Love in a Small Town Box Set 1

by Tawdra Kandle

  “Nah, I’m good. Plus I’d have to send Alex to protect you from grabby cowboys. Maybe I want to see if one of them wants to get grabby with me.” She winked and slipped past me.

  “Good to see her having fun.” Alex sipped his beer. “She and Sam had a rough time there for a while.”

  “They’re great people. I’m glad I’m staying with them.”

  He nodded. “So what’s up with old Sam these days? Anyone bouncing on his bed?”

  I almost choked on my soda. “Um, not to my knowledge, no.” I felt the red creep onto my cheeks and hoped Alex wouldn’t notice it.

  “Hmmm.” He narrowed his eyes. “Got your eye on that, do you?”

  I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Was I that transparent? “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Aw, honey, I recognized the look. C’mon, you’re living in that house ... I take you’re unattached yourself. Have you seen him with his shirt off?”

  I thought of Sam walking in wet before dinner, and I might have hummed a little. Alex chuckled.

  “I’ll take that as a yes. Ah, that boy. I had a crush on him from the time I was thirteen. Never looked my way, of course. He’s a hundred percent hetero.”

  Ali came back in enough time to hear his last statement. “You’re so right, my friend. You never had a chance there. But you heard it here first: I think my go-it-alone big brother just may have fallen hard for our Miss Meghan.”

  Alex wiggled his eyebrows. “That is news. Are we talking serious?”

  Ali sat down again and scooted her chair closer to Alex. “He told her he only wanted to be friends, but he kissed her early this morning while they watched the sunrise, and then he informed her that it was a mistake. But get this: he drove all the way in from the farm to town in the middle of the day to tell her that it was a mistake.”

  Alex whistled. “Sounds serious to me.” They looked at me expectantly.

  “I think you’re both crazy. I’m not looking for serious, and I can tell you for sure Sam isn’t. And I’m not talking about him anymore. I’m here to have fun tonight.” The music changed from the twangy old-school country to a song with a good dance beat, and I took advantage of the opportunity to stand up. “I’m going to dance. Who’s with me?”

  We stayed on the dance floor for a long time. Ali had a few more beers, and I noticed her dancing became much less inhibited as the night went on. But Alex stuck close by us, and when Ali began to bump and grind, it was with him. When any other guy got near us, he edged him out, making sure we were protected.

  At the first slow song, Ali backed away from us. “I’m hitting the ladies’ room and then getting some water. You two dance.”

  I grabbed her arm. “You want me to come with?”

  “No, I’m good.” She smiled at me and slipped through the crowd.

  Alex drew me close, and I closed my eyes, laying my head on his shoulder. He moved with grace and finesse, his feet seeming to know just where to go next, and it was relaxing to dance with someone who had no expectations of me. His hands stayed at my waist, and he never tried to press his hips to mine.

  “Are you serious about Sam? I know what you said ... but are you?”

  I leaned back so that I could see Alex’s face. “You’re making me gooey with all this romantic talk.”

  He smirked. “I’ve heard that before. But don’t change the subject.”

  I lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know. I like him. I mean ...” I tightened my hands on the back of his neck. “This is going to sound crazy. The first time I met Sam, I had actually just left this bar, with my friend Laura. I was so wasted. The car broke down, but I was passed out in the front seat. I don’t remember any of it, except the next morning, when Laura told me the story, I had a flash ... of Sam’s eyes. Of him holding me. And then I ran into him when I went to pick up my car, and he yelled at me for being so irresponsible.”

  Alex laughed. “That sounds like Sam. He and I had a similar chat when I was in high school, and he caught me getting high out near our property line. Told me that I was letting down my parents, and he wouldn’t allow me to hang around Ali if that was the kind of guy I wanted to be. I acted like it didn’t matter, but damned if I ever did it again.”

  “Glad to know I’m not the only one. It bothered me, though. More than it should have, coming from a virtual stranger. And then I ended up here, which was just bizarre. I don’t know. There’s something about him, and even though most of the time he acts like he can’t stand me, I know he feels it, too. This pull.”

