by J. H. Croix
I imagined she was being polite by asking about me visiting my family. It was a perfectly normal question. My chest tightened, but I breathed through the heartbeat of pain and shook my head. “Can’t say that I do. Both my parents passed away.”
Charlie’s eyes widened and then a look of clear understanding passed across her face. “I’m so sorry, Remy. I didn’t know,” she replied, her tone warm and soft.
The sharp ache in my heart was easing. I was used to it by now. “You couldn’t have known,” I said. I had to steel myself every time I thought about my parents. Life could be fucking cruel.
A vacation on the Gulf Coast. A tornado in the darkness. A single street and three houses. My parents and four other people gone. Just like that.
All that was left of my family were me and my little sister, Shay. Shay was closer to home, and I missed her. The only reason I didn’t worry about her was because the biggest threat to her was finally locked up in jail. I shook my thoughts away, sensing Charlie’s eyes lingering on me, the concern in her gaze deepening.
Around us, conversation carried on with joking, laughter from a game of pool nearby, the sound of glasses clinking, and lives simply carrying on. All the while, I felt like there were gaping holes in my heart I didn’t know if I could ever repair.
Charlie rested her hand on my arm, her touch cool and soft. “I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. My father and my sister died. I know. Time helps.”
I took a breath, holding her eyes. “Time does help. Thank you,” I managed through the tightness in my throat.
Someone else said my name, snapping through the temporary lull between Charlie and me. Her kindness almost made me hurt more. She gave my forearm a little squeeze and then her hand wrapped around her wine glass as she took a sip, looking away. I sensed she knew I needed to move on from this moment, and I wanted to thank her for that too.
I searched out the voice that had called my name, my eyes landing on Beck. He was always quick with a joke and rock solid out in the field. “Yes?” I replied, ignoring the pain in my heart.
“Oh, I was just asking if you bet any in the pool for the Ice Classic,” Beck explained.
“What the hell is that?” I countered, relieved to latch onto something.
Beck’s grin widened as Levi Phillips leaned forward beside him. Levi was just as much the jokester as Beck, and the two of them tended to take turns.
“Every year, it’s a bet on when the ice will crack on the river,” Levi explained.
“A bet on when the damn ice cracks? What the hell, boys?”
Before I left that night, I’d been persuaded into betting fifty bucks on the silliest thing I’d ever heard of.
A bit later, I stepped out of the bar, pausing halfway across the parking lot behind Wildlands. The early spring air still had a bite of cold, but it contained a hint of earthiness to it. It smelled like mud and leaves with nothing more than a promise of the green to come. I took several deep breaths, my mind spinning back to what spring was like in the mountains of North Carolina when I was a boy.
Spring there wasn’t quite as powerful as it was here, yet that same sense of quickening in the air and the pungency of everything melting and slowly unfurling from the frost was vivid in my memory.
Fuck. I kicked that memory to the curb in my mind. It was too tangled up in the loss of my parents. I missed them, missed them like hell. I missed Shay too. Yet, she was the one who had talked me into becoming a firefighter in the first place and had encouraged me to move to take this position. Her heart was big as the sky, and she was so open in spite of everything.
She had more pain to carry than I did, more reason not to trust in life, in the world, and in the vagaries of faith. Yet, she still did. She was a living, breathing example of the concept of hope. She called me just this morning and left a silly message on my voicemail.
I made my way to my truck and climbed in. After starting the engine and pulling out onto Main Street in downtown Willow Brook, I tapped the speaker button on the screen in the dashboard, pulling up Shay’s number. It would be late there, but she would answer. She always did.
Shay picked up on the second ring. “Hey, big brother,” she said with a laugh.
“Hey, sis, how you doing?”
Joy spun around my heart. There were a few spots of joy in my life the last few years. My sister was one of them.
“I’m good.”
“You all settled in?” I asked.
