would’ve noticed. But thanks to Heidi, the kisses came to an abrupt end.
He had wanted to continue their lovemaking at his house, but he had promised Marissa he would take this slow. Everything was so fucking complicated, and Heidi... Well, Heidi was being herself, but if he could have gotten away with it, he’d gladly wrap his fingers around her neck. Now the guys would be riding him about the incident. It was a good thing he could handle all their jokes and comments.
Chapter 19
On Friday, Marissa arranged for Tom Dunham to stop by the store and get her key so he could go to her house and look at her furnace.
“Hello, Tom.”
“Hi, Marissa. I heard you were back in town.”
Yeah, by now everyone knew she was back.
“So, you have a furnace that’s not working?”
“Yes. It stopped working a few years ago. I hope it can be fix.”
“Okay. Let me take a look, and I’ll come back and let you know.”
Marissa gave him the key.
An hour later, he returned. “Marissa, the furnace is fixable, but I have to order the part and it will take me a week to get it.”
He named a price, and she nodded. She could afford that. “Go ahead and order the part. I’m so glad it’s fixable.”
Blue as Sapphires Page 20