  “Maybe it’s just animal lust, pure and simple. Once you get it out of your system, the pull may go away.”

  “I guess it’s possible.” The song ended, and I followed Alex back to our table to sit down. “But I think it’s more than that. I like Sam. When we were sitting on the porch talking last night, it felt like we were friends.”

  Alex leaned back in his chair. “I think you should go for it. Rock his world a little. I haven’t seen him in years, but the Sam I knew could use a little shake, rattle and roll.”

  Ali fell into her chair. “Who’s shaking and rolling?”

  Alex patted her arm. “Your brother and Meghan.”

  “Awesome! Someone should be. Okay, let’s dance more.”

  I pulled out my phone. “Ali, do you think we should go home? It’s getting late.”

  “After we dance. I’ve got eight years to make up for.”

  She wasn’t kidding. It was another hour before we left the dance floor, thirty minutes more before I got her out the door and to the car, with Alex’s help.

  “Are you sure you can get her home all right?” He closed the passenger door.

  “Oh, yeah. I’m perfectly sober. And I’ve got my phone if we have any problem.”

  “Okay.” He looked back toward the bar. “I’m going to go back inside for a little while. I saw some interesting prospects, and I’m going to pursue them, see what happens.” He nudged me with his elbow. “Might I suggest you go home and do the same?”

  I grinned. “I just may do that. It was good to meet you, Alex.”

  “You, too. I’m going to be in town for two weeks, so if you need anyone to talk to or to take you dancing ... you know where I am. One farm over.”

  “Got it. Good night.”

  The car was silent as I drove through town. I thought Ali had fallen asleep, so I jumped a little when she spoke.

  “Isn’t Alex great? I’ve missed him.”

  “Yeah.” I fumbled with a way to bring up a sensitive topic. “Ah, couldn’t have been easy to grow up gay in a small town in Georgia.”

  Ali’s laugh was laced with sleepiness. “Yeah, but nobody bothered him. Not really. He was always just Alex. He’s so cool. He was there for me ... during a bad time.”

  I frowned. “He was in your high school class, right? So didn’t you say he went away to college? Was he around when you were getting divorced?”

  “No. No, that wasn’t a bad time, that was only a course correction. It was the best thing for Bridge and me, when Craig left.”

  “Does Craig ever see Bridget? Where did he go, anyway?”

  “He moved to Arkansas. No, he doesn’t see her. Hasn’t since she was a baby.” She was quiet for a few minutes, and then I heard the unmistakable sound of a single sob.

  “I’m sorry.” I kept one hand on the wheel and my eyes on the road as I reached over to pat her arm. “I didn’t mean to bring up a sensitive subject.”

  “No. You didn’t. I always get—” She hiccupped. “I get weepy when I drink.” She sighed, her breath shaky. “Craig doesn’t see Bridget because she’s not his daughter.”

  “Ah. Oh.” I worked to keep my voice even.

  “No one knows, except Craig and Alex.”

  “And Sam?”

  She shook her head. “No, Sam doesn’t know. I was afraid if I told him the truth, he wouldn’t let me marry Craig, and he’d go after—her real father. And that was the last thing I wanted.”

/>   “Who is her real father? Is he still around?”

  Ali bit her lip. “He was my boyfriend for a long time. But he left Burton the day after high school graduation, and he never came back. We had a fight, and that was the end. I didn’t know about Bridget. By the time I did, it was too late. I was dating Craig already, mostly because I was still so hurt, and when I told him ...” She shrugged. “He asked me to marry him. He thought it would be fun, I guess, to try to make a family. It didn’t work. But Alex was there for me in those days when I was trying to figure out what to do.”

  We were both quiet until I turned off the road and onto the driveway that led to the farm. “I’m so sorry, Ali. That must have been incredibly hard.”

  She turned to grip my wrist. “You can’t tell Sam, okay? Some day I will. But now, it would crush him to find out I didn’t tell him the truth back then.”