“Of course I am. It’s not like I’m living alone, Remy. I just got to the farm yesterday. Ash is out of town for the month, but Jackson’s here. You know he won’t let a hair on my head get hurt.”
My heart gave a painful thud. “I know.”
Shay had been to hell and back in the last year with her asshole of an ex, who was finally fucking in jail for what he put her through. By some miracle, she was still joyful. After she made it through to the other side, her spirit had shined its light again.
I’d all but badgered her into moving in with my old buddy from back home and his younger sister, who happened to be a good friend of Shay’s as well. I hadn’t wanted her to live alone. I worried too much.
“I don’t know why you’re so concerned. I’ve got Jackson to boss me around just as much as you do. You don’t need to worry about me anymore, Remy. I swear.”
“And you don’t need to tell me not to worry.”
Shay’s answering laugh was low. “Fine then. Tell me how you’re doing. Is it spring there yet?”
“Well, since we talked just yesterday, there’s a little bit less snow on the ground today and it’s getting muddier.”
She laughed again. “Right, but you said things melt fast there once they start.”
“That I did, sis.”
“Hang on a sec,” she said. Her voice was muffled as she said something to someone in the background. I looked ahead as I turned, and a car came into view on the side of the road. Shay’s voice came back on. “Sorry about that.”
“No problem. I gotta go. There’s a car on the side of the road. I’m gonna check and make sure they’re okay.”
“Of course you are. You take care of everybody, Remy. I love you.”
“Love you too, sis. I’ll talk to you soon.”
After I ended the call, I slowed, pulling up behind the car, its hazard lights blinking in the darkness. I turned on my own hazards before I climbed out. Walking to the driver’s side of the car, I rapped my knuckles against it, thinking the SUV looked familiar.
When the window rolled down, I found myself looking into Rachel’s bright blue eyes, the dim light inside the car reflecting off her glossy brown hair. The moment my eyes met hers, a jolt of need hit me. That was how much this girl got to me.
Chapter Four
Remy
“Remy?”
“That would be me, sweetheart. Is something wrong with your car?”
Rachel looked away and then leaned her head back against the seat, her eyes sliding sideways to mine again. “I think I have a flat. I just pulled over. I was about to call someone.”
“You think you have a flat?”
“Well, my front right tire was making a whooshing sound. Trust me, I wanted to keep going, but it didn’t seem like the smartest move.”
“Let me check,” I called over my shoulder as I rounded the front of her car. Sure enough, in the soft glow of the blinking hazard lights, I could see her front tire was flat.
I hadn’t realized Rachel had gotten out of the car to follow me around until I straightened and turned back, promptly colliding with her. It was a dark, cold night. Although technically it was spring, most people would consider it winter by the weather rather than the date. When I bumped against Rachel’s lush body, I became instantly aware of her full breasts pressed against my chest. For a flash, I could even feel her taut nipples through the fabric of her shirt.
Hot damn. This woman. The last thing that should’ve been on my mind was kissing her, and yet my eyes fell
straight to her full, luscious lips. All I could wonder was what they would feel like underneath mine.
She stepped back quickly. “Sorry,” she said, her voice raspy.
The other night, when I’d been thinking about Rachel—because Rachel had burrowed into my mind—I thought her voice was like sex, always slightly husky with a rough edge to it.
“No need to apologize. I was just saying you were right. Your tire’s definitely flat. I’ll change it for you.”
“Oh. You will?”
I dragged my eyes away from her sweet lips and nodded. “Of course I will, sweetheart. Do you have a spare?”
“Uh-huh.” She spun away quickly, hurrying to the back of her car. It was a compact vehicle, one of those small SUV’s with the spare tire mounted on the back.
I followed her, waiting as she opened the hardcover case where the spare was stored.
“You’d think I would know how to change a tire. I don’t,” she said, glancing to me with a sheepish smile curling the corners of her mouth.
“No worries. I’ve changed plenty of tires, sweetheart.”