  “I promise, I won’t say anything.” The headlights of the car swept over the house as we pulled to the back, and I thought I saw someone sitting on the front porch. Sam, watching to make sure we got home, I assumed. I parked the car, and Ali and I snuck into the back like kids after curfew.

  “I’m going right upstairs to bed.” She stopped suddenly and pulled me into a tight hug. “Thank you, Meghan. I had so much fun tonight. You have no idea.” She released me and turned to climb the steps.

  I waited until I heard the click of her bedroom door, and then I shut off the lights Sam had left on for us. Taking a deep breath, I headed for the front porch.

  Time to shake, rattle and roll.

  THE MUCHKIN WASN’T HARD to put to bed. One boring storybook later, she was sound asleep, snoring softly, with her mouth open. Whether it was the fact that she was worn out from art class and her chores today, or just that she knew I wasn’t going to take any nonsense, I didn’t have the same problems her mother did with bedtime. I went back downstairs and wandered. I should have been exhausted, too, but I couldn’t settle. I tried to sit down with a book I’d been reading for the last month, but every time I heard the slightest noise, my ears perked up, wondering if the girls were home.

  Finally, just before midnight, I stalked outside to sit on the porch. The night was still, but every now and then, a breeze blew up to rustle the trees. Stretching out my legs, I dropped my head onto the back of the rocking chair and closed my eyes.

  I wanted to think about baseball and the tomato plants bursting with robust red fruit and the next Guild meeting. But even though I kept forcing my mind in those directions, it seemed determined to wander back to this morning, and the undeniable softness of Meghan’s lips. The silk of her hair. The scent of her, fresh from sleep, sweet and warm. The heaviness in her eyes when she lifted them to look at me after I’d stepped back, as though I could lay her out on that rock and do whatever I wanted with her full approval.

  I should’ve laughed it off and gone in to have breakfast with her. But instead I’d run away and been the first one at the farm stand, putting up with the girls who worked for us when they commented on my snappishness as I took out my frustration on them. All morning, whether I was on the tractor or on the ground, I thought of her. That told me one thing: this was a mistake. Touching her had been crazy.

  I don’t know when I decided to go into town, but there I was, in the truck, heading to the school. I knew what time her classes ended, roughly, but there were still kids and moms trickling out of the building when I pulled into the parking lot. I watched, parked in the shade of a tree, until I figured the last of them was gone.

  The school office was open, but although I heard voices from within, I couldn’t see the secretary or the principal. I strode down the hall, wondering which classroom was Meghan’s, when the sound of singing reached my ears. It wasn’t necessarily the best I’d ever heard, but I knew it was her; the song was one I’d heard her playing on her iPod around the house. I followed the sound around the corner and spotted the open door.

  She was straightening up her desk, packing her bag, and I didn’t think she even realized she was singing. Her lips moved, but it was absent-minded, almost without thought. I took a minute to watch her unawares. She walked around the room with grace and purpose, smoothing back her hair from her eyes. She’d put it up in a ponytail today, and it looked cute, swinging in time with her steps. Her jeans hugged that tempting little ass, but her green shirt looked professional and grown-up. I guessed it was a compromise, with the jeans as her casual, artistic side, and the top her concession to being a teacher.

  I knew it was a matter of time before she glanced over and I scared her out of her mind, so I raised my fist and knocked.

  She jerked her head up, startled, and then her eyes went soft again and those lips curved into a smile. She circled the desk and came around front to lean against it, crossing her arms, which only served to put her boobs on display. Shit. I couldn’t think like that.

  It was true that I’d expected her to argue with me when I told her the kiss had been a mistake. But instead, she only smiled and agreed. She wasn’t mad or upset, at least not so I could tell. She didn’t try to change my mind. And then the next thing I knew, she was practically pushing me out the door and into my truck.

  It was annoying when she didn’t act like I thought she should. Or at least like I thought she would. I’d driven back to the farm in a worse state than I’d left it, dropped my pickup behind the barn and switched it for the farm truck, moving fast to avoid running into Ali and having to explain to her why I’d left in the middle of the day to drive all the way into town.