Rachel stared at me for a few beats. I could’ve sworn her cheeks flushed, although it was dark and the light from the hazards was barely there. I reminded myself I was there to help her change her damn tire. Not kiss her senseless, no matter how much I wanted a taste of her.
“I’m sure you have. I don’t like to be that girl, but I’ll just let you take over. I don’t even know how to get the tire out of here,” she said, gesturing to the case.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket, tapping the flashlight button and handing it to her. “Hold that. Please,” I added.
“Sure thing.”
She held it up, allowing me to see the small bag of tools right where they should be in a waterproof bag inside the container. I got to work, unscrewing the tire from where it was held in place, snagging the jack and going around to the front of her car.
I had it taken care of, right quick. The only thing slowing me down was Rachel wanted to know everything I was doing. There I was, kneeling on the ground, with her hovering over my shoulder. Not that I minded her proximity, not even a little. It’s just she had me hard as a rock, and I was trying to change a fucking tire, for crying out loud.
“So, what’s that?” she asked for about the twentieth time.
“This?” I replied, holding up the lug wrench.
“Uh-huh. Does every car have those?”
“Sure do, sweetheart. Every basic car has a spare, with a jack and this for unscrewing the lug nuts .”
I quickly tightened the lugs on her spare tire. I had tested it to make sure the pressure was good before we put it on. I’d been slightly disappointed I couldn’t tell her it wasn’t. Now, I didn’t have an excuse to give her a ride home.
“Wow. Learn something new every day. Now I know how to change a tire,” she said, when I moved to ease the jack down.
“It’s a handy thing to know,” I offered as I stood, adjusting my jeans in the process.
My cock, oblivious to the fact this was not a convenient time to be lusting after Rachel, was pressing against my zipper.
I straightened, dusting my hands on my jeans, and her head bumped into my shoulder. Lifting my gaze, I found her eyes right there, inches away from mine. Rachel was compact and curvy, the kind of woman I could imagine lifting up easily, letting her wrap her legs around my waist while I buried myself inside of her.
Time froze. Well, freeze wasn’t quite the right word to describe what time did. Rather, everything around us stopped for a weighted moment and then suddenly felt electrified. She stared at me, her lips parting and her tongue darting out to swipe across her bottom lip.
Reason fled the building, thought hot on its heels. Desire bolted to the forefront. Before I could stop myself, I straightened further, lifting a hand and brushing away a lock of hair that had fallen across her eyes.
My hand moved on its own, tucking her hair behind her ear and feeling the goose bumps rising under my fingertips along the soft, downy skin of her neck. Then, I dipped my head. Because I had to kiss her.
The moment my lips met hers, the air sizzled around us, need racing like fire through my veins. Her lips were soft and warm, a contrast to the chilly air around us. I brushed my lips across hers once, twice, and then again. Drawing back the barest distance, I asked, “Sweetheart, do you want this kiss?”
I could feel the soft puff of her breath. I ignored the lust whipping at me and waited. I knew what I wanted, but I needed to know she wanted the same thing.
“Yes,” she breathed, that single word of assent sending another jolt of lust through me.
This time, when our lips met, the flame spun around us, catching us in its center. Another brush of my lips against hers, and then I dove into the warm sweetness of her mouth when she moaned into mine.
Threading my hand in the silky fall of her hair, I turned, caging her in my arms and pressing her against the car. She kissed like a dream, soft and sweet. She tasted like honey and smelled like sugar. Her tongue slicked against mine and her hand slid up my back as she flexed into me. Her body was soft, lush, and generous.
I lost my goddamn mind kissing Rachel on the side of the road in the darkness.
She threw herself into the kiss just as deeply as I did. It was hot and fast, slow and sensuous, and then it went deep, wild, and wet. It was all of that and more.
My hand slid down her side, into the dip of her waist, over the curve of her hip, and around to cup her sweet ass. I let out a growl when she arched into me as I rocked my arousal into the cradle of her hips.