  I knew Meghan would be home by the time I ran out of things that could be done away from the house, and I weighed the mixed anticipation and dread of seeing her against Ali’s temper if I missed dinner without a good excuse. Ali won. Besides, why the hell should I let this little redhead keep me from my own house and my own supper? I hadn’t done anything wrong. Or if I had, I’d fixed it by our conversation this afternoon. Now I needed to just get on with it, forget how she’d felt beneath my hands and my lips, bull through the next two months. I could do it.

  When Ali brought up dancing, it was easy to say no. I never went to bars, not anymore. Not in years. The men I hung out with were a generation older than me, and we drank coffee instead of beer. Besides, there was no way I was taking Meghan dancing. I knew where that would end. I’d made up my mind that nothing would happen between us, but if I had to hold her close on the dance floor ... or worse, watch while someone else did ... there was no way I’d be able to keep from kissing her again. Better to just stay away from any situations that were fraught with temptation.

  I was shocked when Ali announced that she was going out with Meghan instead. And by the time I’d thought of all the reasons she shouldn’t, they were gone, Meghan dressed in some tiny skirt that barely covered her ass, a shirt that made her tits shout, “Grab me!” and fuck-me heels my sister had loaned her. I was left with a sleepy kid, a sink full of dishes and a growing frustration. Sitting out here on the porch might have been cooling off my body, but it wasn’t cooling off the frustration I’d been fighting all day.

  I heard the sound of a car on the gravel driveway, and Meghan’s headlights swept over the house. I was sitting in the corner of the porch, so I doubted they’d spotted me. Still, I stayed put, hoping they would both go to bed fast. Once I knew they were in their rooms, I could sneak into mine with no one the wiser. I didn’t need the two of them teasing me for waiting up like I was their father.

  The kitchen door squeaked, and I heard the click of heels across the floor. After a minute, one set changed, moving farther away. Ali climbing the stairs, I decided. Good. The other pair of feet began moving, too, and the lights I’d left on went out. I waited for the sound of Meghan’s bedroom door opening and closing.

  Instead, the screen door opened, and Meghan stepped out onto the porch. Her eyes sought me in the dark corner, and I realized she must have seen me from the car.

  She didn’t say anything. Standing a few feet away from me,
lit only by the pale moonlight, she was ethereal. Her hair spilled over her shoulders, not quite disguising the swell of her breasts under the clingy shirt. I let my eyes wander down her legs, from the edge of the denim to my sister’s red high heels. The frustration that had been coiled in my gut all day found an outlet in a sudden stiffness between my legs.

  Meghan took one step forward. She toed off her shoes, setting them by the door. Her eyes never left me as she took one step and then another toward me.

  I swallowed and tried to remember the many reasons why this was a bad idea. Since all of my blood was currently residing somewhere south of my belt buckle, my brain couldn’t seem to come up with even one thing.

  She stood in front of me, inches from my knees, just where she’d been last night when she’d offered me more than just friendship. Then I’d pushed her away. Tonight, I wasn’t sure I could do it again.

  “Hi.” Her voice was low, and one side of her mouth lifted in a smile.

  “I see you girls got home. Finally.” I didn’t mean to say them, but the words came blasting out before I thought about it.

  Because she was Meghan, and she never did what I expected, she only lifted one eyebrow.

  “I brought your sister home as promised, safe and sound. I had one beer, hours ago, and my car didn’t break down.” She slid her foot between both of mine, her eyes still steady. “This is where you say, ‘Thank you, Meghan.’”

  I let out a breath. “Yeah. Thanks. How drunk is she? Did she get groped?”

  “Not by me.” Her smile grew, and she pivoted sideways and dropped onto my lap. Out of instinct, I caught her by the hips.

  “What are you doing?”

  “You brought up groping. It seemed like a good idea.” She leaned onto my chest and twined her arms around my neck. “You kissed me this morning. I know you said it was a mistake, and maybe you meant that. But right now, I don’t care. I want to kiss you.” She brought her lips to my jaw, nipping along the line until she reached my ear. “What do you think, Sam?” Her whisper sent a shot of want straight to my cock.