Suddenly, lights flashed across us as a car came around the corner. I’d forgotten everything — everything but her.
I gentled our kiss, not quite ready to break our connection, but knowing I needed to soon. Reluctantly, I eased away slowly. I leaned my head back to look at the stars above before looking back to her. “Sweetheart, your kiss is like honey.”
Rachel laughed softly. Although I couldn’t see it, I knew her cheeks flushed pretty and pink. “And you kiss like a handsome devil,” she countered.
“I’ll follow you home,” I said, as I stepped back from her.
The car was now definitely close enough to see us. Not that I cared one iota if someone saw me kissing Rachel on the side of the road in the dark, and practically manhandling her. But I had some respect, and I wasn’t so sure she wanted to be seen in that position. I might not have lived in Willow Brook that long, but I knew small towns well enough to know whoever was driving down the road right now likely knew one, if not both, of us.
“Follow me home? You don’t need to do that.”
As if to prove my last thought, the vehicle slowed to the side of the road where we were parked, and the window rolled down. “I thought that was your truck, Remy. Oh hey, Rachel,” Beck commented, looking past me to her. “Everything okay?”
Rachel and I were now standing with a good six inches between us. My body protested the distance, and I ignored it.
“I had a flat tire, and Remy changed it for me,” Rachel replied. “Now he says he’s going to follow me home. Don’t you think that’s a little silly?”
Beck smiled, his teeth flashing white in the darkness. “No. Spare tires are finicky. Damn miracle your spare wasn’t flat itself. I don’t even need to ask Remy if he checked it before he put it on.”
Rachel’s gaze shifted to me.
“Of course I did.”
“Exactly. Well, I got to get on home. Maisie’s waiting for me. I got a baby to put to bed. She’s been dealing with her all evening,” he explained.
“Night, man,” I called as he waved and drove off.
Rachel looked as if she wanted to say something more, but she didn’t. She turned to walk around her car.
“Sweetheart, what’s that?”
She swung back around. “What?”
“I think you were about to say something.”
Rachel narrowed her eyes and then t
hrew her head back with a laugh. “Maybe, but you just guaranteed I won’t now.”
With that, she spun back around, and I enjoyed the sight of her hips swinging and her sweet ass before she rounded the front of her car.
I followed her home through the darkness. It was only a few minutes, and Rachel filled my thoughts every single second of those minutes.
It had been three long years since my parents’ death tore a hole through my life and left my heart half-alive. I didn’t laugh often lately, not the way I laughed with Rachel. It wasn’t that I couldn’t crack a joke. Hell, that was easy when you were just hanging with friends. Old habits die hard, and all that.
The few passing interactions I’d had with Rachel reminded me of joy. She brought little bursts of it into my life and made my heart remember that maybe there was a reason to keep on kicking. Don’t mistake that for me saying I wanted to die. It was just I felt weary to my bones. First, there’d been my parents’ death and then my sister nearly fell apart at the hands of a dangerous man.
Rachel was something else, something slightly dangerous to my sanity and so delicious, I couldn’t stay away. I wanted her, so damn badly I’d kissed her like a fool on the side of the road. Yet, she stirred deep waters.
I followed the soft glow of her tail lights along the dark highway, wondering where she would lead me.
Chapter Five
Rachel
My hands were shaking as I turned down my driveway. Remy left me feeling wild and unsettled inside. If Beck hadn’t driven by, I had no idea how far that kiss could have gone.
There were kisses, and then there were kisses from Remy. Damn, this man kissed like no other. The way I felt when his tongue tangled with mine and his hard, muscled body pressed up against me was a mix of crazy, burning, yearning desire, and a deep, abiding wish to lose myself in him.
You see, Remy had gone and done the impossible. He made me forget. For good reason. He also made me want. I wasn’t sure I would’ve wanted to stop at all. He made me forget how my confidence had eroded away inside and made me afraid to try anything when it came to men. With him, it felt so right, so effortless, and so easy.
